Marissa's Bridal Shower

This event actually took place beginning of April, but since we were in WA this past week for my little sister, Marissa's, wedding, I thought I'd start where the fun for me began :), The bridal shower.

(For those waiting for a wedding post... I'll get there I promise. Just expect a number of posts on the matter anyway!)

Planning was of course a blast, but could have been much more tricky, considering in took place in Utah and I live in Cali, without the help of all my sisters and mom. THANKS GUYS!

The spread:my mom, who sadly couldn't make it (she had already been in Utah for 3 weeks prior and had to get back to work...imagine that :)) was so wonderful to send some of her vintage gloves, handbags, and hats that belonged to her mother. PERFECT!

Cheese and "wine" tasting.
Bon-bons

Cool Party favors: Little high heels I made from cardstock, embellished and filled with chocolate. I have to admit my whole "theme" almost came from the fact that I really wanted to make these puppies.

Stylish :)
And whats a Smith shower without the "gum" game? How many pieces you got in your mouth there Miss?

Love you and Congrats!

New song inspired by the Simpsons and lazyness

I was supposed to work on one of my Kara or Austin songs tonight and I was also supposed to do the dishes, but I was feeling a bit uninspired, so I watched the Simpsons instead. As the Ogdonvillians were leaving their town after they could no longer sell their barley, a song played that, for whatever reason, made me want to record. Here's what I came up with.

Music Projects

So I've been trying to figure out lately how to do something useful with music recording. For the past few years, I've just been writing music and recording it myself, trying to get a feel for how to record music from home and get it to sound good. I feel like I'm finally to the point where I know the ins and outs of recording and how to actually get a professional sound. Now, what to do with that.

Project 1: The Kara Langer Project

About a month ago, I decided that it would be fun to find a singer/songwriter in the area and record/produce and album. Not only would it give me some good practice in recording a style of music that I normally don't do, but I'd actually get to have some finished songs, which is something that has been harder than I expected. A quick ad post on craigslist offering to record and produce an album for free got some surprisingly good responses.

To make a short story short, I'm recording a CD for Kara Langer. It's kind of an ideal recording situation for me. She has a pile of songs written waiting to be recorded. She comes in, records the piano and vocals, then I get to add whatever I want to the song. It leaves a lot of room for trial and error for me, and it's good for me to get a bit of a wider range of styles that I can say I've worked on.

Here's the first song we recorded. I didn't get too experimental with this one. I think I was most concerned with trying to not make the song worse with the stuff I added.



Project 2: The Boztin Project

If anyone can melt your face with a guitar, it's Austin Lewis. Right now we're working on an album with the shreddingest guitars you've ever heard. Once we find a singer, I can quit my job and become a professional shred master. Our biggest issue is figuring out how to get 10 songs to fit on 1 CD.

This project is also ideal because I get to do all my writing and recording from home. No schedules, no deadlines, no stress, and blazing guitars. What more do I need?



So hopefully in the next year or so I will be able to have two full length albums to my name. We'll see how long it really takes.

Summer Fun Weekend 2: At the Ranch

Memorial Day weekend at the Millar ranch...We rode:We ate:The best part of making cupcakes :)We partied:13 is a lot of candles, so uncle Sam had a little help.

We relaxed:
But most of all...
We swam:
Well, Jack mostly enjoyed lounging and playing by the pool. It was a bit too cold for him.Warming his tush on the warm cement. And what a pool side babe he made! :)
Elyette, on the other hand, swam...and swam... and swam (and jumped!)
In fact, she spent from 10:30am to 4:30pm Monday constantly in and out of the pool. She only left once for a potty break. I'm sure she would have stayed past sun down if we hadn't forced her out so we could head home. It was a GREAT weekend.

Red Carpet Ready?

This is what happens when I whip out the camera. Little Poser, ha... :)

I'm diggin' her Zoolander look, well I guess she'd probably call it her "gangsta" look- Thanks Hannah :)

She also felt the need to "frame" Jack's face for his close up.
Instead of "cheeeeeese" this time, Jack proclaimed "JACK!". I'm thinking he knows he's cute ;).

Summer Fun Weekend 1: Monterey

We've been pretty spoiled so far and I have a feeling we've got some awesome summertime fun ahead so here is Post #1 in whats sure to be a series.

May 16th was Boz's birthday so we had our first EVER family vacation (that didn't include extended family). Short and modest, but a BLAST all the same. We went a little south to Monterey and hit up the aquarium Friday. An event so anticipated, Elyette learned about the days of the week ("Now we go to the aquarium?...Oh, what day is it...when's Friday?!"). We got some library books to study up on our sea creatures. Elyette got to teach what she learned about octopuses and sea horse...Yes, Daddy, the daddy sea horses do carry their babies in their pouches before they are born.
Elyette wanted to touch the star fish more than anything else. They were too busy to look most of the time :).
After hours and hours at the aquarium we checked into our hotel, Casa Munras. We recommend it. It was the great price, for the area, nice and we liked its proximity. There we swam for an hour before going to get some dinner. Then we got some ice cream and headed back and watched a movie the hotel had. We got some Beauty and the Beast sequel thing for Elyette-- it was HORRIBLE and we wanted to kill ourselves. Of course Elyette didn't think so :).

Saturday was a SPECTACULAR day on the beach! It was clear and 75! (not too common, especially for May). So there was no need for the sweatshirts I packed. We visited 2 beaches and a tide pool area. Jack instantly went for the water and chased in and out of waves, convincing Elyette that braving the cold water was worth it. Jack biffed it a few times, but it wasn't until he biffed it big time and got his face pretty much suction cupped into the sand that he started avoiding the water. The tide pools were a good break.

By 4pm we were pretty pooped (and a little fried-Boz and I, kids were just fine) and headed for home. We got some Jeffery's (burger place near us) and "partied hardy", as Elyette would say. (That hot pie melted those 4 candles pretty well that there was no way we were putting in all 27.) We gobbled some homeade berry pie a la mode (his bday "cake" every year) and opened presents. They were all pretty lame, but he did get a pretty sweet shirt that Elyette picked out and I painted :). Look familiar to anyone?Here's to a memorable weekend!

So Big!

So Dude's potty-trained and Elyette reads! :)

Well just kidding about Jack being potty-trained, but he at least lets us know when he has the urge to poop in the tub. He's pooped on the potty twice now thanks to that (and I do mean THANKS!). 

Elyette really is reading though, I know I'm bragging, but its really exciting to witness. We had no idea she could, but a few months ago after mastering her letter sounds in a matter of days we thought we'd get some BOB books for kicks. Welp, she breezed through the first 4 in the first 2 days of having them. Whenever we say "Elyette, you're learning to read!!!" She corrects us with "No, I can read" :). So there you have it. Exciting stuff.

Is it Too Late for an Easter Post?

Just kidding, this was actually taken today. She's been on a carrot kick lately (no complaints here!).

But, since I've been a TOTAL blog slacker, here are a few things from Easter anyway:

Elyette's Easter Dress ...oh and Little Baby's too
(Yes I know. I'm a freak, but Elyette made a specific request and I'm addicted to pleasing her via sewing. What can I say? She makes me feel like wonder woman).
To bad it was not actually worn on Easter since the poor kid was still puking her guts out :P. You can still see her little sunken eyes in these pic taken 2 weeks later. She's gorgeous anyway!

Some of Dude for good measure (and because he's just so dang cute).

And in case you weren't sufficiently uplifted Easter, here's a video clip demonstrating the TRUE meaning of Easter:


And on a happier note...and 'cause it makes him look smart :)...

Enjoy!