McKinley Family

My handsome boys at Georgetown

2009-06-28T22:59:00.009-04:00

so the sky is totally blown out and has no detail... oops.

look at those hot legs! walking all day makes sexy calf muscles!

so is the texture i added cool or is it too much?

ever since i got lost a few months ago and ended up at georgetown university i have wanted to go back and look around... so tonight we took a quick trip over there. it was established in 178-something and it is just beautiful. we saw tons of fireflies tonight and that made it even better. i love spur of the moment things like this with my little family! brock and luke humored me and i got some cute pictures of them. landon is a little harder... when i take him out of the stroller he runs away. that's why there aren't any of him! all i can say is that i've got some good looking boys in my life!! :)

Wannabe

2009-06-26T01:07:00.008-04:00

i am such a wannabe photographer. wannabe, as in i want so badly to be good at it... i want to take cute pictures of my kids! out of like 100 today i only got a few good ones. oh, well... i'll just keep practicing i guess! luke was being so funny and posing himself. what a goof :)

oops.

2009-06-17T23:49:00.008-04:00

i was looking through the pictures on my phone today and realized that all of the pictures i've taken this week have been of funny little "oops-es." the quality isn't great, but my phone is so fast to grab when i want to take a picture right in the moment!

...landon drew all over himself with a marker. good thing it was washable. is that bad that i just wiped off his arms and face and put his shirt on over it?

...luke was helping me make breakfast and the egg exploded in his face. he didn't know how to react at first... he was just stunned. when i started laughing he thought it was a pretty funny joke! (notice landon in the background. he thinks it's really fun to climb in and out of the stroller.)

...landon always gets out of the bath first... i get him ready and then get luke out. while i was taking care of luke, landon did his own hair. yeah, that's like half a jar of pomade! he didn't get it anywhere but on his head. he must have been being so careful. :)

...this one's not funny at all, but definitely an oops. i backed our H3 into the pole that has the key fob thing to open the parking garage. brock got most of it back together, but we are still gonna have to buy some new pieces. so sad. that car was perfect, not even a scratch or a door ding... now the back corner is crunched. i haven't done anything like that since i was 16.

i could definitely go without the car wreckage, but besides that it's these little things that keep life interesting, right?... and i want to remember them.

What we've been doing...

2009-06-02T19:13:00.004-04:00

brock's family is here! today we just lounged around, went to the pool, played in the fountains, went to the library and the toy store... you know, the regular. :) i love just hanging out with nowhere to be and being able to do things on a whim!

last week we went and saw the white house. we ended up being more entertained by the squirrels though. but seriously... brock had it eating out of his hand!

we also went to the zoo and saw the weirdest monkey ever. i felt so bad for it because there had to have been something wrong with it, or it was really bored... because it kept making itself throw up and eating it! the last time we went it did the same thing. sick. i have it on video but i doubt anyone really wants to see it... (besides luke who wanted to watch it over and over!)

we're having so much fun and it's so nice to have family out here!

NOT HAPPY

2009-06-01T00:06:00.002-04:00

i figured out the black and white settings on my camera today and wanted to take some pictures of the boys. as you can tell by the pictures, they were not happy about it. landon is sooo dramatic lately, and his tantrum cry sounds exactly like mine that my family liked to make fun of. :) i don't like hearing him cry, but i think the pictures are just as cute as smiley ones!

Colonial Farm

2009-05-30T23:09:00.004-04:00

last weekend we went back to the market fair at the colonial farm. i didn't take too many pictures because i have a ton from last year. i was so happy my friend jen that's in baltimore met us there... luke was thrilled to see his friend allie again! i feel like whenever i go somewhere with a group i never actually get to hang out because my boys are so wild. luke was all over the place and i was ready to go way before he was.

after the farm we went to the coolest park i have ever seen. i'll find a picture to put up. it's 2 acres of playground equipment with a carousel and the kids were in HEAVEN! i'd like to go again on a weekday when it wasn't so crowded, because once again, with luke running off, i was getting stressed out.

i'm starting to see a pattern here... luke running away... so if anyone has any advice on that i'd love to hear it. :)

also i decided that i needed to stop being so lazy about editing my pictures. i'm not great at photography (i'm working on it though) but i know photoshop pretty well, and my pictures would be so much more interesting if i just took a minute to do some creative editing. on the other hand, though, i want to remember things how they really were and not look back in 20 years with a warped sense of things how things looked, how i looked, etc. so i guess i'll just keep my edits to artistic not cosmetic. :) if that makes any sense! i'm rambling now so i'll just post my pictures and go to bed!

Fountains & Flirting

2009-05-29T00:28:00.002-04:00

the other day it was hot outside so we went downstairs to play in the fountains. they're in the middle of a plaza where we can just sit around and talk, get something to eat at one of a million restaurants, and let the kids play. sometimes it's a little stressful when the kids run off, by my kids run off no matter where we are.

landon was so cute... at first he was so cautious, then he got all brave and went all the way in. you can tell it was cold by the look on his face! luke was talking to dantzelle and you can tell by the look on HIS face that he knows she's pretty. :)

and the winner is...

2009-05-28T00:50:00.005-04:00

i am so proud of my baby sister kristen! there was a fantasy updo contest at her beauty school in st. george... and she won!!! the prize was $100! too bad i went to a ghetto beauty school where we didn't even have contests... let alone with cash prizes! anyway i was so proud of her for being so creative and so prepared. it's a garden, in case you can't tell :) yay, kristen!

Date Night

2009-05-26T22:09:00.004-04:00

well, kind of. brock got home a lot later than i thought he would, but we were still able to go get dessert. thanks again to our friends candace and scott for watching our boys... you guys are the best! we went to TGI Friday's... which doesn't sound super romantic but it actually was, since that's where we went at like midnight the night we got married. and brock got me a video camera! i have been wanting one for so long, but since we already had one that (sort of) worked i never got one. the one we had was kind of big and used those little tapes, and the battery didn't stay charged so i had to plug it in. so needless to say... i am thilled and now i won't feel like i'm missing out on recording all of these priceless moments with our kids! i felt lame that i bought him a pair of flip flops. wow, that sounds even lamer when i type it! I LOVE HIM. :)

Five Years!!!

2009-05-25T17:19:00.003-04:00

five years...two kids...five cities... and stronger than ever! i love you baby!! happy anniversary!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T23:12:00.004-04:00

somehow me and brock totally lucked out and got the two coolest, kindest, prettiest, most talented, hard working, got-it-together ladies we know to be our moms. thank you both for loving us and our kids so much, for teaching us, for raising us with the gospel in our lives, and for putting up with us because i know that we were both difficult at times! we love you are are so thankful for you. happy mother's day!

Luke's gonna feel bad about this someday...

2009-05-09T08:11:00.001-04:00

i wanted to take some cute bath pictures last night with the new lens on my camera. well... luke was being a stinker and got caught on camera. i think this picture just kind of sums up life as a younger sibling... sorry stace, i know this was me years ago! someday he'll feel bad about it. for now, he had to get out of the tub. (and i failed miserably at using my new lens. the picture looks awful.)

Jelly Belly Factory

2009-05-07T21:22:00.003-04:00

this is kind of old news, but still fun. :) when me and the boys were in california we went to the jelly belly factory with my family. luke is obsessed with factories and machines... so i knew he would love it. my mom took us when were little, except when we were kids you could go inside where they were actually making them and get a sample at each stage of the process. now you just look down on it through windows. there was a robot (the tour guy said 'robot' and luke totally perked up) stacking boxes and luke had a meltdown when we had to move on. i think he would have watched that part for hours. landon was in heaven with all the jelly beans he got to eat. he's got my sweet tooth. :) it's a long drive, but i'm so glad we went! thanks mom for being such a fun trip planner!

BRITNEY!!!

2009-04-29T23:44:00.002-04:00

... was amazing!!! even better than i hoped. the show was so good it would have been worth it even without her... but it WAS her... and i loved every second!! i really didn't want it to be over. we ended up with awesome seats in the 6th row. when i called a ticket broker a few months ago, he said the oakland show wasn't selling out at all... so i'm really glad it didn't and my plan to wait until the last minute came through! she looks so good... seriously like 10 or 15 pounds smaller even in real life, and so toned. for like a day i was motivated to work out. :) who cares if she lip synchs?? i was there for the performance! what i love about britney's music is that it makes me feel young and fun, and the concert was no exception. i had no voice the next day and my legs were tired from dancing. i want to go again!!! thanks girls for being patient with me... (of course i had to buy a keychain... and a t-shirt... BRITNEY'S BACK!

DC

2009-04-28T23:37:00.003-04:00

i am really loving being so close to stuff! today we walked around a little bit and went to the library. it seriously took like 5 minutes to go down the elevator and walk down the street. luke was so cute... we read like 50 books and he wanted to keep going! landon was being crazy though. he used to not like to read so it makes me happy to see him excited about it. luke told me that caillou went to the library and brought books home, so he wanted to just like caillou. i have not been a big fan of caillou because he's such a whiny kid. i swear luke is more whiny after he watches. but, i guess the show isn't that bad. :)

yesterday i went to go pick up a crib i found on craigslist. we don't have room to bring ours out here, so last year i did the same thing and sold it before we left(and ended up making money off of it!) i just followed the navi and had no idea where i was going, but took one exit too early and ended up at arlington national cemetery. then i passed the pentagon. ok, usually when i take a wrong exit or get lost i end up at a best buy or something... if i'm lucky. on the way home i went a different way and passed georgetown university... beautiful!!! i couldn't believe everything i saw, just on a 20 minute drive to pick something up. people are WAY nicer in the west but there are some amazing things to see out here!

poor landon had a rough day. first he pulled down a mirror that i had propped against the wall, and about an hour later he fell off the dining room chair. so now he has a bruise and a goose egg. he's such a sweet little guy... it makes me feel so bad when he gets hurt! this is a rough age for that! that's another thing we didn't have room to bring... the high chair. hopefully craigslist will come through for me on that one, too.

i have way more to post! i need to get on it!

we're here!!

2009-04-26T19:16:00.005-04:00

me and the boys are finally here! they actually did really well on the flight and were so excited to see brock. our apartments are so cute. we're right above a bunch of restaurants and shopping and a huge library. i looked at the calendar and there's stuff going on all the time... and it's so cool that we can just ride the elevator down and walk outside to it. just got to get settled in now and unpacked. i hate packing and unpacking!!!

Luke's Bike

2009-04-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

a few weeks ago, the weather was starting to warm up and almost all of the snow was gone... and there were kids riding bikes everywhere! but the bike luke has is the one tyler got him one for christmas when he was 18 months old... last summer i bought him a bigger one in virginia and it got stolen! sad, huh. he was totally happy with his little trike that was way too small for him, but it was breaking my heart when he would try to ride around with older kids (some of them on razor scooters) and they would leave him in the dust! some kids even tried to wait for him... but no matter how fast his legs are going, those little trike wheels can't keep up.

so i told him we were going to get a new bike or a scooter. then...the cutest thing ever...he says "let's go get my piggy bank money!" i swear that was 100% his idea! obviously he doesn't get how money works yet... but how sweet, huh! so we went to the bank and got it changed for bills. he had $30! dang! i need to get a piggy bank! after testing out almost everything at wal-mart he decided on a radio flyer big wheel. he said it was the fastest. i loved those things when i was little! i don't have any pictures because that was the last nice day we've had. the snow is back and that has put a major damper on the bike riding.

Horses

2009-04-03T12:12:00.002-04:00

last weekend our friends kaili and will came from washington to visit us! (by the way, they are the ONLY PEOPLE who have come to see us since we've lived here.. hint, hint...) me, stace and kai had some GREAT times in college, and nothing has changed when we're together, it's like we are still 19. minus the mini skirts. :) it was so fun to finally meet their sweet little boy, jaxon. we went to go see the horses that kaili rode when she was here being a rodeo queen. :) luke fell asleep on the way over but jax and landon loved it. we tried to get good pictures but that lovely rexburg wind was blowing like crazy! love you guys, let's get together again soon!

Upside-Down Landon

2009-03-26T15:44:00.002-04:00

landon has been trying to do headstands since before he could crawl, and it always makes me laugh!

St. George

2009-03-25T21:25:00.003-04:00

so i stole all of these pictures off of rachel's blog... :) last weekend me, rach and the boys went to st. george to see our sisters. rachel is my friend from college that introduced brock and i... so i EXTRA love her! :) we got into town right in time for the twilight movie release so of course went to that and had some cake...we went swimming and got some sun...flew kites with aunt kristen...did some shopping...lost luke for awhile (which wasn't so fun- he just "needed a drink to cool off" and we found him back at kristen's apartment. good thing he has a better sense of direction than i do.) ate too much...laughed a lot...finally got to meet rachel's husband...realized that luke listens to rachel/supernanny and aunt kristen better than he listens to me...caught up on the last few years...just a great weekend! come visit when we move there!

a leprechaun came to our house!

2009-03-18T13:54:00.006-04:00

when we woke up yesterday, there were leprechaun footprints all over the floor... and they dropped a bunch of their gold! brock noticed that they must have been hopping because the footprints are right next to each other... hmmm. i never thought about that. and of course they didn't decide to come until about 11 the night before and everyone was sold out of the regular chocolate coins...so those silly leprecahuns had to buy the "gourmet" kind for 10 bucks a box, I'M SURE! luke wanted to find them all day, but the prints led out the door so they must have run away! he was also very concerned about the mess they left on the floor, and got a rag and started wiping it up. he must have got that from his grandmas. i love luke's awkward smile in this picture. it is so funny because he was trying so hard. landon was just happy about the cupcakes. i'm not even going to tell you how many cupcakes we ate yesterday.

funny story...when me and stace were like, 6 and 4 we decided to summon the leprecahuns on st. patricks day. we had a few neighbor girls over and put everything green we owned on our little table(i specifically remember the moon dreamer doll with the green glow in the dark hair.) then we all held hands around the table and closed our eyes, and started chanting "we believe in leprecahuns! we believe in leprecahuns!" what weird kids, huh! all the sudden we hear this high pitched voice out of nowhere say "hi! i'm lucky the leprechaun!" i don't remember EVER being that scared! we ran into the living room and were seriously crying as we told my mom about what happened. my friend that was a little dramatic said she sprained her ankle when we were running. well, we had a big bay window in our bedroom that faced the front yard and my dad just happened to be coming home from work right then. he heard us through the open window and thought it would funny to give us what we THOUGHT we wanted! love you dad. :) happy st. patrick's day

Freaked out...going private right now...

2009-03-06T16:29:00.002-05:00

i just got a way weird comment in another language and i tried to translate it online, and i'm kind of freaked out. so my blog is private as of like as soon as i finish typing this. please send me your email addresses so i can add you! lissamurdoch@hotmail.com thanks!!

Landon

2009-03-06T15:51:00.004-05:00

landon has been so funny lately! the other day he walked out of my room and had my bra around his neck! the funniest part was that he knew he was being funny and was totally cracking himself up.

the other picture is when he helped himself to the huge block of cheese and was just eating it like that. i love my little landon... he is so fun and laughs so easily. it makes me sad that he's growing up so fast, but he is getting such a cute personality! look at his legs... he's starting to get ankles! :)

Pinewood Derby

2009-03-06T15:34:00.002-05:00

a few weeks ago, someone at school was selling kits for the pinewood derby they were having. brock bought one and when he brought it home, luke said he wanted a lightning mcqueen race car! brock has got some serious pinewood derby skills, and my grandpa has all the good tools...i can't believe how good it turned out! i did my part by making all the decals...go photoshop! we had such a good time at the derby! there were 19 cars and this was no cub scout event... some of them were so crazy! but ours won the award for most creative design and luke was so excited about his medal! he wore it all night and wore it to bed. i took it off while he was asleep and in the morning the first thing he said was "where's my medal?" brock is so excited to do more of these with both of the boys. it's the cutest thing to watch!

Luke's Last Day of Preschool

2009-02-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

luke goes to the cutest preschool at the college. it's the same program that my mom did and i am just in love with it! the last day before christmas break, they went on a scavenger hunt to find different christmas trees and decorations and then they got to help cut down and decorate a tree. he was so excited!