42 ways to make your kids feel absolutely loved

Which one of these are your favorite? This is from a KSL article btw.

1. Dance.

2. Tell stories from your life. Childhood adventures and youth antics. What you thought the first time you saw your spouse. What you felt on your wedding day and the day your child learned to ride a bike.

3. Kiss them goodnight.

4. Let them climb into bed with you. (Sometimes.)

5. Print pictures of grandparents and great-grandparents, and tell stories from their lives to help build their sense of family identity. We pull our printsout every Christmas.

6. Pick them up from school.

7. Teach them to do something. Read, tie their shoes, shoot a bow and arrow. (My husband has never looked more attractive than when he taught our boys to rainbow loom.)

8. Refer to your family as a team. (Team Braverman, anyone?)

9. Create a family password or handshake. When I was growing up, our family password was our last name spelled backwards. We thought it was the coolest thing ever.

10. Frame and hang photos of them.

11. Give them bubble baths.

12. Watch photo slideshows and family videos clips.

13. Tell them you love them. A lot.

14. Have them lie flat on their bellies and give them back rubs. (Kids love chopsticks.)

15. Maximize time at the dinner table with great dinner conversations.

16. Slip notes into their lunch boxes. Here’s a great resource for lunch box jokes.

17. Read to them, especially favorites from your childhood.

18. Let them get messy.

19. Create a family motto or purpose statement. For examples, check out ours and another great family’s.

20. Make a meal or a treat from your childhood and tell them all about it.

21. Spend time in nature together. Camping, hiking, biking, boating, bird watching …

22. Put down your phone.

23. Over the years, create traditions for each child’s birthdays. This family floats a cake in their pool on their daughter’s birthday. We take our oldest to Panera because that’s where we went the night we learned we were expecting him.

24. Create with them. Bake, craft, construct, experiment.

25. Eat something you grew from the ground.

26. Teach them how amazing their bodies are.

27. Have stay-up-late nights, where one kid gets to stay up an extra 15 minutes (or more, depending on their age) and do a one-on-one activity of their choosing with Mom and Dad.

28. Work together to create a family cheer, or borrowthis one, like we are. It’s really fun!

29. Set goals together.

30. Have a weekly family night. We don’t manage it every week, but we when we do, we try to answer the three questions Bruce Feiler recommends: What did we do well last week? What didn’t go so well? What can we do better this week?

31. Let them lose track of time. (And learn from it, as you try to carve out more room for timelessness and play in your life.)

32. Explore the stars together.

33. Watch them when they’re sleeping and then tell them about it the next day.

34. Say you’re sorry.

35. Have movie and game nights.

36. Get interested in their interests. (Even if that means learning the ins and outs of Minecraft.)

37. Do a fun run together.

38. Love your spouse.

39. Share your faith with them.

40. Listen with empathy when they’re hurting.

41. Watch out for their natural talents.

42. Say great things about them to your spouse when they don’t think you know they’re listening.

Day of Caring 2014

My work did Day of Caring and I LOVED IT!

Mainly because it gave me an excuse to hang out with kids all morning. We read a book together as a class (I would like to fire whoever chose the book) and my second grade class got really into it despite the material. Then, we all made our own books. I messed up on the example book but my new friends didn't seem to mind that much.

-We went to MY elementary school and taught in the exact same classroom as MY second grade class.
-A girl drew a picture of me in purple and included a very large belly for accuracy.
-One boy came up and put his hand on my stomach, he looked at me with big eyes and said, "is there a baby in there?" Penny kicked him RIGHT THEN, which delighted the kids at the table.
-I did get compliments from a couple students who said I was pretty. Points for that.
-The teacher asked me if I had considered being a teacher because she was impressed we figured out a way to include a spanish-speaking only student, even though we don't know spanish. He seemed to be very into the lesson but I guess that's not the usual case.

Pretty much the best day at work ever.

BTW, the teacher has them all work on Imagine Learning because she thinks it helps any child that is learning to read and write. The principal told us that 64% of the students that go to Franklin Elementary know at least two languages, many of those are ESL students so Imagine Learning has been a HUGE benefit to the school.

The Spelling Bee is similar to The Hunger Games

When sitting in the audience, you can't help but notice some of the brutal realities about the National Spelling Bee. What reminds you of putting a bunch of children barely of age against each other until there is only one survivor? To me, it's the Hunger Games. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Suzanne Collins watched the Spelling Bee when looking for inspiration for her wildly successful trilogy. 

Don't take me wrong, the Spelling Bee DEFINITELY is good. It encourages your children to gain as much knowledge as possible. These kids are incredibly smart and show an amazing amount of dedication/effort towards this competition. My worries start when I wonder if it is the child's choice to spend such a severe amount of time to studying for the Bee or in fact the parents. I'm never a huge fan of parents that thrust their children into fame, pageants, sports…etc at such an early age because I rarely think it's the child's choice in those cases. We didn't really meet any VICIOUS children or workers so I'm not here to complain about what an awful thing these people go through. Just a few ironic similarities between this event and a dystopian fiction world where kids compete for the entertainment of adults. 

1.One of the main announcers looks exactly like Effie Trinket. She had that superficial smile and an attitude that not only takes herself too seriously but glamorizes every event going on the week of the bee.

2. All of the competitors are young. The age limit is 14 and  in the past, the youngest competitor was 6. 

3. Quite a bit of your success depends on your "sponsors." The bigger the region you are representing, the better your sponsors will be. 

4. When the child is eliminated their face, rank and name are displayed on a huge screen. They might as well should've shot off cannons. 

4.The competition is held in a fancy place near the "Capitol." We were exactly 15 minutes from downtown Washington DC.

5. Some have been training to win the spelling bee since birth. Their parents won, their siblings won, it's their turn…

I over heard a conversation between two spellers and one said I only studied 3-4 hours a day and the other speller was like, that's not too bad. There was a kid from Jamaica that would travel two hours one way everyday to meet with a tutor for spelling. I'm telling you, the kids are intense.

6. There can only be one winner….oh wait, except for occasionally. Remember how it was so shocking when there are two winners at the end of the first book? Well, the spelling bee had co-champions this year for the first time in over 50 years. 

Despite these similarities to the Hunger Games, the event is very uplifting and inspiring. This nation CELEBRATES smarts! Isn't that incredible? Children that are shy, passionate about academics and extremely motivated are getting congratulated for their specific strengths. I'm glad there are events like this out there and that people care about children that aren't normally as popular as the others. More than half of the children knew more than one language, a number of them are first generation American's and all of them could spell better than me (remember how I have a college degree?) They deserve so much credit. Good for them. 

Screenshots

I'm going to be on TV (various episodes) in January. Oh joy. Haha, I find the scenes pretty ironic considering that I don't drink.

34th Street, Macy's Day Parade and Thanksgiving

On Monday at work, I finished the binder. Well, up until episode 210....and made a to-do list for the rest..and a table of contents. It made Alex so happy she shrieked with joy to see it (basically, that means it was totally worth it.) We also had our last pre-production meeting. I guess they started their first episode while sipping milkshakes at the the diner on 34th and to fulfill the tradition we all went to the diner on 34th to discuss episode 212. I have seen a lot of the small diner, which I don't think is particularly popular but is in a sublime location. It was much more than a production meeting, we all discussed what we're doing afterwards (which is pretty all around nothing since Frenemies ends at such an awkward time) and options of what to do from here. I cannot believe how wonderful it is to work with people who value your strengths. I know I have a lot to learn when it comes to filmmaking but working with a crew that recognizes the importance of hard work and helps me learn where I fall short will be hard to leave and start again. 

Tuesday we arrived in Oneonta (did you see my "Macys Day Parade" picture? I was there....just a lot earlier than the rest of the parade.) It's a good thing we decided to leave a little earlier for Oneonta because apparently the weather was going to be absolutely nasty Wednesday and Thursday. We had quite the snow storm but I didn't find it nasty, rather, I felt the weather was welcoming the holiday season. Kim practiced her aerobic routine with me, I think it was odd for her because we do aerobics a lot together but we never are facing each other. I am well aware that I am an awkward mover. 

During this visit, Lucy figured out how to say "Dave" and everything became "Dave." The car keys were "Dave," my phone (has a picture of him on it) was "Dave," any bearded man in the mall was "Dave," the picture of Jesus in the hallway was "Dave" and we both preferred this over last time we went to Oneonta (she literally cried everytime he came near her.) She was also very concerned that dave wasn't included in whatever was happening. If Mary and I were giving soft tickles to one another, Lucy would command us to soft tickle him. If she had to take a nap and everyone was giving her kisses, she would then say "Dave?" My name was occassionally "Dave" as well because I guess "Lizi" is harder for an 18-month old. 

Wednesday I was informed that my exam had been graded and I promised Dave I wouldn't check my score until after the Thanksgiving break....well, I peeked. I got the exact score I needed to graduate, what a miracle! I became a little sad because I didn't really end college on a strong point but then I remembered how wonderful it was that I'm where I am and that the next day is Thanksgiving I got over it quickly (Thank you btw for those of you who sent me kind words about my last blog post, I didn't intend to be depressing but thank you for being so nice to me.) 

Thanksgiving Day 2013 we spent in a cottage-like home, toasty on the inside and enough snow to play in on the outside. Kim is the best cook in the world. Buddy and Mary fight over who will be "willed" Kim's cookbook, Buddy apparently thinks it would sell on Ebay for 14 million dollars. I also missed my dear Grandma Pace today, I always think of her around Thanksgiving. The holiday smell alone reminds me of the great Thanksgiving's I've spent near my Grandmother. My mother was so kind and roped Erika into setting up skype so we could see the family. Not only were Grandma and Grandpa there but I got to see CLAIRE JARVIS. I totally understand that 2-year old and miss her often. I love it when Katie calls because I will often get to speak to Claire as well (I like speaking to Katie too.) Near the evening, we welcomed in the holiday season with some desserts and games. I'm pretty sure I win every game of zilch that I play....right Dave?

Friday We got to see Catching Fire. I know, everybody loves the movie. I admit it was done very well. I won't lie, it makes me so anxious but the book did too so at least it's consistent! Living in conditions so bleak as the setting of the Hunger Games really scares me. Kim and I exercised everyday while I was in Oneonta too but that's because we both find exercise therapeutic.

Saturday, we loved being in Oneonta but it began to set in that our stay was coming to the end...and that we don't know when we will be able to see the Noorlander's again. I tried really hard not to focus on that fact, I hate goodbye's and I say goodbye's too often. We set up Christmas decorations and Danny is a great decorator. I also can only go so many days without taking pictures or filming something and I couldn't handle that it had been a while so I spent the evening filming Lucy dancing in front of the christmas tree.

I met a woman on Sunday who turned 100 last month. I also was called the "calm" one in my family although we asked Dave if that's true and he disagrees that I'm calm. Kim made the best pretzels on earth and I have been craving them lately so it was perfect to be able to eat eight soft pretzels to help my craving. The family let us skype in on Advent in the evening and it was a perfect ending...for now. 

Today at work I talked to four strangers about their lives. I guess people are more talkative right after Thanksgiving. OR I'm a more social person after I've spent nearly a week with Kim. That makes more sense. We also went into what I picture Bakery Heaven would look like. Dave refuses to eat our advent calendar chocolates though, he is too afraid they will taste like cardboard. I do not have a fear of eating chocolate.

I believe in the Holidays.

and other Spikey Objects

On Monday I went to Harlem for Equipment returns.

On Tuesday I took 4 TESTS. Took me 5 1/2 hours. It did not feel like a day off. I took the test at the Manhattan LDS institute, the missionaries would look at me oddly when they walked by because I often did jumping jacks and there were several deaf investigators in the office (whom I deeply wanted to sign with but wasn't allowed since I was taking tests for a super long time.) I have to be completely finished with my Statistics class by November 19 to officially graduate and it took seven weeks for my first test to get here. So that's the story. My final is on November 19, if any of you want to pray for this girl here.

On Wednesday I made a wardrobe breakdown and filed receipts (oh joy.) I also forgot a lunch for the first time since I got here so I chose a random place to eat. Wok to Walk turned out to be much better than I had originally anticipated. I wasn't going to start another book until after my Statistics class but I couldn't help but snag a cheap copy of Jane Eyre.

On Thursday I ran 6.5 miles in the rain. Dave went to the gym when I did it because he didn't want to run but I guess it wasn't raining in Clifton so he didn't know I was getting drenched. We also watched Kate and Leopold (based in New York) which was my favorite movie when I was 14 and Dave LOVED it, he was hesitant at first but ended up yelling for joy at the romantic parts.

Friday was November 8, I met Dave five years ago on this day at a Latin Dance. He wouldn't dance with me then so I was determined to go to a dance this evening. I found a dance but it ended up being for people older than 50 (HOW AM I SO BAD AT FINDING PARTIES?!) so we ditched that idea. I fell asleep super early and woke up 4 hours later, then I couldn't fall asleep again until 5:30 where I was woken by the sounds of an 11 year old playing the clarinet. At least I was grateful for my dear parents who endured me learning 6 DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS in my youth.

Saturday Dave and I went into the city. We walked through Central Park (still absolutely gorgeous right now btw.) We went through the Natural History Museum (I was hoping to see Ben Stiller but unfortunately didn't get to.) We entered the Broadway lottery for Matilda and WON. I never win anything so it was a pretty big deal. We went to the closest cheapest restaurant and I randomly got to see my dear friend Katie Burdick who was only in the city for a day-trip. MATILDA WAS AMAZING! I'm glad dave has finally seen a play in which there was phenomenal acting, phenomenal music, and phenomenal messages. I was very pleased that it was clean and absent of the big league cuss words (that means a lot to me) because then you can really enjoy the pure talent without the cheap tricks. It got out at 10:39 so we ran to the bus to catch it on time. We were there by 10:44 but the bus had ALREADY LEFT, I'm still angry that they left early, it wasn't fair.

I believe in children.

Head Wound

After sleeping off the exhaustion of production: I woke up, poured myself a bowl of cereal and began to devour it just as any other day. Dave came into the room to join me but stopped in his tracks as he looked at my face. Suddenly, he rushed by my side and started sifting through my hair.

"What are you doing?"
"Your head is bleeding. Badly."
...."No it's not."

Dave called for Katie to come look at it too and she seemed convinced as well, I had a head wound. But where did I get it from? I had no recollection of hitting my head and then I realized what happened. The night before, I was helping our actress rinse off all of the fake blood out of her hair and clothes and as she swung her hair out of the shower, fake blood was getting everywhere. To try and shield it I stood under her hair so the fake blood would drip on me instead of the homeowners floor. I was so worried, it looked like we had murdered something in the shower, the actress was freezing and everyone else in the crew were waiting outside to leave. I ran upstairs to grab her a change of dry clothing, towels and a whole roll of paper towels. She got dressed, towel drying her hair as I frantically cleaned the shower. I must say we were both impressed at how fast it went from murder to normal but I never thought to look at myself in the mirror. Dave picked me up when it was dark and so nobody would have really noticed blood dripping down my face until the morning.

I believe in paper towels.

New York Pictures

Central Park, Van Gogh and The Met

This week started very busy with a 16 hour shoot at Lake Hopatcong for Frenemies. It was a really good day. I got to be an extra once again, although they only casted me because I was the only one who could pull of 15 years old. I also don't think I fit in with that crowd but I guess you'll see that. One of the highlights is that I got to tell the toughest actor on the crew that he didn't get all of the lipstick off of his lips. 

 This dog had SO much energy. It was ridiculous. He ripped up the whole dock before we were finished shooting. We were shooting a robbery scene and the dog thought the "bad guy" actor was in trouble and tried to save him. We had to distract him for the other takes.

 This is a shot of the director letting the actors know what feeling she hopes they will portray for this scene.

 At the end of the evening, I noticed the Empire state building had pink blue and yellow for lights. I looked it up but I don't remember what it was for.

 I went on a lot of runs for the office on Wednesday, this was one of the shots. I guess I thought this was more important than taking a picture of the lady who just swam from florida to Cuba because I walked past that event too but had no idea why they had a swimming pool in the middle of the road.

 This was another one of those odd phenomenons that go on in the city. We had just walked past a farmers market and a statue of columbus when hundreds of skateboarder came by. This was the end of it, the whole street was literally packed.

 We got to go to the temple. It comes out of no where because you don't expect it in the middle of the city.

 I fell in love with Central Park. It bugged Dave that I stopped so much to take pictures but I seriously had to.

 Notice this strip of land? I've seen it in so many different movies but I first thought of the cover of When Harry Met Sally. We also visited the park featured in Ghostbusters.

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art....so lovely. Seriously, so lovely.

 Dave on the Met steps: Repping it Hitch and Gossip Girl style. xoxo.

 Van Gogh self portrait. I loved every thing I saw in this museum. It is so worth it.

So we try and watch movies that are based in New York (believe me, there are so many) and this inspired us to finish off the week watching Ghost Town. Since there's a famous scene from it right in this exact spot. Plus, it's a hilarious movie, check it out.

Presentations on Cellphones

I'm sad that I missed quite the convincing presentation by: Maja Williams. But I think I got the idea of it, look at the front page:

The first paragraph begins:

 "Today I chose to focus on LOL. A term used when we are texting. This phrase means laugh out loud. It apparently is used a lot but I don't know that because I don't text because my mom won't get me a stinking phone."

When I was Miss Provo

I've been in quite a few parades, no surprise there (with my mothers city council) but did you know I actually was a beauty queen in a parade once?.....when I actually was supposed to be in a nerdy marching band in the same parade? 

Well you see, a window of opportunity arose that I knew was once in a lifetime. My sister was Miss Provo in 2006 and none of her attendants could come to a parade that year. So I graciously offered my services. I called in sick to my band teacher, found a pageant dress of Erika's that fit me and invited Ronald McDonald. Little did I know that the Provo marching band would be right in front of my float so my cover was blown but I spent the whole parade pretending I was supposed to be there.A few perks to being the sister of a pageant girl I suppose. 

I have better proof in a storage unit in Provo. If you're willing to wait.

National Geographic and Broadway

Monday was Dave's birthday, yipee! I had to work all day, Boo. I went to a movie with him since that was his only request from me that day, it ended up being so much better than I thought it would be.

Tuesday, the original plan was to go to the statue of Liberty and then try to win the lottery for a broadway play. It was supposed to rain so we decided not to become a lightning target, went into the city seeking old book stores, exploring 30 Rockefeller, NBC studios until we quite easily got tickets to a broadway play titled "First Date" starring Zachary Levi (an old COW of mine.)

On Wednesday I got to work with National Geographic. It was so much fun it barely felt like work. I basically was in charge of finding an interesting climatologist or storm chaser. I found out so much stuff  on how to survive a tornado or a hurricane. I also found out: 95 people commit suicide a day (that's 1 person every fifteen minutes,) a famous storm chaser died this last May in a tornado in Oklahoma, Stu from the Weather Channel only got into weather because he was severely afraid of thunderstorms growing up and there is a real disease where people have severe phobia of natural disasters. Some of my sisters may say I have that disease.

Thursday was a relaxing day, we ran in the rain. We were in charge of making dinner (hopefully that went over well, they at least pretended to like it.) We unpacked officially. We smurfed with friends back home. I did Maddie's make-up for a fashion show....if you feel like calling me to motivate me to do my class, that would be SO good. I cannot find it in me to do the class and it has to be done in two months. That's terrifying.

Friday I went to work, learned about the Mafia and a cool iPhone security system and then rushed home because we were going to my dear sister KIMBERLY NOORLANDER's house (+ family.) It's only a three hour drive but it was a little spooky considering we had come from a city with houses stacked on each other to the dense forest of upstate NY. It was very dark, very different and had a feeling of Halloween already.

Saturday, we went to Cooperstown New York which is the famous baseball capital of the world. We also went to an apple orchard, got cozy hot chocolate, played some Disney Sorry and went to town eating Thai food. Very cozy, very Noorlander like. We love it here and that we're so close to them.

Today we went to church and then came back a tad bit early to get ready to surprise Dave for his birthday with his favorite foods. On the way home Dave found a kitten that all of the kids fell in love with and forgot to run inside before Dave could go inside. So Dave walked inside and was just confused since he didn't know anyone had a birthday near his birthday but his own personal brownie dish reassured him that it was a celebration in memorandum for him. They have a great trail in the back, I don't know if I've seen anything so beautiful in my life. Basically, it was very eventful, I loved this whole week, I want to remember it but it probably seems dry since I'm writing it all down as fast as I can.

Katie and Brent

Hey look! It's our couple friends, (our only couple friends but we really wish we had more) and they finally tied the knot!

These two are hilarious, I loved doing their wedding video. I lost a bet. In a good way though, three years ago Dave bet me that Brent would marry the first person he kissed (not in a play) and I took that bet...and lost but I'm so happy that he found Katie. They are perfect for each other. 

We're moving for a while. :)

I can't wait to have Dave all to myself. He's worked 5 years at a full time job and I know, I love it, he's a hard worker, men do that sometimes but man, have I missed him during the day. Of course, we'll come back and be super responsible and pick up the slack but the next few months are just going to be golden for me.

I've got two more interviews this week, when I'm taking care of Adam and Eli. Which is great, just wish me luck and also that Eli doesn't decide to scream during those sweet ten minutes that could change the future. Fat chance, I suppose but I'm still crossing my fingers.

Diets....are hard. I see the biggest difference when I'm playing sports which actually is surprisingly helpful because when I want to sleep all day from lack of energy, I can remember how long I've wanted to be good at sports.

I only have ten full days left in Provo, if that. I'm filled with excitement and some terror. I've felt like I've stuck around here for so long but everyone knows what it's like to be "comfortable," now I am crossing a threshold and though I'm not used to it, I plan to love every second of this new adventure.



I apologize for the grammar or punctuation of this post. I let my thoughts spill, in the way that they poured out into my head and decided not to change it. Call me a purist.

Billionaires

At the party of all parties we played a game that if all expenses paid, what would we get each other for our birthdays? Here are our presents:

Presents for DAVE:

• A full body wax-from Linda
• A labradoodle-from Himself
• A yellow lab, a home by the lake, a wood watch, all of the shoes he could even think of wanting to buy and a european cruise-from me
• Tickets to E3-from Dan Lewis
• I'd pay his parking ticket so he can go to Wisconsin-from Katie
• A lake-from Papa
• A boy- from Saide (age 3)
• A motorcycle with built in guns-from Seth (age 10)
• Apple-from Buddy (age 13)
• A football shirt-from Eden (age 8)
• A waterballoon  on his face-from Mary (age 10)
• I'd drop all of my money on him in ones, as a prank-from Kim
• A bow-from Anna (age 8)
• The Nike franchise and all the equipment and toys-from Mama E

Presents for LIZI:

• A baby bedroom set-from Linda
• A ranch with horses-from Dave
• An Oscar winning film starring Dan Lewis- from Dan
• A horse camp to run-from Katie
• A horse farm-from Papa
• A birdie-from Sadie (age 3)
• A steeler's shirt-from Andrew (age 8)
• A bomb-from Seth (age 10)
• Microsoft-from Buddy (age 13)
• An art set-from Eden (age 8)
• A billiondollar camera-from Mary (age 10)
• A horse farm and studio-from Kim
• A head band-from Anna (age 8)
• I'd buy her Sundance, all of it- from Mama E

Presents for our UNBORN CHILD: 

(no this is not an announcement)

• A baby bjorn with a camera attachment-from Linda
• A labradoodle-from Dave
• A running stroller-from Lizi
• The gift of my name-from Dan
• A night-nanny-from Katie
• A house-from Papa
• A phone-from Sadie (age 3)
• A toy-from Andrew (age 8)
• A mini gun-from Seth (age10)
• Mars-from Buddy (age 13)
• Baby Clothes-from Eden (age 8)
• A mini car-from Mary (age 10)
• Tickets to visit their favorite Aunt Kim-from Kim
• A dress-from Anna
• An entourage of family and friends to help in every way-from Mama E

Famous People

Hey!

I just posted on my website some of the people I've been working with. Check it out.

There are many more people but ask me individually if you're interested. I'd like to protect the privacy of some and promote those that are hoping for more recognition.

A Revelation

There is something that I absolutely love about Sundance to the core and it's not what you would expect either.
Yes, it's fun to be able to beat everybody at ping pong because they are super drunk.
Yes, I love the people I am meeting and the fact that so many went to Full Sail (which was the university I was really hoping to go to before I was convinced not to apply.)
Yes, it is amazing to be with people who have such incredible work ethic.
Despite all of it, my biggest scariest part about starting this internship was I worried that they were all coming to my turf. Let's just say, there seems to be a pattern in my life when people come to Utah and then all I hear are complaints about this place. Do you know how heartbreaking it is that I automatically expect that reply now? Well, guess what.
The people who come to the Sundance Labs LOVE Utah. They appreciate the beauty. They appreciate the history. They don't necessarily like the price of alcohol but they get over that. They respect that I don't do all of the same activities as them and yet I feel accepted.

Main point, I hear the kindest words about Utah from those I've met through Sundance and it fills me with a pride I've been longing for.

Weekends

Brigham City.
McKenzie P.
Sonia mini-road trip.
Snow cones.
Spanish Fork Canyon. Lost. No cell-phone reception.
Hot springs.
Night hiking.
20 dollar bill.
Sunday morning walks.
Bell tower.
Primary.
Dinner with Family. Soup.
Ava and other Feslers (and of course Bradshaws.)
No bake cookies.
Squaw Peak.
Claire. "Come back, Daaaaave."
Children. Lots of them.
Food. With a dash of liquid smoke.
Meryl Streep.
Shalom (no seriously, I got the definition of this word right in a board game. Thanks agl.)

Bryant and Amanda Smith Wedding Film

If I seem to be too busy because I'm filmmaking, having a new nephew be born or it's sunny outside; it's safe to say I'm happy.

Such a Crack Up

I've seen this face a lot btw. Define it as: "Lizi, what do you think you're doing?"

"You're such a crack up" is a term coined and often used by my parents. So it seems fitting to quote them during our spontaneous photo session on Sunday. They thought I was insane bursting through their doors, (my mother didn't even have all of her clothes on but that's nothing new) and told them I needed them outside pronto. Then, we practiced engagement poses with them and they literally couldn't stop laughing the entire time. My mom was trying to hold her photo smile the whole time but my dad was purposefully trying to do the poses as awkwardly as possible. 

I've been taking a lot of photos lately but you can't blame me, look outside! We're in beautiful time of year my friends. These are the outtakes, feel free to see the final products on my "serious" and "mature" website at feslerfilms.wordpress.com/blog/