All Things Boles » Janica

3…2…1…

juicifroot — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:01:37 +0000

BLAST OFF!

We shot a rocket today…what did you do?

The following video was shot during the rocket’s maiden voyage. Please note my panic and instant camera-drop in the moments following lift-off when I was 95% certain that the rocket was going to come crashing down on my daughter’s head. Moments later, however, the parachute dislodged and the rocket drifted gracefully, and harmlessly, to the ground. My triumphant “WHOA!” is when I realized we were in the clear.

Nerdy.

Home is where the _______ is.

juicifroot — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:00:00 +0000

So it’s decision time.

I’ve been trying to push all of this to the back of my mind, telling myself that we still have MONTHS before we have to really deal with the concept of Matt moving to Los Angeles. But the truth is, it’s now.

Matt is moving to L.A. in less than a month. Matt is MOVING to LOS ANGELES in less than a MONTH! This is no out-of-town trial that lasts a couple weeks. This is no pack a carry-on and a toothbrush kind of trip. This is no GAH I need a break from my kids thank goodness Matt will be home in a few days type of situation. The man is moving out. For a year.

The king bed will swallow me. I will have to get my own glass of water before bed. The kids will have to settle for Mom as a wrestling partner. I will have to take out the trash. No, wait. Scratch that one. I already do that anyway.

Point is, our home sweet home in Spring, Texas will be Matt-less for 12 months. That fact was starting to make me very, very sad – until I realized that maybe our home wasn’t in Spring, Texas after all. Certainly, we have our lovely house here, but how can it really be home if 1/4 of our family unit is 1,556 miles away? (thank you, GoogleMaps) Home, as you’ve heard, is where the heart is. For Team Boles, the direct translation would be home is where the MATT is.

And so we’re going.

This summer, Parker, Bailey and I will give our cozy house in Spring, Texas a see you later high-five, and head into the waiting arms of our sweet Daddy Matt and a 2-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, California. I don’t know exactly how long we’ll stay. At this point, there’s just no way to know what this adventure will be like. I never dreamed that Parker would start kindergarten on the west coast! There are so many questions left to answer and details to freak out over, but I am beginning to feel the sheer excitement of the situation creeeeep up inside of me. I know one thing for sure…

We’re going to Disneyland!!

It Snowed.

juicifroot — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:05:49 +0000

And they LOVED it.

I am…

juicifroot — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:21:34 +0000

The next few months are going to be crazy-busy here at jbo photo and I LOVE it! I am now officially booked through the end of 2009.

Please contact me to schedule your 2010 session!

Ladies Room

juicifroot — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:25:35 +0000

Employees must wash hands thoroughly before returning to work.

Not to worry. That’s how Chrystal and I roll.

Texans Game: 2009

juicifroot — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:02:08 +0000

Parker Boles LOVES football.

He can describe every position, name every team in the NFL, rattle off player after player – who they play for, what their number is, what position they play.

It really is precious to see his eyes light up and his hands start frantically gesticulating as he launches into one of his enthusiastic football-centric monologues. This spring, he even played on a flag football team and adored every moment.

It would only stand to reason that attending an NFL game would simply send him over the moon.

Wrong.

Wrong wrong WRONG.

If you would please take a moment and refresh yourself with last year’s Texans game adventure. Well, almost a year has passed and we decided to give round 2 a shot tonight. It is safe to say it was an EPIC FAILURE. In fact, after almost two hours of travel time, traffic jams, and walking over a mile from the parking lot to our seats, we actually sat and watched the game for a grand total of 26 minutes. Dang that celebratory “yay-the-Texans-scored” cannon! We even talked about it many times the past couple weeks and Parker assured me that he was almost five, and certainly not afraid of the “booms” anymore. But when the time came…and the big moment arrived…poor boy was a sobbing bundle of nerves, BEGGING to go home. This time, there was no hope for distraction or convincing him otherwise. What’s a mama to do?

Guess we’ll try again next year.

Oh wait, no. No we won’t. ;)

Because I have no shame

juicifroot — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:12:34 +0000

It is just plain difficult to take a decent picture of oneself. Wouldn’t one agree?

However, since I found myself actually showered and dressed in socially-acceptable clothing the other day, I figured it was a good time to give it another go.

I brushed my hair, slapped on my shortest lens, and planted myself directly in front of my sunshine-filled window. Wrist shaking from the ridiculously awkward posture of holding a 7 pound camera with one hand at arms length while feigning pure relaxed confidence, I started snapping away.

Basking in the warm sunshine, feeling a bit victorious…

Cue the photic sneeze reflex.

Uh-oh…

Pure pre-sneeze hottness.

You jealous?? ;)

If you have to rock a cast…

juicifroot — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:59:37 +0000

THIS is the way to do it.

My BFF is a badass.

The Weddings Weekend

juicifroot — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:51:02 +0000

Head spinning.

After my whirlwind trip to NYC to visit Matt, the kids and I went up to my mom’s place in Fredericksburg. The five hour drive with two kids, two dogs, and no parental back-up was daunting, but we made it. Even got to experience the world’s most gorgeous carwash along the way.

Matt’s trial in NYC wrapped up and he flew into Austin to join us for some (long overdue!) family time in the good ol’ Texas Hill Country. Gosh, I love it there.

We came home after a few days feeling refreshed…and then promptly began to frantically pack for our next excursion – the Weddings Weekend.

We were so excited when we found out that our dear friend, Sam, was getting married in Milwaukee this month.

We were equally excited when we found out that Matt’s college roommate, John, was getting married in New Jersey this month.

Our excitement briefly faltered when we realized that these weddings were to both take place in the same weekend. Being the ambitious over-achievers that we are, Matt and I were determined to make it to to both! Matt’s company had given him a generous little travel boner, er…bonus, that would cover our airfare, so we started making plans. We decided to try and vacation-ize the trip a little bit, and tacked on a couple of “fun” days before and after the weddings. We flew into Chicago and stayed a night before taking the train over to Milwaukee. After a couple nights in Milwaukee, we caught a 6 a.m. flight to NYC and taxi-ed over to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey for two more nights. And so it went.

The trip started out well. We basically ate our way through Chicago and I was able to flex some mad photography skills. You jealous?

*please note that this gave us an opportunity to eat our SECOND Throwdown with Bobby Flay food item in less than two weeks! First, the bread pudding from the Dessert Truck in NYC, and now the deep dish pizza fromGiordano’s in Chicago! We’re on a rollllll!

What happened when we arrived in Milwaukee is best told via Twitter feed. Following is the play-by-play…

juicifroot

Trying to check in to hotel and flustered clerk informs us we have no reservation. Apologetically send us to the bar for free drinks while... .3:41 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
…he tries to figure it out. We slurp down our deliciously free intoxicants as we tisk-tisk the clerk for his erronious ways when suddenly- 3:46 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
…I have the sickening and yet certain realization that we are at the wrong hotel. 3:47 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Moral dilemma ensues. 3:50 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Undeserved free beverage warming my belly as frenzied desk clerk desperately tries to accommodate the poor couple with lost reservations 3:59 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Considering a stealthy exit…but plot thickens as we recall that the desk clerk is graciously holding our luggage behind the desk 4:02 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
“Another round?” asks the bartender. Well sure! Why the hell not? 4:05 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
For shame. 4:07 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
So if poor deceived desk clerk DOES find us a room for the night, there is the small issue of our REAL reservation a few blocks away… 4:13 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Surely it is too late to cancel without penalty. Maybe if I cry…or show some boob. Methinks another round is in order. 4:16 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Aaaack! Apologetic desk clerk just informed us that he has found us a room. Do we mind being upgraded to a suite? I am going to hell. 4:55 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie
Are you ready for the orgasm of this entire situation?? I shit you not…our room is the room the Jonas brothers stayed in last night. 5:08 PM Jul 10th from Tweeti
Who knew Matt was so crazy about the Jonas Brothers?? 5:21 PM Jul 10th from Tweetie

So there you have it, ladies and gentleman, lying and deception (albeit momentarily unintentional!!) will get you free drinks, and the best room in the house. Huh. For all these years, I have been playing my cards entirely the wrong way. At the end of the day, it made for a great story, if nothing else. Almost as great as Chuck and JLo’s story from the weekend…but I’ll let them tell you that one. :)

What better way to follow such debauchery than with some beer from a boot?

The wedding on Saturday night was completely perfect. The stark beauty of the Milwaukee Art Museum was only trumped by Sam’s stunning bride, Shelby. They truly make a dynamite couple.

I’ll be darned it that isn’t 5/6ths of The Custodians. Looking good, boys.

I also spy a goosing down below…and my hand is accounted for – that’s all I’m sayin’.

The night was a blast, and the morning (along with our 6 a.m. flight), came entirely too quickly. Regardless, we were anxious to get to New Jersey and see some of our old Rice buddies as well. We made it with time to spare, and Matt cleaned off all of the travel funk and looked quite dashing in his groomsman gear. Good times were had all around, and I can honestly say that I have never even heard of a wedding with as much food as this one had. So. Much. Food. And champagne before the ceremony. It was pretty much the most awesome wedding ever.

We spent all day Monday in our bed in the hotel watching NCIS, Law and Order, and various other programs on A&E that make your grateful for your comparatively drama-free life. I really don’t remember the last time that I’d had an entire 24 hour period to do absolutely nothing. It was great – and it made me miss my children something FIERCE!

All in all, it was a fantastic getaway with my sweet husband. The long journey back to Houston took us from New Jersey to New York to Pennsylvania and then finally, mercifully, back home.

NYC

juicifroot — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:02:11 +0000

Whew. I just got home from a whirlwind trip to New York City. Matt has been working there since early this month, and I was thrilled to be able to squeeze in a quick visit! He had to work all day, so I had the very weird opportunity to traipse around the city all by myself for a couple days. In many ways, it was absolutely delicious. I felt energized and inspired…but truth be told, it was a good bit lonely, too. Those crazy kids that make me climb the walls in sheer frustration – I missed them something fierce.

But I loved my Matt-time. We ate some incredible food - went for the full tasting menu at Amma, drank many-a-beer at McSorley’s, and were DELIGHTED to stumble upon the Dessert Truck one night in Greenwich Village. Finally!! Matt and I are shameless Food Network addicts, and when we saw that truck, we both had only one thing on our minds.

Bacon.

If Throwdown with Bobby Flay taught us anything, it was that the best bread pudding in the world came out of this truck, and it was topped with a bacon creme anglaise. (the bread pudding, not the truck, silly.) Gag if you must, but it. was. diviiiiine.

So here’s to spontaneous trips to the big apple!

Love to my hard-working husband:

Ode to the iPhone for unsurpassed convenience and general badass-edness!

And here’s to the insurmountable joy and gratitude that I felt to return home to this: