My Whole World

Test

2010-08-20T16:52:00.001-07:00

test

Project Life Tuesday: Week Seven

2010-02-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

First, I have to mention that I somehow left out a photo from a couple weeks back, and that got me all off track with my Sunday to Saturday schedule. So, I am going to post the missing photo and then the rest of the photos for this past week and that should get me back to 'normal' whatever that is!

This is the face of someone who doesn't want to leave the fun when it is time to go home!

At least she is smiling in this photo! Although, all these teeth she is losing, it keeps making me have dreams of losing my teeth. Her smile is just too cute right now!

Butterfly wing experiment. I am trying to teach myself how to make them. Don't you just love the carpet in my craft room? Can you tell the kids love paint?

Concentration...what a face!

We had him bathed and shaved, I guess he is a little chilly now :)

Cookie Booth!

Project Life Tuesday: Week Six

2010-02-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

Our Pets

Our new Disneyland Hats, thanks Mom!

Our new 'green' water bottles

Girl Scout troop shirts

Chuck E. Cheese

Jiffy Pop and S'mores at our sleepover

Checking out the landscaping progress

Project Life Tuesday: Week Five

2010-02-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

I have decided I am going to actually print my photos one month at a time. So I had my January photos printed last week and added them to my Project Life album. Now I just have to go back to my Project 365 blog and write my journaling cards. Hopefully I will be done with that task by the time next month rolls around and I have a new set of photos to print. :)

kids played in the snow at church (we live in So. Cal. so they have to truck it in)

twins

California Adventure

seventh lost tooth

snore...

Girl Scouts

Outdoor Drive-up ATM + loose cash + gusty wind = frantic dash across the parking lot for loose $20's

Yet another reason to love Costco...

2010-02-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

So, Valentine's Day is coming up, and I wasn't really feeling the whole 'handmade cards' thing we did last year. I got the idea that I should make a digital valentine and have them printed out. So, I got to thinking, if I use Costco's 6 in. X 7.5 in. blank template I could make Valentine's for Elizabeth to take to school, and have some leftover to send out to some family members. I made one for each of the kids, with their photos and then I will cut them in half for the ones Elizabeth has to take to school, and I will leave them whole for those I am sending in the mail. $14.99 for 50 cards plus envelopes. Maybe more than I would have spent on the Barbie or My Little Pony Valentine's, but these are way cuter, and we don't have the hassle of signing all of them. I only wish I had seen this post before I finished mine, they are too cute!!! Oh well, there is always next year!

Okay family, no peeking at the finished product. You will get yours in the mail next week!

A friend saw these and asked me to create one for her, she has three kids, but only two in school. So I broke the 'canvas' into thirds and created two 3 in X 3.75 in valentine's for her two school aged kids to exchange at school. And one 6 in X 3.75 in 'Family' valentine to send out to relatives. Since they are not mine, I blurred out the faces and blacked out the names, but you can get the idea.

I know it looks really busy when it is all on one page, but it is meant to be cut apart.

Project Life Tuesday: Week Four

2010-02-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am a little late this week. We were at Disneyland yesterday and I forgot to set up my post ahead of time.

Some of my favorite shows

My little Gladiator

Robert's new 'Backpack'

Project Life Tuesday: Week Three

2010-01-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

So Far, So Good. I have been keeping up with my project, finding it easier than last year. So, on to the photos:

I haven't been adding any journaling to my posts so far, but a couple photos from this week may need some explainations.

This is a photo of the kids' check-in area at the church

my messy front hallway where I set up a temporary Girl Scout planning station

No, this is not the Junior Edition of Fear Factor, it is a snake-shaped lollipop from Aunt Sherri

Pirates Dinner Adventure in Buena Park, CA

Rainy day at Disneyland

Joy.

Girl Scout Super Saturday (GS Cookie Pickup)

Project Life Tuesday : Week Two

2010-01-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

Project Life Tuesday: Week One

2010-01-12T15:55:00.000-08:00

So, I have been keeping up with my "Picture-A-Day" project so far this year. I have been trying to make sure I take and edit a photo everyday and I have been posting them on my personal, private blog along with all my thoughts that may or may not make it into my finished Project Life scrapbook. But, since I am the only one reading that blog, I thought I would participate in Jessica Turner's blog challenge called Project Life Tuesday. That way some of my family and friends will at least get to see the photos I have been taking.

Twitterpated

2009-09-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is my take on the new Close to my Heart Twitterpated Workshop on the Go. I was able to make both of the layouts pictured and 6 cards (2 each of the above patterns) and I still have 1 whole piece of Sweet Leaf cardstock and 4 whole pieces of patterned paper left in my kit, not to mention the various useful scrap pieces I still have left. I only had to add 1 piece of Colonial White Cardstock as I used a B&T paper for my background on my second page of my second layout. I am holding a workshop for this new set on October 2nd, please let me know if you would be interested in attending. You can get the entire basic Twitterpated kit which includes the paper and designer ribbon plus an exclusive stamp set for $29.99 (plus tax and s&h).

I got my craft room cleaned out again!

2009-08-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

You would think I took pictures of the before and after, but no. I was much more interested in getting in there to work with my paper and stamps. I haven't really had a chance to craft much this summer and I had no idea how much it was affecting me. Yesterday I got a chance to make some cards during the day, and it really cheered me up. When Robert got home he kept asking me what was wrong, he thought I was being too quiet and maybe a little strange like I was mad at him or something. I couldn't figure out why he was asking, because I just kept thinking, 'I feel great'! Then I realized what he was picking up on was that I was just super-calm. I told him, I feel really calm and great, I got to play in the craft room today. He was just shocked, he said he should send me in there more often if I am going act that way. :)

So, I had a chance to work on even more cards last night and I finished them up this morning. I made 10 cards from 2 sheets of cardstock and 2 sheets of patterned paper. You need your own card bases and envelopes. I actually used a CTMH level one paper pack called Perfect Day, and just added a sheet of Tulip cardstock to use for some of my stamping and sentiments. Then I used some of the base pages from the level one to cover a tin that I got from JoAnn's on clearance and some of the Stickease from the paper pack. I don't use level one kits for scrapbooking, but now I will have to try and re-purpose them for cardmaking, I think it worked out well. The only thing on the cards that are not CTMH are the card bases and a few of the sentiment stamps.

blog

2009-07-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

trying to blog from my phone. lets see if it works.

2009-05-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

scrapbook page

2009-05-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

My first two weeks of Project 365

2009-01-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

These are my finished layout pages for my first two weeks. Sorry the pictures are kinda bad - I can't figure out how to take them without the camera flash shining back at me.

Twilight cube

2009-01-12T22:02:00.001-08:00

So, I know I am obsessed with this story, I admit it. I made this cube as a gift for a friend who is also obsessed. I got the idea for the cube from another blog, she had posted a great tutorial on how to do the "X" inside the cube. This format gives you so much more space to alter and some a couple of the sides even have a dimensional look like a shadow box. I just glued down one side of the photo with a strong adhesive and then when you fold it to put it in the box, it just kind of gently bends in and makes the photo really dimensional. I just added quotes from the book. It was difficult to take photos of the finished cube - I think it looks better in person.

Some Photos

2009-01-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

Fish Lips Anyone?

The Kiddos

Mr. 'Thinks-He's-a-Model'

Resolutions

2008-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

I am not big on New Year's resolutions, but I have decided to make one this year. In the interest of training myself to take better photos, I have decided to do a 365 day project. I am going to take at least one photo every day this year. Should be interesting, and I am going to try to update this blog more often.

I am heading to bed, and I will probably be tucked in before midnight. I am bummed right now because I finished Breaking Dawn this afternoon (the last book in the Twilight series), so now I just feel kinda empty and wishing that this series hadn't kinda ruined me on all other books. I guess that isn't exactly true, I am sure I will find another good book eventually.

Another Layout

2008-12-21T22:05:00.001-08:00

This is also for Robert's new work calendar.

Snow Day!!!

2008-12-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

New Layout

2008-12-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

New CTMH Evensong papers. Making a calendar for Robert to use at work.

First Day of First Grade

2008-11-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Imagine LO pg. 73

Love the papers on this one, it has like all of my favorite colors.

County Fair

2008-11-11T12:30:00.001-08:00

Cherish LO pg.34

Used satin ribbons for the orange and green border.

Halloween Gingerbread house

2008-11-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Imagine LO pg. 116

I got nothin' for this one. I do have the Cricut Stamped cart which has a really good font for creepy stuff that might fit well for a title. I still don't know what to call this though.

Mavericks game

2008-11-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

Imagine LO pg. 52

I have a patch from the game that is going to fit in the red blank spot on the left hand page, and was thinking about journaling on the long baseball paper on the right hand page, either printing directly on the paper or on a transparency. This is probably my least favorite page, although I do really like how the stitching came out so it kinda looks like a baseball.

Firestation Tour

2008-11-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Imagine LO pg. 24

I thought about maybe using the firetruck "Red" from my new Cars Cricut cart and maybe cut a fireman from the PDDU cart. I might have to use some hidden journaling if I want to fit all that in.

Slip and Slide

2008-11-11T12:14:00.001-08:00

Cherish LO pg. 84

I thought about using liquid glass on my title and maybe some embellishments, since it is a "water" page.

Scrapbookers...I need some help.

2008-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am going to post a series of photos of some recent scrabook pages. I have everything very lightly adhered to the page with removable adhesive, so I can still change things. I am pretty happy with the layouts so far (they are all from CTMH Cherish or Imagine), but I need help with titles and especially embellishments. I always get stuck when it is time for embellishments. I also took the time to blur the faces of any other children in the photos before I posted them to my blog (they aren't blurred on the actual page). Please let me know if you have any ideas I can try for these pages.

Pink Tinkerbell

2008-10-31T09:31:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth leaving for school on Halloween. She got to be in the Halloween parade with her class. Having the blonde hair just changes her whole look.

Optimus Prime

2008-10-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dizzy Gillespie

2008-10-24T08:16:00.001-07:00

Our New Family Member

2008-10-17T10:23:00.001-07:00

We haven't actually settled on a name for her yet, Princess Sprinkles is one of the top-runners. I know that the water bottle doesn't add much to the composition of the photograph, but I thought it might help for others to judge the scale. She is pretty tiny, only about 10 weeks old, but she is adjusting well to her new home. She is very tolerant of the kids and she pretty much ignores the dog. Hagrid isn't quite sure what to make of her yet, I think he mostly just wants to play with her, he licks her and sniffs her. We are just trying to make sure he doesn't get too excited and smush her accidentally.

Pool Photo

2008-10-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

One of the last trips to the pool for this year probably. I think the pool might stay open this winter because it is supposedly heated by solar panels now. But I think the weather will more than likely keep us away. Mostly because I don't want anything to do with the pool in the winter.

My little Chefs

2008-08-31T11:59:00.001-07:00

Gotta love the $1 section at Target. I found these and just couldn't resist. Don't they make cute Chefs?

Now Liam wants to help me make dinner every night.

learning new things in Photoshop

2008-08-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

It's a Deer...no, it's a Kangaroo

2008-08-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

We went to check out the new Sportsman's Werehouse in Victorville (kind of a Bass Pro Shop kind of place, I guess). In front of the store they have these statues of an elk, and stag. Liam saw them as we drove up and I asked him if he knew what they were, and he said, "yeah"! I said, "what are they"? He says, "it is a Kangaroo"!

So, obviously my son has never been to Australia... he has seen a few deer however when we were back east at my Mom's house. I guess he was too young to remember.

I got him to pose with his new friend Mr. Kangaroo, he wanted to ride it, but I told him we weren't allowed.

Portraits

2008-08-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well we finally managed to get all the cousins together for a studio photograph session for the first time since Liam was a couple of months old. Bryce, Jace, Shelby, Owen, Elizabeth, and Liam all wore white tee-shirts and jeans and we got some really great shots of them together. The photographer also took photos of each pair of siblings. These are the ones we got of my two kids.

Fun Photo

2008-08-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken after Fourth of July (well, technically the fifth of July) Fireworks show. Liam and Elizabeth both had over a dozen glow bracelets that they were playing with down by the lake while we were waiting for the fireworks show to start. Elizabeth fell asleep wearing her bracelets and I snapped a couple photos.

Junior University

2008-08-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and I went to see a Junior University production of Jungle Book with Bryce and Grandma Bonnie on July 19th. Elizabeth did great during the show, she really liked all the costumes. She was super-excited to get autographs from the cast after the show. I had made her an autograph book with jungle book graphics and she had a great time getting autographs and having her picture taken with her favorite castmembers.

First Day of School

2008-08-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

First Grade!

I can't believe my baby is old enough to be in first grade. She was just so excited to go back to school. She wanted to take the bus to school, but she wanted me to follow the bus to school also. I have to say, it was much easier for me this year. I put her on the bus and then headed straight for the school. Liam and I had to park way down the street, because apparently I wasn't the only parent who wanted to be there for the first day. I waited out in the playground area with some other parents, and I didn't see Elizabeth for about 15 minutes until she ran up and hugged me. I didn't feel that panicked feeling as last year, I know she knows the routine now. She goes to school from 8:30am to 4:30pm now, and doesn't get off the bus until almost 5pm everyday. So, now at the end of the first week we are still adjusting to the new schedule. She has been very tired and crabby this whole week.

Last Day of July

2008-07-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe July is over already. Elizabeth starts school again on Monday, my 12th wedding anniversary is this Sunday and I will be 33 next month. Time flies right?

I told a couple people that I would post some of the other photos I took with my underwater camera. I haven't scrapped them yet, but I will throw them up anyway.

I think I might get these blown up and hang them on the wall.

Some photos from this past weekend

2008-07-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

I took some photos with an underwater camera in my Dad's pool last weekend. I had them developed today and had to throw together a layout with some of the cuter shots.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T11:29:00.001-07:00

Background for my computer

2008-07-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

I have been really into this digital scrapbooking stuff lately. I made a collage for my computer's background.

Lego Beaver

2008-07-02T22:37:00.001-07:00

This post is dedicated to my sister Sherri, who collects beavers. A picture of the kids next to a LegoLand beaver.

The Beach

2008-07-02T16:36:00.001-07:00

I am playing around with my digital scrapbook skills a little bit. These are photos from last Monday, June 23. We were down in San Diego staying with my sister and we took the kids to the beach. For my kids it was the first time seeing the ocean. Although, having been on the shores of Lake Erie I don't think the ocean looked much different to them. I think it is hard to grasp the hugeness of the ocean when you are 3 or 5 years old. They had a great time playing in the sand and digging for sand crabs. It was perfect weather for the beach, and we only had a couple of minor spots get minor sunburns. Liam loved the ocean, and had a great time walking in the waves with his aunt Jennifer. Elizabeth was not quite so thrilled, and it took quite a bit of coaxing from her cousin Shelby before she would even go in past her knees. We ate sandwiches and had snacks, and then headed home in the late afternoon. What a great day.

swim lessons

2008-07-01T00:13:00.001-07:00

Today was the beginning of a whole month of swim lessons. The kids really enjoyed it and I already remember the hassle of getting everybody ready just to take them to the pool everyday for 25 minutes. I am just hoping that this year they will really get something out of it and maybe have some swimming skills.

Action Shots

2008-06-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

This was our first trip to the bowling alley. And of course, I forget to bring my real camera. These are taken with my camera phone.

Our Little Rocker

2008-06-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, she is wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt. She is her Daddy's Little Girl.

It is practically a swamp in here

2008-06-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

So we finally got our swamp cooler (or evaporative cooler, if you want to be fancy) up and running today. Got a handyman to come out and check it and fix a couple of things now it is swampy and cool in the house, just the way I like it!

My mom reminded me today that I haven't posted in awhile. So, I am going to work on getting back in the habit. I have been working on the computer so much lately for some of the projects I have been finishing up, not to mention homework, that the "free time" on the computer for stuff like blogging has been falling by the wayside. It is past 11:30 right now, and I am surprised I am making any sense, I have been up past 1:00am for the last two nights in a row and I still have to get up at 6:15am to get Elizabeth ready for the bus. Thankfully, I have finished up the Girl Scout end-of-the-year slideshow I was working on as well as the end-of-year gift for Elizabeth's teacher that took much longer than I had anticipated. And, this is Elizabeth's last week of school - Kindergarten done already! It is hard to believe, she has two days left and then she will be a first grader! YIKES! We are planning a trip to San Diego next week for a couple of days to stay with my sister and we are taking the kids to the beach for the first time. I just hope I don't forget my camera like I did when we took them bowling for the first time this last weekend. I do have a couple of photos from my phone that I will try to load up soon.

Got to get to bed now.

First Ballgame

2008-06-07T19:33:00.001-07:00

I had forgotten to post a couple of photos from my phone. This one is of the kids first trip to a real ballpark. It is our local minor league team, the Mavericks. They did have a good time (contrary to how it looks in the photo), once Liam got over the fact that he would only be watching the game and not playing on the field with "his team".

County Fair

2008-05-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

So, I finally edited some of the photos I took this month. It might take me a couple of days to post them though, I am pretty worn out right now and I am probably going to turn in soon.

Our first big adventure this month, besides a friend's son's birthday party where I forgot to take any photos, was the County Fair. Robert was in Colorado, and I was trying to do stuff with the kids so we could keep all of our minds off the fact that Daddy was away.

Liam was just a couple inches too short to ride some of the kiddie rides, I am sure by next year he will be able to ride them all. This was his first trip to the fair, so he still got a big kick out of it. Here is a photo of his very first ride.

Elizabeth's favorite ride was the canoe ride. She loved sticking her hands in the freezing cold water. It was so windy and cold that day, and the kids were not dressed for the weather, by the time the shadows started creeping in for the day I was ready to go home.

Of course before we went home, we had to get a funnel cake and cotton candy. The ultimate in fair food. Liam fell asleep on the way home, with cotton candy sticky hands and face. What a fun day, the only thing missing was Daddy.

This month is flying by...

2008-05-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted for almost 2 weeks. I have taken quite a few pictures, so the process of going thought them and editing the best ones to fit on the blog is rather daunting. But, that is just an excuse - I have a bunch of other one's too, like it is raging hot here and we are trying our darnedest not to use the AC. The computer room is the hottest room in the house owing to the fact that it is not a real room, it is some sort of narrow space with a door on it and we have never quite figured out what it is supposed to be. Another excuse would be that Robert was out of town last week for work (he had to go to Boulder for some classes) and I had to keep the kids running all around so that none of us would have such a hard time dealing with Daddy not being home.

Oh, and let me tell you about this Sunday, when Robert and I decided that installing some screen doors on our house would be a good idea. First, I told Robert that I had no problem driving down to the home improvement warehouse to pick up a 4 X 6.5 sliding screen door and a 50lb. security screen door with all the various other items one would use for this type of installation. I was thinking that an hour or two on my own away from the kids that I had been with 24/7 for the last 6 and a half days would be a welcome change. That was until I was in the sweltering hot parking lot in front of said home improvement warehouse for almost an hour trying to get all the blasted items to fit either in or on top of my tiny little munchkin sized economy SUV. The screen door on top of the car would act like an enormous deranged kite if I went over 25 miles per hour. My quick jaunt to the store ended up taking me an exhausting 4.5 hours. And, by the time I got home the screen door was warped and the support crosspieces were broken. I was literally crying on the way home at the futility of the whole trip.

Fortunately Robert was able to reshape the screen door and make it usable. Then we proceeded to spend the next 4 hours hating each other while we tried to install the doors. I thought I was going to have to kill him! Have you ever seen the Money Pit? It was like that, only we were just installing a screen door. If I had to remodel the house with him, we would probably be heading for divorce in about three days. Or you would just have to come looking for pieces of one of us buried out in the desert, because one of us would have snapped. If we do actually ever do any remodeling on this house it had better be because we won the lottery and we can pay someone to do it for us while we are on vacation in Ireland. That is the only scenario I see working out.

Now I guess I am going to try and go to sleep in the miserable heat of my bedroom.

My Cuties

2008-05-09T23:21:00.001-07:00

enough said.

P.S. I Love You

2008-05-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I just cried my way through this movie. I would give it two thumbs up if you are in the mood for a really sappy, feel-good chick flick. I wouldn't recommend making your husband sit through it, but I enjoyed watching it all by myself so nobody could make fun of the tears streaming down my face through three-quarters of the movie.

Also, I am impressed by Gerard Butler, look him up here. It is hard to believe he is the same guy that played King Leonidas in The 300.

Teach a kid to fish....

2008-04-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking lately that the kids are getting old enough to go fishing. To be fair, they both had an opportunity to fish in the pond behind my Mom's house when we were living with her a couple of years ago. However, Liam was so little, it really didn't hold his attention and Elizabeth was far more interested in squeezing the little bait minnows in her hands until they were quite pulpy (can anyone say Lenny?).

So, today at Target, I bought the kids their own cheapo fishing poles thinking maybe we would go down to one of our little lakes sometime and throw in a line, or that having the poles might give the kids something to do if we were out camping.

The kids had a different idea... the brand new fishing poles were all they could talk about, and I knew I was not going to hear the end of it if we didn't at least go try them out today. I was able to talk a reluctant, hard-working husband into a little early evening trip to the "fishing hole". So, I packed us a lite dinner and we stopped at the market for some bait (night crawlers - yuk! and some fluorescent glittering marshmallows that are apparently supposed to taste like shrimp, okay - as long as they don't end up in MY hot chocolate).

We set up at one of the little lake "fingers" where they have installed little shelters with picnic tables, actually a very nice set up. Robert managed to get the worm on Elizabeth's hook along with a bobber and some weights. He cast it in for her and gave her instructions to sit and watch the bobber. I was still setting up the chairs and getting drinks so I didn't take any photos, and I didn't have anything but my camera phone with me anyway because of course I forgot the regular camera at home.

Robert hadn't even had time to pick up Liam's pole to start setting it up for him, when Elizabeth yells out. We look over and her bobber is going crazy. Robert tells her to yank on it and start pulling it in. Can you believe what my 5 year old daughter pulls out of the lake after 3 minutes...

It had to be about 5 pounds of beautiful rainbow trout. The line was cutting into my fingers as I was trying to get her to hold it up so I could take a picture. Of course, she got all girly and scared on me and wouldn't get near it.

We had every intention of playing catch and release, after all I do not eat fish, and I would rather not cook it either. But the poor girl had swallowed the hook good and was losing eggs all over the place. Robert said we had to take it, because it wasn't going to live if we put it back in the water.

So, I had to take all of our dinner stuff out of the cooler so we could put this fish in it. Blech! And wouldn't you know it, we didn't reel in another fish for the rest of the hour we spent there.

The kids had a great time though, they both cried when we had to leave, and as they were getting in bed tonight they kept asking when we get to go fishing again. Robert even admitted that he had fun, even though it was more work then he bargained for, especially after he had to come home and gut the fish so he could freeze it and take it to work tomorrow to give it to someone who will eat it.

Silly Boy

2008-04-25T08:12:00.001-07:00

I don't even remember why he was crying. I was trying to get him to cheer up by taking his picture. He is usually such a ham, that just seeing the camera (or the camera phone, in this case) will make him smile. I told him to smile, and he looked at me and then did this. I took the picture anyway because his overreaction just made me crack up.

How about a kiss?

2008-04-25T08:11:00.001-07:00

Too Funny! This is a lollipop, he has the sucker part in his mouth.

Earth Day

2008-04-23T07:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Earth Day. The kids and I went to a Mom's group event hosted by our leader and founder, Melanie. The kids had a great time playing and snacking, and then we had a seed planting activity. All the kids were able to plant their own little garden to take home. We have an interesting mix of yellow squash, green onion, beefsteak tomatoes, and sunflowers. I will take some photos if we get any growth. I don't have any good photos of Liam from yesterday because once he was out playing in the yard, he was like the Flash... he didn't stand still long enough to get a good photo.

Right of Passage

2008-04-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the mall and had Elizabeth's ears pierced. She was so sure she wanted to do it, and she was a real trooper she didn't even cry. She loves her new daisy shaped earrings that have her birthstone color in them.

My little baby is getting so grown up!

My Little Pirate

2008-04-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Pirates Ahoy

I am figuring out how to send photos directly from my phone. It appears to work.

No Scrapbooking

2008-04-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

I went to a crop at my friend Nicole's house last night, and I am pleased to say that I did absolutely no scrapbooking. I spent the entire evening chatting, eating and laughing. I did not even open up my supplies and paper. And I am 100% okay with that, I had a great time!

Park Day

2008-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday after I picked up Elizabeth from school, I took the kids to the park for awhile. I like this park because it has wood chips instead of sand. Which seems cleaner simply because we don't take quite as much of it home with us.

A couple park photos

After the park, baths were in order. This is a cute one of bubble boy.

Decoupage

2008-04-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

This was my first ever attempt at decoupage. I am posting it because I didn't take any new photos today and I just wanted a photo to post. This is a wooden tray that I made for my Grandma Bonnie for Christmas the year she went on a summer trip with my Dad and Step mom. I think it turned out cute, but I never did get the knack for the decoupage.

So today I drove to Victorville to help my brother return his U-Haul truck. He just moved into my neighborhood and I think it is pretty cool. It is going to be a much better commute for him to go to work, and we are probably guaranteed to see him and his family more often.

I also spent a frustrating portion of the afternoon trying to remember how to use the embroidery sewing machine that my mother has loaned my indefinitley. I only use it once in a great while for any kind of sewing, and I use it even less for embroidery. So, I was on the phone with her several times today trying to get the thing to do what I wanted. I managed to an extent, but I will be calling her tomorrow for some more tips.

Socks and Butterflies

2008-04-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Two days in a row I have something to post. Whoo Hoo! I am going to start carrying my camera with me everywhere just for the heck of it.

This morning while getting ready to walk out the door to catch the school bus, I grabbed the camera to take a photo of Elizabeth's socks. Why would I take a photo of socks, you may ask? Because my Mom took the time to hand crochet a special edging with beads on to her socks per my specific request (what a Mom, huh?)

This is one pair.

And of course as soon as Liam saw me pull out the camera to take Elizabeth's photo, he wanted in on the action. I took this photo just to appease him, and it turns out to be one of the best photos I have taken of the pair of them in a while. Go figure!

We also freed our pet butterflies today. My friend Nicole had gotten us two caterpillars last time she went to the Kidspace Museum (they have an annual butterfly thing). By the time I finally got around to picking them up from her house, they were already in the chrysalis stage. So we made them a butterfly box home, complete with page protector windows. Sure enough, after about 7 days, they broke open and we got to watch the miracle of transformation, or whatever it is that they do. It was pretty neat, and the kids just loved it. Listening to Liam talk about the butterflies and their chrysalis in his little three year old voice was priceless.

We took the butterfly box to the local park and managed to safely release the butterflies even in the practically gale force winds. Elizabeth was even able to let one sit on her finger for a few snaps of the camera before the wind whipped it away. Both butterflies seemed to do fine, and we wished them well.

Gotta Love the Eighties!

2008-04-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

One of my Mom friends, Nicole hosted an eighties themed Bunco party last week. We had a really fun time dressing up and listening to 80's music while we took goofy pictures of ourselves. We didn't actually finish playing Bunco, we were all ready for bed by about 9pm. (Oh, the life of Moms).

Just a few photos.

My new goal

2008-04-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

I recently had my computer crash and I lost several months worth of photos that were not backed up. While this is unfortunate, I actually had very few that were worth saving. I just need to track down a couple of photos that other people have (family and friends) of things like Halloween and Christmas.

To get to my new goal... I want to try to take photos everyday, even if it is just a few shots. Something to remember the time.

Paper Doll

2008-04-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is a poor photo of the paper doll I created with my new cricut cartridge - Paper Doll Dress Up. This cartridge is going to be a blast!

Our big trip - DOWN THE HILL!!!

2007-10-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

So, I had to go down Cajon Pass this morning to take my Mom to Ontario Airport so she could return home after her 3 week visit. Yesterday the Pass was completely shut down for half the day on account of wildfires in the area. I kept Elizabeth out of school because I was worried I would get down there and not be able to get back in time to pick her up at 12:30pm. Anyway, after all the worry and fretting, we got down to Ontario in record time (just over an hour) the traffic was as light as I have ever seen it - and we got back quickly too. Just in time to follow Elizabeth's bus right to the spot where it drops her off everyday.

Plus, while we were down there in Ontario, we managed to stop at Joann etc. and picked up the kids Halloween costumes at 50% off. Elizabeth is going to be a Medieval Princess and Liam is going to be a Dragon (get it? The Dragon and the Damsel in Distress? I thought it was cute) Liam's costume is actually a dinosaur - but it is green and we can all just stretch our imaginations a little bit. I just put Liam down for his nap, so they haven't tried on the costumes yet, but I will post some photos of them later. After Joann's we went to Ontario Mills and found the Build-A-Bear workshop. It was Liam's first time, and he did okay, but he screamed and cried when we had to leave the "fluffing station". Elizabeth really got into it this time, she hasn't been there since she was Liam's age. I think she really enjoyed it this time and she hasn't let her new friend "Polka Dots" out of her sight since we got her. Both kids actually picked puppys this time instead of bears. I have never "built a bear" I just have to live vicariously through my kiddos - but I think I would really love a bear they are just sooooo cute!! I know I am pretty lame. I forgot my camera so I had to buy a $10 overpriced, disposable at Toys R Us so I could take pictures at the workshop. If I get any decent pictures I will post my scrapbook layout when it is finished.

AAACK! I've been tagged and I don't know what it means.

2007-10-22T20:31:00.001-07:00

A good friend and fellow craft fair loser (hee hee), Nicole , has tagged me for this experiment which was originally started by Mary Demuth (http://www.relevantblog.blogspot.com/). "It's an experiment to see how many degrees we can separate (kind of like Kevin Bacon, only it's relevantblog). How many people can one blog potentially reach?"

I have no idea how this works, so here goes...

10 years ago - 1997

I had just celebrated my one year anniversary to Robert in August and I was on my way to having my transfer from San Antonio, TX to Imperial Beach, CA finally go through. I would be able to finally live with my husband. We were both in the Navy (where we met) and when we got married and applied for "spousal co-location" the closest place they could send me to San Diego where he was stationed was San Antonio. I guess they both have "San" in the name of the city, so the Department of Defense figured it was close enough. It was a tough first year of marriage, but we have learned that if our marriage could survive that - it can survive pretty much anything.

This photo was taken in '97 when we were going to the Renaissance Faire

This is a photo of me circa 1997 @ Disneyland

20 years ago - 1987

Okay, I did a little math and figured out I would have been in 7th grade. I went to school in San Bernardino (Arrowview Jr. High). I am pretty sure this is around the same time my parents were splitting up. My memory of anything that far back is really sketchy. I know I was in Girl Scouts for a time, which is kinda funny - because it has now come full circle and I am a Daisy Girl Scout leader for my daughter's first year of Girl Scouts.

This is a photo of me at the Mormon Rocks (right there off the I-15) I was on a Girl Scout outing. I remember riding there from San Bernardino thinking "are we there yet?"

30 years ago - 1977

Well, I was two years old - I don't have many memories. I do know that '77 was the year the original (and still the best) Star Wars movie came out. I was a huge fan when I was a kid, and even though it was a couple years later - I remember my Mom taking me out of school for the day to go see Return of the Jedi on opening day. That is a huge memory!

Photo of me circa 1977 with my Dad at the San Diego Zoo. I have photos of both of my kids in this exact same pose. (without the popsicles)

I have to tell you, I hope this blog stuff gets easier - this one took me almost 2 hours! Of course I had to dig out 30 year old photos! Nicole and Sarah better start giving me some blogging lessons, 'cause I tell you this was a pain in the a**!!

I'm sure this is a mistake.

2007-08-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

I know I have nothing to say. This is clearly just another way for me to waste time on the internet. I am hoping the few people out there that will read this will have some tips for me. I am hopeless at this sort of thing, my myspace page is a disaster (more of a neglected child actually).

Anyway, now I will have to think of some babble to post as a "get to know me" sort of thing. Yuck, I hate doing that!