Live, Laugh & Love with the Oesterreichs

Life is busy..... One quick photo

2011-04-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

So I made a big effort to keep my business blog updated the last 7 months.... So I failed on the personal blog :)

Here is one recent photo. I hope to catch up here soon!

Summer 2010 Recap

2010-09-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

So what happened to Summer????? Where did it go? At the end of this week, we enter October. I can't believe it!

Here are some of the things that happened since my last post:

4th of July
Andrew turned 10!
Rv camping in Prineville
Kids Fun Run with the cousins
My birthday (29th of course)
Fun in the Park
Cameron's turned 8!
Big backyard party at my moms!
Spending a week with family - not knowing it was one of the last times I would see my Papa
Celebrating our 16th anniversary with friends/parents at a casino! Craps & Blackjack!
Camping at Beverly Beach with long time friends/family
Oaks Park
Cameron broke his arm in 2 places @ Oaks Park roller skating :(
Time with friends/family
My Papa passed away
His service....

Overall the summer was great! It did end on a sad note and I am still dealing with that. Here are some photos (not in order!):

More June pics

2010-06-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

DETROIT LAKE PICS & SUMMER UPDATE

2010-06-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

Wow.

Can't

Believe

July

Days!!!!!

Summer is in full gear. It sure took a while for the weather to understand that! We had the worst June on record. It even was raining the day the boys got out of school! But, ah the sun has decided to come out!

I am taking the summer off (sort of) from my business. We are so busy I am not sure how I would be able to do it anyway. Between camps, baseball, camping, bad weather - I have definitely not had the kick back days & bbq's I had envisioned! LOL

We were able to go camping (RV style) the past 3 weekends. All 3 weekends were unique and very FUN! We went to Detroit Lake with some good friends! It was free fishing day on Saturday so Larry & Greg took the boys fishing out in the boats! Unfortunately my camera lens died in mid-picture so it cut my pictures short but I did manage to get a few. It was a great weekend of relaxation with friends. eating. drinking. socializing. smores. fishing. bike riding - just what we needed!

Then we dry camped for Andrew's baseball tournament. We really enjoyed ourselves! The first night we dry camped @ the ball field and the 2nd night at Spirit Mountain Casino. The boys won 2 and lost 2 but they were good games! We got a chance to go to the casino with my parents so it was so fun!

This past weekend we went to Casey's RV park. It was one of the most beautiful RV parks! It had an awesome pool and the park is right a long the river! The boys got a chance to go fly fishing. swimming. games. bike riding. playing pool. potlucks. They loved the soft serve ice cream machine that was there :) Beautiful weather and weekend!

Now we are on to basketball camp (which the boys love) and I am trying to catch up around here. Feels good to be in summer mode! (and in 1 week my baby will be 10!)

4th Grade Rockstars

2010-05-18T01:24:00.001-07:00

Wow - its been over a month again! I should have more time soon! As announced on the PersonalScrapper blog, I will be taking 2 months off this summer to spend it with my boys!! I am looking forward to just being able to focus on them and have fun!

I wanted to share this video of my son Andrew and his friend Julian. They are musicians! They wanted to try out for school talent show so they got together to "jam". This video is from their 4th time playing together (now they have done 5). I am so extremely proud of them both! They are driven and passionate about music. I think it is hard to believe that they are just in the 4th grade. Please leave a comment!

4th Grade Rockstars

You can also find this on youtube and type in 4th Grade Rockstars!

Easter & Big 4 year old birthday!

2010-04-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Wow - 3 times in one week!! :) I want to blog a little more instead of once every 2 months.

We had a great weekend. We celebrated Ezra's 4th birthday! He turned 4 on 4/4 which also was Easter. We went to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday with a few friends. He had so much fun!

My favorite photos are the ones of the boys hugging him on his birthday. I love their brotherly bond!!! We are so lucky!

Blog Chain - Passing it along...

2010-04-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Mel - has tagged me in a blog chain where we answer questions about ourselves and send it to 5 bloggers.

10 Things that make me happy

1. When my 3 boys are happy
2. My husband of almost 16 years :) We have LOTS and LOTS of memories
3. Sunshine
4. RV trips
5. A good book and quiet time
6. Diet Mountain Dew & Starbucks
7. A good photograph and scrapbook pages
8. Tulips and pretty much all other flowers :)
9. Weekends with the family
10. Hanging out with friends and family

5 Pieces of Trivia (that you may or may not know)
1. I grew up as an only child but became a sister at 21
2. I wear a size 11 shoe now (was a 10 before the babies)
3. I have naturally curly hair (which can get old at times)
4. I have a blood disorder called Von Willebrands
5. I can't stand it when people screen their calls.

I am tagging these 5 people:
1. Carrie
2. Corinne
3. Amy
4. Addie
5. Jessica

2010-04-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

I guess I never got a chance to post more about our vacation - LOL

We got the chance to spend 3 days at Disneyland/California Adventure and 1 day at Legoland! We also made a little trip to the beach on one of the mornings before Disney even opened!

It was a great theme-park trip and I know all 5 of us had lots of fun!

Our Vacation - Day 1

2010-03-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe its been a few months since I posted any pictures!

We had a great opportunity to take our kids to California for 5 days. We had a great theme-park trip. It wasn't necessarily a relaxing vacation but it was so much fun!!!!

The anticipation was a lot of fun for all of us! It gave us something to look forward to! Ezra could not wait to ride the "hairplane". Although once he got on it and we had turbulence, he changed his mind!

We flew on a Friday night, got our rental car and went to our hotel. The next day, it was supposed to rain. We called Legoland and got no answer so we drove an hour to get there. As we pull up, the Legoland had a big CLOSED sign! We couldn't believe a little rain would close the whole park down (we are from Oregon so we are used to rain!). So we turned around and went with a new plan, Knotts Berry Farm.

We had a great time there. It rained a little but overall we just had a great time! The boys were able to do big rollercoasters!

Speaking up for my kids at school!

2010-03-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

This is just a reminder for all parents of kids in school - you can make a difference!

I have a 4th grader and 2nd grader (and preschooler). Overall I have been pretty happy with how their school experience is going. There are things (just like any place) that i wish were better but I have always taken the approach of just sitting back and sometimes complaining.

I really realized this week - that I can't sit back and complain in the background. I need to go to school meetings to see what plans are. I need to advocate for my children if the need be. I need to be involved. I try to go into their classrooms to help but it is really hard (with an almost 4 year old).

This week - my stepping up and speaking up - I made a difference in my son's school experience and I am proud of that :) :)

I also am going to help with the yearbook. Its not that I have extra time but its because I want to help be involved!

Feeling good and optimistic - now time for SPRING BREAK!!!

January is here!

2010-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this upcoming year! I am heading into 2010 with a positive outlook! I have 3 beautiful, healthy boys, a wonderful husband that has been by my side for almost 19 years, and lots of family & friends!

I am not making particular New Year's Resolutions. I have been making little mental notes for the past several months over things I want to change or do a better job of. This doesn't mean I wait for January 1 to make those changes.

I am working hard on being better orgazined. I am making progress, I am not perfect but it is better! LOL. I am getting a better handle on our laundry (thanks to some beautiful large capacity machines). Laundry is a big one when you have 3 boys (especially 2 that regulary love to participate in sports). Our washer died adn I think it was a blessing. I can't believe that I can fit almost twice the load in my machine. This frees up time for other things. (I do still have the same amount to fold though!)

I have been on a reading kick lately. After high school, I worked in the library for 2 summers and I worked in our college library for 4 years. I have always loved books and feel blessed to be able to read pretty fast. After I had my first son, I sort of put reading aside. When I started scrapbooking, I barely read any books! I am learning to balance! I am going to try reading AT the gym and so far it is working good (plus I soooooooo need the gym).

I am motivated to scrapbook again! I have lots of pictures waiting to be scrapped! I will never be done but I love to scrap whatever I am in the mood to scrap!

Not sure if anyone reads this BUT i started this blog for me and have no expectations for anyone else! It is fun to get comments though. I hope to do a better job of updating it so that our little family can look back on it! I hope to not use it as a vent session. My husband is always the best listener for that type of stuff.

Wouldn't be a proper post without a picture so here are a few from when my niece and sister-in-law came up last weekend!

Happy New Year!!!!

Welcome 2010!!

2010-01-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years! I am hoping to come back to blogging sometime! The last 2 months have been very busy (more than usual with both good and bad busy stuff!). I am looking forward to 2010! Here are some pictures showing what we have been up to the last month!

Christmas Tree Farm :)

Ezra and Buster snuggling

Andrew's Lego robotics team making it to State!

Cameron finishing up his second basketball season

Christmas Time - Ezra loves to sit with my grandparents!

Grandma and Grandpa :)

Christmas!

A trip to OMSI

New Year's Eve 2009 - What a fantastic night - good friends, food and drink :)
Spending our 19th New Year's Together!!!! :) I love him so much!

PUMPKIN PATCH - PRE-SCHOOL STYLE

2009-10-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

I think one of my absolute favorite things about Pre-school is Pumpkin Patch field trips! Rain or shine!

Today was Ezra's first field trip in Pre-School. It was also his first time riding the big yellow bus! He was thrilled. We were lucky that it did not rain the whole time we were there.

They looked at puppies, bunnies, ponies, cows, goats, alpacas, pigs, and chickens!

They learned about how apple juice is made and how many different kinds of pumpkins there are.

They got to go through a hay maze and slide.

They picked out a pumpkin and went on a tractor ride.

It was a perfect Pumpkin Patch trip! We hope to go again and take all 3 of the boys!

Here are some of the highlights:

SUMMER OF 2009... great memories

2009-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Wow - it has been 2 months since my last blog post. I have NO TIME to post in the summer. We are too busy. Since my last post we:

celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary!
had 3 birthdays in our family (mine, Cameron's and Larry's)
went on 3 more RV trips
had hardwood put in our house (i love it!)
boys went to Canby Grove summer camp
all 3 boys started school and are loving it!
Shipped the August and September PersonalScrapper.com kits

Now that school has started, we have other way to keep busy:
Homework nightly for Andrew, Cameron's has not kicked in yet
Soccer 4 nights a week and 2 games every Saturday between the boys
Lego Robotics team meetings twice a week (AWESOME experience)
and of course all the normal household chores.

I am glad to be back to a routine! I am wayyyyyy behind on laundry but not sure I will ever be caught up with 3 boys (and a business). We have lots of fun things coming up in the next few weeks :)

Here is a recap of some of these events in photos:

Summer camping...

2009-07-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

Larry and I have always been campers.... I still remember spontaneous trips in college where we would meet my sister-in-law and brother-in-law a few hours later, halfway between us and camp for 2 nights! It has been incredible sharing camping with our boys. Instead of taking a big family vacation the past few years, we have been planning lots of weekend trips and really exploring our state and the ones around us. WE LOVE IT!

This past weekend we went to Woodland, Washington to an RV park on the columbia riverfront. It was great. There was a pool, playground and lots of beach front views to the columbia! We got to see lots of ships go by which was great for the kids. I unplugged for the weekend and it was just what i needed......

Make the time to explore with your kids - the memories are priceless. Our youngest keeps asking when we are going again! Most camping sites are fairly inexpensive too.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!

2009-07-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe it has been 9 years. I LOVE YOU so much!!!!!

You are such an amazing person Andrew! We are so proud of you and love you so much! Enjoy your day!

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS!!!

2009-06-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here! I am amazed at how busy I am with the boys even if we don't have plans!

I am so proud of how well the boys did in school this year. Its not just that they did well academically but they both did well by respecting their teachers and others around them. Their report cards were fun to read and it has been an amazing year for both of them (actually all 3 of them). So now we have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and preschooler!!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past month:

A HUGE GOAL ACHIEVED!!

2009-06-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

i am not a runner.
Never have been, doubt I ever will be.
BUT, I have discovered how much I like to walk! I achieved a HUGE goal for myself last weekend. I walked (jogged a little) my first 1/2 marathon. It felt great! I didn't do it for anyone else but myself! I want to prove to myself that I could push myself.
A few months ago, I joined a local walking group, the Sole Sisters! I did a great consistent job of meeting the group but then May hit with baseball and life! So i hardly walked. But, I did not want to give up! I still wanted to achieve this and so I did it!
It helped to have my great friend, Carmen by my side! We helped each other get through it! I am very proud of us. I know this will not be our last 1/2 marathon.
It was the Helvetia 1/2 Marathon so it was a beautiful walk with a big burger at the end.

BEFORE

DURING: DURING - MAJOR SWOLLEN WEIRD COLORED HANDS:AFTER: 13.1 MILES !!! WOOHOO!!

ENCHANTED FOREST

2009-05-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

After a full 2 days of baseball, we decided to take our day off and so something fun! I have lived in Oregon almost all of my life. I always wanted to go to Enchanted Forest when I was a kid but we never went. So yesterday, we loaded the boys up and the 5 of us went. We had a great time. I don't think it is a place we would go very often but we had a great time :)
Here are a few pics!

TULIPS...

2009-04-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

WOW! I am giddy.... I got the chance to go to the tulip festival this morning. First of all, it is a fabulous day here in Oregon. We are going to hit over 80 degrees today with NO RAIN! Second, the tulips are in full bloom and were absolutely GORGEOUS! I got to go with my friend Paige and we had a blast snapping pictures together!!! Here are just a few..... (I think we took about 200 total between us!)

SPRING 2009 PHOTO RECAP

2009-04-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Wow - I am thinking that I am doing pretty bad with this blogging thing! Maybe its because I have 3 boys, a husband, a dog & cat, baseball 4 times a week, drum lessons, a 3 YEAR OLD, school field trips, homework, science fair, book clubs, birthday parties, the list goes on and on....

oh yeah and I have a scrapbook business! Which helps me keep my sanity and keeps me scrapbooking.

So to catch you up on the past few months, here are a lot of photos - its my kind of catchup!!

Valentine's Day 2009 - Lobster Time! First Sign of Spring - Love how Oscar had to check it out with Ezra

Andrew and Kayla Dennis's 70th Birthday Party

Good Friends :) We don't take pictures too much together since we are always the ones taking them !

St. Patrick's Day 2009

Spring break was great this year! We put Andrew in a ski camp with his uncle Eddie. He loved riding the bus and getting the lessons. He learned how to ski and loves it! His dad took him back at the end of the week with Cameron. They all did awesome! We also went to Eugene, ChuckECheese, movies an

Ezra enjoying some sunshine!

Cameron and his adorable freckles EZRA IS 3 NOW!!!

Easter 2009

Easter Egg Hunt 2009

This is a rare occasion, the cat and dog sitting still long enough for a photo....this is what it normally looks like - Oscar running crazy around Buster!

HI THERE 2009!!

2009-01-31T21:19:00.000-08:00

Wow - I am SOOOO far behind? How do I catch up??

Life has been rolling by at a fast pace as usual. Between basketball, drum lessons, kits, school, homework, and so much more - I am lucky if I even take pictures!

I can't believe I never even blogged about all that snow we got in December!!! How crazy!
Here are a bunch of pictures to catch up with our family :)

We will start with the snow. The boys missed the week before their Christmas break was supposed to begin becauase of ice and snow. So they ended up with 3 1/2 weeks off! A few of the highlights of the snow were sledding down the big hill, taking walk and eating at Red Robin, going to a neighborhood christmas party while it snowed a ton outside!

We did end up going south for Christmas but it was a little sketchy getting out of here! We had a great Christmas! The boys loved it! January flew by! I am not sure what all we did but we were always busy - lol.

One exciting thing that happened during Christmas break is we got EZRA POTTY TRAINED! He is doing awesome!! He will turn 3 in April and it is so nice to avoid diapers! They were now at $42 a box at Costco!My team! This is a very rare occasion where we have the whole PersonalScrapper team together!!

Teeth, Glasses & Good Ol' Scrapbooking

2008-12-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

We had a few new "FIRSTS" for our big boys this past week.

FIRST of all, Cameron lost his FIRST tooth. This tooth has been loose for awhile and it is out! He could not wait to show everyone his new smile! Ezra was excited to put his tooth under the pillow with him! They were both giddy with excitment (not sure Ezra really knew why though!). Then Andrew came and joined in on the fun:

Here is his mugshot:

Andrew has new glasses. We found out that he is nearsided and can't see very well at a distance so he got glasses this past week. He loves them and was thrilled at how well he could see when he got them. He said it was the best day ever! It is amazing that last year he passed his eye test and this year failed. Their eyes can change so fast!

All i have to say is.... Like Father, Like son!

We also have our FIRST snow this week. We kept hearing that we are getting snow but we don't believe it til we see it. We were able to go play in it on Sunday. Today was very icy and no more snow. The boys have not had school and I don't think they will have school at all this week. On Wednesday we are supposed to be getting more snow! 3-6 inches! I hope to get better pictures then! Hopefully we will survive a 3 week Christmas break!!

WE are having a ONLINE CROP over at http://www.personalscrapper.com/. Over the past few days in between shopping, snow days, laundry, etc., I have been able to do 5 layouts so far:

What happened on December 4, 1992??

2008-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

December 4th - just your average day right???!!

Well for me, December 4th does mean something! 16 years ago, my dh proposed to me! We were freshmen in college at WOU. We knew when we started dating our senior year of high school that we were meant to be together. It almost like a formality to wait to get married! We were a little nervous about college but I think people around us were more nervous! There are so many life changes that happen in college. But for us it only strengthened our bond and made us want to succeed TOGETHER! So on a cold night in 1992, Larry proposed to me in front of the State Capitol building. It didn't matter where he did it, I was going to say YES! He even called my mom before he proposed to get her "blessing"!

I was so proud to walk around that college campus with my new ring on! We got married after our sophomore year and even took most of our business classes together! I feel so FORTUNATE that we found each other so young. We have experienced so many things together - high school graduation, college, our wedding, college graduation, first jobs, first apartments, first house, trips, weddings, funerals - but most importantly we had our 3 boys - who have been the most AMAZING part of our journey together! We have everything we have ever wanted and I am so thankful for that!

So here is too many more memories together and a lifetime together! I LOVE YOU LARRY!

Back to blogging!

2008-12-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

OK, I serious am bad about blogging! I think about it all the time, in fact I write blog posts in my head - LOL!!! We had a great time hanging out with all our family!!! We got to hang out, eat, shop Black Friday (its tradition!), and even go to the movies!

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving. I am going to have to see if I got any of Cameron and I - lol! I mainly got the camera out when we went outside.

I was tagged by my friend Carrie to give 7 random facts

The rules are:-Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

-Share 7 random and or weird facts about yourself.

-Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

-Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random facts:

1. I must lock my van several times before I go anywhere

2. I hate earwax

3. I love milk in my ice cream

4. I can't sing but I love music!

5. I married my high school sweetheart (although we went to different high schools).

6. I don't delete my photos and I take thousands.

7. I had to give a speech at my college graduation for winning a presigious award but the irony is that I waited til my last term of college to take the speech class needed to graduate.

Cameron's Soccer pictures...

2008-11-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

Better late than never (especially since he has been in basketball for a few weeks - lol). Larry got to coach Cameron which turned out great! Cameron worked super hard and was awesome on the field! It was fun to watch when I wasn't chasing Ezra! Andrew did a great job of helping watch Ezra during the games.
We had a fantastic soccer party at the end of the season! Steve & Ericka made a phenomenal soccer photo book (and you know how I am with photos). They also made each of the kids trading cards that the team loved!!! It was a great end to a very fun season!

Soccer Mom

2008-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

What a fun soccer season! Andrew and Cameron both worked really hard on their teams. We are so proud of them. They both were determined to hustle after the ball! I never knew that I would really live the term "soccer mom" but I do! I drive a mini-van and I love watching them play their sports. It definitely is time consuming but great to see them compete! Now on to basketball........

I have had problems uploading pictures for 2 days so I just decided to upload these ones of Andrew now and do Cameron's in a new post!

the Portland Bridges!

2008-11-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have some inspiration to do more blogging!My friend Kelly is trying to do a blog post a day in November. While I doubt I can do that, I can definitely do a lot more than I have been (2 a month).

Today I had an awesome opportunity to go on a field trip with my son Andrew's 3rd grade class. This was an all day field trip where we went to downtown Portland where they have been studying bridges. Portland has a ton of awesome bridges! We were able to get a tour by a lady who has wrote a book about the Portland bridges.

I had an awesome time with Andrew and the kids! We were able to go on the Morrison bridge and even go underneath to see how the draw bridge goes up and go in the operating booth! We also went to ODOT and saw how the keep track of traffic with over 160 cameras in the Portland metro area. The highlight for the kids was getting a chance to ride the new tram! I had a great time!

Thanks to my friends Jenny's (2 of them) for watching Ezra so I could spend the day with Andrew!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

So Halloween has gone by! We had a great time! Both of the older boys had parties at school and so we split our time and went to both! We got to go trick or treating with lots of neighbors and friends! I can't believe how much candy I have to avoid now! Introducing....

Guitar Hero? More like Drum Hero!

Scary Skeleton Thomas... although right before we went trick or treating he wanted to wear last year's dog costume!

I went as my little Guitar Hero's Mom!

The "Gang" Ok, he is faster than a speeding bullet (just kidding). But it was really hard to get a picture of Oscar standing still but here he is in his cute little weiner costume!

More pictures!

2008-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

My 3 cuties on the way to the park:
Ezra and his little Oscar. Me and my grandma. I hope I look this good at 82!!!!!
We got away for a weekend with no kids and just some friends in our RV - we had a blast!!

Hey maybe i will really start to post more! Here are a few recent photos:

Working Mommies!!

2008-10-09T16:04:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to a few of my friends that have their own businesses! My friend Carmen has started a new organizing business. Guess who was her first client -yep me! lol! She does a fantastic job and is super non-judgemental. She works alongside you to clean up areas. So far we have worked on our garage (huge job) and the boys' rooms. Here is her business card. If you live in the Portland area, give her a call!:

My friend Carrie started PaperTrunk over a year ago. PaperTrunk offers awesome 2 sided scrapbook papers, 12" border stamps, chipboard circles, and new jots! Check out her website for more information! She also has just recently started designing blog headers, etc. You can check her etsy site out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5349846.

My friend Leah has her own photography business and does a great job! I am hoping to work in some fall family photos! If you want her information, email me!

Another friend of mine, Mindee, has started a company called Boogie Wipes with a partner. They have got some fantastic marketing and exposure! The wipes have saline in them to help with runny noses! http://www.boogiewipes.com/

I think it takes a lot to be a mom as well as a business owner! I know from personal experience how challenging yet rewarding it can be!!! Oh yeah and if you are new here, I have a scrapbooking business, http://www.personalscrapper.com/! lol lol

Way to go girls!!! I am proud of all of you!

MY BOYS ARE GROWING UP!!

2008-10-07T22:11:00.001-07:00

Wow - I am really really slacking on the whole blogging. I know why! I have just been living life! I haven't pressured myself to sit down and blog. Instead, I have been super busy being soccer mom :), business owner, wife, friend, daughter, granddaughter, etc. etc.

We had a fantastic summer! I have so many memories (and pictures!).

Tonight we went to Andrew and Cameron's conferences. I am super proud of my boys. They always get great reports from their teachers. Its not just the doing well with schoolwork but working well with others & being helpful! They both are math whizzes too!

Our new friend - Lion Cub!

2008-08-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

** I wrote this post in August but it never posted - lol**

We have had a great relaxing week! Here are a few highlights from our trip to the Game Park. We got to hold an actual lion cub. He was soooo cute and playful. The boys also got to pet a black panther kitten! I can't wait to scrap these!!! It is so nice to have so much family time. I will always treasure this!!

GOLD BEACH.....

2008-08-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

We are having a FANTASTIC summer! Instead of planning a vacation far away, we have chose to do lots of weekend trips in the RV. It is relatively inexpensive (except when we add in some extras like a jet boat cruise!

We got to go camping for 3 nights with our friends. Wow - what a great time we had! Some
of the highlights included:

Fishing in a pond
Playing on the beach for hours
Riding bikes, playing football, playing dominos
JET BOAT cruise!!! This was awesome! We saw wildlife and got to get wet!
Campfire at the beach with smores & hot chocolate
Lots of good time with 3 GREAT families

Together there were 18 of us (8 adults, 10 kids). Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Summer...Seattle...and more

2008-08-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

What a week we had last week! This summer has again been a family-fun filled summer. I know we have created so many memories that we will all remember for years to come (of course I have documented these with TONS of photos!!! I will slowly catch up on here someday.

For now, here are a few pics from our quickie trip to Seattle! What a blast we had!

Happy 6th Birthday Cameron

2008-08-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

6 years ago today, this little guy was born:

Here he is now: Wow - it has already been a month since I blogged! I have been super busy with my family (thats a good thing!!). When school starts, I will be on a more normal routine. Today was a special day though, my son is now 6!!

He is such a great kid! He is a very helpful and thoughtful! We have a lot of fun together! He has no fear - it is amazing he hasn't got hurt more! He is always game to go on the biggest and scariest rides (although his height limits him sometimes). He loves to build legos and this summer has really learned how to swim! He even passed the swim test at camp last week - Woohoo~ I am so happy to have Cameron in my life. He is so special and we love him so much! He is very close to both of his brothers. The older boys are pretty much inseparable and Cameron can always get Ezra to laugh. Thank you God for giving me these boys!!!

Happy Birthday Cameron!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BOY!!

2008-07-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

Love this unedited picture of him from Saturday!!

Wow - How did it already get to be 2008??? My little boy is now 8 years old! Time is flying! He is such a great kid and we have so much to be proud of with him! He is a lot of fun to be around and has really had some big belly laughs lately (which of course get us laughing). He does such a great job at school and is super respectful to his teachers! He is a great big brother! I always know I can count on him! He really just loves life!

This past month I was super excited for him to make the local all star baseball team. He was selected and it was a lot of fun to watching him at the tournaments. He loves baseball!

Andrew at 10 months old:

MIA

2008-06-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been gone spending time with this cute family of mine!

Oh and for the record, most of the list below is still on my to do list - lol!!! I'll be back soon!

MY FIRST MAY POST!!!

2008-05-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

WOW - where did this month go??????? Anyone else feel like their life is flying by?!
So if you are wondering where I have been (crazy, hehe), here is an idea of what the next 2 weeks have in store for me:

1 Teacher Memory Yearbook for kindergarten
1 High School Graduation Scrapbook project with Jenny (2 books actually!)
1 All day field trip to the zoo on Friday
4-6 baseball games
June kits to be put together & shipped to customers :)
June kit website updates
10+ loads of laundry to do (as of today) - and no I am not exaggerating, my living room floor is covered!
1 messy house to clean
Bills to pay
Shopping to do
1 Camping Trip this weekend (I am very excited about it)
Homework to help with.
Chase after Ezra and his dumping of legos, blocks. animals, cars and of course things in the pantry!

Wow - lets get this week rolling! I have had several days of headaches - I think it is from stress. I do have some family stuff going on right now that I won't get into details about. But pray for my grandpa who has Alzheimers.

I will leave you with a few photos...

Playing catchup!

2008-04-29T22:45:00.001-07:00

Where have I been for the last month? After Ezra's birthday, he was sick for a couple of weeks. It was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG month! He is definitely doing much better now.
The boys have started baseball and we have 4 games a week until early June.
Here are some recent pictures:
New Haircut:

Ezra & Barney

The Boys & Their Lego creations: Cameron rght before the home run!

Enjoying Life....

2008-04-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

EZRA TURNED 2 TODAY!!!!

2008-04-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Wow - the years are starting to fly by. EZRA IS 2 TODAY!!! What a little miracle this guy is! He has brought so much joy to our family! He has quite the personality already!

He loves to dance

He loves to talk! He says so many things

He loves to give hugs & kisses

He loves to play with his brothers!

He loves blocks, cars, books and his dog Oscar

He loves Barney & Elmo

He yells & throws tantrums (but not too often)

He loves to SWING

He loves his "school"

He loves to jump on the trampoline

He loves Snacks and Chocolate

He loves MILK the most!

He helps with laundry and dishes (in his own way)

He really seems to love his life! Just like we love him!

Thank you God for giving us these 3 boys!!!! These pictures capture a little bit of his personality:

Catching up by photos!!!

2008-04-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Easter with my boys!!!
Special times with their cousin Gabby and Uncle!

Oscar is getting so big!

Spring Flower!
Cameron and Issaic on Easter!
My nephew Alex!
It rained on Easter but that didn't stop us from doing an Easter Egg hunt!

My BABY is turning 2 on FRIDAY!!!

What a Week!!!!!

2008-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Wow - I have had a crazy week! I should be cleaning and doing other things but I need to vent. The blog is a great way to get it off my chest.

STAPH -Sunday night Andrew told me his leg was hurting. He had a little "owie" a few weeks ago that I thought went away but now it looked infection (big time!). So the next day I took him to the dr. The Dr. tells me has a Staph infection! Gasp, Are you serious? All I have heard lately is how deadly staph infections have been with kids. He said we caught it before it got bad. We marked the redness with a pen to make sure it didn't spread. He needed to be on 2 antibiotics to fight it. He has to take 7 TEASPOONS of medicine twice a day. Do you know how hard it is to get a 7 year old to take that much medicine. But it beats him in the hospital! As of this morning, it looks like it is healing up good!

POLICE - Wednesday night I am driving to the post office with my boys. We are in a rental car this week because our van has to be completely re-painted (that is a whole other story). I hear a big bang on Ezra's door as we driving. So i pull over and check the car out. Sure enought there is a little dent in the door. SOMEONE THREW SOMETHING AT US!! So I drove back by to see if I could see anything and THEY DID IT AGAIN. We didn't see anyone. The 2nd bang was very loud and the kids were scared. At this point, I call the police. I actually saw the police car drive by to check it out. He calls me back about 30 minutes later and tells me THEY ACTUALLY CAUGHT THEM!!! Wow - we are so happy to hear that!! But now I got to deal with the door dent!

THROW UP - Aren't these fascinating topics? If you made it this far, hopefully you see why I have been a little absent from our message board and email. Last night at 12:15am, Ezra threw up EVERYWHERE! In my 8 years of being a mom, I don't think my boys have ever got that sick! Now he is feeling a little better (he's sleeping so I can actually type). He has not thrown up again and I don't think he will but he does have the dreaded diarrhea. Poor kid.

So that in a nutshell is my eventful week. I feel better now that I told my friends! Now I can clean!

SPRING IS HERE!!!!

2008-02-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

I see lots of green layouts in the future!

They love the trampoline!

The little things....

2008-02-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of stress lately between business and being sick! I just want to feel 100% and have everything go smoothly - lol

Well this morning we all got up early (actually we get up early every day of the week - hehe) and went for a LONG walk. We walked over to our park and took Oscar to the dog run and then along the river, through the woods (sounds like a song!). All of us enjoyed it so much! Our cat Buster even followed us the whole way.

When we were near the end of the trip, checking out some bluejays and the view of the river from the forest, Andrew said "I wish you had your camera mom!". It was just awesome that they were enjoying this as much as we were and wanted to capture it!

There is absolutely nothing in the world better than having some quiet time with my family. It always gives me a fresh perspective!

Sick again!

2008-02-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

This season has really been a sicky sick season!! Right before I left for CHA (in Anaheim), I started feeling a little under the weather but since I am a busy girl - i have been ignoring it.

It has been over 2 weeks and my ear was throbbing! All 3 of my boys had ear infections in the past 2 weeks so I decided I better go in. I have bronchitus and a sinus infection. The sinus infection is putting pressure on my ear. Now I am on a few different medicines - hopefully they will help. Yuck - I am ready to feel 100% again!!!!

I have been bad about blogging. This month has been a blur. I pretty much shipped kits, left for Anaheim, and have been spending lots of family time. I am a little behind but here are a few pics:

Valentine's Day 2008:

Here are a few layouts I have done recently:

SNOWY WEEKEND!!!

2008-01-28T23:45:00.000-08:00

The beauty of Snow.

There are nothing like snow pictures. We got a chance to get away for the weekend with our good friends. We had a great time Tubing (but it was too hard to get pics), eating, watching movies, and even a trip to an indoor pool. The next day we got a TON of snow so everyone had a blast playing in the snow. I practiced with my new speed-lite for the camera. It brightened up a lot of the pictures! I have a lot to learn but love playing with my camera. Here are some photos:

Larry, Ezra and I during tubing:

Cameron is so fun to take pictures of!
Andrew and Brendan (Andrew is missing his top 2 teeth but they are already coming in)
Justin enjoying some new snowflakes!Oscar LOVED the snow (even though it was deeper than him in some spots).
Ezra laughing with Oscar by his side (of course!) Daddy and Cameron..Carmen and I had fun with all of our boys!
Loved the contrast of the flag and the snow!

Ezra is growing up so fast!

2008-01-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well all my boys are growing faster than I could imagine! But today marked a new event for Ezra. He is joining a playgroup at a local church school. It is called Mommy's Day out and he goes there and plays games, sings, has recess and 2 snacks. I think it is going to work out well for both of us. I can do my work during that time while he has fun with kids his own age. I am super excited for him but also a little sad that he really is no longer a baby!

This is for CaRRie and her daughter Syd's love of Elmo. For the past months Ezra has loved Elmo. It is the one show he will watch and he got lots of Elmo stuff at Christmas. Day after Christmas he traded Elmo in for........ Barney! Now he cries if I put in Elmo and cheers for Barney! Kids are so funny!

He loves his Oscar. Here he is walking him at the park:and cuddling in bed at night!

The holidays are over! But we had fun!

2008-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

My favorite gift: Handknit stockings with our names on them from my Grammie Arden in Massachusetts!!!

We had a great Christmas. The highlight was watching the joy in the kids faces :) We really had hoped to go to the snow but it was really rainy and not the best weather. We had LOTS of family time over the holiday and we all enjoyed it! After shipping kits out, I can finally breathe again and hope to post a little more. I am separating the business and personal blog so that they each have their own focus :)

My December in photos....

2007-12-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

First Christmas Craft, button trees....
Gingerbread House.... Saying "Cheese" with Daddy before church...
Getting our tree... (even Oscar went to the tree farm)
Getting out the red & white ornaments...
Ezra loves the ornaments (between him and Oscar there are always a ton on the ground)Every once in a while I can get them to pose by the tree (this is as we were decorating)... My "free" starbucks advent calendar. I asked for the display model and there was a small mess-up on the numbers and they gave it to me :)

And of course, December wouldn't be complete without sick kids. Poor Ezra had pneumonia last week...

and Cameron had an eye/double ear infection 2 days later but luckily they both had a cute little puppy to snuggle with!

and we had a little PersonalScrapper party this year. It was a blast!!! Can't wait to scrap these!

and the winner is....

2007-12-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your comments!!! The winner of the December mini kit is...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bibi said...
Love the layouts!! Especially the we 3 kings!! Beautiful Kit!!

Bibi - Please email me at erica at personalscrapper dot com with your address :)

Congrats!

December 9th - What a happy day!

2007-12-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my adorable niece Gabrielle and our friend Greg!

Today also is an anniversary to 2 of my dearest friends. We have been friends for years!!! I still remember their wedding day very well! I was very happy to be the matron of honor at their wedding! Happy Anniversary Heidi and Sid!! We love you guys!!!

December brings a lively new kit!

2007-12-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Wow - It is the last month of 2007. Ok, so where did this year go?? I started out with formula for Ezra and now I have a talking, busy toddler! The boys have all grown so much! Andrew is reading so well and kindergarten has been amazing for Cameron.

This kit was fun to work with but BOY it barely arrived on time!! My absolute favorite sheet of paper is the Making Memories GCountdown. Its hard to tell through the computer but there is glitter around several of the numbers. It was so fun to work with!

The Deja Views paper is very nice! This is the first time we have used them since they are started having 2-sided papers. I loved the sticker journaling pieces that matched it.

My favorite embellishment by far were the Making Memories circle bright crystal brads. There are 60 brads in 6 different colors. The layout below has several of the brads and a did a little doodling to enhance them. They look better in person! This is when Ezra was 1 week old. Even though it was in April, I felt like these colors went really well. I also cut the number 1 from that Making Memories sheet of paper :)

I cut some of my scraps into 2 inch squares for this design!
This is my favorite layout I did with the kit. It is probably because of the photo :) I also handcut holly leaves from the holly paper and outlined them in black.

This layout has a few items from the addon this month but was really simple to create:

December 2007 Kit - #49!!!

The great thing is I have not even used my whole kit yet! In fact, I hope to scrap a little more in the next few nights and use it up :)

If you have made it this far CONGRATULATIONS! I am going to draw a winner on Sunday from my post comments and send a little extra December kit grab bag to you :) (Anyone can win :) )

Anyone Out there??

2007-11-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

The month is still crazy :) I went to the dr. today and I have bronchitus and a sinus infection - fun times! I am glad that I finally have some migraine medicine. I have a bleeding disorder (Von Willebrands) and am very limited on what I can take when I have headaches so I am excited to have an option. I guess it is the little things in life :)

I have managed to squeeze a little scrapping therapy in. I actually pulled out this kit from March 2006. I never really got to use it because it was right before I had Ezra. I like how they came out:

I have discovered that it is fun to do pet pages too :) hehe

November is here and I am finally blogging!

2007-11-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

Wow - It has been a whirlwind already! We started the month off at the CK Bellevue Convention. We had a blast!!

Things I loved about this kit:
1. I loved the white distressing on the papers!
2. I loved the backs of the papers where they had 4 quadrants of the papers (I used the back on this first layout).
3. I loved the Deja Views rubons. They are so easy to use!
4. The chipboard words were fun to embellish pages with!
5. I had fun covering the chipboard. I even used glitter!!
6. The ribbons were fun but I especially loved the orange and brown striped ribbon!!
7. I did these 4 layouts and still have plenty left to make more paper!

FRIDAY FIVE

2007-10-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

TGIF!!! Here are some pictures I took of the boys at the park the other day

Oscar is always following Ezra around:

Pumpkin Patch Time!

2007-10-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

I feel really behind here. We have had a lot going on this month. I did manage to get the boys to a pumpkin patch last week in between the rain! Here are a few of the pictures. It definitely is hard to get one of the 3 of them but it was nice to get some. They did a few mazes with slides, picked some cool gourds (sp?), checked out all the animals, and then we had homemade pumpkin donuts and hot chocolate.

October layouts featuring Sassafrass!

2007-10-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

FALL

This has got to be my favorite October kit that we have done! (and it is our 4th!). I love the new papers from Sassafrass! We have included 10 papers this month! There is a variety to work with! My favorite part were the Sassafrass borders, journaling cards and circles! I loved using all of these because they coordinated so well!

I knew when I saw these papers that I have to do a Fall page. I had these pictures of the boys that I never scrapped. Ezra was still sitting in the bumbo last fall :) I started by using the glass slipper bling as my background and then added the orange polka dot paper and fruition paper. I printed a color 5x7 and 3 small black and white photos. I added one of the photos to one of the journaling cards and tied a piece of the orange ribbon to it. After a few addiitions of brads, ribbon, acrylic and a flower - the page felt complete. I did a simple Fall title with the alphabet.

Ezra at 17 months. We just got this picture done and the colors were perfect for this paper! I decided to use the circles to journal different things about Ezra at this age on them. I used brads and ribbon pieces to attach them to the papers! I layered a few different pattern papers and traced an arrow to place my title on. The journaling reads:17 months...

You have a great smile and love to Laugh!

You love music and love to dance. You don't like TV but you do like music!

You love to get into everything especially the refridgerator. You love snacks and milk.

You are a busy toddler but bring us so much joy! We love you and are blessed to have you!

Ok so i must start by telling you that this is jenny's idea :). This is one sheet of paper that had different patterns on it. Instead of cutting it up, I just added photos and titles to each of the paper sections. I added a few brads, ribbons and a flower to complete it. It is a little busy but nice to capture these pictures on one layout.

Our baby is growing up!

2007-10-01T07:48:00.001-07:00

Our little Ezra will turn 18 months this week -where did the time go? He looks and acts like a little boy now! No more baby...

Last night he slept in his own bed. For several reasons we never used a crib with our boys but usually around 18 months they were ready for the their own bed! We have set it up in our room and he did a great job! He was so excited to get in it. I am sure it will wear off but glad it he likes it so far!

He loves getting in the car with daddy before he leaves for work!
After a date night, we came home and the babysitter said he fell asleep and the cat got up there and laid with him!
He loves to play outside!
This is a dog we met at the park that he loved! He kept hugging the dog!
He is full of energy but a lot of fun! I am so happy we have Ezra in our family!

Some layouts to Share

2007-09-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

We had a crop this weekend at PersonalScrapper.com! It was so fun. The ladies over there did over 185 layouts in just a few days!

the HALLO- WIENER

2007-09-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Jenny got us a little present last week celebrating our new puppy, Oscar. It is the cutest and funniest book ever! Even if you don't have a dachsund, it is a really funny kids book. It is about a dog named Oscar who wants to dress up as something scary for Halloween but his mom wants him to dress up as a Hot Dog. The other doggies already call him Weiner Dog! Go read it :) hehe. Ok - So i had Oscar pose with his new book - lol

Happy Birthday Larry!!

2007-09-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Larry!! (yesterday). I love you so much and hope you have an awesome year! Here is a picture when you were 2 1/2...
and then our little Ezra at one and a half. So hard to see the resemblence - hehe - yeah right!

September PersonalScrapper reveals new Basic Grey Mellow!

2007-09-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

I am a few days late with this review! I am going to keep it short and simple this month - lol.

I actually have quite a bit left with my kit but have done 4 layouts so far. My favorite part of this kit are the cool brads!! These layouts are all from our trip this summer. I am going to continue to work on the album. The above layout is my favorite. I love the picture of Larry and Ezra. I loved layering the patterned papers and adding just a simple touch of brads and journaling card.

Layout 2: All I used for this one is hte white (snow) sheet of bazzill and 2 of the 6 x6 squares. I cut them in half and hid them behind the photo! With an 8 1/2 x 11 photo you don't need a whole lot of paper and embellishments. I loved using the combination of the letters and brads for the title on the side.

Layout #3 - This is a page with some pictures from our trip to Train Mountain. I challenged myself to use a lot of different elements on this layout. I think my favorite was the acrylic corner and the chipboard frame.Layout #4 - This is page 2 from the Train layout. I hand cut the arrow and used my square punch to work in different patterns on the layout.

Here is a picture of the September kit. Overall I loved the mix of patterned papers, the cool brads, the new chipboard from Scenic Route, the alphabet, the ribbons - Ok - I really liked the whole kit and still have plenty to make more layouts!!!

Kindergarten is here too

2007-09-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Cameron has started kindergarten! I can not believe I have 2 boys getting on the bus everyday in grade school! Wow - time is flying! He did a great job! It really helped having Andrew get on with him and make him feel comfortable!

New shoes - Thanks to our friends for a NIKE trip :)

Oscar being cute...

2nd Grade....

2007-09-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew is officially a 2nd Grader! Wow - Time has flown! I am so excited and proud of him!
It seemed like only yesterday that he started preschool (here he is in 2003)

PaperTrunk kits Review...

2007-09-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

We have 2 specialty kits from PaperTrunk! Ok - you probably think I am a little biased because PaperTrunk is a company owned by one of my great friends AND a PersonalScrapper designer. BUT, the paper really is fanatastic! Not only are the designs unique but the texture of the paper is awesome!

BATIK - The Batik line is very rich! It is a great kit for fall but also for pretty much anything. I starting playing with this paper and was easily inspired. I did 4 layouts in a short amount of time!

GIGI KIT: This one is great too! I love the color combination and subtle patterns. Both sets of paper were very fun to work with!

PaperTrunk also offers awesome 12" border stamps! The designs are beautiful and match the papers and there are 2 alphabet stamps also. I can't wait to see what Papertrunk comes out with next. They are definitely one of my favorite paper companies!

"IF I WERE AN OSCAR MEYER WEINER......"

2007-08-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok - since our life is not crazy enough with 3 boys, a feisty cat (who thinks he is a dog) and a business we have got our first puppy. He is a mini dachshund and very cute! We have named him Oscar.

He has been doing really well going to the bathroom outside. We had one minor "i'm excited to see" you pee in the house but other than that - he is gone outside (of course I have only been home for about 18 hours - lol.

He has really nice coloring and is so stocky! His sister moved in with my sister-in-law & family first and we had to take her brother home! They were excited to see each other again before we brought him home.

Happy Anniversary!

2007-08-20T08:08:00.001-07:00

Its been 13 years of marriage and 16 years together! I feel so lucky and fortunate that I married my high school sweetheart. It is amazing how our lives have changed in 16 years and even how they will for the next 16 years!

I love you Larry with all of my heart! I am so happy to share my life with you and we just had an incredible summer of family time that we will never forget!

Here's a picture from October 1991 (we had been together for a month and a half):

Scrapbooking Style...

2007-08-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

Wow - it has been 11 years since I started really scrapbooking! I have always taken tons of photos. Even when I went digital 7 years ago, I still got pictures printed so I have boxes of photos as well as files.

When we took this time to travel this summer, I took 2500+ photos. I have so many that I want to go somewhere besides the box. I scrap what I am in the mood for so I didn't know when I would ever "finish" an album BUT I found what I have been looking for at CHA! WeRMemory Keepers has page protectors that have 6 4x6 slots in them. This is perfect for adding those extra photos without having to scrap them! You can even use one of the slots (or 2) for journaling and/or titling. I am going to create a travel book from this summer and use this concept! I love scrapbooking and plan on scrapping tons of the photos but there are still lots I want displayed! I am so excited and will share as I go.

I decided to try this concept out on Ezra's birthday pages. I wanted to include most of the photos but after 4 layouts, I was a little burned out on birthday pages. So instead I created 2 different title cards and got 10 photos in there (both sides). Here is what I did. I am so excited!

Here are the ones that are just in page protector (4 x 6 slots):

Birthday Fun!

2007-08-13T21:40:00.001-07:00

Hi - Yes I am still here! This summer is flying by! I celebrated my birthday on August 2nd. I spent the day working and did dinner with the family that night. My sweet son did bring me breakfast in bed (cereal - lol) and got me a new lamp for my bed. Cameron and Carmen brought me starbucks - yay! Larry helped me get lots of work done so we could enjoy the rest of the night! We went and bought a few things at Target including a new ring that I really like!

My mom came up and we did some shoppy shopping at TJMAXX on Wednesday. We had a great time and I got a new pair of Clarks that I love (plus a few other things). We had so much fun - even shopping with little ones! My mom and I both love to shop! We had fun spending time together. Thanks Mom - Love you!!

Last Monday, I got to go out with my girlfriends to Macaroni Grill. It was a lot of fun! I am so fortunate to have such great friends - especially where I am practically an only child (my brother is only 11). We have such a good time together! After dinner we went to Target for some peaceful shopping! I appreciate each and every one of my friends! It was also nice to go to dinner because we have been gone practically the whole summer so I haven't got to see them much. Here are a few pictures that Carrie took:

Thanks girls for making my night and life special!!

Here is a layout that Carrie made for me using the August kit:

AUGUST KIT IS HERE!!! We are using My Minds Eye

2007-07-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

Again this company amazes me with the quality of their paper! Besides the paper my favorite part of this kit are the Making Memories Alphabet letters. There are 3 sheets in such fun colors!
So I took this kit with me to CHA in homes of getting to work on it. The first night we went out and enjoyed Chicago and the 2nd night we scrapped! I was able to get my first 3 pages done with the kit. The next day after the show was over, we had about 6 hours to kill before our red-eye plane left. So we did what every scrapper would do - we pulled out our kits and scrapped in the hotel lounge area - suitcases in all! It was a blast! I then was able to scrap when we traveled this past week! Fun times!

Layout #1:
I printed these pictures knowing I couldn't wait to use the striped papers with it! I did the Mccall title in the making memories letters and printed the skatepark and journaling from my computer. I used the border stripe along the left side and then matted the photos with it. I custom made photo corners. I think used my ink to make the stars brown and white. I knew they would stand out on the orange paper. As a final touch, I added the ribbon and brads.

Layout #2 - US

With 3 kids we don't get pictures together that much. Our friend Crystal took this of us in beautiful Idaho. I love the picture and had it printed in sepia. I think the layout came out good but didn't scan well (sorry). I used the orange floral paper as the background. On the left side of the paper I used ribbon and on the right side, I used the sticker strip and distressed it. I think put the word us on cardstock and put it behind the brown frame. I then cut a strip of the striped paper to put at the bottom. I used the journaling card to write a message to Larry and attached it to the photo with the frame accessory. I tied a little ribbon around the striped paper and then I was done!

Layout #3

We took a lot of pictures this summer (over 1500) so I have lots to scrap! These are some fishing pictures from Idaho. Andrew was so excited to go fishing and catch a fish! I used the dot paper (my 2nd favorite paper) as the background. I then created my fishing title with my favorite sticker letters :) and then handwrote "in the orthwest" using the rubon N for Northwest. Next I cut small pieces of ribbon to line up along the photo. I also cut a few strips of the striped paper. I again used a piece of my striped paper to mat the bottom of the photo (the striped paper is now gone). Layout #4

Next I printed some pictures of Ezra with his first Jamba Juice. He loved it and wouldn't put it down. I placed the photos diagonally on the paper and cut the sides. Next I cut 2 strips of paper from the dot paper and red floral (I have no problem using floral paper with boys). I think matted the main photo in the dot paper and cut another floral strip at the bottom.

I am not done with my kit. In fact I have a page partially done. I can't wait to use it up!

Make sure you check out the gallery on http://www.personalscrapper.com/for more layouts!

HOME AGAIN!!!

2007-07-30T02:20:00.000-07:00

Home again!!!!

Wow - we have had a very full July! I am happy to be home but had an incredible month. I hope to catch up on my blogging!

Here is a cute picture of my boys from the Redwood Forest today!

Family Time

2007-07-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

I have had a great opportunity this summer to spend a lot of time with my family. Its not very often that you get time off of work and school together so we are trying to make the most of it before our precious time is up.

We have traveled around our state quite a bit and realize again what a beautiful state Oregon is. Its got the ocean, mountains, rivers, deserts and much more. Even though we have lived here our whole lives, it is so nice to explore some new places together and discover new things with our children.

I feel like I have come to a point in my life where I realize how important having time together is! I feel so fortunate to have been married for almost 13 years and have 3 beautiful boys. I have always been one to not stress too much about what people think and just live my life. So that is what I am doing, living life - enjoying life! We don't have to wait until we are retired to enjoy it! Enjoy it now while our children still live with us :)

7 on 7-7-07

2007-07-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

So I have been a really bad blogger!! Thats ok - I have been spending lots of time with my family!!! I hope to slowly catch up on my blogging! I have taken over 1000 photos already this summer and can't wait to scrap them!
Andrew turned 7 on 7-7-07. It was such a cool birthday! His idea was that we have a bbq at our house with some close friends and then at 7 have a little parade around the neighborhood. Everyone brought their bikes, scooters, wagons. It was a cute idea!! We all had a great time! Andrew enjoyed spending time with everyone!

Parade...

Cake Time... I love this one of Amelia after she hit the pinata and the kids praying and waiting in the background. They really wanted some candy (and a turn to hit it )
Even Ezra had a turn!
Wow - time is flying! My little baby is now 7 and an older brother to 2 brothers! Life sure happens fast! Andrew is a great kid! I am so glad to be his mom! He is full of life and I love him!!!!

JULY KIT REVEAL: Autumn Leaves French Twist

2007-07-02T23:39:00.001-07:00

Wow - it has been awhile since I blogged! Life is crazy having everyone home for summer! I have hardly had a chance to just be on the computer!

July is here and we have a fun, new kit to work with. I decided to change it up this month and order some bright colors from the Autumn Leaves French Twist line. Although the paper is not 2 sided (which I normally prefer), there are some really unique designs. 2 of the sheets of paper have a diecut edge.

I just got back from traveling so I didn't get too much time to scrapbook but managed to whip a few out. I have been so excited to try this kit out!

Layout #1 - I started with the whimsical notebook sheet of paper. I knew I wanted to use a canoe photo from a camping trip last summer. I have been waiting to scrap this photo of my nephews and brother-in-law. I took my exacto and cut around a few of the swirls to help frame the photo. Next I matted the photo in the green and then the black paper. I doodled dots on the green mat and then placed a few buttons and chipboard to accent it. After adhering the photo on the page, I placed some of the orange ribbon below it and then the black & white ribbon. I added a few buttons to the swirls and then put the word CANOE in the awesome Scenic Route chipboard letters. It was a great memory to capture!

Layout #2 - We just got back from vacation and got a few new family shots. This is one of them. I placed it on the green cardstock. Next I cut 2 strips from the striped paper. I matted themm both in black cardstock. I knew what I wanted to say for the title, so I placed all my letters on the side. I wanted the RV to stand out so I used the outside of the chipboard letters. Next I picked out a few buttons and chipboard circles to go along the top of the photo. I created a small photo corner out of buttons and the layout was complete!

Layout #3 - We just took some family photos in Idaho so I decided to scrap one of those. I loved the blue/green paper in this kit. I decided to mat the photo in the blue cardstock and add a little curve to the bottom of it. I then placed the family title along the curve. Next I hand drew 3 leaves and 2 stems. I then cut around them but made sure some of the black still showed. I placed one on each side of us but had a longer stem on the left side. I had fun making this quick and easy little accent!

So far I just have 3 layouts but I have lots of things left over and hope to make 2 or 3 more in the next week! Happy Scrapping!

I am here - really I am !!

2007-06-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yes I still am here - lol! I guess I feel like I am on sabbatical too! Larry is now off and we have been busy!! Here are some pictures from the past week.

ROSE FESTIVAL on the WATERFRONT:

CAMERON'S PRESCHOOL GRADUATION:

AIDAN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY:

2 DAYS A WAY

2007-06-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

Til what? - you may ask! It is the long awaited sabbatical for Larry. He gets 8 weeks off and Friday is his last day before it begins. We weren't sure it was really going to happen but IT IS!! Now what do we do? LOL

Well we are kicking off Sabbatical with friends! On Saturday night we are going out and are so excited about that! My mom is going to watch the boys (Thanks Mom!) and we can go and play! We have to wait til June 20th to go anywhere because Andrew is still in school. Things on our sabbatical list: trip to California, Seattle (with Heidi & Sid) and Idaho (to see Rick & Crystal!). We also plan on lots of house projects both inside and out! The thing we are most excited about is taking it one day at a time and being spontaneous. If we wake up in the mood to go to the beach, we'll go!!!

CONGRATULATIONS LARRY! You have worked so hard for this! I am so proud of you and excited for our family!!!!

Ezra is Walking!

2007-06-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

He has been walking for the past 2 weeks but really is getting into it now. I love how he holds his hands up in the air for balance! He gets so proud of himself and giggles. He also waves and says bye bye (although it sounds like dada). I took him to the grocery store tonight and he knows where the free cookies are and wanted the cart that he could drive the little car. I can't believe how much he is growing up! He is such a cutie - of course I am biased because I am his mommy but boy is he adorable!!! Here are a few pictures of our little guy who is now 14 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

Walking in his new shoes! Getting into Laundry!

He loves his brothers so much!

June kit is here!! Yay - WE R MEMORY keepers!!!

2007-05-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Wow - I can't believe June is here already! This month we chose a warm and spicy kit from WeRMemory Keepers. We saw this line at CHA and loved it (along with some other ones from them). They are really doing a great job of coming out with new papers each show! This is 2 sided with rich colors on the back!

When I first saw this kit, I knew I wanted to do atleast one layout with pictures done in sepia! It has that nice brown town to it that would be perfect! I pulled out pictures from camping, beach trip, birthday, Ezra in the sprinkler and Mother's Day at Cameron's school. I always look over the papers before I begin and get a rough idea of what papers I may use with certain photos.

I started out by getting two 8x12's from Costco. I love this size and they are only $1.49! I know the photo people at Costco well now ! hehe. I turned the one of Cameron and I in that sepia color and loved it! I thought the curry paper with flowers would be a perfect paper for it. I also got a 4 x 6 of another photo we took that day. The page came together pretty fast but I did decide to cover the outside of the chipboard frame and that took awile! I covered the frame and then had to use an exacto knife to cut along the scallops on the inside. I put some of the gems inside the flowers to give it a little bling and added the ribbon for a little more texture. Overall, i love the way it came out!

Sometimes I think I like to challenge myself by varying my work. For the 1st layout I used 2 pictures but for my second layout, i used 8 photos! I wanted to some how block them without matting them. I thought the Verde paper would be perfect! I layered the photos and decided I wanted a monogram. I was going to use the chipboard "S" but it was just a little too big so I used the thicker. I think placed eyelet brads in the center of some of the sun flowers. I used my black pen to draw stitching around the outside of all the photos. I added a few photos and gems and felt like the layout was complete. It was a quick and easy layout!

As soon as I took this picture, I couldn't wait to scrapbook it! It is Ezra's first time in the sprinkler! I decided to use my favorite paper from this kit - The dot paper (Puntos). I placed the photo on the green cardstock and then cut 2 large strips of the dot paper. I decided to do something different and place the title longwise. I covered the chipboard S with the dot paper and then used the thickers for the rest of the title. I placed the small wallet photo with a little journaling around it. I punched 4 circles out of the cardstock for the year.
I printed some beach pictures from 2004 in sepia. I have been meaning to scrap these photos for a long time! I trimmed the 3 photos to fit alongside each other. I matted the main photo and left the cardstock on the right side so I could place the title. I decided to use the thickers for the beach part of the title and stamp the "girls" part. I wanted the beach part to stand out. I used the 3 metal squares above the title. I threaded the ribbon through the gold slider and placed it under the photos to separate it from the patterned paper.
I created a collage of Cameron's birthday in photos and then matted it. I used some of the scraps from the other pages to put the date on. I decided to cut the top of the journaling card and ink it in orange to add a little more to the page. It is just a simple page but gives the basic detail: who, what, where, when, etc.

I still have 2 pieces of patterned paper left and hope to finish of the kit at some point. I thought this kit was easy to use and liked the color combination!

Daddy's Weekend!

2007-05-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Wow - It has already been a week since I blogged. It was a crazy busy week (as usual).

This weekend Larry took the boys on their annual Memorial Day camping trip with friends. They had a blast! They got to go on a long bike ride, go swimming, and it even snowed! I had the weekend to hang out with Ezra - so of course I did some shopping, scrapping and hanging with friends!

I did 10 layouts this weekend and one of them was this one:

Larry is an awesome father! I know the boys love doing things with him! He loves hanging out with them when he gets home from work and gets bummed out when they have to go to bed! Even Ezra called Larry on his play phone while he was gone and said "dada". It was very cute! I am just so proud to watch him be such a great dad! I feel blessed for myself and our kids! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 5

2007-05-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ok now here are the Friday 5 photos posted on Sunday :

Mother's Day:

My new flowers! Photo by Andrew
Daddy and Ezra watching Andrew play baseball
Andrew up at bat
One of my favorite new flowers! I love the colors!

Poopy Dog

2007-05-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wow - I have stayed away from the computer the whole weekend! This is my first time on! I wanted to post my Sunday 5 pictures from the week (doesn't seem to happen for me on Friday Carrie - lol). Had a super busy weekend but today an awesome family day! We even went to the movies (with Ezra!).

Side note - Gross story! We went to Joe's today (formerly GI Joe's - still can't believe they changed the name). As I was walking in, I see a dog running around the lobby area. Then we noticed another one, walking very funny. He was hunched over and going to the bathroom everywhere! There was a trail from the carpet to the linoleum to the carpet. The poor dog had diarrea but WHAT was he doing in the store? The owner was like "oops - better get him outta here and scooped up the hunched over dog". He must have left 10 little piles! The smell was awful and everyone was staring. The employees look horrified as they silently argued over who had the clean up duty. Anyway, it was a weird experience - lol.

Ok - since i posted that story I just can't justify putting cute pictures of my family in the same post - lol. I will start a new one!

Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great Mother's Day. I was sad not to get to see my mom and grandma though! I wish we lived in the same town!!

They said it was my day to do what I wanted :) I wanted to spend it with the 4 of my boys (including Larry). We went to church, then Macaroni Grill (it was AWESOME), and Home Depot for new flowers.

We came home and planted our new plants and flowers all the way around our deck. I love it! We have added so much color and variety to our yard. It makes me want to do more!

We had some dessert with friends and then the boys were off to bed! It was a great mothers day. The boys both made me some cute little presents. I will take pictures (of course!). On the way home, Larry and the boys all named 3 things they loved about me. It was really cute! I am so happy to be their mommy! I would never have guessed that I would have 3 little boys one day but am so happy that i do!!

Larry got me some cute outdoor plates, bowls, cups for this summer! Also, 3 neat green Hosta plants from each of the boys.

I think it was my best Mother's Day ever (besides not getting to see my own mom & grandma).

My Friday (Sunday) Five...

2007-05-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here are 5 photos from this past week. I think they all tell their own story!

SUMMER IS COMING!!!!

2007-05-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy and fun weekend. I can't believe that I did not take one picture! From a gardening fair, baseball, yardwork - it just didn't happen. I was happy to just be in the moment! Larry built another set of stairs for our deck. They look awesome! He works really hard on his projects and I love them!! and him!

Wow Summer is coming! We had BEAUTIFUL weather here in Oregon today. I felt really guilty because I stayed inside most of the day but finally we all went outside. The boys played in the sprinkler and then set it up outside the trampoline. They had a great time! Here are a few photos (I am sure you will see the scrapbook pages soon!)

We had our National holiday in the scrapping world this weekend, National Scrapbooking Day. In honor of that holiday, we had a crop at http://www.PersonalScrapper.com. There were some fabulous layouts!! I did 5 myself and wanted to share 2 of them with you!

May PersonalScrapper.com revealed..... It's Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl!!

2007-05-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is May already! Time is flying! This month we got another great kit coming your way! I really enjoyed this line at CHA and thought it would be a great July kit since it is primarily red, white and blue but as I read the phrases on the strip strease about spring and May - I realized it would be perfect for May!

When I got my kit, I looked over all of the papers and embellishments to get an idea of the photos I wanted to scrap with it. I knew it would be perfect for mother's day, Easter, the boys and vacation.
Layout #1: Andrew had just lost his tooth so I decided these pictures would go with the kit. I created little before and after tags with the red cardstock and white sticker letters. I then used my corner rounder on the top corners to make a tab! For the photos, I simply trimmed them and rounded the top edges. Under the top photos, I put the polka dotted ribbon all the way across. I put one of the 7gypsies phrase stickers on the chipboard circle. One of my favorite part of this kit are the 2 sided journaling cards! It was very easy to journal about Andrew's new smile!

Layout #2 - This is the only layout featuring a picture not taken in April! I love this sweet picture of my boys! I have been waiting to scrap it! I really wanted stars on this layout - especially with the color scheme! I put the title on a piece of the striptease paper and added a few buttons. I trimmed the 12 x 12 patterned paper and placed an eyelet brad in each corner. Using the journal card, I was able to add wonderful and the sweet things in life titles. I double matted the photo and added the stars.

Layout #3 - We actually got some good pictures of my mom, grandma and I on Easter so I really wanted to scrap these! I knew I wanted the larger photo on the flower paper - especially since I don't do many girly layouts! I cut out different strips of paper and placed the mon the blue cardstock. I distressed them with brown ink. Next I worked on the top section. I matted the photo and then placed the big I sticker tilted next to the photo. I spelled out the word love on the next paper section and placed another photo. On the 3rd strip of photo, I put a smaller photo with a phrase on it. Next I inked one of the scalloped frames and attached it. I also cut out a flower out of the patterned paper and placed a button in the center. Once I put these items on the page, I added the flowers for a final touch. I really love the way the layout came together!

Layout #4 - It is really hard getting a photo of the 5 us. On Easter we were able to get a few shots of our family. I got a 5 x7 printed and printed some smaller ones on wallets at costco (i love doing this). I picked out the background paper and matted the main photo. Next I used the computer to print the title on green cardstock. Next I placed the smaller photos at an angle and ran ribbon underneath them. I put 2 eyelets in between each set of photos. I added another phrase sticker and placed the flowers selectively on the layout.

Layout #5 - This is a very simple layout! All i used was one of the white sheets of cardstock, a journaling card, sticker letter with cardstock, and the 2 buttons and flower. I loved these photos of Ezra at the park and all of his expressions. I knew it was a page where I would really want to journal so I focused on that. Layout #6 - Last but not least! I think this one may be my favorite! I played around in photoshop to get the circle collage - its not perfect but a start! I cut out the half circle and a few strips of the patterned paper. We used the journaling cards for a title. I used my cream colored ink to ink the scalloped frame/circle and then added the words (which I outlined in red) I added a few photos for the final touch!

FRIDAY FIVE PHOTOS

2007-04-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am posting 5 photos for my good friend Carrie's challenge. These are all photos taken this past week. We have 2 boys in baseball and one that loves to rip apart flowers - hehe! I never realized how much time baseball can take up even with just a 1st grader and preschooler! We have 4 games a week. I can't even imagine how busy we will be when Ezra can play!!

PS - Can I just tell you how much I love my camera and lens? I just love taking pictures - I just want to learn photoshop more so I can enhance the photos!

Ahhh..... TULIPS

2007-04-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

TULIPS are one of my very favorite flowers! We planted these purple/white ones a few years ago and they are so pretty! I got a few shots of Ezra with them. I love the bottom one where he grabbed one and is picking it apart. Reminds me of "she loves me, she loves me not..."

FINALLY!!!

2007-04-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

While I was in St. Louis Andrew finally lost his first tooth. It has been loose for awhile but with the help of Dad the tooth is out! He is almost 7 and has been waiting for the day he lost his first tooth. Almost his whole first grade class has missing teeth. He already has another loose one! Dad did a good job of taking before and after photos for me!

BEFORE

AFTER

St. Louis Baby!!!

2007-04-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, Carmen and I are back from our trip to St. Louis. We actually were in Illinois most of the trip but did make it to St. Louis for a little sight seeing!

Thursday - We left around 2pm to begin our journey. We ALMOST missed our plane and to top it off I accidentally left a pair of scissors in my carry-on (oops) so it took a little longer. We finally arrived to St. Louis around 10:00pm (their time). We picked up our car at a very deserted looking Enterprise Rent a car and drove to our hotel (about 30 minutes away). We ended up going to Steak n Shake for a bite at 11:30. This was our inside joke the whole trip.

Friday - We met Kara (Martinimom) for coffee with her friend. After coffee, we hit the CK show for a little bit. It was really crowded. We then made our way to an Archiver's and then got ready for the show. We had a blast Friday night. The crowd was lively and everyone was so friendly!!

Saturday - We went to the Arch. It was a great experience!! Despite the rain we were able to see a lot. We rode a tiny little car that goes inside the arch (only 5 seats). It goes to the top and you can look out these little windows. The arch is 630 feet in the air. After that we had lunch, rested and then did the show Saturday night. We had a blast!!!!

Sunday - Up at 4:30am (2:30 our time) to get on the plane. Great trip - Great memories - New members !

What are the chances that....

2007-04-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Our boys would get their picture in the newspaper 2 years in a row for the same event?? You would think we know the photographer (we don't). Last weekend, Andrew and Cameron helped Larry at a clean up the city event out church (Grace Chapel) puts on. It was raining and they still were so excited to go help! The best part for them was lunch and new gardening gloves! The cool thing is that they got to help clean up their own school (well Cameron will be there next year).
Here is this year's picture. It was the only picture showing the event in the paper, I love it!!! Then I have posted last year's picture with Brendan up front! Now I definitely have to scrapbook this!

Ok, now for a few Easter pictures. I did not take any pictures of my boys with their baskets (gasp) oh well! We did a few family shots

My Mom, Grandma and I!
Ezra with his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa (and the boys watching):
Ezra with a birthday cake his grandpa made him!
Ezra with Grandma and Grandpa (the other boys were jumping on the trampoline in the back)
Andrew took this picture of Larry and I - I like it!

We had a wonderful Easter - Hope you did too!

Had a Bad Day?

2007-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ever have a bad day? Sure everyone has! Today I had one and I am glad the day is almost over. It is one of those days where I have a huge list of things to do but have to put out so many fires that my list seems to get longer. I did cry a few times today but at the end of the day and several prayers, I have told myself to cheer up. Life could be a lot worse! I have a healthy family, a home and friends -these are all things that do make me cheer up.

Blogging is funny. Even if no one ever reads my blog, it feels better to share news (good, bad and boring). It is a way to vent!

On a good note, my 6 year old went to Good Friday service with us. After we left, we were a little worried they were too young for it. But today I realized that he went with us for a purpose. They had an interactive part where we did things at each station (i missed most of it because Ezra was not doing well in the nursery) but we got to a part where we wrote on a stone, things that we need to let go of and work on. For him, we wrote down holding a grudge. Today he brought it up again and is working really hard on not doing that. He has learned a lot for Jesus! I am so thankful for that.

Some Scrappy Time!!

2007-04-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a little scrapping to bring some sunshine in!! I stayed up til 1am last night scrapping and it felt good. I did a 2 page spread from when Cameron was a baby, a page about the boys, and a page about me with Andrew and Cameron.

I used Crate paper, chatterbox and Cosmo Cricket:

I am pretty excited. I have now done 37 layouts this year! This is an accomplishment for a mom of 3 active boys and a business owner! I am making sure that I am using my kits every month and then doing some extra! It is fun to feel like I am preserving my own memories and not just talking about how important it is!

My sweet baby Ezra is now 1 years old!

2007-04-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ezra! Wow - this year has gone fast! I love you more and more each day! you have such a fun personality and make me smile! You love your family, especially those silly brothers that make you laugh and push you around on your Tigger toy. You love going outside, taking walks, getting into things you shouldn't, petting Buster, playing with your toys, playing with your brothers' toys and so much more! I love to kiss your head and snuggle with you! you get so happy and love to laugh! I love to hug you and crawl after you making you laugh and crawl faster! You get so excited when your daddy gets home from work! Thank you for coming into our life and completing it! You and your brothers mean the world to us!

Here are a few pictures of your 1st year! I love you!

April's PersonalScrapper.com kit revealed.... Crate Paper!

2007-03-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

The time is finally here! I have been waiting since I first saw this paper at CHA! It is the beautiful new Crate paper. We are using papers from both the Samantha and Brunch line! With gorgeous patterns in greens, red, purple, and blue these papers are so fun!

After pulling out all of the papers, I pulled out the potential pictures I would want to use with this kit. I knew the papers would be awesome for some of our Hawaii pictures from 3 years ago! I also pulled out pictures from the zoo, Cameron as a baby, Easter, and family pictures.

Page #1: Buddies...

So for the first page, i decided to use a large photo I had printed of Ezra and Andrew from the zoo the other day. I cut the photo into a circle. I matted it on the guacamole scallopped bazzill paper. Next I used the leafy ribbon and added a few of the small flowers to it! The package has 50 flowers total so I was excited to be able to use these on several pages! I used the Scenic Route sticker letters to form the title Buddies and Zoo in the lower corner. I underlined the word Zoo with the ricrac. The page did not take that long to create and I was happy with the results!

Page #2: Bath Time...

For this one I decided to do some of Cameron's baby pages. I picked the striped paper because I liked the way the yellow in the paper matched the duck. I matted the 5x7 photo with the patterned paper and cut 2 strips to surround the photos. I put the title on the scalloped circle and the rub on. Then I used blue ink for the edges. For the green and blue strips I got creative and actually used the strip at the bottom of the paper that describes the paper. Overall this was a simple page and I liked it! I also added the year at the bottom. I like that these sticker letters have upper, lower and numbers.

Page #3: Maui

I loved this picture and have been waiting for that perfect paper! As soon as I saw this sheet of paper, i knew this was the one! I took an exacto knife and cut around the teal, purple and blue flowers to frame the photo. Then I added the small assorted flowers with brads to the border. After adding the title, I took the purple eyelet ribbon to frame the rest of the photo. I added the teal ribbon with "2004" and the Bliss rubon. This page made me love the paper even more!!

Page #4: Cameron
I had these sweet black and white pictures of Cameron as a baby and i wanted to do a simple page. I mounted the smaller photo on the vanilla cardstock and teal paper. I cut a few patterned circles and squares. On the one of the circles, i wrote his age and date and put the flower clip in the middle. I put his name on the vanilla cardstock and put a red brad in between each letter. I love how this page came out.

Overall, I just love this kit! The papers are gorgeous. The backs of the papers come in a variety of beautiful colors with that weathered look. The embellishments were really fun: rubons, sticker letters, flowers, chipboard and ribbons. I enjoyed using them all and still look forward to more pages.

Biking!

2007-03-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our family has been enjoying the decent weather we have been having (although today it is raining). We recently got a new bike trailer from our friends and now Ezra can go biking with us! On Sunday we rode our bikes up to Quiznos and had dinner. We look forward to more bike rides! We will have to get a picture of whole family riding bikes!

A sicky sick Day

2007-03-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Boy I am really fighting something today. I felt like it was just allergies and my asthma but I have been off and on feverish all day. Now I made the mistake of taking DayQuil (non drowsy) so I am awake but not feeling well. I am going to veg on the couch :)

Even on sick days like this, pictures always make me feel better! Both Cameron and Andrew make Ezra smile big time but I don't always get pictures of Andrew and Ezra since Andrew is at school most of the day.
This is from the Zoo the other day:

Some of my favorite scrapbook pages

2007-03-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

I really want this to go on the side of my blog. Melissa - help? lol

FIRST VISITORS

2007-03-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am so super busy today just getting "stuff" done but wanted to try to post again on here. :) I have a lot to learn on here but think it will be fun to keep in touch with more people!

I recently created these pages about Ezra's first visitors. I used Photoshop to crop the photos and then put names on them. I love the way it turned out and I got 18 pictures on 2 pages!