33...just like Ella

Today was my birthday, and I am 33. Ella keeps telling me that I am three like her. Which is OK by me. I had a great day! The kids got me a nice card, and Sydnee made me a hut in her room decorated by all the books that we love to read. She also made signs that said 'You are the best' and 'Happy Birthday to the best Mom evr'. Craig also gave me a very heartfelt card with a message that made me smile. I received some cards earlier in the week from Craig's Mom and Dad. I was able to purchase a new crockpot {exciting, huh???} with my b-day money. My big sis sent me this bracelet from Chico's...it is me...it is perfect. I also took a long Sunday afternoon nap. This doesn't happen very often so it felt like a birthday treat.

Tonight we went to dinner at the Baldwin's. The Poock's were there and the missionaries. Cindy and Sue always know how to make you feel special on your birthday. The dinner was awesome! I think the best compliment came from Craig when he said, "You guys should open a restaurant." Then Cindy had made a yummy cake! She didn't even know that I love confetti cake, it is my favorite. Sue also wrote me a special card and gave me a pair of earrings from one of my fave stores Charlotte Russe. It was a fab birthday...

In honor of 7-Eleven...

O.K. This is isn't going to be the review like most CHA reviews. I didn't see much of the new products, so I can't say I liked this line from this company, but I can tell you that this experience was about the people that I met and the connections that I made.

7 things I loved at CHA

1. The Rusty Pickle gals and guys- Alaina, Kim, Nanette, Brenda, Tasha, Eric, Lance, and Lynn. I loved being with them and working 'behind the scenes'. Seeing all the work, the hard, hard work that goes into putting this all together.

2. The Piggy Tales crew. I have been following this group around the country with CKC and I love seeing them! At CHA they were the first group that I saw on the show floor. We have a connection, a bond. Not sure where it all came from, but I love these girls {and Jeremy & Ryan}.

3. LSS owners. As different people came into the booth and ordered, I got to see the ins and outs of different scrapbook stores. They are all different. Some are off the beaten path, others are in downtown Hollywood. Some have karoake machines in their crop rooms and other are shabby chic with other paper crafts. I enjoyed talking to each of the owners & finding out what made their store tick. Now I have LOTS of stores that I want to go visit across the country. There were also so many store owners that were international! Dominican Republic, Brazil, Panama, Netherlands, England, Scotland, Norway, etc. I would love to visit these stores also :)

4. Meeting other designers. Hearing about what they liked, what they were working on. Everyone really inspired me. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I met Kristan, who also teaches for Rusty Pickle, and Emily from the Rusty Pickle Design Team. I was able to talk to Debbie S. and Ali from CKU-Chicago and I also saw several students from CKU - Bonnie, Kim, Becky, and Renee. I know I am forgetting someone....but I LOVED meeting you or seeing you again.
****Edited: I also FINALLY met Heidi Swapp. I got to talk to her for a bit...but didn't get a picture. She is everything everyone says.....and I introduced myself as her stalker's friend.
5. Taking a peek at some of my favorite companies. Basic Grey 'Ambrosia' ;
Piggy Tales 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' ; and our RP neighbor Cosmo Cricket 'Mr. Campy' & 'Haunted'. I also loved the new Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, & this new digital company that I found: Scrapblog.

6. Windy City Scrapbooking. We went to check out this LSS in the heart of Chicago. The owner, Kristine, and her employees Susan & Al, were FABULOUS! They were having a great Christmas in July sale and I was able to burn off some of that creative energy that had been building at the show.

7. Adventures, adventures, adventures! Driving with Lynn to Chicago & making a few stops along the way {ie: Panda Express, Maurice's, etc.}; getting lost going to Starbucks; dog poop in the car {sorry Lynn}; riding in the Express Lane all the way to Aurora {ok, maybe not THAT far}; the universe and who it revolves around; cleaning the chocolate fountain; trying to find a 24 hr. Walmart {and ending up at Meijer}; knowing the secret behind the new T-shirt designs; slurpees all around; scrapping until 3 am, etc. {If I have forgotten one of our adventures, please remind me RP superstars.} Overall it was some good fun! A CHA that I will not soon forget.

I need this t-shirt....

or I need to buy one for Lynn, Kim C., Brenda, Nanette, Alaina, Eric, Lance, and & Tasha! This was our 'saying' for the CHA last weekend. I love saying it now....it puts a smile on my face. Oh! And I should pick one up for my brother...just cause' he loves shirts like this.

Falling off...

the blog wagon.
Please be patient with me. Besides a busy week out of town for work {and fun}; I have had lots going on the homefront. To top it off, my dear, sweet, lovable children {did I say dear, sweet, and loveable???}, deleted ALL {496} of my pictures from my camera memory card! I have retrieved a few...so I will post about CHA very, very soon.

This week of Summer

This summer has been laid back. No big trips, no big plans. I still don't want to forget the little things.....

This week:

slip n' slide

Christian has basketball camp

Sydnee and Ella have fun camp

more slip n' slide

Taco John's and a walk home from the park

the taxi ride

quiet afternoons with nothing to do

ticket to summer

I am getting ready to go to CHA in Chicago for the rest of the week. I know that posts have been many, but that will slow down {actually come to a complete stop} until Monday. See you there! Or come back Monday and I will see you all here...

Toothless & The Best Day Evah!

Me Right NOw

The journaling on the tag reads: "I went to have my passpost picture taken and I realized a few things after seeing the results. I need to lose a few pounds, I need to spend some $$ on my hair, and I definitely need a vacation. " The other photo was taken by Ella at Sydnee's soccer game...this is me, right now. This is also a layout that I did for a new challenge blog called The Story Matters
Go and check out all the cool challenges that they are going to have over there. Lots of journaling fun!
Love how easily this layout came together. This is a picture of our family the summer before we moved to Iowa. When I look at this picture....my family has sure grown in so many ways!

TFL! Enjoy!

Reminisce & Andria Gibson at Scrapaganza

Thanks for the picture, Candi!

I had a great time taking three classes with Andria from Reminisce at my LSS this past weekend. I haven't taken a class in a long time and I enjoyed being the student. I learned a few new techniques and ideas. I loved just sitting, listening, and creating. What a fantastic day. We made 5 cards and 5 layouts! Here are a few of the layouts that I have finished.....

This is for Hallie

{This picture was taken two years ago when the first family of bunnies came to live in our burrow.}
Sydnee wrote this about two weeks ago, when we had another family of bunnies in our backyard. Our friend, Hallie, loves these bunnies also and missed seeing them this year. I am sure there will be another family moving in next year!

Good Rules For All

1. Be nice to one another.

2. Think good thoughts.

3. Try to do better.

4. Say please and thank you.

5. Smile.

6. Be happy with what you have.

7. Listen to others.

8. Be helpful.

9. Speak kindness.

10. Never give up.

Sorry for the wait, but I have a good excuse...

My family wanted to play CANDYLAND and during the game we got hungry so we had some CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRIES. In our sugar shock we got silly and decided to have a COSTUME PARTY. Then there was a knock at the door, and there was a guy wearing BRASS KNUCKLES {I think his name was Earl} who told us that this year we'd have a WHITE CHRISTMAS! Enjoy the.....all-new RUSTY PICKLE! Yippee! Hope it was worth the wait...L.M.Candyland

July Rusty Pickle Projects

I just couldn't do three projects this month! I LOVE the new Bottle Rockets paper! I used the new Glimmer Mist on these Rusty Pickle chipboard letters. I just found Glimmer Mist at my last show in Virginia...and I can't stop using it. I especially love it on RP chipboard.

Pop Star is PERFECT with Guitar Hero photos.... Love the Pop Star rub-ons too!

I made this journal to keep all my 'stuff' in....from quotes I find, to pages in magazines that I tear out and want to keep for inspiration. I also sketch layouts, and project ideas in here!

TFL.....Enjoy! Now go create something!

Scrappy Goodness

The past couple days I have been trying to get my pictures organized. I am just overwhelmed by all my photos. I have been trying to get ideas from different books that I have been reading about what is the best way, and how to find your own method to all the madness. On Sunday afternoon, I decided I just needed to get rid of a pile of pictures. I had all these pictures from different events from almost four years ago. They didn't really have anything in common...or did they S.J.? YES THEY DID! They were all from the Summer of 2004, remember that summer? Matt's 30th birthday, Mackay's birth & blessing, kids craft day, trip to Snowbird, birthday celebration at Kara's, family reunion at Bear Lake, 4th of July @ the pow-wow, etc., etc. They came together amazingly in this simple layout. {This is also my Scrapaganza challenge layout: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue}

After another few hours of organizing scrapbook supplies & pictures I found that I had single photos that I just could not throw away! I kept telling myself..these are just RANDOM, but they are too good to just toss in the garbage. So late last night with my favorite chipboard letters {Lil' Davis Designs} I made this page. I loved these letters, but could not spell a thing....so I got this inspiration, believe it or not, from Candi. She is always giving me a hard time about the random letters that you have to type in on my blog to keep the spammers away. Well, here is my display of random letters & random pictures. Take a closer look...you might just see yourself! These pics are from years ago and just a few months back. That is why I just love this page! We've got Taylor's soccer competition, Jordan's snowman, a birthday party, rollerskating, Ella feeding Zoe {with her scraggly blonde hair}, some centerpieces I did for a friend's baby shower, a birthday celebration from my {19th was it??} birthday, an overnight cabin trip {this is my fave pic of my BIL & sister with her orange hair!}, at the tree house museum, my niece {but I am not sure where or when this picture was taken???}, a pinata @ the family reunion, a church roadshow, and a game of Twister. I now have all these events documented ON ONE LAYOUT! You should try it....it is exhilarating

The rest of these layouts weren't from yesterday, but I haven't posted them here. Enjoy and TFL! {You can click on any picture to see it up close and personal :)}

The Bat Cave

On Saturday, soon after a cleaning-of-the-entire-house led by Dad, we set off for Maquoketa Caves State Park. This was our first adventure here, and we had a great time. We are glad that our neighbors suggested old shoes and clothes. It was sure muddy. We hiked around and peeked into all the caves. At first, the kids were a little bit concerned about 'the dark', but soon were enjoying it all. Next time we go {be ready Grandpa & Grandma} we won't forget our head lamps & flashlights! This is an amazing place that we want to explore more. Sydnee wants to go back and find more snakes. Christian is still talking about it to everyone that will listen. And Ella is up for another trip, since she had the best ride on her Dad's shoulders almost the entire time. Craig and I just like being together as a family... Once we got home and cleaned up, we had a surprise invite to our friends' house for some homemade Mexican food. Who can say no to that? I made a quick batch of cupcakes and we were on our way.

Fireworks

Our family went over to the Bettendorf fireworks after the BBQ. We found the perfect spot on a hill at the Palmer Hills Golf Course. The kids had some fun before the fireworks started with sparklers, glow bracelets, & by throwing the football with Dad. Sydnee got a hold of the camera again and was very impressed with the pictures she was taking of the fireworks {second pic.} It was the perfect ending to our day. Wish you all could have been there....