It may not seem like, but I have actually been scrapping. I have had some really fun kits to work with lately.

With Nuts and Bolts by Spinky Dink Scraps and Creations by Rachael:

With Mauvelous by DSD by Athena:

Using Seaside by Ruby Lane and Elise's Pieces:

With Winter's Day by Jen C Designs:
With Christmas in the Parlor by Sherwood Studio:

Friday in Mexico

So Friday night was the show where the kids got to participate. They had rehearsal in the late afternoon, which worked out well since we had dinner reservations at the Brazilian restaurant so they were going to be the kids club during that time anyway. The restaurant was one where they walk around with big skewers of meat and if you want it, they slice off a piece for you. I skipped a couple of them, but the chicken and turkey were good. The last thing was pineapple cooked with cinnamon, so that was tasty. For dessert, Scot and Dawn both ordered the Alaska cake, so we got to see the flaming alcohol being poured on them. We picked up the kids afterwards, and then the younger two had to go to makeup. I didn't realize it was such a production, and I think at that point Owen realized he was going to have to wear a toga for his part in Hercules! Basically they did one song from a bunch of different Disney movies, so when it was time for Hercules, Owen and his friend ran out from backstage and were out in the front lifting foam weights in their togas. I know they were embarassed, but they were really good sports and smiing and giggling the whole time. The Lion King was at the end, so that's when Declan the lion and Sean the zebra got to come up the aisle and then dance on the stage. It was very cute and fun to watch. Unfortunately, we had to get up early on Saturday for our excursion to the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Xel-ha (pronounced shell-ha). Even more unfortunately, the van didn't get there until about an hour after they told us to be there waiting, so we didn't really need to get up so early! We got on the bus and went first to Tulum. I was glad to get that out of the way early since it was starting to get pretty hot. It used to be sea port, so the buildings look out over the ocean, which was a beautiful blue that morning. Our guide explained how they built the main buildings to be used as a sundial to keep track of the seasons. Luckily we didn't have a lot of time there since the kids were getting bored and hot. Once we got to Xel-ha, we had a quick lunch at the buffet and then got the snorkel gear. I couldn't do it because of my glasses, but I swam around in the water anyway. We decided to go get the tubes for going down the river, which turned out to be kind of a mistake since there was no current and if you didn't paddle, you went very slowly. It did takes us past the 15-foot cliff that you can jump off, which Scot did. Then we made it to the rope bridge and the zip lines, and decided to walk back from there. We had fun on the zip lines and it wasn't busy so we got to do them a lot without waiting. On the way back to the main area, we saw some manatees feeding by the dock. By the time we got back, it was time to get on the bus again and head back to the resort. We had our last dinner at the buffet and then hung out in the game room/snack bar area until it was time for the nightly show. It was called Fuego so we thought it would be some kind of fire thing, especially since it was down at the beach instead of the theater, but it just turned out to be a bunch of different dance/song numbers. The outfits were something else, and the kids watched most of it anyway, even though they kept asking when the fire stuff was going to happen. We packed up a lot of our stuff so we would be ready, although we didn't have to check out until noon on Sunday. We had breakfast that morning, and then Declan wanted to go swimming while Scot and Owen went on a little tour to see all the animals at the resort. Check out time came too soon, and Owen started to get upset, as I knew he would. Our friends were staying until Tuesday, so he didn't understand why we had to leave before them. Since he had not wanted to do it, he had to do most of his makeup work at the airport and on the plane, but it got done and it didn't interfere with vacation.

Playa del Carmen

We are back from our little trip down to Mexico! We arrived around dinner time on Tuesday night. We were on the same plane and airport transportation as our friends, so we all checked in at the same time. Our rooms were in two different buildings but kitty-corner, so that was handy. We decided to get the junior suite, so we had a king bed and then around the corner was the pull-out couch for the kids. The room was nice and spacious, and there was room for one of the kids to sleep on the cushions on the floor since they didn't want to share the sofabed. It was for the best anyway, since then they fell asleep easier. We were pretty close to the part of the resort where the buffets/snack bar/game rooms were, so that was nice. We put our stuff in the room and then went to eat some dinner at the buffet. I think we checked out the game room and snack bar, also. The game room had pool, ping pong, foosball, air hockey, and a giant chess board with game pieces and a giant Connect 4 game. The snack bar was a big hit because of the swing chairs and the raccoons hanging out begging for food. I can't remember if we watched a show that night or not. Wednesday we swam at the beach and played beach volleyball and soccer. The main pool wasn't open yet, but the kids tried out the aqua park. There were water slides, but I guess they wanted deeper water and higher slides, so we only went that one time. Wednesday night was the Mexican buffet night, and they had the food and vendors all set up outside around the snack bar. They had games for the kids to play and Declan won a fanny pack and Owen won a baseball hat. Thursday we spent more time at the beach, and half of the main pool reopened, so we tried that out. The water was pretty cold, so the kids didn't stay in very long, but we played poolside Bingo. Dawn got a Bingo but didn't realize we were supposed to have 2 bingoes for that game, so when she went up, they said she had to jump in the pool or do a sexy dance. The resort entertainment crew were very similar to what we had on the cruise. We had our first dinner at one of the restaurants that night, so the kids all went to the kids club for a few hours. We ate at the mediterranean place, which was o.k. It was right by the beach, so that was nice. Friday we were at the beach again, and then Scot and the kids snorkeled in the cenote looking for turtles. I guess they saw one, but more importantly, the kids got to practice with some snorkel gear because we were going to Xel-ha the next day and I really wanted them to snorkel there. Part 2 later!

I hope we have fun on this upcoming vacation, because it sure is a lot of work to get ready for it! I have notified the teachers and turned in the required form, gotten my work shift covered, planned Owen's birthday party, and now we have to get some projects done before we leave. The third grade is having a holiday craft fair, so each of them has to make 18 crafts to sell. The money will go to charity. I think it's a fun idea, and luckily we will have this week/weekend to get them done so we won't have to rush to do it when we get back. I have started on a packing list and I don't think I have to get much more besides sun screen and bug spray. I want to bring my e-Reader, but I need to see if I can find a cord that plugs into the wall to recharge it. We aren't planning on bringing computers, so I need to find another way to charge it, along with Owen's iPod. Not an emergency on either count, but it would be nice to get the cords for future trips, also.

For the first time since September, we actually had nothing going on today. Baseball and soccer are done! Scot and I decided to go see a movie, like we used to do back before sports started. Sadly, even the afternoon matinee shows are now getting pricey, but it's still something we like to do. We saw Red, which was entertaining. I also want to see The Social Network, but I think at this point I'll just wait for video. It's not one that really needs to be seen on the big screen. I'm sure we'll go see Harry Potter on the big screen, though, although not right when it opens since it will probably be crowded.

For some reason, Declan has suddenly realized that he can read chapter books to himself, too, so he's had his nose buried in a book for the last couple days. He is reading some Magic Tree House books and I got him some of those Black Lagoon chapter books. Owen already devoured the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book in one night. He was so proud of himself for sleeping in until 9:15 this morning, since he stayed up until 10:30 reading last night!

Scrapbooking Day

Today is National Scrapbooking Day, which is being celebrated all over digiland. However, I was not home most of the day so a majority of the festivities passed me by. There are a lot of sales, games and contests in all the forums, so it can be really fun, if you are around! lol I did enter a few contests here and there, but didn't have a chance to do any Bingo games or any of that.


I had orchestra rehearsal this morning, and then Declan had his last soccer game and a party afterwards. The kids had a lot of fun at the house of one of his teammates that was hosting the party. They had a zipline in their backyard, plus a basketball hoop, so they were kept very busy. Oh, and Declan had a little field trip for Tiger Scouts in the morning, so we had a pretty busy day. It should all be slowing down soon! We have no more sports practices during the week now, so what will we do with all that free time? I can't wait to find out!


Here are some recent layouts:

Using Take a Chance by Spinky Dink Scraps:


Using Silver Peony by Sherwood Studio:

Using Straight From the Heart by the PDW Designers:

Sherwood Studio

I am so excited to see the Sherwood Studio store at The Digichick. This is the designer formally desigining under the name Julie. It is. Julie is a local designer, and I even got to meet her once for some scrapping time. I use her kits a lot for my camping photos, but they work well for any layout since she has a lot of variety.

Here is a layout I did recently using Licorice Parfait:



And another using Colorado Cliffs:

Well, it seems October is going by fast, I guess because we are fairly busy lately! Today Owen had a 9:00 a.m. soccer game in Longmont, and then Declan had a morning game, also. We came home for a quick lunch before heading out to Declan's roller skating party. I think it went well overall, although some of the kids had never skated before and some took it more than others! After the party, we came home again for a brief time. Declan was able to play with some of of his new toys, but then we had to head out to the Rapids game. I enjoy watching soccer, so I liked it, but it was pretty loud the kids were up later than they probably should have been considering we had an early start to the day! Tomorrow are the last baseball games. I think Declan is sad about that, but Owen is ready to be done with it since he struck out again last week. We may do Declan's family birthday tomorrow night since Monday we have soccer practice and one of those high school trick-or-treat things to go to. He picked Qdoba for his birthday dinner, and I just need to make him a cake. I also need to figure out something to give him for his birthday!

It seems like there are a lot of changes lately for my digital scrapping teams. One of my favorite designers is changing stores and her name, from Julie. It is. to Sherwood Studios. I can't wait for her new store at the DigiChick to open! A couple other designers are taking a break and I resigned from a couple teams, so I am cutting back a little. I still have plenty of great kits to work with, though! Here are some recent layouts:
Using Moonlit Beach by Starving Artist Designs:

Using Country Hayride by Spinky Dink Scraps:

Using Harbistoz by Jen Maddocks Designs (another local designer!)

Using Noteworthy by Digital Designs by Athena:

Welcome to my stop on the Blogtrain! You can get my part by clicking on the paper bag image below! Create a layout with the items in the trick or treat bags and post it in the PDW gallery you will be entered in a drawing for a $15.00 Gift Certificate to the store! Winners will be announced Halloween Night.




1. PDW Blog
2. PDW facebook page
3. Southern Creek Designs blog
4. Donna
5. Lori
6. Susie
7. Jemy <----You are Here
8. Katers
9.Lynn
10. Marla
11. Kimeric
12. Becki
13. Vicki
14. Sondra
15. ScrapDZines

Battle of the Creative Teams

I am participating in the Battle of the Creative Teams Contest for Pixiemama Designs.

If you are inclined to vote for our team, here is the link.
Thank you!

There are five of us on the team, and we each had to do a layout using whatever Pixiemama kit we wanted following a specific recipe. Here's mine:

October

And so begins one of my favorite months of the year! It is still a little hot here to think of it as fall, but I'm hoping it's just around the corner. So what is going on with me? I have been enjoying my volunteer time at the school library this year, and I know I need to get in there and help in the classrooms, but I am just happy to be a pretend librarian at the moment. My mom is visiting and helped in Declan's class this morning and will be helping in Owen's class on Monday. My work schedule got changed back to Wednesdays starting this week, so I will be able to go on a field trip with Owen's class, if I get the form in early. They are only taking a certain number of parents because they are taking the bus and there isn't much extra room. Declan has his first field trip of the year on Monday, but they didn't ask for any parent volunteers for that one. I have two recorder performances this weekend, both local, which is nice. Next weekend we are all trekking down to the Springs for the last performance of this year. I am working on a complete revision of one of the recorder websites that I maintain. I need to just get it put together and worry about finessing the design later. Anything will be an improvement on the old site! I took it over from someone many years ago and never really did much in the way of re-designing. I have been busy with my digital layouts, but I am also looking forward to working on some paper cards with my mom on Monday while the kids are at school. I am hoping to get a start on my Christmas cards. I haven't made any cards for some time now. I didn't realize how much of the social aspect I enjoyed until my stamping buddy moved away and I had no one to stamp with :(

Anyway, here are some recent layouts:


This uses Memory Lane by Jen C Designs.


This is using Christmas Hugs by Flutterbye Faery Designs


This uses Romantic Blues by Alexis Designs

I am excited about all the fall kits coming out right now. One that I got to work recently is called Fruits of Fall by Flower Scraps. It is available at both her Digiscrap Obsession and her Stuff To Scrap stores.



Here is the layout I did:

Trip

Well, we had a fun visit to South Dakota over the holiday weekend. In order to maximize our time, we left on Friday night after Scot got home from work. We made it to Torrington, Wyoming the first night and stopped in a hotel there. We had to separate the kids so we each got to spend the night being poked and kicked by restless sleepers. Apparently Declan was snoring, also, but he was with Scot that night! We got up bright and early in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and then got back on the road to Rapid City. We crossed the border into South Dakota around 11, and decided to stop at Custer State Park on the way since we couldn't check into the hotel until 3 anyway. We stopped at the visitor's center and had a picnic lunch, since we had brought the cooler and some food. They were going to do a gold-panning demo, so we did that before driving around the wildlife loop. That's where we saw a bunch of buffalo (bison?) walking along the side of the road. We drove without seeing anything more, until we were beset by a herd of friendly mules. They were sticking their heads in the car window. We got out of the car to visit with them for a little bit, and then didin't see much else until the prairie dog area near the end of the loop. We also saw some bighorn sheep along the main road. We found a scenic overlook, and then figured it was time to get back on the road to Rapid City. We ended up getting to the hotel around 5, I think. We had dinner at Denny's and then took the kids down to the water park to swim. The hotel was pretty big and we were constantly getting lost trying to find our way to and from the pool area. I guess we weren't the only ones, because I passed some ladies on the way to the ice machine and they asked if I had left bread crumbs behind me. lol Sunday we planned to see Mt. Rushmore in the evening so we could see it lit up, so we decided to check out the Reptile Gardens and the Cosmos Mystery Area. We spent the morning/early afternoon at the Reptile Gardens, then headed back to the hotel for more swimming before going to Mt. Rushmore. We were going to stop at the Cosmos Mystery area on the way, but it was really crowded and the wait for the next tour was pretty long. We decided to skip it and come back to it later. Turns out we probably could have waited since there wasn't a lot to do at Mt. Rushmore. We walked around the trail and looked at the exhibits, then killed some time by eating since the lighting ceremony didn't start until 8 p.m. They showed a little movie and then lit up the faces. She called everyone down to the stage who was a veteran, so Scot reluctantly went down for that. He is not much for ceremony or attention, but they all just stood there while the flag was folded up and the park ranger thanked them for their service. We headed back to the hotel for bed. We decided to head to Devil's Tower on Monday, with a stop at Deadwood along the way. I wasn't sure about Devil's Tower, but Scot wanted to see it, and I'm glad we did go. It was the only day that was cold, so I figured it was a good day to do a lot of driving! We looked at a museum in Deadwood, stopped in front of the saloon where Wild Bill was shot, and then checked out the cemetary, which was on a steep hill. Since we watched the show Deadwood, it was fun for us, but not sure the kids cared too much. We stopped in Lead to check out the big open mining cut and have some lunch. Then we drove on to Devil's Tower, which was pretty cool up close. We walked around the base, had a snack, and then headed back to Rapid City and arrived by dinner time. We decided to get take out from Boston's and ate it by the pool between swimming. I went down the water slides, and they were a lot faster than I realized. I'm surprised the kids kept going on them, but I'm glad they are getting adventuresome. Maybe we'll try Waterworld next summer! Tuesday it was time to head for home, but not without a couple stops on the way. First off was Cosmos Mystery Area, which was pretty dead since most people were probably back at work or home already. The kids really got a kick out of that place. It was pretty weird, but being in the little house with the weird pull to one corner started to make me feel queasy after awhile. Luckily the tour wasn't very long! We stoppped at the Mammoth Dig site in Hot Springs, which is something I wanted to see. We got in just as a tour was starting, so we were able to join that. It's not a big place, so spending an hour there was just right. We had lunch outside on the picnic tables, and then really started for home. We didn't really stop after that, and got home around dinner time, which was perfect. I was worried that it wouldn't be enough time, but we managed to see quite a lot and it was a fun trip.

Here is another layout I did from our recent trip up to Silverthorne. It seems like almost every year we get to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. It has become a fun tradition!



I used the Brownie Bites daily download kit from Down This Road Designs.

Busy!

I have an all-day recorder workshop to attend tomorrow. Too bad the past two nights have involved very little sleep. I will try to get myself to bed soon, but I have a hard time making myself!

Here are some recent layouts:



This was done with Grandma's Recipe Box by Digital Designs by Athena



I used Kind of a Big Deal by Geek Chic and Sir Scrapalot for this one.



This used Apple of My Eye by Flutterbye Faery Designs.

Wow, I guess I have been absent from my blog. We are starting to get back into a routine, and school is starting on Monday, so that will help a lot. I don't seem to do well with a lot of unstructured time. It was fun to not have to be places at a certain time, but after awhile, it turns into being lazy all day! The kids got to drop off their school supplies, meet their teachers, and see who else is in their class, so I think they're getting excited about it. We have some fun things planned for this weekend, and then suddenly it will be school and sports! We do have our trip to Mt. Rushmore for Labor Day weekend to look forward to before our weekends are filled with soccer and baseball games.

We had a lot of fun up in Silverthorne with my family. The kids were excited to meet their new cousin Moby for the first time. We got in some bike rides and board games. Declan won Doodle Dice, which made him happy, and I ended up winning Hand and Foot rummy.

I did this layout using the Pool Party set from Plain Digital Wrapper and a template by LDH Originals:


This one used Dance in the Rain by Geek Chic:


This one used a collab by Julie. It is. and Dani's Delusions, plus a template by Scraps of Candy:

Tomorrow we are off to Silverthorne for the week. The kids are very excited, and it will be fun to be back at the house we got married in! Luckily we'll have internet, so I won't be out of touch, but I will be busy with family so probably only checking in at night after people go to bed...

We had a fun weekend camping. We got rained on pretty heavily Saturday night, but we didn't let it stop us from having a fire. We pulled over a canopy for the wimpy adults to sit under while the kids sat out in the rain and played in the fire. They were having a great time, and everything was wet so less chance of them burning something up by accident! We had a problem with our tent last year leaking pretty bad (from a heavy rain fall at this same camp site), but we sealed it up and had a tarp across the top as reinforcement for the rain fly. We did discover that we should have pulled the rainfly out from the windows (which explained the flap with a loop just for that purpose, duh), so we did get some leakeage in around the windows, but we just made sure to be more in the middle of the tent and it wasn't that much water coming in anyway. Sunday was windy in the early morning, but it settled down enough for us to take the canoe out on Jefferson Lake. It started to get stormy again, so we ate lunch, packed up, and headed for home. Now we are looking forward to a week up in Silverthorne!



A recent layout using Waterworld by Donna Rafferty.

I guess I haven't posted many of my pages lately, although I have been doing a lot!



Using Neopolitan Taffy by Dani's Delusions.



Using We Are Family, the charity collab.



Using Get Your Grunge on by Captivated Visions.



Using High Tide by Brandi Sutherlin Designs.

We went to the Renaissance Festival yesterday. We had a good time, but after awhile the heat and crowds get to me. Everyone was congregating in the shady spots! The kids ended up getting some fancy walking sticks, and the lady even carved their initials in them.

On Saturday night I went on a photo walk in downtown Denver. I guess it's a national event and there are walks going on all over the country on this same night. I joined a yahoo group of local area digiscrappers, and some of them were going, so I signed up, too. Basically we just walked around on a route the leader had already picked out and took whatever photos we wanted. My main goal was to experiment with my camera and get to know it better on the manual settings instead of always using auto. It works well for a lot of situations, but there are times that it's better to use the manual settings. I used to do a lot of photography, and develop my own prints and negatives and everything, so it's something I always mean to get back to, even though now it's all digital! So I am happy to say that I didn't use the auto settings, or the flash, for any of my photos, and I spent a lot of time just experimenting with exposure bracketing and the different white balance settings. The other digiscrappers were really nice and we stayed and had a late dinner at the restaurant at the end of the walk.

I had a chance to work with this awesome charity collab, We Are Family, available at Gotta Pixel. It will help Sally (KyRainbow)pay some medical bills from her fight with cancer.

I did another layout for the contest, week #3, without really thinking about how it looked similar to my week 2 entry. Oh, well! We had to put title or song lyrics from a favorite summer song, so I ended up picking Rock You Like a Hurricane by the Scorpions. I have a friend I used to visit in the summers and she was a huge Scorpions fan. We would sit there and listen to this album and copy over the lyrics into a notebook, but I have no idea why. We were out in the middle of nowhere in a mobile home, so I guess we had to be easily amused!

I did this layout for a challenge. The layout was supposed to be inspired by your favorite ice cream. I did mine based on the Cappuccino Heath Blizzard at DQ. Yum!



I used Espresso Yourself by Jen C Designs, and a modified template by Allison Pennington.

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting a grip on the fall schedule. I think I am just overwhelmed with this soccer business, and the fact that both kids are not at the age of two weeknight practices and one game day. On top of that they will both be in Scouts. Declan is also interested in baseball, so he might do a Sunday only league for 8 weeks. It is hard with our school getting out so late in the afternoon compared to most. Maybe we'll have to start getting in the habit of morning homework, but that really isn't my prime time of the day! Then today I got an email asking if I can work two day shifts at work, which I really don't want to, plus I think it will interfere with my availability for my computer job, which is definitely more of a priority for me. I know it's still only July, but registration is starting for everything now so decisions need to be made. We are checking out a new Scout pack for Declan to join since our current one is kind of disorganized and lacking in participation. Owen already has friends so I don't want to switch him over, but Declan has a chance to find a good one still. I may be helping run the Bears (3rd graders) so hopefully at least his den activities will be fun.

It's time to sign up for the August Brownie Addicts Membership!

Flower Scraps is having a celebration for the rest of the month!

Geek Chic new Store Opening!

Geek Chic is opening a new store today at Gotta Pixel! Check it out!



There is also a freebie add-on to her new kit Sweet on You in the store:

Wow, I have been slacking. Apart from a camping trip for 4th of July, we have not been doing anything that exciting, I guess. I never sleep well while I'm camping, and I start to feel really grungy after about the second day, probably because my hair is dirty and that drives me crazy! However, I have to say that I really love it and I am glad it's something we started doing. Now that the kids go to sleep on their own in the tent, we can stay up a little longer and chat by the fire with the other gronw-ups. Plus the stars were so amazing without the city light pollution. Dawn and I took the kids on a night hike (walk). We took the trail through the trees down to the lake, but then on the way back, missed the trail and had to take the long way back on the road. The kids were freaking out that we were lost or that wild animals were going to attack, or that we would get hypothermia. So between listening to the paranoid child and the hypochondriac child, I couldn't help but get the giggles, which freaked them out even more. Anyway, night hikes are one of my favorite things to do while camping, and hopefully they weren't too traumitized by it! We only had the one night to do it since the next night we were out late for the fireworks and went straight to bed when we got back. Next year I think I will go up for longer with the kids, and then Scot can join us for a couple days in the middle. It was so nice and peaceful when everyone left, so it would be fun to be there during the week a little after everyone else takes off. Owen smashed his hand on a football tackling thing, and one other boy smashed his hand with a rock, but otherwise no major injuries, so that was good!

Now the kids are done with classes except for a couple more sessions of baseball for Declan, so we can start making plans for Elitch's and things like that.

This "new" blog design is driving me crazy! It was suddenly messed up, and I tried to fix it, and now can't get rid of this gray. I keep adding different background schemes, and none of them seem to work. Pleae don't think it's my choice to have an ugly gray backgound! lol I don't know why blogger changed, but I am not thrilled so far....

Brag Book Blog Hop

I had a chance to work with a collab kit from Digital Scrap Fun and SAHM Scrapper called Let Freedom Ring. You can get it at Stuff to Scrap.



I made my first ever brag book page to participate in the blog hop. You can download it here.



Here are the other stops:
Christi
Tricia
Dana
Jessica
Haylee
Misty
Laura
Jennifer <----You are Here
Lindi
Melanie

New today by Sugar Pie Scraps: Boy-ish, which can be found at Enchanted Studio Scraps!

I did a layout with it already, from Owen's school talent show this year.

Here are some layouts I have done recently. I have other, but they can't be posted just yet since the kits are not out!


This one uses Crazy Kind of Love by Geek Chic.


This one uses Daditude by Pixiemama Designs.


This was done for a speed scrap, and uses October Haze by Modern June Creations.


This one uses Remembrance from Julie. Itis.


This was also for a speed scrap. It uses City Trenches by Starving Artitst Designs.