Beautiful day

Yesterday it rained quite a bit, especially in the morning. I was caught off-guard and had the kids in shorts and sandals. Awesome. At least we weren’t going anywhere outside.

But then once we got home and settled into the afternoon and then evening, it started turning beautiful. The clouds changed from grey, dull blankets to puffy white marshmallows surrounded by gorgeous blue sky. So we headed outside to hang out for a while.

Don’t worry, I get ‘attacked’ by all sorts of boy inventions. I think this one was a laser beam, but I’m not sure. Judging by the sound effects, it probably was.

Then there’s this photo that just captures the little guy so well right now. He’s a handful, that’s for sure. But he’s MY handful.

Even when he’s running around outside in his skivvies. Or running around inside with his skivvies. Notice a trend? Getting him to put on pants is like trying to keep sand in a bucket with holes in it – good luck!

The light was just beautiful and I love our backyard’s lawn. I’ll take a blanket out there and just chill out for a while. I highly recommend it!

Little goober. This look says, “Mom, really with that camera again??”

But then he’s okay because he’s just chillin’, drinking a Sunny-D, and making funny faces. That’s how he rolls.

Hope your day was (is) fantastic!

Recent Layouts

I have recently had some bursts of creative energy and so I’ve gotten a few digital scrapbooking pages done and wanted to share them!

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses Blessed Be Collection Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Actions: Mega Lift II Circular, Serendipity Collection Biggie, ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 Life Everyday, and Tres Bon Ami Collection.

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses So Elementary Collection Biggie, Dynamic Brush Set: Paper Piercing 8201, Ragamuffin Collection Biggie , ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Retro Frames, and ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Doilies.

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses Jiffy Easy Page Album: 12x12 Fleur Moderne, Fleur Moderne Solids Paper Mini, Fleur Moderne Collection Biggie and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Bows to Go II.

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses Life Detailed Alpha Biggie, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Notebook Journal Mats, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Bokeh 6401, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Photo Masks - Winter Magic, Dynamic Brush Set: Bead Spills and Sequins 6301, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Ribbon Initials, Sun Kissed Collection Biggie and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Velvet Ribbon.

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses Brush Set: Junk in the Trunk, and Here Comes the Sun Collection Biggie.

Layout by Laurel Lakey uses Being With You Collection Biggie, You Are Collection Biggie, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Vintage Engravings, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Artistic Paper 8201, Dynamic Brush Set: Unusual Stitching, ScrapSimple Paper Templates: 12x12 Damask, Defining Moments Collection Biggie, Juliet Collection Mini, Souvenir Collection and Rusty Treasures Collection.

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I’m so glad I’ve had this burst of creative energy – some of those layouts were started more than a year ago! It feels good to get them finished and ready to print. I’ve got a credit for a photo book that I have to put together tonight in time for a deadline (dang procrastinator blood in me!) so I’ve been glad to get some of these finished up and ready to print. I can’t wait to see what they’ll look like in a bound book. That’s something I’ve never done before.

Oh, and can you tell the running theme that these layouts have in common? I guess I’m not one for a ton of color! I think I like to keep things generally neutral with a pop of color here and there. If I could transform my house into those types of colors overnight, I’d love it!

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On a separate note, I’m really excited to get to see one of my bestest friends tomorrow and her adorable little baby LC! I can’t wait, we’ve got some major catching up to do!

Good, good friends

Well this post is a little overdue, but I’ll put it up anyway!

I have a wonderful friend named Tracy whom I love dearly and I don’t see nearly often enough. Luckily, we got to get together for our birthdays and celebrate a fun-filled day at the Irvine Regional Park. It was my first time there, and I couldn’t believe how much it reminded me of being back home in Texas! The trees were so similar to those in the Hill Country and the day was warm and clear – just a perfect experience.

We started the day at the small zoo they have there, and saw lots of fun animals (including our own crazy kiddos)!

We got to visit their great little petting zoo where this one deer was loving all the attention our boys gave it! It especially loved trying to ‘kiss’ the boys, who would dissolve into a fit of giggles as the deer surprised them. So funny to watch.

And this sweet little girl was having a blast! She’s going to be the princess with two older brothers to take care of her. :)

After the zoo and some lunch, the boys found a great climbing tree and had a great rest of the afternoon just being boys – climbing, running, exploring, building forts, and hanging out together. It was so fun to get to watch them together, we sure miss our friends when we’re far away!

And don’t ask me what E’s face is doing here. He’s got his own ideas on what to do when the cameras come out, and none of them have anything to do with looking normal, ha!

Thanks for the absolutely wonderful day of fun, Tracy and kids! We have to do that again real soon.

PS: A disc of these images is coming your way soon! :)

Random Things

 

I’m currently reading  the Count of Monte Cristo  on my Android, through a free Kindle

app. It’s pretty sweet – and while I think I’ll be reading it for about ten years (it’s the unabridged version), it’s definitely worth it. I mean, I’ve seen the James Caviezel, movie and loved it (heck, I even own it and watch it here and there), but I knew it would be awesome to read the real deal.

What’s best about it is all the language and how the descriptions of things are put together. I will be the first to admit that I am no writer. I struggle with the sound of my writing voice because I don’t want it to be too simple and conversational, but I also don’t want to start using huge words all over the place and sound really snooty.

But there’s just something about reading (or listening to) this old English that makes you feel so precise and proper. I really do love it, especially since it takes me out of my jeans and T-shirt living and momentarily transports me to another place and time. I’ll take it.

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Also, I wanted to show you our newest FREE collection over at Scrap Girls!

The designers have been hard at work with a new collection for you to try out – especially if you’ve always wanted to see what digital scrapbooking is all about but don’t want to invest in it just yet. (But be forewarned, once you catch the digital scrapbooking bug, you won’t want to stop!)

And of course, if you have any questions about your software, the files, how you even get started, you can let me know. I am pretty confident in my ability to answer. ;)

Or, you can also check out this FREE guide to beginning digital scrapbooking. It’s got a ton of great information.

 

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And last, but not least, I wanted to share some fun news! E had his big kindergarten assessment yesterday and he passed it with flying colors! The teachers were really impressed with his speed reading skills and I have to confess, I had a proud Mama moment. I mean, it’s one thing to have a child who you know is pretty smart, but when others are just amazed by him, then it becomes a little more real. Of course, I can’t really take much credit for it since his brain is basically wired that way and he came to us already super smart. But I am still extremely proud of him and excited for his new adventure (and mine! 5 days a week!).

We can’t wait to start kindergarten in the fall!

Challenge #25–A photo that makes me happy

Okay, I know it seems like I’ve forgotten about this blog challenge thing. I haven’t really, it’s just been a bit busy around here and April for some reason was not the best month for me mentally and I’m just now starting to feel better about life in general. Don’t get me wrong – so many amazing things happened in April – it’s just that I think I am still suffering from some minor depression and those amazing things ended up being distractions that only kept my attention for so long before I was back into depression mode. Which is never a good place to be.

So lately I’ve been trying to get out of there, doing more around the house so that I don’t feel like such a loser and starting to try and get back on top of work and church responsibilities again. It’s hard because sometimes I feel as though I don’t have control over when I feel horrible and when I feel great. It’s like these waves that crash over me and sometimes they’re awesome ones and I’m full of energy and enthusiasm for life, and then other times they’re crushing me into the abyss and I feel terrible about myself, about the way I’m doing things, and it’s dark and scary and feels like I’ll never be happy again.

And while I know it feels that way, I also know in my brain that there are things I can do to help redirect the waves. So I’m trying to do more of those things, like keeping the dishes up to speed and doing laundry and finishing cute projects that I love and just getting things done. Slowly but surely, I know things will be better. I’m holding on until they are.

Whew. That’s a lot to unload to a casual blog audience. We’ll see if I even keep that in the final draft of the post. Bear with me, k?

So anyways, I’ve got a little bit of time here to catch up on the blog challenge. So here’s to #25 – A photo of something that makes me happy!

This is a photo from the Watkins Family Hour concert -- my dream came true and Chris Thile joined Sara and Sean Watkins onstage and I got to see Nickel Creek perform LIVE in concert! That was something on my life’s bucket list and I’m SO SO SO happy I got to see them. Seriously, it was the best night ever. They’re such GOOD musicians. Gah, I just love good, live music.

Mother’s Day

I am so blessed to have these sweet boys in my life. And while there is decidedly less pink around our house, I’m okay with it.

Motherhood is hard. I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but it’s true. It’s a lot harder than I ever thought it would be before I was one. But oh my goodness, the love I have for these little people is remarkable. They “make my heart feel super happy.”

I was spoiled this Mother’s Day – it all started when E and I got up on Saturday morning and he was so excited to give me the ‘secret’ present he had made at preschool. For some reason I had it in my head that it was Sunday, and E didn’t argue because that meant he got to give me his present! So he got it out and gave it to me.

[Side note: His teacher is great because she had the kids ‘slip’ us something about the present that was a red herring! E tried to tell me about 20 times that the present was something for the middle of the table, but I kept trying to not hear it from him because I wanted to be surprised. I felt so bad afterwards when I realized that he was just doing what his teacher told him to do by leaving this false trail! I kept plugging my ears and singing, hoping he would stop wanting to talk about it, but he is one determined young boy, so he kept trying to tell me over and over again. Finally I just let him say it (“Mom, the present is something for the middle of the table!”) and chalked it up to a ruined surprise.]

Imagine my shock when I opened his adorable brown paper sack and there was a beautiful bracelet with beads spelling MOM, a heart, and a bunch of number beads. I was actually surprised! It was then that he told me his teacher had them play a trick on us moms by telling us the present was for the table. He was so proud of himself and I just couldn’t get enough of his sneakiness! This little bracelet was my favorite gift by far.

Then on Sunday all the women were sung to by the men in our ward during sacrament meeting, then they dismissed us all to the pavilion for a brunch they had prepared as well, during the last half of Relief Society. That was yummy. Then Eli presented me with an adorable painted noodle necklace with his picture on it. The card with it said “My mom really uses her noodle! I know my mom is smart because… and he filled in the blank with “she knows everything!”

The best part? The hubby and the kids let me take a nice, long Sunday afternoon nap and we had the most delicious ham dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Seriously, I need to take a moment to thank Guy Fieri for sharing a scrumptious recipe with the world and to my hubs for making it so well for me. It was great!

And then, to top off the night, my man even did all the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Whew!

That gift almost beat the bracelet. Almost.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and someday mothers in my life! Love you all!