last day of June!

Can you believe it??! I surely can't. It's so hard to believe that we're into our 6th week of summer vacation. Yes, I said 6th week! Holy cow, where is the time going?? I knew June would fly by with our trip to Michigan, my friend Becky visiting for almost a week and then my trip last weekend. Usually we don't do much in the summer for this exact reason ~ I don't like summer to fly by. I like it to last and last and last. So, we have about 5 1/2 weeks of summer vacation left and I'm sure we will spend it in the pool, at the beach and going to the movies. Ahh, summer fun!

Anyway, while I was at my scrappin' retreat last weekend one of the top things I wanted to finish was my Michigan trip album. I took a few hundred photos and while I didn't have to scrap every single photo there were quite a few that I wanted to keep and scrap (we visited with many friends & family we hadn't seen in a while). But I also didn't want to have 10 layouts on our trip. So my solution was a regular 'ol photo album, the kind that has 2 photos up and down. This one holds 160 photos. Perfect.

So this is what the album looks like on the outside

Simple black photo album I bought at Target and decorated with some ribbon and a seashell charm. Now I know our trip wasn't about the beach but I thought the seashell fit with the "summer vacation" theme anyway. I also added a travel sticker in the photo window from Little Yellow Bicycle.

Inside I arranged all the photos first and then added more travel stickers and journal tags from Little Yellow Bicycle traveler collection.

I love that the stickers had Day 1, Day 2, etc stickers so you could follow our trip chronologically in the album. I also added some papers from the Making Memories passport line. I had some scraps layout around from a kit I bought last year so it was nice to be able to use those up.

I didn't worry about vertical photos being the "wrong way". This album was meant to be simple.

When I had more than a line or 2 of journaling I tucked the larger journaling tags behind the photos

This splash pad we took the kids to was so much fun. We essentially had it all to ourselves, there were only a few other people there because MI schools hadn't let out for the summer yet. Note to self ~ next trip make sure it's early June! The splash pad had 3 slides, a bunch of interactive water spouts & faucets that the kids could turn on and off, and a huge bucket that would dump water all over. And I mean it dumped all over! On the other side of the area it had a bigger pool with 2 big waterslides. We discovered that Olivia loves waterslides!

I put the stickers right on top of the photo sleeve instead of on the photos so if I decide to take the photos out or do something different with them they're not ruined. Also, the stickers seemed to come off fairly easy when I needed to move something. Now, this may not be the case after a year in the album but I'm not worried about that.

I found these cute little license plate embellishments from Karen Foster at a local scrapbook store in Helen, GA.

And that's it! Just a few pages from the book but you get the idea. Now I will probably do some kind of collage layout for my family scrapbook, probably just a 2 pger. But the bulk of my scrappin' is done for this trip. I hope this inspires you to get those vacation and travel pics scrapped. It doesn't have to take long. I did this book in a matter of a couple hours. And now my kids can enjoy looking through the album!

You can also check out another idea over at just Laura's blog. I always love her ideas She did something similar with her travel pics. I'm actually in the process of using some of those same 12x12 divided sheet protectors for my extra Disney photos.

Happy end of June to you all :)

not what i wanted to come home to

Well, the kids are happy to have me back. I've gotten lots of hugs and kisses and I'm lovin' it! And then this morning I went to take a shower and my dog followed me in there as she does a lot....and proceeded to puke all over my floor. Niiiiiice. I swear this dogs pukes at least 2-3 times a month. Either she's eating grass, or the dirt out of my flower pots, or the moss out of my flower pots, or the paper scraps in my scrap room.... Well, at least she did it in the bathroom and not on my living room carpet. Cause any dog owner knows that cleaning dog puke out of carpet can sometimes be a nightmare.

ugh, welcome home.

Here's a quick card I made on my retreat from some of the scraps from the Jenni Bowlin June kit.

I added the letter stickers & ribbon from my stash.

I have more to share but first I'm going to take my kids to the dollar flick to see Monsters vs Aliens. Good quality family time vegging in front of a super large tv with lots of popcorn and candy :)

while i was away....

I just got back from a scrappin' weekend in Helen, GA with my friend Carol. We had so much fun!! Hey, we were scrappin', what could be better than that right?!! I had totally planned on have a post go up while I was gone (you know, for my 5 readers out there) but I totally forgot before I left. That could've been because I procratinated on getting my stuff together til the last minute. Scrapbook stuff is not easy to pack last minute if you don't want to take your entire scrap room with you (and I did not!)

Anyway, I have lots to share but it's almost midnight and besides the lighting being terrible I'm just too tired. But I thought I'd show you what was going on at home while I was away.....daddy's jockying for top spot as favorite parent. I'm not giving up my title!! hehe

(excuse the lighting in the photos, I don't think he had the flash on)

Eating in the living room tray table style. I'm sure they were watching the Disney channel, too. Oh yeah, that's the life!

(Ben didn't know what his sign said. Olivia was reading it to him!)

French toast for breakfast...breakfast of champions!

Is it Christmastime and I didn't realize it? Now how can I compete with that??!! You're not fighting fair Dave! That's it, we're going to see Transformers tomorrow and the kids are getting extra popcorn and candy. And I think I'll take them to Toys R US after to pick out whatever toy they want. And then it's IHOP to have pancakes for dinner. Yeah, yeah, that's what I'll do...

Oh, and I almost forgot about the fort. No weekend with daddy would be complete without a huge fort in the living room!

I give up....you win

(btw, wasn't it cute that my hubby "staged" some photos for me while I was gone?? hehe I guess I'm rubbing off on him! poor guy...)

Thanks sweetie! I love you :)

VBS

Last week was vacation bible school for my kids. They had so much fun singing songs, hearing bible stories, making crafts, and hanging out with friends from church. I wasn't an "official" helper for vbs, but I hung around because the kids didn't want me to leave. And quite honestly, it's their summer vacation and if they want me to stay then that was fine with me. (plus, our church is in the middle of nowhere, kinda like where I live, so really, where would I go anyway?!)

I took pictures throughout the week, at first for myself, but then I decided to make a little mini-album for Mrs. Tracey who was in charge of everything last week. She's so great. She was also Olivia's Sunday School teacher last year.

The theme was called "Son Rock Kids Camp"

I just used one of those inexpensive photo albums that you can buy at Walmart, Target, etc (you know, the ones that cost like 2 bucks) and created a new cover with my Lily Bee Designs papers. BTW, the flowers and buttons from Making Memories "Chloe's Closet" match perfectly!

patterned papers ~ Lily Bee Designs

rub-ons, thickers ~ American Crafts
buttons, flowers ~ Making Memories
apron lace punch ~ Fiskars

Of course, my daughter saw me making this and asked for an album for herself (like always). So it looks like I'll be making another one :) Geez, I haven't even made her vacation album yet. The list of stuff I promised to make for her is getting bigger and bigger :)

summer toes

There's a layout challenge/contest over at pagemaps blog. And since I love pagemaps I thought I'd give it a whirl! BTW, if you don't have their book with the pull-out cards, you really should take a look at it. I have them and the cards are great for taking to a crop!

Anyway, this layout may seem silly to some. But to me it's all about who I am. I wear flip flops probably 9 mos out of the year (now that I live in the south). I love painted toes. I love sandy feet. And this layout is all about that :)

I also managed to sneak in one of the Shabby Chic Crafts tags I won under one of the flowers :)

All products from June Studio Calico kit
Also used ~ Shabby Chic tag, buttons, & Fiskars apron lace punch

scrappy stuff for sale

I'm in a purging mood. I need to simplify things and that goes for my scrap room, too. So, in an effort to do that I'm going through and deciding what I really don't need (yes, I said need, not want) and I'm either selling it, pitching it, or giving it away.

So here goes for the stuff for sale (not all of it, but what I've gotten through so far!) I've listed this stuff on etsy and ebay so if you're interested head over there (if not, just ignore this post or scroll through the pretty pics of scrappy stuff!)

BIG Cosmo Cricket kit

Basic Grey paper


MME Festive paper ~ I love it but I have too much Christmas paper. BTW, these papers make great Christmas cards.

MME Kaleidescope ~ these papers remind me of summer, so bright and fun

MME Wild Asparagus

7Gypsies

Can you tell I went through a My Mind's Eye phase? I still love them but honestly, one person can't possibly use this much paper. And even after I took all that stuff out I still have 5 paper holders full of paper. You know, the ones that hold like 200 sheets. Can you believe I have so much stuff??? My friends who know me can believe it. hehe Whew, but it'll feel good to get some of this outta here and simplify. I've really made a conscious effort to only buy scrap stuff that I know I will use. I no longer buy just because it looks pretty. If I'm not going to use it then it does me no good sitting in a paper holder. So now I need to get rid of all the stuff that I bought before I made that decision!

I also have some Sizzix dies and stamps up for sale on ebay and goodie boxes on etsy.

That's it for now. I'm also putting some kits together for etsy, so I'll share that when they're done. Until then...

testing out the new grill

I bought a new grill last Saturday. It wasn't a Father's Day present. Rather, the present part of it was that I bought it pre-assembled and my hubby didn't have to spend 2 hours cussing at the grill, um, I mean putting it together. Our other one was at least 9 years old and quite honestly a fire hazard. So, I've had fun trying it out since I'm the griller of the family. Is "griller" a word?? Anyway, last night we had beer in the rear chicken. Mmmm, it's good. Have you had it?? It's super easy to make.

You take one of those small fryer chickens. Season with whatever spices you like. My latest fave is the Lawreys chicken & poultry seasoning (bought at Sam's...hence the huge container).

Then you take a can of beer and either drink 1/2 of it or do what I do and give it to your hubby and say "drink a little". Then grab the beer away from your hubby as he attempts to drink the whole thing and you have to run and get another and repeat this step.

I usually take a couple sprigs of rosemary from my garden and crush up a couple cloves of garlic and put that in the beer. Spray the outside of the beer can with Pam (I've had it stick to the innards of the chicken, that's a pain). Then place the chicken butt on top of the beer on the grill and grill for about 45 min-1 hour on low-medium. You might have to do a little balancing act with the chicken but move the legs around a little and it'll sit just fine.

Hey, he looks like he's doing a dance on my grill! hehe

And your chicken will turn out juicy and yummy! The best part? It's super easy and you basically just leave the chicken on the grill to cook. I usually turn it once while it's cooking but that's about it. Now, with my grill I found that I need to keep it cocked open a bit so my chicken doesn't burn too much. I'm finding that my grill tends to flame up a bit cause of the burner cover thingie (that's technical term). Maybe it just needs to be worked in...we'll see. But the good news is that even if the outside burns, the inside stays nice and juicy (but then it defeats the purpose of seasoning so try not to burn it!).

Be careful when taking the chicken off the beer can. The beer gets SUPER hot. A good tip is to turn the grill off so that any beer that splatters won't make your grill flame up.

And that's it. Happy grilling!

dear McDonald's drive-thru attendant

When I ask for a "grilled chicken wrap minus the dressing" that does not mean to also omit the cheese and lettuce, or to give me the breaded chicken wrap (double yuck)

When I ask for a "cheeseburger minus pickles and onions" that does not mean to also omit the ketchup and mustard.

When I ask for a small Sprite that doesn't mean that you should give me orange. The same goes for my Coke. When I ask for a Coke, that doesn't mean diet, or tea, or Dr. Pepper, or any other drinks you may have in your reach.

And when ordering said drinks, I would request that you give me a straw so that I may actually drink them instead of having to go through the drive-thru line twice (as opposed to dragging two cranky kids in to get the straws)

When giving me my order, the proper response would be "thank you" or "have a nice day". It is considered rude to shove my food at me without any response whatsoever. It's not my fault if you're having a bad day, or your parents didn't teach you any manners, or you hate your job. I'm just there to get some food and, unlike you, I've been polite and said "thank you".

Whew. I feel better now. Oh, and have a nice day!

Father's Day burgers

Happy Father's Day to all of you out there!

I decided to make a fun treat for Dave this Father's Day. Of course, the inspiration came from the fabulous Bakerella. She always comes up with the cutest (and yummiest!) treats. First, we grilled burgers on our new barbeque grill. I told my hubby that the gift was not the grill but the fact that I bought it pre-assembled ;) Actually, that wasn't his gift. I just found a good deal and we needed one since we've had ours since before my hubby and I got together. The bottom of it's about rusted out and the burners only work right on one side. And since we (actually I) grill a lot, and the old one is fire hazard, I bought a new one.
On to the treats....

So, inspired by bakerella, I decided to make these cute burgers & fries for our dessert

Aren't they cute?!?! Of course, mine didn't look as good as hers but they're pretty darn cute. My "ketchup" wasn't as dark red as I'd liked but I didn't have any violet food coloring like she had. Also, my circle cutter ended up being too big to cut the brownies. So, I made a second batch (yes I did) and baked them in the baking cups so they'd be the same size as the "buns". And next time I don't think I'll use quite so much condiments on them.

I was worried that these wouldn't turn out looking like burgers but was so excited when they were all put together. When Olivia walked in the kitched I heard a big gasp of excitement from her so I knew it was a success!! Dave even thought they were pretty neat :)

The kids were very excited to show daddy the burgers & fries ;)

Oh, and they were yummy!!

I hope you all had a nice day spending time with your dads, grandpas, sons, loved ones, etc. And to those who's daddy's aren't with you anymore, I hope you enjoy remembering all the fun times with your dads :)

no time to play

With our vacation last week and company this week I've had no time to scrap in nearly 2 weeks. But that's ok. We've had lots of fun spending time with family and friends. Good times. But my JBS June kit is calling my name...very loudly! It's so pretty, I can't wait to start creatin' with it!

And I got my Shabby Chic Crafts tags that I won a little while ago. I was so excited to come home from vacation to see these and my JBS kit in the mail, just begging to be opened!! Oh, how these tags are so super cute!! Can't wait to scrap some of my vacation pics with these!!!

I did sneak in a couple minutes to make a couple Father's Day cards for the grandpa's. I don't make a card for my hubby cause the kids take care of that ;)

patterned paper ~ Studio Calico
journaling tag ~ Shabby Chic Crafts
buttons, mini alphas ~ Making Memories
other ~ white gel pen, string

Super simple cards but cute. I hope to get some scrappin' done either this weekend or next week. And then next weekend I'm going to a scrappy weekend with my friend Carol in Helen, GA. Can't wait for that!!!!

vacation tidbits

my kids have quite the sense of humor at 3am

almost hitting a deer 20 minutes into your 15 hour car ride is not the way to start a trip

you definitely need a minivan when traveling 15 hours at a time

Tennessee & Kentucky are beautiful states to drive through....Ohio, not so much (but I already knew that from many trips up that way)

dual DVD players are a must for long road trips...so are Phineas and Ferb DVD's and lots of other surprise goodies


My kids still don't really know what a basement is...they kept calling my mom's basement the attic

I miss Meijer's...so much better than Walmart :(

Olivia loves big waterslides (I mean LOVES them!)

Olivia called olives on our pizza "tire thingy's"

When watching The Hulk (the original series) for the first time Ben said "wow, he has BIG pecks!"

My kids loved playing the Wii (thanks Jennifer!) and after knocking someone out at boxing Ben said "that's AWESOME!!"

No matter how hard you try to avoid it, when traveling with dogs a certain amount of dog hair in the van in inevitable


*************************************************************************************
I'll have more to share later. Many photos to edit and my free month trial of Photoshop elements ended so I have to wait to get the "real" version that I ordered.

The travel bags were a hit with the kids as well as the "state" goodies ;) The kids didn't get it at first, but after the 2nd bag came out Olivia went "oooohhhh!! so we get one for every state??!" In fact, on the way home they were asking "can I get my Ohio/Tennessee snacks??"

I have many loads of laundry to finish, stuff to put away, the kids start VBS tomorrow, yadda yadda yadda!!

I'll leave you with something funny we saw on the drive home. I was taking pictures of funny signs, bumper stickers, etc. And we saw this license plate:

Love it!! hehe I guess living in Ohio made him/her hate snow!