The Snow Continues To Fall!

Our three flower pots. The first picture was taken last Monday, the second one taken today.

Spencer told me today that he was not going outside at all today, the snow is just too deep. But I made both of them bundle up so I could get some pictures of them in this crazy storm. Spencer is pulling up the legs of his PJs so they won't get wet (goof ball). And since this is the 8th day we woke up to snow falling he is still in his PJ & I think he has been all week.

Duke & Izzy are NOT happy! The snow is so deep they don't think it is fun any more. It's a struggle to get them off the deck.

Hope you are all surviving this weather. And for the record I am very jealous of my Brother & Sister-In-Law!

Happy Winter!

The tree is finally fully lit! G & Lexi successfully went out yesterday & got two more strings of lights (After going to 3 different stores)!
Our kids are finally not the only kids in America without DS's (thanks to Grandma Julie)! And they both got a ton of use today with the weather being what it is. G even got a turn while Lexi snuck out to play in the white stuff!
It continues to snow & heck it is beautiful! But it got a little hairy this afternoon when the freezing rain & sleet started coming down. G & I stepped outside and could just hear the ice hitting the trees & the huge trees around our house creak in the wind. It may be beautiful but the sounds of trees so close to our house is a bit unnerving. Right now it is just snowing, so that's good. We already have over 7 inches of snow with a thick layer of ice on top of that. But at least we still have power. So I'm sitting here drinking hot coffee & G & the kids are enjoying the Ginger Snaps I baked earlier today (ummmmmm, yummy)! So Happy First Day of Winter to you all!

Baby, It's Still Cold Outside!

The snow is coming down again & honestly I am lovin' it! Summer is still my favorite season but I LOVE snow. The kids and I are home again from school & depending on if the weather man is right, we may be out all week. I braved the roads today (so proud of myself) and creeped down to Safeway for milk. My truck is safely back it in garage & I'm happy to be back home.
I wanted to share with you my top 10 snow memories. Some are recent & some are not but they all are vivid in my memory!

10. Lexi's snow glasses. She was only 6 & we were living in Sherwood when a huge snow storm hit. She wanted to be outside but she had to have her "Snow Glasses" on to keep the snow out of her eyes. They were adorable heart shaped sunglasses with pink lenses.

9. Snow drifts so high they almost covered the swing set. This was the same year as the "Snow Glasses" & we had drifts over 5 feet high! The kids and I were snowed in for three weeks but man was it beautiful!

8. Walking around Washington DC with my brother over Thanksgiving in the snow! The city was so peaceful and quiet.

7. Walking to class at University of Oregon, in the snow, wearing shorts. Heck, I couldn't do that now, I must have been crazy!

6. Joann Lang shoveling our driveway (the bus stop), clearing all our beautiful snow away. She was trying to be a nice neighbor but I thought it ruined the look. But what did I know, I was probably only 8 years old.

5. Snowmobiling with G in Bend on our honeymoon. I had never snowmobiled before and unfortunately haven't since but it was so much fun.

4. The truck that just wouldn't stop. OK, it wasn't our truck but we saw this guy in a big truck on a driveway that slopped down to his house. He was going slow but just couldn't stop. We could just imagine what "wonderful" things were coming out of his mouth as he was sliding down his steep driveway not able to stop until he smacked into his new garage door! We felt kinda bad for him because it was a brand new house, they hadn't even lived there for a month. But honestly it was funny (sorry, not nice I know)!

3. Skiing Keystone with my best friend Kathy, her husband Greg & G. We flew out to Colorado when Spencer was just 2, meeting Kathy, Greg & "Grandma" Joann at the condo Kathy owned. One morning we left Spencer & Lexi with "Grandma" Joann and had the best day of skiing EVER! The weather was beautiful, the views were amazing & I even skied pretty good!

2. Lexi sliding across the ice. The same year we had the snow drifts & the "Snow Glasses" we had an ice storm. That storm brought about 2 inches of ice on top of our massive amounts of snow already on the ground. G took Lexi by one arm and one leg & flung her across the yard. She looked like a pink hockey puck just gliding across the ice on her tummy. The funniest part was watching her try to get back to G to have him do it again. It was so slippery she had to crawl. That still makes me giggle.

And my #1 snow memory happened when we were living in Alabama (Yep, you heard me right)! We had snow in Alabama! It started snowing one afternoon & by 3:00 that day the schools were closed for the next day & the Governor had declared it a State of Emergency! Stores were packed & people were literally freaking out!

So there you go, my top ten snow memories! I have many more from my past & hopefully more to come. Enjoy the snow!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Christmas is just around the corner & it has snowed (with possibly more to come)! The kids & I were out of school yesterday & today. We will see what tomorrow brings. The weather man says more snow tomorrow but we all know they are not always right. I spent time yesterday working on some Christmas gifts & I can actually say that I believe I will get them all done in time.

The tree is up & decorated 3/4 of the way (I ran out of lights & you just can't scrimp on lights). But other than the gifts I am making, I haven't even begun to shop. So, the holiday stress is starting to hit hard! My Grammie told me once that every Mother gets one good Christmas cry every year. I might have to borrow some this year. I am the planner who likes to be prepared & this year is anything but planned. But we are making it and we will have a wonderful Christmas!

Organized Clutter?

So, in my last post I mentioned something about blog entries being more exciting when they include pictures, so here they are (bet you weren't expecting this)! This is what I am dealing with right now & it's making it difficult to do anything! I have never been the organized, everything has a spot kinda girl (although I really wish I was). I have always been the organized clutter girl but this is a bit much, even for me. So, because I plan on making many of our Christmas gifts this year I am devoting the next few days of my life to this mess. I will post pictures of my wonderful craft room when I can show you how wonderful it really is, and when I can dig myself out of this mess. So if you don't hear from me for a while, don't fret, I'm still here I just need to spend some time getting this under control!

Tis The Season (just around the corner)!

OK, I am officially a blog slacker! Things have been so busy around here that I barely seem to have time to get anything done. But my calender is telling me that the busy holiday season is creeping up on me & if I'm not careful I won't be prepared.
I just have a couple things I want to share with you. The first thing is a really cool project on Ali Edwards blog. I know that some of you who read my blog are not scrapbookers but the concept could be changed to be a journal for the month of December (just an idea). I plan on putting this together in the next few weeks and I will post pix when it's done!
The other neat opportunity that I am participating in is a class taught on line by Jessica Sprague. She is an incredible scrapbooker, teacher, story teller, and all around digital guru. The class is called Stories in Hand. Check out her web site for details. You don't have to be a scrapper to join in on the fun, just have a desire to collect your most precious memories. The best part, IT'S FREE! So even if you sign up and don't get anything out of it, you are not out any cash.
I would love to hear what you guys think about Ali's project and the online class because I find out about these things a lot and can easily pass on the info here. Also, I would love it if you would pass this info on to anyone you think might be interested.
Lexi is now done with her first season of volleyball but she is already looking forward to next year. I am so proud of her & it was so fun to watch her improve throughout the season. Now her newest project is learning to play the oboe. She started playing the clarinet last year and is still playing it this year. But she has decided to take on the oboe also (What a proud Mom I am since I played the oboe for 6 years).
We also had conferences for both kiddos last week and wow, we really have great kids!
(Yes, I am aware that blog entries are more enjoyable with bright, colorful pix. I will try to do better next time!)

Happy National Card Making Day!

Ok so today is National Card Making Day & I have been busy. Most of these cards were made today and posted on a new scrapbooking site I have been hanging out on lately, Scrapattack. The site is not new, just new to me. And as it turns out, I grew up with the owner. Small world. Any way, if you happen to get one of these cards in the future please remember that even if it wasn't created for you personally, heck at least you are getting a hand made card! I am trying to build up my stash of ready to send cards so I have some when I need them! Life seems to be really busy lately and I know that I have missed some important card sending opportunities.

Adjusting to Life

So the first exciting thing we are adjusting to around here is, the kids are back in school. Spencer started 2nd grade and loves the newly remodeled school he goes to.

He is also adjusting to my job at his school. I am working as an assistant at his school this year. I guess I can say his adjustment to my job was pretty easy since I volunteered a lot last year! The adjustment is more my deal. Laundry is piling up, dinners are totally boring, and my feet are figuring out that I need some better shoes. I wore four bandaids every day last week covering my lovely four blisters. My feet didn't even hurt this bad after backpacking across the Grand Canyon last year!

Then there's Lexi. My cousin posted on her blog last week about being old because her son started preschool. Well what does that make me? Lexi just started junior high! She is doing so great. She is playing volleyball, continuing with band, and taking pre-algebra. Way to go kiddo! And no G, those are not grey hairs on my head, I checked this morning!

G is taking this adjustment wonderfully. He is learning that there are some things that he is use to me taking care of, and some times he needs to pitch in a bit more than he had to last year. But he is doing this without complaint & actually seems to be enjoying his new job as homework helper.

So, we decided this year was Spencer's year to have his first kid birthday party! All his friends have had some of the coolest birthday parties, I didn't think there was any way we could compete (bowling, laser tag, golfing, renting an entire swimming pool...) but we did! We had the first sleep over with this great group of boys! These boys have known each other since kindergarten & I have had the chance to get to know the Moms, they are all so fun! So last Friday we had seven 7 & 8 year old boys "sleeping" in a tent in our back yard. Really I don't think they slept, and we didn't either but we had so much fun. It was so cool to watch these little guys interact with each other. They are each so different & yet fit so well together.

On Saturday after the boys were picked up from the camp out we headed to Blue Lake park for a family reunion. We got to see family that we hadn't seen since last summer. It was so nice to see the kids playing and having fun together. And it was fun to actually see the kids rather than seeing their pictures on blogs!

Well, I haven't been scrappin much since I started work but I hope to get some done this weekend! Take care all & enjoy the sunshine!

Happy Birthday Bubba D!

Happy Birthday Spencer! I just know that you are having the best day ever! You see, last night G came home with a new fishing pole for Spencer. Before showing it to him, G asked him what he wanted to do on his day. "Well, I want to see the Star Wars movie." Ok, try again. So G asked him what else he would like to do. "Well, I would really like to go fishing." I told Spencer that I didn't know how to fish but we'd come up with something fun. Then, yeah Daddy! "I could take you fishing, I'm not working tomorrow." At first Spencer was a little confused, you see it's not often G takes a day off work.

But then G gave him the pole and made sure he really understood that the two of them were spending the day fishing. My sweet boy was so full of emotions I thought he was going to cry. No jumping up and down and no screaming, just tears in the corners of his eyes! And yes, for those of you who really know me, I was totally in tears! The funny thing was, I'm still not sure who was more excited Spencer or G. So, have fun boys & bring home some fish & great memories.

We love you Bubba D (a.k.a Fishbait)! Happy 7th Birthday!

Some layouts to share

So, I realized the other day that I created this blog to share my scrapbooking and paper crafting projects and I haven't done that in a while. I have been so busy working on projects for Shoestring that I haven't had much time for other things. I wanted to share with you a few of my latest layouts.These are pix from a few years ago of my kids and my cousin's kids at the beach. They are all so happy at the beach house!
One of our favorite places to hike around here is Multnomah Falls. These pix were taken last September when my Dad came with me & the kids. I can't believe it was a year ago already, time really does fly! We hiked to the top and had lunch up there. What a great day!

Ok, I guess I'm stuck in old pix mode because this one was taken in 2001. But the photo was just so completely adorable I had to scrap it. Holy cow, that was the year Spencer was born (by the way his Birthday is tomorrow & he gets to go fishing with Daddy. But, shhh don't tell him, it's a surprise)!

Oh and I did make a card yesterday for my wonderful neighbor Shannon, it was her birthday. I didn't take a picture of it but she put it on her blog. Go check it out, it is kinda cute (if I do say so myself).

Today is the last park day of the summer & the kids are sad. I'm actually sad to but with the end of summer comes the beginning of FOOTBALL SEASON! Go Ducks!

And probably the most exciting news of the week, I got a job! Wow, I haven't worked (a real job that pays money instead of hugs and kisses) in almost 7 years. I will be working at Spencer's school & I am so excited.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Last week was so busy I didn't have time to post much. So, to catch you up quickly here are Lexi's highlights.

• Registration for Junior High.
• Turning 12.
• Her first cell phone.
• Swimming with friends.
• Shopping with me all day on her birthday.
• Shoe shopping with Grandma(Thanks Grandma)!
• Family BBQ.
• LPGA tournament tickets.

Spencer's week was pretty full too! Here are his favorites.

• Swimming with friends.
• Finding out who his teacher is for this year.
• A swimming birthday party for one of his buddies from school.
• Sister's birthday (that means his is next)!
• Family BBQ.
• Hanging out with Papa.
• Shopping with Grandma (Thanks Grandma)!
• His first real skateboard!

On top of all of this excitement, G got the kids an air hockey table for their birthdays. It really is cool except for the fact that it is too big to fit in the house so it's in the garage (my truck is very sad). But, I know it will get a lot of use.

The excitement of my week was interviewing for a job at Spencer's school. I haven't heard if I got it or not yet so I am a bit on edge right now. I am also still waiting to see if I made the Design Team for Creativexpress. I sent in my work at the end of last month so I hopefully will hear something soon.

I have been working to get my article done for Shoestring Scrappin. The article shows just how much paper crafting you can do for $20. My busy week has not allowed time for much scrappin. Hopefully I will have more to post this week.

Happy Birthday Lexi Lou Who!

I can't believe my little girl is 12 today! Happy Birthday Lexi. Daddy, Spencer & I love you very much (She probably won't even see this post she's too busy texting. Thank goodness for unlimited texting plans!)

My Husband Rocks!

Saturday night we went to a celebration dinner at Multnomah Falls. It was a beautiful, hot day in town but the further we traveled into the Gorge , the more comfortable it became. We had a great dinner with my whole family for my parent's anniversary. Seriously, we all live close enough to do this more often, but we are all pretty busy. When we do have a chance to get together it's always a memorable time. And, my parent's anniversary was a great excuse to get together! The food was great, the falls were gorgeous (no surprise there), and we all got to catch up.

















So why does my husband rock? There are many reasons but he proved it once again on the drive home after dinner. The sunset was so amazing, the whole sky was pink. I wanted a picture. But, since we've been married so long I knew there was no way he would stop so I could take a picture. So, while he was driving I got my camera out and started rolling the window down for my picture on the go (nothing out of the ordinary). I was waiting for us to go past some trees & what does he do? He pulls the truck into a viewpoint & stops. At this point in time I'm totally confused. I looked over at him and gave him the "what the heck?" look. Then I quickly jumped out of the truck to get a few pictures before he could change his mind! I would have taken a few more but I didn't want to push my luck, or have him take off & leave me stranded (he wouldn't really do that, but stopping for me to take a picture was totally out of the ordinary so I wasn't sure). He has never understood my obsession with taking pictures and he has never actually stopped a moving vehicle to let me get out and take a picture. That little act made me so happy (after I got over the state of confusion) & he did it just for me! G, you rock~

A Busy Week!

I can't believe it's Friday already. Where did the week go? Looking back on the week three major events stand out in my mind.
1. My website launched on Tuesday. If you haven't heard what I have been up to, go check it out. http://shoestringscrappin.com/
2. Wednesday morning my friend Summer called to see if the kids & I were busy. She thought maybe we could go to a pool and swim. What perfect timing & a perfect idea. I had been feeling like the kids were being left out because I had been spending so much time on the computer getting Shoestring up and going. So we jumped on the idea, picked them up & found a pool. It was a beautiful day & we had fun with our friends. Just the little adventure we needed. Thanks Summer!
3. The Clackamas County Fair is going on right now & my parents usually take the kids every year. This year my Mom decided to stay behind, so my Dad asked if I would go with him & help with the kids. I was so excited. I LOVE the fair. The animals, the booths, the entertainment, the people watching, the food, I love all of it. We went early because the weather report was calling for HOT, HOT, HOT. I think the weather report kept the crowds down because it wasn't very crowded. In the shade, it was actually comfortable with a small breeze. We saw all the animals, the exhibits we were interested in & meet up with my Aunt, my Uncle & my Cousin. We also got to hang out with the daughter of our friends. She was showing a pig this year for the first time. She had some free time while we were there so she got to hang out with us. She is a really sweet kid & I am so proud of her & her pig!







Lexi found these snakes cool, not that she wants one, they were just neat to see up close! Me, I'm not so fond of them. They even give me the chills when I see them on TV (& I know they can't get me though the TV screen).









For almost a year now Spencer has been totally into goats. He calls every goat he sees "Goaty" & right now his ambition in life is to become a goat farmer (but he still says he's NEVER getting married). That's ok, not every farmer wants a wife (yes I did watch that show).

Computers Make Me Tired!

Ok, I know they are suppose to make our lives easier & for the most part they do! But I am not Miss. Computer Savvy or even close. For the past three days I have been figuring things out for the new web site & I am all about try, re-try, erase, "oh darn that wasn't it (grumble, grumble)," do over, start from scratch & eventually it will be right!

So in the mean time I wanted to show you something fun. I talked about wordle a few days ago. Lexi & her friend actually played on it last week & created a cute page describing all the things they did together that day. So I wanted to show you the one I did for scrapbooking. I put it on my new web site, can't wait to show you! Oh, what am I thinking I can show you now cuz it's up and running! WOW, all that work & I almost didn't give you the link. I won't tell you any more about it here just pretty please with sugar on top, go see my new adventure! And if your not a scrapper or paper crafter but have friends who are, would you pass the word on to them! Might just be what they are looking for!

ShoestringScrappin

Hugs, Chris

Altering

So with all the exciting things I have been doing on the computer for the new web site I haven't been scrapping much this week. But I did take the time to alter some items to show you. What do you think?
This started as one of those boring looking composition books. I have altered them before to give as gifts but this one was little! It is only 4 1/2 inches x 3 1/2 inches. So adorable & the perfect size to throw in my purse for those "I just had a great idea" moments. And the best part of this project was, I was able to use just scraps because of it's smaller size.










This one is a constant reminder to relax (especially this week with all the web site excitement I'm feeling). I bought the wood word a few years back & just knew I would find something to do with it. This was so easy because the word was already painted that color. Super simple & cute!
















So I have a few other items I'm playing with today. I'll show you when I get finished! Have a great day & thanks for coming by!

OH So Much Going On

So it's been a while so I have a ton of stuff to write.
First of all, our family (especially Spencer) is totally into the Olympics right now. Spencer was so into the opening ceremonies, it was great! He's not so into watching every event, all day but he was awake for almost the entire opening ceremony (it ended at midnight).
Second, for the last few months at my house we have been having discussions about what words are real and what words are not. G can't figure out why I use the word hugest. It's my cross between huge & biggest. Ok, so it's probably not a real word but I use it sometimes anyway. Spencer's newest word (borrowed from Sis) is ginormous. I think it is his cross between gigantic & enormous. Hey, works for me! So, these two stories are joined now. G & I were watching the Olympics after the kids went to bed last night and one of the announcers used Spencer's word. Spencer was so excited when we told him about it this morning. "See I told you it was a real word. They used it on the Olympics didn't they? That makes it a real word."
So now onto my ginormous news. I kinda hinted bout being up to something new. So my new adventure is a new web site! I am so excited that I have been giddy all day. But, I first have to say this was G's idea! Well, he named it, got me hooked up with a domain name, put me on the right web site to build it, & was excited when I was excieted! Gotta love my guy! He is the best. As soon as it is online, I will post my link & tell the rest of the story.
For now, no pix to share cuz I'm on G's computer and I need to get to makin dinner.

Slide Show

Where Do I Fit?

I remember being a young teen wondering "Where do I fit?" Not entirely fitting with one specific group, just kind of lurking on the outside of many different groups. I don't think that is all so strange, or unusual. But, I think I am having a case of de-ja vu. You would think that by the time I hit my 30's I would know where I belong. I have applied for numerous design teams and submitted so many pages and cards for publication I feel like I am on the computer submitting just as much as I am creating. It seems like I just haven't found my place in the scrapping world. But, I am resilient & persistent so my search for the proper fit continues.

So, instead of sounding whiny & "oh poor me" I am letting you know that I will be creating all day & working on a new idea. When I get more of it figured out, I will let you all know what I am working on. For now, you can just sit and wonder (hehe)!

No pictures to share today because I hope to have a slide show added to my blog this weekend.
Have a great weekend!

A Few Steps From Normal

Yeah, Monday is over, now its on to the rest of the week. I only have two more layouts to finish today to submit to be considered for publication. Should have been doing them last night but I needed a break. So, instead of being productive, I played around with some pix. I'm am not sure I should show you because they are a bit different, but different in a cool kinda way. I actually think I might scrap them (in my spare time)!

Ok like I said, a bit different but Mondays sometimes crave different! I am off to work on those layouts before it gets too hot & the kids want to swim.

It's Monday again.

Mondays are my least favorite. G is back at work & the kids are bored again. I spent a bunch of time scrapping this weekend while G worked in the yard. The kids were at Grandma & Grandpa's so I had quiet time in my room. Usually one of the kiddos is in my room on the computer while I try to scrap & if that kiddo is Spencer he talks constantly while he's on the computer (who am I kidding, he talks constantly what ever he is doing). But I got two pages done & submitted for contests. Here they are.

The journaling on the layout of Spencer was done on http://www.wordle.net/. It is a really cool, and easy site I found and started to play with. You should check it out.

Thursdays @ My House

Before school let out for the summer I got together with some other Moms & decided that we would meet at a park every Thursday.

This serves two purposes. 1. The kids get to play together & get some of their wiggles & giggles out. 2. The Moms get to have conversations with other adults. That's my favorite part since being a stay at home Mom sometimes makes me feel cut off from the real world. So every Thursday the kids wake up excited because it's Park Day! Since we started doing this, I have started looking forward to Thursday almost as much as Friday! Here are a couple pictures from yesterday's adventures.

The park took up most of the afternoon but I did get a chance to send in my application to a new sketch challenge web site that is looking for a design team. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I should find out mid-month.

I also sent in two new layouts & a card to be considered for publication.

Well I'm off to play with the dogs for a while. They get a bit anxious when I spend too much time on the computer and not enough time playing fetch!

The Reason For My Blog

So, in reality the real reason I decided to start a blog is to have a place to share my scrapbook & paper crafting projects. So I guess I better get started. Here are some of my latest & greatest projects, and some old ones I really want to share.


I made this layout about a year ago using a picture I took of the kids & Isabella back in 2006. I love this picture and have actually scrapped it more than once.

I love the genuine smile Spencer has in this picture. So many times he gives me a fake smile when I take pictures of him. But this one really captures the real Spencer. I think Lexi may have been helping me out by tickling him (thanks Sis).

For Mother's Day this year I decided I was going to hike to the top of Multnomah Falls, no matter who wanted to go with me. I was even willing to go by myself if I had to. But I was lucky, all four of us went together and had a great time.

More beach pictures from 2006. Man, I take a lot of beach pictures (if you haven't noticed, you will don't worry). I LOVE the beach!

Spencer played Rookie Ball this year. He had enough of t-ball last year & wanted to play where one team wins and one team loses. I think I have a little competitor on my hands!

Well, I'm off to create some more stuff to share. Thanks for checking in!