It's been a looooong time.....a 2 page layout....

Before my sisters wedding one of the bridesmaids wanted to put a scrapbook together for my sister, with each of us girls in the wedding making a layout. So Kira busted her's out and then later that night I completed mine. They turned out great but I was too tired and lazy to pull out my camera! sad, but true! The album looks great so when I head to her house soon I will snap some shots of all the layouts.

Annnnnnnnyyyyyywayyyy, After that layout I wanted to scrap so Kira and I spent the day craftin around! She made an adorable card for her bestie and of course I didn't get a picture of it before she took it to her! sigh! But the next night I completed this layout below. I was up till 1:30 am and I JUST NOW snapped some photos! ha!

These pictures of Olivia crack me up! We found the Jessie costume at Walmart as soon as they put their Halloween stuff out, so we snagged it and had it from August till October and almost everyday without fail Olivia would tell me she was sooooo excited to be Jessie! On Halloween Kira took her into her room to start the transformation! Her hair, her outfit,her makeup, her painted on freckles! A D O R A B L E!!! And our lil Ollie was dressed up as in a monkey costume!!

I have to say it's been a looooooong long time since I did a layout and it felt great to do two in a month!!! ha!

Drew's HUGE giveaway!

I just adore Drew's talent! He is beyond talented and funny!

He just reach over 1,200 followers on his blog and it pretty much makes sense, he is the shiznit! Check out his Thank you giveaway!!!!! Extremely over the top!!!

Check his GIVEAWAY HERE!!!

It's beyond sweet!

Our great escape

Tod and I took a trip up to the Klamath and fished one day with our guide Ken and his wife Kathy. I didn't take my camera only reason why was I thought the boat wouldn't be as stable as it acutaly was. So I'm super bummed, but we did have Tod's and it worked out nicely.

We rented a car and Tods treat to me was mapping out several thrift stores to hit on our way up. We stopped at one which was in Eukea and it was sooooooooooo fun! They have three little houses to buy antiques, clothes, and another barn that had clothes and shoes. What they also had were sections for furniture and yard sale finds. They would through items into bins on loooooong tables and you could walk and rummage in the bins for treasures. Once you found items you find this guy who wears a red shirt and kahke pants who prices your items. I found an old vintage suite case and some furniture, like two vintage metal bed frames one for a queen and one for a twin, which would have been perfect for Kira and Olivia's beds but we only had a rental so there was no way they would fit. So with my suitecase in hand he charged me two bucks. STEAL PEOPLE!! IT WAS A STEAL!!!! Beautiful Samsonite leather skin, PERFECT condition inside. sigh.. Yeay for me! hahah!

Anyway, the guy was local to Watsonville and a total blast to talk to. Super fun staff and great great finds. We are going back, but with our truck next time!!!

Oh, yea, back to the fishing, so we made it to Klamath and Tod and I stayed in this super cute hotel and the following morning we met Ken and Kathy and headed to the river....at the butt crack of dawn...did I mention that? sigh.

The river is beautiful. There was a bear cub roaming the river bank eating grass, he had been out there for about 2 months and he seemed to look healthy. Tod assured me berries would be coming on so he would have more to eat. He was A D O R A B L E!

I got 3 hits, and all three came off, there were 2 drive by's (hits on the line only) and then the 4th time I told Tod the next hit was his, he insisted it would be mine. When the line hit Tod tried to hand me the pole but I told him, "nope, it's all you!". So he ended up pulling in this monster! ha! nice! Tod said he almost cried when that salmon was finally on the boat! After we got off the water, which was at 3:30, we would have come in earlier but Ken and Kathy wanted to wait to see if I could get another bit and get a salmon. These peeps are awesome! What a great couple! We had such a great time on the boat, we talked and ate and talked and ate! ha!

After we got off the river we headed into town for a nice cold beer, BEST CORONA OF MY LIFE! Then headed to the Cunningham's (Ken and Kathy) to clean and bag the salmon. We met up later at the local bar right across the street from our hotel and had a great dinner yummy Ortega burger and killer fries with this "Burger Sauce" the cook made and then sat down next to Tod and told me how to make it....while he smoked is cigarette of course! haha!, We played pool and made more friends!

It was the best vacation we have had since we have been together. It was so laid back and so great to get away just the two of us. An air conditioned car always helps....I'm just sayin...

Summer updates

Summer has been busy this year. Lots of activities and trips planned. So this summer I have taken time off from Facebook and will return in the fall. This way I can just focus on the family and friends.

I have things I also need to accomplish this summer, I want to purge my scraproom, get chairs for our dinning room table, get Olivia's room organized and decorated, and clean Tod's mancave.....that has tons of my craft stuff in it.

So see, no need to FB when I have a full list of things to get done!

Enjoy your summer!

xoxo

Hunger Games

So have you read these books? Well in January I was waiting for my sister to start her testing for her Estheticianlicense and she handed me this book....within the first chapter I thought two things, I hope they make a movie from this book and second, how am I gonna get this book from my sister!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried and tried for months to get Kira to read these books but she just wasn't haven it. Then about two weeks ago I told her, "Just try it, you'll love it." She said, (sigh!)"Will I be hooked or will it drag on...!?!" I said, "HA! You'll be hooked in the first chapter and you won't be able to put it down till it's finished!" Yea, she loved it! hahah!

So if you haven't read it, do it now! It's a great read, great love triangle and truly great suspense.

Start of summer

Today was Kira's final day for her junior year. No more checking in with the teacher, no more late night cram sessions of online courses and no more insane homework and stressful weeks.

Now it's time to enjoy three months of lazy days, sleeping in, late night movies, friends and family outings. She will be driving soon and even though I am so scared I could crap my pants just thinking about her on the road, I have to sit back and let God take over. She's a supa dupa smart kid and I am extremely blessed she has done so good, I just worry insanely about her....eh, it could be worse.....I just don't know how....ha!

Bin Laden is dead, God bless our troops and our country

It is finally done. Late night on May 1st we started to get reports that our troops had taken him out. Along with him, his son and one of Bin Ladens wives were killed. She was used as a human shield to protect Bin Laden. As I watched the news I was overcome with emotions. The families of 9/11 that had forever been changed, our country that changed that day as well. Our troops that have done so much for so so so long. It was all too much for my brain to handle. I wept in my car on my way to pick up Kira. As I listened to my AM radio to keep up with the breaking details of the events that happened earlier in the night across the nation, I said a prayer to God, "Thank you for taking him off this Earth, thank you for giving us our elite team, for their skills, their training and for their love of their country and to fight the good fight."

The fight on terror will probably NEVER be over, but knowing that the head had been cut off the snake that night..... I slept sound that night.

God bless our men and women who serve and if my grandpa who was a Master Chief Petty Officer in the Navy was alive to see this we would be celebrating with High fives...and maybe a few beers.

Cricut Love the new E2

I had been on the fence about this. Pros- Love the light, love the paper guide, love the rotation of your image, love no overlays, love that the sides can be changed to different colors- although that can be a con since I understand the Gypsy owners are STILL waiting for that feature as well.....hmmmm

Cons- Its pretty large looking, I JUST bought my fuchsia colored Expression just shy of a month ago, Is the new screen feature easy to work with and is it large enough to show images.... This is one reason why I never jumped on the Gypsy wagon- the screen was a lil too small for me......

So after waiting, thinking, and watching Babe said "Just get it!"

Free shipping worked for me, and I have 30 days to try it out, if I am not blown over impressed, then I'll pack it up ans send it back.....Done that several times with HSN and no problems there.....

As for now, the E2 will be here by Mother's Day! Thank you Babe!!!! xoxoxox

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We are blessed to have this Aquarium about 30 minutes from our home.

Last weekend Hunter surprised Kira with a trip to the Aquarium and she said she swore her eyes turned to hearts when he told her where they were going!!! hahah!
Here are some pictures of their day. I love these kids! They make my heart smile!

4 Friends

These girls have been together since elementary school. They have been together through lots of good times, and several bad times. They support each other, laugh with each other, and love one another. As they grow into young women, they remind me of how important it is to have loyal and true friends. They have that.