Snowed In (and Broken Camera Update!)

So, we got snowed in for an extra day at French Lick. Yes, the kids were bummed...or not....another day of chillin' at the pool and hitting up the bowling alley - they were in heaven. :) We finally got home last night. Here are a few pictures of us bowling the day away. :)

Reeva and Rylee showin' their skills

They ain't got nothin' on Reegan and Reece ;)

I loved watching Reegan wait in anticipation. Aren't you lovin' her stylin' outfit? I guess she decided to go with one sock 'in' and one sock 'out' today. Crazy girl :)

She got so excited when she knocked over the pins.

She kept jumping but this one was posed cuz' I kept missing all the original ones...

On the way back up to our room the kids wanted to climb to the top of the stairs. Randy and I opted to wait on our floor for them. ;)

Ah yes, the camera update....

You might remember my boo-hooing about my broken camera lense. Well, I took it in and am happy to say that it was only the protective filter that got broken. So, fifty bucks and a new filter later I have happily been snappin' away - much to the kids' dismay. ;)

Better run for now. Reegan has dance tonight and we've got to leave early so I can stop by and get my cell phone transfered. Hope you all are stayin' warm!

FWD:Hi Rylee! We miss you! (and Happy Valentine's Day!)

I first have to say Happy Valentine's Day! Check out the roses Randy surprised me with...what girl doesn't love to get some flowers and a sweet note from her guy?! Thanks babe ;)

Since the kids don't have school on Monday due to President's Day we decided to take a little mini-vacation to French Lick for a couple of days. The kids love staying in a hotel and eating and swimming and just hanging out.

Here is a text pic of the kids taking a swim. Yep, that's right, there are only three...notice the caption..

Hi Rylee! We miss you!

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Where is Rylee you ask??

Here she is...in bed...sick...poor thing..while the kids are swimming with their dad and hanging out in the outdoor hot tub. They were loving being in the hot tub while it was snowing. :)

Rylee did finally get to feeling better this afternoon so we went to the movies and watched Percy Jones and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It was good. Actually, according to Reece it was AWESOME! Then we went to dinner and back to our room to watch movies and hang out. Reegan had fun trying on her new valentine sunglasses and posing for a few pictures. She told me I had to keep this one. She is so fun! and what a cutie :)

After Randy got us settled in he decided to take off for his favorite part of French Lick - the Black Jack table...see ya babe...bring back some cash!!

So, how was your Valentine's Day? Hope it was a special one spent with the ones you love...

Valentine's Day Cards

Finally, tonight we finished Valentine cards for the kids' classmates. This year I was on it...had ideas and even got started in January! Why?! is it not possible for me to actually get something finished early?! I don't know...the intentions were good and actually I think they are finished earlier than usual but, still, the week of?? Oh well...the kids worked really hard on them and this way we didn't have to cram them all into a night or two - they've been working on them on and off for about a month now. And, having a snow day today didn't hurt matters either. :)

I found all of these ideas and more over at familyfun.com - I always like for it to be pretty simple so that the kids can do their own Valentine's without it getting too frustrating. They were all excited about what they chose this year. For their teachers, they made a popcorn containers out of cardstock and then attached individual packets of microwave popcorn on the back. They wrote either "You're a Pop! Pop! Pop!-ular Teacher!" or "I don't mean to be corny, but you're the greatest!"


Here's Rylee - she made heart crayons by melting broken crayons and then attached them to cardstock circles. She wrote around the outside of the circle, "Valentine, you color my world!" or "Have a happy Valentine's Day for crayon out loud!" We had to take like 12 pictures of her to get one with her eyes at least slightly open. :0) Goofy girl!



Reeva chose this owl sitting on a (pencil) branch for her card. They turned out really cute too. :) She wrote things like, "Valentine, you're a Hoot!" and "Owl always be your friend!" She actually finished hers yesterday. So, she got to spend a lot of her day reading today while Reece and Rylee worked on theirs. :)



And here is Reece with his heart Aliens...they turned out great too! He did a great job cutting out the hearts, bending the pipe cleaners, and coloring the faces...not to mention signing his name 25 times and writing each one of his classmates names! The inside reads, "Valentine, you are out of this world!"



So there they are...another year down. Altogether, we did 71 valentines this year (plus a few extra counting the mess-ups:) Next year should be fun with Reegan added to the mix!

Hopefully, I'll get back here before then but if not I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy's Helper

My mom brought some chocolate chip cookies over the other day while Randy and I were painting my 'craft room-in-progress' and she and Reegan baked them so the kids would have a snack when they got home from school. They were so yummy! So, last night I decided to make a batch and asked if anyone wanted to help. Everyone did but once I got started I ended up having one helper. (Rylee and Reeva found books to read and I think Reece decided to hang out with dad) So, Reegan and I went to work. She helped pour and measure all of the ingredients and the dough was delicious! As I was watching her help fill the cookie sheets I thought of when Rylee and Reeva were her size and up on the countertops helping me. They don't even need a stool to help them reach to help anymore!! I know I have pictures of them helping and I thought I should try to be better at taking more pictures of Reegan during every day moments. It's so funny that with your first baby (or, in my case, babies) you take pictures of them constantly but a few kids down the line....well, you just don't....it's definitely not intentional but I think you just get so caught up in raising 4 kids...anyway, tonight I decided to snap a picture of my little helper. So, I go to get my camera....wait, first, here is the picture of Reegan...taken with my cell phone (you can find out why below)....doesn't she look like a wonderful little helper?! Well, she is! :)


Ok, the camera story....so, I go to get my camera out of my super cute bowler camera bag that my sweet hubby (with a little help from my super sweet sister!) surprised me with for my birthday. Isn't it adorable?!



Adorable it is...protective, I'm not so sure at this point. I grab my camera that I love:


take off the lens cap and discover my hand is filled with dust sized-particles of what(?!) - yes, the front glass on my lens. :( What happened?!!! I don't know but I am pretty depressed about it.

So that's it - the story of why Reegan's every day snapshot was taken with my cell phone. Interesting? Maybe. Depressing? Yep. Glad I didn't let it ruin a moment to capture my little helper in action? Definitely.

Ok, better run for now. Mom and I are taking trip to a few little antique stores this morning and I am running late after all my boo-hooing about my camera! Have a great day. :)

Playroom No More

I mentioned in my last post that I am taking over the playroom. Of course, I love scrapbooking but I have also started to try a little sewing and have found some other things I can't wait to try out. The problem is...I am having lots of crafty stuff all over the house and it is not very functional. I had been using a small part of the kids' playroom for my scrappin' space but I haven't unpacked from the last couple of crops I've been to and I'm starting to realize that the reason is because I simply can't fit anything else in there! So, I found a picture of a room that I love and I am taking over the playroom. The kids' toys are getting moved to the basement - as they've gotten older they like to go down there and play and watch tv so I'm going to take advantage of that! I remembered to snap a few "before" pictures:


Here is the long view. The room is currently in three sections; the tv area, the scrappin' area, and the play area.



Here is the middle area that I have enclosed for my scrappin' purposes. I initially blocked it in like this so the kids would know the boundaries of what they could play with and what was mommy's stuff. :) But I did like my little area with everything in reach....believe me, it has definitely seen neater days...as you can see "stuff" has taken over. I'm ready for a change. :)



Here is the area that held the toys. I only remembered to take some pictures after the kids and I had hauled most of the toys out so it looks pretty bare....but look at all that room!! I can't wait!



And here are some paint samples I'm looking at for the room. I am going with yellow...I want something soft and cheerful. I am terrible at colors and not so great at decorating but I saw this picture on another blog and loved it so I am going to try to use it as I change the room.



So, it is started. Randy actually helped me paint yesterday - ok, so he pretty much painted it himself but I was a big help too ;) - I worked on painting that big wooden bookcase that is in the picture above and today I am going to start moving things around and try to find a set up that works. Hopefully, I'll be back soon to share some updates. Wish me luck! :)

Finally...a Crop!

So, I sat down the other day and typed up a nice long post entailing my latest crop adventure and what a great time I had...yada, yada, yada...anyway, to make a long story short, right as I was about to post it my computer froze up!! Aaahhh!! I get frustrated even thinking about it. Has that ever happened to you? It drives me crazy...I must have been in some mood because it has taken me several days to even want to attempt it again.

Anyway, I am going to make it short but I did want to share this layout that my friend, Melanie, did at the crop. I love how she used so much patterned paper and yet the layout doesn't seem too busy with focus still on her photos. I tend to shy away from uing so many patterned papers but she did it beautifully and I plan on giving it a try soon. :)

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I got a couple of layouts done too...this first one is of my four kiddos at our last 4th of July party.

Summer Pleasures:

This one is of my Reeva Mae. She picked out this photo that I took of her and wanted me to scrapbook it. This quote is perfect for her. It is a quote by Harriett Tubman and it reads, "Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world."

Faith:

I also have one of Reegan that is almost finished but not quite so I will have to share it later. I haven't posted any of my layouts for a while though so I am going to share a few of the last ones I've done. This one is of Rylee and her love of books and Chuck Taylors...and how I remember loving so many of the things that she does.

Glimpses of Me in You:

This is my little man. I made this layout using one of the monthly kits the local scrapbook store did last year. I saw this quote and knew I wanted to use it on a layout of him. It reads, "Build me son whose heart will be clear, whose goals will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will learn to learn to laugh, yet never forget to weep, one who will reach for the future, yet never forget the past." I don't know who said it...I would like to find out so I can credit them...I really love it.

My Son:

And I love this one of Reegan and her boots. She wore them until they were no longer wearable. They were rain boots but she had so many holes in them her feet would be soaked when she wore them in the rain. :) I had finally put them in the garage to help her "forget" about them when the dog got one of them and pretty much finished it off...poor girl...how she cried...but I am glad that I got some pictures of her in them. The journaling reads: Reegan Carol ~ You definitely have a thing for shoes. You love them all but you always seem to find that one favorite pair that you will wear until they are no longer wearable. But when I look at these boots - and all of their battle scars - the only thing that I know for sure is that they were well loved. love, mom.

Rain or Shine:

I've got a few more layouts in the works but have discovered that I have outgrown my scrappin' area...so I am taking over the playroom and I can't wait! More to follow soon.... :)

Cupcake Card

So, I know it has been a little while. Things have definitely been busy and a little crazy around here. I FINALLY graduated in May! :) Am officially a licenced educator....was starting to wonder if that would ever happen. I'm not teaching yet though...Reegan is still home this year so I am staying home with her. I actually covered a maternity leave for a teacher from Labor Day through Thanksgiving. It was a good experience and I learned a lot but I am glad I decided to stay home this year with Reegan. It kind of made me realize that my choice to stay home while my kids were young was the right one for me. I am finally getting the house back into some sort of order and I feel there is more peace here at home when I am here more and my kids know that I am going to be here.

Anyway, back to the cupcake card, I've been wanting to get back into blogging again but just couldn't get motivated. :( But, finally, the other day I was searching the Internet for some ideas for the kids to make Valentine cards for their class and came across the Tip Junkie website and am loving it! I feel my creative juices getting excited. ;) I also found some blogs with some super creative women and ideas. I love the Picky Palate that has gotten me excited about cooking...and, believe me, that is hard to do! Ok, get back on track here...so, as I was looking for Valentine Day cards I found these and these super cute cupcake cards. Aren't they adorable? Reece was invited to go bowling with his friend, Elsa, for her birthday so I thought I would try to make one last night for her gift. I think it turned out pretty cute!

There's my little guy getting ready to go. He was pretty excited. He was out shoveling in front of the garage this morning so they would be able to pick him up. :)

Better run for now...I actually did find a few cards the kids are going to try to make for Valentine's Day and, since the kids are home from school due to snow, the girls and I are going to try to get them started. Have a great day!