Happy New Year!

What a wondeful year 2008 has been! But as good as it was, I am looking forward to a fantastic time in 2009. I am anxious to see the adventures the new year brings us: new ranks in Scouts and Webelos, campouts, Evan getting to spend several days in Ashland at the Shakespear Festival with his Jr. High, spending 3 days with Alex's class in Yosemite, family times.....and I am sure many other things!

We had an amazing Christmas! The boys (all three of them) definitely made me feel special. Evan had Dave drive around until he was able to find me the Jane Seymour Open Hearts diamond necklace (which Evan paid for himself!).....that brought me to tears on Christmas afternoon. I have to wait a couple months to fully get Dave's gift. He bought us tickets to see Grease in San Francisco in March...and even a night at a plush hotel! I almost fell out of my chair when I realized the tickets were for the ORCHESTRA section!!!! OMG!!!! NEVER have we sat that close! Boys loved their Street Waves and have gotten quite good at riding them.

Hope you have a safe and blessed 2009!

Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May all your wishes come true this holiday season!

(photo is from a couple weeks ago before the Christmas program at church! Gotta love a guy in a tie!)

Been crafty!!

Been getting a few little gifts done...keeping it quick and simple this year. Here are a couple that I have made recently. Top are post-it note holders and the bottom is a bookmark made from a jumbo paper clip! I also made 3 CD case calendars for my father-in-law, husband and brother. Haven't decided yet if making them digitally saved time or not...I think it did as I was able to use the same page for all calendars!

Starting to feel the last minute Christmas rush! Going to enjoy a leisurely lunch with one of my best friends (who I haven't seen since last Christmas) and then hit the ground running to get errands done and the house cleaned before tomorrow afternoon!

Looonnngggg time no post!!!

Wow! I can't believe it's been over 6 weeks since I last posted on my blog! Guess I really haven't had too much to blog about and haven't been doing much scrapping lately to show that either!

I will though, take from my friend Tisha's blog, a Satisfied Saturday Six....six things that I am satisfied with or happy with! That should catch you up on my life....

1. I am THRILLED at how well things are going at our new scrapbooking message board! It's a place to hang out and chat and scrap.....a place for friends and I am so thankful for my pals Tilda, Carrie and Angela for starting it with me! Come check us out www.chattyscrappers.com

2. The Christmas stuff is up....packages are starting to go beneath the tree. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here!

3. My inlaws recently purchased the house behind us. Not to live in full time but to come down and spend time with the boys. Tonight is the first night my mother-in-law is staying there...and Alex has already asked if he can stay with her tonight! Made her night!

4. Getting some stuff rearranged and cleaned in the boys rooms. Our houses have such tiny bedrooms. Until recently one room had bunk beds which took up the entire room. Now we put those in the other house and got a smaller bed for that room. Kind of make a little more room for at least one of them! But now is the job of CLEANING their rooms...which are a MESS!

5. Enjoying my current long-term position as a special ed teacher at the high school.

6. Slowly getting back to scrapbooking! I have a few projects in mind....hopefully I can pull them off before Christmas!

CYBER CROP

Chatty Scrappers is having our FIRST Cyber Crop!!!! Come check it out...there are challenges for everyone: layouts, holiday, cards, altering, gift making.....come check it out!!! If you come visit because of the post here be sure to tell us!!!!!!

Love to scrap and chat????

Well...with the closing of another site that I visited and hung out at for years, some of my best cyber friends and I decided we needed a new home to hang our hat, sit and have coffee or wine and chat...well, and maybe do a bit of scrapbooking! So.....we opened the doors of Chatty Scrappers (www.chattyscrappers.com) and are having a blast with new and old friends!!!

If you are one who loves to just sit and chat and scrap....learn new things...make friends....then this is the place!

Twelve Years.....

Where have 12 years gone? It's hard to believe that 12 years ago (on the 19th) we were blessed with a wonderful, happy, intelligent little boy. Watching him grow from a baby, to toddler, to little boy, to the young man he is today has been a wonderful experience. Not a day goes by that I do not thank God for him or the gifts he brings to our family. I am looking forward to facing the years to come with him....teenage year, driving, high school, college. The future holds bright things for him! LOVE YOU EVAN!

I'm here

I went to a weekend long scrapbooking retreat this past weekend! WOW! What a great time. It had been years since I had been on one. Packing was a challenge as my entire scraproom wouldn't fit in my little car but I think I did pretty well. Here is a sampling of the 27 pages I got done!!!! YEP, 27 scrapbook pages!!!!

Had to scrap these photos of Yosemite Falls in different seasons. It looks like a totally different place during the different seasons.
Gotta love that smile...he had just gotten his braces and loved to show them to people!
Had fun using the Basic Grey Archaic paper for this layout of a hiking/camping trip we went on in the spring.
January 2007...we had a RARE cold snap...things all over froze including our pool! Top photo is a chunk of ice from our pool.

Other than a scrappy weekend away, life has been busy. Scouts, soccer, work, family.....never stops. Right now we are gearing up for Evan's 12th birthday on Sunday! YIKES where did my little boy go!!!!

Saturday Evening Ramblings

Well, yet again it has been a long time since I have posted. Guess I haven't thought I had anything to blog about. Thought I would do a little catch up for everyone!

Alex has started soccer. So now we have Thursday practices and Saturday games. Today was their 2nd game and so far they are 0-2. They play their little hearts out but haven't quite figured out how to win a game.

Cub Scouts have also started back up again. This year Dave and I are leading our own Webelos den. I think we have a good group of boys. Most in our den of 6 have known each other for a couple years and get along well. Should be an adventure to lead them for the next 18 months before they bridge into the Boy Scout troop.

Court of Honor tonight for Boy Scouts. Since Evan didn't go to camp this year he only received one merit badge, but it was a required one so that is good. He needs to get those done to move up in rank. He also received his patch for 25 nights of camping.

Today I received Evan's first progress report for junior high. WOW! I am soooo proud of him! He's taking quite the class load and doing very well! He has straight A's in all his classes. But I am most proud of his Algebra 1 grade...A+!!!! This is a class that is primarily 8th graders. Math has never been my strong point and I remember struggling in Algebra 1 in 9th and 10th grades (yep, I took it as 1a and 1b!). He is so determined to keep straight A's.....even told me to ground him the other day because he didn't do well on a couple quizes!

I am working...2 more weeks in the class I am teaching now. Then off for a month and back to another class in November!

Hope to get some of my scrapbooking creations up soon!

Wonderful Weekend

We spent the long holiday weekend up in Yosemite with Dave's family. Other than the HUGE crowds of people also wanting to visit one of the most amazing places on Earth, it was a GREAT weekend! The boys had fun with their cousins, Anthony and Tanya. Evan and Tanya (who is almost 5) were inseparable. Where ever he was...she wasn't far behind! They rode their bikes around the campground loop DOZENS of times.

On Saturday we took a hike to the top of Sentinal Dome....about 2.5 miles, the hardest being the last bit to the top of the dome. BUT, once up, the view was AMAZING! Beautiful 360* views of mountains and more mountains! Got this photo of the boys with Half Dome in the back! Climbing Half Dome is on Evan's list of MUST DO's!
Sunday, Dave, the boys and I got up early, and headed to the top of Nevada Falls. We had been to the top of Vernal Falls (on the way to Nevada Falls) but never to the top of Nevada so had NO idea what we were in for! Above is a photo of the trail to the top of Vernal Falls. Something like 600 granite steps up the side of the cliff! Talk about the ULTIMATE stair climber!!! LOL!
First good view of Nevada Falls (not flowing very fast this time of year).....kept asking myself if I REALLY wanted to go to the top! It's WAY up there! The hike between the top of Vernal and the top of Nevada is just over a mile but you climb 1000 ft in elevation!
We made it! Here are the boys at the top of Nevada Falls. Both did AMAZING! Evan has always been up for an adventure and lead us up the trails most of the time, never stopping to rest (unlike his mom who stopped every 5 steps!) except to WAIT for me! Alex though was a TROOPER! He kept going and never complained!!!! And finally admitted..."Mom, I kind of like hiking now".
Before leaving had to go get a photo of Yosemite Falls.....have dozens of photos of these waterfalls in all seasons...do you notice somethign MISSING in this photo of the waterfalls??? Yep...NO WATER! Yosemite Falls has all but dried up this summer. Kind of depressing but will make for a great scrapbook page where I can show the waterfall in the different seasons!

My legs are killing me, definitely NOT happy when I have to walk up and down the stairs, but getting to spend time in the most amazing place was well worth it. The hikes were hard but well worth the satisfaction of reaching the top! Now to climb the trail up Yosemite Falls and Half Dome!

Still here......

Wow! Sorry I haven't updated this in so long....seems like it's been a long month of August! Here's a quick update of our lives...

1. AFTER returning from England I had about 6 days to get things together before starting a 2 month teaching job! CRAZY! I'm enjoying the class but am looking forward to being off in October!

2. Evan started jr. high on Monday! He's attending our bigger jr. high here in town.....1600 kids in 2 grades! YIKES...that's 2x bigger than the high school I went to! He's got such a GREAT attitude about school, which I hope continues for the next 6 years! He's taking Algebra 1 (loves to remind me I took this in 9th and 10th grades), Spanish 1a, Language Arts (Gifted and Talented level), History, Science and PE. Already taking things very seriously and studying above what he needs to do. Striving for straight As....I'll update and let you know how it goes!

3. Trying to continue to get Alex caught up after being gone for 2 weeks! He's got all his school work caught up but he's behind in independent reading points...which he doesn't like to do! So we are trying to read EXTRA every night...which isn't always a fun thing!

4. Dave and I (well, mainly Dave) have stepped up and become Webelos leaders in Cub Scouts. Alex's den was getting REALLY big and FULL of unrulely children, so he decided to take 1/2 of them and start his own den. So now, on top of Boy Scouts on Monday night with Evan, we will be having Webelos meetings on Tuesday nights! YIKES!!! Not sure EXACTLY what we have gotten ourselves into but we are excited and have a great group of scouts and parents joining us!

5. My birthday.......turned another year older the other day! Just another day...another year older until a friend reminded me that I am 364 days from the BIG birthday! LOL!!!! And she vows to remind me regularly how many days (she's already had the BIG birthday!) until mine!

6. Camping in Yosemite this coming weekend...normally AVOID the place during the summer and holiday weekends but Dave's sister got reservations for the housekeeping units (half tend/half cabin) and asked us if we wanted to go! SURE! Our goal is to hike to the top of Nevada Falls.....probably an 8 mile round trip hike.

7. Scrapping...when I can! Hasn't been much lately......but check out the kits at The Shaker Box...Linda is putting together some GREAT kits!!! September 1st she is also debuting a CARD KIT and a HYBRID KIT!!! There is something for EVERYONE there!!!! Go check it out!

Thursday 13

Stonehenge

Today's Thursday 13 will be about England. Still needing to edit some photos before I post more here.

1. We had GREAT weather. Cloudy and cool the first 1/2 of the trip with occasional rain showers and then it warmed up very nicely. By the last couple days it was down right HOT in London!

2. The boys were GREAT! They were troopers for 9-10 hour flights, the hundreds of miles we drove and the late nights!

3. Alex's favorite site was Big Ben (although he said he didn't realize it was in London, but that he had always wanted to see it!)

4. Evan's favorite part was CHEESE! We spent a day in Cheddar Gorge....home of Cheddar cheese. I think he would have spent all day at the cheese factory just sampling!

5. Driving those narrow little roads and meeting an oncoming truck (lorry) is SCARY!

6. Found a few beautiful little seaside villages we would love to go back and visit.

7. I think I did enough hill and stair climbing to cover the month I didn't go to the gym! Who knew that there were so many hills in England! LOL!

8. Amazing friends....our friends there were so generous to open their homes and lend us a car while we were there!

9. 600+ photos....need I say more! That's a lot of scrapping to be done!

10. Punting in Oxford (those are the little boats you see in Venice with the cute Italian guy singing and pushing the boat with a long pole through the canals).....a new experience and one Dave needs a lot of practice at! I think he should stick to canoes and kayaks!

11. Wine and beer......do I need to say more!

12. Standing on the Prime Meridian....so we were standing in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres!

13. Memories to last a lifetime.....

Home..and exhausted!

We arrived home this afternoon from our 2 week trip to England! We had a FABULOUS time! Just a few things we did (cause I am so tired I would probably forget most!)....Greenwich Park and the Prime Meridian; cruise on the River Thames in London; punting in Oxford; cheddar cheese at the Cheddar Gorge; excellent dinner at the OXO in London with magnificent views of the city; Exmoor National Park; Stonehenge; a couple nights at the farm; visiting friends; drinking wine......

Look for more and some photos in the days to come!

SHAKER BOX KIT CLUB!!

Go check out the SHAKER BOX KIT CLUB........http://theshakerbox.com/store/ which is FILLED with yummy paper, embellishements and more!!!! Linda has some great paper lines lined up for August (SEI's Poppy line) and September (a new Daisy Bucket line). If you subscribe for a 6 month membership to the kit you will get your 7th kit 1/2 off as well as EXTRA goodies in your monthly kits (that you won't get if you only get the 3 month membership). Please use "Alli's Friend" in the referral area or comment area as the design teams are also eligible to win prizes!!! WHO doesn't love prizes!!!

What more do you want...coordinated kits for your scrapbooking needs!!!!!!

Few recent layouts!

Been getting a lot of scrapbooking done the past week or so. There's still a few days left in our HUGE New Beginnings crop over at the Shaker Box! There are 32 challenges up so far with a few more yet to be posted!!!!!! So between scrapping for the crop, working with our Design Team sponsor Sassafras Lass, and working on things for Mad Scrapper Designs Creative Team, I've gotten lots done lately! Here's just a sampling.....

Yep...me at 4 1/2 years old. Paper is Sassafras Lass "sunshine lollipop" line. Bird is stitched using Bazzill In Stitchz template and my unending supply of DMC floss!
Here's my 2nd grade photo! Used Sassafras Lass' "Pocket full of Rosies" line. Perfect paper for those 1970's photos!
Photos from a hike we took last summer to a remote little lake. Paper is Fancy Pants "Papa" line.
Altered this journal cover for a friend's 13 year old daughter. The papers are from Mad Scrapper Designs His,Hers, Theirs kit! What a fun digital kit to work with!!!
and the matching photo album I made for her also. This is one of those cheap $1-2 albums. I found this one at Target. The cover is just a photo sleeve so I replaced it with my own cover I made using MSD's His, Hers, Theirs digital kit also. Loved the pinks and browns. If you want to pick up this kit you can find it at Gotta Pixel and Treasures to Scrap.

Seems as though

my blog has gotten quite popular with the people from cricut.com While I appreciate so much visitations on my blog I can assure you that I have nothing to do with whatever the reason so many of you are upset with someone with the user name Alliscraps (cause...first...I put an _ in my name. Alli_scraps). And I have PMed the person who posted my blog in the first place! So let me just say...for the record.....I do not, nor have I EVER sold ANYTHING having to do with scrapbooking. I am terribly sorry that it sounds like some of you have gotten taken advantage of but I can assure you...and the people who are on my links can assure you...that I am NOT who you are looking for!


On another note....don't forget that the crop at The Shaker Box is still going on! Come check it out!!!!!

Happy 4th of July....a day early!

We'll be celebrating with family this 4th of July....hope you have a wonderful, safe 4th! Happy Birthday AMERICA!!!!!

In honor of the holiday, take a few minutes and watch this musical presentation! AMAZING!!!!
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm

Fun in the Sun!!!

Summer in California has arrived!!!! This past weekend we were invited to join some friends on their boat at a local lake! The boys had never been on a motor boat so this was sure to be an adventure! Alex enjoyed the tubing.....after a while. The first time, he barely let the driver go fast and lasted about 4 minutes! LOL! Evan loved the tube....but had his eyes set on higher things! WATERSKIING! Actually he wanted to try wakeboarding but we convinced him he really needed to try waterskiing first...and after seeing his friend fail at getting up on the wakeboard he decided we were RIGHT! With SHEER determination that Evan possesses......on the 4th try he was up and going! With the BIGGEST smile plastered on his face! Even our friends left on the shore could hear his screams when he made it! So proud of him for NOT giving up!!!

New Beginnings.....

Come join us at The Shaker Box as we welcome our new owner Linda! Yep...after all these years Michele has stepped down to spend more time scrapping and less time managing everything having to do with the site!!!

In doing what The Shaker does best...we are having a HUGE crop!!!! I MEAN HUGE!!! Over 30 challenges......2 weeks worth of scrapping!!! Stop by and pull up a chair at our huge Shaker Table and join the fun! There is something for EVERYONE there!

Also, Michele is going out in GRAND style.....with a HUGE sale in the store!!!! Be sure to stop by!

Relay for Life

This past weekend our family participated in our city's American Cancer Society Relay for Life. This was our 2nd year on a team and what a moving/emotional weekend! We had a great time....from guys walking in bras, a couple of our boys in dresses.....the to the patriotic lap and then the luminaria ceremony! We all got by on little or no sleep for the 24+ hours but our efforts paid off when we were able to turn in nearly $1000 just from Saturday alone! We were blessed by having our dear friend Leta join us. She has been fighting breast cancer for the past year and has a few more months of treatment to go. But having her there made it all the more special for me. The weather was wild....hot, humid, thunder storms, cooler, hot again, then cold at night! But despite the weather and the low attendance we had a great time!!!!!!! I encourage all of you to get involved in the Relay for Life in your town!!!!!

Evan's new look

Here's Evan's new look......he's so excited to get braces. At this point they are only on the front and bands in the back...the rest are baby teeth which we need to wait for them to come out and then come back in. He had the colors all planned out....red and blue for 4th of July and our trip to England. Gotta love the red eye too....he got bit by a mosquito right near his right eye over the weekend...it swelled shut and turned his eye BRIGHT red. It's going down but still pink.....gotta love the kid! He's so darn cute!

Changes......

Michele, the owner of my home away from home: The Shaker Box, has decided to step down and is in the process of selling the site/kit club/store. Sad to see her go but she's going out with a bang and a HUGE sale at the ShakerBox store. Above is a preview of her newest kit! It is PACKED with 15 pieces of 12x12 paper, yards of ribbon, beads, brads, alpha stickers, rub-ons, Maya Road keychain.........and LOTS of other stuff! She's selling all this for ONLY $23.99!!!! Go check it out at http://theshakerbox.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=98 and keep your eye out for more sales from her!

NOT only is the site having a sale starting on July 1st we will be having a NEW BEGINNINGS Crop to welcome the new owner, Linda! Be sure to stop by during that time to participate and earn some great prizes!!!

On the home front.........busy! Evan is done with school and is enjoying relaxing summer days at home while little brother still has 2 more weeks of school left. We are preparing for 3 days of Cub Scout Day Camp this week (which is actually 3 evenings to allow the year round students to participate) and Relay for Life. My friend Vicki and I co-captian a team each year of our friends and family. So, we've been busy getting raffle prizes together as well as painting our team shirts and trying to raise money! If you've never participated in one of these events find out when your local one is and go! They are open to the public and are very inspirational! I am thrilled to have my dear friend Leta as part of our team this year as she has just reached her one year mark of being diagnosed with breast cancer.

More projects....

I made the incert for this coffee mug for Dave...his old one was well worn and water spotted! LOVE the digital kit that Robin Blankenship (aka Mad Scrapper Designs) just designed: American Pie! Who doesn't like red/white/blue, All American colors and elements???? This was perfect for an All American Dad mug and also for future projects to come for Alex's teacher. His school colors are: red/white/blue and his mascot are STARS! How perfect!!!

If you like this kit go visit her store at http://digistore.treasurestoscrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=14&zenid=da8212788bb5b3a0704d9abd32bd5e96 . She has several new kits and a grab bag up this month!!! Everything in her store is 30% off this month BUT, if you would like an additional 15% off please leave a comment with your email and I will send you the code!!!! Who can pass up a deal like that?????

On the home front....one child is done with 6th grade...still coming to grips with the fact that I have a child in Jr. High!!!!! Seems he was just a baby a few days ago..... And one child who is heading to 4th grade soon...and nearly as tall his his big brother!

We are also gearing up for American Cancer Society's Relay for Life here in town. A friend and I are co-captains of a team for the 2nd year. What an amazing event it is....so inspiring and heart-warming. We're hoping to raise more money this year than we did last year!!! (if you are interested in donating to our team..let me know!).

My latest creation...

I've been working on this digital/hybrid book for Evan for a month! Finally finished it today. I used Adventures in Fun kit and Alphamaps from Mad Scrapper Designs at Treasures to Scrap. LOVE this kit...and the alphamaps!!!!! Each letter has a photo of Evan through the years and words that describe him. Even scanned some of his baby photos and put in there. I think he was touched when I gave it to him...but well, with an 11 year old boy, it's hard to tell!!!!!

He's now out of elementary school! WHERE did the past 7 years go??? Yesterday at an awards ceremony he received honor roll AND The President's Award for Academic Excellence (along with a letter from the president!). Today we had to go get a frame for it and he wants to hang it in his room!

So now, what to do with him for the next 2 1/2 months!!!! LOL!!!!!

I am here.....

I've been a bad blogger...and having the tracker of who visits, I can see people have actually be checking in here!!!! So...I am here!

What have we been up to lately???? Here's the run-down!

1. Camping over Mother's Day weekend with some friends! Had a great time...boys caught their first fish ever!!! Evan even ATE it! BIGGER suprise than them having the patience to fish!
2. We bought a Wii!!! Need I say more...that thing is ADDICTING!!!! We've had it since end of March but lately we have bought a few new games for it and we just can't stop playing!!! Big Brain Academy..."measures" how big your brain is! WELL.....Dave started out with a bigger brain....let's just say I had to practice daily for a few days to get a BIGGER brain than him!!! Then we bought WiiFit......and now the race is on to unlock the different games! And if anyone says that some of those games are NOT a workout, they are LYING! We also bought Mario Cart....let's just say we are a very competitive family!!!! LOL!!!!
3. End of elementary school is winding down for Evan! BOOOOHOOOO! My little boy will be joining the 1600 kids at our junior high next year! Lots of fun things happening these past few weeks!!
4. Trying to get caught up in scrapping requirements and duties!!!!! Been working on a digi/hybrid ABC book as a gift for Evan. Finally got it all printed...now to just put the finishing touches on it!
5. Gearing up to work for 2 weeks in June.....not sure I am really ready (or want to) but oh well! This is also the class I will be teaching for 3 months next year.
6. Starting to plan and prepare for our trip to England this summer....can't wait!

Well..that's what we've been doing in a nutshell!!!!

Thursday 13.....

Things that make me happy....today's topic for Thursday 13!

1. My child's excitement in reading a good book. Evan and I just spent 15 minutes searching for the next books in a series he's gotten into reading.....seeing his excitement in the fact that there are 9 books in the series (he's read 3....) but his disappointment to see that only the first 4 have been published here in the states. That's my boy....

2. Curling up with a good book myself......I've read 17 books so far...in 19 weeks this year. Falling a little behind my book a week goal but there was about a week that I just couldn't get into a good book so I kept switching! I'm sure I'll catch up later this summer!

3. The library....it makes me happy! I am so thankful to my friend Michelle who taught me how to search online for books and reserve them (sometimes before the library had even received a copy!).

4. Being able to walk into "my" old classroom (really, just where I was long term subbing) and have the kids genuinely excited to see me. After the year I had a couple years ago..it' makes me happy that I AM making a difference in their lives.

5. Knowing we are getting away this weekend for a fun weekend of camping with friends!

6. Learning how to do more digi scrapping...or rather hybrid scrapping (combining paper and digi!)

7. Being able to line up sponsors for the design team over at The Shaker Box...we've got some good ones lining up!

8. Having made the most important travel arrangements for our trip to England this summer.....all hotel reservations are made, things are starting to get mapped out. Now that I know WHERE we are staying, we can start planning WHAT we want to do and see! It's just over 2 months away!

9. Getting notice that Alex was placed in the class I requested for 4th grade!!!! Whooo HOOO!!! I am happy with the teacher he was placed with for next year. It means a change in track schedules for him but it's well worth it, Ms. B's an amazing teacher!

10. Being blessed with friends makes me happy....through scouts we have made such great friends. Friends who really care......one is a 16 year old boy who was concerned about DH the other night cause he just didn't seem himself....brought it up to his mom. How many 16 year olds really pay that much attention???

11. Being blessed by my online friends.......who else can you vent/whine/complain to and never be embarrassed?? I love the fact that the Shaker Box is a community of amazing women who "air our dirty laundry" on occasion, ask for prayers for many reasons and are just there for each other!

12. Being able to fit into shorts I couldn't a month ago!!!!!! I was so excited the other day when I tried on a pair of shorts that didn't fit me back in March!!!!!

13. My family....that's what truely makes me happy!

Yosemite In May Slide Show

A few photos from my trip earlier this week to Yosemite National Park. I can never spend enough time in this park. There is always something different to see, to discover.

Scrappy weekend......

For years the boys have the other one's name on their bedroom door cause somehow in the past 9 years they have switched rooms! LOL! So...I made these altered names for their doors...now to pry the old ones off! I used Alphamaps and Adventures in Fun digi kit by Mad Scrapper Designs and chipboard letters!
Shaker Box had a challenge this weekend to scrap a heritage page. I have totally be avoiding scrapping photos of my mom but I finally did a couple pages. Maybe it's time I start scrapping these. Mother's Day this year would be my mom's 75th birthday!

Love this photo of my mom when she was about 2-3 years old. She had one similar to this hanging on the wall next to a photo of me....so many people thought that this was me!

Been a busy week....haven't been working full time but seems as though I am busier (or it feels that way) when I am not working full time. Maybe it's because of the lack of daily/hourly routine that just makes it seem like I am busier! I know this week I am busy.....Mon--errands, relay for life meeting, scouts...Tues--all day field trip to Yosemite with Evan's class (yep, tune in later this week for new Yosemite photos!)...Wed--teaching....Thurs--teaching....Friday--packing for a camping trip. We're spending Mother's Day weekend camping with a couple other families.

Here's my Satisfied SIX for the weekend..things that left me satisfied this weekend

1. Dave saying that he was going to try to make his work hours 4am-4pm. Long days but at least he'll be home in the evenings for dinner, activities, etc.

2. Seeing the boys get their religious medallions at church today..they were so proud of themselves...and Alex was so excited to go to church this morning!

3. A GREAT weekend....did some geocaching, some bicycling, had ice cream for dinner

4. A chance to scrap this weekend...had been a while since I had really gotten a chance to play with paper and glue...oh and the computer too!

5. I got some housecleaning done this weekend....felt good.

6. I managed to get new patches sewn on Evan's uniform last week and have started sewing some new patches on his blanket.

Wonderful Wednesday...

Well...my first day off in a while.....got some errands done, relaxed, had a great day! Tomorrow I need to get some cleaning done!

Head over to the SHAKER BOX this weekend...we're having a cyber crop for National Scrapbook Day!!!! It's going to be fun!!!!!!

Altered Tissuebox

I've had this acrylic tissuebox holder sitting around here for months.....always meaning to do something with it. This week I've been working on some little digital layouts to slide into the tissuebox. Credits: Di's Delight by Mad Scrapper Designs (see link to Treasures to Scrap) and template by Timounette. Love the fact that when I am tired of looking at these photos I can change out the layouts!

Proud Mommy moment~~Thursday 13

Okay.....WARNING! PROUD MOMMY POST!!!!!

It's been a great week in our house.....soooooo thought I would like 13 things I am proud of my boys for!!!

1. Evan passing placement test for ALGEBRA 1.....he'll be taking it as a 7th grader! I took it over 2 years in high school (which gives him GREAT pleasure!)

2. Alex getting STAR STUDENT award today for being a Long-Division Champ! Since when did they start teaching LONG division in 3rd grade!

3. They know how to act in a restaurant....tonight at Sizzler our waitress stopped us before we left to tell us how nice our boys were!

4. They are gentlemen....they open doors for people and wait for them to pass through before going through themselves.

5. They are my dishwasher unloaders! I rarely have to unload it myself.....they do it all!

6. Evan and his love of reading......he's working hard to get to 200 AR points before the end of the year...he's at 180 something...with 5 weeks to go...think he'll make it!

7. Alex for wanting to be a friend to everyone but knowing when other's aren't making good choices and staying away from them!

8. Evan and his desire to learn to cook a few things!

9. Alex for the loves and cuddles he still gives (although he's getting a little big for my lap!)

10. Both of them do their chores around the house with little or no grumbling.

11. That they both know that video games are not everything in the world and that there is lots of fun to be had by playing outside!

12. They fight but are ultimately each other's best friend!

13. BECAUSE they are the world's GREATEST kids!

Free mini kit and template

Had a chance last night to play with Robin Blankenship's sneak peak of her new kit and a new template of hers. Head over to her blog: http://madscrap.blogspot.com/ to pick them up! The papers and colors are so much fun. I am really looking forward to the entire kit....seen a few of peeks of some of the other goodies in the kit and they are YUMMY!

Only a few more days of full time work for a while! Looking forward to getting things done during the day when the boys are in school. First on my list of things to do is clean the house. So many things get neglected when I am working full time.

Saturday...Satisfied 6

Borrowing this from my friend's blog.

The Satisfied Saturday Six is about taking the time to focus on the good things. Post 6 things that made you smile today. It doesn't matter if it happened to you, in the news or to someone else. Just put aside the negative for a moment and share pleasure. Because happiness and smiles are precious and balance the world.

1. Had coffee with my wonderful friend Carol this morning....we don't get a chance to meet very often anymore but when we do it's always fun! Today I was able to catch up on all the details about her daughter's upcoming wedding!

2. Went shopping for a new outfit all by myself today....AND, was able to buy a smaller size pair of capris than a few weeks ago!

3. Listening to the boys run around and play outside.....love listening to them use their imaginations to play Army (which seems to be the neighborhood game right now!).

4. Dave coming home at a decent hour this afternoon.....will be nice to spend the evening together.

5. Getting to scrap today and finishing up some design team work for The Shaker Box

6. The beautiful sunshine today...............

Project......

My FIRST project for Mad Scrapper Designs!!!! LOVE Robin's Di's Delight kit and her alphamaps are super fun!!!! I think pretty soon, EVERYONE will have their name in altered letters! I printed the letters out, mounted them on foam board, cut them out and added a few embellishements! Each letter is about 5x7inches.

Super excited

In the past couple weeks I've submitted my name for a couple scrapbooking design/creative teams.......and I'm so excited I got good news from both!!!!

I'll be doing a Guest Design Team spot at Scrapcity in June!!! Whooohoooo...the gals there are GREAT and have so much fun!!!!! Looking forward to being part of their team for the month!

Today I got news that I had been chosen to be part of Robin Blankenships, Mad Scrapper Designs Creative Team. I'll be working on hybrid creations there....mixing paper and digi scrapping! Can't wait to learn more!!!!!! WHOO HOOOO!!!! Robin is the one who designed the Alphamaps I used on the altered canvases for the boys below.

And always check out the fun that's going on at my second home...The Shaker Box!

Daffodil Hill

A few photos from our adventures yesterday to Daffodil Hill! What a beautiful site.....