{cutie patootie}

We finally got the chance to go visit family this weekend. Both our parents and brothers live in the same city, about 2 hours south of us, so it makes it easy to see everyone at once :) It's nice to be able to leave the kids with grandparents and go spend some time with old friends. We don't get to do that very often. The weather was nice enough that we got to gather around the fire pit at my brother's house Friday night:



His little boy is getting so big! He is only a little over 1 year old, but he is nearly as big as Alex! I can't figure out if it's because he is large for his age, or if Alex is small. I think it's a bit of both! Isn't he adorable, though? He has my brother's eyes, but his mom's cute little nose:





Speaking of friends, I want to do a couple shout-outs to some wonderful people I have had the pleasure of meeting. First, my dear friend Rita, who posted the nicest things about me on her blog! Unfortunately, that post got eaten by her computer, but I had the pleasure of reading it before it did. Rita is unbelievably talented! She makes the most beautiful, dimensional layouts. I was lucky enough to be on the Scrapologie team with her, and we are now together at Prima. She is as lovely a person as she is a scrapper, and without her, I know I wouldn't be doing as much paper as I am these days! Thanks, Rita! It's such a joy to know you! This is one of my favorite Rita layouts:



Secondly, Annie, who is just as sweet in real life as you would guess! She and I have so much in common, and I really got to know her well during our collaboration project. She is a great designer, a wonderful friend, and a truly talented scrapper (and fellow Mac user!):



Secondly, Christine, also on the Prima team, was so sweet to mention me on her blog the other day! I don't know her as well, but what I do know, I greatly admire. She is such a strong person, and insanely talented. Just look at this!



I'm so honored to call these women my friends!

{latest layout}

I know I just scrapped these photos, but I HAD to do a digi layout too! ;)



Here's to true friends! Cheers!

{rockin}

Ok, I have to admit that having a boy is way more fun than I ever would have thought. Since I had only had girls, I had no idea what I would do with a boy. They don't wear pretty little frilly dresses. You can't fix their hair with curls and bows. They get dirty, and play sports, which I know nothing about.

Turns out they are just as cute in a tie. They are adorable with a new short haircut. And they get dirty!! Turns out I like that about them! The best part? CONSTANT entertainment.



Check out the Prima Blog today for an awesome sketch challenge. Our very own Janine L. created the fabulous sketch I used for this layout:



Here's to little boys! Cheers!

{welcome spring!}

I am loving the weather here lately! I feel like it's been cold forever! Things are finally starting to wake up, and the sun has that "spring" quality. Ahhh.... makes me smile :)

To celebrate, Sakura Spring is now in Oscraps!





I was stuck in bed last night feeling a little under the weather, and was finally able to scrap a page with this kit:



And Annie did this one:



Our teams have really knocked it out of the park! There have been some gorgeous layouts with this kit!























Here's to cherry blossoms! Cheers!

{happy easter}

We had a lovely Easter. It was a sunny day, so I got my wish. A little colder than I would have liked, but nice enough anyway! I snapped a few photos of the kids before they changed. They're not the best photos. I'll have to dress them up again when it gets a bit warmer and get them outside. I was able to get a few good ones of Jessie, because she's my girly-girl and wore her dress all day! LOL











Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

{melon madness}

Woke up this morning to this.



It's small, but that's my layout on the front page of Memory Makers Magazine's website! Woot!

I'm in the mood for Spring! My garden is starting to come to life. Forsythia and daffodils are blooming, my Jane Magnolia looks beautiful, and my Redbud is getting ready to explode! I have parsley seedlings all over the place from last year's crop - too cool! All my roses have been pruned and are leafing out nicely. I am going to spend some time out there today, in the beautiful sun!

In the spirit of Spring, I have finally created my March kit!




Here's to Spring! Cheers!

{sneak peeks}

I promised peeks, and you will not be disappointed! Not in the peeks, or in the kit itself! It really turned out beautifully. Annie is such a joy to work with! She really outdid herself on this one. If this doesn't get you in the mood for spring, nothing will!

{ahhh....shopping therapy}

Spring is threatening to visit. Just when the temperatures get up into the 70's again, we have a cold day with a night of marble-sized hail. Today was nice, though. The kids spent the day playing outside, which was real nice for me! They have their official Spring Break this week, so I have a household of 4 kids (or 5, since one had spend-the-night company last night) instead of only 1.

Easter is less than a week away! I often say that God always gives us a nice sunny day for Easter, so I hope it's true this year as well! We spent last weekend shopping for Easter outfits. I can't wait to take some pictures! The kids are going to be adorable, and Alex will have his first tie! I picked up a couple goodies for me as well. My $4 flip flops (hey, I'm hopeful) from Rue 21 and my $5 bag from Gap (outlet mall shopping rocks!):



And I couldn't pass up these cute Croc-like shoes for Alex at Target:



Now he'll have something easy to slip on for our upcoming days in the garden (yes, still being hopeful).

I need some circle cutter advice. I got the CutterBee Circle Scissor Plus for a CD album I did recently:



I have to say, for as much as this thing cost, I'm a little disappointed. It was hard to cut an even circle. My cuts kept overlapping, and I ended up wasting some really pretty paper! Does anyone out there have any suggestions?

Speaking of the aforementioned CD album, I made this easy album for my mom's birthday that we celebrated while we were in the mountains. It's a hybrid album - the photo pages are all paper scrapped (with incredible Prima goodies!), but the title pages are digital. It was easy and fun! I can't wait to make myself one!





I've been a busy bee lately! I've been collaborating with an incredibly sweet, talented gal! Annie Manning and I will have a fun Spring kit to present within a matter of days! I'll try to post a sneak peek as soon as it's ready. All in all, life continues to treat me well :)

{latest layout}

Some imagery from our day stuck in the cabin due to snow. If only all our days could be like this!



Here's to a sunny Easter! Cheers!

{refreshed}

I am back from our mini-vacation, and getting back into the swing of things! The mountains were wonderful! All my worry about the snow was unjustified. There was snow on the ground still the day we left. The roads were clear, though, and the kids loved seeing the snow.



The view from our cabin was beautiful, snow or no snow:



The weather was cool the first day, so we stayed in and played games. Some billiards, some guitar hero, lots of relaxation and much-needed family time!



Day two was high 50's, which turned out to be perfect for hiking. When you are burning calories, the cooler temperatures are perfect! We hiked the 1.0 mile trail to Spruce Flats Falls. The decent was rocky and steep, but it was so worth it! The falls were gorgeous.



The next day, we decided to try the Baskin Creek Trail, a lesser-known trail along the Motor Nature Trail. This was a fabulous decision! I don't think many people know that there is a gorgeous waterfall at the end of this trail. We never passed a soul on this 1.5 mile hike. The trail followed a creek almost the whole way, and the falls were spectacualr! We were able to walk right up to them, and my oldest daughter even climbed up on them. It was an awesome trail, and one I definitely want to do again!



We got to see lots of old 1800's cabins and old homesteads as well. Even an ancient cemetery.



Overall, it was a fabulous trip, but too short. Oh well, back to real life!

latest layout

I did this one before we left, but forgot to post it:



I have a couple exciting things in the works, and tons of new Storytellers goodies to play with! I hope to do a bit of scrapping this weekend.

Here's to nature and taking time to be out in it! Cheers!