My Happy Place

Hi ho, Hi ho...it's off to Archiver's I go. My work is done, I'm off for scrappin' fun! Hi ho! Hi ho! That little song just echos in my head every time I get the chance to scrapbook at my favorite cropping place...Archiver's in Omaha. It is so worth the 46 mile drive to the best scrappin' location in the world. I've cropped at several places, but this one takes the cake in the comfortable seats, good lighting, great food and fabulous door prizes! I was able to crop last Friday night from 5-11pm all by myself. It's the first time I flew solo, but it was still fun. I made some new friends and I got six (2 page) layouts completed. Here are three of them....
These are from last fall when Madison tried volleyball. Very simple, but now completed! I love the volleyball brads and the orange and blue colors!
This paper I just purchased while in South Dakota. It's from the new Fancy Pants line called Kraft Kuts that I haven't seen around here. Love the kraft colored background instead of white. Many scrappers would say "yummy". Not so much me...but other scrap bloggers tend to use that terminology. Maybe I should start using that lingo and become "scrap blogger trendy"?!
I tried out the We R Memory Makers foil lace and it was extremely difficult to adhere to the paper, especially straight. I'd give that product a 1/2 star on a 5 star rating! Ugh! However, I think the pictures make up for the ugly foil. Not my best work!

Anyway, maybe I'll post more later. I can't figure out how to post my layouts well on the blog with my scanner not fitting 12 x 12 sizes, so this will just have to do!

Days 176-180

Monday, June 22nd - College World Series - The boys are hot, but look sooo cool in their shades! Ha!
Tuesday, June 23rd - My kindergarten team got together at Raette's lake house for some fun. Here we are taking a boat ride at Big Sandy. Pictured: Raette, Cindy, Kerry and Sherri (Kristi is back at the house, Krista couldn't make it and I am taking the picture)
Wednesday, June 24th - Madison had a softball game tonight and she did great! She was a pitcher and caught a line drive and got two other outs while playing 3rd base. A fabulous game for Maddy!
Thursday, June 25th - I wish I would have taken more pictures when it was still light out, but I was too busy socializing. This was Tyler's night even after all his shots.
Friday, June 26th - Vacation Bible School was all week long and this is Jessi and Madison standing by the stage with the cool Crocodile Dock props. It was a fun week for all!

4 Vaccinations = 1 Home Run

Today I scheduled Tyler's 7th grade physical for school and football, which I wasn't thrilled about doing. I knew that Tyler had an 8:00 baseball game tonight and with shots and all that wasn't the best day for a physical. When I called in the appointment, I was told that today was the day (at 5:20) and there wasn't a better time to do it. The doctors are all booked and today was called "Sports Physical Day" where they schedule appointments every 20 minutes. Very personalized, huh?! Oh, well...I suggested to Tyler to take them on his backside and not slide into home plate or sit on the bench. Of course he thought that was ridiculous and took two shots in each arm reluctantly.

Now Tyler isn't the best of ball players, but he can hit a decent double and a few times triple, but has NEVER in his lifetime hit a home run until tonight. I barely caught the play....busy talking to another teacher at the game (imagine that!). So, I asked Tyler to reenact the play after the game. Tyler is a compliant child, but reminded me that it looks pretty dumb with no batter's helmet on and no other players around. He's right, but I NEEDED that picture! It's a historical day...home run and Michael Jackson's passing!

Then the coach even asked him to pitch an inning. We were up 17 to 2, so it was a safe call. Tyler did a terrific job! It was a great night for Tyler. Now I am thinking that those shots may have contained some speedy muscle growth hormones?! LOL

One Hot, Sweltering Game

Our nice neighbors came over on Saturday, giving us 5 general admission tickets to the College World Series in Omaha that they weren't able to use. Tyler was ecstatic to hear such wonderful news because he's never been to a CWS game before. I knew that there were two, possibly three games left and that Andy could not take off work to go to these games. Hmmm...how to make Tyler's dreams come true? How about call the retired grandparents and they can take Evan, Dylan and Tyler to the game?! They agreed to the deal and even made it better by coming to Lincoln to pick up Tyler. Once they got here, my Mom, the fair weather spectator, convinced me to take her place. Looking back now on her part, that was one, very smart idea she had! Even Evan bowed out of the agreement hearing that the temps would reach the 100 degree mark.

So, it's off to Omaha we go...high ho...it's Grandpa, Tyler, Dylan and me...oh, no! The temperatures were sweltering, the parking was at least a mile away and the crowds were endless!

The three guys are approaching Rosenblatt stadium and I am noticing the crowds of people already at 3:15 pm standing in enormous lines for those general admission seats. Ugh! What have I gotten myself into??? The game starts at 6 pm. We stood in the line for almost 2 hours next to lots of hot, sticky, dripping wet people in very close proximity (including myself)! There are lots of things I can do well, but this is not one of them! Here we are in our seats (finally), which we did get good ones but they filled up super fast. We sat out in left field giving us shade about an hour into the game. The heat index at the game was 107 degrees! Thankfully there was a slight breeze and of course, snowcones!
The crowds appeared to be predominantly LSU fans, but there were Texas ones too. Notice the three girls who made their hair into long horns. If I wasn't so sweaty and tired, I would have gone in for a closer picture. I did see ESPN do some airing of their cool do's. Wonder what they used to keep the horn shape?!
Dylan is telling me he's bored and it's the top of the second inning. Too bad Dylan, we will be staying for a little while!
We didn't stay for the entire game....too draining and we wanted to beat the crowds, but we were delighted that we could say we've been to a game. (It's been since I was in high school that I've gone, but a first for everyone else.) However, we (minus Tyler) believe that watching it on tv would have been a far better deal. We came, we watched, we sweated....and yeah, LSU won!

Days 171-175

Wednesday, June 17th - I took 4 out of the 5 kids to the Children's Museum and they had lots of fun. I told Tyler he couldn't go since I wanted to use my KFOR Summer Fun passes and I couldn't if I had 5 or more kids with me. Tyler really didn't care. He'd rather ride the neighborhood on his bike.
Thursday, June 18th - Andy's home from work and it's play time. He tosses a football, calls out a number and everyone tries catching it. Tyler obviously had the advantage here, but he made sure everyone got a chance.
Friday, June 19th - Grant says..."Come on mom, beese ball." So, I got a soft ball and a camera. He caught the ball while I caught this cute picture. I love how he says baseball....sounds like geese ball with a "b".
Saturday, June 20th - After shopping for Andy's gifts...shirts, wallet & fish (of course), I wanted some new people pictures for my blog. So, we stopped at our beautiful Sunken Gardens. I didn't get good pictures of Madison until later. She had a slumber party the night before and she was useless/tired for hours. That's what I don't like about overnighters.
Sunday, June 21st - Happy Father's Day! We spent the day going to church, grilling burgers, hanging out and Andy planted peony bushes in the backyard. He's making the backyard look nice for my upcoming Tastefully Simple party, which is next week.

Diving, Devil Birds

Being good neighbors and all, we choose to tend to the property behind our backyard that is owned by the developer of our neighborhood. If we didn't, no one would and I like it looking somewhat decent. The property itself is unbuildable with a box culvert that you can see by the photos.

Recently, Tyler has been complaining that he doesn't like to mow this area because he's under attack by birds. We didn't believe him at first, but we soon realized that four birds must be protecting their nests and Tyler poses as a threat to them. Tyler refused to mow the back area until we provided him with some protection, so we gave him an old bicycle helmet. NOW, he'll wear the darn thing! Go figure! However, it is quite entertaining to watch him mow as they swoop down at his head. You can see one of the birds in the second picture on the far right side. They are fast and furious, making photographing them nearly impossible. I am guessing they are barn swallows. Andy thinks some kind of finch. Whatever they are...they don't find us friendly!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Happy 38th Birthday, Honey! I hope today is a good one for you even though you went into work today...on your birthday! I thought I'd come up with a "If I could, I would get these for you on your birthday". Here it goes....
You mentioned last week that the car in front of us was a rather cool one. It was a Prowler and looked something like this one, so I'd get you one of those. Who needs to be practical anyway!
Then, I'd also get you a Garmin, so you could take me to all those cool scrapbooking stores with those new wheels of yours.
Finally, I'd book a cruise to the Cayman Islands. I haven't been there before and how relaxing without the three kids! Sounds great, doesn't it?

However, I am very blessed to have a husband of such simple tastes. So, it's great knowing that you wouldn't even want the above anyway. Here's what we've decided instead...
A lawn mowed today by one of your favorite people for free.
A strawberry birthday cake made at Sam's Club that's very tasty. Grant "taste tested" it and gave it two thumbs up.
And last, but not least, the kids bought you your own pet...a beta fish. Now tomorrow is Father's Day...I bet you are dying with anticipation!

Mustache Man

I thought I'd share a funny conversation I had with my oldest today...

Tyler: Mom, can I go over to Chase's house?

Mom: Did you know that you have a Kool-aid mustache? (I love to answer a question with a question, especially with him!)

Tyler: Yeah, I like it. It looks like a real mustache.

Mom: Um...no it doesn't. It looks ridiculous.

Tyler: Come on Mom...tell me it looks real. (laughs)

Mom: You are weird. No.

Tyler: Mom, can I go to Chase's or not?

Mom: Can I take a picture of you with your real looking mustache?

Tyler: Only if I can go to Chase's. (It's always about something for something at our house.)

Mom: Fine. And I'm going to blog it too. (snicker, snicker)

Big, Brown Eyes

I love your big, brown eyes...
I love everything about you...
your eyes tell me that you're a
darling
sweet
funny
inquisitive
boy...
and that's what I love about you...with those big, brown eyes!

Days 166-170

I know that I really need to blog about something else, so I am thinking about it. Maybe I'll share my upcoming trials of potty training?!

Friday, June 12th - Tyler and Madison at the entrance of Mt. Rushmore.
Saturday, June 13th - This mammoth brontosaurus was so cool. I try to imagine what it would be like if they actually existed today. Notice that Tyler, Madison and Grant are standing by the feet.
Sunday, June 14th - This was actually taken the day before, but who cares! I'll probably use the Badlands picture instead, but I already posted it on this blog and didn't want a repeat. As you can tell, we are at Wall Drug. That has to be the biggest tourist trap in the U.S., but they did have fabulous homemade ice cream!
Monday, June 15th - We went to my parent's home to pick up our dog today. They were kind enough to "dog sit" while on vacation. My parents are also watching my sister's two boys since she's teaching summer school, so I offered to take them until Friday to spend time with our family. We have a lot more kid fun opportunities than what is in my parent's small town. Here the boys are anticipating Tyler's ball game tonight. Hope my nephews enjoy baseball because they'll be in for it for three nights in a row!
Tuesday, June 16th - Tyler and Dylan are enjoying bike riding in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, we no longer have Tyler's smaller bike, so Dylan had to ride Madison's pink one. He was very good about it and didn't mind. I also paid Dylan for wearing a helmet, which is my way of making a point with my "Tweener".

Days 161-165

Sunday, June 7th - We decided to put in a little retaining wall by our shed and create a flower garden. Since we are soon going on vacation we decided to hold off planting the flowers, but "Handy Andy" did get the brick work all done today.
Monday, June 8th - It's Jr. Saltdogs' baseball game night once again. They won 17-2...I believe.
Tuesday, June 9th - Grant's sandbox is ready to go and Grant is enjoying it. Used sandbox $5, sand $18 and amount of fun...priceless.
Wednesday, June 10th - We stopped in Alliance on our way to the Black Hills and saw Carhenge. I doubt I'll ever see Stonehenge in person, so this will have to do. Not too exciting!
Thursday, June 11th - Our family picture down about 180 feet into Wind Cave. A truly amazing experience!

Our South Dakota Mini Vacation

We decided it was time to try a small, four day vacation to the Black Hills with the entire family. This was a first time vacation for Grant, which wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Grant still had his challenging meltdown moments, but all in all he did great! This was also Tyler and Madison's first trip to South Dakota to see all the wonderful and historical sights. Here are pictures of a few that we experienced along the way...

Badlands National Park - This was taken early morning when the temps were in the 50's still and Madison was a bit chilly in her tank top. It's just beautiful and a must see!
Dinosaur Park - This free attraction is located in Rapid City on top of a hill that overlooks the city with an amazing view. Dinosaur Park was built in 1936 by the city and has seven life size dinosaurs. You just can't pass up free fun!
Mt. Rushmore - One can't go to the Black Hills without seeing the four presidents. I thought it was neat that some engineers/surveyors were checking the cracks in the mountain while we were visiting. The height of the workers really puts into perspective the enormous size of the monument.
1880's Train - We departed from Keystone to Hill City on a #110 black steam engine driven train for a two hour excursion. This was the highlight of Grant's vacation. He's such a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan that he couldn't get enough of this trip!
The Mammoth Site - We weren't really sure we wanted to check this place out, but glad we did. A skeleton of a male Columbian mammoth was discovered while getting the land ready for a housing development in the late 70's. Since then about a dozen males (mostly Columbian and a few Wooly mammoths) have been discovered in this prehistoric watering hole. It's been said that the watering hole had warm water and abundant food which attracted mammoths to the area. However the soil was slippery, so the females would push the males into the hole and they had no way of getting out, so that was the end of them. Just kidding...but the story isn't too far from the truth! Check it out online!
Wind Cave - This was my favorite place to visit. There's nothing like going 200 feet below the earth to experience some of most fascinating sights. We were able to experience what a "breathing" cave was like and seeing the extensive network of passageways containing boxwork, popcorn and frostwork formations. We traveled down 300 steps, up only 11 steps and then rode an elevator 20 floors to the top. I can now add going into a cave on my 40 x 40. Touring a cave is a must do when taking a trip to South Dakota. I am told there are over 300 caves in South Dakota with eight of them giving tours. Wind Cave is the fourth largest cave in the world with only 10% of it "discovered".

Days 156-160

More of Project 365...

Tuesday, June 2nd - I took a picture of our never ending pile of dirty laundry that needs tending to.  There's only a few more days of work, so it will just have to wait!  Too busy now! 
Wednesday, June 3rd - It's one of those hectic mornings where I toss a glass of water and a Pop-Tart at Grant and say...hurry and eat.  He looks like he's not quite awake yet.
Thursday, June 4th - Hooray!  Last day of school!  This picture is taken at the end of the day for our outside celebration.  Our school has what looks like a small version of the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics.  The first day starts outside where the parents drop off and end 176 days later with the parents picking up outside.  It's a neat tradition!  
Friday, June 5th - It's a teacher work day where we clean up the classroom, organize files, look at the next year's list and eat at Applebee's.  Here's part of my fabulous team of kindergarten teachers:  Kristi Green, Kerry Boehler, Raette Bahe (who doesn't like her picture taken), Sherri Macfee and Krista Wells.  Not pictured:  Cindy Lloyd
Saturday, June 6th - Madison was invited to a Princess Tea Party to celebrate summer vacation at Princess Zanea's house.  What a fun party!  There were 22 girls present, which is incredible.  The Queen Mum (Xuan) did a remarkable job.  The invitation read "Princess attire is strongly suggested but not required to attend.  A light royal lunch will be served with the world's best teas and plenty of sweets!"  Isn't that the cutest?!