Happy Days Are Here Again!

Layout done for scraplift Birgit Kerr play day at Scrapbook-Graphics. If you want to join (there is a prize!) see details here:
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/studiomatters/
I scraplifted Birgit's The Frog, The Boy and The Cat.
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=29923&cat=3196

CreditsL Naked Stamp Templates by Meredith Fenwick
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=18056&cat=0&page=5
Date pins by Birgit Kerr
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20802&cat=0&page=1
Paper Borders by Birgit KerrReally Messy Alpha by Birgit Kerr
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20322&cat=0&page=1
Thats A Wrap! by Birgit Kerr
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19865&cat=0&page=1
Front Porch Page set by Birgit Kerr
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20521&cat=0&page=1
Scribbled flower from His Heart by Birgit Kerr
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19942&cat=0&page=1Fortune cookie sayings - Mayahttp://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16343&cat=0&page=1
Flourish Stamps by Manuela Zimmerman
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20814&cat=0&page=5
Paper Borders (Crumpled Paper Borders and Templates) by Birgit
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=20807&cat=0&page=1
Staple by Jen Patricks
Beaded alpha by Kimberly Giarruso
Pin with Hearts by Corina Nielsen, Memory makers DSD.
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Glorious Sunday; Beautification Day

Sunday was Adam's birthday. We went to the cemetery to clean up around his grave and plant some flowers. What better way to honor his memory than planting flowers and teaching the kids that when someone dies that person still remains a part of the family and has to be remembered.

Liam and Kaylie started picking up sticks from the surrounding area, but there were sticks EVERYWHERE so they soon got tired of picking sticks and wanted to do the raking of the leaves instead. Kaylie was a trooper, she raked, she picked up leaves, she dug a hole to plant the flowers and wanted to place the mulch.

Liam, on the other hand, offered to pick up leaves because he wanted to WEAR the GLOVES I had brought to pick up the leaves. I don't mind cleaning up, but hate picking up grubs and worms or any other kind of living being with my bare hands. Yuck! Anyway, the novelty of the gloves wore off shortly and he didn't want to help anymore.

I went there to clean up Adam's gravesite, but when I saw how unkept the other graves were, I decided to clean them up a bit, too. Liam couldn't understand why I wanted to clean up the other graves, when we didn't even know who they were. I told him that this was like our Earth Day, when you clean up for the sake of the planet and because it was the right thing to do. In one ear and out the other. Maybe next year, he'll get the point of doing for others.

Later on the afternoon, we all went out for a bike ride around the neighborhood. The kids had a lot of fun...and got their exercise.

Guess Who Are Home Sick Again?

Yes, both of them are home sick, again.
Liam is an allergy sufferer so his nose is always congested. Kaylie, while not an allergy sufferer, has a slightly different kind of problem...she is like a mucous factory. Enough said.

Anyway, Kaylie woke up this morning with red cheeks and was extremely hot. Her temperature was 102. She cried her little eyes out when I told her she wasn't going to school.

Liam, on the other hand, was sneezing and had a runny nose....there it goes, grab it! Runny (running) nose...yeah, I know, lame joke. Anyway, I sent him to school and get a call back an hour and a half later that 'he isn't doing well, pls. come pick him up.'

Off I go to pick him up. Wouldn't you know, when they get home, they are better, or so it seems. Anyway, here are today's freebies:

Andrea has a cute template...
Bren has a Santa hat...adorable!
Carol Abram has a doodled frame at the Shutterfly blog
Christine has some krafty stars ...check out her store specials, too.
Emily has a super cute mini kit at Little Dreamer Designs
Fran has a super duper cute ppr. pk title Coulerus D'Irelande
Lindsay has a 2photo template...
Mindy has a Worn Away mini kit...
Monika has some sparkly elements...check them out.
Pam has a Santa mini kit...
SweetMade has some overlays...
Valgal has some wordart...

Watching The Ducks - We Can Build It Challenge at SBG

I did this layout for the I CAN BUILD IT! challenge at Scrapbook-Graphics. The challenge was to use 3 photos, painted/variegated/blended ppr., black elements and something glittery.

Font: Pea Elizabeth
Template by Janet Philips from the November grab bag at SBG

(modified...I added two additional pictures)
Dragonfly sparkle overlay by Ztampf.
Whatever Mama! Collaborative kit by Jessica Bolton @ SBG
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19516&cat=0&page=1

Say What? WordArt Mega Kit by the Studio Girls at Scrapbook-Graphics

Rumor has it that the Studio Girls at Scrapbook-Graphics will be unveiling their latest kit, titled "Say What?" It is supposed to hit the store tomorrow; there will also be a COUPON FOR $5.00 off of the purchase price. It has about 100 quotes/words/titles . You can't beat that! As we all know, coming up with quotes and good wordart for your pages is often time consuming and hard...this collaboration has 15 topics such as emotions, nature, pets, memories, dreams, kids, weather, humor and more.

Wild Child Stickers by Roberta D'Achille

Oh my, Roberta just came out with these wonderful stickers...don't you just love them? I know I do! Here is a link for you to check them out...

http://renderedmemories.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=314

Debbie Pearson's Farewell Blog Play Day - HE SCORES!

Debbie will be leaving Scrapbook-Graphics at the end of July. The studio crew decided to do a blog playday where everyone selected a kit from Debbie's studio and created a page. If you like any of the kits be sure to grab them quick as she will be retiring them and who knows if they ever make a comeback.

Journaling: Kaylie and Liam were thrilled that Frank, our neighbor from across the street, gave them this basketball hoop and ball. The kids had a great time dribbling the ball, passing it around and scoring points. They had fun even if they missed more shots than they dunked. Boy, did they ever get a work out chasing after the ball! 7/15/2007

Basketball page set by Debbie Pearson at SBG
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16312&cat=0&page=1
Summer Picnic Stapled Alpha by Traci Collins (Retrodiva)
Template from grabbag #1 (June) by Rachael Giallongo @ TheDigiShoppe:
Font: Times New Roman
Star by KSharonKDesigns, Bubba kit (sampler)
Magical stars by Doris Castle. 1343

Fun at the Pool

A splashing good time.


Liam in the hot tub.


Daddy teaching Kaylie to swim.

Kaylie jumping in the pool into Daddy's waiting arms.

Kaylie's braided hair.

DH got an invitation from a friend at work for a pool party. We didn't tell the kids about it until it was time to leave otherwise they would would have hounded us to death about it. Boy, they sure can harp on something mercilessly.

Kaylie has so much hair that it would have made her too hot, so the best course was to braid it to keep it off of her face and neck. She looked adorable! Then, I snuck upstairs and packed the towels and swimsuits away. She was so curious and kept asking what I had in my bag...but I wouldn't budge.

When we arrived to our destination and the kids saw the pool, their eyes opened up really big and Kaylie said to me, "I sure wish I had my swimsuit now." Imagine her surprise to discover that I did have it and that she could swim in the pool. Neither of them know how to swim, but had a great time splashing around and dunking under the water.

She loves her bathing suit. It is brown, turquoise blue, white, green and brown. It looks so good on her because the colors are so bright and really go well with her skin tone. It is a three-piece suit and dh hated it. He thought it was too revealing for a little girl. But it does have a cute skirt to cover up. I love that the top is adjustable both at the top and at the bottom. She looks smashing, but then again I am biased.

Not only was there a pool, but they also had a hot tub. Liam and Kaylie enjoyed spending time there, they especially like the jets, which tickled their backs. I was watching Liam like a hawk because he has to turn every knob, put his finger in every hole and pull everything that is loose. The clean water intake opening was of interest to him...I was terrified that his hand would get sucked in and damaged somehow.

Liam is my adventurous one and kept trying to go to the deeper side of the pool. I asked him to stay close to the edge of the pool, but he kept getting close to a couple of older girls. He would cover his nose and dive under. He loved to splash water.

The food was terrific, too. Chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, raw veggies, dips, sauces. They had hotdogs, burgers, baked beans, macaroni salad, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, chicken, ribs and sausages. The pastries were wonderful, too.

A good time was had by all and the kids can't wait to hit the pool again.

A Visit To Long Bridge Park

I just love these yellow flowers. The wasps were all over them. 905


Today the temperature hit 92 degrees. There was a faint breeze but was humid. I took the kids to the park on a nature walk and then to the playground.

As we walked along the path, we spotted flowers of all kinds and insects. Moths, frogs, dragonflies and wasps were the order of the day. After we walked for a while, we returned to the playground and the kids playing in the swings for a bit.

Last year around this time the frogs were hatching and were everywhere. One had to walk carefully to avoid squashing them. I guess this year due to lack of rain they haven't hatched in droves like they did last year. However, we still managed to find 2 or 3 hopping around the pond. They are so tiny and so cute...even Kaylie got a chance to catch one. (This is Kaylie's hand holding the frog)

If you would like to learn more about frogs, here is a link for you:
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Themes/frogs/

We stopped at the store and got pizza dough and pizza sauce to make a pizza at home. MMMM, it was so good. I rolled the dough, stretched it to fit the pan, then added ham and mozarella cheese (Kaylie calls it Monsterella cheese- LOL), pizza sauce and then into the oven. 20 minutes later the perfectly toasted and tasty pizza comes out. The perfect ending to a great day.


Remember a few weeks back I was telling you that we had a Gypsy Moth Caterpillar infectation? The moths are everywhere now. And you can still see remnants of a caterpillar in the picture, along with 3 moths.


Aren't these flowers absolutely gorgeous? Their colors are so vibrant.



How about these babies? Aren't they captivating?

Don't these berries look luscious?