Dream

While I am on a bit of a quest to completely scrap one full year (which would be 2010 at this point), my ADD along with the need for some really precious sleeping pictures got the better of me. I went all the way back to 2003! My little baby bug, Isaac, snoozing in the back yard! How precious is he?!

Journaling: At some point during Sebastian's birthday party out in the back yard, Isaac must have decided he couldn't hang anymore. He fell asleep on his mat in the shade and took a good 2 hour nap. When he woke up, though, he was all red and splotchy from sleeping in the grass.

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Garmin.....

Did I mention that, for our trip to Chicago, we did NOT print out any maps because we were going to have the Garmin with us? And did I mention that 90% of the time, the screen read "Lost Satellite Reception"... in the middle of rush hour traffic... where 8,000 different highways converge and split... with NO written directions directly to the hotel... nor any idea, really, where it was - how far, on what road, etc. We eventually determined we would NOT be able to rely on the Garmin to magically come back to life and show us the way. So we dug through the paperwork that we DID have (you know, printed tickets, itineraries, etc), and found some really vague written directions to Lego Land, which we knew was not far from our hotel. We had no choice but to use deductive reasoning to make our best guess at where we should go. Thankfully, it got us there... no thanks to the Garmin!

Journaling: Our story - First trip to Chicago, no idea where we were going, and the Garmin failed us miserably! For most of the trip we had no satellite signal!

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Bravo

It's been 2 1/2 months since Meagan's Bravo event at the gym...

I'm sure this is the first of at least a few layouts of Bravo. There were WAY too many pictures to stick all on one page! You know me and my picture craziness! These pictures were taken before we ever even left the house...

Journaling: I'm not sure if it was more exciting for the gymnasts or the parents, but either way, Twistars' Bravo event for the pre-school and pre-team athletes was a glitzy, glam fun time - a chance for you to strut your stuff and show us the results of all your hard work.

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Tea Party Pics

Remember this page...

Well, I'm not sure WHAT came over me yesterday. All of a sudden I felt really spurred on to get 2010 thouroughly scrapped. I was just thinking, I'm not sure, in all my years of scrapping, that I've EVER actually completed a year from start to finish. For goodness sakes, I still haven't even done anything to document our wedding! LOL! So.... I thought, 'I need to really try to get a full year completed.' And what better year to start with than the one we're in now. Do it while the memories are fresh.

So, I flipped back through January, and I came across these tea party pictures again. While I have already done a layout to document the afternoon tea party, there were still so many unused photos - maybe not the BEST ones, but still dear to a mama's heart. I couldn't bear to think of just sticking them on a CD for all eternity. So, I thought, 'I need to get these pictures into the album somehow'. Easy peasy... make a supporting page to the one I already have done.

So here it is... a page of nothing but more photos. No journaling. No date. That stuff was all on the previous page. Just pics.

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Today Was Good. Today Was Fun. Tomorrow Is Another One.

(Name that Dr. Seuss book Kelli! That always reminds me of your baby shower... LOL)

Anyway...

Let me start by saying, I did NOT, in fact, even begin to TOUCH the laundry. Not even a teeny tiny bit. There is always tomorrow.

Now, on to the good stuff...

This morning, as you already know (if you read my last post, that is), we had doctor appointments. Technically, new patient appointments for the boys. However, it turned into ankle injury follow-up / new patient / vaccines all-around. Now everyone is up-to-date and all caught up on all shots for school... did I mention school is only a few days away??

Isaac was referred to a specialist for a final opinion on the ankle. Surprisingly, the specialist got us in TODAY. Which meant, after our appointment, we got lunch, picked up a bit, played a bit, and then headed back to the medical park for another doctor visit. The specialist gave us good news! He put Isaac in an air cast for a few weeks... no crutches... he can bear weight, just no running, jumping, etc. We go back for a follow-up (and hopefully a final visit, as I'm sure we are all feeling quite done with doctors at the moment) in a few weeks. Yay! Good stuff!

We came home, kids played, we did dinner, then we headed out. We went to see Despicable Me at the theater tonight. Kids laughed hysterically. There were some laugh-out-loud parts. It was a cute movie really. I'm glad they had fun. PLUS, I got one of my tickets free, so you gotta love that!

Really planning on addressing my laundry issue. Tomorrow.

Random Things about Thursday Morning

A breath of fresh air. Finally, the temperature has dropped to a reasonable level. This morning I was able to open up all the windows and let the fresh air come rushing in. I much prefer fresh air through open windows to air conditioning any day (except the unbelievably hot days, that is).


Lucas had to go to Indiana for work today. I think he will be there today and tomorrow. Hopefully we'll see him this weekend. Monday he leaves for Cali. Thus, today begins my alternate life as a single mom. For inspiration, I can look to my friend next door, who is, at all times, a single mom. She's such a breath of fresh air. And I dare say, a good person to go to for support. (Friends are good.)


Today is Isaac's follow-up appointment for his ankle. I am hoping and praying for good news. The "There's nothing wrong with it; go on about your business" kind of news would be best. Please keep him in your prayers.


I have a LOT of laundry to get folded... preferably today to get it out of the way. It's kind of everywhere... in the front room in baskets; strewn across my dresser; waiting in the laundry room... everywhere.


Counting today, there are 26 days left of summer vacation. School is just around the corner! Yesterday during our grocery shopping trip to Meijer, each of the kids picked out their book bag. At least that is taken care of. We still have lots to figure out - like supplies, teachers, best walking path to school, etc. 26 days in which to figure it all out. We can do it!


Last night we checked "Family Movie & Popcorn Night" off of our summer list. We popped 2 bags of popcorn (which was completely gone within 10 minutes) and watched Shrek 3.


Okay, seeing as we have to be at the doctor's office in 90 minutes, I should probably move toward the shower and move on with m y day. Maybe I'll check in again later. Depends on where our day takes us! Enjoy!!

BIG Bummer

Well, the crutches, which had passed from being crutches to being imaginary guns / swords / whatever else fit the moment, have gone back to being crutches. Uggh. This afternoon, Isaac rolled his ankle over again - loud crack - ER - xrays. Back to crutches and no weight bearing until he has a follow-up appointment. Bummer. So, out the window go our plans for Mega Sports Camp this week. Gone are the hopes of running through sprinklers. We are back to passing time on the couch playing games, reading, coloring, building legos, etc. We have an appointment in a few days. Please be praying for him to heal quickly. My poor boy. My heart just goes out to him. He is SERIOUSLY not a sit-still kind of guy!

Family Photo Day

I mentioned that the weekend before last we spent some time with family. Mike had arranged for everyone - all of the siblings, spouses, and kids - to get together for a family photo and a day of fun. Although my little sis and her family weren't able to make it due to a sick baby, we all still had a blast together! Okay, so the portrait portion of the day may have been a bit chaotic! Eight adults, 9 kids, not an easy picture to get. BUT, after the pictures were over, the kids were set loose to run and play on the water slide, run through the sprinkler, and splash in the pond. Kids and water on a hot day = lots of fun!


Yes, I took my fair share of pictures that day. Here are a FEW :)

So far, I have 3 layouts done from those pictures.

First one, just a simple layout of the pics of Lucas and me together. We don't have many of those, since I'm usually the one behind the camera.

Journaling: A fun day with family. A fun day with each other! I love that we finally have a few new snapshots of us together!

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Second layout, my beautiful niece, Delaney. She is just completely precious!

Journaling: What a little cutie sliding down the slide at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Delaney reminds me of Meagan... no fear.

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And finally, HOW could I resist scrapping all those fun and crazy water slide pictures? I still plan on putting together a second page to go next to this one to highlight some more photos. There were just too many to fit all on one page!

Journaling: June 11, 2010 - Part of the family get-together / portrait day was a big blow-up water slide! Not only was it fun to slide down the dual slides, but you had the added bonus of playing with cousins you don't get to see very often! Cole, Colby, & Brock played and laughed along with you as you all created new & adventurous ways to slide down! Love all the laughter! Love a great day with family! I hope we all grow closer now that we're closer to home!

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I'm in Trouble

I KNOW it has been almost 2 weeks! I'M SORRY! Consider this an acknowledgement of the fact that I haven't updated my blog for a while... no need to whine about it!!! :) Seriously, though, we went from one weekend with family to a week of prep for the following weekend in Chicago. We're back now... and actually, the kids are off and running again. They late this morning for their week of vacation with Grandma & Grandpa H. So Lucas and I have the house to ourselves. Very quiet. Very quiet. And not very messy. Funny how that works out.

I just downloaded almost 400 pictures today. I will TRY to find time tomorrow to get a few of them edited and posted. TRY. I said try. But seeing as it is now midnight, I think I'm going to head to bed.

A Week FULL of Photos

Brace yourselves! I have been taking photos all week with the intentions of uploading them to my blog. However, time ran short, and I find myself now, a full week later, with TONS of pictures to share with you. So get ready for a workout, because there's lots of scrolling down to be done!!

July 3rd:
Independence Day festivities took place on Saturday the 3rd around here. Our town and a neighboring community come together to do one big celebration. We headed to the park at the fort near our house - a perfect spot to get a clear view of the fire works. It was really interesting to read the history of the fort. The kids took a slight interest, although I am 100% sure they did not fully appreciate the history of the place. As for me, I just couldn't help but wonder what those men who fought there would have thought about hundreds of people gathering on their battle grounds to watch air explosions for entertainment. Odd concept really.

We walked up to the edge of the fort wall and looked down over the river.

We took SOME stuff with us as far as food and drinks and entertainment for the kids while we waited for nightfall. Apparently, it was not quite enough, as the kids were hungry, thirsty and bored before the sun set.

Isaac did really like that we sat right by this big cannon, though. He had to be sure to go up close and check it out.

As night fell, the activity increased. At least there were lightning bugs and glow sticks (that someone was kind enough to give to us, as I was totally unprepared on my own) to keep the kids entertained.

(This is my friend's daughter. Would you believe that of all the people we saw, we actually almost walked right into Lisa and her family! I was so excited to see her, as I haven't talked to her since we left Michigan... yes, I MET her in Michigan, but she actually LIVES about 10 miles from us... funny how life works).

I TRIED to play around with the fireworks setting on my camera. I must say I was less-than-impressed. But we still really enjoyed the evening. The fireworks display lasted quite a while, and they did a really nice job on them. The kids asked if we could go see more fireworks the next day. Lucas and I, however, were all fireworked out. Have to wait until next year.

July 4th:

Although we had already been to the fireworks display, we HAD to do SOMETHING to celebrate the 4th. What better way than to play with sparklers in the back yard?!

Love the sites of summer and the 4th.

July 5th - Mudhens Game:

We owe a great big THANK YOU to our friend Kay, who offered us tickets to the Mudhens! Lucas wasn't feeling so great, so I took the kids to the ball park. None of them had ever been to a baseball game, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. They ended up really truly enjoying themselves - at least the boys did. Meagan had a great time as long as she had her ice cream sundae. And even after the ice cream was gone, taking pictures kept her entertained for a while. Of course, the mascots helped, too. But, in the end, her 5-year-old attention span won out. We stayed until the end of the 4th. By then, it was nearly 7:30, and we made our graceful exit, before the window for 'graceful' disappeared.

I couldn't help but be fascinated with the sites and sounds surrounding the stadium. Fun to look around and take it all in as we walked to the park.
Tony Packo's - A Toledo icon

The kids thought it was incredibly cool that there was an O-I sign inside the field. Had to take a picture. :)

(Seriously, you should try living with this girl!!)

WHY do I let my kids get a hold of the camera?! Seriously. It was almost 100 degrees, so any makeup I had had, if any, had long since melted off! I look, well, um, less than flattering! Oh well.

July 6th - Community Pool:

One of the things on our summer list was to visit the community pool. We went last week and got passes, so that we could make good on our goal. This past Tuesday, we headed to the pool and spent a good 3+ hours in the sun. It was a great time, though! The kids had a ball! Will definitely be visiting there again soon.