I Had a Blast (no pun intended)

This weekend Shane came to visit. We love to have visitors. We love Shane. Great combination.

For Lucas' birthday, Shane dug out an old model rocket that Lucas had when he was a kid and Shane rebuilt it for him. Naturally then, we HAD to go launch rockets yesterday. The park nearby has a ball field next to an empty corn field. Lots of wide open space. Perfect... we hoped. Worth a try.

Turns out, it turned out perfectly!


Plus the kids caught 2 toads that they took with them in the old bug barn.

They played with them for a while, then walked them over to the creek and set them free.


So here's Lucas' old childhood rocket birthday present...


We also launched an old space ship... very fun.

One of our fondest memories revolves around the spaceship actually. On one of its launches, it got caught in the wind and took a turn, straight back for us. It landed right where Lucas had been standing... until he ran for his life and trampled me in the process *lol*. Good stuff right there! We laughed and laughed - I don't know what made me laugh harder, seeing Lucas back pedal for his life or me rolling on the ground holding my bum crying "My butt!" in the midst of all the laughing. Good times. Good times.

We had another little mishap with Lucas' rocket as well. It launched and then took a hard turn, flew WAY over our heads, behind us, over the ball field, over the creek, and into the more populated area of the park. Thankfully it didn't land on anyone...or anyone's cars. Close, though. Where we finally found it was only about 20 yards away from a parked car. Yikes.







And Shane launched his monster of a rocket.


Of all of the rockets, this one launched the best. Straight up... way up... and right back down, almost perfection.

Birthday Wish List

Meagan has quite the birthday wish list this year! Check this out... (prepare yourself for quite a few pictures)

A few Tangled things:
The tower.

This doll.

The boat.



And this doll... of course, both are needed, because they have different dresses. *sigh*


And the house.

And the wig. Who DOESN'T need a wig, really?


And science goodies:
A volcano maker.

And a rock digging set.

And a butterfly garden.

(after my experience with the praying mantises, I'm not super sure how excited I am about the butterfly garden... but she wants one anyway)

Legos:







Barbie:





And some tea sets... unbreakable ones:


And these guys:



Polly Pockets:

Clothes, because a lot of hers have gotten lost or broken over the past few years.



Ponies... her latest infatuation:


Pet Shops:




And a few random others:

(The DUCK pillow pet)


So there you have it. For those of you who have already, or who soon would be calling or emailing me asking what Meagan would like for her birthday, you now have a visual aid to work with.

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It's Isaac's Day

I have two layouts today, and they're both Isaac. Seems he hasn't shown up in so many layouts lately, so today he gets 2 all to himself.

The first is for this week's Digi Dare ... tell a story using a series of photos, not so much journaling. LOVE this dare! Love photo-heavy layouts. Seven on this one! These pictures are from St. Patty's Day 2011... shamrock sprinkle doughnuts for snack. Yum!


Journaling:
"Lucky Me... I get a doughnut.
Lucky Doughnut... not so much"

(Click here to view full credits)


Layout number two is from Mother's Day 2011. Sebastian took this picture of Isaac and I at the Mexican restaurant we went to for lunch.


Journaling:
The best Mother's Day gift is simply hearing you laugh.

We went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant for lunch for Mother's Day. Isaac sat by me, and we had a great time. I love love love to hear him laugh. He laughs with every part of him. It's so full of joy & so infectous. can't help but smile."

(Click here to view full credits)

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Worth the Jell-O Legs

As soon as the bus pulled away, I hopped on my bike and set out for a morning bike ride. There is a bike path that runs in front of our house. I've gone one way on it already, so I decided to go the other way today to see where it would lead.

Oh my goodness. Amazing.

Amazing.

That's all I can think of to describe my morning.

Yes, the ride ended up being much longer than I had expected... because I ended up in some random neighborhood in some part of town I have yet to visit (until this morning) and I had to stop and ask random lady #1 (who was perfectly busy walking her child to school) where I was and how to get out. Yes, I encountered hills too big to make it up on my bike - oh the hills! *oy* Yes, my legs are complete jell-o now from even beginning to attempt to make it up said hills.

But you should have seen what I saw today. The birds. Every color. Every size. Amazing. The flowers. The stream. The really cool bridge over the stream. More birds. The sounds. Oh my word, nature is breath-taking - even right in the middle of a well-developed town.

See, the bike path ended up running through what must be protected nature reserves. There were neighborhoods edging along on every side, but the big chunk of land in the middle was entirely untouched (except for the path and the bridge that had been laid to make the area accessible). At one point I stopped, and just stood and looked up - at the trees towering over me and the birds eating their bugs for breakfast. I looked down at the water rushing by below me and at the thick covering on the ground, and I imagined what it would look like to see the entire area covered like this - you know, if it had never been undone by people. I saw two cardinals - always my favorites to see... I always imagine they're like special little love notes from God because he knows how much I love them. I saw a few bright yellow birds and even an indescribably blue bird - electric blue - beautiful!

I thought of just stopping and sitting and staying for a while, but I wasn't entirely sure I would get back up if I sat. I do plan to WALK there sometime soon though, with my camera,and take plenty of time to just sit. That sounds lovely.

For today, though, the ride and the view were all more than worth the jell-o legs I now have. So worth it.

(and a side note... I accidentally found the kids new school for next year. I guess now I know where that is.)

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Daily Dose of Adventure

It's been a long time since I've been on my bike... several months. In fact, today was the first time since winter came and went that I've so much as pushed the kick stand up.

So our adventure today may have been a bit more than a warm-up. Definitely did not eas back into bike riding, but that's okay. After lunch, we hopped on our bikes and hit the trail. And we followed that trail for about a mile or so to the lake and the park nearby. I wasn't sure how Meagan would do, but she was quite the champ! She never once complained, never grumbled, nothing. In fact, she LOVED it! And had plenty of energy left for playing at the park once we got there! It was great!

When we arrived at the park area, we discovered something I did not know until today... a spillway. As we rolled up along the path, the sound of rushing water was evident, so we checked it out. Very cool really!



This is Meagan's helmet hair... :)


Besides the bike trip, today was our first trip of the season to Dairy Queen. Yum.

And I got to spend a few minutes across the street sitting outside with some of our neighbors... slowly but surely getting to know people. Slowly. But surely.

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Boy vs. Girl

Never a dull moment with my daughter. She is always learning, always thinking, always... something. When I picked her up from school today she immediately started telling me about a skeleton guy she watched in computer lab, and how he told her about all the different bones in the human body.

She listed all the bones we have -
* a head bone,
* shoulder bones,
* back bones (without which we would not be able to stand up straight, but we would have to flop around like fish... love it)
* hip bones
* thigh bones
* knee bones
* leg bones (there are 2... the fibular and the tibular. *lol* and only one of them hurts when someone kicks you in the shin.)
* ankle bones
* foot bones
* and toe bones.

Note the absense of anything to do with arms. I asked her about them, but she said, "Nope, those weren't on there. But I know we have some because whenever I try to squish my finger, I run into something hard and it stops me... so that's how I know it's a bone." (love the logic).

Then she said, "And Mom, I know how you can tell the difference between a boy and a girl."

"Oh ya?" I ask, all nonchalant-like. I'm pretty good at playing it cool with these kinds of conversations anymore.

"Ya, boys have heavier hip bones than girls."

Oh. Well, that's not what I was expecting, but okay.

Then she said, "I know another way to tell a boy from a girl."

Oh dear. What now?

"The voices."

Of course. The voices. I was thinking that too!


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When I Need a Little Happy

** If you're here for the blog hop, you're in the right spot! It's the post below this one!**

Sometimes (I know, it's hard to believe) I get a bit crabby. My kids just drive me nuts-o some days, or the housework feels never-ending, or whatever else the irritating culprit might be. But it happens. Today happens to be one of those days. Actually, I've been having a great day! Until Isaac's Lego castle fell apart, and he went buck nuts and decided to smash and destroy the rest of it, and then go in his room, slam the door, and slam the dresser. Um. No. Not happening. Not in this house. So, we had ourselves a bit of a confrontation.

It was all resolved, and everything - including his attitude - is back on track and running smoothly. But ya know, sometimes those little altercations can kind of try to grab a hold of you with a funk that's hard to shake. Since I'm having such a moment, I thought I'd purposely seek out something that makes me happy.

I settled on sweet tea and a few recent fun memories captured in photos. I found these pictures of Meagan playing Lego village in our eat-in area... never mind the crumby floor... you just can't sweep when there are Lego's all over the floor.






These pictures just make me happy. I don't know what it is about them really. Maybe the colors; the details; the smiling little Lego people? Maybe it's more about her - probably so... I like that the series of pics depicts her movement - the way she plays all over the place, always so involved in imagination. And I like remembering her chatter about what all the people were doing - who was visiting, who was going to the grocery, who was going to work, etc. Whatever it is, these pictures make me smile. And I needed a smile. So I found a little happy.

And on a funny little note, thanks to the blog hop, my blog has busted into the top 200 blogs on both of the blog rankings I'm listed on. Even if it's only momentary, I'm enjoying my moment of 'fame' *bwahh haa haa*

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TLP Blog Hop

Hi everyone!! Welcome to my little corner of the internet! Hope you're having a fantastic time on the iNSD blog hop! If you just left Sara's blog, you've found your way to the next stop without getting lost! Way to go!! :)

I've got a BYOC quick page freebie for you! Be sure to download, and then make your way to the next hop stop... Kaye's blog! She'll have another great freebie for you! Happy hopping!



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iNSD and BYOC... so many letters for one weekend!

Aaah! All the letters! This weekend we celebrate iNSD (international scrapbook day... yes, there actually is such a thing... makes me laugh every year). Also, this weekend is the release of the new BYOC at the Lilypad. All of this combined means I've been doing way more scrapping this week than is normal. And I still have a layout or two to do! *sigh*

So here's all the happenings for iNSD at the Lilypad. Be sure to come play along and check out the great sales! And don't forget that this weekend is the last chance to grab the retiring products before they leave the store for good.




And of course,I have layouts to share with you.

Umbrellas in the Sprinkler

Journaling: "What a great day to be a kid. It was a warm July afternoon, so you headed out in your bathing suits with umbrellas in hand to play in the sprinklers. I'm sure you made up some big adventure - you usually do. I just know I had a great time watching you run and play and laugh together. These are the happy moments that make up a happy childhood. Play hard. Laugh out loud. Enjoy each moment. And cherish every good thing God gives you."

(Click here to view full credits).

Not My Dream Room
Besides all of the other weekend festivities, it's also time for this week's new Digi Dare. This week's dare is to document your childhood bedroom... what a topic for me!

Journaling: "The Peptobismol pink walls and the country blue cat stencils around the walls were not exactly my choice. When my mom asked me what I wanted my room to be, I said, "red black and white." Erica, my new step sister, who was only at the house every-other-weekend, wanted day beds and kittens. Guess what we got. I hated - LOATHED even - the whole thing. I think it turned me against the color pink entirely for years & years. Today we joke and laugh about it, but then I just didn't understand it. I didn't understand that my mom was just trying to help her feel welcome and at home. I was hurt and jealous and hurt some more. I took it out on the pink walls and the little kitties. In short,I hated that room."

(click here to view full credits).

Find the Bright Side

Journaling: "I know this move has been hard on you. We've asked - no, not asked, but required - you to move twice in a year. The move from Michigan was hard enough, but this second move - leaving Ohio - well for that we asked more of you than I ever wanted to ask. You had to leave behind your best friend in the world. Remember, though, she is still your friend. And if we would have never moved the 1st time, you would never have met her. Could it be that another great friendship waits here to be discovered? Don't be afraid to dare to step out & try."

(Click here to view full credits).

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Twice as Nice

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of going to see Isaac's (second) Spring music show... twice. See, our communication wires got crossed - or maybe unplugged altogether - which is no big deal - except that I went to the afternoon show because I thought I wouldn't be able to go to the evening show - but then I GOT to go to the evening show anyway. Which means I got to see the 2nd and 3rd grade students do TWO hour-plus performances about being invaded by aliens and then blasting off to another planet.

And this double header was in addition to the fact that I already sat through a Spring music concert for his class in Ohio... and one for Meagan... and one for Sebastian. So I have now had the joy of partaking in FIVE lovely music shows. Five. Oh the joys of motherhood!

It seemed he was almost as thrilled with the doubling up on Spring programs as I was. He was none-to-disappointed for it to be over. He told me he was tired of hearing people singing. He just wanted some quiet for a while.

I can't say I blame him.

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Six Days

Just an FYI, this is post # 1,020 on my blog. I like that... a nice round number.

Anyhoo...

This month's Sahlin Studio Memory Lane kit is Rejuvenate. You can check out her blog for more info on her Memory Lane idea. If it's not posted quite yet, it should be up shortly... you can always look for it on the first Monday of each month. I know there's a prize involved! Prizes are fun! :)

Here's my layout with her Rejuvenate kit. These pics are Meagan when she is just a teeny tiny peanut.



Journaling: 'how, in only six days, can one person become so precious and dear to another? My life is forever better because I have you with me.'

(Click here to view full credits)

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I Would Love

I would love to spend the next week straight doing nothing but catching up on things I WANT to be doing - like catching up on my photo-a-day pages, and catching up on posting pictures to my blog, and catching up on scrapping the thousands of pictures that are quickly becoming photo archives rather than recent pictures. *sigh* I would love to be able to do this.

*****

I would love to have ALL of the boxes out of our house - and out of our garage. This weekend Lucas and I worked together and got just about everything out of the house. Now there is a gigantic stack of flattened boxes in our garage, as well as several wardrobe boxes crammed full of packing paper. I would love to have the space instead of the stack of cardboard.

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I would love to have everything hung up. No more stacks of frames and wall art and shelves and mirrors. I would love to not have pictures and frames leaning against my walls and serving more as tripping hazards than decorations. I would love to have beautiful color on my walls instead of the stark white that comes standard in new houses.

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I would love to see my kids each make a special friend that they can hang out with over the summer and really get to know. I would love to see them happy and playing and laughing with other kids again. I would love to know that they don't feel lonely and sad and desparate to go back to where we came from.

And while we're on the topic of friends, I would love to be able to do a big giant get-together with all of their friends that they are so desparately missing. I would love to be able to surprise them like that. I wish...

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I would love to know what to get my husband for his birthday. He doesn't WANT anything. He never wants anything. He's difficult. But his birthday is this weekend, and I love him too much to just say, 'Well, sorry I just didn't know what to get you.'

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I would love to visit with my dad and step-mom. It has been WAAAAY too long since I've seen them. They've only ever met Meagan once. She was about 5 months old I think. It's been a while. I would love to remedy that.

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Well, there's my wish list - the things that are on my heart and mind this morning as I get ready to go about my day. Hopefully it will be a productive day. It's rainy and gloomy again today, so all of my plans will be revolving around being inside. I'm thinking I will try to finish a few projects that are time-sensitive, and then maybe work on bills and receipts. Yippee. I will see about getting back with some photos from our weekend trip to the children's museum. It was a great day. We now have a membership, and I'm sure we will be going back again soon. At any rate... pictures... I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, have a lovely Monday.

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Retirement Sale!!

I about fell out of my chair when I got the email from The Lilypad that over 200 items are going to be retired from the shop! 200 items! Of course I went straight to the shop to see what would be leaving... forever. :( So sad to see so many of my favorites go! There were SOOO many items that I've been PLANNING to use but just hadn't gotten around to yet. Grabbed them FOR SURE before they're gone!

So I wanted to pass the same chance along to you. This is an incredible sale... really! Some amazing products - some everyday stuff, some Christmas, some Halloween, and some FABULOUS alphas and papers! *sigh* I LOVE alphas and papers. love.

Be sure to check it out. Good luck narrowing down your purchase! I know I had a hard time!!



(Image is linked straight to the retirement shop.)

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