Homemade with Love

Tidepools

 

During our trip to Monterey a couple of weeks ago, we stopped for a few hours to play in the tidepools on the beach. We had an awesome and relaxing time there. Wayne caught some crabs. (Why doesn't that sound right?) Hailee shares my OCD and helped me sift through the sand for very small pieces of green sea glass. Abigail caught hermit crabs and explored the pools as well.

Wayne spent a long time searching for a crab. He didn't want to hurt it, just find one. Funny thing is he is REALLY afraid of them. A young couple with their two 2-year-olds set up a blanket on the beach very near us. The husband was intrigued by what Wayne was doing and joined in. He happened to be even more scared of the crabs than Wayne. They were hilarious together. Wayne sucked it up, a bit of a false bravado, and plucked a crab from one of the rocks. He didn't want to appear to be a wimp. Like the other guy. I have a feeling that if  we were alone, no crabs would have been caught that day. ;)

 

 

 

Surprise Visit

 

My friend Cheryle and her family live in Tennessee. She emailed me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would be home on 7/20. I replied that we would. I was curious, to say the least. I even asked if they were planning a trip to California. No response.

A few days before, I emailed again. Um, Cheryle, are you planning on coming over? Will you be in California? Should I start cleaning my house now?

The answer was yes.

We were so happy to see our friends. Our visit was WAY too short, but we had such a nice time catching up. It had been years. We were part of an awesome playgroup in Elk Grove. I LOVED that playgroup (Abigail and Mimi were about 18 months old when we all met). I loved seeing the kids together too.

I missed them the moment they pulled out of the driveway.

 

P.S. The chickens miss you, Daniel!

Garden Video

Abigail is quite the videographer. When I saw this video, I about died laughing. It is SO them, together. My girls are SO weird. If I saw that worm, I would have run off screaming.

Note: This worm was, in fact, harmed shortly after the making of this video. The chickens ate it. Circle of life, I guess.

Summer CHA Projects

 

I just got done with the projects for Creative Imaginations that are now bound for CHA in Florida. Here is the first project using their new school line Growing Up. This is a great line that I can't wait to use for me! Most products used are either CI Growing Up or CI Creative Cafe. Love how this page turned out.

 

This is the second sample page. Lots of texture here-sewing, pop dots, lumpy embellishments. The actual paper looks very collage-like. I just broke up the squares to fit them perfectly around my matted photo. This is the school layout featured on the CI Blog.

 

This is my baby girl page. This is for their new line CI Zoe. Again, LOADS of texture. I love how the picture turned out too. It was from Olivia's first birthday and I printed it out on white Bazzil paper. I don't have many baby pics to scrap anymore, but if you do, I suggest this line. It was VERY easy to use. The colors are very pleasing too.

 

Here is the page layout for the new line CI Zack. Baby boy pages are really hard for me to do. I just have girls, SO this is very foreign to me. BUT this was different. This page came together relatively quickly. I think it has to do with the colors and the cool embellies. And, of course, the adorable picture of Ben. I think that is my favorite shot of him. This isn't OVERLY baby, which really appeals to me too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last project I made was this CI Growing Up board book. I have to tell you that this was VERY hard for me to give up. I made this book for CHA exactly how I would have done for myself. I am really pleased with how it came out. One of the fun things I did was spray (lightly) one of the pages with black chalkboard paint, used white chalk to write my message, and sprayed a thin coat of fixative over the top, so it wouldn't smudge. In addition to using all the awesome papers and embellies from CI, I also paper-pieced a bit, cut up an actual mini composition book, and used the DYMO labeling tool to make a border. Have I mentioned how much I like this line???

Underwater Explorers

 

For Abby's birthday, she wanted to participate in the Underwater Explorers program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Naturally, her big sister got to go too. The programs is pretty cool. Wayne and I watched from the balcony above and kept saying how fun it looked (secretly, we wanted to do it too). A good chunk of the 90-minute program is spent putting on the gear. It is amazing how much protection they wear and how long it takes them to put it on. They are also shown how to use the mouthpiece for the oxygen tank, as well as manuevering in the bulky suits. The girls said it was nearly impossible to swim. They were told to roll instead.

Once they were dressed, they walked down the stairs to the tidepool area. To add MORE gear: gloves, mask, air tank/mouthpiece, and flippers. Once in the water, they were guided and shown different varieties of sealife. Totally awesome.

After the tide pool adventure is over, they go upstairs to undress, drink some hot chocolate, and go over what they saw and learned. Such an awesome experience!

 

 

 

 

So very much to share

We have had a busy couple of weeks and I have so much to share. So, I will break it into several different posts over the next couple of days.

First things first, my grand prize Volvo winner is Carol. You will have to send me your snail mail addy. I am also sending something else with it, of course.

Since I was at Target yesterday, I purchased another Volvo. The girls picked a second name. And the winner is.....Teishi. Teishi, please send me your snail mail address.

Two Whole Years!

 

Okay, so it's not silver. BUT you too could be a stupid shiny Volvo owner (Twilight fans will know what I mean). Just leave me a comment and I will have the girls pick a winner. I will probably throw some other stuff in there too!

It's my two year blogiversary and I thought I why not give away a car!

Double Digits

 

My sweet baby turned 10 on Sunday. Double Digits. It is hard for me to think of her as anything but "the baby." Of course, she'll always be my baby, but there are changes. Some physical. Some drastic. Most are subtle. Her taste in clothing has matured. Her sense of humor has matured. She's growing up. This will be her last year in elementary school. It's hard to believe.

I totally didn't want to have a big birthday party. She didn't care either way. When asked what she wanted to do, she said scuba diving at the aquarium in Monterey. Done. Since then (it has been months in the planning), I had been planning to take some pictures of her at the beach. Planning the outfit, consulting with her about accessories and her hair. I told you she was growing up.

We woke up on her actual birthday to shower her with love and birthday wishes. Then we all got ready to head over to Monterey. She, of course, was our center of attention. Making sure she was ready before everyone else. She beamed as she waited for the rest of us.

Speaking of showering her with love, I have to mention her sister's gift to her. It made me cry with pride and happiness. Along with some Model Magic and an iTunes giftcard, Hailee made her sister 10 birthday cards. Each one of the cards addressed a special trait. Creativity, Caring, Smart, Funny, etc. Inside was a message that further detailed her trait. Sometimes including a story or example. I read each card and teared up. It was a gift for me too.

When we got to Monterey/Pacific Grove, we found a couple of great spots. The lighting wasn't necessarily on our side, so I had to work around that. These are a few of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

July Birthdays

 

The beginning of July is always hectic in our household. This year was no different. We started off with a 4th of July bang, then a quick trip to the City, Wayne's birthday (7/10), Abby's birthday (7/12), and an overnight trip to Monterey. Whew.

 

 

This was the first time we celebrated Wayne and Abigail's birthdays together. No party this year for either of them. Just pizza and cake (and pie for Wayne-his favorite) and some family. Abby was the center of attention, much to Wayne's pleasure! She got a pink iPod, some gift cards, lots of clothes, a craft kit and some birthday cash! She was VERY excited and about her gifts.

Earlier in the day, my mom and I took her shopping. Just the three of us. We started out with a stop at Starbucks, then the Vintage Faire Mall, lunch, then home. We all had such a great time together. Abby LOVED getting showered with new clothes, new shoes, and of course, lots of attention! We might have to make this a tradition.

 

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people!

San Francisco Treat

 

We went to SF on Tuesday for the day. Normally, we go to Union Square and nearby Chinatown. This time as we were entering the city, Wayne asked "where to?" I immediately mentioned the wharf. We hadn't been there in years. We had so much fun discovering new things in a city we have been to countless times.

Things we enjoyed:

1. Lunch at Boudin. Yum. We even brought home some sourdough bread and one of those sourdough turtles for my mom. They sold these hats in the giftshop and I HAD to take a picture. I have one of Hailee too, but my almost teenager BEGGED me not to post that picture. I may not post it, but it's going in the album!

 

2. Who knew there was a Coit tower there? We didn't go up, but we walked all around the area. Nice views.

 

3. Went to Ghiradelli Square. Found a replacement for Sprinkles Cupcakes. In fact, we all voted that Kara's Cupcakes were better than Sprinkles. Also found a little tea salon, Crown and Crumpet. We had already eaten and weren't in the mood for tea, but can't wait to go back. Totally adorable. Found a fountain for the girls to pose by.

 

4. Driving down Lombard Street. Twice.

 

5. Okay, this one might sound weird or maybe gross, but it was definitely fun and something we have NEVER done before....we just tried on sunglasses. Like A LOT of sunglasses. We were laughing and oohing and aahing and giving each other the thumbs up/down signs. Totally spontaneous.

 

 

6. We sat by the water and watched these crazy people swim around buoys, like pool laps. With swimsuits on, no wet suits. Cuckoo. No picture, as that would just be weird.

7. A sweet girl (I am thinking college age) asked us if we would like her to take a picture of us. We sure would. Thank you very much. But then as she handed me back my camera and she left, I realized we were standing in front of such an UGLY fence. Grr. Of course. It figures, huh?

 

8. Laughing about Wayne getting pooped on by a seagull on the wharf (ewwww) or an old lady setting a sprinkler on me, so her neighbor could walk by. Good times, good times. Again, no pics.

9. Taking some cute shots of my girls and just hanging out with each other.