Our Bit O Heaven

Scrapbooking

2012-01-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

A quick one I did last week... just now getting to post it. I watched a Glitter Girl (Shimelle) video about layering on Two Peas and made this great layout.

Ashley and Riley

2012-01-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

The hardest part of our move for Ashely STILL is leaving her best friend Riley. She still misses Riley and is constantly asking to visit her. I had to scrap this cute picture of the two on their last day of pre-school. We miss you Riley!

Scrapbooking

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

My mission is to get 2010 in the books... here is one towards that mission. My baby was only two days old, she looks so little!

Scrap-a-Palooza

2012-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I spent almost all day Saturday (9AM -7:30 PM) at a huge crop. There were 275 croppers! I finished my December Daily all the way to day 31!. I got a good start on Allison first year album (about 15 pages) and I did a hand full of layouts. I am still trying to finish out 2010 so I can start into 2011. I got close but darn it I still have a few 2010 layouts to do.

We got a My Minds Eye kit with our admission and it was Christmas papers, which was great because I had all my 2010 Christmas photos to do. Just a quick layout about Ashley's 4 wheeler from Santa. The trees came from a layout by Nicole Samuels on Basic Grays blog around Christmas time, I think they turned out really cute!

Another layout with my MME kit and more 2010 Christmas photos!

Another layout with my MME kit, I got my worth out of it!

This one is a hodge podge of what I had on hand. The "let it snow" was a card front that I received from Davinie when I won a prize on her blog years ago. It was so cute and I didn't want to waste it so I made a layout around the card colors.

This is just a small sampling of what I got accomplished! I wish I could do this once a month and then I would get caught up!

Scrapbooking

2012-01-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

It has been forever since I made a layout. We got this great picture of David and Susan recently from their Aunt Donna and it matched my January Studio Calico kit perfectly. I used this layout by Layle Koncar as inspiration (read scraplift). I need to add some journal strips but I was going to consult with David to see if he remembers anything in particular about this day/horse/etc. (Susan how about you?).

I am preparing for Scrap-a-Palooza this weekend! It is a lot of hard work to make sure you have everything you might think you need for a long crop. I have lots of photos printed and hope to finish Allison's 1st year album!

Allison 14 months

2012-01-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

I have not done an update in awhile and Allison seems to be really changing so I thought I would get some thoughts down.

Waves bye bye
Claps
Loves to dance (bounces, spins and waves her hands in the air)
Words - mama, dada, dog, uh-oh, hi
Will imitate the moo sound
Can find her belly and nose
Transitioning to one nap a day (usually around 2 hours)
Drinks from a straw, cup or beer can (but mostly her sippy)
Loves to brush her teeth before bed
Sleeps 8PM to 7 AM
Wearing 18 month clothes
size 4 diapers
Going to a daycare four days a week (no more nanny)
Threw a full out fit last week (head throwing, rolling on the floor, etc.)
Loves to do whatever her big sis or the big kids are doing
Still a fairly quite laid back kid
Lots of thick hair
Did great with Grandma and Grandpa M over New Years while we traveled to a wedding
Attached to her mommy
Breaking out on her tummy (she has my skin)
Loves to read books/turn pages
Does fairly well playing by herself for short periods of time
Will give me snuggles in the morning when I wake her up
4 upper teeth, 3 lower and is getting her two molars on top

More on Allison's fit.... WOW. Nothing about last week was normal for Allison, she was going to daycare for the first time all day and we spent every night at the hospital with Dave's mom. She was also transitioning to one nap and was not sleeping very much. Sadly we were those people.... if people were staring they didn't have kids, if people were laughing well they have kids. It all came down in the hospital cafeteria and it was a doozy. I didn't think my sweet baby had it in her but I guess she does.

DD Day 25

2012-01-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

YEAH it's done!!!!! Nothing fancy here but I have a completed album!!!! Last night as I was finishing it up I started thinking about why not go thru the 31... I took the notes, have the pictures. We will have to see, I'm doing a whole day crop next Saturday so I might just take this with me and see what I feel like working on.

DD Day 24

2012-01-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve morning at Dave's parents equals Turner Christmas. Lots of stocking stuffers, gift cards wrapped uniquely (my was in a ball of duct tape), yummy breakfast and pancakes! I needed more space for photos so I grabbed a losing scratch off that I got as a stocking stuffer.

DD Day 23

2012-01-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Wow this album is going slow.... now that the holidays are over I'm not in the mood to scrap Christmas stuff.... but I must keep going. So so close!

DD Day 22

2012-01-05T09:26:00.001-08:00

Remember this album.... I am just getting back into it to finish it up. I have all my photos printed through the 25th and sadly now that the holidays are over I just might stop there and not to the end of December. We will have to see how the next week goes.

DD Day 21

2011-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

These two pages don't really go together but I wanted to document both things. Lots of errands this month, Ashely got out of school at noon and we spent the rest of the afternoon running errands. I got the idea/title from an Ali Edwards page. The second page is some of the places we have found our elf this year.

DD Day 20

2011-12-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

Pajama Day! It is not often that Ashley doesn't have to wear her uniform to school and for it to be her pajamas makes it even more fun!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and got everything they had hoped for. We had a great Christmas!

DD Day 18

2011-12-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Another quick page about some of the projects we have been working on. With Christmas full speed ahead around here my pages are going to have to be pretty quick to keep up. I have done so good so far. I hope to stay on top of my album the next few days!

DD Day 17

2011-12-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

I added a center page to the 17th because I thought it would be fun to show some outtakes of our Christmas cards. I just realized I spelled outtakes wrong (thanks spell check) so I will fix that immediately (but not re scan it). The back side of our card is blah... but its late and its done. I have been randomly going back and adding to the past pages to jazz them up I am sure that will happen here.

Christmas is getting close... are you ready?

DD Day 19

2011-12-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

A little out of order because I am waiting on my pictures to be printed for my earlier days. A spread about some of the animals we share our land with.

DD Day 16

2011-12-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

The girls both did great on their visit to Santa. I love the less than 30 minute wait to see Santa at Bass Pro BUT I hate having to go at 9:00 AM to get a line ticket for 4:00 PM. The line tickets are insane here, is it like that anywhere else in the country or is it just here?

DD Day 15

2011-12-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

A quick page about an early Christmas present of cookies!

Pat myself on the back, I am half way done!!!! I plan on going the whole month of December because the celebrations won't really end for us on the 25th.

DD Day 14

2011-12-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

Go to this site now and make a special video message from Santa for your kids. Ashley loved it! It is very well done with lots of personalization. The only thing I would have done different is list Ashley as naughty instead of nice, because she thinks all is cool because she is on Santa's nice list. Ashley can pretty much resite this whole video back to you (and she has many time to others) but she always leaves out the part where Santa told her to listen to her parents.

DD Day 13

2011-12-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Every year we get a few new ornaments, at least one new one for each of the girls and always one for any places we have visited. I love pulling out our ornaments each year and remembering the all the vacations we have taken together as a couple or as a family.

Had to have a Cardinals one this year for the 2011 WORLD SERIES win!

DD Day 12

2011-12-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

I have done a good majority of my Christmas shopping online this year (have I mention how much I hate Christmas shopping?). It is so much easier in my mind to shop online instead of going store to store to find something. On the left I have included an envelope where I will put all my buying list once Christmas is over.

DD Day 11

2011-12-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

I am really loving this December Daily... I love playing with all the fun things in my scrapbooking stash and I love that I am getting these stories scrapbooked. I did this same concept with my blog in 2009, now I want to print out those blog posts and get them into a book. And I need to read threw them to see what has stayed the same and what has changed. So fun!

Ashley's school Christmas program was wonderful. The Kindergartners played the bells and the rest of the big kids acted out and sang the Birth of Jesus.

DD Day 10

2011-12-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

Ashley loved riding in the Christmas parade with her Daisy Scout troop. Dave's mom watched Allison and Dave dropped us off at the beginning and picked us up at the end making the whole experience very enjoyable. Ashley was scared for some reason but after the fact loved it.

DD Day 9

2011-12-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

A quick DD page about story time and some mischievous our elf has been up to.

DD Day 8

2011-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

A yearly tradition, the gingerbread house. The minute the box came into the house Ashley has been asking and asking to put the house together. I am surprised that we made it to the 8th to finally give in. Allison... well she loved playing with the box, typical one year old! I just noticed the beer cans in the background... nice!

Scrapbooking

2011-12-11T12:29:00.001-08:00

I am still trying to finalize my 2010 album and this one was a pretty quick layout using my December Studio Calico kit. Since I am doing the December Daily it has been really hard to do any other scrapbooking, but I didn't have any photos for my DD so I dug into my new kit!

DD Day 7

2011-12-11T11:13:00.001-08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I hate Chuck E Cheese? I don't know if it is the scary mouse or the need to disinfect before leaving. But I hung tough for Ashley and her classmates birthday party. Again I had a lot of photos so I added a piece of chipboard to the center to have more room.

DD Day 6

2011-12-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

I had two events to document on the 6th, St. Nicholas Day and our first snow, so I cut up a baseball card protector to add a few more photos to the center of the spread.

DD Day 5

2011-12-11T10:48:00.001-08:00

Trinity turned 8. This dog is one character, see the photo of her covering herself up on our bed. She definitely is loved by all of us (even after she ate an air conditioner this summer).

DD Day 4

2011-12-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

A quick page about Ashley decorating her PINK tree.

DD Day 3

2011-12-06T11:14:00.001-08:00

A quick spread about my cousin's wedding this weekend. The girls had a blast at the reception, it was so cute to watch Allison bopping to the music. She was the star of the show!

DD Day 2

2011-12-06T10:58:00.001-08:00

I am not totally happy with the left side but I reserve the right to add to it to make it more unique later. I love this page about Allison and my Dad. The photo on the left is blurry (dirty fingers on my camera lens) but it is a good picture so I went with it. It is special to see the bond between your parents and your children.

Hello December

2011-12-06T09:38:00.001-08:00

Here we go! Day one of my December Daily album. Not to exciting because I was traveling for work.

More Scrapbooking

2011-11-23T08:47:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to everyone.... I am in the mode to get my 2010 scrapping wrapped up. I need to start on a little someones first year album, finish my 2010 vacation scrapbook and start 2011. PLUS (and it's a big plus) I am going to attempt to do a December Daily ala Ali Edwards. On the above layout I used a kit from Cropping at Archivers.

This one is a kit too from a class I took at CKC St. Louis at least two or three years ago.

Scrapbooking

2011-11-22T07:48:00.001-08:00

Timber is scraplifted from a layout by Kelly Purkey using my Studio Calico November kit Handmade.

Thanksgiving was scraplifted from a layout by Daniela Dobson again using my Studio Calico November kit Handmade.

What can I say I was in a scraplifting mood!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels. Mmm mmm sweat potatoe casserole is in my near future!

Scrapbooking

2011-11-15T13:34:00.001-08:00

A quick one using a combination of Studio Calico kits. This is the first movie Ashley and Aidan saw in the movie theater (Princess and the Frog) and sadly we haven't been since.

P.S. Happy Birthday Abby!!!!

Scrapbooking

2011-11-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

A quick one I did last night with my November Studio Calico Handmade kit. Scraplifted from this layout.

Daisy scout

2011-11-07T18:46:00.001-08:00

Say hello to the newest Girl Scout. Ashley was very excited to attend her first Daisy meeting tonight. She's a third generation Girl Scout; I was one, my mom and Davids mom.

Scrapbooking

2011-11-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile... I had to take a break to watch the Cardinals win the World Series!!!! I wanted to scrapbook this weekend but I did not have much creative effort in me. These were very simple and quick. Sometimes I just need that to get me going again. I think I did both of these layout in under an hour while Allison napped and Ashley colored on the floor next to me.

My Studio Calico November box is on its way... so I hope to get some more scrapbooking done this week!

Allison 12 months

2011-11-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Walking
Will still crawl randomly
Points at everything
Clapping her hands
Approx. 21 lbs
Sleeps 8PM to 6:30 AM
Long morning nap, usually 9:30-11:30
Short 45 minute nap in the afternoon (2ish)
Wearing 12 month clothes
Size 3 diaphers
Dropped the night feeding this month
Only nursing in the morning
Drinking milk from a sippy
Loves animal crackers
Drinks from a straw
Will eat something one day and turn her nose up the next
Big ol belly
David calls her dozer
Calm natured
Loved the frogs and carousel at Silver Dollar City

Happy 1st year baby girl, we love you lots!!!

Happy Birthday Allison

2011-11-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl turned one this weekend!! It was a small party with family and some friends. She will be rocking a whole new wardrobe this winter thanks to everyone. Allison didn't really tear into the cake, she was more interested in eating the candy corns that rimmed the bottom. All it took was a wash cloth to clean her hands and face, unlike her older sister who required a bath.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from a little chick and super girl.

Scrapbooking

2011-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

A quick one I did last night... since I knew I would be busy tonight and Thursday watching the Cardinals win the World Series!!!!!! I used my October Studio Calico Field Guide kit.

GO CARDINALS!!!!!!

Ashley 5.5 years

2011-10-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Always asks us if we know the shortcut not the longcut when we are driving somewhere
Struggles with number recognition (anything above 5 she just guesses)
Still rubbing her belly button
Currently playing fall soccer
Really really really wants to learn to shoot a bow and arrow
Is growing out her bangs
Loves being read to before bedtime (but not interested in reading yet)
Loves having a song before bedtime (usually My Favorite Things)
Is a great big sister
"Yeah for real" is a statement of choice
Lucky to be alive after she rolled her eyes at David
Picky picky eater, dinner time is always a struggle
Mom's sous chef in the kitchen
Learning numbers, patterns, C,O and G sounds in Kindergarten
Will leave pieces of paper all around with her name, letters, stick people, etc on them
Constantly asking how to spell something so she can write it
Loves popcorn
She might hate me for this.. still a bed wetter at night
"Thinks" she has a loose tooth

All in all she is a great kid and we love her to pieces!!!!

Scrapbooking

2011-10-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

A quick two pager based off this sketch by Allison Davis and using my October Studio Calico Field Guide kit. I don't know the exact date of this.... Susan do you remember??

Allison

2011-10-07T10:21:00.001-07:00

Looks who is really close to taking off. I couldn't share an ashley post without an allison one too.

I wish blogger would flip photos....ugh

Ashley

2011-10-07T07:28:00.001-07:00

Ashley is the star of the week in her classroom!!!!

I'm on a roll

2011-10-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

A quick one from a class at CKC earlier this year. Glad to get this one done since Aidan is now four going on five!

Scrapbooking

2011-10-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

A quick layout from a class I took at CKC this summer.

And another quick layout from a super savor session at Scrapbook Generations.

Blogger has a new interface so I tried some new things here... but I am not sure how it's going to look????

Allison 11 months

2011-09-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Points at everything
Loves to hang upside down
Loves to escape during diaper changes
Laughs like crazy when you pinch her naked butt while escaping
Loves to eat (loves her Mum Mums) not real picky
Will try to climb out of the highchair to get to food (no patience waiting for it to cool down)
Only nursing morning and night
Started the month with not liking formula or milk
Drinking milk with yogurt mixed in from a sippy
Had a rough beginning of the month with dropping the feedings and a cold
Blowing lots of raspberries
Loves her big sister
Loves Trinity (smiles when she gets to pet her)
Standing alone
I have seen her take one or two steps here and there
Climbing stairs and loves it
Big ol belly
Will imitate brushing her hair, talking on the phone

This photo was impossible to get, it's not perfect but it is the best I could get by myself. Allison thought it was pretty funny and was giggling like crazy plus she would not sit still. I can not believe my baby is almost a year, time flies! We sure do love her lots!

Scrapbooking

2011-09-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

I was getting the scrapping itch last night. If it has been a week since I scrapped I definitely start to feel the pull to do something. I whipped this layout up real quick last night with my September Studio Calico kit Glee Club. Megan is already two so I am glad that I got this one done.

I hope everyone has a great World Card Making day this weekend. I will be at my LSS making these.

New phone

2011-09-26T15:20:00.001-07:00

I got a new phone this weekend and testing it out to see if I can post directly to my blog. If this works you might just get to see some real time posts!

12x12 scrapbookin

2011-09-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to finish my Colorado vacation album... the one that I am doing all 12x12. I'm almost done, I have one two pager to do and then the last page. I hope to be done this week or next (hear that Susan :) ). I'm new at photographing these to be able to share, not to bad for my first try. I used Allison Davis sketches for both (this album is pretty much all her sketches). I also used my Studio Calico August Glee Club kit for the Fun City layout.

Scrapbooking

2011-09-07T18:39:00.000-07:00

A quick one I did last night with a free kit that I won on Basic Grey's new blog

Scrapbooking

2011-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

I did this last week but am just now getting it up. We had a busy weekend with Dave's parents at The Lake. It was hot and over 90 degrees on Saturday and cool, breezy and in the 70's on Sunday..... ah Missouri weather you puzzle me.

I used this sketch and my Studio Calico Boardwalk kit.

Happy Labor Day!!!!

Allison 10 months

2011-08-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Crawling fast
Cruising the furniture
Standing alone
Will walk between two really close stationary objects
Will stand up and then throw herself at you
Climbing stairs
Can ring the bell on her radio flyer scooter and is so so proud of herself
Has become a lot more vocal
Mama and Dada are her only words
Big belly laughs
Two top teeth have come in
Busy month of travel North Outer Banks, NC and Chicago, IL
First long rode trip (she did great)
First ocean swim (she loved it)
First plane flight (she did great)
First bachelorette party
Self feeding almost all the time now (except for yogurt, applesauce and the like)
STILL nursing
Won't take formula or cows milk from a sippy
Will drink water from a sippy
Two naps (morning and afternoon)
Clingy to mom
Size 3 diapers
Size 12 month clothing
Wearing some 18 month sleepers... they are so long on her
Loves loves loves splashing water (bath, pool, lake, dog bowl)
19 lbs, 28 in

My baby is gone... now I have a crawler and soon to be walker. We love her to pieces!!!

Scrapbooking

2011-08-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

A quick one... well it took two nights because I had to let the mistable trim dry overnight, but in general it went together pretty quickly. I used my Studio Calico Boardwalk kit from August and this layout by Celine Navarro for inspiration.

Glad I got these photo scrapbooked... why? Because the shootout is this weekend!

Scrapbooking

2011-08-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hey look at that... is that 12x12 pages? Miracles do happen. I decided to try my hand at 12x12 layouts while on vacation. I was scrapbooking our 2010 Cowan family vacation to Colorado. I did about 30 pages during the week (that's what Susan says... I did not count). My thoughts.... I had a lot less scraps of paper, it was hard to fill the "white" space, thanks to Allison Davis sketch books because most of my layouts started from a sketch. I liked it but now I am done... back to 8.5x11 for me.
I was itching to scrap tonight and whipped this one up real quick. I used my July Mind the Gap Studio Calico kit.

1st Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

New shoes, new uniform, brand new shiny apple, new backpack and she's ready. Ashley starts Kindergarten today! I think she was excited. Drop of went fine, she was quiet but let me leave without any problems. I can't wait to pick her up today and see how it went!

OBX photos

2011-08-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

Our family on the beach.

Allison enjoying the NC Aquarium. She also really liked the big tank with sharks!

Ashely at the NC Aquarium, touching starfish and urchins.

Ashley absolutely loved this turtle rescue exhibit at the NC Aquarium. Here her turtle is in the rehab pool.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This is the lighthouse were the van died turning into see it.

Bodie Island Lighthouse. Pronounced Body as the rude park ranger let me know.

Currituck Beach Light Station

I should include a picture of the van dead on the side of the road, but will spare you those boring pictures.

OBX

2011-08-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

We woke up early Saturday morning and were on the road by 6:45 (5:45 central time). We got away from the islands and stopped at a Burger King for breakfast. The van had gone over a set of railroad tracks and jiggled it enough that the fuse problem was back. The guys put in a new fuse and we took off. We got a couple hours under our belt and stopped for lunch. All seemed fine with the van. We got about 10 miles down the road and the problems started again. We pulled over to the side of the highway and changed a fuse. It blew instantly and so did the next three they tried. DEAD! We called AAA to come tow the van to the nearest dealership. The Wilsons crammed in our Yukon and we left Dave's parents with the van. We headed to the nearest town (Lewisburg, West Virgina) to get a rental car. It was an ordeal but after the rental agency's worked together we got a Chrysler Sebring rented. Off we went to the dealership to meet Dave's parents. We started checking into hotels for Dave's parents.... not so lucky, the state fair was in town and they were all booked. Ultimately they decided to leave the van in West Virgina. We unpacked the Yukon and the van and only repacked the necessities. We took off and were determined to get back to St. Louis. We rolled in at 1 PM. The kids did amazing thru the whole ordeal! The van is still in West Virgina (850 miles away) and as of yesterday they still didn't know what was wrong with it. The guys think it is something electrical which is really hard to find and fix.

Sunday we visited with my parents in Illinois for a little bit and got Trinity back. We made it back to our house by 4PM! This trip has been deemed the "Trip from Hell", I think you can see why.

I promise to go thru my photos and give you some nice things to look at about our trip. Maybe tonight!

OBX

2011-08-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

I wrote this while still on vacation but Blogger was not liking me that day so I am posting it now. I need to follow up about our trip home in the next post.... Did we make it?

Friday August 12

Go-Karts (Dave and Ashley versus Chris and Kaitlin)
Lunch at the house
Beach!!!
Pizza for dinner

The beach was awesome today, the ocean was a lot warmer and it was overcast. The girls played and played in the sand. Someone before us had dug a hole and they played in that hole most of the time.

Susan and Dave feel much better. Dave even was drinking beer today, a sure sign he is fine. Susan is still running slower than normal.

I also forgot to mention that there is a great dismal swamp on fire close to the Virgina North Carolina border. If the wind is blowing right the smoke is everywhere and it stinks. On Tuesday when we woke up we thought someone was burning trash... but the further we drove away from the house we knew it had to be something else. It was real smoky again on Thursday.

The van is also back in commission... I am not sure they really know what was wrong with it. Let's hope it makes it back to Missouri!

OBX

2011-08-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesday August 9

North Carolina Aquarium
Ashley loved the exhibit where they helped rescue a sea turtle (hers had a stomach impaction and she had to administer a laxative and an enema)
Fort Raleigh National Historical Site and the Lost Colony (Ashley earned a Junior Ranger Badge)
Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo
Lunch at Full Moon Cafe and Brewery
Back to the house to Swim
Dinner at the house, Chris made brats

Dave didn't feel right after dinner and went to bed early. He pretty much spent the whole night in the bathroom. We still are not sure if it was food poisoning or some kind of virus. Susan woke up Wednesday morning not feeling to good either. She spent all day Wednesday in the bathroom. Dave and Susan pretty much spent the whole day Wednesday crashed out and with in 10 feet of a toilet.

Wednesday August 10

Currituck Beach Lighthouse (Wayne, Jamie, Jennifer, Ashley, Kaitlin and Allison)
Lunch in Duck, NC (I don't think I ever caught the name.... but I had shrimp and grits.... and oh my god it was so so good. I am learning to make this at home! YUM!)
Back to the house to care for the sickly
Dinner at the house, leftovers
Jamie's Birthday.... we had cake!
Jamie, Ashley and Kaitlin swimming after dinner

Thursday August 11

Bodie Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Van dies
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Many many stops to change the fuse
Late late lunch at Kill Devil Hills Shakes and Fries
Hanging at the house
More leftovers for dinner, plus some cooked shrimp

We drove almost one hour from the Bodie Lighthouse to get to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, right as we were about to turn onto the road leading to the lighthouse Dave's parents van died. We all pushed it to the side of the road. We tried jumping it, putting in oil, lots of little tricks, finally the guys figured out it was a fuse. It got it running but it wasn't right, something to do with the oxygen sensors. We have it scheduled to be in the shop tomorrow morning. I hope it gets fixed tomorrow for the long drive home on Saturday.

Susan just left to go to urgent care, she is still not feeling very well. Dave is much better but still not 100%. All he has eaten all day is a milk shake.

North Outer Banks Vacation

2011-08-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday August 4

We started our vacation after work
Made it to my parents (In Illinois) for an overnight stay

Friday August 5

Started the long drive at 8 AM
Off the road at almost 11 PM
Allison did great, she slept most of the way
Ashley rode in Grandma and Grandpa's van
We made it to Greensboro, NC

Saturday August 6

We make it to the Outer Banks
Drove thru lots and lots of rain
Traffic is crazy trying to get onto the islands
We swam at the house pool as soon as we got here
Even though it was raining
Shrimp dinner at home
Grocery shopping (Wayne was with in $2 of the total)

Sunday August 7

On the beach first thing
Allison loved it
Ashley really loved it
Sand castle building
Riding the waves, it was cold!
Back to the house and to the pool
Water wars with the squirt guns
Dinner at Rundown Diner
Bailey's Ice Cream for Desert

Monday August 8

Wright Brothers National Memorial
Chris, Susan, Ashley and Kaitlin made the long hike up the dune
Ashely and Kaitlin got Jr. Ranger badges
Lunch at High Cotton BBQ
Swimming at the pool
Dinner at home (steaks, corn and salad)
Making fun of Wayne's cell phone ringer

Record Breaking

2011-08-02T18:58:00.001-07:00

It's HOT!

2011-07-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

Going to do some enabling here, enabling of your time. Have you heard about Pinterest. I love it! It is a great place to store all those cool ideas, photos, recipes, crafts, scrapbook pages, etc. you read about everyday in your Google Reader (another great thing that everyone needs). You see something you like and then you pin it. That easy.

Here I am. Let me know if you Pinterest too and I will start following you!

Allison Joy 9 Months

2011-07-28T11:19:00.001-07:00

Crawling everywhere and really really fast
Pulling up on everything
Will let go and stand for a few seconds
Has started cruising the furniture
Can cluck her tongue
Sleeping in her crib at night
Most nights sleeps 8PM to 6:30 AM
Fights nap time (still taking 3-4 smaller naps)
Loves finger foods now (grapes, mac n cheese, cheese)
Still lots of giggles with Ashley
Loves being in the lake and the swimming pool
Started standing while taking baths (hates me making her sit)
Wearing all 12 month clothes
Approx. 20 pounds
Size 3 Pampers
Had hand mouth foot disease this month (I thought it was chicken pox at first)
Her hair is getting lots thicker
Knows her name
Loves Mommy, definitely some separation anxiety going on
Loves to push buttons (not my patience, but she can do that too)
Will put anything in her mouth (even rocks)
Still a real quiet baby, doesn't babble a lot
Is hard to win over
Loves straws
Just switched over to a a big girl car seat
Has the best laugh/giggle I have ever heard

We still love ya lots little girl!

Summertime

2011-07-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am not a great photographer but I love to take photos.... and scrapbook them too. Nicole has a new photo challenge blog so I thought I would play along. This week's assignment Summertime. That's easy Dave was cutting the grass last night and decided to take Allison along for a ride.

Ashley

2011-07-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ashley has become so much more daring when it comes to new things. Add tubing to her list of things she now loves. A couple of weekends ago I had to jump in the tube and have her ride on my lap just to get her used to the idea. Then we pulled her and Megan back to the dock at idle speed. Well this past weekend she started out slow and then gradually went to full out fast. Big big smiles. She has already learned the thumbs up signal for faster. David actually tired out of pulling her before her and Alex were ready to quit. We won't talk about the mommy feelings you get when your watching your daughter being pulled 25 mphs behind a boat.

On another note... she asked for her own phone this morning. WHAT! already! please your only 5. Holy tomoly! But Mom Dallas has one. (I need to verify this one because that is just WOW if it is true). Ay yi yi

Adventure

2011-07-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

For some reason I just love this layout. I used this layout from Lisa Truesdell as my inspiration. I used my July Mind the Gap Studio Calico kit. I'm glad I dug into this kit...I pushed it around a lot before I started using it. I think it is the colors that don't scream any particular theme to me. Oh well another for the books.

As much as I loved the first layouts, I hate this one. Again I used my July Mind the Gap Studio Calico kit. I also used an Allison Davis Sketch. I think this kit it kinda blah to me so therefore I think this layout is kinda blah. But it is another for the books and that is what counts.

Believe it or not I did these layouts last week, just now getting to blogging them. We have been pretty busy around here.

Scrapbooking

2011-07-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

A another quick one this week. Kaitlin's 2nd birthday party... over a year ago. I used a layout from the latest and greatest class at CKC STL.

Scrapbooking

2011-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

A quick layout I did this weekend from a Latest and Greatest class at CKC St. Louis. I also used a collage print from Walgreens. I love it when they have these for free.

Ashley's Art

2011-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

What is my solution to all the stuff Ashley brings home from school? An art book.

This is all "art" she brought home from the early childhood center. Now I need to start scanning/photographing her first year of pre-school... before I get too far behind.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Megan, Abby, Ashley, Allison

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Lots of friends, family and fireworks. It doesn't get much better than that.

We started the weekend off at the Lake with my parents and our good friends the Schmidt's. We also spent some time with the Resnik's and Slenker's. Then on Monday we came back home and spent the day with Dave's family. We got to see fireworks on the water (Captain Ron's), at our house (Dave's spectacular) and at the Club. Three times!

The best part of the weekend was Ashley. She discovered that she can hold her nose and go under water, which led to jumping off the ladder, then jumping off the dock and even a diving board at the Resnik's. She also got lots of use out of the slide. It is so fun seeing her really start to enjoy the water like David and I did as kids. She also participated in the fishing derby at the Club and caught four fish! Way to go Ash.

Allison did really well with the fireworks at the Club, she wasn't scared and was watching them pretty intently. But a couple of minutes in she was asleep on my chest. In other news, Dave heard her say Ashley this weekend. She also got to hear a lot of no nos... since shes on the move the dog bowls are fun.

Allison 8 months

2011-06-30T09:12:00.001-07:00

Crawling (started out with a combo army crawl/crawl... looked like and inch worm)
One bottom tooth
Waving
Saying Da da and Ma
Always happy to see Ashley
Has become more vocal (lots of squawking, talking, laughing)
Swam in the Lake (loved it, lots of kicking)
Swam in the Pool (loved it, lots of splashing with her hands)
Still loves puffs (baby crack)
Eating lots (beef casserole, chicken and sweat potatoes, corn, yogurt, grapes, watermelon)
Loves playing with Erin the Nanny
sleep on your tummy
more red headed everyday
loves baths
Starting to be shy (will turn her head into Mom's shoulder)
Still nursing every 2-3 hours (I want my body back so this might change real soon)
Wearing 12 month clothes (9 months are getting boxed up)
Chubby legs
Loves Mom best (starting to get separation anxiety)
Very curious little girl, will whip her head around to see what is going on
Ashley's nickname: Chubs, chubster
Daddy's nickname: Big-um
Mommy's nickname: Misses Joy
Loves to play poor old horse goes so slow
Enjoys being read too at bedtime
On the move (as noted below)

Your a cutie Allison... we love ya!

On a Roll

2011-06-30T08:47:00.001-07:00

It seems like once you do one layout... it makes you want to do even more. I used my May Lawn Party kit from Studio Calico. Inspiration came from Waleska Neris' Happy Shakes layout (I don't see where she has it in her gallery to link).

As most of you know I did not find out the sex when I was pregnant with Allison. David did but not me. He did great keeping it a secret the whole pregnancy and never told anyone, except for Ashley the night before. But my response to the "What are you having?" question was always "A baby" and sometime I'd throw in "I hope a healthy baby". It drove people crazy that I didn't want to find out. I look it as one of God's best secrets, why ruin it for yourself. Also it gave me a good reason to push!

Just a quick layout to document the wedding gift from Dave's great uncle. I used my June Paper Moon kit.

Next up an Allison update... my baby is 8 months old [sob sob].

Scrapbooking

2011-06-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

Time time time... I need more of it. It seems like forever since I have scrapbooked. But I was determined last night while watching Deadliest Catch that I was going to get one page done. I was only up until 10:30 not too bad since I started at 9:45.

I used a sketch Thursday from Elle's Studio for inspiration. I also used my June Paper Moon kit from Studio Calico. I needed to dive into this kit before I get my July kit.

Ashley was so so proud at Chris' graduation. She sat thru the whole ceremony and even embarrassed Chris after he walked across the stage. It was quiet as he was returning to his seat and all you could hear was her cute little voice saying Uncle Chris to get his attention. Lots of laughter from the audience.

GBS Lake Weekend

2011-06-27T13:07:00.001-07:00

(L-R) Ann, Jenn, Jess, Wendy, Suellen, Colleen, Tonya, Jessie

This weekend was my college girlfriends annual get together. We used to meet in Vegas and stay up til morning partying but things have changed in the past five years. Between the eight ladies above we have thirteen kids. Eleven were with us this weekend, all under the age of five! We have graduated from heavy drinking in Vegas to drinking lots at the Lake. Somethings change but not everything. It was a great weekend and I am so glad to call all these ladies my friends.

Just a few things I don't want to forget about this weekend:

Dinner and drinks at Tres Hombres
Shiters full!
Hanging out on the Resnik's Dock
Watching the guys try to ride the old school jetskis
Yummy dinner and drinks at The Trail House
That is why God didn't make a man's hands to his knees
Hollywood Dolly's (we didn't live up to our New Years expectations)
The rain ending just in time to enjoy great sunshine
Coving it out
Nice cool water, instead of August bath water
Shiters full AGAIN!
Yummy pork steaks
Calling Leann and hearing about the weirdness of Canada
Captain Ron's
Chilling on the dock wishing it wasn't time to go home

I needed to go back to work today just to rest. Now that is what I call a great weekend!

Ann also blogged about the fun weekend.

Big Cedar

2011-06-15T11:55:00.001-07:00

Mark this up as something I thought Ashley would never do.... pony rides. Ashley has grown amazingly in the past couple of months when it comes to trying things. I wouldn't say she is shy but her personality has always been to hang back and check things out before jumping in. Because of this she is hard to get to do/try new things. But lately she has done swim classes and the TOT performance without any problems and now pony rides. I love her hang back personality (because it is just like her grandfathers) but I also love this new twist.

We had a great weekend at Table Rock Lake this past weekend with the Schmidts. Read more about it here on Ann's blog. Don't tell Lake of the Ozarks... she might feel like we cheated on her.

Father's Day

2011-06-14T09:18:00.001-07:00

Not much scrapbooking has been going on around here. Summer is here and the short weeks between Lake weekends does not leave much extra time. But I did squeeze two of these in last night. I definitely know my Dad and Father in Law won't see these. Both of their jobs are not desk jobs with computers and neither one really use computers!

Last day of school

2011-06-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Ashley's last day as a preschooler. Next year is the big Kindergarten!

A funny Ashley story....
One night last week we stopped into Hooters for dinner or Whooers as Ashley calls it. One of the waitresses had on a mid riff shirt which Ashley seemed to really like. She asked us if she could work at Whooers when she grew up so could wear a shirt like that. Her proud Daddy said yes while laughing the whole time.

Allison 7 Months

2011-06-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Your 7 month

Baptized into the Catholic faith
First boat ride at Lake of the Ozarks
Sitting up like a pro
Crawling backwards
Still a real quite baby
Get comments all the time along the lines of "I can't believe how good she is"
Love Gerber stars, your doing great getting them to your mouth
Loves fruit (apple, pear, plum, strawberry, banana, mango)
Okay with vegetables (sweet potato, carrot), hates peas
Loves the chicken, sweet potato, apple combo I made for you
Nursing every 2-4 hours
Taking three naps a day (morning, afternoon and a quick nap before dinner time)
Going to bed at 7:30ish and sleeping until 6:30
Will drink water from a sippy cup if we hold it for you
Wearing 12 month clothing
Size 3 diapers
Think the world of your sister, she can get you laughing pretty good
Vary curious little girl
Everything goes straight to your mouth
Loves being outside (swinging or just chilling in your stroller)
Loves to take baths
Has the cutest dimples and strawberry blond hair
Almost has waving bye bye down...almost

My baby is growing so so fast... not sure if I am ready for the crawling stage just yet.

I love you lots baby girl!

Quick Layout

2011-05-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

This was another free layout kit from Scrapbook Generations. Well it technically wasn't free, I am sure I had to spend a certain amount of $ to get a free kit. Their layouts do go together fairly quickly but I am staring to think all their layouts are starting to look the same, just different paper. KWIM?

I still get asked a lot by Ashley if we can go to Kansas City. She loved loved this waterpark and really wants to go back. It was very family friendly and I too enjoyed myself, my best friends being there had a lot to do with that too. I would love to take her back there, maybe this winter!

Scrapbooking

2011-05-23T18:50:00.001-07:00

A real quick one I did tonight. It was a freebie all around. I used photos from a free Walgreen's collage and the kit I got free from Scrapbook Generations at one of their big events.

A quick two pager I did this weekend to document a trip to the top for Ashley's 4th Birthday. I used a sketch out of sketches for scrapbooking vol. 6.

TOT Performance

2011-05-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ashley participated in a TOT (Teams of Tomorrow) class all year long at school. It is a ball handling, motor development, and fitness program. Every few weeks she would come home with an accomplishment card and really seemed to enjoy showing off her skills. This weekend was the Shine Time Performance at a local community center. There were a bunch of kids from schools all over the area. She did great! It would be an understatement to say she loves her trophy, she will show it to about anybody, even the people leaving Harbor Freight on Saturday night.

Joplin, MO

2011-05-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

It is hard to do much of anything today but think about the tornado that destroyed Joplin last night. The pictures are just shocking, it is total devastation. I heard this morning from our pastor dropping off Ashley for school that St. Mary's Catholic Church in Joplin was destroyed.
Wow is about all I can say. Not sure what if anything we can do here... just an hour away. Probably best to stay away and let the rescue workers do their thing. My thought and prayers are with the town of Joplin.
After the 10 minute storm we got here, we had the most beautiful rainbow. It was hard to take a picture since it was East of us and we had a tree line in front of us. God definitely works in mysterious ways.

2011-05-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Based off of this sketch on the Elle's Studio Blog. I used my Studio Calico Lawn Party kit.
A real quick layout... which I love. I pulled inspiration from this layout by Annette and I used my Studio Calico Lawn Party kit again. My photo is off center.... ugh my mind was not thinking correctly or I need a new ruler.

Scrapbooking

2011-05-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

A quick layout I did last night. I used a sketch from sketches for scrapbooking Vol. 6 and my new Studio Calico Kit Lawn Party.

Allison

2011-05-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here are her 6 month photos at Sears.

Enjoy!

Mom's Day Card

2011-05-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

I know my mother in law doesn't read my blog (no computer) and I am pretty sure my mother doesn't. So I think I am safe posting this here. I made two, yeah! Plus now I don't have to find time to get to the store this week to pick up some cards.

Based off of Studio Calico Sunday Sketch. Thanks Davinie for the inspiration!

Turkey

2011-05-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

Just a quick one with my Studio Calico March Kit Into the Woods.

Allison 6 months

2011-05-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

I love love love this age. If I could keep Allison at five months forever I would. Is that horrible? This stage is so fun and she is just so cute I could eat her up. She is so darn good that she makes me want another one... crazy!

At six months you are:

17 lbs, 26 in (95%)
Eating solids (carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas, apples and pear)
making stinky diapers (no more breastfeed baby poop)
Still nursing every 2-3 hours during the day
Sleeping from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM
sleeping with a half swaddle
consistently taking a 45 min morning nap
not on a good schedule for a long afternoon nap
still taking cat naps in the afternoons
entertain the thought of sucking your thumb
sitting up like a pro
rolling both ways (put haven't connected the dots to get rolling all over the place)
playing with all your toys (loves the star stacker)
grabbing at everything and it goes straight to your mouth
becoming aware of your surroundings (checking everything out to see what you can grab)
nicknames: Grabby Grabberson and Big-um
attended your first Springfield Cardinals game (you were an angel)
very calm natured
looking more like a redhead everyday
quiet, not a lot of babbling but some
giggle at your sister
still a tough critic to get to smile (unless it is Mom, Dad and Ashley)
good with your nanny
love your puppy dog (would love to grab those ears)
wearing 9 month and 12 month clothes
have big thighs
have stinky feet (well we like to pretend that they stink and you think it is funny)
love to play airplane

P.S. Please pretend that there is a cute picture of Allison with her pink puppy dog... but I might have left the camera at the lake this weekend. Nice!

My girls

2011-04-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

And just like that I scrapbooked. I know I complained last night that I just was not inspired. My April Studio Calico kit Singing in the Rain was just not doing it for me. Well last night I was determined. Singing in the Rain was just so girly... which should be easy for me I have two girls. After paging thru the paper for the upmteenth time this week... it hit me. Go look at Stephanie Howell's gallery, she is awesome at girly pages (she has four girls). I found this layout and was inspired.
P.S. I misted again... I think I am addicted!

We need an Ark!

2011-04-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

It has been raining here non stop since yesterday morning. I emptied out my rain gauge tonight, it was spilling over. It had 8 1/2 inches in it and I had last emptied it on Friday. Wow that's a lot of rain. The roads are slowly become small lakes. I am concerned how I am going to get into town tomorrow morning to get Ashley to school. So if anyone has an ark they aren't using, please send it my way!

I really have been uninspired with my scrapbooking this past week. I have wanted to do some layouts but every time I sit down... I get nothing. Not sure what it is, but I did manage these layouts this past week.
This was a quick one, a layout from Embellish Its Latest and Greatest class at CKC St. Louis last year.
Just a quick layout to remember one of the neatest men I have ever know. I was so lucky to learn from Hubert and become his friend. He was always great with Ashley and she loved to go pick up work from him with me. We miss you Hudy!

Scrapbooking 1st Day

2011-04-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

A quick layout of Ashley's 1st day of Pre-K. I used Studio Calico Elementary papers and an Allison Davis sketch. I also used some misted stars that I did in a class at CKC STL this year. Love that misting.

I have figured out the key to me scrapbooking is spending time to get a big order of photos printed. Not much fun but definitely worth it so I can scrapbook!

Even more

2011-04-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Another quick layout this week from a Super Saver Session at Scrapbook Generations. It was a rainy day line from Nikki Silvis so it is really limited but I thought it was okay to match up with these photos from Wacky World. Who knows maybe it was raining that day?

I'm on a roll

2011-04-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

A total scrap lift of this layout by Nicole Samuels. I used my April Studio Calico kit. But best of all I misted! I just bought these Mr. Hueys this past weekend and I used every color I bought but one. I love them already!

My anal retentive self is pissed that the placement of the photo and mat is off center. Does anyone else notice stuff like that or is it just me?

Quick layout

2011-04-12T12:23:00.001-07:00

Another quick layout I did with a layout from Embellish It's Latest and Greatest class in 2009.

Scrapbooking

2011-04-11T18:21:00.001-07:00

Just a quick two page layout. I used a layout I did at Scrapbook Generations Super Saver Session.

Scrapbooking and stuff

2011-04-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

It was so so nice this weekend, we spent so much time outdoors. Springfield broke the record high, it was 86 degrees. It was wonderful, but today it is freezing again. Ugh! We spent most of the weekend building Ashley's new wooden playset. Wow those things are a lot of work. It started out as four boxes but now we have a 4 story play set. So far Ashley loves it and was begging to go out tonight and swing, but it was too cold. Allison got her first chance to swing this weekend and she loved it. Just like her big sister, I can remember Ashley always in the swing when she was little. We also got to do a little kite flying. Maybe I should do a post with some pictures of this weekend later.

Now onto some scrapbooking...
A quick layout about Ashley best friend from the old babysitter. The BFF sticker came from a sheet I got in my free grab bag from Scrapbook Generation's grand re-opening this weekend.
Ashley loved loved loved (to say the least) the tractor pull and Dave's cousin Rodney brought home a trophy which made her even more excited. I scraplifted this from this months cover layout on scrapbooks etc. magazine.

Made from my Studio Calico March Kit Into the Woods. I used an Allison Davis Sketch for this one, I stretched a one page sketch to two pages.

A fun weekend ahead... CKC St. Louis, two whole days of scrapbooking and shopping!

Ashley 5 years

2011-03-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

41 lbs, 43.5 inches
Size 5 clothes, size 11 shoe
Loves to watch cake shows on TV (Cupcake Wars, Cake Boss, etc.)
Chicken Donalds is her favorite place to eat
The place with the chips is second (Mexican)
Plays with her dollhouse, play mobile people the most
Likes Littlest Petshop toys
Loves to color
Great bike rider (still has training wheels)
Loves to sings (most songs include the words poop and tooting)
Friends - Kaitlin, Aidan, Abby, Dallas, Paige, Eloise
Great big sister
Loves to be outside helping Dad on the tractor or 4 wheeler
Testing her limits with Mom and Dad to see what she can get away with
Still a pretty picky eater
Sleeps 8:30 PM to 6:30 AM
Occasionally naps during the day
Still wearing a pull-up at night (but we are working on it)
Wants me to sing "My Favorite Things" before bedtime, she knows all the words too
Can count to 100 (still needs help with 20, 30, 40 etc.)
Writes her name perfectly
Learning letter recognition, can write most letters by herself
Passed her Kindergarten Screening (low scores only in catching)

Happy 5th Birthday!!!