I'm just now getting around to sharing a few scrappy things that I was able to find the time to make just before Christmas . . . literally just before! Every single year I vow that I'll get a jump start on everything and every year I find myself scrambling around at the last minute to get everything done.

I submitted to Unity Stamp Company's design team call and although I wasn't chosen for their team, I was asked to be showcased on their blog. Here are a couple of things that I made in my quick attempt to get everything ready in time for Christmas . . . the Rudolph tag I made for my good friend Shaela. Although it was quick and simple it turned out super cute! I filled this jar up two times before I finally gave it to her, it wasn't all my doing though . . . Jakob couldn't keep his little fingers out of it either! LOL :D
I made these gift card holders for the gal that Joe works with and my nieces . . .
I made some peppermint bark and altered this mini clear can and delivered it to my neighbor . . .
Here's the cookie plate we gave to Jakob's teacher. I never found the time to make the shortbread cookies that I wanted to fill the plate with so I stopped by "Dessert by Kelly" and picked up the next best thing . . .

We had a blizzard Saturday night . . . Sunday morning Joe had guided a few clients on a goose hunt. He was really excited knowing that the weather would make for a great hunt which it did! Joe was home before eleven o'clock, that always makes me happy because depending on the hunt sometimes he won't be home until after dark. He gets home and tells me that he has some good news and some bad news . . . the good news was that he got an awesome tip (Dr.'s and Lawyers always tip well), the bad news was that somewhere in the field he was hunting sits his cell phone buried under at least a foot of snow. Although Joe was trying to convince me that we'd never find it, I insisted on going back out there to look for it myself. No such luck in trying to call it either it was on vibrate. We were out there searching for close to an hour, it was freezing! The kids were both cold and not as into the search as I was. He was right for once . . . we DIDN'T find it!!!

The only thing that we got out of this trip was it was a good opportunity to take some snow pictures, which I hadn't yet taken any since the snow began falling last week. On the way to the field, one of the other fields was just loaded with ducks . . .

That would be mine right now . . . has the world ended??? Or am I just being punished??? There was a major malfunction this morning and I LOST every single picture on my blog. I spent all morning trying to re-upload pics and I've only gotten to October. This is going to take me FOREVER, but I will get my photos back up. This just makes me sick!!! I have certain people who probably want to look through my blog and right now there's not a lot to see. Bare with me ladies, I'll have everything back up as soon as I can.

Stamping on my LO's has always been intimidating to me because I'm a perfectionist, that was until I discovered Unity Stamp Co. Their stamps are PERFECT for scrapbooking . . . they're BIG and GREAT for accenting any page! Here's a couple of LO's that I'm submitting to their design team call.

Journaling read . . . Jakob's silent moment on the one year anniversary of Papa Joe's passing. One year ago you didn't fully understand everything that was going on. It's taken you this past year to accept it in your own little way. It helps to have a place to visit him to reflect on the times you've shared together.

I tried to get a good picture of this one, I was standing outside in single digit temperatures and I'm sure my neighbors thought I was crazy! The things us scrapbookers will do for a good photo! ;) I love the way these tree stamps look on this October Afternoon pp. tfl!!!

Every year our little town does Carols and Cocoa, we started going when Kaitie was in Girl Scouts six years ago and now it's one of the activities we look forward to every December. It's always cold, but this year it just happened to fall on our first snow storm of the year . . . it sure was snowin' and blowin'! The temperature was in the high 20's with the wind blowing 15-25 mph out of the north. We only managed to stay about three songs, it was freezing! And with the watered down cocoa we decided to go home and make the good stuff!

***TOOT TOOT TOOT*** I also got an email from Alisha at Cards yesterday requesting a card for the May 2009 issue.

Oh my . . . Jakob was rockin' the 3rd grade Christmas concert. I've never seen a kid that thoroughly enjoyed singing and dancing as much as he did, he's quite the little performer.

Let's her 8th grader stay out until almost eleven o'clock on a school night???

Uuuhhmmmm . . . that would be ME!!!

Last night Kaitie and I went and saw American Idol Stars LIVE in Concert for the Holidays . . . it was AWESOME!!! We got to see Diana Degarmo, Chikezie Eze, David Hernandez and Kimberley Locke . . . they all were Fantastic! If I wasn't in the Christmas Spirit before I sure was by the time we left. Kaitie and I never get out just the two of us so it was really nice to spend some alone time together. We were such groupies, we waited for 40 minutes after the show to get autographs and pictures.

The 2008 DT term is coming to an end . . . I just finished up my last assignment and got it shipped off. We got to play with some Hambly Screen Prints this time. A lot of this product was kind of FUNKY and not really my style, we also had certain guidelines to follow which made it a little difficult at first, but I'm happy with what I finally came up with.
I did this as a store display, it's one of KaiserCraft's
"Beyond the Page" altered items. As soon as I saw this Christmas countdown I knew it would be a fun piece to decorate. And the MME "Be Merry" line was just Adorable too!

I never got around to sharing this assignment either. . . we altered this wooden jewelry box, but the assignment was to make it into a decorative piece rather than a functional jewelry box. We used Black Market Paper Society's "Ebony and Alabaster" line and added some fun things from 7gypsies and Chatterbox to jazz it up. I thought with the black and white patterned paper that blk and wht pics of kaitie would be perfect!

Shaela had a fun tag on her blog and since she said she'd love to hear more about my hubby I thought I'd play along. Here's some interesting facts about us . . .
1. What is his name? Joe

I'm finally getting over the disappointment of Thanksgiving dinner and am able to sit here and type the story for all of you to see. I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year . . . it was going to be my very first time preparing the meal for our family. Renee' (my twin sis) and I planned our menu with all the family favorites, the grocery shopping was done and the preparing was underway . . . all of that was going great! Joe started smokin' the turkey, it looked great and smelled exactly like a smoked turkey should smell . . . the outcome wasn't what we expected though. We had joked the night before about the turkey, I totally busted up when Kaitie said it would be fine as long as it doesn't shrivel up when you cut into it like what happened to the turkey on "Christmas Vacation" when Clark started carving it. I think we may have jinxed ourselves.

This is how our day went . . .

We woke up early on Thursday morning and headed down to the river for the (5K) Turkey Trot. I've only ran a handful of times since the marathon, it's been so hard to get back into running every single morning. And by now I've lost everything that I worked so hard for during my training, it's almost like I haven't ran in months. Because of this, my goal was to make it in under 30-minutes, which I did . . . 27 minutes and 58 seconds! Woo Hoo!!! Can you see me??? He did managed to get the picture centered, but he at least could have gotten it a little closer.

Now back to the turkey . . . dinner was going to be fabulous! That was until Joe and my Dad started to carve the turkey. Let me first say that Joe was pretty darn proud of that turkey, he was up babysitting it every few hours, he even set his alarm clock when he would go back to bed. Joe definitely put A LOT of time and effort to making this a memorable day of giving. AND IT WAS!!! To be honest the white meat was juicy and tender, but the legs and dark meat smelled like the last part of the turkey that would fly over the fence! LOL Seriously, it was that bad! Even though Joe and my Dad said the white meat was OK to eat, Renee' and I couldn't stomach the fact that anything that smelled so bad could possible be edible. Luckily Renee' and I had all the other fixings to make up for the foul fowl!

Can that even be possible??? I look back at our wedding picture and we don't even look old enough to be getting married (of course we were young, I had just turned nineteen days before and Joe was almost twenty-three). Joe and I have been together almost half my life, we came together as kids and have grown together to become one. He is the strength that I lean on, he is the hardest working and most giving man I know. He will do anything for anyone without a question asked. When times are tough he is always the first to assure me that everything will be OK because I'm one who will dwell on the negative.

Don't get me wrong though, it hasn't always been a bed of roses. We've managed to work through some trying times over the years . . . we aren't perfect! I'm not going to say that I love to listen to him snore every night as soon as his head hits the pillow or the sound of him blowing his goose call in the house every single time I pick up the phone or even the fact that he's not a handyman and can't touch something without screwing it up, but through all his faults (and there's plenty of them) and even some of mine (because the people who know me know that I'm nearly perfect LOL Just kidding . . . I'm far from perfect!) I know that he will always be there by my side. I look forward to what the next fifteen years brings us. Happy anniversary Joe! I love you!!!

I can't believe it's already been nine years since we welcomed you into our lives. You've grown from this . . .
into quite the little man . . .
Jakob requested BBQ'ed burgers and onion rings for his birthday dinner. As for birthday cake well . . . Jakob DOES NOT like birthday cake! Who doesn't like birthday cake??? He asked that Grandma make him a pumpkin pie and gingerbread men cookies instead. So that's exactly what he had . . .

It's hard to believe it's already been a year, Joe still talks about his Dad everyday. What makes this day even more special is that it's also Veteran's Day. Joe Sr. served our country in the United States Army in Germany back before he met and married Cathy. Just a couple of days after his passing when he was returned to us, my heart sank to see Cathy being handed that folded United States flag. Joe's Dad was a true American in every sense of the word . . . a Union Lineman, a hard worker, a FORD truck driver, country music listener and a U.S. Veteran.

I can remember that phone call (how could I ever forget the phone ringing at 2:45AM on my Birthday) that whole day was filled with phone call after phone call with updates. We left the next morning early and drove 26-hours straight through to Iowa, with our hearts stopping every time one of our phones rang. We made it in time and was able to see Joe and was ever so thankful that he knew we were there. I just re-read my post on my blog from last November, it still feels like yesterday that we were dealing with this, the pain and sadness is still very strong. My heart aches for my husband when I see how much he still misses his Dad. After spending so many days with my MIL just recently, it also pained me to see how much her heart is still breaking for the man that she was married to for nearly forty years.

We're so glad that he wanted to be brought back home to Washington State to be laid to rest. When Joe got off work we headed out to the towers, we took some yellow carnations, we spent some time there with him . . . although it's been a year since Joe's passing our memories still linger from that cold November day. Joe, you'll always be in our hearts, you'll always be in our memories . . . we miss you!

Veteran's Day has always had a special meaning to me . . . my Dad served during the Vietnam War. As I've gotten older I've been able to appreciate what his service really means not just to me, but to our entire country. Even though my Dad hates that all his daughters always have their cameras out during family functions in hopes of not missing that special moment and with 3+ cameras going at once someone's sure to catch everything. I am glad that he was able to capture and save his memories, good and bad while he was serving overseas. The photos he collected while over there have always stayed between the covers of those albums. My Mom and I dug through all those pictures, we wanted to use some of his memories to show how proud we are of him . . . Thanks Dad!

Joe can be so creative, take a look at what he gave me for my Birthday . . . now a bottle of banana rum isn't what I'd usually receive, but don't you just love that palm tree? He also made me breakfast, stuffed french toast with cherries on top . . . it was Delicious! Finished up breakfast in time to head to the Veteran's Day parade. We've been going to watch the parade for years now and it's fallen on our Birthday a couple of times. We headed out to my parents for our favorite Birthday dinner, my Mom's famous Lasagna. Oh and let's not forget Lemonade Stand Pie, it's like a piece of frozen heaven. I also received some great gifts too . . . some Scenic Route goodies, a Starbucks gift card and another snowman to add to my collection. So, after a day like today, turning thirty-four wasn't too bad! You're only as old as you feel, right?
Thanks for the pics Nee'!

It's been almost a week already and I'm just now getting around to posting pics of Jakob's scary costume. God only knows why Jake picked this, he absolutely hates scary Halloween things . . . he even had a total meltdown at the Halloween store when we stopped by to pick up a couple of things. But for some reason it's different when he's the one behind the mask.

Kaitie decided that she was officially too old for Trick-or-Treating! Before we headed out a group of boys from her school showed up at our house and all she could say was that she was embarrassed for them! So, we left the house with Kaitie as HERSELF and this scary little monster!

Well, we've been home since Monday night . . . I've just been too tired to come here and tell y'all about our trip. Can you tell we've been to Texas??? LOL We had a great but tiring trip, we're glad to be back and the kids are glad to have us home. I can't believe how fast this week has gone by, I've still got the suitcases sitting in the living room and the laundry is only half done. I finally uploaded the hundreds of pictures and am ready to share . . .

The train ride was quite the experience, sleeping on it was something else to be desired though. Next time we'll definitely have to get a sleeper car for sure. Out of the thirty-two hours rollin' down the tracks, we might have slept maybe 4-hours. The scenery on the other hand was absolutely Beautiful! We definitely got to see America from another angle. Here are some pictures, it took awhile to get my camera set for the speed of 70 mph on the train and of course the pics that I really wanted just didn't turn out all that great, but I can look at them and still see their beauty. By the time Sunday morning rolled around we made it to our destination in St. Paul, MN. Although we still had a 2 1/2 hour drive down to Iowa in Joe's Moms Jeep it was sure nice to finally be off the train. We're not ruling out another train ride just yet, the kids will get to experience this one day too.

We made it to Iowa and started packing up Joe's Moms house for the big move. Cathy had bought a cute little house in her hometown for . . . can you believe $10,000??? Only in Iowa could you do that! We took a break from all the packing and drove to Humboldt to look at the house that Joe had picked out back in August when he flew out for his interview. It's still for sale, if we could only find a job there.

On the way back we stopped at Call State Park. Joe's Mom said it brings back a lot of memories of times spent here when she was a little girl. It was a pretty Autumn day, here's some pictures I got . . .

We hit the road Wednesday morning . . . we were finally off to Texas. We woke up to heavy rain that followed us all the way to Carthage, MO, our first hotel stop. There's nothing I hate more than driving in the rain, especially in a strange place. Even though it was raining I was able to get some shots of the scenery passing by.

Winterset, Iowa (where the movie "Bridges of Madison County was filmed and the birthplace of John Wayne)

Kansas City, MO. (check out the rain and the traffic, two things I DO NOT like to drive in. I'm sure glad I wasn't the one pulling that big fifth wheel)

We woke up Thursday morning, the second day of our trip to sunny skies and cold temperatures. We weren't too far from the Oklahoma border . . . living in the Pacific Northwest we're not used to turnpikes and paying tolls, so I couldn't help but get pictures of these too.

We got into Texas later in the afternoon, I almost missed this sign . . . the highway we drove down took us right through every small town along the way. There was a Dairy Queen in just about every one of those towns too.

One of the things we were really looking forward to once we got to Texas was BBQ . . . OMG!!! And this was the BEST ever! If you ever get the chance to visit Beaumont, TX you've got to hit Fat Mac's.

We spent most of the day eating, at least that's what it looks like, huh? We went and had dinner at Pappadeaux, a cajun seafood restaurant complete with a cajun band. It was loud, fun and had great food! Joe especially liked the fried alligator and said that if he lived there he'd be out hunting them all the time. I on the other hand wasn't too thrilled about eating reptiles.

We got back to Danniel and Eric's house pretty late, but after my drink I wasn't a bit tired . . . we stayed up past midnight and talked, laughed a lot and heard all about Joe's "Jogging" Cabbage Patch Kid, he's still insisting that he didn't have one, but his Mom says otherwise. He's sitting here shaking his head as I type this! LOL

The week was busy and as much fun as we were having we knew that we had a long trip home . . . over 2200 miles to be exact. We didn't get as early of a start as we would have liked, it was delayed even more when we got stuck in the Silsbee Homecoming parade. It was pretty cool to see the Homecoming court pass, followed by floats of the seniors, cheerleaders and past alumni. We made it to Dallas late afternoon, the Garmin took us right through the city.

We continued on to Wichita, Kansas where we stopped for the night. After having pancakes at Cracker Barrel we jumped back on the highway and continued on through the great plains. Here's some pictures of old homesteads in Kansas.

We got into Ft. Collins, CO about 7:30 PM, we stopped and met in person for the first time, Linda and Shane. They were nice enough to have dinner ready for us, it was a brief visit but I was glad to have stopped. I met Linda over a year and a half ago through a scrapbooking forum we both were on. Before we got back on the road, we gassed up, stopped for some Starbucks which I thought would help me stay awake (it didn't) continued on finally stopping for the night in Rawlins, WY. Again, it was another late night . . . woke up to only 24 degrees, it was freezing, but thankfully no snow. Here's some pictures of Wyoming's Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

We kept seeing all the signs to Little America, Joe wanted to stop because when he was a kid they would always stop there on their way back to Iowa. He remembers always wanting to get an Indian tomahawk and head dress, but his parents could never afford them. Joe wanted to stop and get them for Jakob. Unfortunately Little America got too big, they didn't have the rubber and wood tomahawks anymore, all they had was expensive art and cheesy western shirts and hats.

We got into Utah, which meant we were that much closer to home. We both were sick of being in the truck, listening to Roy D. Mercer helped out a ton though. He's always wanting to give somebody an A$$ whoopin'! LOL If you don't know who I'm talking about look him up he's hilarious!

One more State closer to home . . .

Last State before we hit Washington, the landscape looks a lot like home . . . this is the land that the thousands of travelers who traveled the Oregon Trail seen over 100 years ago. I can really understand how tired they all must have been, since I know how tired we were traveling 85mph. You can still see a lot of the trails off the highway.

We made it home in time to pick the kids up before their bedtime, they were so glad to see us and weren't expecting us until morning. It was a very long trip, but Joe and I will have some good memories to look back on.