My kids are into the show CHOPPED right now. And they have been wanting to have their own CHOPPED competitions here at home. Sure, fun summer activity right?

 This is the spread I was presented with yesterday. The boys put these plates together.
Today was "main course" competition. I gave them chicken strips, BBQ sauce, carrots, and rye krisp crackers to work with. I was actually pretty impressed with not only their combinations but their presentations.

Tomorrow is "dessert" competition. That should be fun :)

Speaking of TV competition shows, did you watch Craft Wars on TLC last night? Christy Tomlinson, who I designed for at Scarlet Lime, was on the show. DH and I watched and were pretty amazed with what these people can come up with in such a short amount of time.

Off to enjoy the sunshine! It even might get to 70 degrees tomorrow--hooray!

Here are a couple of pictures of the fabric headbands I mentioned in my post last week.


You can find the awesome tutorial on how to make them HERE. They really were easy. I finished three in about 90 minutes, and the last two only took 30 minutes.

I've got some paper-crafting to do this week. THIS landed on my doorstep this morning. If you've been searching for 9-to-5 from October Afternoon, grab this Paper Posies kit!

And last week Kimberly dropped off the June Hip Kit. Looking forward to scrapping some Father's Day photos with it.

Yesterday and today I've been on the couch most of the day with back spasms. Not fun. It's like having labor contractions all over again, but no baby coming from the efforts. I cannot believe how debillitated a bad back makes me. Thankfully, after two hours of heating pad application this afternoon, I had an hour of semi-relief to do a load of laundry and clean up the kitchen. Hoping tomorrow is even better.

Let me know if you try out the headbands . . . I think the girls and I will put more together later in the week. :)

it's Friday and I'm NOT excited. A week gone by already? (Yes, that was a whine you heard). DH and I were looking at the calendar, planning out the summer, and it seemed to flash before my eyes. I want each day to last and last and last . . .

Last night we got a tip from Grandma Kathy that the International Space Station would be visible in the sky. So at 10:13 we were standing out in the middle of our street craning our necks to see it. And there it was! A big, bright light in the sky moving quickly from west to east. At first I couldn't believe that the light was the ISS because it seemed SO close, like airplane close. So I don't know if the light is just REALLY bright or if during that time of viewability it is closer to the earth. We are supposed to be able to see it tonight, Saturday night, and Monday night as well.

Miranda has started an exercise program with her friends this week. They meet at 7:30, run, and then either go to a friend's to jump on the trampoline or play the Kinect until 9:00. Well, it's only day three of the program and one friend of four are still doing it with her. Maybe just the two of them can stick it out over the summer. Miranda is such a planner and follows through on commitments. I love her dedication.

Lina has been working hard at all-star practices each night this week. The practices are 2-3 hours. I am happy she is still enjoying it. She got on the team at the last minute and is the youngest player. I don't think she will play much in the games (only one inning/3 outs is required) but these two weeks of intense practice will do wonders for her softball skills.

Christian is bored already. I was talking to DH the other night about what I can do for Krish this summer. I have a whole list of activities but he doesn't want to do them. I offered for him to do soccer camp. No, was his reply. He has cub scout camp but that isn't until the end of July. We do a "rotation station" each day that he does enjoy. It takes 2.5 hours. We have five stations around the house (Kinect/computer games, piano/violin practice, art table, read in your room, movie in mom's room) that the kids rotate through every 30 minutes. They move through the stations individually. He has asked each night before bed if we are doing rotation station the next day. He got a Black Stallion book at the library the other day and seems to be enjoying it, but he usually won't read more than 30 minutes. He did have quite a bit of outside playtime yesterday which was great. We have rain in the forecast so I'll need to have some more indoor-ideas ready to go.

Curtis loves rotation station, too. He is so content to sit and read books all day. If there isn't something to do, he reads. I'm going to see if I can get him into soccer camp next week. He would enjoy that.

Merek is actually having a hard time adjusting to the other kids being home. This has surprised me! I thought he would be so happy they are here all day. But I wonder if the activity level is too much for him when he is used to quiet mornings home with mom. During rotation station, he can't do the music and art table stations alone so I play with him or have him set up with some cars or legos. And during reading time, I read aloud to him. But he seems much more agitated this week and clingy. I'm sure it will all work out and he will get used to having them all home (and then it will be time to go back to school. haha).

Talking about time flying by, our niece--Melia, graduated from high school earlier this month. I had this set of pictures taken of her last fall during her senior year. I've been waiting for the right products to scrap them with. The May Hip kit worked perfectly. I wouldn't have thought to use orange with the photos at first, but when I paired them up, I loved the way it looked.
 The big camera sticker sparked the idea to use the kit with the photos. I used the patterned orange paper against the orange cardstock to soften the bright color a bit.
 I backed the stickers with pattern paper or cardstock to make them pop a bit off the page--and to give myself a little flexibility to move them around the page until I decided on placement.
She is so beautiful. We are excited for her adventure off to college in the fall. And that she will nanny for us a week this summer while I'm at YW camp :)

Enjoy your Friday! We have dentist appointments this morning, need to do a little birthday shopping for two birthday parties Miranda is going to this weekend, softball practice, and movie night. Which reminds me, BRAVE is opening today. The girls really want to see it. maybe we will try to go to a matinee tomorrow. That sounds like a fun summer Saturday activity!

I think today may be my favorite day of the year . . . longest day of light, sunshine, beginning of summer . . . fantastic.

The kids are making cookies right now. This morning I went to a sewing class and learned how to make cute headbands for the girls. Hoping to teach them how to make them now. After lunch we sat out on the back step, reading in the sunshine. Loved it. Merek and Bird had dentist appointments mid-afternoon. I have a piano lesson to teach in a few minutes. Lina has all-star softball practice this evening. Still trying to figure out what to do for dinner. Hoping to stay out late in the light and enjoy the evening. The temps are perfect--low 70's.

On to some projects . . .

Hexagons are everywhere. Scrapbooking is no exception.

This patterned piece of paper in the May Hip kit is very fun. I decided to use the hexagon shapes to frame my photo.

To embellish the page I added in several stickers from the Dear Lizzy sheet in the kit. I cut out extra hexagons and popped them off the page with dimensional squares.

Chevrons are huge now, too, as far as patterns go. I love the bright happy colors of this print.

The lion rub-on inspired me to make the mane out of twine. I added a sentiment from SRM and some KaiserCraft pearls.

Products Used
Cardstock, Pattern Paper: Family Outings Super Paper Pad
Rub-on: Safari (Product number: RO-1666)
Twine: The Twinery
Sticker sentiment: SRM Fancy Sticker Sentiments
Pearls: KaiserCrafts
Punch: Marvy Uchida

These yellow stars were leftover from a sunday school project I had done with my class. Didn't want them to go to waste, so I stitched them to the white cardstock and added the Momenta rub-on.

So excited to be celebrating fathers this weekend. Today we got to spend the day with my dad (grandpa Nels). He and my mom came over for Lina's clogging recital.
My dad is a pretty awesome man. When I think back to all he did to provide a good life for us, and how hard he worked to achieve all that he did, I don't think I can ever be grateful enough. He is always willing to help anyone. He supports us in all that we do. He gives great words of wisdom. He reads stories tirelessly to the grandkids. I am so thankful for the extra time we have been given with him following his brain injury seven years ago. Love you, dad!

After the recital, Brad made us a delicious salmon dinner. I get to cook for him tomorrow. Thankfully, he chose meals that are easy for me to make (egg burritos for breakfast, baked ziti for dinner). I'm not sure if that was what he really wanted--but how thoughtful for him to chose something I can make well. :)

I made this banner to hang on our mantle to celebrate.

The tutorial on how to make the banner is on Nikki Sivil's blog HERE.


The kids are looking forward to having a fun day with DAD tomorrow.

He is a wonderful dad.

I love the way he makes sure we always have vegetables on the table for meals.
I love the way he practices sports skills with the kids.
I love how he happily takes them to the grocery store or farmers' market.
I love that he brings them back special gifts from his business trips.
I love that he lets them help in the kitchen when he is preparing meals.
I love that he takes them on adventures around our area.
I love that he works hard to provide for our family.
I love that he will tuck them in at night and say prayers with them.
I love that he encourages them to try new things.
I love that he will take all five kids out to eat at a restaurant, solo.
I love that he will tell them stories.

I love him.

Whoo Hoo! Last day of school. Summer--here we come :)

. . . is Bird's last day of kindergarten.

. . . is Field Day at both the elementary school and the middle school. M is going to the Family Fun Center with her 7th grade classmates this morning and then having a school BBQ when they return. I'm joining the middle kids for a picnic lunch and then their fun activities.

. . . is Flag Day. So thankful for the red, white, and blue.

. . . I will do three loads of laundry.

. . . we do not have any ball games.

. . . I will make cookies for the last day of school.

. . . my library books are due.

. . . I need to write thank you cards.

. . . we had cinnamon-raisin toast for breakfast, with raspberries on the side.

. . . it isn't supposed to rain. Hooray!

This month the Hip 2-b Square DT was given an October Afternoon layout sketch to use for inspiration on a card. Here is the sketch:
I changed up the rectangle shapes for circles. The Dear Lizzy "You Make My Heart Sing" sticker made me happy so I decided to use it on a card. I thought the "Thanks" sentiment would match with it nicely.
Be sure to visit the Hip blog to see what the rest of the DT came up with on their cards using the sketch. And leave a comment--one lucky winner will receive a package of goodies!



Happy Wednesday :)

Today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope your day is filled with joy. Wish we could be there to celebrate with you. Remember last year? You were here for your birthday and we made you a German Chocolate Cake? Lina really wanted to celebrate with you this year so she could have some of your cake :)  We love you and are very thankful for all that you do for us.

Grandma and Lina 6/12/11 By the way--cool birthday date today 6/12/12 :)

Last night, Bird had a baseball game. The season is winding down. He has a fun time playing baseball. This year he is in coach-pitch. Each player gets about 10 pitches. If they don't hit the ball, the ball goes on the tee. Curtis usually hits without the tee. They can only advance one base each time. And they can get out if a fly ball is caught or they are thrown out at the base. But every player hits every inning, so outs and runs are not counted.

Here are some pictures from his game last night:

Love that his eye is on the ball.

Running to first.

Safe!

Playing first base.

He got a turn at catcher, too. He is a good catcher!

 At the end of the game, the teams run a relay around the bases. Curtis is always very serious while running. And he is fast!! I was all set up to get pictures as he rounded third but was so into the relay that when his turn came, I realized my lens cap was still on and I missed his awesome determined serious face. So after the game, I had him and his siblings run another relay for me to get some pictures :)




The team had their end-of-the-year celebration. They had pizza and cake. Each player was presented with a trophy. They autographed each other's baseballs. It was pretty funny to watch 6 and 7-year-olds try to autograph baseballs :)

Wow! When I walked out to take M to school this morning, Mother Nature gave me a treat. Blue sky. Sunshine. Crisp, clean air. I took a deep breath and savored the moment.

After a week of rain, I was ready for some sunshine. Yesterday was gorgeous as well. After church the girls and I made homemade pop tarts, something I'd been wanting to try for awhile.

They turned out pretty good . . . even DH admitted they were better than he thought they would be.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard, enjoying the sunshine.

The kids are in their last week of school. They are excited. *I* am excited. We've been planning what we want to do this summer. So far, we have:

soccer camp for Lina, Krish, and Bird
Activity Day camp for Lina and M (she's a volunteer helper)
Cub Scout camp for Krish
Art Camp for Bird
YW Camp for M and me
trip to California

We are hoping to get some boating day trips in there, including to Chelan so we can go to the water slides.

Yesterday I proposed a no-screen-time summer. Ha! That didn't go over so well. But I think we'll limit screen-time to either certain days or have an allotment of time each day that can be earned after chores, workbooks, reading, and exercise have been done. (Geesh, does it sound like I'm too harsh?)

But really, even for me, I would like less screen time. It's amazing how much a of a time-sucker it is. And I'm not even on Pinterest! :)

I've been getting quite a bit of inspiration over and over lately that I need to cut back on some things. Focus on my priority--familiy--and let go of the less important things. Thankfully, a few things have eliminated themselves from my to-do list. But I need to cut back on some more.

As we head into summer, I am looking forward to more time with the kids. Doing fun things--crafts, picnics, park days, sunshine, reading, baking, walking games. And spending some quiet, lazy mornings just lounging around the house, relaxing and letting summer vacation help us recharge.

Enjoy your day!

The last Friday of every month our elementary school holds FEAST Day (Families Eat At School Together). I love going to have lunch with the kids. The different grade levels have varying start times for lunch. Merek and I go to pick up Bird from kindergarten then head to the lunchroom. Krish comes in about 15 minutes later. We enjoy lunch with him and his buddies at the back table. After they head out to recess, we have about a five minute wait until Lina comes in with her class. I always take an extra treat for Bird and Merek because by then they have finished their lunches. FEAST Day is probably one of my favorite things that we get to do at the school.

I had these photos from FEAST day and thought they would go well with the bright, fun colors of the May Hip kit. For our sketch challenge this month, the DT was given this October Afternoon sketch:


Here is how I interpreted it for my layout:

I used the May Hip Embellishment kit (sorry, sold out) to add the subtle corner designs. I misted over the banner mask.

Be sure to check out the other designers takes on the sketch at the Hip blog. All comments on that post are going to be entered for a fabulous prize package.

Have a great weekend!

I realized that I hadn't shared my June Paper Posies projects with you. I love this month's kit that Michele put together!
These projects came together so easily for me. First up, a card:

Then a layout with my happy little guy:

And I made another Project Life spread. I think this may become a habit with my monthly kits.


Be sure to visit the Paper Posies DT gallery to see the amazing creations posted this month.

p.s. Did you notice the date yesterday? 6/6/12! What a fun birth date for any babies born :)

Things are a little crazy-hectic around here right now. We are winding down the school year and Little League season. Lots of field trips, papers to review, parties, projects due, and places to be. I feel like I am hardly home. But it's all good--school's out June 15th. That is the last day of baseball, too.

Today is my day to post projects on the Nikki Sivils blog. I made two cards to share:

First up, a Thinking of You card with the Audrey collection. I love to fussy-cut and these images were begging me to cut them out :)
 I love the extra dimension it gives the card to pop them off the page. I added some twine from The Twinery and used my new border punch that my parents gave me for my birthday. Thanks mom and dad!

For my next card, I was inspired to use the Berry Sweet sentiment square from the Audrey line cut-ups sheet.
 Guess what? The square are the perfect size to make a gift card pocket! So, that is what I did for this card.
 I stitched the square to the background paper, going around the sides and the bottom only, leaving the top open to slip the gift card inside.

Hope you have a fabulous day! Off and running again . . .  (well, not really RUNNING, just running around . . . you know what I mean. LOL).