Party Pics

I downloaded Andrew's 5th birthday party pics and am a little disappointed.  My kids got my camera (a HUGE no-no) and must have pushed something but I'm not sure what it is so my pics didn't come out very good.  Very disappointing since it was his birthday party.  Plus, it was crazy windy and hard to do anything....have I ever mentioned how much I dislike the High Desert and the miserable wind?  We had a lot of fun even though it was a small party.  It flew by (must have been the wind!) and before we knew it we had packed everything and were home.  Andrew got a lot of fun gifts....Toy Story table and chairs with an umbrella, a collectible Jimmie Johnson car, a Jimmie Johnson car to play with, money, gift card, Buzz Lightyear, parachute guys, flip flops and t-shirt, and some clothes, and some pool toys that were super fun that day!  Oh, and the biggest gift of all was a cool Hot Wheels bike!

Above is Andrew and our neighbor who is like a grandpa to my kids and he was so excited for Andrew and they talked about every little detail of that bike!

Of course, Grace also got her bike that day...we didn't let her have it when Andrew got his but a couple hours later he said that he wanted Grace to have her bike.  He even wanted us to hide it under a sheet to surprise her.  Andrew always wants to share everything with her, even his birthday presents.  I'm pretty sure it wouldn't happen the other way around!

We still have Thursday to celebrate with Papa Wayne.  I don't think he needs anything else but I still have some presents from my mom also and of course Papa's big present which I will reveal after that night.  It may or may not be a pool!!!!  I'll have more to share after Thursday.

Click here to see the pics from his party and today when we went swimming with some friends!

It's a Scrappy Week!

I've been busy scrapping this week and made another page that I am going to link to Frosted Designs. I like finding these challenges and/or sketches b/c it makes me think and get more pages done!
Kim (from Sketches in Thyme) is the hostess and here is the challenge (from her post on Frosted Designs)
This week's challenge is a color challenge. We want to see you put orange, yellow, turquoise, and green together.

So, here is what I came up with!
Hope you are all having a great week! I'm thinking of starting another blog specifically for my scrapbook pages and crafty things that I do. I'll link up to it when I have a chance to start it. It takes a while to get it all set up (at least for me) and then get all my stuff moved over so I'll see how it goes. It will probably be a while so hang in there with me posting all these scrapbook pages here until I figure out what to do!

Another Thursday....Another Sketch!

Week 3 challenge sketch from Sketches in Thyme. Whew! Glad to have it done b/c I really struggled to find the pictures (finally settled on my 3rd set of pics) and then had to find the right paper. Well, I had the right paper all along but I flipped it over to the distressed side and that made all the difference. The other side has beach balls on it and it was just too busy. This one took me a lot longer and I didn't follow the sketch exactly but I used the idea of it! Of course, it's good to think outside the box and be a little different!

So, here is the sketch that Kim gave us this week:And here is what I did:

The Pre-School Graduate

As promised, here are the pictures from the graduation today! I didn't get a picture of him actually getting his certificate b/c he was so fast but I did take a lot of pictures! Click here to see all the pictures and our day of mini golf. We went to play mini golf with our neighbor Nicholas today to celebrate Andrew's graduation!These 3 have been in preschool together since the mommy and me class where we met and have had play dates ever since. They were getting a little grouchy at this point which is why not everyone is smiling in this picture...it was time to eat!

Scrapbook Sketch #2

This week is sketch challenge #2 over at Sketches in Thyme. Kim found another great sketch and I was very excited to do it but it took a long time for me to even find the time to start it. Once I got started I really struggled. Not really sure why but I just had a hard time putting it all together and what a mess I made! Here is the sketch she gave us:
And here is my take on the sketch:I'm not really liking it that much. It looks all crooked but I think it's just the way the bottom picture was taken and the journaling tag sticking out crooked. I think I could have found a better set of pictures to use and maybe I will try it again with more pictures. I was excited to use these pictures. I cut the birds out using a friends die probably a year ago but just never did the layout. Head on over to Sketches in Thyme and see all the beautiful layouts the Mavens (the design team) came up with!

Teacher gift

Tomorrow is Andrew's preschool graduation and I was searching for a creative teacher gift. Something different than what everyone is doing and something inexpensive. I'm all about making my own gifts but I didn't have the supplies I needed and then I found this site. I plan on making more of these and not just for teachers so don't be surprised if you get one of these sometime for a gift! Here is the one that I made for Andrew's teacher. He has had her since he was 18 months old when we went to the Mommy and Me class and then I took Grace for a few months when Andrew was too old and now for Kinder Kids where he has learned a lot. He counts to 100, can write his whole alphabet (upper and lowercase) and his numbers to 25. He already knows most of the kindergarten sight words and can write his numbers to 25. He has really enjoyed going to school with some of his best friends but now it is time to move on and make new friends in kindergarten. Anyway, back to the gift.....
I originally found this here at Brassy Apple. If you want to make one of these you should definitely visit her site for all of her tips on how to make some words larger than others and how to link words together. I really like the one she made! I'll be back in a couple days to update my blog with graduation pictures.

Oops, I forgot to tell you guys that we got the referral to go to Loma Linda Hospital to see a specialist for Andrew's leg and he started running that same day. He hasn't ran in over 4 months so it is awesome to see. I know a lot of people have been praying for him and it's working. He still limps at times and at the end of the day I see it the most so we will still be going to see the specialist to make sure there is nothing wrong.

Father's Day Craft....Papa Rick don't read this!

PAPA RICK, IF YOU ARE READING THIS PLEASE STOP NOW! IF YOU HAVEN'T OPENED YOUR GIFT YET THEN YOU NEED TO READ THIS LATER! I DON'T WANT TO RUIN YOUR GIFT!

Ok, now that Papa Rick isn't reading this and ruining his surprise I guess I can continue!

I found this fun craft for Father's Day and made a couple for my dad! Click here to see the original site I found it on and see her instructions! The kids had fun making them and putting them together after! You only need a few items....popsicle sticks (I used the wide ones), glue, scotch tape, an exacto knife, and a cute picture!

First, line the popsicles sticks up in a straight line. (Of course I let him do it and then when I moved them over in front of me to tape together, I may or may not have fixed them in a straighter line)
Tape the sticks together with scotch tape and then flip over so you can glue the picture on the front!

I used Mod Podge instead of regular glue but it doesn't matter. Mod Podge is really just glue anyway and you can make your own with regular glue and water. Anyway, moving on!Apply glue to the back of the picture and then stick it to the wooden sticks. I also place a heavy book over it while it set. Doesn't take very long to be ready. I probably only waited 10-15 minutes to cut it but that's just because I was making others and also trying to keep the kids out of the glue!
When it's set, use an exacto knife to cut between each popsicle stick. I used an extra stick for this part (sorry, no pictures-it was hard to cut and hold the camera). Just lay the stick on top of each section as your guide for cutting. Makes it easier to cut straight! And there it is....a picture puzzle! When you are done, stack the pieces all together and tie with a ribbon. Sorry I don't have a picture of that either but it looked cute!

If you need a better explanation, head on over to Impress Your Kids and she did a great job of explaining it!

Out of the Mouth of an almost 5 year old!

Yesterday I was talking to Andrew about the bible story he had at church and asked him what they did in class. He told me that they played Duck, Duck, Goose. Hopefully this was after they followed up on the bible story. Anyway, I asked him if he had fun and he replied, "I didn't get to be the ducker because nobody goosed me." I just about fell out of my chair but didn't let him know that. I thought it was so funny the way he said it! Of course, I also felt a little sad for him (once again I didn't let him know that) because the last time he told me about playing this game at church he didn't get picked then either. He seemed fine about it.

Then, last night he went back to church with me for the evening service and I saw the teacher had chosen him to be up front to say the bible verse. I got called out of the room right then and missed it so today I asked him about it and he said, "I didn't get to do it." I asked him why (I clearly saw her motion for him to come up front) and he said "She called a different Andrew and I was disappointed!"

I can't believe this little guy is about to turn 5 years old and goes to Kindergarten in August. I don't know if it's because he is my oldest but I cry every year when I have to pick out a card for him. Yes, dad, I still cry in the store when I look for his card. I think David is going to have to carry me out of the school the first week. Andrew will be fine....I won't! 'See' you all soon!

I Was Featured!

Check out the sweet post that the ladies at Paper Craftorium wrote about my blog! How fun to be featured with such a sweet post and finding posts that I had forgotten about! I really need to go back and read some of my older posts and be reminded of the things that we have done together! Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

What We did Today

This is what we ended up doing after the library. We went to Papa's house and played with the cousins. We spent about 4 hours over there and the kid both fell asleep on the way home. In this picture they were sharing sour candy and watching Toy Story. It was nice to have a lazy day somewhere else!

Friday ramblings

Well, we are heading out to the library and maybe run some other errands. We don't have any specific plans for today except that I'm avoiding the obvious....my messy house and mounds of laundry. I figure if we find things to keep us occupied today then I won't have to worry about any of it! Well, until David comes home and starts cleaning and then I feel bad for not taking care of it while he was at work.

Last night Wayne took us out to dinner for David's birthday. It was fun but reminded me why I don't enjoy going out to dinner with kids. They laughed and laughed and played and it was cute, but we were in a restaurant and I'm just not okay with that. Thankfully we were in a huge corner booth so nobody could really see us but I'm pretty sure they could hear us! While we were there we went ahead and surprised Wayne with his birthday present. The kids decorated cards for him and he got a Starbucks card and chocolate bar. I figured since I don't always make coffee when he comes over we should get him a card to go get his own! Now, no complaining when I'm a terrible daughter-in-law for not making the coffee. He can get it on the way over!!!!

Not a lot of exciting things going on around here this week. Well, unless you consider fighting, time outs, bloody noses (not from fighting), and whining really exciting! Keeps me on my toes. Kids are starting to fight in the other room and Boo is crying so that wraps up my post!

Wordless Wednesday

Scrappy Challenge

Here is a layout sketch I got from Sketches in Thyme, a new blog with scrapbook challenges based on sketches that she gives us. Kim is extremely talented and I've been following her other blog, Memories In Thyme, and saw that this one was starting so I decided to join in the fun! As soon as I saw the sketch for today I knew just the pictures to use and got right to it. So, here is the sketch that she gave us for this week and click HERE to go directly to the page where she shows what her design team came up with based on the sketch!

And here is the page that I came up with based on the sketch!

I'm going to try and do this with each challenge. Can't wait for the next one! I probably won't always get to complete them on the first day but the kids were playing nicely so I sat at the kitchen table and completed it! Always so nice to get to do an entire page with very little interruptions! Thanks Kim for a great layout!

Update

It's been a few days and we have been really busy. Sorry to keep you all waiting. It's always something with our family....or at least it has been lately. Andrew has still been complaining of his hip hurting so I sent an application to Shriner's to see if they will see him and help us figure this out. Then, Grace started having accidents and said it hurt when she peed. So, I made an appt for her to make sure she doesn't have a UTI and we are waiting for the results from that. I had planned on leaving Andrew with my neighbor for the appt but decided to just take him with me and I'm glad I did. The dr. asked about his leg and I told her how it was changing so much of our lives and he still won't run and it was hard to figure out where to have his birthday party. He isn't playing sports because he would have to run. David has been really sad lately because of this leg situation. The biggest problem is that we have no clue what is wrong or what happened or if there is anything wrong for sure but the limping is not going away. Anyway, she decided to send him for more x-rays of his hip and also his knee and wants to see us for a follow up appt in 2 weeks and will then refer us to an orthopaedic doctor to check further into this. So after applying to Shriner's I most likely will not be going but I wasn't sure I wanted to take him back to our pediatrician because the last time she thought it had become a habit. Now she is checking for some more scary stuff. I'm not scared about it, I just want an answer to why this is happening and why he has been limping for 4 months. So, for now we wait.