August 16

Well, after an amazing three weeks, we are headed back home to Virginia today. I can’t believe how much we did! We had so much fun, went a ton of cool places, and spent a lot of quality time together. Getting to see the kids all together was extremely special for all of us, and I am so glad Aaron and I were able to stay for so long. Here is Aaron, sleeping soundly on the plane.

August 15

Today we took it pretty easy since we are flying home tomorrow. We went up to Apple Valley to visit with my brother-in-law Caleb’s family, who we just love. And…here we all are. We also had a dinner out, which provided the material for my Cranky Cousins layout (coming up in my next scrappy post).

August 14

Okay…now I am exhausted. I just did 4 straight days of Disneyland/California Adventure and have really put some miles on my new Keens.Today we had another family swim and BBQ since we are headed back to Virginia on Monday. We had a great time swimming and playing with the kids. In the evening, they decided they were going to entertain all of us, and they just kind of ended up like this. I am pretty sure Mady was singing first (that is an unplugged Rock Band mic) and eventually Aaron and Cameron started playing piano. I wasn’t there for the setup, I just had my camera ready for this little performance. Mady was making us cry with laughter the way she was sitting there on the piano bench between them, she had her little knee up, she is ready to make a music video! There are a couple of other great shots too…and I will have to scrap these rascals!

 

August 13

And ONE MORE DAY! But this time, it’s just me and my hubby! Chris and I got the idea while driving out to the river last weekend (as Malinda said, “Lots of desert, lots of time to think”) that we could really use a date day. We did go out, just the two of us, for Valentines Day, but that was, well, in February. We asked my parents about watching Courts and Aaron (they also had Cameron that day) and not only did they agree to that, they also offered to take Ashley to the airport for her flight to Colorado. Chris and I were REALLY excited to have a day to have fun together. I did NOT take my camera (GASP) and we had nothing to carry, nothing to push, and it was really a super fun and relaxing day. We got to go on “grown up rides” and walk in a leisurely way when we wanted to. We did take a couple of pictures with Chris’ phone, and this one is the best.

My Scrappy Week

Well, we were on vacation this week, during which time we alternated between swimming and sitting on our duffs. Consequently, I scrapped my BUTT off! (I wish that were really possible.) I made 16 pages this week so far!! They can’t all be posted this week as some are for future releases, but I thought it would be a good idea to scrap ahead while I had the time. Remember that my scrapbook pages are always linked to my gallery at ScrapMatters for full credits, which I will not post here. If a page features a new release from a designer that I am on a creative team for, I will specifically mention those here and link up the product names (in blue) to their location in their stores so you can check them out.

I was accepted onto a new team this week, and I am now proud to be creating for The Design Girl! Check out her shop at ScrapMatters by clicking on that link. Last week I showed you a layout I did as part of my application for her team, and I am looking forward to showing you my future layouts with her products.

So here are the pages I made this week on vacation!

Here is another page in Aaron’s baby book made with some new templates from Stolen Moments called Scraps By Number: Just Call Me Sara. I just love how this page turned out. Aaron is 15 weeks old in these pictures. Cute little boomy guy.

Actually I went a little nuts with that template pack and also made a two-pager with two other ones. These pictures are from two of our days at Disneyland during our California vacation.

Here is another layout from our California vacation called Cranky Cousins. The little guys are not ALWAYS angelically behaved.

And here is one from this week on vacation! I actually scrapped it the same day I took the pictures! Ahhhh, the sweet life of a vacationer!

All the rest of the layouts I have to show this week are for Aaron’s baby book.

First, we have The Baby in the Mirror. I am so glad we caught this pictures of the first time Aaron really paid attention to himself in the mirror. He was so enchanted by his own face, and I have to say, I don’t blame him!!

Then, from the same week of his life, I have this two-page spread of his first Cubbies games! We went to two of them when they came to play the Nationals. I am really happy with how this spread turned out. We had a lot of cute pictures of Aaron in his Cubbies gear to show off!

Finally, here is a spread from his first July 4th! I did this one for a speed scrap.

Now you can see here that I have scrapped 4 pages (including a 2-pager, but still…) from just ONE WEEK of his life! This may offer a clue as to why this book is taking me so long. I NEED TO NARROW DOWN THE PICS!

I hope you enjoyed all my scrappyness for this week, I sure did!!

August 12

YEP, we are back AGAIN! This time, we headed to Disneyland for a few hours and then over to California Adventure with my mom, Courts, Ashley and Cameron (Kelly was back at work). Chris and my dad have been in San Francisco watching a couple of baseball games, so they missed this fun. For today’s picture, however, I picked one from AFTER Disneyland. Aaron and Cameron and I left Disneyland in one car to head to my cousin Malinda’s house for a cousins dinner. The drive there was pretty harrowing, rush hour on the 5, and Aaron had to go potty, and…that’s all I’m going to share about that here. BUT we made it there and had dinner with Wendy, Malinda, Kelly, Cameron and Mady.

We tried to take a fun cousin pic using the timer on my camera…at some point I will scrap the series that includes Wendy making goofy faces and me running down from my camera to stand in the photo, but for today’s picture, here is some cousin cuteness.

   

August 11

Okay…yesterday was the beginning of a Disney marathon! Today we headed back to the happiest place on earth with my mom, Courtney, Ashley (who just flew in this morning after having a day long fog delay leaving Alaska!), Kelly and Cameron. Kelly and the boys and I got there first, while Mom and Courts went to pick up Ash from the airport. We were so happy to see Mickey hanging out on Main Street and SO lucky to make it through the line all the way up to him! The boys were really excited, and Cameron didn’t get SUPER close, but as Kelly said “I hope Cameron is at least IN one of those pictures you took!” And he was! I loved how Mickey got down on his knee to get closer to the boys and he tried to get Cameron to come over. This is truly one of the highlights of Aaron’s life, and a true joy for me to see. I am totally a believer in the magic of Disney.

August 10

Today was ScrapMatters Disneyland Day!! It is SO fun to meet online scrapping friends in real life. I hung out with (from left to right) Czianya (and her two kiddos), Jan (and her two kids, all in matching homemade shirts!!) and Jen (GLTC) and her son Alton, who is Aaron’s buddy. I do have a few VERY cute pictures of Aaron and Alton from this day, but I just love this picture of the ladies. (it is pretty rare for me to be a picture as it is!)

August 9

Today we went to the Wild Animal Park (I mean, Safari Park, how DARE they change their name!) with my Dad and Kelly and Cameron. It is a very hilly park and it was a hot day, but we enjoyed looking at the animals very much. The first thing we did was wait for the morning Elephant Feeding and I snapped a shot of my guys. I love Aaron’s little hand wrapped all the way around his Daddy. 

August 8

Tubing day! Today was our last day at the river, so we only went out on the boat for a little while, but we got to use a big huge fun raft! I scrapped one page about it so far, but I am going to have to make a facing page for sure! I made this with the perfect Lakeside kit by Stolen Moments and WM[squared] and Scraps by Number: Just Call Me Andrea Templates by Stolen Moments.

But, that’s not the picture of the day…THIS IS! Look at these adorable cousins, Aaron and Mady.
 

August 7

A family photo in front of the London Bridge at Lake Havasu, AZ.

From left to right: My younger cousin Wendy, Courtney, Me, Aaron, Chris, my older cousin Malinda (Malinda and Wendy are sisters), Malinda’s hubby Fireman Rick, and their daughter Mady (one of the only little girls I have to scrap!).

 

August 6

Today we started a little min-vacation inside our vacation! We were so lucky to be able to go with Malinda, Rick, Wendy and Mady to the Colorado River to enjoy a couple of days on Rick’s boat. Aaron had an absolutely wonderful time being out on the boat, and it was so special to have all that cousin time together. As you can imagine…there were a few pictures taken. Malinda and Wendy and I all used our cameras and we had over 1,200 pictures combined from Friday-Sunday. Although I have some great boat and water shots from this first day of the River Trip, I picked this one because, again, it is a rare and precious moment. Aaron and Mady, 2nd generation cousins, reading together.

August 5

We didn’t do much today, because in the middle of the day we went to pick Chris and Courtney up from the airport so they could join us for the rest of our time in CA! Aaron was very excited to see them. Before we went to the airport, I took pictures of a bunch of old colorguard stuff so my parents could get rid of it. A lot of uniforms and flags and guard sweats got wet when their house flooded and were moldy and just needed to go. This is the back of my senior year guard sweatshirt with our guard logo on it. Lots of great memories in those storage tubs!

August 4

Family California Adventure Day!! This day was just AWESOME. We had an AMAZING time, we did so much, the kids were good, it was so fun.
As I mentioned in an earlier post…I take awesome pictures of my nephew. Here he is relishing a new-found kid pleaser, the frozen apple “goose”.

I loved this series of photos so much that I scrapped them a couple of weeks ago with Liz’s (Band Geek Designs at Digiridoo Scraps) Irrepressibly Sweet (click on the title to check it out) kit. This is a template by Liz too, click on the page for full credits.

I do of course have some GREAT pictures of Aaron from this day, but I can' have pictures of Aaron any time. My time with my nephew is rare and precious.

August 3

I love this picture of my sleepy little man. He was not sleeping well during the first week or so of our trip. He was waking up WAY too early in the morning, and often crying, but some mornings I got him to sleep for a little while longer with me. So sweet and peaceful, these snuggles are treasured moments.

August 2

Well yesterday on our way to the zoo, my mom had a great idea that we should check out the Natural History Museum in LA. My dad passed on that, but Aaron was excited! We saw a butterfly exhibit, lots of giant insects in terrariums, the traditional halls of animal dioramas (which Aaron LOVED) and some AWESOME dinosaur bones! I love this picture :)

August 1

We went to the LA Zoo today with the whole fam! They had a TON of animals, we enjoyed it, but the kids were tired and cranky!! Here are the chimps, I thought it was too cool how they were all hanging out together on the rock.

July 31

Oh wow, it’s August!!! I am REALLY proud that I have been taking 365 pictures all this time!! Here are Aaron and Cameron (he is laying on the bed), alone in the kid room, making a big mess, and a lot of noise while we grownups try to play rock band downstairs.

July 30

Aaron has really been loving his time in Nana and Grampy’s pool. He is getting REALLY confident jumping in off the side, look at this little guy!

July 29

Today we went with Kelly, Caleb, Wendy and Mady to a superfun place at Santa Anita mall called Jump In Jammin’ and it is like a big huge indoor play structure. Aaron was scared for the first half hour or so and wasn’t enjoying climbing around at all (it is not really his strong suit.) Then he finally warmed up to is and went through it all by himself! Here he is being a brave boy and having fun! I was really proud of him.

July 28

Okay I kind of hate to move on from yesterday’s photo, but I WILL be scrapping their couch antics! Okay, today we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and had an awesome shrimp dinner at Bubba Gump’s. I have some GREAT aquarium photos of Aaron looking at the fish, and I COULD post those, but I just can’t resist this picture I took of my sweet nephew Cameron. Look at that face, can you stand it?!?!?!?!? I am not ashamed to admit that my camera seems to be VERY skilled at capturing the cutest photos of this child in existence. (more proof of that later…)

July 27

Today we hung out at home and had Cameron for the day. Aaron and Cameron played together so well. It is just too much fun to watch them run around, scream, tickle each other, and learn how to share. Look how happy they are!

July 26

Today we were very excited to meet and visit with Jen Graham (Graham Like the Cracker) and her son Alton. I had a great time visiting, and the boys played together very well. Alton was a perfect little host and toy sharer. They boys eventually took naps (in separate rooms) and I got to hang out with Jen and scrap! Girl time!

We love this picture of the two little guys and their Buzz Lightyears.

July 25

Today my mom and dad planned a family swim and BBQ at their house so everyone could come over and visit. We all had so much fun laughing and joking together, but the most fun is watching the kids play together. Here are two generations of cousins in the pool! Me, Aaron, my cousin Malinda, and her daughter Mady.

July 24

We hung out around the house today, and that is a very nice thing to do. To tell the truth, it is one of my favorite things to do, it just isn’t high on Aaron’s list most of the time. Here is a picture of him playing with a new toy from Nana and Grampy, called Connectagons. They are little wooden painted disks with notches that can be fit together every which way, don’t they look cool? I highly recommend them for your kiddos. He played with them for about 45 minutes. (according to my records I took an average of 1 picture every minute. yikes.)

July 23

We are in California! Aaron and I made the flight out yesterday. Let’s just say that the flight was not one of Aaron’s 5 best behaved hours and leave it at that. My apologies to everyone in the 6 rows in front of us or behind us. ANYWAY. Now we are here, and I am looking forward to lots of fun times with my family and helping Aaron make great memories. The first half of the trip we have some down time, but the second half is really full of stuff to do!

Most of these vacation days I am going to have a REALLY hard time making a selection of ONE picture, but I am going to hold myself to it!

This one is a no-brainer for me. My mom took this picture of Aaron and I relaxing in the pool. I made a page with is a couple of weeks ago, scroll down a ways to find it. This kind of moment with my constantly moving three year old boy is very rare, and I treasured it. I am really glad my mom was able to capture this memory.

My Scrappy Week

Hi! Miss us and our antics? Well I am ready to catch up! We had a great time in California, and are now in Myrtle Beach, and boy do I have some P365 photos for you! That is coming up, but first, I am going to start a weekly post on Friday, Saturday or Sunday of every week where I post all the pages I have scrapped that week. I think doing it this way will help me keep up, show off this hobby I love so dearly, and show off the great products I use to make them.

My scrapbook pages are always linked to my gallery at ScrapMatters for full credits, which I will not post here because it takes more time than I want to spend. However, if a page features a new release from a designer that I am on a creative team for, I will specifically mention those here and link up the product names (in blue) to their location in their stores so you can check them out if you are feeling inspired!

So…let’s get this scrappy party started! :)

I did A LOT this week because I felt like I really needed to catch up on scrapping from my California vacation, during which I scrapped only 3 or 4 pages in 3 weeks. Well last week I made 6 pages!

Graham Like the Cracker has some cool new templates out this week called Weave Me, Weave Me that are different types of paper weaving. What a handy thing to have templates, for, right? I love how weaving looks, but it is very time consuming to do! I made two pages with these new templates.

This one, I am particularly proud of and I just love. As you may have seen, I have slowly but surely been making my way through Aaron’s baby book, which will go up to his 1st birthday. So far, I think I am up to 12 weeks. Yikes. For this page I also used another new product, Band Geek Designs It’s Only Words v. 2 Templates. Liz makes these amazing photoless layouts, and her templates are great inspiration to get your stories down on your pages. I really need prompting to do journaling, so these templates are just what I need. She has v.1 in her store, too.

Here is my second layout with Jen’s (GLTC) Weave Me Templates, and also with her new Love That Girl kit. I almost didn’t download this kit, because I really struggle with using pink, and this kit is all things pink! But then I remembered I took this pictures on our river trip of the most gorgeous girl you could hope to see, my cousin’s daughter Mady.

I also made this page, a summary itinerary of our entire CA vacation, day by day, using the It’s Only Words v.2 Templates. I changed it a bit to fit what I wanted to do, but I really love how it turned out. It will be a great opening page to that album. It already got put in the Gallery Standouts at SM today! How COOL!!!!

Okay, next up are my two pages with the AWESOME teacheriffic new releases from Stolen Moments this week, A Time to Learn and Blackboard Alpha. She also put out a new set of templates this week based on the amazing layouts of my fellow CT member, Andrea, which I used to make this page. I kept crying while I was doing the journaling…but it captures exactly how I feel.

I also made this one with the new Stolen Moments releases, and the It’s Only Words v.2 Templates. This is a page I have been meaning to make for a year, but these products gave me the perfect inspiration.

and finally, my last page of the week (phew, this is a lot of scrapping, that’s one thing I LOVE about summer!!) is of Aaron in the Casey Jr. Train line at Disneyland, just flat out being a rascal. I made this page with this kit called He’s Electric from The Design Girl as part of my application to be on her creative team, and when I saw it, I thought of Aaron’s shirt and these funny pictures of him being mad.

That’s it for last week…stay tuned for photo updates! (after I make a couple more posts in my grad school class!)

Love That Boy…a freebie!

Jen Graham (GLTC) has a new bundle out this week that she made with Bella Gypsy called “Love That Boy”. I love the blues and greens, check it out here:

I made two pages with it, because it is perfect for my little man! First, here is a page from Aaron’s first Father’s Day. I am so glad to have gotten so many great pictures, including the three generation shots of my hubby, his dad, and his son. :)

And here is a page that I just love…Mom took this picture of us on our first day of vacation here in CA lounging in the pool. My son is such a loving little man, but to get him to stop moving and snuggle is harder with each day he gets older! I am so grateful to have this memory preserved, and making this page gave me the perfect chance to journal some of the feelings I have about being the mom of a boy.

The title of this page inspired a word art that I am offering here. I made this with all three colors of the adorable alpha that comes with this kit, so if you got the kit, grab my word art by clicking on the image below! If you didn’t get the kit yet, go get it here and grab my word art too! Please leave a note here if you download, I would love to hear from you.