document life now

we're going to Disneyland and other layouts

...in about ten months. We started a tradition last year where our graduating child gets to have a huge Disney trip to celebrate. Last year we went to Florida for two weeks to celebrate Brady's graduation.

Next up? Kiah. And Disneyland for a week. Disneyland just isn't a two week place. Plus a promise to eat at the Cheesecake Factory in Kansas City around her graduation time.

I wanted to document our initial decision to go to Disneyland, so I put this together:

I'm totally jealous of my sister who is going to Disneyland within the next month. Man, I wanna be her. I'll just have to wait my almost 300 days for my turn.

I also want to share a Disney/Pocket Scrapping layout I did using some new Project Mouse products. I'm really trying hard to fall in love with washi tape and the newest Project Life additions are making it fairly easy:

New products used: Project Mouse Washi Tape and Project Mouse Journal Date Cards

And my layout for this week's new Lori Whitlock releases:

Have a great weekend everyone! 

school's out

My kids have been out for a week and now I can join them. Wherever you are, I hope you have a wonderful summer vacation.

If you're a parent wondering what you're going to do with your child all summer, I urge you to set up some kind of schedule. In a quick search of pinterest (using the terms "summer schedule") I found several ideas you could adapt to suit your family. Whatever you do, try to develop a routine for your children. Even if it's just eating meals at the same time, watching shows at the same time, taking a nap at the same time... routine is so important to our children. 

Have a wonderful summer together! We can't wait!

upcoming movie to-do list

There are exactly two movies coming out this summer that I want to see:

Paul Walker. That's all I have to say.

You had me at More Minions.

That's it. I'm sure I'll see a lot more movies. Movies are a great way to keep Dan entertained when it's hot outside and he's going stir crazy. 

The kids, too.

The other night Dan and I were talking about going to see some movies over the upcoming holiday weekend and he said we can't go see The Hangover 3 because it's rated R. Honey, we have 2 kids 17 and over. I don't think we have to worry about R ratings anymore. We can give Chesney a bucket of popcorn and send her to some G rated movie and we're good.

What movies are you looking foward to seeing? Anything I absolutely have to see?

a long road trip kind of day

Last weekend, Dan's nephew got married. This nephew got married in his hometown, which is on the other side of the state from us.

I am still sick. I have seen the doctor twice, and I'm still sick. We have animals at home. We have a vacation coming up in the next month. So we decided the best thing for our family would be to drive up and back in the same day.

And so began the longest road trip ever. 

This was taken right before we jumped in the 'Nox:

The weather was kind of creepy as we drove. The temp was up and down as we drove across the state and ominous weather warnings were all over my Twitter feed. I took this photo as we came over a hill and saw the town where Dan and I met in the distance.

Since we were there, we drove a few blocks out of our way and showed the girls where I lived and where Dan lived when we first met. 

I played my new Straight No Chaser CD as we drove. Then Dan took over the music:

I took this photo to prove I really was at a wedding:

I had a huge coughing fit at the wedding. I had to go outside and hack up a lung and almost vomit before I could go back in and hear the vows. It was one of the worst I've had. Great timing, huh?

On the way home, we stopped and ate some dinner.

And on the way home we listened to my friends Rose and Jason do their internet radio show. This was the first time I'd actually listened to them on the radio. It was a nice way to pass the time.

Got home, fell into bed. Slept late. The end.

Project Life 2013, week 20

Can you believe week 20 is already over? This year is just flying. We started out our week with a Mother's Day trip to the Nature Center (one of my favorite places) for pictures and exercise. On Sunday, Kiah was an Honor Guard member during graduation for her high school. I tried to get a decent photo of her escorting the seniors into the ceremony, but they were walking so fast and I was sitting fairly high up in the arena. It just didn't work. Luckily, I had thought to take a photo of the program with her name on it. Kim's Project Life tip: if there's a program, take a picture of it. The program isn't going to go anywhere, so no motion blur. Bonus points if you take a photo of the program and get some meaningful scenery behind it. 

This was the last week of school for the girls, so some of my photos are about finals and finishing school. On Friday, my school had our annual water day, which is so much fun and so exhausting. 

And here's how it looked when I put it all together:

Left:

Right:

Supply list:

Designs by Lili 3x4 Sentiment Cards
Micheline Martin 35mm Journal Cards
Barely There Papers by Micheline Martin
Ali Edwards Rounded Corner 3x4 Number Cards Brushes and Stamps
Zoe Pearn and Kristin Cronin-Barrow Life Stories: This Boy Filler Cards
Nettio Designs Bits & Bytes Instalove 3x4 Cards
Cathy Zielske 3x4 Instagram Template
Miss Mint Social Media Journaling Cards
Layered Journal Cards No. 01 by Cathy Zielske
Ali Edwards So Totally You Strips Brushes and Stamps
Ali Edwards Hello Family Outline Banners Brushes and Stamps
Emily Merritt dotted: love edition
Sahlin Studio and Brittish Designs Project Mouse
Cathy Zielske Photo Flags 01

a new project

Because I don't have enough ongoing memory keeping projects, I decided to redo my Disneyland album (a bound book which fell apart within weeks of me receiving it). I am loving pocket scrapbooking at the moment, so why not use the amazing Project Mouse products?

Here's what our first full day at Disneyland looks like (at least one side of it):

So much fun to revisit those photos and think about how we loved that trip... and what we want to make better next year.

a few portraits

Part of my Mother's Day gift was just getting out of the house to take some pictures. By the time we were done, I was a sniffling, sneezing fool (stupid allergies) but it was a fun time. I missed just having my camera in my hand. The more photos I take, the better and more comfortable I get.

She loves her school issued iPad. The school board is debating whether she can keep it over the summer. She doesn't need to keep it, but she does love that thing.

Finals week is in full swing. We might survive it.

Loves her friends. Loves.

She's just gorgeous, isn't she?

I was playing with backlighting. Totally blew out the background, but I think I still like this.

She's such a goof.

Yup, I've got three. Brady managed to get in one picture.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

As we prepare for summer, I started to think about our plans, and how I wanted to capture all the fun things we would be doing. 

I realized after Spring Break that I was using my iPhone for almost all my photos and I spent some time reflecting on whether this was just going to be the way I went for documenting our life, or whether I wanted to make an effort to use my good camera. Once I decided I wanted to use my real camera, I thought about why I hadn't used it once over Spring Break.

It came down to size. I have a camera bag for it that I love, but it's just huge. I have carried it as a purse in the past, but it's heavy and it hurts my shoulder and it's annoying. 

I started looking for a smaller camera bag. After all, I don't have a dSLR. My lens is always attached, so there's no need for extra lens or filters or hoods. Just a camera, and I don't need a huge bag for that. 

I fell in love with an Etsy shop that was both affordable and cute. I sent a link to the shop to my son (because my husband both doesn't have email and doesn't shop Etsy). My son actually followed through, picked a bag for me and managed to get it from the mailbox before I did, so it was a complete surprise. 

Here it is:

It's small and soft, yet sturdy. It will be perfect for carrying my camera, plus a wallet and phone. It's from HayBugDesigns on Etsy and they appear to be super fast with the shipping and Brady really enjoyed his transaction with them. It is small, so if you have a lot of equipment, it's not what you want. But if you have a larger point and shoot like me (some of the Canon PowerShots and Panasonic Lumix cameras), it's perfection. 

I also got frosted sugar cookies (in the shape of flip flops) from my favorite bakery. Cuz my family rocks my socks. 

Project Life 2013, week 19

Seriously? It's already week 19? This year is flying. 

Last week was a super fun one. Brady and I did the Color Me Rad 5K, it was National Scrapbook Day, and then the week ended with my whole family surprising me with Mother's Day gifts. 

It looks like this in my Project Life album:

Left side:

Right side:

Supply list:

Julie Billingsley LIFEtime Templates 
Nettio Designs Bits & Bytes Journalers Graphic
Cathy Zielske NSD Freebie
Ali Edwards Rounded Corner 3x4 Number Cards Brushes and Stamps
Barely There Papers by Micheline Martin
Paislee Press Presscards No 23
Brittish Designs Say Cheese Journal Cards
Brittish Designs Say Cheese Papers
Cathy Zielske Basic Journaler
Nettio Designs Bits & Bytes Instalove 3x4 Cards
Nettio Designs Bits & Bytes Journalers Paper Love
Miss Mint Digital Washi Tape v 01
Brittish Designs Say Cheese Elements
Big Bang by Gina & Jacque Larsen
Ali Edwards This Photo Circles Brushes and Stamps
Ali Edwards Life In Pictures Brushes and Stamps
Ali Edwards Hello Family Outline Banners Brushes and Stamps

 

some random thoughts

As of today, two weeks of school left for me. I'm actually working two weeks in June, but right now I'm just looking forward to some time off to rest and recharge my teaching energies. 

Why do I need to rest? Cuz I'm still sick. Stupid, stupid allergies. I'm very tired of being sick and tired. 

My children finish school a week from tomorrow. All of them. College, high school, middle school... they all finish the same day. Their task will to be my house sparkly clean by the time I get done with school.

I'm craving pan pizza, hot from the Pizza Hut oven. I rarely eat pan (I'm a thin crust person) but I want it right now. Get in my belly.

I think this summer's show to watch on Netflix is going to be Criminal Minds. We've had the summer of NCIS, the summer of Bones, and the summer of Psych. This year it's looking like a Criminal Minds summer. We'll subscribe to Netflix once everyone's out of school and we've settled into a summer routine. I predict Kiah may venture into some Say Yes to the Dress or Toddlers and Tiaras or something like that. She likes light and fun. I like dark and bloody. We're such a good match.

Hate to post a entry without a picture, so here's Kiah in her personalized state forensics shirt: