Joy In A Yellow Van!

And a little green eye shadow!

Staycation!

C E L E B R A T E !

A Shout Out To My Homies

The Fourth of July is always a blast at our house. Family, friends, BBQ and fireworks literally in our backyard. First of all, my Emilie came home from Camp Hammer. She is a trooper as this was her first week away from home. Way to go Em, we love you! This year, we also celebrated my cousin Mike's promotion to Battalion Chief for Cal Fire! Mike worked really hard for many years for this position. Nice job Mike, we are very proud of you!After dinner and cake, we walked around the block to set up for fireworks. My cousin Nick, the photographer, was game to help me shoot fireworks. Nick, you're awesome...thank you for helping me get a couple shots before my battery died. Yes, I am a novice....dated tripod and one battery pack, but I did shoot the following shots on manual. They are not the greatest, but my best thus far. Thank you Nick!

SV 12 Year Old All-Stars

Quick baseball update:
SV vs. SC National: 12 to 0 in the 4th
SV vs. San Juan Aromas: 19 to 1 in the 4th
Email me for next game; great, cheap, exciting entertainment.

Also, learning to shoot fireworks tomorrow night with cousin Nick the photographer!

Summer Time...Where Are You Going?

July 2 already?!?! The last month has been a blurr. All-Stars, Girl Scout Camp, beach days, Camp Hammer, more All-Stars... Fun, crazy and full...what more does a blessed mom need? (A vacation, but that's coming in August)

Dollar Spot Creativity

I love a good deal...especially from one of my favorite stores...Target! We made scrapbooking treat baskets for Em's birthday back in April and had a couple left over. I used the following to make these great gift card holders for Emilie's Girl Scout camp leaders. 3 bucks + 25 minutes = cheap creative thrills

Uh, You Want Fries With Your Burger?

I just had to make "burgers and fries" for our burger lovin' man o' the house. Once again, Bakerella, has come up with a very creative sweet treat. So darn cute and easy to make. Check out Bakerella's site here for these and other other great ideas!
Taste check by Nicolas...I think they passed.

Sandy patiently waiting for something to hit the floor. I had to use my John "McCain" Steel Cut Oats can as a rolling pin for the "fries". Why don't I have a rolling pin? Fries were a little labor intensive...don't think I'd do the fries again and really, when you have burgers that taste so good, who needs fries?

Gotta Love the Everyday!

Not quite done, but here are the completed pages!

Exhilarated. Charged Up. Excited.

Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush celebrated his 85th birthday on June 12 by parachuting out of a plane near Kennebunkport, Maine. This wasn’t Bush’s first skydiving experience. His first time parachuting out of a plane was as a Navy pilot when his plane was shot down over the Pacific in World War II. Other jumps Bush has made were to mark his 75th and 80th birthdays. His most recent jump was in November 2007 at the reopening of his library at Texas A & M University. After he landed, Bush told the press, "You feel exhilarated. You get charged up and excited. That's not easy to do at 85."

Happy Birthday George H. W.

The Frosting on Our Cake is 5 Today!

Happy birthday sweet child o' mine. We love you so very much and are so grateful that God let us frost our cake with you! Happy, happy birthday!

It's a Long One!

To start off...Happy Birthday (a day late) to my big lovebug, Eric! 43 and still looks 23...amazing!

We had a very full weekend with baseball, Nicolas' birthday party, family birthday party for Nicolas, Eric, Nick and Kate, Girl Scout Bridging ceremony for Emilie and baseball practice. Phew!

Auntie Stephanie brought cupcakes to our BBQ. Wonderfully delicious and beautiful too! Look for more excitement from Auntie Stephanie...coming soon!Nick and Kate also brought cupcakes...OWLS! So, so cute!Oh, and here is one of the creators of the owl cupcakes. Does this guy look like he could create such cute and cuddly cupcakes?Emilie is now a Junior Girl Scout. Yikes, she is growing so quickly!
Here are my marshmallow pops that I made to bring to the Girl Scout potluck. I love making these...they look like a million bucks, but are so quick and easy to make.

What a Hoot!

I had such a blast yesterday creating...not quite done with my canvas album. I'll post photos when I am finished. If any of you are considering taking a Donna Downey class...JUST DO IT! Awesome, fun, crazy, messy and wonderful!

Off to Create

I am taking the day off to go create with Donna Downey at Scrapbook Island! Sounds tropically delicious, doesn't it? Look what I'll be making...

Memorial Day 2009

We honor those who died in the military while protecting our country and ensuring our freedom and we thank those military personnel who are now serving in our military...THANK YOU! Memorial day weekend has always been a very busy weekend for our family. Way before kids, Eric and I would make the trek to the Santa Cruz area to go to the Civil War Reenactment at Roaring Camp and the Watsonville Fly-In. It was always a fun weekend. Now, the kids enjoy it just the same, although, they are always on the look out for jumpy houses and food!Last year, Emilie's Brownie Troop joined some local politicians and veterans in honoring those men and women that died while serving in our military. Here are a couple shots from last year.

Something to Think About...

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.
Corrie Ten Boom

April Recap

April is a crazy busy month for our family: Easter, Emilie's birthday, Paul's birthday and sports! Here are a few shots of our April.
Easter treats for the kid's teachers. Easter Sunday at the SJ Giants ballpark after church. We had a ton of fun. Nicolas is a "huge" Gigante fan (I guess that's redundant) and he flipped out everytime Gigante came close to our seats.Nicolas and Emilie raced Gigante around the bases between innings. What a crack up!You'll have to look closely at this next one. Nicolas is cuddled up next to Gigante wearing his sombrero.We spent Emilie's birthDAY shopping, eating and movie watching. Buca di Beppo's of course. Red Velvet cake is not that great, but the frosting is delicious!

We "cut" school on Paul's birthDAY and spent the day at the SJ Giants game. It was hotter than hot, but a whole lotta fun! Paul got Buster Posey's autograph and was "stoked".Here we are at Buca di Beppo's again. Waiting for Paul to finish a golf match at Seascape. I love that Nicolas loves my craziness!Here is my "Rasta Kid"...only on the left coast!

So, This Is Why Moms Need a Vacation

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

Vacation all I ever wanted, vacation had to get away. Our next vacation just might be here at Salvation Mountain!

Yo Pauli, Happy Birthday!

Twelve years ago today we were blessed with the birth of Paul. Today, he is a couple inches shorter than me and wears a bigger shoe than I do. Wow, quickly turning into a very sweet, kind, young man! Thank you for being you and for showing us how to love in a way that we never knew possible.