Hooray! I won first runner-up!

I was just checking out the CTMH monthly contest winners and found out that I got First Runner-Up! I made a goal this year to enter something every month and this is the first win for me! You can check out the awesome entries here.

Here is my original page - I did this one back in January. I tried to recreate it a couple months ago, but Brailee got her hands on the page, and the flowers, when it was almost done, so I put it away for a while, and almost didn't try again. Now I'm glad I did!

Here it is with the companion page.

Here is the one I sent in - I changed it just a bit.

We're home!

Now I'm trying to desperately catch up - if that's even possible! I have a busy week ahead with ball games and practices (todays have been canceled so far because of the rain), dance pictures, rehearsals, and the big recital! Oh, and not to mention lots of laundry after a weekend of camping, and since my mom is coming, I need to clean! So this may be my only post this week. I hope to get back to creating next week.

Brianna's last day of school was on Friday and they had their big field day. Since it was cold and wet, they had it inside the school, but they all still had fun! Here is Bri with her ribbon at the end of the day...

Then we headed out on Friday night - the girls were SO excited they could hardly stand it. David and I didn't quite share in their enthusiasm because of the wet and stormy forecast for the weekend - we didn't know how we could stand being stuck in the camper with 3 little girls ;-) But we figured we just need to get out, so we set out. We met David's parents at one of the campgrounds by the Buffalo Bill Reservoir near Cody, Wyoming. It was SO windy (as it usually is) and wet all weekend, so we did spend a lot of the time in the camper - I'm just thankful we're not in tents anymore. I got a lot of knitting done, finished the third Twilight book, the girls had lots of fun card games and activities, plus they learned how to finger crochet - I was very impressed with how fast they picked it up and how well they did it. So even though we didn't do much, it was nice to sit back and relax!

Saturday morning we went to the cemetary in Cody with David's parents and met his brother Martin and his family there. Then we visited the Buffalo Bill Dam - it's really quite a sight, and amazing that it was built 100 years ago!

On Sunday we went to Powell to visit David's Grandma - his brother Martin and his family were there, so the kids had fun playing together. We camped at her house that night and then Monday we went to a few more cemetaries - we got to see the Memorial Day Service at the Byron cemetary. It was very cold and windy, but it was a nice message. After lunch we headed home and it rained the whole way. The moisture is needed here, so I'm not complaining!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend...

I think Brailee is more ready for potty training than I thought she was. We got her potty chair out a couple of weeks ago just to get her used to it. I've taught her the sign for potty and we 'try' to go every once in a while. Anyway, the minute we got into the camper after arriving in Cody, she tried to pull her clothes off and started signing 'potty' so I got her ready and stuck her on there. I hope this doesn't gross anybody out, but she started 'tooting' and I thought she was actually going to go - it's funny the things that will make a mommy proud!

It's raining, it's pouring!

And I'm so thankful! Not only for the moisture, but for the BREAK! Kaylee and Brianna have both had ball practices this week, and they were overlapping and across town from each other, so Monday and Tuesday were kind of crazy. David was coming home early from work to help out thankfully, but it just felt like we were running all over the place. Next week will be interesting - they have dance pictures on Tuesday, dress rehearsal on Thursday and their dance recital on Friday, so we'll see how much ball they miss. Tomorrow is Bri's last day of school and next week is Kaylee's last, so once dance and school are done, I think it will be a little bit easier! Oh, yeah, and did I mention that we are trying to get ready to go camping this weekend? Anyway, with the rain and severe thunderstorm warnings, ball practice was canceled last night, and it's been pouring all day, so I'm sure practice is going to be canceled again tonight.

Here are some fun pics of my ball players...

Playing in the sandbox at the ball park...

And another 'cowgirl' picture - my girls share my love of horses!

EDIT: Since I posted this earlier, it has since started SNOWING! Crazy! It was 86+ on Monday and Tuesday - it was hot and so David started getting the swamp cooler ready for use, including taking the insulation out - so today, of course, we have a nice cold breeze coming through the open cooler. Love this Wyoming weather ;-)

Once Upon a Time...

...there was a little girl named Jena...

For some reason, I've really been in the mood to scrap some really OLD pictures! Here is what I've done in the last week...can you tell what my favorite animal is ;-) When I was little, apparently, I had my very own corral of imaginary horses. I had a cousin that I was very close to and we were always playing together when she was visiting - we still had our fights, though. One day for some reason, she let all my imaginary horses loose - I was devastated! My aunts and uncles will never let me forget that story.

I need to finish up the journaling on the first two, but I don't remember the horse's names - Mom, or Dad, can you help me out?

Products Used: Reflections, CTMH Wild Adventure paper pack and Stickease (retired), hemp, SU chipboard tag.

Products Used: Reflections, Cloud 9 Sorbet Villa paper, CTMH Vineyard Berry CS

I stamped the buckle on the back of the foil sheet - then I embossed the image, I think it turned out very cool! Here is a close-up of the buckle.

Products Used: Becky Higgins Sketches, Cranberry B&T (retired), Textured Chocolate CS, Colonial White CS, Lovely Buckles stamp set, Silver Foil Sheets, Calendar stamp set, Cobblestone alpha stamp set, Silver Conchos

This one is a little more recent - I still can't believe it was almost 10 years ago, though! I'm the one on the top row in the very middle.

Products Used: CTMH Silhouette paper pack, CTMH Black Brads, CTMH Just Blooms paper flowers, Boutique alpha stamp set, Classic Caps stamp set, SU tag punch

Thanks for looking!

Why is it...

...that on the weekends when you WANT your kids to sleep in, they are up at 6:30 in the morning, begging for breakfast...yet, on a school day, when they NEED to get up, they manage to sleep through their alarm clock for more than 20 minutes? It's crazy, I tell ya ;-)

We've had a busy, yet fun, couple of days - here are some fun pics...

Brianna at her school program - she was Straw, the Horse for the play...

Kaylee's school took a walking field trip to the new school - it's supposed to be done around Christmastime...

David finally came back from Oklahoma - he was gone all week and the girls really missed him! We met him at the airport on Friday and I wish I had Brailee's reaction on video, I think she was the most excited to see him again - she is such a daddy's girl! So we did sparklers that night - I hope these pics don't make anyone dizzy but I think they turned out cool...

The girls and I made cookies for our Ward Party/Picnic. My mom made us all these fun aprons for Mother's Day and we finally got to use them - thanks, Mom!

This picture turned out blurry because I still had it set on night mode from the fireworks fun the night before, but I just loved this cheesy smile that Brailee gave me...

Here are some pics from the party - I missed the funniest picture opportunity when David was throwing some of the YM into the pond ;-) after some of the kids started a water fight, picking on a few of the adults.

Brianna had fun collecting shells (notice the butterfly tatoo she gave herself on her forehead ;-)

Brailee discovered more dandelions - and 'wishes' as her older sisters call them ;-)

Last week, our Snow Crab Apple tree flowers bloomed, so the bees have been all over it. Brianna was watching out the window and said, "Mom, the bees must be having a party!" Then that night she said, "or maybe they're having a hoe down" and then yesterday she was watching the ants on her stepping stone and figured they must be having a meeting. She just cracks me up!

Inspiration Challenge - Week #11

So I couldn't decide on an inspiration challenge for this week, until I received this catalog in the mail yesterday - it was just so fun and simple, and inspired me immediately.

I hope you'll joing me in this week's challenge - use it to inspire you to create anything! You can use the colors, theme, layout, whatever you pull from the picture to inspire you! Please leave me a link to your creations so I can post them in a link here so we can all see how you were inspired.

I've loved this PageMaps sketch since it came out earlier this month and I was just waiting for the right picture to use with it. Well, the sun from the catalog inspired me and reminded me of this sketch and I instantly thought of the song, "You are my Sunshine" - so I found this leftover picture that I really wanted to scrap but didn't have room for on the original layout, so here is what I did with it. I used Marjorie's Color Challenge #18 but I added Sunny Yellow and Crystal Blue to go with Brianna's swimsuit and the sun idea. I have since added liquid glass and prisma glitter on her name and the word 'sunshine' to make them stand out more. I used WordArt to print the song lyrics to go with the circle - I think it turned out fun!

Products Used - all CTMH: Pink Carnation B&T paper (retired); Pink Carnation, Crystal Blue, Baby Pink, and Sunny Yellow Sassy Strands; Free Spirit stamp set (I heat embossed the swirls for the sun rays), Sunny Yellow Embossing Powder, Delightful Alphabet; Baby Pink, Pink Carnation, Key Lime, Sunny Yellow, and Crystal Blue CS

Thanks for looking!

More Hot Springs Pages - last ones, I promise!

I finally finished scrapping the last of my Hot Springs photos - I used more photo storage pages, which is an awesome way to get lots of pics done!

I used Marjorie's Color Challenge #17 again, and this time I used the color combo as is - didn't change a thing - you're shocked, aren't you ;-) It's not your typical color combo for snow pages, but all the colors in the challenge are in the pics, so it worked (for me, anyway).



You can't tell in the pics, but there are lots of snowflakes stamped along the edges and corners of the two pages - I really struggled with the empty space and had to fill it with something, even though you can hardly tell it's there!

I cut up another photo storage page and added it here so it opens up to reveal more pictures...

Here is the photo storage page that goes between the layout...

Products Used - All CTMH: Bubblegum, Sunflower, and Orange CS, Holiday Red Seasonal B&T paper (I used the textured back), Boutique Alphabet, Flurries stamp set (retired), January Word Puzzle, HodgePodge Alphabet, a Dimensional Element photo clip, Font CD for the journaling, and Photo Storage Pages

Shrek...the horse

On Monday the girls and I went to see Shrek - he's a Percheron Draft Horse and he's huge! I can't find the stats about him, so I don't remember exactly how big he is. We got to see Goliath when he came through town 3 years ago - he was featured in the 2005 Guinness World Record Book as the Tallest Living Horse. Shrek doesn't hold that title, but he's still big! Here are some pictures we took that day.

Brailee didn't want to leave - she cried when we were done looking - she just loves animals! Speaking of horses, she is so funny to watch...no listen to...when she plays with the farm animals - she makes the cutest horse sounds ;-)

Here was the page I made 3 years ago after they got to see Goliath - he is 6'5" tall at the withers!

Mercies of Motherhood

I am so thankful that I get to be a SAHM to my girls - even though sometimes things get a little crazy or I just need a break sometimes. I just read a great article - really puts things into perspective and made me smile, thinking of my own mercies...

Surviving on the Mercies of Motherhood

Enjoy!

Happy Monday!

So I had a very nice, relaxing day yesterday, thanks to my wonderful husband. It's a good thing, as I haven't been feeling well lately. I've started having heart palpitations (sp?) again and I have been absolutely drained so I'm afraid I may be anemic. I was anemic with my last two pregnancies and experienced my first palpitations in the days after Brailee was born. The strange thing is that I haven't had them again until now. So anyway, I'm working on getting back to normal, and I've been taking the Iron that was prescribed to me when I was pregnant, but my nurse friend tells me it can take up to a month to notice it working. I'm hoping to get some energy back soon at least.

Anyway, the product of my relaxing day yesterday was that I started and got more than halfway through 'New Moon' - I can't believe how addicting this series is, it's hard to put down. I recently viewed the trailer to the Twilight movie coming out in December - I was a little disappointed in the trailer but will still see the movie, regardless. The characters in the trailer were not like I have imagined them as I've read the books.

Here are some pics of me and my girls yesterday...I love my hubby dearly, but I need to teach him how to take better pics ;-)

I love you mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a page I just did in honor of my mother - who I love very much ;-) There is a church that I drive by every day and each week they display a new thought or quote - the one I used on this page has been their thought for this week and I remembered these pictures I had of me and my mom that were taken 10 years ago, so I was inspired to put them together.

I also used Marjorie's Color Challenge #15, but left out the Crystal Blue. I used a PageMaps layout, Barn Red CS, Bamboo CS(which I scored and sanded to create the stripes), White Daisy CS, Connection Club Rub-Ons, the font CD for the quote, Calendar stamp set, and an Autumn Leaves brand Clear Stamps Alpha set (the name escapes me right now).

Thanks for looking and I hope you all have a Happy Mother's Day!

Another Hot Springs/Inspiration Layout

I completed another page to go with my Hot Springs layout...

Here they are together...

And I'm enjoying using these photo storage pages finally - it's a nice easy way to scrap events with lots of pics - these pictures will go between the above pages (sorry for the glare)...