My American Idol

Here's another video from our trip a couple weeks ago. Brailee was just singing away! Another favorite Primary song of hers is 'We Are A Happy Family' which is what she's singing here...well, kind of, she made up her own words after a while!

South Dakota and more!

Since this trip was 2 weeks ago, I'd better get pictures posted! I of course took too many pictures, so I've put them into a couple slideshows.

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We left on Thursday the 14th after the girls got done with their bike rodeo at school. We pulled our camper to Gillette where we stayed the night at David's sister's house. Friday morning we got up and headed to South Dakota where we saw Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, and Bear Country. That night we stayed at a very affordable Lodge just 5 miles from Mount Rushmore. The next day we got up and headed back to Gillette, stopping at Devil's Tower along the way. That afternoon we got to spend time with family at Jordan's Graduation BBQ. Sunday was his graduation and after that we headed back home. It was a fun, quick trip - if we ever make it back to South Dakota we'll definitely have to spend at least a week - there is so much to do in that area!

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Here are our Friday pictures - it was cold and windy at Mount Rushmore (it even started to snow just as we were leaving) so Trysten didn't get out of the stroller and Brailee wasn't in the mood for pictures, but I got some of Kaylee and Brianna. I think the girls liked Bear Country the best, they loved seeing all of the animals so close!

Here are our Devil's Tower and Gillette pictures - fun family time together!

Guitar Hero

We've never played this game before, but the kids got a chance to play with their cousins when we were in Gillette a couple weeks ago. Kaylee was so funny to watch, she was so into it that she didn't even notice me recording her!

July Word Puzzle

Ack, I am SO behind on posting! I've had these ready to post for a while now but things just keep coming up and I never got around to getting the pictures! Anyway, here are the creations for what was supposed to be May's Workshop - due to some end of school programs, I wasn't able to do it on the planned day anyway, so it's been moved to June 6th - click here for more info. I used the Animal Cookies paper along with the July Word Puzzle, Be Yourself, and Tickled Pink stamp sets.

Layout Option - I used the Animal Cookies Workshop Guide for this fun layout. Starting this month, all workshop participants can now get the Workshop Guide instead of the extra B&T papers - OR you can get both for an additional $1 added on to your workshop fee.

6x6 Option

Card Option

I just LOVE the new circle card sketches in Wishes!

Thanks for looking!

Blog Candy Winner!

Things have been so busy lately that I totally spaced it and forgot to announce my Blog Candy winner! Thanks to everyone for your comments - I especially loved reading about your love of crafts! Congratulations to my dear friend Carolynn who won - and as promised, with each comment, I added more to the stash to give away, so here is what she won!

I already have your address, Carolynn, so I'll get your goodies sent on their way!

'T' is for Trysten!

Yes, another month has gone by - Trysten is now 4 months old, can you believe it? He won't go in for his 4 month check-up until the end of next week, but I'm guessing he weighs about 16 pounds and he sure is long! He has grown out of everything under the 6 month size and is wearing 9-12 month clothes. He is still such a happy social bug and loves to smile and laugh at people. He also likes his exersaucer that we got out a couple weeks ago. He is not rolling yet, but when he's on his back or belly he ends up rotating himself around. The other morning when I went in to get him out of his crib he was completely sideways!

When he sucks on his fist or finger he makes a 'T' (in sign language) - I guess he's already learning his alphabet and T is his favorite - for Trysten ;-) or T-Dawg as my dad calls him!

Moving Birthday Cards for Boys!

Here are some cards I've made recently for little birthday boys. First here is the card I made for one of the little boys that I babysit - T turned 3 last week and he is OBSESSED with construction equipment - he can tell you which is an escavator, bobcat, loader, etc. Anyway, I just knew I had to do something like that for his birthday card. I don't have any construction stamps, so I paper pieced this fun card. I used the Solo 3 for the big number in the bucket, and the dirt came from the Wonderful Charms stamp set. And since I haven't been able to get rid of all of my decorative edge scissors, I finally put a pair to good use - they worked perfectly to create the track and the bucket! I also tried a funky rocking shadow stamp technique with the birthday sentiment.

It was inspired by this shirt of Trysten's.

Next here is the slider card I made for one of our nephews - he turned 4 earlier this month. He loves trains so I knew I could put this new stamp set, Childhood, to use. I created the base of this slider card using Clover Meadow CS, then I tore some Dutch Blue CS (I used the lighter side) to resemble mountains. The cute sun came from a retired set called Crayon House.

Thanks for looking!

Misc. pics

You'll have to bear with me as I'm still trying to catch up on what's been going on lately - that's what happens when you don't post for more than a week, especially when you're already behind! I will try to get our trip pics posted this weekend sometime, plus I still have lots of creations that I haven't shared yet!

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On Saturday the 9th, David helped the Scouts plant some trees down by the river. The girls had fun "skipping" rocks, riding in the wheelbarrow, and climbing in the dirt - oh, and they did manage to help a little with the project ;-)

Brianna had her Kindergarten music program at school last week - it was called 'How Does Your Garden Grow?' - the kids all did a great job. There were 5 DeVries cousins in this program - the three that are in K, plus cousin Isaac was Herb the Gardner and cousin Kalob was a grasshopper. Here is Brianna - she was a flower.

Brailee is my little bag girl - she always has one that she's packing around. On Christmas Morning the first present she opened was the Scripture Bag that my mom made her to which she exclaimed "My Bag!" After that she didn't really care if she opened any more presents or not. Here she was as we were heading out the door one day last week - all ready with her bag full of treasures! I tried to get a close-up of just her and her bag, but she was being silly and hiding from me ;-) Plus I just like this picture - I love the look on her face and how Trysten is just watching her.

Brailee is also my little snuggle bug. She likes to come in our bed right around the time David gets up for work at 5 in the morning. My cell phone alarm clock wakes me up at 5, but then my regular alarm clock is set for 6:30 just in case I go back to bed or fail to get up at 5. Well, I usually forget to turn off my alarm clock until I hear it blaring, so I run in my room to turn it off and surprisingly, Brailee doesn't even move! This is usually how I find her. Speaking of which, I think I forgot to turn it off again this morning - I'd better hurry!

Mother's Day Cards

I used this sketch from PageMaps to create my Mother's Day cards this year. I did them all the same just changed up the papers and colors to fit the mother they were going to! The Happy Mother's Day sentiment came from the May Word Puzzle. The scalloped half-circle is the opening for these cards. I used my large circle coluzzle to shape the flap and I used the corner rounder method to create the scallops.

For my mom I always think green and purple, so I used this Promise of Spring paper that was a CTMH special a couple years ago.

This one was for David's mom and she loves Pink so I used the Tickled Pink paper.

This was for Great Grandma Lemoine - using Floral Tapestry.

This was for Great Grandma Lancaster - using Caprice.

This was for Great Grandma Sager - using Silhouette.

This was for my Dad's wife, Shelly - using Key to My Heart paper.

Then while I was having fun with these cards, I made this one for a friend whose birthday was the day after Mother's Day. For some reason I seem to turn to this paper for her. Last year for her birthday I decorated a jumbo clothespin with this paper. Then when she went into pre-term labor last fall, her get well card was made from these papers as well!

Thanks for looking - I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day!

Another MMB Give-Away!

Check out this website for another great give-away this month!

Mormon Mommy Blog

I looked out the window and what did I see...

...popcorn popping on the apricot tree! We don't have an apricot tree, but we do have a Snow Crab and it was beautiful and white with blossoms this week. It smells SO good - I especially love having my kitchen window open this time of year, or sitting on our front glider in the evening when all the bees are gone. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before the winds yesterday blew away most of the petals, but I did get a video of Brailee singing this fun Primary Song. She can usually sing the whole song all the way through but this was the best I got on video the other day ;-P

This is what else we have been seeing out our window lately - there are two little bunnies that like to hang out in our yard - as long as the kids are inside!

And while I'm talking spring, here's an update on the nest - the baby birds hatched while we were gone this last weekend. The girls have enjoyed watching them and so far Mommy bird is okay with us being outside and walking by. We try to stay off the porch so she can take care of her babies. And does anyone know - do the mom and dad both take care of the babies? It seems like there are a couple of robins going back and forth.

MIA

Yes, I have been MIA - even though there is a lot of family action and creative action going on, I just haven't had time to share it all with you recently! We just got back from a long fun weekend to Mount Rushmore and Gillette, so once I get things unpacked and back to 'normal' maybe I'll have a chance to play blog catch-up again! I hope you are all doing well - check back soon for lots of pictures!

SOTM Blog Hop!

I had so much fun with the Summer Idea Book Blog Hop - then Dawn had a great idea to do a Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, so here it is! Tune in at the beginning of each month for a new SOTM Blog Hop. This month we will be featuring May's SOTM, which is Be Yourself, a set of 14 stamps. This is the beginning of the hop - I hope you'll check out each of the participating blogs - this month we have 18 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Also, don't forget to enter to win some Blog Candy - today is the last day!

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I created this card using May's Challenge from Originals - this is such a fun, girly stamp set, I just love all of the silhouettes.

Products Used (all CTMH): Let's Get Together paper, Cranberry and Garden Green stamp pads, Clear Sparkles, and Red Sparkles (retired)

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Here is another card I created using a sketch from the new Wishes book - it's called Bullseye. This is my favorite girl from this stamp set.

Products Used (all CTMH): Bella paper, Tickled Pink stamp set, Smokey Plum Bigger Brad

Now "Hop" on over to Sherry's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the May SOTM is only available until May 31st! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

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Click here to view one more card I have made using this Stamp of the Month.

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Happy Hopping!

If you get lost along the way here is a complete list of this month's hoppers!

Jena Devries
www.livelovelaughscrapbook.blogspot.com
Sherry Thompson
www.picturespatternsandpaper.blogspot.com
Cibele Glazer
www.flowerfoot.blogspot.com
Helen Onulak
www.hookedonstamping.com
Jaime Benavides
www.scrapcrazydiva.blogspot.com
Misty Jackson
http://www.misstscraps.blogspot.com
Dawn Heuft
www.stamptildawn.blogspot.com
Jen Rubio
http://www.jenrubio.blogspot.com
Shannon Laux
www.rockinstamps.blogspot.com
Ronnie Crowley
http://www.ronniecreates.blogspot.com
Deb Young
http://www.scrapbookczar.blogspot.com
Terrie Dodd
www.my-life-in-real-time.blogspot.com
Lucia Grabb
http://www.luciasscrappinandstampin.blogspot.com
Anne Beck
http://www.anniemuses.blogspot.com
Reba Poquette
http://www.thedirtyscramper.blogspot.com
Leisa Hubley
http://bigredscraps.blogspot.com/
Alanna Moses
www.damoses.blogspot.com
Caren Goldsein
http://www.scrappycaren.blogspot.com
Jennifer Patrick
http://www.roxybonds-scrappin.blogspot.com

May Challenge

Yes, once again I'm a little - okay a lot - late getting this month's challenges posted. The main reason is because I've been so busy lately, which leads me to the other reason, I haven't had time to even complete my own challenges from last month! So, I've decided to change how I do the challenges. In the past I have posted one each for Cherish, Imagine, Reflections, and Originals - from now on I am only going to post only one challenge per month and I will rotate through all of CTMH's How-To books, including the NEW Wishes book! This way I can now have more time to participate in all the other fun challenges that I come across and not feel so obligated to complete my own first - KWIM? Also, since participation has dropped dramatically since I first started with the Cherish Challenge 3 years ago, it just hasn't seemed worth it. Because of this drop in participation, I will not draw a winner on a monthly basis. I will occassionally have a prize month, especially if participation increases, so spread the word and get more people playing in the monthly challenges - it's a great motivator to use your supplies and get cards and pages done!

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Okay, I'm done rambling - on to the challenge! This month the challenge is from Originals - Puzzle Backdrop on page 91. I have my card completed and scheduled to post on May 10th for my SOTM Blog Hop so stay tuned! I hope you'll join me in the challenge - if you create something using this card sketch, please leave a comment here or e-mail a pic to me at jvdevries22@hotmail.com

Catch-Up!

I have a lot to catch up on - I'll start with some of my latest favorite pictures!

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First off, here are some pictures of Kaylee playing soccer - she's been enjoying it, and has even scored a few goals! If you missed it before, I posted Brianna's soccer pictures here. Tonight is Brianna's last game and tomorrow night is Kaylee's last game - it's been fun to watch them but I'm glad it's almost over. When you're down there Monday thru Thursday for 4 weeks it really makes for some busy nights! Next year they will be in the same league and on the same team, so we'll only be there 2 nights a week which will be nice!

Here is Trysten all snuggled up with Grandpa. It wouldn't be too bad outside if it weren't for the wind!

On our way home from our Utah trip, our windshield got smacked by a huge rock. We had been talking about getting it replaced anyway since we had a long crack from a rock about a year ago. But after this latest incident we couldn't put it off any longer, it left big baseball sized rings on the driver's side. Anyway, so for the first time in almost a month, I had to drag Brailee out of bed so I could take it into the shop before 8:00. I didn't make her get dressed, but she decided she wanted to fix her hair, so this is what she looked like as we left that morning.

While we were in Utah, a Robin built a nest on the back porch light - right outside our back door. Now every time we go outside she takes off, but flies by and chirps at us. Poor mamma didn't pick a very good spot! There were eggs in it before we had a chance to move it, so we have left it there. The girls enjoyed seeing the eggs and we'll just see how things go once they hatch - hopefully mamma won't get too cranky with us!

Trysten is still just as happy as ever. He especially loves his bathtime right now. Until now I have set his tub on the bathroom counter to give him his bath, but we're going to have to move to the tub now - he loves to kick and splash which gets water everywhere! He might outgrow this tub before he sits up well by himself anyway, he is so long!

Here is just another pic of his adorable smile - he just turns inside out!

We did sparklers again the other night...

...which led to Brailee's eye getting poked by a sparkler stick she found on the ground the next day. Her eye is fine during the day, but when she is really sleepy, like first thing in the morning, or before and after naptime, and before bedtime, her eye is really droopy. Her doctor has looked at it and isn't too concerned - of course when he looked at it, she looked fine but was a stinker and wouldn't let him examine her ;-P We'll just be keeping an eye on her I guess.