Beautiful Sedona

Our trip to Arizona was only last month but it seems a lifetime ago. We returned home and were immediately caught up in the holiday hustle with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. I still have yet to get all of the vacation pictures printed! Who knows if I ever will....may be easier, and certainly more cost effective, to only print those that I plan to use as I need them. I think I took something like 800 pictures! Here is one of the many Sedona pictures....we were immediately taken in by the beauty of the red rocks. The views and rock formations are breathtaking!



Supplies: Crate Paper Random, Crate Paper Portrait, Jenni Bowlin butterflies, MME buttons, 7 Gypsies & Tim Holtz tags, Cosmo alpha, SC banner sticker.

Occupied

With the kids occupied with their new toys, I was able to sneak into my scrap room for a bit over the weekend. I didn't get a lot accomplished as I first had to find the desk that was buried somewhere under the stacks and stacks of stuff! I could give you an excuse about having to move my desk b/c I had a new window installed (which is true) but the real truth...my desk looked almost as bad before the window install! Maybe that is why I had little to no interest in coming into this room! I REALLY HATE cleaning!!

I spent the time, organized everything, had the desk completely clear .... made a few layouts ... and now have found myself right back where I started! I can't find the top of my desk again!

Oh well, at least I have a few more layouts for the kids albums! The desk....maybe I'll find it again soon.

N's 10th birthday back in November....



Supplies: Jillibean Soup, October Afternoon, Echo Park papers; BG alpha; Holtz grunge board; Bo Bunny journaling spot; Jenni Bowlin penant stickers; Jillibean spots and stickers; Echo Park number stickers

The Goods...

I have a house full of very happy children this week -- they are enjoying their week off from school and LOVING their new things from Hanukkah and Christmas!

Favorite Gifts:

Noah - Phone and XBOX (He was over the moon excited this year as those are the ONLY two things he asked for!)

Hannah - Balance beam and mat (I think we could have only given her this one gift and she still would have been on cloud nine!)

Sarah - Karaoke Microphone -- she is quite the entertainer!

....and of course their holiday money from Grandma and Grandpa was burning a hole in their pocket so we already had to go and spend some of that --- good thing we have a mall here that is almost always empty b/c there was no way I was fighting the crowds out returning things! I have my own stack of returns to make but those will just have to wait until next week!

Merry Christmas

Cards

I have never been interested in making cards. In fact, I rely on my friend Jing-Jing to provide me with cards to use for birthday parties. But this year, I decided I should make a couple of cards to send out to my family. I didn't get around to do the whole "annual holiday card" thing but a nice homemade card and a photo of the kids...what could be better?



With the help of some Crate and Fancy Pants chipboards, each card only took a few minutes to put together. Quick, easy, and homemade!

So, do you ever make your own cards?

Quoted

After discussing if there may be boys in my six year old's new dance class, my daughter turns to me and says, "you want to put some money on that?". Not only did she use the phase properly, when asked what it means, she was able to explain it. Where did hear that....iCarly.

I had to laugh to hear my cute little girl using such a grown up sounding phrase!

I've become...

I've become a terrible, terrible blogger! I can make any number of excuses but I won't, I will just say, I have been busy! While I have been happy doing what I have been doing, I have not snuck much time for crafting. I think I have scrapped a total of 3 pages this past month and sewn one Roman shade. Other than that, my cool new supplies, Crate and OA's Farmhouse and Echo Park's Times and Seasons, sit here untouched. Sad I know.

I will share one of those 3 lonely pages --- I am still loving and using Crates Random collection when I do sit down to create. The colors are just fantastic with the bright fushia, navy, and mustard yellow...a combination that surprisingly works so well together. At least they work well on a scrap page, not sure I could pull it off in my attire!

Finally a single shot scrapped from our trip to Arizona in early November. It is only one of many, but it's a start!

Beautiful

I have been enjoying a short break from blogging. The kids have taken over....between birthday parties, Halloween, and then family vacation to Arizona, there hasn't been time for much else. Until today, I hadn't scrapped in well over a month. I haven't read any of your blogs let alone commented. I may even have a few unanswered emails sitting in my inbox. Pictures remain unedited and yet to be printed. Someday, maybe someday soon but for now, this is how it is.

Since I did scrap a bit today, I will leave you with this. H truly does light up the world with that smile of hers!! Love you H!!

Day 7

and that wraps up a week of layouts! Whew!

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

We Interrupt this Program...

H had her very first gymnastics meet this morning. What an experience! I am so very proud of her! She has been putting in 12 - 16 hours a week for the past five months, working her butt off! Hard work for a seven year old!! She did great for her first time out!

Day 2

One a Day

Clearly, I have not been so good at keeping up with my blog posts. So, I am setting up blogger to post a layout every day this week...no words just pages. Almost all were made with the October Trio kit from 3 Scrappy Boys. What an amazing kit! Filled with Pink Paislee, Glitz, and Studio Calico.

Enjoy the pages as I try to find some sort of balance with our fall calendar!!

School Papers

I am a sucker for School Themed scrapbook papers --- yet outside of the first day of school and class pictures, I rarely use them. This year, I only purchased school lines that I knew could suit multiple purposes. Basic Grey's Oxford line is gorgeous and quite versatile. I used it to scrap the first of many vacation pictures.

We spent one of our morning in Georgia at Fort Pulaski. I wasn't too sure the kids would enjoy it as the day prior they had shown little to NO interest in touring Savannah. However, I was pleasantly surprised and the kids had a fabulous time learning all about the history of the fort and of course they loved seeing the canons up close and personal. Here is a shot of my youngest posing as a Confederate soldier. I think if she had been on the front lines, the war may have turned out differently...seriously, with those eyes, who would have dared shoot?



Supplies: Basic Grey Oxford papers and chipboard. BG micro alpha; MME button; Jenni Bowlin butterfly; Maya Road naked chipboard frame.

Chemist

H, He, Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F, Ne..... I can still recite the beginning elements of the periodic table. One of my favorite subjects through high school and college was Chemistry. In fact, I began college with the intention of becoming a bio-chemist. Instead I ended up majoring in mathematics and going into finance. My love for chemistry however, didn't waver. Now, I have a seven year old who is obsessed with it as well. She takes bottles and throws things together just to see how they mix and react. I think she will either become a scientist or a chef --- almost one in the same, right?! :)



Supplies: Jillibean Soup papers, die cut tags, and stickers. Basic Grey chipboard accent and micro alpha. MME tickets.

No Rest for the Weary

We returned safely from vacation Saturday and spent the remainder of the long weekend preparing for the first day of school. There were backpacks to be purchased, supplies to be sorted, pencils to be sharpened, and of course the dreaded lunches to be packed. We are looking at a very busy fall but it will be so nice to get back into a routine! Maybe then I can find some time to start scrapping again -- I do had 1200 pictures from Tybee after all!!

Here is a random layout I did last month that I don't think I shared.... these are pixs from our Disney (Epcot) trip last fall. Although I did tell Jing-Jing when she was visiting that I may just join her on her next trip to Shanghai!! While I would be a nervous wreck to be away from my family and across the globe, how fun would it be so see China with a close friend who knows her way around?!



As you can tell, I masked a little on this layout ... the back under the frames. I do have a ton of the Studio Calico mists that I figured I should put to use!



Supplies: Basic Grey & Bazzill. Maya Road and Jillibean frames and tag; Studio Calico mist; K & Co misc.

Last day

N and I got up early this morning to take in the sunrise...gorgeous!









We then spent the rest of our last day hanging at the beach. I am still having a hard time believing that the end of summer is upon us!





Goodbye Tybee...til next time.




- Aubree

Location:Tybee

Tybee day 6

I wasn't too sure about visiting Fort Pulaski after Savannah was such a bust with the kids. Pulaski turned out to be a big hit! The kids loved helping with the musket shooting and they were quite inquisitive on the tour. My kids never cease to surprise me!

Fort Pulaski:
















- Aubree

Location:Tybee

Day 5

H is most excited...the ONLY thing she wanted to do this vacation was fish and she was finally able to go today. She even caught two although she wouldn't touch them! I took each fish off the hook and offered to let her hold it .... She ran away. Funny girl!!






Fish #1


Fish #2



- Aubree

Location:Tybee

Day 4

We toured Savannah today. What a beautiful town...history, architecture, charm, certainly nothing my children appreciate or understand. They "survived" the carriage tour but had little to no interest in the sites.












They did however love the Jepson Center...

Location:Tybee Island,United States

Day 3

Another hot one! I don't think I could ever get used to this kind of heat...I haven't stopped sweating since we got here!! Good thing we have the ocean to cool off in!!




We caught sight of some dolphins just off shore-- good thing I always have my camera ready!




The beach is also a great to practice gymnastics!




And I don't think a Greenspun vacation would be complete without some sort of sporting event tied in. So we finished off the day at Grayson Stadium watching the Savannah Sand Gnats baseball game. Did I mention it was $1 admission?!?




Off to tour Savannah tomorrow.

- Aubree

Location:Tybee

Vacation Day 2

Early morning beach fun




Then off to climb to the top of the lighthouse....I will admit, I was a bit scared stepping out onto the platform at the top. I ventured about three feet from the doorway and then stuck very close to the wall. I don't care for heights when I am out in the open! Awesome views though!




Back to the beach for some boarding....





Then out for dinner and a stop at the fishing pier to visit with H's new friends....she now knows all the fisherman secrets! We are hoping to be able to rent some equipment tomorrow so she can fish.

Location:Tybee Island,United States

Vacation Day 1

Fed some crocs


Ate some crabs




Hit the beach (without swimsuits) and Got a little wet


What a great first day!! So glad we were able to get out of town before the big storm hit home...hope our friends stay safe and the house goes unscathed!

Location:Tybee island, GA

Simply Enjoy - Happy

How can you not smile when you see this? I mean really, so carefree and cheerful! I love seeing my kids out having fun and just enjoying being a kid! We usually have a tight schedule with all of the activities and sports-- it is so nice when they get to be outside just enjoying themselves!



Supplies: BG paper, Bo bunny journaling tags, Lily bee rub-ons, and Fiskar's cloud punches. Misc buttons and twine.

5.9 Earthquake

I have a new appreciation for folks living in earthquake prone areas. I had never felt an earthquake until today and I would never like to feel another. I was sitting at my desk on the 8th floor of my office building in Philadelphia when everything started to shake. A colleague immediately screamed to get out of the building. I grabbed my things and ran. Maybe it was all unnecessary but 9/11 is never too far from our minds....eight flights of stairs in heels with not a thought to the work I was leaving behind. I got out of the building as fast as I could. Even with news that it was an earthquake and not a bomb or anything more, I still stood outside and waited. Calls were impossible get through to anyone and emails and texts were slow at best. Word was received that all trains had stopped running and some airports had temporarily closed. I was able to get home safely and in a timely manner thanks to the kindness of others. Kids were safe and barely even noticed the tremor. I, on the other hand, will never forget it.

Crazy!

Happy Birthday to You

My baby is six today!! Happy Birthday Darling!!