Trip of a Lifetime

Ok, so it wasn't really the "Trip of a Lifetime" but our annual excursion to my hometown will certainly be one we will remember for awhile. I grew up in the Northwest corner of Pennsylvania -- about a 6 hour drive from where I live today. It is not a fun drive, it is 2/3 interstate and 1/3 back country roads. We try to either leave at night or break-up the drive b/c as you can imagine, having three young children cooped up in a car for six hours is no fun. Well, this year, we left after work on Friday. About half way into our Friday night leg of the journey, we heard a strange noise, pulled over on the interstate, and discovered this....

(if you can't tell what that is, it is a FLAT TIRE).

Luckily the kids hadn't fallen asleep yet, so they were happy to have the "excitement". I don't think the girls thought there was anything more exciting than watching the tow truck driver change the tire. They were most upset that we wouldn't let them get out of the car --- yeah, like I am going to let them out on a highway at 9:00 at night with cars zooming past at 85mph!

(I do believe I scared the daylights out of the tow guy when he was under the car here getting the spare when my flash went off -- apparantly normal folks don't take pictures on the interstate, in the dark, when they have a flat. Really?)

As it turns out, it got a little more exciting for them when the state trooper stopped to yell at daddy for not calling 911. Did you know that if you get a flat tire on the interstate that you are supposed to call 911 before calling anyone? I had no idea, we called AAA and that was that. Who knew a flat could be considered an "emergency"?!?
In the end, we were back on the road within an hour and only fretted about the possibility of getting stuck again for the duration of the trip :) We had a very nice visit with the family. We fit in 4 wheelin', a Corn Festival with games, petting zoo, and corn maze, horseback riding, and a b-day celebration. Plenty of visiting with the grandparents (and greats) and a safe and uneventful drive home.

In Love....

With the new WIP scrapbooking kit! I received this kit last week, and within two hours of opening it, I had already made this layout (and trust me, I am NOT a fast scrapper).



I love that Trish includes papers and embellishements from all different product manufacturers. The layout above features a LYB die cut paper and embellies from Kaiser Craft. I just adore the balloons and those envelopes!! I added a few phrases using a set of Ali Edwards stamps.

Sorry it took so long to post the layout --- it really was done early last week, I just got caught up in packing for our annual trek to my hometown in Northwest Pennsylvania. More on that tomorrow, it was certainly a trip we will remember.....

Layout inspired by this layout from Wendy McKee.

Almost Forgot....

Sunday was the 15th which means another SKETCHABILITIES reveal. Head on over and check out the amazing layouts. The DT is always full of inspiring creations!

The Sketch:



My Take:

Unhappy Memory

Do you scrapbook those "unhappy memories", moments you will never forget but aren't necessarily those that you would choose to repeat? Earlier this year, my son was bitten by a dog on his lip and face. It required a trip to the emergency room as well as a plastic surgeon b/c of the angle and location of the bite. 7 stitches later we were back home, my nerves had calmed, and being the obsessed photographer that I am, I reached for my camera. I couldn't help but take pixs knowing full well that at some point I would want to scrapbook them. Life isn't just rainbows and ice cream, in my opinion, the scrapbooks should reflect that. That said, I don't take a ton of "unhappy memory" pixs but I certainly have a few of the tantrums and the scrapped knees.

Although it isn't the happiest of subjects, I just love the way the layout came out! The Basic Grey Max & Whiskers line was perfect ...and those dog chipboards are just too cute!