Finally back home!

It seems like I've been on the road for the past few weeks....wait a minute! I have!

So we spent 4 days and nights at Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains camping with, yup, you guessed it, the Dougherty Family. I think it's tradition now. LOL

The kids had a ball (so did the parents!) they spent 2 full days in the creek next to our campsite and reveled in water, sand, dirt and mud. And I have the dirty laundry to prove it. We took a short trip to Capitola Beach only to find ourselves in cold, overcast weather. Needless to say, the boys put on their wetsuits and jumped right in. Boys, I tell ya!

I'm happy to be home and in a dirt-free environment once again. Stay tuned next week for yet another road trip!

Wow! Two posts in 2 days!

Thought I'd post a few pictures of the mini-book I finished last week as a gift for my student who graduated from 8th grade last week. He loved the book. The smile on his face was priceless. Good luck in high school, Josh. You will be missed!

In other news, we're off to Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains tomorrow for 4 days of fresh air. Ahhh! I can smell the crisp fresh air now! I was looking forward to a break in this hot weather but it looks like it's going to be in the mid to high 80's there so I foresee a day trip to the Santa Cruz beach Boardwalk during this trip!

Have a great week everyone!

May the Force be with You

Talk about a roadtrip! Ginger & I just got back from spending 2 days in Disneyland with the boys. Both days the boys were picked for the Jedi training show where they were given a light saber lesson and successfully battled the evil Darth Vader. That experience was the highlight of their trip for sure. Needless to say, I took about 100 pictures between the two. LOL

It was also a big milestone for them since they both met the height requirement for the adult rides. They LOVED the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. I wish I could've taken some pictures but I didn't want to chance breaking my beloved camera on the rides!

We did manage to squeeze in a bit of "mommy time" by swinging by two scrapbook stores (How could we not!) Scrapbook Oasis was our first stop. I was so happy to find the Maya Road chipboard tree I've been lusting over. Our second stop was a brief visit to Sweetpeas & Snapshots. It was a fun little store with lots of eclectic little goodies.

So now I have 2 days to unpack, wash the laundry and then get ready for our 4-day camping trip to Big Basin on Wednesday! I know, I'm crazy, huh? ;)

The last week of school - CRUNCH time!

So there are 3 school days left for Darren in Kinder- garten. I can't believe he'll be a first-grader come July! (I know! We start school on the early side!)

Speaking of Darren, my poor child has to have 2 baby teeth pulled (one is lovingly named the 'snaggletooth' LOL because it is an extra tooth.) This little invader has now caused all of his adult teeth that have come in to shift to one side which is now going to mean BRACES this summer.

Lovely.

Today I took my cat, Bocce, to the vet today because he's been literally licking all of his fur off and the vet said it's either fleas, allergies or STRESS. Now how can a cat have stress? He lays around all day napping, sitting in the sun, I mean, he's got the life, right?!? On top of that he needs $600 worth of dental work. Yikes! I guess that's what happens when a cat goes through almost 12 years of life without a dental cleaning.

So, I guess it's a good thing I'm teaching summer school. LOL

On the scrappin' front, I went to a Relay for Life fundraiser crop on Saturday and got about halfway through a mini-book I'm working on for my student who is graduating from 8th grade on Wednesday. As soon as it's done I'll post some pictures!

Have a great week!

What's on your Bucket List?

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted but at least I have lots to talk about!

So Friday night was an exciting night. I was able to make a dream come true for both myself and my 8th grade student, Josh.

Thanks to a very DEAR friend (you know who you are!) her husband was able to donate 2 Diamond Level seats to the A's vs. Red Sox game in Oakland. We were able to watch the game right behind home plate. Simply an amazing experience if you are a baseball fan. You can hear the ball hit the catcher's mitt and you get a completely different view of the game from that vantage point.

We are both baseball fanatics and this was my graduation gift of sorts to him for all of his hard work over the school year. I am so incredibly proud of his accomplishments and we both had the BEST time. Sitting in these seats also happened to be something on my "bucket list" of things I want to do/see in my lifetime. It was nice to cross off the second item from my list! The first thing I did from my list was to see Prince live in concert last year and he was amazing. The rest of my bucket list entails international travel so I don't think I'll be getting to the rest of my list until Darren is in college or later! But back to the topic at hand...

We were able to arrive during the Red Sox's batting practice and Josh was able to get a baseball signed by 5 of the Red Sox players. So incredibly cool! The all-you-can-eat benefit of these seats was also a plus! And yes, the A's beat the Red Sox. Yay!

On a totally unrelated subject, I also just got back from 2 nights in Las Vegas with Bruce and my mother-in-law. We basically went down to see Phantom of the Opera, which was fantastic. We took a few pictures at the new Palazzo casino which is a part of the Venetian casino. Simply gorgeous! And did I mention that they have a Barney's New York there? I had to go in and check it out for myself. Who knew I could find a cute pair of sandals for only $800? LOL

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day today!

Tim Holtz is comin' to town!

I am such a huge fan of who I like to refer to as "the Holtzter" or "Timmy" just because he is so groundbreaking and incredible at what he does. I was lucky enough to take a class of his a few years back but haven't been able to take another class of his since then. I just signed up to take one of his classes in August at My Daughter's Wish in Pleasant Hill. He'll be teaching 5 classes between August 1st and 2nd. I am so looking forward to it! All of my Scrap for a Cure pals will be taking it as well so it should be a fun time.

If you're in the Bay Area and are interested in checking out a class or two, don't hesitate! Go here to sign up: Tim Holtz classes

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I hope to get a bit of scrappin' done tonight since I'm now so inspired!

What a weekend!

My friend Patti & I went to see Duran Duran on Friday night. A bunch of us Duranies went out to dinner before the show. We sat in the second row and watched a great concert.

Saturday morning Patti & I headed over to Picture Me Perfect in Fremont for National Scrapbook Day. We definitely did more chatting than scrapping but had a great time nonetheless.

Sunday entailed sleeping in until 9:45am and then hitting a water park with the family and a few friends. A perfect end to a perfect weekend!