So it FINALLY feels like summer

It's nice to be home and enjoying a bit of free time. I finished this layout last night. I love this photo because it was so spontaneous! I was picking up Darren from school and one of the boys went to give Darren a hug. I whipped out my iPhone to take a photo and before I knew it there was a group hug going on!

I have to say that I am loving my Basic Grey magnetic mat. I can lay everything out with the little magnetic tacks so nothing shifts and when I'm happy with my layout I adhere it down. No more blowaways!

So tomorrow I'm going to take Darren to see Wally-E. It got an "A" in the paper. I find it interesting that there isn't a lot of dialogue but yet the reviewer said it's the best Pixar moving since "Finding Nemo." Wow! That's some statement!

Mmmmmm!!! The taste of summer...

Just got back from a quick trip to the U-pick strawberry stand and Tachella Family Farm just down the road. I think Darren and I picked 5 lbs. of strawberries. LOL

One of the best things about living in Brentwood are the local farmer's markets. As soon as we got home Darren probably ate 1/2 lb. of strawberries. I am a strawberry smoothie kinda gal so I whipped up a strawberry and blackberry (yup, bought a basket of those too!) smoothie.

Delicious...those strawberries are sugary sweet!

Now I can't wait for dinner so we can chow down on the Brentwood white corn I bought at Tachella's.

Ya gotta love summer!

A Blissful Saturday

I was finally able to enjoy a much-needed "down day" yesterday. I slept in, enjoyed numerous cups of coffee :) and went to the gym. Hey, I can't be a sloth ALL day. ha ha

Darren and I finished our ongoing Monopoly game after cooling off with a little trip to Jamba Juice and finished off our day with dinner of his choice at a local taqueria. I put him to bed early since he was up LATE the night before with me hosting a slumber party with his "wingman" Hayden.

Then I got to scrap! Yay!

Here's what I pulled off in a few hours. Enjoy! Tomorrow it's off to Reno for a few nights. Can a girl dream big of hitting a jackpot??? Or perhaps just returning to the LSS? It's a small store but a goodie!

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!