I've finished reading Deathly Hallows

Whew! good book. It kept me on the edge of my seat just about the whole time. And that's all I'm saying. I know several of my good buddies are reading (or will) and I don't want to ruin anything for them. It probably took me about 12 hours total, but it seemed like I was being interrupted all of the time- intervene in a disagreement, change a stinky diaper, get Sarah some more milk, etc. Mark took care of feeding people (for the most part) since he knew I wasn't going to do it LOL I scoffed when I first heard that the library was having a meeting for people who stayed up all night and finished it by 10A Saturday morning... but, yeah I probably could have read it in that amount of time if I had been left completely alone. Brenna kept asking me at regular intervals if I really liked the book too ;)

Now, I can get back to other things. I have a scrapbook page that has been sitting undone on the desktop of PSE for a couple of days now, a pile of outgrown clothes to sort out and put away in the middle of the LR floor, more closets and dresser drawers to go through with the kids, another pretty intense book/series that I stopped reading in the middle of book 4 so I could read HP, probably need to figure out if I have enough stuff in the kitchen to cook dinner tonight, and who knows what else- I'm sure there is more!

Nothing beats getting lost in a really good book for a day!!

If I disappear for a few days....

that just means I am reading the new Harry Potter book. ( I know, I know, I've not been around much lately anyway LOL) I am going to get myself a copy one or the other tomorrow, because I just can't stand waiting any more! I will be very surprised if I get a book from the hold list the first go round this time (I was totally spoiled getting a new copy of Half-Blood Prince the day they came out last time), but there is a chance I can get one of the rapid reads versions if I'm lucky. Or, I may just break down and go buy one at Target instead. We'll see.

Mark took the older kids to Ehlitch Garden today. They obviously stayed until the park closed tonight since they aren't home yet. So, Brenna, Sarah and I went to the zoo today and I spoiled them with buying seed sticks for the Budgies and a ride on the carousel. Brenna has asked about riding the carousel every time we have been there lately and it was fun to reward her for her good behavior of late. Brenna was so good today, one of those days that helps get me through the really rough ones. It was a pleasure to be out with her and doing fun things. :)

I've got quite a few things I've been meaning to get up on here, but trying to get some things done and distract myself from the impending release of the HP book has kept me from getting to it. So, I'll just put up this one LO with Kim Jensen's totally fabulous new collection at Scrapdish- Shameless. It's on sale and is a total steal! don't miss it :) Oh, and I'll put up a few pics from the zoo today too. ;)

We started at the zoo with feeding the giraffes. Sarah didn't want to stop, she thinks it is so funny!

The Budgies were actually hungry today and you could get them to come sit on the seed sticks. Sarah kept trying to pet the birds, and just couldn't understand why I told her not to. You can't fool the birds, they know when the seeds are all gone from a stick and they won't give you the time of day until you get a new one! The funniest event of the Budgie experience was when one landed right on top of my head. Of course I don't have a picture of that since my camera was around my neck. I'm sure Brenna would be more than happy to tell you how funny it looked though if you ask ;)
Sarah goes around saying "Hi Mama" and "Hi Daddy" all of the time now and if you reply in kind she just keeps going. After feeding the birds, we went to the reptile house and she was fascinated with the star tortoises. She kept saying "Hi turtles" over and over and waving at them. She is so cute!Waiting for everyone to get seated so that the carousel can begin turning.


the look of total joy on Sarah's face after the carousel started to move. I have to fix up Brenna's pic that is similar- it just is much too dark.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today was our 17th anniversary. Did we do anything spectacular? no LOL. But that is OK. We all went out for dinner last night, lunch was out this afternoon and then we went to see Ratatouile at the theater. The temperature was 95 F when we left the house for lunch and the movie, so hiding out in air-conditioned restaurant and movie theater for a while sounded like a good idea. We couldn't believe they made us pay for a seat for Sarah at the movie theater.... we had picked that particular show time so that she would be ready for a nap, and she slept in my lap for most of the show. It's still cheaper than getting a baby sitter, I guess. Everyone enjoyed the movie, it was a very cute story and as usual with Pixar the animation was amazing. We definitely recommend this one! I had a pounding headache by the time we drove home, so I went upstairs for some Tylenol and a rest. Mark got dinner ready for everyone. No cooking for 24 hours for me- I'll take that as a nice anniversary gift ;)

We didn't hear anything from the ped. neurologist's office last week. I guess they don't think it is that urgent since we haven't heard anything all week, so I'm telling myself that it can't be all that bad whatever the problem is ;)

I've got a bunch of projects I'm behind on, so I will just finish off with a couple of new LOs.
Here are the pics from Beth and Carissa's dance recital last month. Lots of tweaking on the color and they came out pretty well. They tap danced to the song "Chattahoochee" by Alan Jackson. We got the professional pictures of them in their dance outfits yesterday in the mail and they mixed up Beth's name card with another girls, so we have Vanessa's picture instead of Beth's. I filled out their complaint form online and we are still waiting on what they want to do about it.

credits: 'Lil Jake by Sylvie Sausan at scrapartist; Torn and Curled Page Borders by Jen Caputo at scrapbookgraphics; frame cluster by Nancy Comelab at TheLily-Pad; fonts: Batik Regular and Susie's Hand

Momma and I took the kids to Uncle Wilbur's Fountain downtown Tuesday afternoon. Here are a few pictures of Sarah enjoying the dancing jets of the fountain for the first time. She found a spot next to one of the jets that let her play in the water when it came up, but didn't hit her in the face and that is where she stood almost the whole time while all of the other kids ran around her. It certainly made picture taking easy ;)

credits: papers from Dude by Scrapartist Designers and Sylvie Sausan; Covered Stamp Sheet and Hallway Graffiti Rainbow Glitter Paint by Meredith Fenwick at scrapbookgraphics; Glitter paint splats by Ashley Olson; Circle stitches by Lisa Whitney at scrapartist; Alphas by Amber Clegg at scrapartist: White cardboard circle, white tall and chunky, and stamped canvas; spray alpha from Heat Wave by Dani Mogstad at designbydani; fonts: 2Peas Sandbox

Birthday Sale and July grab bag at SophiaSarducci!

Sophia Sarducci is having a sale until through the 7th! Saxon's daughter is having her 8th birthday, so she picked out 8 items that are 50% off! Two of their newest kits, older favorites and if you have any Disney-themed photos to scrap, you can get the "On Vacation with Sophia" photo corners collection for only $5! Check out all of the great items on sale here!

while you are there, don't forget to pick up the July Grab bag- a beautiful summer collection of goodies you don't want to miss ;)

Here's a LO I did with it

journaling: This picture was taken in Grandma Doris’ front yard; I remember the neighbor’s house across the street. The tree I am standing next to died and was removed in later years. I’m wearing one of my favorite dresses with Holly Hobby material and ruffles on the shoulders. I remember playing on the living room floor with the toy farm set, Grandma’s Singer sewing machine whirring softly behind me and ABC soap operas on the console television in front of me. Grandma always made us take an afternoon nap, even after I thought I was past the age of needing one. Now I understand that it was her quiet time since she wasn’t usded to having children around all of the time at that point. We were allowed to get up at 3 o’clock and that was when Batman and Robin came on. Grandma had a cut crystal candy dish sitting on the sideboard in the dining room and it was always filled with butterscotch candies. At Christmas time Grandma got out her white ceramic Christmas tree with the colored flame bulbs that I loved to rearrange. Grandma had a swing set in the backyard that we could go play on if it wasn’t too hot.I remember washing my hair under the faucet of the bathtub since Grandma didn’t have a shower. None of these memories are spectacular or life-changing, but they make up a part of who I am and how family members have helped shape me into who I am today. I don’t know for sure since Grandma Doris died so long ago, but I suspect I am a lot like her, and that makes me proud.
credits: Summer Brights collection and Getting Edgy from July Grab Bag by Sophia Sarducci at sophiasarducci.com; Curled Kraft Edge by Anna Aspnes at designerdigitals.com; fonts: LB Ali and Susie's Hand

Happy July 4th!

We've just been hanging out at home today, which after all of the running around we've been doing the last few days has been really nice. A cloud cover has come through and the temperatures are actually very nice at the moment. We will see if it actually does rain today- who knows what that means for the fireworks display this evening. We went down to the Pueblo show on their Riverwalk Saturday night, so we've got a fireworks display under our belt already if the one here doesn't happen tonight because of the weather. I wasn't planning on going down to Memorial Park anyway since with the crowds it would be too far for Momma to walk. Mark might take the older kids though. Here are a couple of my favorite fireworks shots from Pueblo:
We got there late, but actually ended up in a prime spot since the fireworks went off practically in front of us.

We heard back from the pediatrician's office Monday afternoon, and they are referring Bryce to a pediatric neurologist. Hopefully we can get in to see the one here in town that is on our insurance plan, of we will probably have to go up to Denver. We don't know anything other than they are concerned about something they saw on the EEG results last week. We have to actually talk to the doctor- hopefully that will be soon.

I had the kids help me with my latest altered project on Monday- we made July 4th wind catchers from Dani's new July 4th kit, Funky Free.

The kids made wind catchers to decorate the house for July 4th festivities using the Funky Free kit by Dani Mogstad and Amy Martin. For instructions, see the Girl Talk blog on July 3rd.
credits: Funky Free by Dani Mogstad and Amy Martin at SweetShoppe and The Lilypad; LO sketch by Linda Sattgast; fonts: LB Ali

My Dad, Mom and grandmother enjoying a vacation rafting down the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in 1979.
credits: All Things Sunshine by Sophia Sarducci at sophiasarducci.com; Rusty Junk Alpha by Antonio Rafaello at sophiasarducci.com; Messy Painter paint strokes by Jessica Bolton at scrapbookgraphics.com
fonts: Susie's Hand

and here are the pictures of the trek to the top of Pikes Peak a few weeks ago. Click on the picture to see it larger ;)

journaling: June 17 , 2007 Mark, Bryce, Elizabeth and Carissa started out early in the morning on a hike up the back side of Pikes Peak. They were supposed to go only half way up, since Mark wasn’t sure that the kids were prepared enough to go all the way to the top this time. Once they got to the Saddle, they decided to keep on going. They made it to the top, walking through over a foot of snow in some areas. Once they had refreshed their energy at the top with donuts and hot chocolate, they had to hike back down to where the car was parked. They were several hours overdue getting home, and I was beginning to get worried, since the original plan was not to go that far. They were very proud of their accomplishment and excited to share their adventure. They are looking forward to hiking Pikes Peak from the Barr Trail side. I hope they remember to bring the sunblock next time!
credits: Rugged,Painted Flowers, and Graph Alpha by Audra Little at MyDigitalMuse; Square Quickies Power Pack 3 templates by Mish Gasser at PlainDigitalWrapper; Clouds and sun from Heat Wave by Dani Mogstad at designbydani.com; Wild Tear Action by Atomic Cupcake
fonts: Times New Roman

Well, the food seems to be ready, so I'm off! Have a great evening everyone!