I can’t believe May is almost over

Oh my, May has gone by in a flurry of school music concerts, dance competitions, rehearsals and photos, finals, graduation celebrations and end of the school year parties! Bryce is set to attend Vista Ridge HS next year now, and he is looking forward to all of the band classes activities that he gets to do. Rookie Marching Band camp is next week, so he won’t have to wait long! We finish up the dance photos tomorrow afternoon, and dance recital is next Saturday. It’s been a long, busy year and I am looking forward to summer when I hope to be able to enjoy a few of those lazy days of the season. We’ve got the 4 girls signed up for a whole slew of dance classes starting mid-June, but they are all on 3 days of the week (instead of the 5-7 days'/week that I’ve been doing this school year) and we will at least have 3 days over the weekend where we can go do fun things without having to work around going to dance. Brenna’s much anticipated, and very belated, birthday tea party is scheduled finally for next Wednesday, and it looks like we will be having Bryce’s belated party on June 11.

I haven’t done nearly as much scrapping as I usually do because I’ve been sick (fighting a very long-lived sinus infection with allergy symptoms on top of it, I think) and there just hasn’t been much energy for scrapping left at the end of the day. But, here are the pages I’ve done in the last few weeks.

journaling:I know you sometimes feel overlooked, Carissa, and I’m sorry for that. You are a wonderful girl that I’m so proud of. you are a happy, positive young woman who is a joy to know. You might have to work a bit harder at the things you share with your twin, but I think that makes your success at them all the sweeter. Having someone to push you to do your very best isn’t all that bad of a thing- if you don’t make it into too much of a competition between the two of you. You will find the activities that you love and are naturally good at- be patient until that happens and keep giving it your all. All I ask is that you do your best, and no matter the end result I will be happy for you. Please don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it though too.    I love you, Carissa!
credits: Everyday Awesome by Pixel Works and Aja Abney at scrapartist.com; girl drawings by Carissa Staley; pen from Desk Mesk by Hollie Haradan at deviantscrap.com; fonts: SP You've Got Mail, FG Freja

  journaling: Sarah dances to “I Won’t Grow Up” as a Tinkerbell fairy for her first dance recital. Ms. Jillian plays the role of Peter Pan for the two combo 4-5 classes taught by Ms. Cindy. picture taken April 8, 2010
credits: at SweetShoppeDesigns: I Do Believe and Bad Sewing Machine 18 by Traci Reed, Cookies 4 Kids 2009 template by Darla Vasquez; Warp It by Wendyzine at scrapbookgraphics; fonts: Sweetheart Script

 
journaling: I was fairly comfortable in my own skin by my senior year of high school- happy with who I was and less concerned about what others thought of me. I was a music geek and proud of it. I was the Drum Major of the marching band and a member of Treble Triad, active in the Palouse youth orchestra as well as Cornerstone and orchestra at church. Getting good grades was important to me, and it turned out I was Salutatorian at the end of the year. Matt was my boyfriend of 2 years. I called people from many social groups across the school friends, and I’m sure known for the things I wouldn’t do as well as the things I did. They were pretty good years all in all.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: by Maya- High School Confidential, Poetic Cut-Ups- Happy and Sad, Old Team Tags from Queen of the Crop Stash, Steampunk Type Keys, Hullabaloo (rainbow sticker), Warp It and Shadow It 2 (Acrylics) actions by Wendyzine, Late Afternoon by Natali (red ladybug), Bouncing Brownies and Bunnies by Lorie Davison (pink ladybug), Rough to the Touch by Lorie Davison (bug pins, bead charm, flower rivets, heart charm), Colour Coded 2 by mgl (rainbow pin); notepaper from Outnumbered Girl by Jessica Bolton; star, flowers and leaf, oboe pin, and various HS memorabilia by me
fonts: LD Jacob, CK Becky

Photos from Legacy of Beth and Carissa doing their tap duet.

 
I am so very proud of both of you girls! You worked hard on this dance for nearly a year. One of your friends told you that doing a duet is more difficult than a solo, just because you have to work together. This dance stretched you in many ways. You learned some new tap techniques of course, but there was acting and stage presence involved in a big way too. Yes, it showed a bit that this was your first time competing in something other than a group. You did it though and I think you did well. It’s difficult to listen to criticism and then turn around and use that to improve, but you improved your scores between the two competitions to earn a gold medal the second time. I hope you learned something and most of all, just had fun!
credits: at scrapbookgraphics: Pottery Barn Summer Papers 2 and Elements by Veronica Spriggs, Big Blue Alpha by Lorilei Murphy, Doubled no 1 PreFABs by Studio Dutchie *coming soon*; gold star by Melinda Staley
fonts: LD Old Glory, Myriad Pro

 

A page with photos of Youth Tap dancing at competitions this year. I combined photos from both of the ones we attended.

credits: everything at scrapbookgraphics: Industrial Velvet and Collage Fodder: Paper Lace by Tangie Baxter, Sketch Collection 33 by Jen Caputo
fonts: Fontdinerdotcom Loungy

 

I made Ms. Cindy a new bag as part of her gift from the Youth Tap kids and parents. She still uses the one I made for her 2 years ago with the picture of B&C’s Tap 5 class; because it is a bit small she only uses it for special occasions like recital and competitions where she doesn’t have to carry many papers. This new one with the ending post from You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home  is a bigger zippered denim bag, which of course I blinged up in appropriate dance style ;) The kids from Youth Tap, plus a few others of her students from Tap 3 who wanted to, signed the back of the bag in gold and silver glitter fabric pens. I hope she loves it!

 
credits: Cherry Crushed Denim by Veronica Spriggs at scrapbookgraphics;  fonts: TXT Stonewashed

 
non-digital credits: denim bag by Loew Cornell, Inc., Iron-on Art by Horizon Group USA, printable canvas by Avery, rhinestones by Darice;

I was looking for something a couple of weeks ago and came across my old CM consultant album, and flipping through it realized that there were quite a few pictures in it that I didn’t have in digital form. So I had a couple of rare hours to myself Saturday afternoon and I sat down and scanned them all. It’s hard to believe my big girls were ever this tiny, isn’t it? Credits: everything at scrapbookgraphics: Natali Design’s One Beautiful Day; Gypsy’s Grungy Spots; Wendyzine’s Warp It; fonts: University Roman LET

And we had a travel theme playday on the SBG blog, so I put together this overview page of our spring break trip to TX at the end of March.
 
Journaling: We packed up our bags again right after getting home from DEA, and left the next morning to drive to Texas to see Grandmama and the Rodeffers for a week. We had fun doing a few touristy things- Longhorn Caverns, the Texas State History Museum, watching indian dances at a pow wow, and eating some wonderful fried catfish and BBQ. We also spent time together swimming in the afternoons, playing family games, and just visiting while the cousins played and enjoyed each other’s company. We also celebrated Brenna’s 7th birthday with lunch swimming and ice cream cake the day before we had to
leave for home. It was a fun and relaxing week!
credits: Psycho Magnet Reloaded: Bundle and Metallicalpha: Red by Flergs at scrapbookgraphics; Template 186 by Yin Designs; fonts: Echelon