Our bouncing baby girl!

Look at the happiness on the faces!

We got the call....she's ours! I was so happy for the kids! The woman selling her was kind enough to send me a list of essentials for her so I went to the pet store and got them right after our beach party with Makenna's class. I was as excited as the girls. I think Makenna and I were most excited to see Cameron's face when he got home and saw we had her here. We had been tossing around the name Oreo and it looks like that's what everyone wants. Makenna calls her Honey (when she's being motherly, she calls little kids and stuffed animals Honey) so Marleigh is confused a bit on the name and just calls her guinea pig. She's cuddly and squeaky, what more could a kid want?

The beach party for the class yesterday was really great. The kids had so much fun and the adults enjoyed themselves too! I will miss the moms I have met in this class. The preschool is one town over from us and Makenna wont be attending school with any of the kids from there next year. That was so hard for me to decide - a great school/teacher but Kenna will have to start over again in kindergarten. Im really happy with my decision...Kenna is outgoing enough to make new friends.

Poor Marleigh was running in the knee deep ocean water when she tripped and fell completely under. I watched it all happen :( She never cried when she went under, she got ugly when I wanted to take her photo - here she is saying "no picha mumma" but I had to take it...I think the water was around 50 degrees (if that) and because I dont frequent the beach for swimming with them much, its a good scrapbook photo. The ocean scares me so much - probably the Jaws movies that sealed the deal but I dont like water that is home to living creatures...I love clear blue water in a small square pond - that's my kind of swimming.

Well, Im gonna run the snack shack at Cameron's baseball game today and after that we are going to the in-laws camp. I'll be updating tomrrow afternoon when we return because I wont have internet access from there.

Have a great weekend!!!!

~kel~

Lots of lovin for Marleighburgah...

I'm a bad, bad mother.....well, I felt like one. When putting the girls to bed last night their room seemed warm but I didnt want to open the window knowing the light would keep Marleigh awake longer. I opted to just open it for a bit later. When I went to bed I remembered I hadnt opened it so I did open it about 6 inches and put the fan in the window to bring the cooler air in quicker. My plan was that when Jean came up for bed he would check their room, notice it was cooler and close the window.....he never checked in on them :( Not his fault, he was only a few minutes behind me going to bed - I completely forgot!! Its old age....its hitting me already. I turned 40 and my mind is going. At about 3:00 AM Marleigh started crying....I asked Jean to check on her (he's closest to the door). I heard him close the window and I jumped out of bed...I knew it had to be cold in there. Poor Marleigh had come uncovered and was shivering cold. He got her a sweater and we tucked her back in bed. Her skin was so cold...I felt horrible. I went to the bathroom and when I returned to bed I just could not sleep. The thought of her cold skin haunted me. I went to her bed to check on her again and her little arms reached up for me. I whispered to her...."want to come to mommies bed so I can warm you up". Her arms wrapped around my neck and I scooped her up. I walked back to my room with her little bum in my hand rubbing her back with the other. Its a horrible feeling when you feel so guilty for something stupid like that. We cuddled for about 20 minutes and neither of us could sleep so I asked her if she was ready to go back to her bed and she softly replied "yah". I just love to hold her!

I guess Im not that "bad" of a mother. While looking at Craigslist yesterday (my new addiction) I saw someone giving away a baby guinea pig. :) I showed Cameron the photo and said "Cam, its not a dog, its a guinea pig and I think you could take care of it nicely....what do you think?" His reply....."REALLY....oh mom, any pet will do!" His eyes lit up and I told him I would have to see if it was still available. He asked me if he could run out and tell Branden and Kenna (playing outside) but I told him he would have to ask his dad first. We called Jean right away who didn't give an adamant NO so basically he was saying yes! LOL! I emailed the person but they haven't responded to us yet - we are all on pins and needles waiting like expecting parents! We dont have a cage and have never had a guinea pig before so I told the boys they would have to make a spot for it in their room....(I was already too late, the spot was made, the special items they were going to give the GP, etc were already designated). They are going to come home tonight to research on the web all about guinea pigs and what they need, etc. Its a good learning experience.

I took this photo yesterday of the sun coming up on my lawn - AAAAh green!!!! Just wanted to share but its probably too small for you to see the bench, etc.

Today we are going to the beach with Makenna's class. It is the last day of school for her. She's very excited to be with her pals.

I hope to get to the blog this weekend but Sunday we will be at my in-laws camp a few hours up state from here. They dont have internet access there as its a "real" camp! We should be home midday and my plan is to update with photos then!

Here comes Marleigh again, looking for another hug....I never turn her away! I hope your day is great!!!!

~kel~

Paper dolls.

The girls thought we should get these cute books for Meemie for her birthday because Meemie has neat toys at her house and they thought these would be fun on Thursdays. They gave them to her at our home and she forgot them when she left. The girls have been anxiously waiting to get them out of the package so I allowed them to open them up and Marleigh has been playing with them almost non-stop. The books have the thick, hard pages and the girls are cut out and affixed to the book. The material is small 3x5 squares that they lay across the doll and then the top page falls over the cutout so the material is pressed between the pages. Its so simple for Marleigh to use and she loves making different dresses. She has learned to layer the material so the waistband and trim is different.....yeah, I'm confident she's gonna be a rocket scientist...or the next Vera Wang! These are cool books and Im enjoying watching Marleigh create.

I wanted to show off the the three prints of the kids all together. These are done in 8x12, which is an odd size so finding a frame at a local store wont be possible. I dont think I want to frame them, they are mounted on matboard so that keeps the photos stiff. My plan is to put them on a shelf for display just like this.

Im still working on one of Marleigh that goes with this series...but its not easy! I took her outside yesterday and not ONCE did she look at me in about 40 shots. I got one of her smiling at jean that is cute but it just doesnt work for this series....so back out for more another time.

Yesterday when I picked Makenna up at school, a few of the other moms asked me if we wanted to join them for lunch at McDonald's (Cam calls it Ronnie Macs) and then story time at the library. They have asked us before but I dont accept because Marleigh is usually fried by that time of the day (she wakes at 5:30). We accepted this time! I asked Mrs. Potter if her son could come along with us for the luncheon and he accepted. Makenna is a little sweet on him so I knew she'd be thrilled to have him ride in our car with us! Im not sure he'll take us up on that ever again. The girls had asked me earlier to put in the CD of the Backyardigans for them to sing to and when their favorite song came on, they both belted it out loud and clear (Hannah Montana style) and that poor boy was subjected to a concert in the back of my minivan. He was less than thrilled until he found a transformer of Camerons! I just wanted to print a few lines of their favorite song.....

I'm queen Tasha and I rule the whole back yard.

I rule everything, its really not that hard.

Im in charge of it all and I like it that way...

cause everyone has to do what I say.

I don't blame him if he never wants to ride with a bunch of girls again!

Hope you have a productive Thursday!!!! Its already Friday tomorrow!!!!!!

:)
~kel~

Back to our normal programming....

What a beautiful morning!!! Its still only spring and Im already worried the summer is almost over because we have been blessed with some really beautiful weather in these past few weeks. This is Kenna's last week of school....my plan is to completely enjoy her this summer before she goes off to school all day next fall.


This week is completely upside down for me. Yesterday morning just seemed crazy here and I had several things I wanted to get done so I just plugged along.

I'm currently listening to the sweet sounds of Marleigh and Makenna being sisters. Fighting, laughing, singing and an occasional shriek from Marleigh followed by a snicker and Makenna saying "Marleigh, that's not funny". I can only imagine the mess they are making. Oh, now I hear Marleigh bossing Makenna around in a tone that is supposed to sound like me "You are not playing dat anyMORE" and Kenna just laughs at her!

Im finding Marleigh to be a mischievious little thing. This weekend I had to stay right on top of her at the camp. Our camper is situated on a lot that is close to the entrance/exit of the campground...its also close to the pool, playground and recreation hall which is great when you have small kids to watch. This is the first year we are letting Makenna go to the playground without us accompanying her. She usually tags along behind the boys. A few times we took Marleigh out of the box (which is the perimeter of our campsite) and she took full advantage of the freedom after that, thinking she could come and go like her siblings. There were a few times when we just ran into the camper to get something (or go potty) and there she was, across the field in the playground. Oh....that little stinker....she kept us on our toes.

I took this quick photo of my little rock wall at the back part of our lot. I got the girl figures from the Christmas Tree Shop a few years ago and I planted pink petunias in them. Im sure the petunias wont last long as Im not up there mid week to water them. I took a chance at planting some pink and white flocks in the rocks. I still have plans to put some hosta in along the edges.

The weekend was relaxing (get used to hearing that) and we are looking forward to another this weekend.....this is how it goes in summer, its like one long vacation because the camper is so close to us, we get there more often.

Here is a close-up/macro shot of my orchid. Is this cool or what?

Here is a close-up photo of one of the flowers (they were dying) that Makenna picked for me.

And here is the bunch of them. We put them in a candle holder as I dont have any vases at camp :)

Well, the kids need me so I'm going to get this posted.

Happy Hump day (already!)

~kel~

What a DAY!!

What a weekend I should say! It was fantastic...and it ended even better! I feel like I have so much to tell that I don't even know where to begin!! I was going to post photos from each segment of the weekend to recap what I potsed yesterday but time is not on my side now and Im completely exhausted!

I would just like to post a few photos and a few words from my heart......

Look at these beautiful flowers I received today......the yellow ones were from my mother, the purple orchid my children brought me....and the dasies were from my oldest and dearest friends, Diane and Tracy. The cupcakes.....pink sprinkles with tiaras.....Lisa brought me. The...THE BED.....I'm completely tickled about it and my mom is the one who purchased it for me because she knew how much I wanted it.

Today is my day.....My 40th birthday!! I cannot believe its here.....I cannot believe it when I see it typed out....and I cannot believe how blessed I feel for everything in my life as I look back over these years. My best gals (minus Tami who was missed today but in my heart) came to see me at camp to hang with me on my day. My favorite thing to do (besides gift store shopping) is to sit with my friends and pass the time - and they know that so that's what they gave me. It was great. My sweet hubby waited on us, made us hamburgers on the grill and was just the best guy a girl could ask for. My mom was there to sit with us and we all relaxed the day away.

We sat in the sun like we did 20 years ago, working on our tans only now the talk wasn't so much about boys - it was about aging skin and expanding waistlines....Im just happy to know we still have so much in common!

I'm so lucky to have friends like this who would not allow me to turn 40 alone.

Special thanks to my sweet girl Makenna.....who loves a party! She spent the day making me feel special...in the morning she came to my bed and gave me an extra long hug and a card she made on the back of a paper plate. At noon she decorated the table with daffodils she'd picked from the garden at camp and this evening she told me I didn't have to make her dinner because it was my birthday :) She gets it.....she really gets how important it is to make a person feel loved and welcomed on the day that marks the anniversary of their life. I dont know how many times she came up to hug me...and she always hugs me.....but today she looked at me different...like I was special...and that is a feeling I will never forget. For a woman with forty years under my belt...I never knew how great it would feel to have my girl look at me like that!

Thank you all for allowing me to be a little part of your day just by reading my blog. I hope to continue to be a positive influence in your day.

Good night and God speed!

oh and happy birthday to me.... :)

~kel~

Upta Camp!

I'm working off a laptop at camp and this keyboard is WAY tiny compared to what I'm used to - so bear with me!

I apologize for not blogging yesterday - it was crazy busy and the laptop was not internet ready for up here so I had to put that on my morning list today to get it done. Holy cow is this thing SLOOOWW!! I know for sure that I cannot get any photos on this yet I dont have my cord to upload the pics :( sorry!!

Yesterday....Cameron made his First Communion/Confirmation. We decided not to have a party after because the kids really wanted to be back at camp, Marleigh needed a nap after being up late the night before and I had to get to my seminar. It was worth it not to do a party - I would have been so stressed! Instead I got a few hours of down time to feed the kids and enjoy time with my pals here before taking off for the evening.

I am famous for overbooking and sometimes I do it in an effort to please EVERYBODY else. I have been trying to live a more simple life - prioritizing my time with MY family, and trying so hard to be less stressed. I do know the importance of the sacraments that Cameron made yesterday and maybe some think Im mean for not having a party for him...but truthfully..he had a much better time returning here to be with his friends. It was hard to make the call to tell our family there would not be a party after the ceremony but I did it and I dont even have regrets today.

My Kenna was one of the first ones in the pool yesterday! I believe the water temp was 59 degrees! I do have photos so next week I'll be putting a few up.


Im closing now! So much going on around me its hard to write! I'll update when things get quiet again.

Hope your weekend is going as well as mine!!!

:)
kel

What a great day!!

I had a super day yesterday!

I started my day with an oil change at The Garage (that's the name of it and its so catchy but when people ask me where I go and I respond with "The Garage", they ask me "which one"...so I feel like I'm in one of those comedy skits like Whose on First). I met a really nice lady there to chat with who was having some car trouble on the pike so she drove right over to have it checked before the long weekend. They are really nice there, they will take you right in for an oil change if they are not in the middle of a big project. The waiting room could use a dusting (I know, its a garage). The lady had a black lab so we talked about dogs. I told her how much my kids wanted one but my response was for them to wait until they have their own house and they could have as many as they wanted. She snickered and said ...."Yeah, we said that too = its our son's dog and he's been with use for three years!" I laughed. I'm glad I took the opportunity to chat with her instead of sitting in silence and reading my book - it made the time go by faster.

Next on my agenda was a pedicure with Kendra (who has six kids - wink wink Kendra). She was kind enough to sit through my manicure after so that I could have matching fingers and toes - and then still wanted to sit with me for a light snack after! We swapped kid stories and I just enjoyed the time. Wish I had taken a pic of our cute toes together - they gave us fancy flowers on our big toes for an extra $5. Thanks so much for a nice visit Kendra, I think we should make it a regular thing :)

My next venture was a product shoot for Pantry Candles with my friend Denise. She's got such a lovely home I knew we would find some great places to shoot. I do have photos of her candles to share - just a disclaimer first, the website name is only on these photos to protect her products on the net. I am not going to have it on her photos so that she can use them however she wishes. I have to put in a plug for her lavendar scented candle...its that time of year and I love this scent, thanks Denise (she gave me one)!!

Denise had such kind words for me about my blog and she gave me the strength to carry it on. Some days its not easy to squeeze it in with all the chaos behind me...or to find intelligent things to share. I've been trying to keep it in context with the fact that I do this for me and for my children so they will be able to see my personality....you never know how long you have to make a good impression (if that's your choice). We had great conversation and both learned more about each other than we ever thought we would before I got there! I adore her, her brothers and her mother so I'm glad we got that time together. Denise, stay strong through your struggles....you'll be okay....and know its okay to cry! Im here if you ever need a chat!!!

As I was leaving Denise's house, my friend Lisa called - she found me a BED!! It worked out perfectly, her call as I was leaving caught me in the right town to go have a look at the bed right then. I drove over to the store, walked through the door and there was a gentleman just coming out of it past me. I recognized his face and said hello and asked how he was doing. He continued past and responded with good. I said, you dont recognize me (it had been many years since I'd last seen him). He turned and told me he didn't. I told him my maiden name and he seemed so excited to see me. We continue to chat about where we were in life and he was very anxious to hear about my mom and siblings. He lived just up the street from us and they had an antique auction barn attached to their house. Years ago they had a house fire that was HUGE and destroyed the entire home. That night my mom went up and scooped up all the kids and told them to come back to our house. She provided a place for them to stay out of the way while the firefighters fought the blaze. I remember feeling so sad for them - there were lots of kids (dont remember how many) and they were all crying, just completely devastated. (holy crow did I digress there). Anyway, he owned the store, showed me the white iron bed and I fell in love!! The price is high but I think its worth it. Then he told me that the woman selling it purchased it from his store for $35 more than she was selling it for (consignment) because she is battling cancer. I didn't argue the price and asked him to hold it for me while I contemplated. Im SO getting it! LOL!

Well, I guess I'll wrap this up - Jean is home today and the boys are so JEALOUS he gets a day off. Cameron is carrying on and asking "How come you get to stay home and we cant" and Jean said "Because its my birthday holiday that my company gives me and I chose to take it for the long weekend". He usually takes my birthday off in stead of his because mine usually falls on the memorial weekend. If its mid week, he still takes it off and takes me to lunch.

A busy day tomorrow. Forgive me if I dont get to the blog - Cameron's First Communion is late morning and I have a seminar the second half of the day. It will be fun! I probably wrote enough today that you could spread it out over the entire weekend!

Have a great, great day!!!!

~kel~

Welcome to Thursday.

Well, we didnt win the lottery.....again :( Just checked my numbers online and told Jean he still had to go to work today. He's a little bummed but he'll get over it.

Sweet Marleigh is still asleep in my bed as I write this. She still crawls in with me every morning. She cant climb up so she hits the mattress three times to get me to wake up (well, truth be told, most times I hear her come in, I just like her routine so I let it play out). She looked so sweet this morning in her pink ruffled jammies and she still has her pigtails in from yesterday (she usually makes us take them out before bed). She looks like a little angel laying there. I was going to run up to take a photo of her to go with this but I hear her talking with Kenna. Oh, she just came up next to me and said "Hi Mom!" like its been a long time since we last saw each other....I always act just as excited and respond with "Good Morning, How are you?" She has a huge smile like I just made her day - that's all that matters!

Busy day today - oil change, pedicure and a product photo shoot for Pantry Candles!! http://www.pantrycandles.com/ I love a well scheduled day and I'm so glad for Meemie days that I can do all this stuff in one day!

I failed to take a single photo yesterday so I'm bummin I have nothing new to show. I'll see what I can pull together today and maybe even come back to blog when I get back here.

Last night I went to the parent meeting at the middle school where Branden will be going next year. I can't believe he's going to be a 6th grader :( He's such a good boy - I just asked him to do a few things, he doesn't hesitate a bit and gets them done for me. He's so helpful with the girls! Makenna has started showering herself now and she has trouble shutting the water off completely so I asked Branden to step in and help her. I heard her say "dont look at me, Im all naked". He laughs and just does what I've asked and shuts the door behind him. I love that the boys think the girls are so cute. Sometimes Cam and Kenna struggle to get along but sometimes when she's saying something silly, asking a really innocent question or singing a son, he looks at me and smiles and says she's cute. It warms my heart. I just want them to grow up close to each other....maybe they will all run from me, the yeller, but as long as they run together and take care of each other, that's all that matters. So far all my dreams have come true and life has played out just way I hoped. So, I'll continue to walk this path the best I can, set the best examples that I am capable of and continue to pray for their well being. I will continue to surround myself with great people so that they too can learn how to choose friends that bring joy and not contention. I love my friends and I feel so blessed for them. Without them, the struggles would be devastating and the good times wouldn't be so good.

Have a great day!!!

~kel~

Sometimes ya gotta break the rules....

Yesterday Jean asked me to water the lawn since we couldn't count on Mother Nature doing it for us. I agreed I'd do it and late yesterday morning I finally remembered to go start the water. It was only about 62 degrees here but when I got the hose set up, Marleigh started running for it screaming "Sissy...sprinkler" and stripping off her little white blouse as she was running. I yelled NOOOOO!! I told them it was just too cold to be in the water that day and they would have to stay away from it and wait for a warmer day.

If you read my blog regularly, you know Marleigh well enough to guess what I might write next. I looked out the window and see her inching her way closer and closer to the water. I grabbed my camera and hid on the porch hoping she wouldn't see me but I couldn't stay hidden well.

When she discovered me photographing her and not yelling at her, she took it that what she was doing was acceptable. When I saw this face, I could not help but let them enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood.

When Makenna saw that Marleigh wasn't getting into trouble, she ran for her boots and thought her raincoat would be a good idea to help keep her dry. The mud was so enticing.....I watched Makenna for a bit just playing in it.

While watching Makenna....this little blurb appeared....a streaker!! Marleigh had disappeared behind the plastic climbing set and completely stripped her clothes off. It was bit on the cool side....but she was laughing so hard and having so much fun I figured a few minutes was enough to make a memory, get some good photos for the scrapbook (and blog) and I would scoop her up and dry her off. Soon after, Kenna joined her, they were both running around in the backyard in their underwear. (didnt find those to be appropriate for the blog but certainly have some great ones for the scrapbook). It only took a few minutes to make that memory for them and I completely enjoyed the break to watch them having so much fun.

Jean was a little bummed about the seed they destroyed in that patch of mud where they played but when he saw the wedgie photo I got.....he agreed it was worth it to let them play.

Gotta let them be little....

Happy Hump Day!!!

~kel~

Wanted!

Im in need of an old bed. The bed in the photo of Marleigh on the beach is my friend Melissa's and I cannot continue to borrow it from her so Im looking for one of my own. I love that this is a painted one with the paint chipping off and the rust showing. I would even love a black rod iron if that's all I can find. Twin is best but full is good too as they are heavy for me to lug on the sand strapped to my back :) (kidding, we drive right up to the edge of the beach and unload it from the back of the truck). If you can hook me up with one, I'd be so grateful!

Last night we were riding home from Cam's baseball game and Branden gave Marleigh a thumbs up and said "what's this", pointing to her thumb. She said, "That's my bum". We all laughed cause she's so innocent and cute. She crossed her arms and said "That's not bunny you guys". It only made us laugh even more. She just now came to me and asked me the question of the day "Mom, how do I look"....this usually frightens me and I stall turning around. Today when I looked, I was shocked...she matched and they were all on right (well, I haven't looked to see if her pants are backwards)!!!! She chose a cute outfit, appropriate for today's weather and even she seems proud of her choices.

I watched my first lacrosse game Saturday! I was expecting more aggression (Im sure that comes with the older kids) but Bran's age is pretty tame....plus, they work their tails off running around so much! I liked it! I really like that it only goes for 1 hour - only because keeping the girls out of mischief for much longer than an hour is a chore and its no fun to go watch the boys when I can't even see the games. Here he is in action, #23.

I have another photo of the bleeding hearts! I think they look like little Wendy's wigs lined up (which reminds me how much I hate those commercials with the men wearing the wigs). My friend Lisa requested a LARGE print of the photo I posted yesterday so when its printed and hanging on her wall, I'll be sure to take a photo to show how awesome those large prints look!

Happy Tuesday!!!!!

~kel~

Monday Madness....

I've already had a struggle with Marleigh this morning - I wanted to wash her stinky favorite blanket and she didn't think it was a good idea. Such a temperamental age she is at...its that shrieking I'm really disliking so much. I'm working on that whole "use your words" thing with her and actually I've been putting her in time-out to drive home the point that the screaming is not acceptable.

I took LOTS of photos this weekend....a mix of stuff. A few apple blossoms and bleeding hearts!

I dont know the official name of these little flowers (please email me if you do). They are wild and grow in the fields - probably weeds - but they are special to me! Since I was a little girl, these flowers were an indication that my birthday is coming :) I remember the excitement that they meant the sun was making the days warmer and longer and soon my special day would be here.

Holy cuteness at nine months!! I've been taking this little guys photos since he was three months old! I adore his family so I'm always excited to do photo shoots for them. I used one of his three month photos on one of my business cards - those BLUE eyes are so amazing! Doesn't he look like such a big boy in his Red Sox hat?

I'm off to gather the troops! Have a great day!!!!!

~kel~

A very late update....

Jean and I spent a good part of the day without the kids. We got lots done. We did typical 40th birthday things.....we went to camp and I watched him work on the sunporch and when he was done I prettied it up with some flowers and cheezy junk intended only for camp decor!

We finished up mid afternoon and headed to pick up the kids who were still at my moms (is she the BEST or what? She kept my four, my brother's two and also had my 2 year old niece stay the night too - she loves their company). The kids have the best time and when we show up to pick them up, its almost insulting how they act so upset because they dont want to come home. This is where we found the three older ones. Playing in the tree and dirty....so dirty.....that's what makes going to Meem's house so fun!!

We scooped them up, brought them home and made them bathe :) I planned to have a small surprise gathering for Jean with just his family and a few from mine. It was so nice to have them all stop in to recognize his day....thanks everyone!!!

I am the luckiest woman to have this great man as my hubby. He is ambious, handsome and loyal. He's tucked away in bed now and I am off to slumber too. A late night last night is catching up with me but I wanted to report that Jean had a great day today!!!

Until tomorrow!!!!

~kel~

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is my man's birthday....he's 40! I can't believe it when I think how long we have known each other and how strong our relationship has become. I am lucky to have him and I know he feels mutually about me. I am going to go enjoy his day with him and do my best to make him feel special....he deserves that so much.

The kids spent the night at my mothers and we got the chance to sleep later than usual. Im going to take him to breakfast and then we will see where the day takes us.

Sorry this post is short...I'll update with photos and more later this evening :)

Have a great day!
~kel~

Photo a day.

Is there anyone else out there trying to take more photos like my personal photo a day challenge? I'd really love it if people want to share their photos with me - I love to look at them and "talk shop" so feel free to send them along. Its definately a challenge trying to take at least one a day but I'm trying to stick with it. Here are a few I've taken over the last few days.

First is my handsome son again. Im going to watch him play lacross for the first time since he stared the season - I think its probably a good thing I haven't watched before now because I'm hearing its a pretty aggressive sport. I'll try to get some photos if the rain holds off!

I was in the field taking photos of Branden and we saw this bee sitting on a weed. I have a new lens with a macro feature so I wanted to give it a try....it was a TINY bee :)

I know they are weeds....but my daughters LOVE to pick them :) Makenna saw this field of dandilions and exlaimed how beautiful it was. I agree, it looked lovely a sea of green sprinkled with yellow....I attempted to take a quick photo of the entire field of them with the new lens but I didn't realize how much more light I was getting with it and I ruined the photo....this one came out awesome because I shaded them.

My mom turned 60 yesterday. She had a good day overall. We went for dinner and had cake and ice cream with her. We bought her a new grill...probably not the best birthday gift considering its not something SHE uses all the time but it was a necessary item to entertain us kids and since we were the ones who wore the last one out, it was only right we replace it. My brother Bryan/Boo (a nickname since he was a baby) went to pick the grill up and when he returned home, mom saw it, knew it was for her and said she wanted to check it out. He told her to wait until we all got there so he could have Jean or Bud help him unload it from the truck. She told him she couldnt wait to check it all out and she could help him unload it. Well, as she was unloading it, the side tray caught her on the bridge of her nose and cut her pretty bad right between her eyes :( I felt so bad as it looked super painful. She was such a trooper greeting all her guests and explaining that story over and over. Luckily she didn't get a migraine from it as she is prone to them. We brought her some neosporin with pain relief to help it go away faster. I was telling the kids the story on the way to see her and they were all concerned....Makenna decided we should change the name from a birthday party to a boo-boo party and I chimed in with the idea that we should have all worn band-aids to make it a theme party!

Well, I have a busy day with sports and a session with a super cute 9 month old! Tonight we have a dance so a date night for Jean and I!

Hope you have a productive Saturday!!!

~kel~

U wannit? I HAVE A WINNER!

SORRY FOR THE LATER POST...TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!!

Is this the CUTEST thing. Its an 8x8 magnetic message board. I got a special offer from my Creative Memories rep, Tami Hussey http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/thussey and could not refuse purchasing an extra of these to give away here!

Inside dimensions are 8x8 and outside frame is about 12x12. It comes with black button style magnets and the two black clothespin style hangers for the ribbon that extends across the frame. The ribbon and peg it is hung with come with it! I would love to give this to the FIRST emailer that mentions "message board" in their subject line. This item cannot be shipped so the winner should plan to arrange a time to pick it up at my studio.

Tami thanks so much for passing this on to me so that I can share it with my peeps!

So lets see who wins this super cute item.....I will announce when I have a winner!

GOOD LUCK!

~kel~