loving the free life

New Family Picture

2011-11-13T21:14:00.002-07:00

My friend Heather took pictures for us the other day - Thanks Heather! :)

New Pictures of the Kids

2011-10-03T22:51:00.005-06:00

I know I never blog anymore, but I just took some pictures of the kids this weekend with the leaves and thought I'd post them. I think this is the first time I've really sat down at the computer for months. It was kind of nice for a change. :)

Sam's First Karate Lesson

2011-03-31T14:30:00.003-06:00

I decided to sign Sam up for karate this week. He LOVVVVED it! He has a lot of confidence issue and I hope this helps out. Joni and Dave gave us a Flip camera for Christmas and so I thought I would use it to record the event. I am pretty bad about taking videos. Here is a little movie of Sam's first lesson.

True Grit 2011

2011-03-31T12:52:00.004-06:00

Drew After the Race

So Drew had a race last weekend in St. George. It was his first endurance race for the season. I think he started training for it about 4 months ago. The day actually looked like it might not be that bad - a little cold in the morning - but not bad. However, that quickly changed. By the time Gigi and I got to the first checkpoint it started to rain. It rained the ENTIRE race. It was not one of the better races for being support. Drew did amazing. Every time he came through a checkpoint he looked great and transitioned well. By the time he came through the 3rd checkpoint the course was a mess. They even had to change the course in the middle of the race because a couple trails were too muddy to even ride. There was thick red mud/clay everywhere. We had to dump gallons of water over his bike to try and release some of the mud so he could continue pedaling. At this point Drew's friends Ty and Bob threw in the towel - they were done! As we headed down from the 3rd/4th checkpoints to the finish we picked up racers all the way down who had decided to quite as well. While we were waiting at the finish line we found out they called the race because people were starting to get hypothermic and it was getting too dangerous. I started to get a little nervous at this point because I wasn't sure where Drew was - but he had looked good when I saw him so I kept with our timeline we had discussed and stuck it out at the finish line hoping he wasn't in any of the truck load of riders coming in. Drew finished and took 5th place. There were only 11 men that finished after they called the race and two of them were disqualified. No women finished the race. There was a challenge category which was a distance of 25 miles and my friend Lyna Saffell took 2nd place. Even though it was miserable handing out bottles and taking pictures in the rain it still ended up to be a great day. :)

Gigi helping out with support and photography

This is Alex Grant he came in first - crazy fast!

Ty at the first checkpoint

Bob at the first checkpoint

My friend Lyna (Bob's wife) took 2nd place in the Challenge Category.

Drew right after he crossed the finish line. It took us a second to recognize him because he had so much mud on him.

This was our friend Jenelle's bike just to give you an idea of how muddy it was. :)

A Precious Angel

2011-03-25T16:40:00.002-06:00

I don't know if anyone even reads my blog (I don't really update it), but I wanted to share a story. A friend of mine from high school had a baby (they named her Logan) and she was born with a heart condition. They were able to share a few days with her before she passed last night. I have been so touched by their faith. My testimony has grown from sharing in their experience. I have been so blessed to have healthy kids and a loving supportive husband. My prayers and thoughts are with my friend and his family.

If you would like to read about Logan here is a link : http://babyloganbostrom.blogspot.com/

This is a picture of my friend Bryan and his precious daughter Logan.

Ellie's first Day of Dance

2011-03-19T18:17:00.003-06:00

Ellie was so excited for dance but once she got there all she wanted me to do is hold her. When I left she cried half of the time and had to have her teacher hold her the other half. We decided that it would be better to stop and try it again in a few months. But if you ask her about it she said it was the greatest thing she has ever done!

Skiing this Winter

2011-03-19T18:13:00.003-06:00

Sam and Ellie had a great time trying on their ski's this year. Sam actually had ski lessons - Ellie just liked putting them on and being like her big brother. Sam loved ski lessons and did really well. I'll post a video later when I get a second.

Sam's first day of ski lessons

Sam insisted that I take a picture of their boots together

Ellie's 3rd Birthday

2011-03-19T18:00:00.003-06:00

I am so bad about blogging but I thought I would hurry and post some pics from Ellie's 3rd birthday back in December. She wanted an Ariel birthday party.

Uncle Mikey is a good sport.

The cake - everything is edible except Ariel and flounder.

The latest Sam story

2010-12-07T11:33:00.002-07:00

So I know I need to start writing the things that Sam and Ellie say down so I figured I'd hurry and blog it right now while I was thinking about it.

Yesterday I picked Sam up from school and as he was getting into the car his teacher told me that a girl kissed him on the cheek as he was leaving. His teacher asked Sam if he thought it was gross and he said NO! As he proceeded to tell me about school he told me that he hadn't been kissed once but 5 TIMES by the same girl. He also told me that on the next day she was also going to bring him a red gum ball. I asked Sam what her name was and he said he didn't know. I said that you should probably ask her and he replied with the following:

"Yeah and then we will get married soon and have 8 kids and buy a new house, but I won't have any hair."

I replied, " why won't you have any hair?"

Sam - "Did dad have hair when he was little?"

Me - "Yes"

Sam - " oh no! I'm going to lose all of my hair!"

He is so funny! I can't get enough of him! :)

The New Addition

2010-12-02T15:56:00.003-07:00

We have recently added a new addition to our family. He is about 9 weeks old and very cute. Yes, he is a lot of work - but I'm mentally in a better place than I was the first time we tried the dog thing. He is a miniature australian shepherd - bi blue merle and we named him Cooper. The kids are in heaven! :)

Halloween 2010

2010-11-18T10:26:00.003-07:00

So I know I am horrible about blogging but I figured I'd hurry and post some pics from Halloween. The kids had a great time. Ellie picked up on the door to door thing a lot faster than Sam did at her age. It was cold but luckily we missed the rain. If you can't tell Ellie was Belle and Sam was a green Power Ranger.

Problems watching the video

2010-11-05T17:24:00.002-06:00

If you are having problems watching the video here is link to my facebook page with the video.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1585210603789&ref=mf

Brooke :)

Checkpoint Tracker National Championship in Moab 2010

2010-11-04T21:46:00.002-06:00

Drew's team took 8th place in the Coed 4 person division.
3 miles of river boarding - 30 minutes
25 miles of flat water kayaking - 4 hours
Treking and Orienteering on Poison Spider Mesa - 6 hours
Biking - road from Potash to Slick Rock, Slick Rock trail and orienteering course, Slick rock to La Sals, La Sals to home - 13.5 hours
24 hours total! :)

Sam is 5

2010-09-11T22:24:00.012-06:00

I can't believe my little butter's is 5 years old! Sam is the sweetest most sensitive little guy I know and I am so grateful for that. He always wants to make sure that everyone is happy. If you compliment someone he makes sure he compliments everyone else so they don't feel left out. I love his random loves and hugs and his tender smiles. If Sam could be anything right now I'm sure he would tell you he'd be a Power Ranger with an Omnitrix watch (Ben 10 toy). He loves to work on his reading and counting. He is also a great little bike rider (just like his dad). He can't wait to start racing next month! He loves the color red and everything Utah (we brain washed him early). Sam is also a pretty good soccer player when he's not fighting pretend bad guys or flying like an airplane on the field. He loves his sister so much and I have to remind him every day that he can't wake her up from her nap to play.

This year Sam celebrated his birthday the whole month almost (he's taking after his Nana Jojo). This was the first year I gave him a party for just friends. It was small and he loved it. Water games, decorating their own cupcakes, and presents - and everyone was still happy at the end of the party - success! We also had our normal family swim party. He wanted a Ben 10 birthday which was a little bit of a challenge since I didn't even know what Ben 10 was, but I was able to produce a Humungousaur cake.

Filling their water guns for a water fight.

Decorating their own cupcakes to take home.

Yes - we got him a guinea pig. He named him Spike.

Berg figured out the candy thing pretty fast - so cute!

Jackpot! :)

The cake

Pictures of the Kids

2010-09-11T21:30:00.006-06:00

So I decided the other day that I was going to try and take the kids pictures this year instead of paying to have them done. I still haven't decided if I'm going to have someone else take them. I think I was able to get a couple of ok ones, but I still don't know enough to get the exact look I want. Plus, I swear the kids always smile better and photograph easier when I'm not taking the picture. I can't believe Sam is already 5 and Ellie is almost 3 - it has gone by way too fast! I'll post pics from Sam's birthday later. :)

Sam Riding with No Training Wheels

2010-09-07T11:46:00.003-06:00

At the end of July beginning of August Sam decided he wanted to ride his bike without the training wheels. He seriously just hopped on the bike and started riding. Here is a video from that night. First thing he said to Drew was "Dad now I can start racing with you!" - he is so dang cute! :)

Round Valley & Solitude Midweek Series

2010-09-07T09:07:00.002-06:00

Here are some of my pics from two of Drew's last races. I swear I'm going to get caught up on my blogging one of these days. :)

Butte 100 Results

2010-08-06T10:41:00.003-06:00

As a follow up to my previous post - they finally posted results for the 100 milers.

79 people started the day but only 33 finished!

Ty came in 18th place with a time of 12:42:20

Drew came in 19th place with a time of 12:42:24

Way to go guys!!!! :)

Butte 100

2010-08-03T09:44:00.003-06:00

This last weekend was great. We went to Butte, Montana for a 100 mile mountain bike race for Drew. We drove up with our friends Gigi and Ty - it was a great little rode trip. Friday we rode the last part of the course that the boys were going to be riding the next day. We woke up Saturday morning at 4 am for a 6 am start time - way too early for me! Gigi and I were able to see the 100 milers start and then make it to Aid Station #1. There were so many mosquitos there it was ridiculous. The boys were already hurting when they got there (about 24 miles in) so I was a little nervous. After Aid Station #1 we made it back to see the 50 milers start. I was surprised with how many people had made the trip for the race. After they left Gigi and I decided to skip trying to find Aid Station 2 - 4 because we really had no idea how to get there. The race was pretty unorganized - especially from a supporter standpoint. They didn't get any kind of map or mileage break down and only received pretty confusing instructions about the course directions. They handed out directions to some of the Aid Stations for supporters but the directions were wrong and everyone was scrabbling to figure out where to go. Gigi and I were driving around all day - it seemed like in circles. By Aid Station #7 Drew was hurting pretty bad. I mentioned that the trail starts to go up right down the street and he gave me the look of death. They said it felt like they had been going up hill ALL DAY. They did amazing and I'm so proud of them and everyone else that raced. I can't even imagine what it would be like. I heard a lot of people say that it was the hardest race they have ever done. They still haven't posted the final results yet but I think Drew and Ty finished a little over 12 hours. Way to go guys - you are AMAZING!

Draper, Deer Valley, and Solitude Races

2010-08-02T23:04:00.004-06:00

I decided to put all of my pictures together from these races into a short little slideshow. It has been so much easier to create the slideshows then to resize all of my pics - sorry if you don't like videos. I just realized as I was typing this that the Solitude race was part of the Mid-Week Series - oops! Drew finished in 2nd place in both the Draper and Deer Valley Races and I'm not sure what he placed at Solitude. We just had a wonderful weekend in Butte, Montana where Drew just raced in a 100 mile mountain bike race. He did AMAZING. I'll get some pictures posted soon.

California in June

2010-07-28T20:35:00.003-06:00

Not only did we go to Hawaii, but we were also able to go to California with Drew's family in June. We started out with Drew's immediate family and Grandma and Grandpa Anderson at Disneyland. It was so fun. Sam was the perfect age because he didn't need a nap and everything was still so "magical" for him. Ellie liked it as well, but she was a little strung out by the 3rd day. She gets a little snippy when she doesn't get her naps (so do I). Sam LOVED the Jedi training and was so excited when he was chosen (took 2 tries). Ellie loved all of the princesses and Minnie Mouse but made sure you knew that she didn't like Goofy.

After Disneyland we drove to Oceanside to spend the rest of the weekend with the rest of the Anderson's. Grandma and Grandpa rented a beach house for the entire family for Christmas. It was so much fun and the kids had so much playing with all of their cousins. We were also able to go to SeaWorld while we were there. We had an amazing time and loved it all. Thank you so much Dave and Joni and Grandma and Grandpa! When I was going through pictures I realized I didn't get pictures of everyone - sorry! We need to swap pictures. :)

I realized as I was putting together the slideshows today that all I have in my itunes is Jason Mraz. I'm going to have to get some other music. :)

Chris and Zale's Wedding in Hawaii

2010-07-28T11:33:00.004-06:00

I have been horrible about updating my blog so I'm just going to try and do a couple of the main trips/events over the past few months. First off.........

Chris and Zale decided that they were going to get married in Hawaii and my mom and dad made it possible for the family to enjoy a wonderful trip and wedding on Maui in May (thanks mom and dad :D ). It was a wonderful trip that we will always remember. Drew and I had a little snag getting there. When we got the airport Sunday morning to leave the flight had been delayed which would have meant that we would have missed our connecting flight in Phoenix to get to Maui. The lady from the airlines told us that if we could make it to LA we could would be able to get on a flight that would still make it to Maui that night. I decided that we should give it a try so we ran through the airport and found a southwest flight that went to Vegas and then to LA and we would have about 1 hour to make the connector to Maui. Everything seemed to be going well until we were about to land in LA and all of the sudden the plan pulled back up and circled over the ocean for about another 30+ minutes. When we finally landed there were fire trucks and ambulances all around us because we had lost one of our hydraulics and they were worried that when we landed the wheels wouldn't hold and we would skid along our belly on the runway. Obviously, that didn't happen and we were fine except for the fact that we didn't have enough time to make our next flight. We got to the ticket counter 5 minutes before our flight was supposed to leave and they wouldn't let us on. So we spent the night in LA. We were both pretty upset from the events of the whole day but still went to the beach to try and make the best of it.

After waking up at 4 in the morning to make our flight the next morning (with no bags) we finally made it to Maui. Even though it was stressful getting there we had an amazing time. It was the first trip Drew and I had really been on without the kids (thanks Joni for watching them). I think it made us realize we need to make a greater effort to take time for the two of us. It was so nice to go on a trip with my family. It is really only the 2nd time since we've been married that we've been on a trip with them and it was wonderful.

The wedding itself was wonderful. There was a little confusion with the man that married them - he had the wrong date. But after all of the initial confusion and stress it was so nice. Zale looked beautiful and it was a wonderful night. It was so nice to be able to get to know Zale's family better. I had tons of pictures so here are a couple for those who don't watch the slide show.

Drew trying to enjoy himself in LA

One of my favorites of Chris and Zale

Chris, Zale and Conner

Nate's info

2010-06-14T13:19:00.002-06:00

Hi all! I know it has been forever since I posted and we have been traveling a ton. I will do my best to get it updated soon. However, I thought I would hurry and post a quick note about Nate. Nate (my brother-in-law) has asked me to update his blog for him while he is on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Anyone that is interested in his current status can check it out here.

Brooke :)

5 Mile Pass - 1st Place

2010-05-02T22:26:00.002-06:00

He did it again! Drew had a race this weekend and took first place in his division. Unfortunately I chose not to attend this time because I think I would have been pushing my luck with the kids in the cold weather. I'm hoping to track down some pics to post later. :)

Updated MMS Blog

2010-04-30T12:42:00.001-06:00

I just updated the MMS blog with some Mother's Day gift ideas. Here is a link or just keep reading below.

Great Gifts for Mother’s Day!

I can’t believe that Mother’s Day has already snuck up on us! For the mother’s in my life I have created a tradition of giving them an empty scrapbook and then for every holiday/birthday I give them new pages to fill it with. With MMS it makes it so simple. I’ll I have to do is create one page and I have 3 books filled (mine, my mother’s, and my mother-in-law’s). There are tons of great designs and templates to choose from in the shop – make sure you check them out. Here is a page I did last year for Mother’s day. I used A Mother’s Life from the Ette’s and Company.

Another great gift idea that I think any mother would love is a brag book. I created some brag books for Grandparents this last Christmas and they were a hit. Simply take a template pack and you already have a starting point for a book. Here are some sample pages from the books I created. I used the Grandparent’s Brag Book from Miriam Lima. Once your book is created simply use the book option to have them printed. However, if you are like me and wait to the last moment to get things done, there is another option. Simply create your pages in a landscape format and print them as 4×6’s at your local print shop. Then go to your local store and find a cute 4×6 picture album and WHOLA!

Don’t make it complicated. Keep it simple and focus on the pictures and you can create an amazing gift in a flash!

Happy Scrapping and Mother’s Day!

Brooke

Ok so I never do this, but.....

2010-04-13T14:36:00.003-06:00

Ok so I saw this thing on the new Circut Cake and I am intrigued. I don't think I would go out and spend the money on it right now, but I wouldn't mind winning one. So that is what I'm doing. I am posting a link for you to see what I'm talking about. I'm sure I won't win, but it's worth a try - right! :)

http://bit.ly/new_cricut_cake

Intermountain Cup Race in Hurricane - 1st Place!

2010-04-10T13:08:00.002-06:00

While we were down in St. George for Easter, Drew has a bike race. He did amazing - again. He took first place by almost 2 minutes. Drew you impress me more and more each day - way to go. :)

Easter

2010-04-10T12:55:00.005-06:00

We had a great Easter that lasted a couple of weeks. We celebrated the week before at Nana Lulu's house with egg coloring and an egg hunt and then went to St. George and celebrated down there as well.

Nikki, Conner, Ellie, and Sam after coloring eggs at Nana Lulu's house. I think it's impossible to get 4 kids to look at the camera at the same time.

After the egg hunt at Nana Lulu's house. Nana never disappoints - she always has way too much. :)

Ellie at Grandma Darcy's coloring eggs.

Sam thought he was supposed to color his hands not the eggs. :)

Our little 'poser' at Grandma Darcy's egg hunt.

Easter morning - Sam was so excited to get his Mighty Morphin Mix and Match. I'm glad the Easter Bunny didn't disappoint. ;)

Ellie just wanted to eat all of the candy.

Drew said that this 'pooping' bunny got us the parents of the month award. The kids thought they were hilarious.

Ellie Easter morning - so cute.

The kids made it impossible to get a great pic Easter morning. This was the best one I was able to get. At least they are both looking at the camera. :)

Ellie's Surgery

2010-04-09T23:45:00.004-06:00

Ellie was amazing today! She had to get tubes and have her adenoids removed this morning. She was great when we got there at 7:15 this morning. She even interacted with the nurses and other staff more than normal - not her normal shy self. I knew that she was going to freak out when they took her away from me so we opted to give her a drug that would calm her. She got very 'loopy' and couldn't even sit up by herself. The Child Life Specialist came and gave her a doll to color and tell her about her surgery. It was so funny because she was getting so 'loopy' at that point that she could hardly color by the end. I laid her in a wagon and she was wheeled off to surgery. It was very fast - probably only 30 minutes or so. When they brought me back in she was just waking up and was just clear upset because she had an IV in her foot. She does not like things on her feet and the IV put her over the edge. She was hysterically screaming and crying up until about the last 20 minutes before we could take it off. She only calmed down because we gave her a dose of Lortab. Once we got the IV off her foot she just wanted to go home to see her Sammy and eat! When we got home she ate a whole can of soup and some cereal and then slept for about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. When she woke up she was doing great. She eventually started chasing Sam and trying to jump up and down (she was still a little 'wobbly' from everything). Ellie was an angel today and her sweet little brother was so concerned and made sure his sister had everything she needed. I have the cutest kids ever! :)

Ellie playing before she got her 'calming' drug. :)

After she got her 'calming' drug and her new dolly! :)

A very upset girl after surgery because of that darn foot!

The cause of the trouble! :)

So Sweet!

Ellie and her amazing daddy!

MMS Easter Blog Train

2010-03-30T22:15:00.005-06:00

Welcome to your next stop on the MMS Easter Blog Train. I decided that for my blog stop I would share with you why/when I use MMS. As many of you have noticed I use PSE and MMS. I love both programs but I usually find myself using MMS when I'm doing a large project or I'm in a hurry. For example, this past Christmas I made 5 different books as gifts and made about 30 copies of those books. For all 5 books I was able to use a predesigned template to give me a starting point and then from there I was able to individualize each book and create additional pages based on the original theme. I can't even imagine how much longer it would have taken to create all of those books without using MMS. Another example is the following layout.

Lisa asked if we could put a blog train together which I was very excited about, but I've been out of town and haven't had a chance to scrap! So I sat down tonight and grabbed the Ette's and Company's new kit Splendid Spring and with in 10 minutes I have a lo (would have been 5 but I'm indecisive). So whether it's a huge 30+ page project or a quick and easy page in a couple a minutes - that's when I use MMS.

Now for your next stop check out one of our fan's blog

Jessica Jay Johnson

www.scrapdigitally.com

Don't forget to grab my number 21 and all the other numbers from the blog train and send them to Lisa.

Happy Scrapping!

Brooke :)

2nd Place!!!!!!!!

2010-03-28T20:46:00.011-06:00

My husband amazes me everyday! This weekend we were in Moab for Drew's 12 hour adventure race. His 4 person coed team (which is the most competitive division) took 2nd place!!!!! I am so proud of him and his entire team. Aaron Ogden, Celia Nash, and Adam Kessler joined Drew for a 6 hour and 12 minute finish for 2nd place. This year the race began with the kayak (about 9 miles) then transitioned into the bike. The bike started with a nice climb up Longs Canyon (at one point the grade was about 21%) and went all the way into Gemini Bridges for a 300 foot repel off of the bridge. Once they hit the bottom of the repel they had about a 7 mile run back up to their bikes. They finished off the race riding out the same way they came in with a nice decent down Longs Canyon. The bike total milage was around 40 miles - yes I just said 40 miles! I was so impressed by all of the teams that competed. We had some good friends, Brandon and Jeremy Stoker, who raced for their dad and did an amazing job! I was also able to help cheer on some of Aaron's family who put together a 4 person coed team and finished strong. It was a great weekend with tons of fun and friends. Thanks Bill, Billy, The Ogden's Clan, the Stoker's brigade, and the Kessler's for helping support such amazing athletes!!!!! It was nice to have a bigger "support crew" this year! :)

Team Committed before the race

I think Adam looks very graceful in the mad dash to the boats - what do you think?

Adam and Aaron killed it on the Kayak!

Celia - sorry the hat didn't work out - we'll have to figure something out! :)

It was a little chilly at CP2 - you look nice and toasty Bill. :)

Drew and Adam coming in to CP2. This was really the only spot to get a good look during the race. This wasn't a very spectator friendly race. :)

I think that Celia is always smiling! :)

Aaron after punching in at CP2.

You can always count on Jeff to keep everyone in a good mood.

The Ogden Team (sorry I can't remember your team name) refueling a little bit at CP2.

The Ogden's on their way to Gemini Bridge.

The Stoker boys coming into CP2.

Jerm looked pretty good - smiles and in good spirits!

Brandon was in good shape and down to business with the punch.

Team Committed on the last 5 mile stretch of road until the finish.

Team Committed (Captain Bill :D ) crossing the finish line.

Adam trying to rehydrate a little bit.

Drew and Me :)

Aaron with Steph, Jonah, and Naomi

Bill and Celia

The Stoker's support crew in full force at the finish line.

The Stoker's crossing the finish line.

Stoker's with big smiles.

Good friends enjoying the moment. :)

Team Committed - 2nd Place in the 4 person Coed Division

Podium Pic

Jerm, Tiff, Brecklen and Brandon - tender moments!

The Ogden's after they crossed the finish line.

Brooke and Rich Coles. Brooke I am totally impressed - she just had a baby 4 months ago! WOW - is all I can say.

Jen you are a trooper - 2 years in a row! :)

Justin and Stacey - you guys are great! :)

The Girls - totally impressed. Love that you beat last years time - way to go!

I have more pics so if anyone wants them let me know and I can send you a link to download what I have. :)

My Little Bookworm

2010-03-25T15:45:00.003-06:00

Ellie is constantly looking through books. She'll sit in her crib for 30 to 40 minutes after I go in to get her from her nap and just look through them. She tells me "go away I readin". I hope that when she gets a little older and actually learns to read she'll still love books the same way she does now.

My Little Bookworm

created in PSE

Indie Pops Celebrate Kit by Tia Bennett

Happy Birthday Nikki

2010-03-23T23:26:00.003-06:00

It was my niece's birthday this last week and my mom asked me to make the cake. I decided I would try a topsy turvy cake since I've never made one and I've always thought they were so cute. I also decided I would try and make my own fondant because up to this point I usually buy it. My first mistake was trying two new things on one cake. It wasn't that difficult to put the cake together but it definitely took longer than a normal cake. The fondant was very frustrating - it was so soft that it was a PAIN to work with. I think I'll try an new recipe next time - if anyone has a good one I'd love to try it out. I think the cake turned out ok - but next time I think I will focus on the coloring more and not just 'wing it' off of Sammy's suggestions (he was excited when he saw all of the colors he had picked). It's not what I had in mind for the finished product, but Nikki loved it - and I that's all that matters. Happy Birthday Nikki!

Creating a Cohesive Look

2010-03-23T22:58:00.004-06:00

I just updated the latest My Memory Suite blog post - if you want to check it out you can click here or just read below. :)

Creating a Cohesive Look

One thing that I love about My Memory Suite is the ability to create without thinking - let me explain. Sometimes I just want to sit down and not worry about what will match or coordinate on my page. For example, when I sat down to scrap part of my Easter from last year all I had to do was pick the kit I wanted. Once I knew what kit I wanted I could easily look at all of the coordinating papers or embellishments for that kit and I knew they would all match and would look great together. That is very important for me, especially when I’m making a lot of pages for big events or holidays. Easter is coming so start looking for those kits that are a must have for your special day, like the Blue Skies Pack from the Ette’s and Company that I used for my layouts. So whether you want to let your creativity shine and mix or match with multiple kits or stick with a single kit and keep a simple cohesive look you can do it all with My Memory Suite. Most importantly - have fun and capture those memories.

My Memory Suite

2010-03-19T22:28:00.003-06:00

For all of you who want to be able to create amazing scrapbook pages, cards, announcements, invitations, blog headers and designs, and just about anything else you can think of now is a great time to buy My Memory Suite. They are starting a new ad campaign called the "Guilty Mom's Club" to help encourage everyone to catch up and get on track with capturing their families memories. I have to admit I'm still not caught up with my kids - I need to get my butt in gear! Now until April 30th if you use the promo code GMC10off you get 10% off.

Happy Scrapping! :)

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-18T22:27:00.003-06:00

So I've decided that I need to be a more "festive" mom. I thought I was doing pretty well by making sure the kids wore green and even adding food coloring to their mac and cheese - however, when I read what others had done (facebook, blogs, etc...) I think I really need to step up my game for next year! I didn't even know that people pretended little leprechauns make mischief during the day and leave little things all around the house for the kids to find - way cute! :) So here are my lucky leprechauns - they are the best!

Lucky

created in MMS with

Lucky in Love from Meredith Cardall

My First Attempt at Bread

2010-03-17T23:26:00.004-06:00

My Aunt Tiff had a couple of us over the other day to teach us how to make bread. I had never made bread without using a bread maker and so needless to say I was a little intimidated by the idea of doing it from scratch. Tiff showed us how easy it was and so I figured I could do it on my own. Here are my end results!

It was super easy and fast! Thanks Tiff - you're the best! :)

Lady Bug Treats

2010-03-17T22:54:00.004-06:00

I saw this cute little activity the other day and thought I'd try it out when the kids started chanting for their daily snack. It was super simple and the kids had fun - even if they didn't eat a lot of it. All you need is:

Red Apples

Raisins

Pretzels

Peanut Butter

Sam thought it was fun to stick the pretzels in for the antennae and Ellie just liked eating everything - she didn't quite get the creative part. :)

The Coupon Book

2010-03-11T21:29:00.004-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Drew had a little mishap on a motorcycle and cracked 3 ribs. So needless to say he was in a lot of pain. The kids knew something was up and were a little worried so when he went to work the next day we came up with making him a coupon book. It was really fun because the kids came up with almost all of the coupons on their own. For example, Sam said he would "help you get banana's" (I love putting their exact phrasing on things). When I asked Ellie what she wanted to do she sat and thought for a few seconds and then said "help with shoes". She loves to pick up all of the shoes in the kitchen and throw them in the garage.

I was very simple to make the coupons. I actually created them in PSE, but they could have easily been done in any other program, like MMS. The paper and embellishments are from the Chore kit from the Ette's and Company. I created them on a 4x6 canvas (or landscape for MMS) and then used my home printer to print them up on 4x6 photo paper. Then I added some eyelets and the metal ring and there ya go! If you don't have a metal ring ribbon or twine work great. Here are some pics. :)

My Birthday

2010-03-10T14:48:00.003-07:00

I have the best hubby ever. Last Sunday Drew made dinner for our families for my birthday. He made Cafe Rio Salads and they were wonderful. What is even more impressive than his cooking is that he made me a cake from scratch. I asked for pound cake with whip cream and strawberries so he found a recipe, bought a pan, and even whipped his own cream. He did an amazing job! Thanks Drewy your the best! :)

Granola Bars

2010-03-10T14:30:00.007-07:00

Last night I mentioned that I made some really good granola bars and they were way simple. I actually found the recipe off of allrecipes.com but I changed a few things up. Here is my final recipe - I will defiantly make these again. :)

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan leaving about 1 inch space at one end of the pan (leave the space if you want them chewy).
Bake for approx. 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Edible Play Dough **

2010-03-09T23:39:00.003-07:00

I know this sounds pretty funky - and it sort of was. I was browsing allrecipes.com for my weekly menu and I found a recipe for Edible Play Dough. Ellie is always eating play dough anyways so I thought it might be fun. This afternoon the kids ran to the cupboard yelling "play dough! play dough!" so I thought it would be a great time to try it out. The recipes goes as follows:

2 cups powdered milk

2 cups honey

2 cups peanut butter

As you can see from the title it only got 2 stars (* yes that is a star :D ). It was way too sticky so I added some flax seed meal and some rolled oats, which helped a little bit. I guess the plus side was that it did taste pretty good and Ellie defiantly didn't have a problem eating it. They still had fun playing with it and making a mess. I told Drew about it and he always likes to point out the obvious to me - "honey and peanut butter those aren't sticky at all!" That's ok - common sense has never been my thing. :)

Although the play dough wasn't what I would call successful - I did find a great recipe for homemade granola bars that I will have to share tomorrow. It is already way too late so I'll have to post more later.

My Staple Pasta Salad

2010-03-05T16:08:00.004-07:00

As I was running around today I started to think about what I was going to make for dinner tonight and I realized that I am always trying to figure out what I'm going to make next - so I might as well post some of my favorites here. So for the first recipe I'm going to share a staple in my home - Pasta Salad. I don't have a name or even a recipe for this salad because I just throw it together. It is awesome to make a head of time and even better for lunch the next day! :) As I already mentioned I'm just going to list ingredients and a possible 'questimate' for amounts.

My Staple Pasta Salad

1 chicken breast shredded

- I coat with olive oil and salt and pepper and then grill

1 1/2 pkg of vegetable pasta

- cook according to package - al dente

1/2 bunch of green onion

grapes - almost and entire bag

3-4 stalks of celery

1-2 cans of olives - sliced

basil

Just enough Mayo to moisten all the ingredients, but no more

salt and pepper to taste - I like a lot of pepper

That is the basic and then if I have any veggies like broccoli or something I might blanch it (if it needs it) and throw it in. Basically anything you want you can throw in.

It's About Time

2010-03-04T23:40:00.006-07:00

I have been missing in action for a while now and so I decided I needed to get my butt in gear and start scrapping again. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was to get going again. I've never felt like I was a creative person by any means but it hasn't been this hard to put a lo together in a long time.

For this lo I saw a challenge several months ago at Oscraps.com and I really wanted to do it but knew it wasn't going to happen that week - so here we are. The concept for the page is a Q&A with your child. Basically you ask them a whole bunch of questions and you write down their answers - mispronounced and everything. Sam was the easiest to start with - I'm still trying to think of enough questions for Ellie that won't result in the answer of 'dog'

You Defined

This lo was created in PSE

with Composure from Taylormade Designs

Here are the questions and answers from the lo:

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

St. George and Hawaii and Bear Lake

What is your favorite time of day? Why?

I know just the fing - Light Saver Day

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Power Ranger

Tell me something that you do every single day.

Fight Bad Guys

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Play Really Fight Bad Guys - so much bad guys here on earth

What is currently your favorite band or singer?

Eyes of the Tiger - I mean Power Rangers

Tell me something that will ruin your entire day in a matter of seconds.

If the sky was pink

What is your favorite thing about nature.

I like climbing on a tree, climbing on a tree

(a song from preschool)

As I was creating this lo I started to realize that I don't write down all of the funny and cute things the kids say everyday - so I'm going to try and start. For example, today the kids were baking me food in their playroom and Sam brought me a birthday cake. As he was putting the candles on the cake he looked at me and said "Happy Birthday Mom you are so old now - you are 89 years old - That's realllllly old!" I love my kids! :)

10% off MMS until February 28th

2010-02-17T14:35:00.002-07:00

Hey all - if any of you are still interested in digital scrapping I have a promo code for 10% off until February 28th. My Memory Suite (MMS) has upgraded their software and so the new version has a lot of cool features. You can click on the link to the left and it will show you all of the details. The new version is also cheaper. It is only $39.97 plus with the promo code you get 10% off of that. Go check it out and if you have any questions let me know. Once you go digital you'll never go back! Happy Scrapping! :)

Promo Code: FEB10off

My Latest Cakes

2010-02-16T11:10:00.004-07:00

I told a friend that I would post some pictures of some of the cakes I've decorated the last couple of months - so here ya go! :)

Derek Roy Johns

2010-02-06T18:37:00.002-07:00

It has been a week now since my dear cousin was in a car accident and passed away. I wish I could say that we were close - but unfortunately we saw very little of each other over the years. Yet with as little contact as we had a man of his great integrity, love, and spiritual strength can have an amazing effect on a person. He had an infectious smile - every time I think about him I always remember him smiling and happy. When he passed away he had a card in his wallet that read

"To love people, to be indispensable somewhere... That is the secret to happiness."

J. Edgar Park

How much would I be missed?

It was evident at his funeral on Thursday that it won't just be the family that will miss him - there were over 400 chairs setup and it was filled to capacity. To my wonderful cousins, aunt and uncle, and his precious wife my prayers and thoughts are with you and I wish I could take the pain away or do something!

He has inspired me to change my pessimistic negative attitude and to think of others - to serve others. To give more of myself and of my time. It is such a little thing that I can do to honor such an amazing person!

We will miss you!

Camden's Baptism

2010-02-06T16:56:00.005-07:00

We were able to enjoy a wonderful day today with our family. My cousin's little boy, Camden, was baptized today. Thanks Ashly for letting us be apart of such a special occasion. Here are a few pics from the day. :)

Next Stop!!!!!

2010-01-30T19:41:00.007-07:00

As your next stop on the MMS blog train I thought that I would highlight a couple of features that I really like and hopefully they will help you capture some wonderful MEMORIES. First off - my layout!

Love You created in MMS

Credits: Embellishments - Cross My Heart from the latest monthly MMS cd, Frame - SAS Designs Happy Kit, Wordart from Taylormade Fading Emotions, Picture by SWEETimages photography.

First I like to create my own papers or at least give the papers that I have, a different look. You can do this several ways but I prefer to add embellishment to change them. For example, in my layout above I created my background using the following steps:

1. Choose the background Tab

2. Select Color

3. Pick a color you want (I simply just used one from the options but you can select Picker to match an exact color on your layout)

4. Now that you have a background color you need to add something to it (if you want :D) - Select your Embellishments Tab.

5. Select the Browse other... Tab on the bottom left hand corner of your box and it will allow you to navigate through your computer to where you have your supplies stored (if they aren't in MMS)

6. Select the embellishment of your choice and then resize, turn, change the opacity, etc... to get the look that you'd like.

I use this technique all of the time to add overlays and other types of paper to each other to get different looks.

One of my favorite features in the latest version of MMS is the ability to rotate pictures, objects, etc... on your actual layout.

1. Select the object/picture you would like to rotate so you have your bounding boxes appear (see below)

2. Place your cursor over one of the corners until an arrow in the shape of a circle appears.

3. Rotate your object/picture to your desired placement.

There are millions of different ways to create in MMS and the two methods above are just a couple that I use. I hope that they were helpful for those who are new to the software or at least a different option for you veterans that have your own techniques. If you have any questions, suggestions or anything else to share I'd love to hear from you - feel free to leave a comment!

Remember to find my word (MEMORIES - if you missed it) and to collect all of the other words from the other blogs to complete the phrase to be entered in the drawing. Email the phrase to Lisa (lisaj@mymemoriessuite.com) by Friday February 5, 2010 by 12:00 am. to qualify.

Your next and final stop on your blog train is - Lisa!

It's been a long time!

2009-11-25T14:18:00.003-07:00

I have so much to post about and it has been so long since I've posted I'm not sure where to start! I guess I'll start with my last layout's I've done and then figure out where I'm at after that!

SAS Designs has released 2 great kits over the past couple of weeks. First was TRUE - which I absolutely loved. It had a lot of fun colors and embellishments to work with. The second kit was Little Star - which had a lot of great embellishments for all of those baby pics you need to scrap. You can grab both kits at bits2kits.com.

Precious Memories

I used PSE and Little Star Kit

I couldn't resist finding pics of both of the kids at the hospital and comparing. What do you think are they related?

Perfect Moment

I used PSE, TRUE kit, and photograph is by SWEETimages Photography

We just recently had some family pictures taken and Mindy was so great to work with - thanks Mindy!

National Digital Scrapbook Day

2009-11-06T23:23:00.008-07:00

There are so many great sales and events going on all over and that includes here! I am so excited to *SHARE* some freebies with you and some new designs from SAS Designs. As the first stop in the blog train for all of you MMS addicts I hope you can figure out what word I am supposed to *SHARE* with you. Don't forget to collect all of the words to make the phrase for some great discounts and giveaways! For anyone still considering digi-scrapping - finish the train and enter your name in the drawing because we are giving away some free software!

Before I get to the freebies I wanted to share with you SAS Designs Grab Bag that she did for NDSD at bits2kits.com. It is an amazing deal - 3 wonderful mini kits for $1. Here are a few lo's I made with the grab bag.

First Time - created in MMS with Giving Thanks by SAS Designs

Pure Joy - created in MMS with Giving Thanks by SAS Designs

My Name - created in PSE with Be Happy by SAS Designs

The Hair Cut - created in PSE with Little Gem by SAS Designs

All three of the kits above are in this grab bag!

Also, bits2kits.com and SAS Designs are having their own blog train. Click here to check out her blog and the stops for their train. SAS was awesome to put together a mini kit and I put together some wordart for you to enjoy!

Click Here for SAS Designs Freebie

Click Here for Wordart Freebie

For everyone following the MMS Blog Train your next stop is at Beth's place. Don't for get to look for her word and keep them in order to complete the phrase. Email the phrase to Lisa (lisaj@mymemoriessuite.com)

when your done and you'll be entered in a drawing for goodies.

Here is the link to Beth's Blog

Happy Scrapping and have a great NDSD!

Brooke :)

p.s. if anyone gets lost here are the stops for the train:

1st stop - your here

I'm Dreaming by SAS Designs

2009-11-02T20:28:00.003-07:00

I have so much to scrap and share after this week of festivities - I just have to get more organized. Here are a couple of lo's I did last week with SAS Designs newest kit - I'm Dreaming. These were family pictures that we had done with the Free side of the family back in December of last year (2008). I love the picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all of the great grandkids.

Simple Pleasures

2009-10-23T10:12:00.004-06:00

Today SAS Designs released a new kit - Simple Pleasures. It has some great elements and fun colors. It is an exclusive kit for ACOT (acherryontop.com). For my layouts I used pictures of Ellie - Sam seems to be avoiding me lately whenever I have my camera out! :)

created in PSE

Ellie finally decided she was going to try on her tutu and not scream the entire time it was on. She had a lot of fun 'twirling'. I don't know where my little 'girly' girl came from. :)

created in MMS

I have scrapped on to these pictures before but I was never totally happy with the lo so I had to do it again. My kids love Grandma Donna and are always so excited to see her. We love you Grandma Donna!

New Day from SAS Designs

2009-10-19T23:34:00.005-06:00

Saturday SAS Designs released a new kit - New Day. It has a lot of fun soft colors and some great elements. This was a LO I did of the kids after Sam had a Zoo day at school. He came home with his elephant mask and Ellie insisted that she had to have one too. Mom's not as creative as the teachers. We had also gone to the Zoo recently and were able to get a picture of the new baby elephant - so cute!

Created LO in PSE

New Day by SAS Designs

Road Trip from SAS Designs

2009-10-10T11:49:00.004-06:00

So I totally feel like I'm running around with my head cut-off this week. When I saw what Sarah had designed for this week it made me wish that we had taken more road trips this summer - but kind of hard with a 2 and 4 year old! So I took some pictures of when we went to St. George with the Ogden's and raced go carts at Fiesta Fun. I wasn't sure if Jo and Naomi where liking it during the race but they all said they had a great time when they were done. Of course, Sam thought it was the coolest thing he'd done all weekend - he has no fear!

Fiesta Fun

Created in PSE with Road Trip by SAS Designs

A Witches Brew by SAS Designs

2009-10-02T09:27:00.003-06:00

I feel like I've been running around with my head cut-off all week. So I was only able to get 1 lo done this week with SAS Designs new kit A Witches Brew. However, that's ok because I'll be able to use it at the end of the month. :) The kit has a lot of deep, bold, 'scary' colors and elements - it's great.

This is the kids from Halloween last year. They loved it. Ellie didn't bother her costume all night and Sam wouldn't take his off. However, this year I have a feeling I won't be able to get Ellie to wear hers - she has a mind of her own now! Sam has already started crying everyday because it's not Halloween - next year decorations don't come out until the day before! :)

Spooktacular

Credits: 'A Witches Brew' by SAS Designs

created in MMS

Discount Extended!

2009-09-24T14:48:00.003-06:00

I am really excited because I just found out that MMS is going to extend the additional 10% off through the 31st of October. The new promo code that is good today through the 31st of October is Halloween10OFF. So if you link off my page you get 25% off plus the 10% off promo which is a total of 35% off! If you've never tried digi-scrapping this is a great opportunity to try it out and see if you like it. Let me know if you have any questions!

Down in the Woods by SAS Designs

2009-09-24T11:23:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone we are going out of town this weekend so I figured I'd better post before we left. This week SAS Designs is releasing a great kit called Down in the Woods. It has a lot of great soft colors that I thought would be great for an 'extraction' LO so I gave it a try. I'll tell you what - it's not as easy as you'd think - trying to create a fantasy world. Let's just say I don't think I'll be doing a lot of 'extraction' LO's anytime soon. :) You can grab the kit at bits2kits.com on Friday.

Ellie is getting so much personality - she is so fun. She isn't going to be my sweet baby for long!

Credits: Down in the Woods by SAS Designs

alphabet and wordart by Taylormade Designs

Created in PSE

These girls are going to have so much fun when they get a little older. They are so close in age it's going to be crazy drama!

Credits: Down in the Woods by SAS Designs

Created in PSE

Simple and Fast - Wheeler Farm

2009-09-23T22:19:00.004-06:00

I am always trying to catch up on older pictures that I need to scrap - partly because I like scrapping my newer ones first! So I decided I would do a page in 10 minutes with MMS to show everyone how fast and easy it can be (even without using a template). I know - this means I really shouldn't have any excuses of why I'm not caught up but that's life, right! :)

Wheeler Farm

Credits: Whoo Loves My Boy pack by Meredith Cardall

Font: Lettering Delights Remington Portable

Created in MMS.

One Week Left

2009-09-22T13:09:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! Just a reminder that you only have until September 30th to get an additional 10% off the MMS software. So you get the normal 25% plus 10% for a total of 35% off MMS! Use the promo code B2S10OFF. Just click the link on the side of the page!

The Witches at Gardner's Village

2009-09-18T11:50:00.005-06:00

I've been trying to go through old pictures and catch up on the ones I've missed and I found the Witches from 2007. I love going to Gardner's Village and seeing the Witches with the kids. I felt so bad that we didn't do it last year so this year for sure! If anyone wants to go let me know and we can make a playdate out of it. :D

LO to return at a later date :)

I had to remove it because it is being published in Scrapbook News and Review's October editions.

Nature's Garden from SAS Designs

2009-09-18T09:52:00.003-06:00

Hi all, it's Friday again (thank goodness) and so here is the latest kit from SAS Designs - Nature's Garden. Check it out at bits2kits.com. It is wonderful for all of your summer pictures. I created both LO's in PSE. My favorite is the first LO of Drew and Ellie walking at the cabin - Nature Walk. The second is the beaver dam we found up by the cabin - it's really cool.

Nature's Garden Preview

Nature Walk

The Beaver Dam

Sam's First Day of School

2009-09-12T00:13:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how big my little guy is getting. He started his second year of preschool at the end of August and loves it!

I created this LO in MMS.

Credits: School Memories kit by Story Rock, font - Red Hatter's Hand from Lettering Delight, Alphabet - Cut It from Lettering Delight, Sprinkles from Taylormade Designs.

PCPP

2009-09-10T22:50:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was so much fun! Drew had his big race in Park City and did awesome. He took 34th overall and 6th in his division. Out of 170 racers including pro's he stuck to his plan and did great. I had so much fun volunteering - I would for sure do it again. I created a LO in the previous post with some of his race pics. We are so proud of you Drew!

Lilac Grass

2009-09-10T22:42:00.003-06:00

I'm going to act as if it is Friday already - since it's already pretty late! :) SAS Designs has another amazing kit that she is releasing Friday September 11 at bits2kits.com. Go check it out - it has a lot of great embellishments. I created the first LO in PSE and the second LO in MMS. I've talked to many of you about the two different programs and you can use any kit you want in either one.

New Kit from SAS Designs!

2009-09-02T12:43:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone - Drew has his big race this weekend so I'm doing my sneak peek of SAS Designs new kit today. It will be released Sunday September 6th at bits2kits.com. It is a wonderful kit for fall. I knew exactly what pictures I wanted to scrap when I saw the kit. For those of you who don't know yet - my cute big brother asked his girlfriend, Zale, to marry him!!!! Yeah - we love Zale and Conner so much and are so excited to have them part of the family! Congrats again big brother! Love Ya!

There are tons of possibilities with this kit - go check it out.

Here is a free quickpage I designed with the kit. Enjoy!

Click Here to download file.

MMS Software Discount!

2009-09-01T13:52:00.002-06:00

I've been telling many of you that you should start digi-scrapping and now is a great time to buy software. Now through September 30th you can enter in the promo code B2S10OFF and receive an additional 10% off. So if you click on the MMS link from my blog you get 25% off and then by adding the code you get an additional 10%. If you ever have any questions don't hesitate to ask. :)

Exciting News!

2009-08-27T12:59:00.003-06:00

Well this is exciting news for me! I have been added to the SAS Designs Creative Team. I am very excited to work with the team and with all of her wonderful designs. Here are a couple of layouts I put together with some of the SAS Design products. You can check out the entire shop here.

I created this layout in PSE with the Boys kit from SAS Designs

I created this layout in PSE with the Fading Summer kit from SAS Designs that will be released Friday August 28th at B2K.

My Little Nature Bug

2009-08-26T23:20:00.003-06:00

Ellie is so funny. She has so much personality and attitude now I can't even handle it. She loves everything outside and going on walks. If you don't take her she breaks down in tears and has a tantrum until you take her. I hope this is just a stage!

I created this layout in PSE with the Nature Nut kit by Angela Woo and Fancy Swirls by Sweet Genevieve.

Sam Turned 4

2009-08-23T22:48:00.003-06:00

This month has been so crazy! We've been out of town and busy with family - I haven't even had a chance to sit and scrap for awhile. I'm going to have to sit down and update the blog with everything! :)

During the month it was my little guys birthday - I can't believe Sam is 4!!!! His Nana JoJo has already taught him how to turn his birthday into a week celebration. Sam we love you so much and I can't imagine my life without you. Thank you for always making me smile.

Created these layouts in MMS with the Magical Memories kit from the Ette's and Company.

Created these layouts in MMS with the Zoofari kit by StoryRock.

Created this layout in MMS with the Magical Memories kit by the Ette's and Company.

Red Butte Gardens

2009-07-23T01:12:00.004-06:00

We had an amazing time at the garden with Silvia and Di. The kids loved the fountains and running through the children's garden. We are definitely going again soon. Thanks Di for the invite! :)

This LO was created in PSE with the Tranquility kit by Karah Fredricks and Taylormade-Designs Fading Emotions.

My Latest Layouts Using MMS

2009-07-13T21:53:00.002-06:00

Here are my latest layouts using MMS. The first were some pictures that I found when I cleaned out my email (from 2007). I think I need to clean it out more often. :) I used the freebie "Composure Plus" kit from Taylormade Designs and the "Pirate" kit from the Ette's and Company.

Ellie loved making her Daddy's birthday cake - but she loved the batter more! I used the "Home Grown" kit by 3 Bugs in a Rug and the "Feelin' Happy" kit by the Ette's and Company.

Two Exciting Things Happened Yesterday!

2009-07-09T10:04:00.002-06:00

Well it is very exciting for me. The first thing was that My Memory Suite made the official announcement for their Creative Team and as I mentioned in an earlier post I have been given the opportunity to join the team. You can read the announcement here - if you'd like! :)

The second thing that is very exciting was that I was chosen as a Standout for July 08 at gallerystandouts.com. I had posted my layout of Drew in the Oscraps.com gallery. If you'd like to check it out you can click here. :)

The Cabin in July

2009-07-07T21:51:00.003-06:00

I created this layout using PSE. I used freebies from Oscraps.com - word art from the Play Date Collaboration by Createwings Designs, Something Pop mini kit and Crazy-Beautiful kit by Fei-Fei's Stuff.

I think they were enjoying themselves - what do you think?

Need to work on Organization

2009-07-07T10:05:00.005-06:00

I looked over my pics this weekend and realized I've missed some events over the last couple of years. I think this is a sign I need to get better organized! :) So below was a layout I put together using "It's a Woody's thing" by Corina Nielsen. As you can see it's from 2006 - like I said need to work on organization! :)

New Adventure!

2009-07-02T23:42:00.002-06:00

I am very excited because I have been selected to join the My Memory Suite Creative Team. MMS, as I've mentioned before, is the software I used first and it helped introduce me to digi scrapping. I'm very excited to share new layouts and projects with others to show the capability of the software. I hope that by sharing some of my layouts it will inspire some of you to start digi scrapping yourselves (you know who you are :D). If you get really inspired and want to purchase the software for yourself I've placed a link on the right hand side (hard to miss). If you ever have any questions or comments please share.

New Layouts

2009-06-30T15:54:00.003-06:00

I created two layouts today using MMS. The first one I used "Bliss" by Tinkering Ink and the second one I used "Some Beach" by the Ette's and Company.

I love when I'm able to capture moments with Grandma Great.

Sam's lip was so big after he fell by the pool he could hardly talk.

Ellie at the Cabin

2009-06-27T23:32:00.004-06:00

This was a picture of Ellie at the cabin that was really dark so I blended it to brighten it up and eliminate the background. It is so fun to see her personality develop.

Drew's Big 30

2009-06-27T00:41:00.003-06:00

Today is Drew's 30th birthday! Words can't describe the love that I have for such an amazing husband, father, and man. I love you and hope you have an amazing birthday.

Happy Belated Birthday Dad!

2009-06-26T19:51:00.005-06:00

Happy Belated Birthday Dad! You are the most patient man I know. I love your quiet dry sense of humor - even if I don't laugh all of the time. I love you so much!

Happy Birthday!

Sam at the Zoo

2009-06-24T23:18:00.002-06:00

I think Sam was getting bored by the end of our Zoo visit - what do you think!

First Attempt with Blending Modes

2009-06-24T16:45:00.003-06:00

I found an awesome website that has great tutorials on blending and other similar techniques. I love their layouts and products. I had fun playing with some of the blending modes with this layout, but I have a lot to learn still.

Getting Started!

2009-06-17T12:29:00.005-06:00

I've had several people ask me how to start digi scrapping since I started my blog. So I decided I'd share how I got started and what software I use.

I used to be a traditional scrapper but I hated the mess that came along with it. I have a cousin that started doing it and I loved the look and the ease of doing it. When I started I purchased a software called My Memory Suite by Polaroid. I love this software because it is so easy to use. If you can use email you can use this product. This is the software I would suggest using if you want to start and don't want a learning curve.

I did this layout with the My Memory Suite software.

After a year or so I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and I love this software as well. You can do the same things in photoshop that you can in MMS plus more. In PSE you can do more to the photo and you work in layers - so if you start getting more into digi scrapping it allows you to do a few more things. However, this is not a user friendly software. You definitely have to teach yourself through tutorials or take classes.

I did this layout in Photoshop Elements.

I use a Mac and both softwares work on a Mac and a PC. I still use MMS and PSE depending on my mood or the project. If you want to check them out yourself here are the links to the software I use.

MMS and PSE

Pine Creek Layout

2009-06-16T12:49:00.003-06:00

It was harder than I thought it was going to be to create layouts for our canyoneering trip. Everything I started to put together just seemed to pull away from the beauty of the canyon. I ended up with something so basic that it feels too simple. I've decided to do a few different projects and then revisit the canyon to see if I can get new inspiration.

Pine Creek

2009-06-15T14:06:00.010-06:00

This weekend we went canyoneering in Zions and it was amazing. I thought for sure I would be coming home in a body bag - obviously I survived! I can't even describe how beautiful it was. Here are a few pics and there will be some layouts to follow.

Happy Birthday Nana LuLu!

2009-06-15T13:55:00.006-06:00

It was my mom's Birthday on Saturday. She turned.... don't worry mom I won't say. :D My mom is the greatest. She does so much for my family - I don't know what we would do without her. Thank you mom for everything. You are the greatest!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

New Layouts

2009-06-15T13:50:00.004-06:00

Ellie is definitely starting to show her personality. Sam has figured out that she copies everything that he does - so of course he teachers her this!

Ellie did great at Little Gym this semester. It was so nice to spend some one on one time with her!

Digi Scrapping

2009-06-11T12:41:00.005-06:00

One of the main reasons I decided to start blogging was to share layouts. I love looking at others blogs and getting inspired from their designs. This is my little way to make a small contribution to the creative world!

This was Drew's first Intermountain Cup Race and he did amazing - first place!

For some reason Ellie loves to wear helmets of any kind and has a complete fit when you try to take them off.

Sam had a special Mother's Day program at school. He did such a great job and made me the cutest gift. I loved everything!

I'm Joining the Rest of the World!

2009-06-09T12:45:00.000-06:00

I decided that everyone else and their dog has started a blog and it's about time to join in - even if I don't have much to say. So ready or not here I go!