Layout | Go on an Adventure

Another challenge is up at Child's Play, and this one uses an Etch-A-Sketch as inspiration. I despised that toy when I was little. I could never create what I saw in my head, so it was just a bunch randomness.  That sometimes happens when I scrap, too. I see something in my head but have trouble getting it to come to fruition.  That's why so often I use a sketch as a starting point, and that's what I did for this layout.  I used the word sketch in my title as inspiration to base my layout on a sketch (heck, that's what I do for most of them, it just seemed like it was meant to be for this one).  I tried to keep it a very linear layout as well, since the Etch-A-Sketch could only do straight lines.

This layout is about one of our many picnics we've taken to Chalco Hills.  Like every other time we've gone, we picnicked first, went on a trail walk, and ended it by playing on the playground.  On the walk this time we saw deer and a turtle taking a stroll through the grass. We actually heard rustling in the grass and went to investigate, and that's when we discovered the turtle. Thank goodness it was that and not a snake! 


Supplies:
Sketch: Scrapbook Generation
Patterned Paper: Simple Stories, Fancy Pants
Stickers, tiny alphas: Simple Stories
Title alphas: American Crafts
Flair: Lily Bee
Wood Veneer:  Studio Calico
Enamel Dots: Doodlebug

2014 Week Eleven | March 10 - March 16

Posts three days in a row?! I hope this didn't cause any of you to faint.  The pictures from this week are from the week of spring break. It was a really big week for us. On Thursday of break I interviewed for a 6th grade resource position in a rural district near here, and two hours after the interview I was offered the job, which I accepted. We had known about the interview for a week, so the week of spring break turned into the "how much can we get done in/on the house to get it ready to sell" week.  We were finally putting into motion something we'd talked about for at least three years- moving to a small district, because we wanted the kids in a district smaller than the metro area had to offer, and hopefully, we'll find a place with a bit of land. 

The kids spent most of the week picnicking on the floor since most of the furniture was moved out of the main floor of the house so that the ceilings and walls could be painted. They never complained.

I think this is one of my favorite shots of all time of these two.  Annaliese snapped it on the night Ian lost his first tooth. This is how she composed the shot and everything.  I love how it turned out.

My selfie in the car before going inside for my interview. I don't look nervous at all... Ian showing off the gap in his smile after losing his first tooth, literally. We never found it.

Date night with Darrin.  He won us seats in the suite through his work so that we could watch the Lancers.  With free food and drink, it was the perfect night out.

I snapped a shot of the tall ladder the ceiling painters used. I didn't know they made standing ladders that tall!  Darrin fixing some dry wall in the kitchen before we painted the walls.

Before and After of the new grout I put in on the countertops.

The best helpers around!

A before and after shot of the paint color we used throughout the house. 

2014 Week 10 | March 3 - March 9

Let's celebrate Cinco de Mayo by taking a look back at what happened during the week that contained Cinco de Marzo.

After nearly a year's hiatus, the kids started back to swimming lessons on Saturday. It wasn't without some screaming, tears, and arms holding out to us from Annaliese, but once we went behind the observation wall, she was all smiles and loving every minute.

We grabbed dinner at my favorite restaurant in town, Lazlo's.  The kids always get ice cream with chocolate shell topping there for dessert, and Annaliese was sharing every other bite with Darrin or me.  She is like that with her desserts, always willing to share with us. Love her!

This weekend we broke out the short sleeves for the first time. Annaliese was super excited to wear this new outfit and give Baby Belle a ride on her bike.

They both brought their "babies" outside to play.

While Ian got some pointers on using a drill, Annaliese took Baby Belle for a ride in the stroller, and then asked me to snap a picture of them. 

Wednesday night Seekers started back up again, and with that, Ian had his first bell rehearsal. He's the youngest player. I'm helping out, and I never fully appreciated how hard this players and teachers have worked as I sat in the pews in years past.  Most of the students, much like Ian, have no idea how to read sheet music.  It is a lesson in patience!   On the photo on the right, the weather warmed up for the weekend, but even during the week when it was cooler, they were out enjoying the sunshine with their babies.  Ian is trying to stick Racky up in the tree...

2014 Week Nine | February 24 - March 2

Let's take a walk down memory lane to the week of Annaliese's 4th birthday... because that's how far behind I am, and that's only on here. Let's not discuss the actual album. Just ordered pictures to try to rectify that :)

After school, she's been letting Ian have his screen time on the big TV so he can play his video game. She's more than happy to snuggle in bed with Darrin and watch a show on Netflix.  The shows she generally chooses have superheroes in them. Love that she's just as happy with that as she is princesses.  Had to snap the picture because she kept her hat on after school.

Thursday night of the week Ian had his first ever grading for jujitsu.  In this one, he has to push his competitor out of the white square.

On the left he is pictured with his certificate and Sensei. On the right, another part of grading was doing front rolls over a peer.  As he advances levels, he has to jump over more of them, or higher stacks (sensei did one jump over eight kids the other night at practice).  

Meeting Sensei in the middle of the mat to receive a new strip on his belt and his certificate.

After we got home on Thursday night from the jujitsu grading, an interior designer friend of mine came over and left us lots of paint samples to choose from for our new wall colors.  The kids walked down the stairs in the morning and Ian pointed to the exact one I was thinking of for our choice, so it was actually an easy decision.

Friday we had game night and Annaliese got an early birthday present- Monopoly Junior.

Saturday was Annaliese's 4th birthday, and she was super excited to get the Elsa companion Barbie for the Anna one she got for Christmas. 

We went to the Olive Garden for her birthday lunch, where she got a strawberry dessert for her birthday.

That night, we met Marlena, Noah, and the boys at the Shriner Circus. It didn't have as many acts as the one we were at two years ago, but it was still fun.  Ian was at the perfect age to go, because he  actually understood how brave most of the acts had to be because they could easily die.  Annaliese was bored by a lot of it, except for when someone came out and sang, "Let It Go" from Frozen while two acrobats twirled high in the air.

After the circus, we went back to Marlena and Noah's to have supper, and this lucky girl got to celebrate with a homemade funfetti cupcake with fruitty pebbles on top. 

Now to see how long it is before I get the next week posted... or worse, this week scrapped!

These two

Love each other so much

Love spending time together

But also alone

And know how to pose for photos

Pictures shot by Darrin or I at the OPPD Arboretum.  Just because I needed pictures for their "About Me" pages for this year. 

No Hands!

That is, from Darrin and I.  The weather was beautiful tonight, so we loaded up the kids' bikes , and headed up to the church parking lot so Ian had a flat, straight stretch on which to practice.  We've done this once before, shortly after his birthday two months ago, but that's been it.  It was a rough start, and I thought it wasn't going as well as our first visit.  The next thing I know, I look up, and Darrin's running along side of him instead of holding on, and that scene was repeated over and over.  He freaked out initially when we'd let go, but when he realized he could make it more than a few seconds, that was all she wrote.

Ian wasn't the only one out there cruisin' tonight. Annaliese was flying on her bike and loving every minute of it.

 

Layout | 12 Months

The latest challenge at Child's Play Challenges uses the game "Simon" for inspiration.  I never had this game as a kid, but my friends did, and I loved playing it, trying to see how many rounds I could go before I'd finally make a mistake and hit the wrong button. 

For my layout, I took my inspiration from the actual design of the Simon game, placing pictures of Annaliese, one from each month from the first year of her life, where the buttons are on the game.  Then I put the title in the center where the title is on the game.  I love how this layout came together.  Most of my scrap stuff is currently packed up and in storage, and while there were a few things I wish I had, it was fun to make it work with what I had on hand.  I used my cameo to cut on the negative title, and the pens that come with it to write the script on the title. 

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Simple Stories
Cardstock: Bazzill
Die Cuts: Silhouette Cameo
Number Stickers: American Crafts Thickers
Sticker: MME
 Metal "Love", stars, wood veneers: Freckled Fawn