What we did on our winter vacation ...

This past week the kids were on break from school.  Our sitter decided to take a vacation, and thankfully a friend (or cousin-in-law as she likes to call me ... she is married to my husband's cousin) said she would help us out.  She had made plans for her children, and added ours into the mix, and so they even got to have a little more fun ... beside playing with their cousins! :)

Furthermore, the plans ended up moving into the evening hours, and so I was able to join them after work.  We went roller skating for the second time this year.  (The first time was because of her, too!)  And, we went to an indoor water park.  Both were just one night events, but they really helped to make the week special for my kids.  I need to remember to give my friend something to thank her for everything!

My husband and I are not the planners of fun events like these.  I am truly grateful that my friend loves to get out and DO things, and that she doesn't mind initiating an invitation to us.  I'm sure that without my friend's ideas (and my parents' too) my children would have a pretty boring life.  The extent of "fun" from me is taking them to soccer and t-ball, baseball or softball.  (With our opposite shifts, the available time to plan these fun events - much less pull them off - is limited, and we are both very unwilling to spend the money.  It's a shame, I know.)  Don't get me wrong ... sports are great, too ... but it's hard to compete with flying around a roller rink to music with friends, or riding an inner-tube 'round the lazy river.

But, to focus on the good times from my children's winter vacation:  Chase got 3rd place in the scooter races at the roller rink!  There was a little group of boys, and Chase was luckily in the middle of the pack as far as ages go, and so even though he was far behind 1st and 2nd place, he still won a prize.  He was ecstatic!  He picked a little spinning top as his prize.  He enjoyed riding on the scooter, and riding the train ... which they STILL have.  It is the same train from my childhood.  It's awesome that some of the great things from my childhood are still there!

Julia wore some new quad skates that my mom had picked up on clearance, and she did much better at staying up this time!  It was still nerve-racking to watch her, but my mom sent the wrist and knee guards that we'd purchased many years ago for ourselves when we roller-bladed home from Shopko (story for another day), and so my daughter had wrist-guards on, at least.  I learned from our previous trip and made sure Julia had better fitting pants.  My daughter is NOT a plumber, if you catch my meaning!  She enjoyed the scooters, her quads, riding the train, and playing with her cousins.

Blake gave both roller blades and quads a try, and he learned that quads are not that easy!  I think he's more comfortable on roller blades, and as long as he's happy, I'm happy.  I just need to learn how to replace the wheels since he was complaining they are wobbly.  I don't think they are actually wobbly, but they are definitely worn a little unevenly ... probably because they were used on a road for several miles!  Blake is getting more adventurous on skates.  I saw him going up on the ramp a few times.  Seeing the roller skating rink from a parent's perspective is an amazing thing ... so many ways to get hurt, and yet I went there for YEARS and don't ever remember getting hurt.  Good times, good times!

Then, the very next night, we went to an indoor water park.  I wasn't able to join them in the water.  Our swimsuits ALL disappeared after our last swimming trip to the same water park the day after Christmas.  I haven't had the guts to shop for a new suit, nor to spend $30 or more on one.  So, I instead practiced taking pictures with my new camera while the kids swam around in their new suits.  (Yes, I admitted I'm cheap, and then talked about a new camera.  The camera has a purpose.  I am working toward creating a business at some point in the hopefully near future.) 

So, the kids had a great week!  The week kept getting better for me, as I watched Sue Bryce on Creative Live over the weekend.  Her posing tips are amazing, and she makes so much sense.  I've seen Sandy Puc', Zach and Jody, and Sue Bryce now ... and if it weren't for the fact that I HAVE to pay for this camera I bought, I would be the proud owner of each of these courses.  Each had something different that I took away from them, and none of them was any less valuable to me.  I was in amazed awe all weekend long when I watched as I could.  I even took out my phone as I bought groceries Sunday night and watched the re-watch from my phone as I shopped.  People must have thought I was nuts, but I didn't want to miss anything!!!  I just propped it up on my purse, cranked the volume and shopped.  Of course, my trip took longer than necessary because I had to stop to watch, too ... but it was still amazing.

To top it off, my friend ... the same amazing friend who orchestrated the fun events for my kids ... invited me to go with her to an award ceremony on Sunday for a local National Guardsman.  It was a chance to practice with my new camera, so I said yes.  I didn't know what to expect, but it was a great experience in so many ways.  We were welcomed.  People wanted copies of our pictures, and I was allowed freedom to walk around to get a good angle.  And most of all, I had the honor of being present for, it turns out, two ceremonies which were very special ... and we got to help preserve the memory of those events.  What an amazing opportunity!  And to be surrounded by so many people who make a difference for our country?  Priceless.

So, that's the wrap-up of my last week.  How was yours?

night #2 - fail

well, the big bed time plan didn't work tonight because blake ended up not feeling well and went to bed just before chase.  hoping blake is feeling better tomorrow night so that we can try again.  blake has a headache, and guess what ... so do i.  i felt it coming on toward the end of the day at work, and it's been building.  crossing my fingers i will be able to make it through the day tomorrow, and blake too!

tomorrow is a christmas program at chase's school.  i am fortunately able to go.  looking forward to talking to chase's teacher.  one of my possible solutions to this whole sleep and bus dilemma is to have chase join the afternoon class instead.  still a possibility.

my mom had asked me to make her a digital christmas card to send to the people she bought her dog from, and i made that tonight.  i emailed it to her.  one digital project off of my list ... several to go!

take care,
melinda

night #1

first of all, i apologize for typing in all lower case letters, but i'm too lazy to use the shift key on the right hand side of my keyboard, and the key on the left hand side is not working.  historically, it will be neat to come back and read this some day, remembering the dumb issues i've had with this keyboard which is less than 2 years old.

bedtime has been a struggle ever since school started in september.  chase is new to going to any type of school, and not only that, but he goes to school in the morning after having previously been "trained" to sleep in due to my husband's work schedule.  the idea was to get him closer to the school schedule he will have in kindergarten, and to give him something to do while his dad sleeps in from working until the wee hours of the morning.

well, chase does not go to bed well.  he claims to be afraid of the dark.  it may very well be true, but based on some of his behaviors, i really think it is more of an attention thing than anything.  he seems to enjoy the negative attention it brings him from both his siblings, and me.

tonight, though ... i am hoping that i've finally figured out a way to deal with it.  in the past, i've sent all three kids to bed at the same time. i sent chase to bed first tonight.  chase likes to turn the bedroom light on when he's going to bed, which has always been an issue for poor blake who sleeps on the top bunk and has it shining in his face.  with chase being on the bottom, the light doesn't shine in his face, and so he isn't bothered by it.  for whatever reason, the two nightlights in their room are not enough light for him.  anyway, he was asleep within 15-20 minutes after he was sent to bed.  Hallelujah and Amen!!! (Yes, I broke out the right-shift key for that bit there!)  while he was falling asleep, i did the dishes with the older two kids.  they weren't happy about it because we had a lot to do, but i surprised them with a few oreos and some milk afterward as a reward.  bedtime was supposed to immediately follow that for both blake and julia, but apparently blake hadn't finished a math assignment -- there were some corrections to make on a  previous in-class assignment -- and so he stayed up to do that.  julia was asleep within 15 minutes, and blake went to bed last, and seems to have gone to sleep well also.

you have no idea how excited i was by the quiet bedtime process tonight.  i have been at my wits end and near tears with frustration over kids coming out of their rooms, lights being turned on, and that one child who just plain would not stay in bed.  chase went to bed without a fuss tonight.  wow.

so ... so far the new plan seems to be working.  the test will be to see if he makes it in his bed all night long, but this has promise!!!!

please let this work,
a tired mommy,
melinda

Horrible blogger

I'm a horrible blogger.  I think its probably because as far as I know, no one reads my blog but me, hee hee (except for when I enter photos at I Heart Faces, maybe)!  I wouldn't want to read a blog that didn't get posted on though, so I will try to be better about it.  I've updated my blog tonight to have Christmas colors ... kind of ... and added my Christmas playlist to the side.  Turn your sound down or off if you don't care to listen to Christmas music.  I happen to love Christmas music!

Christmas is coming way too fast this year.  Less than 4 weeks away.  I have thought about setting up the Christmas tree, but I'm sure I'll get to drag it up out of the basement again, and am not looking forward to it.  I'll have to enlist Blake's help, as I'll admit I'm afraid I'll hurt myself trying to drag it up the stairs if I do it on my own.

My goal for this weekend is to get some house cleaning and organizing done so that we CAN put up the tree.  Hubby has been doing a bunch of that lately, which is great, but he has a tendency to go overboard.  He's got the chore of laundry and keeps going through the clothes and putting things in a donate box ... except he's not paying attention to sizes and he's put things in there that we can use again in the spring, or that can be saved for Chase for when he's older.  It's good that he understands I'm going through them after him, rescuing things! :)

Blake is almost done with having braces.  He just got them put on in July, and will get them off in January already.  I am really hoping we can avoid "Phase 2" of braces with him, which would be needed if the rest of his teeth come in crooked and messed up.  So far, he still has several baby teeth in the back, as he should.  He's not old enough to be losing those yet.

Speaking of age ... I laughed internally when I took the kids to a restaurant this past weekend.  The hostess asked me if I just needed 2 kids' menus.  Kids menus are for ages 12 and under ... and apparently Blake looks like he might be older than that?  Well, I will give him that he's huge.  Well, not HUGE, but he is tall for his age, and he is wearing braces ... which most people (as would I before going through this adventure) would expect to be done in the teens.  He still has more baby-face than I would expect a 12-13 year old would, though.  So, that gave me some internal giggles.  Thank goodness for places that have menus for kids that he can still find enough to eat on, though ... this kid can't even really tolerate a Mighty Kids meal at McDonald's anymore because it isn't enough food!  I have NO idea what I'm gonna do when this kid IS a teenager, hee hee!

Well, as usual, I'm trying to get too many things done and am not getting to sleep early enough, so I'm going to close up shop for now.  Time to start winding down and get some rest!

Thanks for stopping by,
Melinda

I Heart Faces: Tickled Pink

This time I decided to feature my daughter who was covered in pink for one of her first T-ball practices of the season this past spring.  You can see some of her face ... hope it's enough to count, as this was just too much pink for me NOT to enter it.  My daughter borrowed a friend's pink helmet, and another friend's pink bat, and so she ended up covered in pink ... it was just too cute! :)

This week's theme is pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  My aunt was touched by this disease.  She beat it several years ago, and now faces another battle with another form of Cancer.  Love you, Aunt Mary Jane, and I think about you every day ... hoping for health, comfort, and as many good times as possible.

See more entries at the I Heart Faces site, at the address under the image below.

www.iheartfaces.com

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Melinda

So excited! ("Raise Your Hands" challenge at I Heart Faces)

 

Here is my entry for this week's challenge - Raise Your Hands - at I Heart Faces! This was my little man on his fourth birthday last year ... SO excited about his new Big Wheel!  I loved how expressive his face was with his hands up, so it was an easy pick for this challenge.  See more entries at the link below the icon.

www.iheartfaces.com

Back to School

I Heart Faces is having a Back to School photo challenge ...

I didn't do a photo shoot for Back to School ... I just took some pictures of my kids like I always do.  I really liked how this one turned out though, so I submit a picture of my youngest son, waiting for his very first bus ride to pre-K!

Check out all the fabulous entries at I Heart Faces!

Beautiful Eyed Beach Bum ...

When I saw the prompt, I knew I had to share this picture that I took last summer of my son at the beach when we were camping with my parents.  I love my son's eyes!  I did apply a pre-set by Kelsey Smith that I got ages ago called "Dance," that I did just a little tweaking on.

  I Heart Faces - Beautiful Eyes Challenge

Thanks for looking, and check out more entries at the I Heart Faces link above!
 

I Heart Faces photography challenge: shadows

I have decided to enter this photo for the shadow challenge this week.  I didn't take it this week, thank goodness.  It was an amazingly chilly day this January that I took this picture at the Silvermine Invitational.  It was so cold that my camera would not stay on, and at one point my camera even re-set its date back to 1/1/1980!!  Wiped it right out.  I snuck a few shots on my camera, and on my dad's camera.  My dad would tuck my camera down under his jacket to try to warm it up so that the darned thing would work!  It was so frustrating as I could see the amazing potential if my camera had been in proper working order.


Still, I really have nothing to complain about, as I caught this pretty cool shot with a neat shadow of the skier!

Thankfully, this type of weather seems to be finally moving out.  The big pile of snow in our back yard has been reduced to a small pile of ice, and that should melt fairly quickly.  We've had unseasonably WARM weather today, but there is a threat of severe weather in addition, so that's an interesting trade.  Here's hoping that everyone stays safe today with the unstable weather pattern!

See more entries for the Shadow challenge by clicking on the I Heart Faces button above! :)

Fix-It Friday #89

I have no professional skill when it comes to photo editing. I just like to play in Lightroom! I saw a post on Facebook for the Fix-It Friday event at iHeartfaces.com with a link to the newest photo provided, and decided to give it a go, even though I know many other more experienced editors will be playing with the same photo. I am anxious to see what direction they take with it.

I decided to smooth out the subject's face a little, and went with a desaturated look, and added back in a pop to the blacks, reds and blues. I really like how it drew out his blue eyes, and the texture/design in his shirt. I would have liked to blur the background beyond the brick wall, but I wasn't sure how to achieve that, so I stopped with what I've got.


Here is the original with credits to the photographer, Dana Suggs:

and here is my edit:

and a second edit cleaning up the wood and the back wall with some cloning and slight gaussian blur in PSE, a slight vignette added in LR, and an addition of film grain from PSE applied to the brick wall.

You can see more on this week's Fix-It friday here:







Thanks for stopping by!

Vote for my Shutterfly book! :)

Check out my book in the Shutterfly Best Gift Ever Contest!

I've entered a Shutterfly contest! My parents went on a trip to Alaska. My dad took lots of pictures and tons of them were great and really interesting! But, they sat in envelopes after they were developed, and I had no idea what some of the pictures showed.

I got the idea to make a Shutterfly book of the pictures for Christmas. I got my mom to put the pictures from their trip on a disc ... she assumed I'd do digital scrapbooking with them ... and started a book. Then I got my parents' friends' email address in Alaska and asked them for help. They helped me with the captions, and even contributed some more pictures so that the book could include pictures of my dad, who otherwise would have been missing due to being behind the camera the whole time.

The scenery was breath-taking, and the trip was very special to my parents. It was an amazing feeling to see them open the gift at Christmas!

It would be awesome if you would vote for me ... please check out the above link to see it!

A Christmas re-cap ...

I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are some pictures to re-cap Christmas morning at home, Christmas morning at my In-Law's, and Christmas morning at my parents' house.

At home:

At the In-Law's:

At my parents' house

It was a very busy day, and I wasn't feeling the greatest, but I enjoyed being with everyone. The kids were spoiled, as usual, and they are very happy.


Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year everyone!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

Well, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... on my blog.  Not at home yet.  I was thinking about setting up the Christmas tree today since I wasn't able to go shopping, but my husband doesn't think it should be up yet ... it's not even December 1st, you know.  Um ... Christmas is less than a month away.  I don't think it's too early.

For some reason, I'm more into Christmas this year than usual.  The last couple of years, I've been the one delaying the tree being put up because I just wasn't in the spirit. I'm glad that I'm more into it this year.  We've already been through the park to see the lights.  They are really pretty, though there are a lot of the LED lights replacing the less energy efficient ones ... and I think that is great ... except the LED lights are really, really bright.  I would love to see an invention of LED lights that aren't quite so bright ... get on that, will you? :)

The kids looked through the Kmart toy catalog today that was in my room somehow.  They pointed at nearly every item in the book.  Chase pointed at a remote control car ... that he already owns in a different color and has forgotten about.  It probably just needs batteries.  Julia wants anything girly, and a few typical boy toys too.  I was surprised when she pointed at Hot Wheels car track stuff.  Seriously?  You want that?  But, I didn't say that because I of course do not want to support those stereo-types.  They are already all to aware of them on their own.

They won't be getting many of the items they were pointing at, but that's ok.  I know they will be super happy with what they well we ... I mean wii ... are getting.  (Thanks, Mom)  I have a feeling we're going to have a rather electronic focused Christmas this year, though I plan to give hints to my husband's side of the family regarding non-electronic toys ... like Kung Zhu track stuff for Blake and Chase, and Zhu Zhu/Barbie stuff for Julia (she's feeling left out regarding Zhu Zhus).  I am hoping to goodness to avoid any little plastic figurines, and please oh please, no more NERF guns/ swords!!!

I participated in the Scrappers Give Thanks project this year.  See this post to see what I made, and see this site to see what was accomplished.  Thanks to the help of hundreds of people, and thanks to help from Persnickety Prints, 2000 digital and/or paper-pieced cards have been made to be delivered to children's hospitals!  It's an awesome project.  Oh yeah!  I re-read my post after publishing, and realized I forgot to share that I won something in the give-away!  I didn't participate in order to win a prize, but it's pretty cool that I did.  I won a membership to a subscription site called Scrap Happy.  I'll let you know what I think once I learn more about it!

I am setting a goal to make cards for next year's project throughout the year, so that I can have a big contribution next fall.  Maybe you'll join me!

Well, Blogger is starting to have some issues as I type this, so I am going to sign out.  Good time to visit the Powder Room and head to bed to read a book (ahem, Breaking Dawn ... again)!

Thanks for stopping by,

How to tackle Mount Washmore

Mount Washmore is one of the most frustrating things I deal with on a day to day basis. But, I think Ana White may have a solution with this project: Laundry Basket Dresser I think that would make my laundry area a lot neater, and it might even encourage laundry to be managed more quickly! I also love the possibilities of other ways to use it. One commenter suggested that it could be used to hold recycling bins ... and then I thought about the idea of having a place to store sports stuff, and the list goes on and on.

I thought the idea was so cool, and it looks pretty easy, so I thought I'd share! :)

Scrappers Give Thanks ...

I've made two (... and now three as of 1:30 Sunday morning) cards so far for Scrappers Give Thanks ... I know I can do better than that.  But, you can do better too ... all you need to do is create at least one 4x6 (vertical orientation) post-card type card that is geared at a child.  The goal is to brighten their day as they are in the hospital.  You can learn more about Scrappers Give Thanks by clicking the link on the right side of my blog, or by clicking on this logo:

Here are peeks at the three cards I've made so far ...

Made with Sweet Christmas by Connie Prince

Made with Sunbeams and Daydreams by Connie Prince

Made with I Wuff You by Connie Prince

Thank you for helping make a difference!
~Melinda

Cool and rainy turns into a beautiful fall day ....

Recently, after a cool, early morning soccer game (with a win!), and being locked out of my car by my own doing (Thanks again, Angela for rescuing us!), we went to my parents' house for brunch and pumpkin picking.  My mom called me and invited us out ... while I was locked out of my car.  Ahem.  Anyway, she said she felt bad about missing the kids' soccer game, but it was just too chilly.  I didn't blame her at all.  But, she fed us yummy pancakes, and the kids ran around and played ... I could not complain. :)  You may recognize some of these photos from my current blog header.  I liked them just a little bit. :)

My mom (and dad) are now raising chickens.  They started early in the spring.  My mom also started raising honey bees then, but that's something to share about another time.  The chickens are used to people being around.  They followed us around pretty much all day.  It was kind of neat, and they are actually kind of cute to watch and listen to.  I had a LOT of fun taking pictures of the chickens, the one rooster (George), and the kids.  My kids made a big leaf pile and of course I had to document that.  We also got our pumpkins and gourds from my parents' garden, and Blake helped my mom cut down corn stalks for a nice ... whatever those are called.  I have a smallish bundle by my front steps with all the pumpkins and gourds around it.

The statue in the upper right is by my parents' dog Katie's grave.  *cry*  My daughter got all weepy after they visited her, and I did too.  Thankfully, the kids had already run off to play and didn't see me.

The kids also got to ride on the 4-wheelers on my parents' property.  Blake's has a governor in it so that it can't go very fast, and a safety strap.  They LOVE going for rides on  the 4-wheelers.  It really was a gorgeous day after the initial chilliness and even a little bit of rain.  We stayed there most of the day!  I know Tyler enjoyed the me-time, too.

Thank you to the CoffeeShop Blog (see the blogs I follow on the right-hand side for a link-up) for the photo template that I used in my post today, and to Linda for letting me know about them!  I can see easily that I will share more photos in my posts going forward!

It's getting close to bed time, so I am going to close.  Thanks for visiting!

In the orchard ...

I was very frustrated with our visit to the orchards this year. We had to rush a little bit because we went after work instead of on the weekend, and the kids went straight from the car to the apple cider inside, and then straight back into the car. No pictures by the apple trees, and no pictures by the pumpkins. BUT, honestly I shouldn't complain. We are fortunate to have apple orchards that are not very far away from home.

Thankfully, I have been able to get some great orchard pictures in the past. The I Heart Faces site is having a photo challenge this week regarding orchard pictures. The trick ... I can only pick ONE picture ... so here is my photo for Week 42's challenge:

 This is my oldest son exploring the applie apple orchard (I always type applie by mistake, ugh) when he was 3 years old.  We had just eaten some apple pie ... can you see the spoon in his hand? :)  The lighting was perfect and the colors were vibrant.  There are two others that go with this one that have never been trumped for a favorite orchard picture (of my own) yet. But, I keep trying every year!  Unfortunately, the orchard where I took this photo went under new ownership a few  years ago, and we can't walk among the trees like this anymore.  But, last year I did sneak over and snap a few pictures by one when they left the gate open ... you can see those pictures HERE.

I can't wait to see everyone's orchard pictures!  This is my first entry for the I Heart Faces challenge ... I hope that my little man had enough of his face showing for this to count! :)

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Well, Fall doesn't officially start until Chase's birthday (which is Wednesday), but this phrase is popping up all over in the digital scrapbooking world as the fall kits start rolling out. I love fall scrap-booking kits. The colors are so pretty, and the purchasing of said fall kits actually is what encourages me to get my butt outside on days I might otherwise not. I have to go get pictures of my kids playing in the leaves, don't I? :) Here are a couple of the kits that will inspire me to get my butt outside:



And, it also reminds me that we need to visit the apple orchards, and all those other fun fall things. (Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy those apples, but I digress.)
It appears I'm heading back into a trend of not writing on my blog very often. Sorry about that. I know that my life is so vitally interesting to you that you must want me to write more often. (ROFL ... ahem)

August and a good chunk of September have passed. August was spent enjoying not having to be anywhere, once the last little bits of T-ball were over. We had soccer in April which went into May. Starting in May, we were running around for T-ball, and that continued through July. August was a month to do whatever we wanted. We went to a local beach a couple of times, and we went camping with my parents in the middle of August for their first and only camping trip this year (Thanks, Mom and Dad! I know it was a lot of work!). I went to a bachelorette party. And, we celebrated a cousin's birthday. August was a beautiful month.





It was only marred by the passing away of my parents' dog -- the dog they got the year I turned 17. She lived a long life, but it was very hard to realize she was gone. May Katie be resting peacefully on the other side of the Rainbow bridge.


Me with Katie on the day we brought her home.


Katie sleeping on a chair on her last camping trip - August 2010.

Now, September is over half gone. We've spent most of it, it seems, visiting the doctor or hospital, hee hee. But, school and soccer have started, and we've celebrated Chase's birthday. I will update more on those ... soon, but not tonight. I should be in bed already! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Ever forget your blogger password?

Well, I did. Rather, I forgot that I changed it to be another password ... so technically I didn't forget it, I just forgot that it went to this site. Follow that? LOL!

So anyway, another month has gone by in the meantime before I decided to try another possible password and made it on. I find the need to keep messing with my blog background whenever I am on here. That is just counter-productive, though, because then I start playing around with the options and never get a post written up!

Don't you wish that you could use your own image for the new template designer?? Well, I do. Somebody needs to tell Blogger that to make it an option. Get on that, will you? ;)

Let's see .... what has happened since my Girl's Day? I made CUPCAKES for my daughter's birthday ... on my birthday. We went to Culver's to celebrate Julia's 6th birthday. I went out on a date with my husband to see Eclipse and dinner ... and my husband was not impressed with the movie at all. He informed me I will have to go see the last two movies either on my own or with someone OTHER than him. :) We went to Micaela's birthday party at the fountain at the park. We went boating with my parents. The kids played their last T-ball games, including playing in Hallie Youth Days and Blake's All-Stars game. I took my kids to a company picnic, and then we all went to the same beach on Saturday with family and friends. Of course I will share pictures. What kind of a photographer wanna-be would I be without pictures?!


Cupcakes


Julia at Culver's on her birthday


Blake at fountain for Micaela's party


Chase at the fountain (and much braver, you may note)


And Julia at the fountain ... much more daring than last year. :)


Boating with my parents


Julia's last T-ball game of the season


Julia's trophy for completing a season of Girls T-ball


Blake making his first run during the T-ball All-Stars game (he's moving up to Coach Pitch next year!)


Blake receiving his trophy for participating in the All-Stars game.

That's enough pictures for one post. Hopefully I can remember my password so that I can update more often! :)

~Melinda

Girl's Day, Girl's Day!!!

Today we had a Girl's Day to celebrate upcoming birthdays for my daughter and me. Julia will be 6 in just a few days! My mom had gotten a gift certificate from her sister for a pedicure, and she decided to invite us along to make it a Girl's Day! Isn't my mom the best???

Julia was SO into this ... a totally girly event, hee hee.

Julia had her feet given a royal treatment, and then had her toes and fingernails painted. She picked a pretty iridescent purple.

My mom and I had pedicures and manicures, and my aunt came along and had a manicure. Afterward we headed to Perkins (where I'd been wanting to go since Mother's Day) and had a late lunch. The waitress was super nice, and she gave both Julia and me free slices of pie (with candles on top!) for our birthdays which are just one day (and many years) apart. We had a great time, and I love how my finger and toe-nails look! I'm not usually into this kind of thing - mostly because of the cost - but it was such a nice thing to do with my family, and it was nice to get out ... with just the girls!



Giggle, giggle ... that tickles, mommy!


Hee, hee, hee!


See my pretty toe-nails, Mommy?


Chillin' with my aunt while we waited for my mom's nails to dry.


Happy Birthday to Julia! (Reeses Peanut Butter Silk pie)