Memorial Day Weekend - A Trip to the Beach!

Happy End of May!
I can't believe Summer is right around the corner. The weather here has been HOT for this time of year. I think we hit 88 degrees over the weekend. Ugh. Makes me wonder if I can go through another summer without A/C. Looks like I will have to find a way to suffer through. :)

Today we went to my Niece Kim's son's FIRST BIRTHDAY party. It was a perfect day and a fun bbq party! We all had a great time, Carson is a cutie!! The kids had fun on a great tire swing and little pool too. Of course I forgot my camera, but there were plenty of others there. I am not worried. I can't believe Ella will be 1 in less than a month. How fast the past year has gone by.


Well, speaking of how fast time flies, these pictures were taken last weekend at Pacific City. I thought I should post them before we are technically into June!

The weather was beautiful (but windy the day these beach pictures were taken). The kids had a slight cold, and Ella started sounding croupy (is that a word) once we got down there. Ugh. I was worried (mostly due to Alex having a bad case of croup when he was 1.5, and having to spend the night in the hospital).....but we did our best to make it go away with lots of remedies!

Right about the time these horses were going by I dropped my camera in the sand. You'll notice a spot on the rest of the pictures. I may have to take it in to get it out.

Anyway, it was neat to see horses on the beach. It doesn't happen too often. I do remember when we saw a runaway horse shooting down the beach a few years ago. That was exciting!!

The water was cold (of course), and Alex didn't want anything to do with it. Malia on the other hand went for it. So typical.

Ella missed out on the actual beach this trip....too sick. :(

And here is a good shot of Grandpa Chuck (my dad) and the kids. Alex thought it was funny to close his eyes for every picture.

Nice.........................

Okay, one last tidbit. There are always deer that we watch for at the beach house. They come right up to the house looking for food.

Here is a video we shot of them being **hand fed** pancakes. Luckily no one was trampled.

That's all for now. I'm tired. I apologize if this is rambling and crazy. ~Linda

I WON SOMETHING!!!

Happy Thursday........and I do mean HAPPY!
I am so excited! I won a wonderful blog giveaway.

Isn't this just the cutest pincushion ever???

Well.......it will soon have a new home here with me. :) Thank you so much to Elizabeth at CREATIVE BREATHING. Take a look at her super creative and inspiring blog HERE.

Okay, back to reality for me. Time to get the kids ready for school. Both have snacks and sharing today. I need to help them find something "share-worthy". :)

Have a great day!

~Linda

A Trip to the Zoo - What a Beautiful Day!

This past Saturday we made our first zoo trip of 2009! I had been debating about breaking down and buying the zoo membership since last summer. Last year, before summer, I wasn't sure how much we would use it with a new baby on the way (translated=me being super pregnant and not wanting to walk the hills of the zoo with kids in tow), and then with *3 kids*, if I would be out that much right away. So.......we didn't get it. It was a good choice for last year. This summer is a different story. I bought the membership and am so happy I did! We have only been once so far..............and here are some pictures.

I never thought I would love the sea lions so much! I think it was a high point for me (for all of us really).

The polar bears (well, at least one) was putting on a show too. He kept swimming (backwards) right up to the glass and back. (He's there in the picture, but he's a little hard to see). Ella has a new trick: pointing. Here she is pointing at the polar bear.

We even saw one of the elephants inside doing tricks! They were circus-like stunts. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. We caught the tail end of it. After that, we bought 2 elephant ears. Yum! The wait was tortuous for them.........but worth it in my opinion. :)

Okay, that's all for now. Enjoy your day. :)
~Linda

A Blog Giveaway - Take a Peek

Hello!

I ran across a new-to-me blog, and she (Danielle) is giving away some fun crafty goodies.

Here is a picture of all you could win:

You can enter by visiting her blog HERE and linking her blog to your blog. You can also enter if you don't have a blog!! Check her out. Lots of cute things happening over there. You have until May 31st to enter the Blog Candy Giveaway.

Have a happy Monday!

:) Linda

Visa Aquarium TV Commercial

Have you seen this commercial? Is it just me or isn't it one of the greatest you've seen in awhile? This may sound sappy, but on some days it can even make me cry, okay, not cry - but get teary. I think the song must be from the 70's - it makes me think back to my childhood! Not that we ever went to a cool aquarium like that. ;)

Thoughts on the commercial?

44 Cards.........Whew!

I signed up for a "swap" (totally optional) for Close to My Heart, where you make 44 of the same cards, then you swap with 43 other people! The great thing is you end up with 44 different things, from cards to layouts! All of the finished goodies are made with new papers and embellishents from the Summer 2009 catalog.



Timing was kind of bad on this one, I had to crank them out right after we got back from our trip. I was assigned this **new** paper pack, "Moon Doggie" and the **new** Heartfelt shapes (felt) as my embellishment.


I'm not sure I love the finished product, but I did finish them in time.

Here are all 44:











They each came out a little different.

If you would like to take a look at the new catalog, just click HERE. :)

Okay, I'm off. Time to make some pancakes and do some flower planting.

Have a great day!
~Linda

Vacation Video Clips

Hello Friends!

Happy Thursday to you. Today was a beautiful day here. Sunny and just the right temp. I even pulled a few weeds. Next is the shovel to remove the tons of buttercups that are overtaking our flowers. Ugh.

Here are a couple of short video clips I took while in Grand Cayman. We went to a place where you can swim with dolphins, which was fun to watch. Too expensive for me, especially since I'm not really sure it's on my top 10 things to do list. The last clip is just of a special party they were having on the beach - the portion we could see from our room. I think it was for a private party.

Anywho, I need to get going and work on the 44 greeting cards I need to finish in the next 1.5 days. It's for a "Close to My Heart" card swap. ;O)

Bye for now~
Linda

We're BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Wow! We're back. What a great trip. It's always so amazing to me that 24 hours ago I was so far away, looking at the clear blue sea, wearing shorts. Now I'm home in an icy cold house wearing a thick sweatshirt, sweats and super warm slipper socks. It's nice to be home - but I already miss the island. I wish the kids could have experienced it...but we'll save that trip until they all can REMEMBER it!

I don't have much time right now, I have to pick up the kids (we got in at midnight) so this will be quick. First, I want to thank everyone who helped out with the kids, the cat, the yard (thanks Dad! that was a nice treat to come home to), and airport transportation. We REALLY appreciate all of you.

I had a request for "real" pictures, so Crystal, these are for you! :O) I'll post more later, and give details about our trip, and the nightmare we had getting there.

The real view from our hotel room (above).

Rum Point.

Until later............as they say on the island,

No Worries~
:)Linda

p.s. I'm so excited to get the kids! yippeeeeeeeeeee

Getting Ready to Go

Hello!
I have fallen off the blogger boat this past month. All the kids were sick, we had Spring Break, field trips, Easter, and just L-I-F-E in general.

One big thing that has been consuming my "free" time and filling my head with worry is the trip Rourke and I are taking in 4 short days! We are heading to GRAND CAYMAN without the kids.
Yikes!! There is so much to plan, the kids will be split up for awhile, and staying at 3 different places during the week. I have been trying to pack for myself, and all the kids. Shop for food for everyone, plan who is driving the kids where during the week....and my least favorite thing........writing a will. Ugh. So depressing. Can you tell we have never left the kids before? I have had dreams of the plane crashing and everything! Then there are the medical releases in case the kids get sick or (God forbid) hurt while we are gone.

Anyway, I'm sure once we get there I will be so totally excited. I just have to GET THERE!
Here are a few pictures I just found online to pump myself up! I am really wishing now that I had gotten myself into better shape and tan.




This is a picture of "Stingray City"......where we are apparently going. Hopefully it's safe. :)

This is where we are staying....

I have heard there are internet cafes all over...so hopefully we can check email and keep in touch.

Geez....I can't even imagine all the free time we will have for a week without kids.

Gotta run.....speaking of kids, they are a calling.

Until next time~

Linda

Sisters

Hello!

Just a quickie post to share a couple of pictures from this weekend.
Ella is now 9 months old and is starting to scoot/crawl and pull herself up. It's lots of fun....until she's actually quick! :)

Here are our girls. Malia is 5 years and 5 months.....Ella 9 months.

(okay, not sure why those are going into blogger sideways......hmmmm. )

And here's a little video clip of Miss Ella:

It's Spring Break for us, but nothing big planned. Hope you are enjoying your week.

~Linda

Happy 3rd Birthday ALEX!!

Today is our Alex's 3rd Birthday!!!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday party this weekend. He is loving Spiderman right now, so he had his very own Spiderman cake!! Lots of yummy red and blue frosting.......the kind that stains your lips and tongue. :)

Poor guy is exhausted today after 3 days of birthday fun with all kinds of family and sets of grandparents. He's a little grumpy, okay, A LOT grumpy and needs to nap. Not sure if that will happen today. Birthday boy has hit the wall.

That's all for now.............

Enjoy YOUR day!
:) Linda

A Big Day for Little Alex

Today was Alex's first day of preschool!!!!

He has been wanting to go to school for so long and loves it when we take Malia to pre-k, so I decided now that he's just days away from being 3, we would finish off the school year in the Tues/Thurs program. It seems like a great way to ease him into preschool before we go to 3 days a week next fall. And.........I think it's fun for the kids to be at the same school for a little while.

Alex was so excited today! Yesterday we went to Target and he picked out a new back pack for the big day. He did have an Elmo back pack from a couple of years ago, but it seemed too young for my big boy! He is loving Spiderman right now, so It was no surprise that was the one he wanted. As he walked in the door to his class he turned to each teacher when they said hello and showed them his back pack. I'm not even sure if he spoke. I'm hoping he does okay in the class. He seems so young.....but he's loving it!

Here are a couple of quick pictures we took today before school. It was a hectic morning due to my Jeep having some big issues, and it needing to be towed this a.m. to a shop. The quote is $1100-$1200. Great. So, please cross your fingers that we win something in Oregon's St. Patrick's Day raffle next week. ;) It would make me feel a lot better.

Here is Alex finding his coat/backpack hook. :)

Well, I have clothes to fold.

Nighty night.

~Linda

p.s.

Here is one quick picture of Ella from the other night. She is coming up with new facial expressions. I love this kooky one! Reminds me of the time when I worked at Taco Time in high school, and someone thought I was Asian. I guess my ponytail must have been too tight under the required uniform cap!! :O)

A Blog Giveaway!!

Hello Everyone.

Hope you all had a great week! We had a sick little boy this past week, so I'm hoping this week will be better. I think I have a major car problem that **must** be fixed, so I'm pretty bummed about that. It's always something! Geesh.

On the brighter side......I stumbled across a new-to-me blog, "ScrappingLori" and she is having a fun giveaway of these goodies:

You can enter by visiting her blog here: SCRAPPINGLORI and leaving a comment or posting a link to her blog on your blog if you have one. :)

But......you don't have to have a blog to enter! Yippee!! Thanks Lori.

Oh how I would love to win and get this new "Porcelain" paper pad from Basic Grey. Yum!!

Okay, I'm outta here for now. I was gone this afternoon and came home to a clean house.........loving it, but at the same time I'm a little worried about where it all went????!!!!

Have a great night. I can't wait for The Amazing Race & Celebrity Apprentice. When did I turn into a reality t.v. junkie???

~Linda

Don't Judge Me

I'll admit it...............I watch it!

Tonight is the "Final Rose" ceremony.......he chooses either Molly or Melissa. Or does he? Hmmmmmmmmm. I have heard lots of rumors that this is the "most dramatic rose ceremony ever" (ha ha - they say that every week!). But seriously, something happens this time. Either he picks one, then realizes he made a mistake or picks no one. Tomorrow there is a special episode - where both of the final girls show up to dish the dirt. Hmmmmm again. Makes me think they are not chosen, or one was, then dumped.

Who does Jason end up with? Does he take back DeAnna? Does he realize he should have chosen Jillian (I hope!) or Stephanie (I heard this rumor)..........or did he fall in love with someone on the Crew of The Bachelor show? I have also heard that rumor.

OMG! My head is spinning from all the possibilities. (okay, just kidding). But I am excited to watch the show tonight. It is a guilty pleasure that I enjoy. Crossing my fingers my little guy can fall asleep in under 2 hours. The last 2 Mondays he has not been able to sleep. Some conspiracy or sign that I shouldn't be watching this show???? Could be.

Well, I will go now. I'm hoping I don't fall asleep during the last 5 minutes of the Bachelor and wake up to the local news. Ugh. I hate it when that happens. I may need to power nap today just to get ready...........LOL!

Have a great Monday.

~Linda

A New Discovery

Hello! Are you watching the Oscars? I am, but haven't seen any movie that is nominated. We did see Hotel for Dogs yesterday (all of us except Ella). I doubt that one will be an Oscar nominee next year...but it was fun for the family. :)

Last weekend the kids discovered that the computer was magic! Well, that it could be used to play games on nickjr.com, playhousedisney.com, etc.

Here they are totally engrossed in this new find:

And here is another, once Alex saw the camera (but notice he still couldn't take his eyes off the screen). I don't even think Malia knew I was there. (It was the morning, hence the pjs and bed head).

We are keeping this a "once in awhile" activity - well, at least as long as we can.

Have a great week!

A Blog Giveaway!

Hello & Happy Monday.

I ran across this new blog (well, new to me!) by Moralia, and she is having a crafty giveaway! You can enter by simply visting her blog here: Blog Candy Giveaway and leaving a comment (Scroll all the way down). To get an extra entry, you can post a link on your own blog, like I have. :)

These are the goodies you **could** win:

Just think of all the fun things you could make!

Good Luck!

We are off to a play date with some friends we never see anymore due to conflicting school schedules. Yeah for President's Day! :)

Bye for now~
Linda

Bryon ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is my brother Bryon's birthday!!

Here is the man of the day:

Name: Bryon J. B_________

Birthday: Feb. 15th 196_

Factoids: Father of 4, Olympia WA Firefighter and my big brother!

We all hope you have a super happy day!

Love,

Linda & Fam