~Freedom~

Well it's getting close to the 4th of July so let the patriotic layouts commence =) This is my crazy family at a Padres game. We love going to see a baseball game around the 4th cause they have a huge fireworks show...plus it keeps Michael from being his pyromaniac self =) And what says Americana more than baseball... hot dogs.. fireworks and blue tongues... ok that was from the cotton candy but at least she stayed in the color scheme~! So yep...I AM proud to be an American and will never take my freedoms for granted~! play ball~! =)

~Bubba~

Happy Birthday Todd~! Yep it's my ~bubba's~ birthday is today. I have NO idea how and why I started calling him Bubba...but that's what I used to call him when we were little. Now I call him Toddles. I'll have to ask him which nickname he prefers better. =) This is us hanging out at Lake Gregory a LONG time ago. My grandparents had a cabin there and we would hike and fish and swim and have a grand old time being kids and having fun! And we STILL have fun and we are still just as cute =) Love ya Toddles and Happy Birthday~!!

~Olives~

What do olives have to do with this picture you might ask? My uncle Don used to entertain us at family gatherings by putting black olives on each of his fingers...wiggling them and chasing after us us and then munching them one by one. It was something all the cousins would just roll around in laughter over...OK we were easily amused. This picture is from Meg & Jeff's wedding and even on that occasion uncle Don was able to find olives to put on his fingers and wave in celebration =) My uncle Don died today and I am sure going to miss him and his delightful sense of humor~ That reminds me...I have to go buy some olives =)

~Crazy~

In case I haven't mentioned before...Jim is a HUGE roller coaster fan. He has taken trips all throughout the US in addition to the UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden just to ride roller coasters. Yes he has dragged me on a few...kicking and screaming I might add =) I am FINALLY getting around to scraping his roller coaster trip to Spain last year. He has sooooooo many pictures he took, in addition to all the pictures his friends took of him which makes it hard to decide which photos to actually print out. So I have decided to make this one a digital album... a first for me. So wish me luck and have a crazy yellow hat kind of day~! =)

~Lemonade~

I love the saying...when life gives you lemons make lemonade and I love this new kit by Karma called Lemonade Stand...and with summer rapidly approaching what better reason to put two of my fav things together =) I hope you don't have any lemons in your life today...but if you do...be sure and make lemonade...or if it's really bad...make margaritas~! =)

~Groupie~

One advantage of working at Scripps is that it is right next to the Torrey Pines Golf Course. The 9th hole fairway is right by the patio where we eat lunch. So every now and then we see golfers walking along the fairway. Normally that is no biggie but this past week was a different story. All around the city of San Diego and even around the hospital there has been a buzz of excitement because of the U.S. Open. More importantly because of Tiger Woods. I have nevered considered myself a groupie...I have never even followed golf but actually hearing the roar of the crowds and the oooohs and the ahhhs just got everyone caught up in it. So I found myself standing along the fence with tons of other employees just to have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Tiger. Last Friday out he was teeing off right by us...so we stood around and stood around waiting for a glimpse of him...only to be told he had driven right by us to get to the OTHER hole that he would be starting at....oh man I failed as a groupie~! But the whole weekend we watched parts of the tournment on TV. Sunday Michael & I were actually late for our dinner reservations cause we were soooo glued to the TV to watch the final outcome and when it went into a tiebreaker I knew I would have my last and final chance to catch a glimpse of Tiger the next day at work. So on Monday, a coworkers husband was home watching the playoff on TV and he called us right before Tiger got to the 9th hole. We dropped everything and ran down to line up at the fence....rather amazing ANY work got done at the hospital that day =) And pretty soon you could feel this vibe of excitement and there standing right in front of us was Tiger Woods~! AWESOME~!! I was actually star struck~! We all started snapping pictures and cheered him on as he made his way down the fairway. We would get various updates throughout the day on how he was doing and when we heard he won we all cheered~!!! So now...I am an official Tiger Woods groupie...I am so proud =)

~Dad~

I love this saying and it's sooooo true in Michael's case. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful husband AND wonderful dad for the kids. He is always there to love and support us and is the voice of reason and the calm in the storm. I DO thank God daily for bringing him into my life as a husband and a dad to the kids~

~Published~

Well look what arrived on my doorstep the other day. Two magazines each featuring two of my scrapbook layouts~! Pretty exciting~! ok REALLY EXCITING~! I am in awe that Scrapbooking & Beyond selected my layouts...one was even highlighted on the table of contents =)Their magazine features some of my favorite
scrapbook designers...especially Vicki Boutin. So to be in the same magazine as her is just totally mind boggling~! Stamping Stationary and Scrapbooking was the first magazine I was published in and I am thrilled they still like my stuff =) Those are my layouts in the top right corner. Wow even Michael is famous now =) I know these pictures are kinda small...so you will just have to buy the magazine to get a closer look =) Enjoy the day and all of it's blessings and remember...dreams DO come true =)

~Believe~

This is little old me a veeeeeeeery long time ago...aren't I just the cutest thing? hahaha =) This was made using Emma Moore's new Quik Page. I LOVE these kinds of templates...open them up...slap in a picture...maybe some bling or journaling and viola it's done~! My kind of scrapbooking =) I love the quote:
~Believe to know in your heart that something is true; to feel certain of the worth or value of something~ So take some time today to sit back and REALLY think about just WHAT you believe in.