Kendall's Graduation Party

Kendall is graduating from 8th grade this year (which is very hard to believe) and unfortunately, is going to miss her graduation ceremony at school. We have to leave on the 5th in order to get to Colorado on the 7th so that Jay can start his new job on the 8th. We feel just terrible about it, but some things are just beyond your control.

Since Kendall will miss the last week of school (including collecting yearbook signatures, graduation and the 8th grade trip), she asked if she could have a graduation party. The only night we could do it was last Friday night and a lot of her friends had plans for the extended weekend, but she had a few close friends over for some snacks (chips and Ranch dip and guacamole and pizza bagel bites) and build-your-own ice cream sundaes. We weren't able to do anything extravegant with everything we have going on right now and the expenses piling up, but we wanted to at least do a little something. Since she and her friends are into their own things, I didn't plan any games or any events, I figured they would just rather "hang out." So, they ran around the yard, listened to music, watched Beauty and the Beast from the school play and played Charades. All in all, they had a great time together and Kendall got some quality time with the special friends she made at Lakeview.

Flowers For You

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. This move has been all-consuming and to be honest, I am looking forward to being through with the transition period. Right now we're preparing the house for the renters (and still searching for renters), getting our address updated with all creditors and subscriptions, packing up items we want to pack ourselves, trying to entertain a teenager and a preteen, visiting everyone we love as much as we can, and right now, preparing for 3 days at the Happiest Place on Earth. All of this has left little time for paper crafting, but I did manage to squeeze in one card about a week ago. I am very excited that I will have space for a craft room in our new home!!!! It will be probably about a month before I'm able to sit down and create anything, but it will be wonderful once I do!

The dp in this card is from Basic Grey. I am soooooooooo in love with their paper! I still love and will always love my SU! patterns, but Basic Grey has become my 2nd favorite. The green cs is from The Paper Co and the pink cs if from Bazzil. I am going to give this card to my Aunt Millie for her 90th birthday. We're going to be heading out to Valencia on Saturday for her party and to see the rest of the family one last time before we start our journey on the 5th. I'll post pics as soon as possible. Please pray for all of us. Not only is it stressful, but it's an emotional process and your prayers and support are so important to us.

Virginia 2009

A few months ago (before this move was even planned), I got an email from Travelocity advertising some great deals flying into Roanoke, VA. By the time I got some dates finalized and approved by the family, I missed the deal, but was able to get an even better deal from Expedia flying into Greensboro, NC, which is 98 miles from my sister's house. If we had known about the move at the time, I never would have planned the trip, but the timing actually turned out to be perfect. It was a great break for me from all of the decision-making, house repairs, organizing, and general stress that comes with any big move.

I flew out on Saturday 05/09 and had a 2 hour layover in Chicago. I had a salad and watched A Walk to Remember on my IPod and got into Greensboro at around 9:15pm. Mom and D2 picked me up from the airport and we went back to their home and I got a tour of the house, which was really fun for me, since I had only seen the house in pictures. We had some popcorn and I was finally tired enough to read for a few minutes and get some sleep. The next day was Mother's Day, so we went to church and then back to Sandi and Aaron's for some Bratwurst and a wonderful visit with the munchkins, who had grown tremendously since I had last seen them. I was so blessed that they all knew me (including TJ, who was only 2.5 the last time I saw him and is going to turn 4 on 06/06) and greeted me with open arms. After the BBQ, Chrissi came back with me to Nana and Papa's house and we had dinner and watched Sabrina and had a slumber party.

On Monday, Nana took us bowling and to the flower shop where she works so that we could meet her boss and co-workers. We went back to the Bunn's and TJ and I built a house out of Lego's and Sam built some planes with his Star Wars Legos that he got for his birthday Sandi and I had some great sister time and stayed up all hours of the night talking.

On Tuesday Sandi and I hung out until it was time to pick up the kinds from school and daycare and then Nana came over and we went to McDonald's and met Julie and Brian and Noah for dinner and for the kids to play in the Playland. Wednesday, Aaron took off work so he and Sandi and I went and saw Wolverine and then went shopping at the mall and then picked up the kids and hung out with them for a while. Wednesday was our big day because after we spent a little time with the munchkins, Sandi and I went out for dinner and then to the 3 Doors Down concert. They are my favorite band and just happened to be playing at the Roanoke Civic Center during my trip and Sandi and Aaron surprised me with tickets (talk about a great surprise!) Sandi and I had a great time, despite the fact that we almost saw two fights break out....besides about 3 not so nice people, everyone else we were standing near (we were on the floor) were super friendly, wonderful folks. We even met a woman who was at the very front who pulled us up to the front with her. She saw me singing the words to every song and said that I deserved to be up there and she dragged Sandi up to be with me. The show was great and we even got guitar picks and some great photos.

Thursday the kids went to school and daycare and Nana came over and Sandi and Nana and the neighbor Stephanie and I went to lunch at this cute little restaurant called, "A Fork in the City." We had a great visit and some great food! That night, Nana and Papa and the Bunns and I went to Country Cookin' for dinner. No trip to Virginia is complete without a trip to Country Cookin'. TJ was so cute during dinner, he pointed across the table at me and told Sandi, "She's our new friend." I just thought that was so cute! We explained to him that I am Mommy's sister and Nana's my Mommy and he thought that was REALLY cool!

On Friday, Nana came over and we went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping and to buy birthday presents for the munchkins from Jay and I and the girls, since their birthdays are in May/June/July. We picked up the kids early from daycare and went back to the house and made tostadas and D2's brother Uncle Terry and his girlfriend Joan and cousin Kristy came over for dinner and a little combined birthday party for the kids. We wrestled and tickled and had so much fun!!!!

Saturday we went to Sam's t-ball game in the morning. He is a natural born athlete, I just loved watching him play and getting the chance to be there for a game was a real treat for me. After the game, unfortunately it was time for me to go to the airport. I was sad to leave, but felt so blessed that I had the opportunity for such a special visit. My family may be crazy but I love them EXACTLY as they are and would not change a thing!

Kristina Werner Color Inspiration #51

Time for another color challenge by Kristina Werner. This week's challenge was difficult for me. The colors are Chocolate, Rose, Mustard, and White. This week she kept the same rules as inspiration #50, which was to use only the colors in the challenge, and to include ALL colors. I always go by this rule, to me, that is the entire point of the challenge. I love this butterfly stamp from Unity's April KOTM and have been waiting for the opportunity to use it. Since butterflies come in all different colors, I decided to use the stamp for this challenge. I didn't have any paper or ink in the exact shade of rose that Kristina listed on her challenge, but I thought this paper from a matt stack from DCWV worked for the challenge, because it's at least in the same family. I used More Mustard classic ink and some Cat's Eye mauve ink for the butterflies and Chocolate Chip ink for the sentiment.

I am going to give this card to my dear friend Carrie, who took me out for a going away dinner last night. On a side note, I had my first buffalo burger at dinner last night and it was delicious! I will admit, I am not very adventurous when it comes to food, but the waitor raved about it and when I saw the nutrition stats (it's even leaner than chicken), I decided to give it a try. It tasted similar to beef, but it definitely had a distinct flavor. Anyway, I'm glad I tried it. I will definitely order one again if I see it on the menu.

Enjoy the card!

Thank you for Dennis & Em

I made this thank you card for Dennis & Emily for the beautiful bath products and the fabulous going away lunch on Friday. I used my new scallop die cut that I bought from Pam at her workshop on Friday night. She accidentally purchased a die cut that she already had, so I bought it from her and received it on the spot without having to pay for shipping or handling. I love little bargains :). I decided to make a round card since this is such a large die cut. I usually make standard-sized cards but it was fun to change it up a little bit.

Team LAA Send-Off

On Friday, the team at LaChaine & Associates, Inc. took me out for a going away lunch. We went to The Vineyard House in Santa Ynez (one of my favorites) and they gave me a beautiful bath gift set from Picket Fences in Solvang (including this gorgeous decanter) and a very, very touching card. As you can see from the photos, we are a very small, intimate group. I have worked for small companies before, but this is by far the smallest group I have worked with and have loved every minute. I love working for a small organization because there is so much variety in the daily work and everyone is invested in the business. We all pull together and we all care. I will miss working with these wonderful people and am so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to contribute even a small amount in the much too short time I was able to be part of the team.

Patrick and I. Patrick is an assistant engineer and student at Cal Poly SLO. He has been with LAA since they were working out of Dennis's house! Sorry for the squinty eyes, I should have brought my sunglasses!

Emily and I. Emily is my boss's wife and she and I worked together at C&D. She's the one who told me about the position at LAA. Thanks Em!

The whole team - Dennis Sr., Dennis Jr. Patrick and yours truly