Card for My Boss

Today was my boss's birthday. She was working from home in Irvine this week, so she won't be in the office until Monday. I had a small window of time tonight, so I made her a card to put in her mailbox for her to see when she comes in. Considering I did it in about 30 minutes, I am pretty happy with it. I have a Stampin' Up order that just came in, but I didn't have time to pick it up. I am very excited to get some new colors. Yes, it is the little things in life....

Construction - Cont'd

The mud and texture and primer are up! I think the tile installation starts tomorrow. I am getting excited! I went out the night before last and picked up all of the accessories, I think it's going to be really cute and I just know the girls are going to love it. More photos to come!

Reconstruction - day 1

Ron started reconstructing our bathroom on Friday. We now have drains for the sink and tub, the beams have been reconfigured to make room for the new fan/light fixture (the girls did not have a fan in their old bathroom) and the sheet rock has been installed and taped. Tile begins on Monday, yea!

Card for Valerie's Birthday

Valerie's birthday was on July 25th. I made this card for her and gave it to her today. I was very flattered, because she didn't even realize that I had made the card. My skills are getting better!Val and I had lunch in Santa Barbara and had a day of shopping. We had so much fun! Jay had to work and my Dad decided to let Val and I have some girl time, so we met at our usual halfway point and had a salad at Santa Barbara Brewing Company and then walked down State Street. The Fiesta was going on so we were worried about parking and traffic, but we didn't hit any traffic on the way there and parking was not a problem. We had a really nice visit and make good shopping buddies. I missed having my Dad and Jay there, but to be honest, it was kind of nice to have that one-on-one time.

Happy birthday Valerie! I'm so happy that my Dad married you :).

Matchbox Twenty

On Tuesday night Jay and I drove up to the Midstate Fair in Paso Robles to see Matchbox Twenty. We were hoping to get an early start and spend a couple of hours at the fair and grab some dinner there before the concert started at 7:30, but Jay had an insance week at work and wasn't able to get home until a little after 5:00, so we ended up grabbing McDonald's and literally eating in the truck on the way there. The drive is a little less than an hour and traffic wasn't bad, so we made good time. I had only been to the Midstate Fair once and that was last year to see Little Big Town and Martina McBride. The fair is HUGE and there is a lot to see. Parking is an outrageous $15 and the concert tickets do NOT include admission to the fair, so it really does make more sense to get there early and get the most out of your parking and fair admission dollars, but there are some things you just cannot control. So, we accepted that we would be a little rushed and not have an opportunity to see the displays (personally I love the photography, landscaping, and artwork exhibits) and were just happy to get an evening out and take our minds off of all of the insanity we have been surrounded with lately.

Vanessa Carlton was supposed to be opening for Matchbox Twenty, but when we got there a guy named Hodges was opening instead. We had never heard of him and were very impressed. He is on the same label with Matchbox Twenty and if he gets enough exposure, I think he's going to be big someday. He's very good looking (which was evident by the screams of young women throughout the audience) and has a really strong voice and plays good music. If you like Matchbox Twenty, you would like Hodges. I haven't done so yet, but I am considering downloading one or two songs from Itunes. Hodges played for about 30 minutes and then there was a short intermission before Matchbox Twenty came on. They were great! Jay didn't realize how many of their songs he had heard and I think he enjoyed it even more than he expected to. Our seats were not the greatest, but the sound was great no matter where you were sitting and the whole evening was very entertaining and just what we needed. I am already looking forward to seeing the line-up for next year!

Hodges

Demolition - Day 1

The demolition began on Monday for the girls' bathroom. Our contractor is a very, very hard worker! We left on Monday morning with a complete bathroom minus all of the personal items that we removed on Sunday and came home to this.

I can't believe he was able to accomplish all of this in one day! Way to go Ron. Now comes the fun part - watching it all come together!

July Jam 2008

Every year at First Christian Church, the children's department puts on an event called July Jam. It's for children from 1-6 grade and the younger ones have a separate event at the same time, but they aren't mixed in with the older kids. Last year was my first year helping out and I had so much fun that I volunteered again this year. This year the them was Carnival. They had t-shirts for the kids and adult volunteers with the Carnival theme on them and had the entire sanctuary decorated to look like a carnival. July Jam runs from Tues-Thurs nights from 6-8:30 and then Friday night is the big event for the whole family. Christie, the head of the children's department is so incredibly gifted. I cannot believe the amount of detail that goes into putting on an event like this. Each evening starts out with prayer for all of the volunteers and there are snacks and bottled water since we don't really have time to eat dinner after work before we have to be at the church. Then, the kids register at the ticket booth and get their bracelet (color coded for each grade) and a name badge. Then as they enter the sanctuary there is an obstacle course and this year they had a huge screened in tent filled with balloons and fans blowing the balloons around. Inside the sanctuary were 3 huge hay rings. The 1st and 2nd grade girls and boys were in one ring, separated by each grade and gender. The 2nd ring had the 3rd and 4th graders and then the last ring had the 5th and 6th graders. I was helping out with the 4th grade girls. The evening starts out with crazy worship, complete with lots of yelling and jumping up and down. Then we had a couple of group games (the 1-3 graders and 4-6 graders are on separate "teams" and competing for points throughout the event). After the games the lesson is taught. The first night Debi the "bearded lady" taught and Mr. Bramble taught on the 2nd night and Ms. Christie taught on the last night. After the lesson the kids pick up their snacks (carnival food in a cute little carnival container) and head out for team time where each group and their leader go through a little book and go over the memory verse and discuss questions. Then half the kids go to play games and the other half go to make a craft and then about 30 minutes later they all switch and then go back to the sanctuary for closing prayer and to wait for their parents. Then on Friday night there was a big carnival with hot dogs, cotton candy, a train, lots of games and more crafts, face painting, a guy making balloon animals, a big game of dodge ball, and lots more. Jay and I worked in the ticket booth on Friday night and it's always fun for me on the last night because we get to serve together. Although I am completely exhausted, it is very much worth it. I always get more out than I give and I had so much fun bonding with the girls and seeing the wisdom in them in the wonderful questions they asked during team time. I am already looking forward to July Jam '09!