Fabulous group shots! I do have to say that I did not take one picture while I was away, Brought the camera, just never pulled it out, and when you are hanging with really seriously good photographers that's really easy to do! I brought the laptop along so we downloaded everyone's disks on it and I came home with lots of great shots to do with as I please, way better than trying to get them all with your own camera!

Yes we did have a little bit of fun with some of the shots, Can you tell which backend is mine???

Work, work, work... well sort of! The first pic was taken by Debbie, my table mate. That is her stuff in the front, my side is the back, I was working on Carter pictures. Actually got one LO done of the little monster. Spent most of the time gabbing and getting my journal pages done.

Upper crop room.

Downstairs with Shawna and Shannon.

Katie taught us all how to make beautiful necklaces, I love how mine worked out!

Saturday Night Dinner at MooseJaw!

Crazy, goofy moose antlers for all!

FRIDAY FUN!

So the kids had a day off from school, teacher convention and NOT a snow day! This meant that we could actually have some fun together because the weather wouldn't be keeping us stuck in the house. After doing a few to many chores we did make it out to sled. I am not a winter person, don't like being outside when it's colder than 40, so this is a tough thing for me. We headed of to a park that has parking right at the top of a hill. Perfect with Carter, thought I could just sit in a warm car and watch the kids if need be. Well lucky me 30+ degrees is actually not all that bad. The sledding hill had built in jumps from the snow plowed boulders that partially rolled down the hill. Kaleb and Linds had a fabulous time flying through the air. Even Carter took a couple rides down, he seemed to like it too. This was the first time he really got walking around in his way to big snow clothes, once he got his grove for how to move he had a great time exploring. It was a great afternoon.

YEP IT'S SNOWING AGAIN...

Gotta love this winter, I think our snowfall total is close to 80 inches for the season, probably over that after today is done. We are on the verge of a blizzard warning and well I'm not going anywhere today. Why is it that when you know you can't go out, you think of all the things you want to do out???

I am trying to get some of my circle journal pages done for my upcoming scrap retreat in the Dells. So far I have 2 completed and lots more to go. I am happy with what I have so far and the ideas seem to keep coming. Of course my house is suffering, the dishes are piling up and the laundry is wet in the washer. I did make time to play on the internet, LOL!

Katie you have to clue me in on how to get some good snow pictures. Everytime the snow falls I am out there and this is what I get. Not really what I want, I want some shots that show the big fluffy flakes. I really would like to take a photo class, but time is a never ending issue.

THE SUN IS SHINING!

Wow it is amazing how just a little sunshine can brighten your day, well and roses from the hubby helps too! It's our aniversary today, 9 years and we haven't killed each other yet. I think I may have guilted him into sending these to me, but oh well I still love 'em!

So thinking back 9 years, I remember first the weather because it was sunny and warm, like 60 degrees warm, I remember walking across the street to church without a jacket, that wouldn't happen today. I really need to start working on my wedding scrapbook. I have been collecting supplies for it, for almost 5 years now, I look at the pictures every now and again, but I never get the urge to do something with them, is that weird??? Anyway I am excited that Jeff and I have made it this far and I hope for many many more years to come.

Busy day today, been running in circles since I got up, had a few things in my head I wanted to put on here, but as of this second I can't remember a one.

STAR STUDENT OF THE WEEK!
So miss Lindsay is the star at school this week, lots of fun! In her room there is a special star board that has spots to put photos but Linds would have nothing of that. She is so very creative, straight out of her mouth that came last night and well we needed to do a board like her brother had last year. Ok now this Linds board was much less stressful on mom. Kaleb he's not all that into crafting stuff, rare occasions he gets into it, I did his all on my own. Linds, as soon as we started going through pictures, I think had an idea in her head of what she wanted. I helped stick the pictures down and she did the rest. Lots of coloring and stickers and it was beautiful! Tomorrow and Thursday when I am too busy with extra babies Linds will take treats to school and on Wed I'll go in and have lunch with her, then Friday is the big day. We were going to make valentine cards for a mom or dad, but today her teacher told me she hadn't had any ideas for valentine bags for the class. Alright I can do that! Ordered some fun stuff from Oriental Trading this am and we are going to make the cutest bags ever! I think I will have them either punch or stamp their names on the bags and then it will be a free for all with paper, stickers, and foam hearts!

The last pictures of Linds were from Monday last week and these shots are yesterday when I it was the greatest winter to day to play in the snow! Not quite as cold...

So we had a good weekend, Jeff's Birthday was Friday. We didn't really do anything special, I always make a cake and well that's about it. Neither one of us are all that into each others Birthdays. We have kids that love to party for their special days and that's good enough. Then headed to Madison on Saturday to visit with my BFF Judy, (saying BFF just makes me feel silly and young, sometimes you need that...) We hung out at the play area in the mall and had lunch and did a little wandering too. All in all it was too short of a visit but much needed. On Saturday night Jeff's parents took us and kids out for dinner for hubby's b-day, very nice, love it when I don't have to cook or clean!

The pictures are from Sunday, it was finally warm enough for the monsters to play outside most of the day. And even warm enough to take Carter out. He wants to be outside but doesn't really enjoy it when he's there. The whole all bundled up thing slows him down so much that it's not a lot of fun. K and Linds had a blast though. Later Sunday afternoon K and Jeff went to Grandpa's and K shot his first squirrel! He's been "hunting" since he was 4, but this was the first time he got to shot something himself with his own gun. He was quite proud!

Baby it's COLD outside!

Ok just letting you all know that I am so tired of the snow and cold. I am really ready to move somewhere south!

Everyday stuff...

So we have been having a lot of fun with the Wii and yesterday was no exception. Gotta send a huge shout out to Kaleb, he got a 239 bowling and is now a "pro"!!! He does this really wild arm spin/swing and well he got 5 strikes in a row! Crazy!

And so you all don't think we are turning into video game freaks, I had to snap some pictures of the kids the other night just crafting away. I am doing this circle journal thing for a scrap weekend I am going to in February and well my journal is things that make you smile, my kids crafting away no TV on, just enjoying creating really makes me smile.

Then of course there is Lindsay, she has learned how to find people in the phone book and gets the biggest kick when she finds someone we know. She wanted her picture taken while she was pretending to call her friend. Such a cutie!

Happy 2008!

Yeah I know it's a little after the fact but who cares! So my last post was about prepping for Christmas and now it's all over. It turned out alright, we did find a Wii and have been enjoying it quite a lot. Linds is a very good Wii bowler! She even had a 199 game! Jeff he is really into the tennis game, he'll start playing and go for hours. And he loves to make me watch. I haven't decided if I really like watching all that much but for now it's new and fun. Kaleb likes it all too! Carter has started swinging the regular TV remote around trying to figure out what we are all doing. Gotta love the little guy.

The new year is off to a crazy start, Jeff had been sick for the longest time and got to spend some extra family time off of work while the kids were home from school. Something good coming from something not so good, that's always a bonus.

Last week it was the Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis, and along with that a final tournament for the HSO archery. This is a pop up tournament that is just as much fun to watch as shoot in. Jeff did quite well for no practice. We missed the money round by an ear, literally by an ear! There are two targets that come up together first a buck deer then a doe in front of him. You are not supposed to shoot does, only bucks. Jeff took aim at the buck and fires as booth targets are going down and by some freak of luck his arrow hits the does ear. Zero points for that! And with that he ended up getting beat that round. Big bummer, but there's always next year. The picture is Jeff during his first match that he did win.

Yep we just returned from Indy, I got four days off from being a mom. Quite the vacation for me even if it was a lot of work too. Last year I missed the trade show, Carter was just too little for me to leave. This year I was very glad to go and even gladder to get back home and pick up my babies. I missed them terribly. They seemed to do just fine without me though. A very good friend of mine who I will be eternally greatful too took all three of my kiddos Wed, Thur, and Fri. She also has four of her own! Yikes! I haven't talked to her yet I hope she is still speaking to me. The kids tell me everything was fine and Carter didn't get into any trouble, that is very hard for me to believe. Then Nana picked them up Friday afternoon and they spent the rest of the weekend with her and papa. They love staying with Nana and Papa whenever they can. That I am also very greatful for.

It's back to the grind now, I have been putting a million and one things off "I'll do it after Christmas". Gotta get to those...

Christmas time is coming....

Not sure if I am ready or not and it's coming way to fast! If you must know I am not all that fond of Christmas or any holidays in general. Not sure why, but somewhere in my teenage years I don't know I just lost the happy, happy, joy, joy of it all and it became a burden. I haven't decided if having kids makes it better or worse...

Anyhoo, the kids had a snow day on Wednesday and this was my opportunity to tidy them up and put them in front of the Christmas tree for a few photos. This is my fav of all three of them, yes Carter is trying to get away, but oh well he is smiling. And yes if you are wondering that is the one and only Christmas tree in our house this year. I LOVE IT!!! Not that I don't sorta enjoy the real trees we have had in the past, it's just this year there is a little monster living here and well I wasn't in the mood to be cleaning up dumped over Christmas tree over and over again all through the month of December. This tree is perfect, it gets knocked over we just stand it back up again no harm done! And Linds and I made it, that is we painted and screwed the bottom on. That's gonna be a cute scrap page.

So this morning I got an email and I wanted to post it here, cuz I liked it and again it brought a few happy tears to my eyes. It's a letter to Santa from a mom -


Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.Yours Always,MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

November 24-25, 2007 - we went on a mini trip...

Well after all that fun of black Friday I guess I needed to relax a little and would you believe it Jeff had some free time too! We packed up the kids and headed just south to Dubuque, IA. The fact that we were in a different state (even if it was only 50 min away) was a totally cool thing with the kids. We stayed at the Grand Harbor Resort which was next to the Mississippi River Museum, that's where the top two photos are from. The first one's from inside a monster catfish! The museum was pretty cool, we saw lots of catfish and other river creatures, plus learned lots about riverboating. They also had some neat looking stuff outside, but it was a little cold so we may just have to take another trip in the summer.

The hotel had a nice sized water park area (nothing like the dells hotels, but nice), and even though I brought my camera along I didn't take it out to get any wet pictures. I guess sometimes I just need to play too. Took Carter down the waterslides, I think he liked it, Jeff was at the bottom watching and he said Carter was smiling. I also did a little bit of relaxing in the hot tub, that was spectacular!
This last picture is of the fabulous carmel apple treats the hotel was doing Saturday night, fresh apples dipped in warm carmel and then your choice of sweet, salty treats to roll them in. Can it get any better! I just love this picture of Linds, check out the carmel in her teeth, hope the dentist doesn't read this, LOL!!!