Wordless Wednesday

"Knuckles!"

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Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

I had a hard time with the second book in the Fablehaven series, Rise of the Evening Star by: Brandon Mull, the story seemed really slow to me. Not that it was lacking in action, but that it took too long to get to the story. But it could also be because with all these changes... having to work and be Mom, I didn't have a lot of time to read, so I was impatient. But I did like the story. I still love the characters, I think they are really fun! And their story is full of adventure and evil to overcome! I'm excited for the third book coming out on April 21st! And click here to read about the first book!

Say "Cheese"

Finally, success!! I wanted to take advantage of working at the studio to get the kids updated and Easter pictures, but Gary wasn't so sure. You wouldn't guess it from the pictures, but it was a lot of work cause Gary is terrified of the flash. The first time I took him in to get pictures (a month ago) he stood on the spot just like he's supposed to, smiled and said "Cheese!" Taking pictures isn't a new thing to him at all, as you all know cause, well, you know me ;) But as soon as that flash went *POP* he freaked out and wouldn't even set foot onto the back drop. But this time went real well. Todd ended up in several of Gary's first pictures since he seemed to do well if he was sitting on dad, we just had to disguise him. In the end, I was amazed and had a real hard time picking pictures to order! Enjoy them!

Coloring Eggs

Today we colored eggs as a family and it was so much fun! Liv, despite her fever, was independent and wanted to do it herself. Gary wanted to do it on his own too... it's just that his way wasn't very ideal. First, he'd throw the egg into the dye. The first time it cracked us up, cause Todd showed him the steps to putting the egg in. When Todd looked away for a second Gary picked one up from the carton and threw it into the cup they had just placed an egg in. Just made us think "Were you even listening!?" So silly! In the end we had a bunch of cracked eggs, bu mostly brightly colored Easter eggs ready for the hunt coming this Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday

"Magnified2"

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Here's the first "Magnified"

Digi Dare #79

This weeks challenge seemed easy enough since I look to other layouts for inspiration when I'm lacking anyways. Unfortunately, I think my creativity is drained due to the amount of scrapbooking I've been doing to get caught up. Nonetheless, this is my page... for now. So here's the rules for this digi dare: the challenge for you this week is to scraplift a current Digi-Darer. You don’t need to use the same kit, you don’t need to use the same number of pictures (you can if you want!) but you do need to get inspired. I found this layout by Karah:

And here is my version:

credits: Misty Cato's Baby Brights

Digi Dare #78

I had a hard time with this digi dare because I don't have any lucky charms. The rules were: must use green, symbol of luck or blessing (shamrock, rainbow, cross, etc), and throw in a bracket or two. As I was saying I don't have any lucky charms and a lot of people spotlighted how lucky they were to have their kids & family, which is true, but I didn't want to follow suite. Instead I decided to state how lucky I am to experience life since that's a lesson I have become grateful for. Credits go to Misty Cato's new Baby Brights kit that I LOVE!

Austenland

I loved this book, Austenland, just as I have loved Shannon Hale's other books (Goose Girl and Princess Academy). This story was a nice escape into almost every girl's fantasy... Jane is given a trip to live as they did in the Victorian era. It gives her a chance to fall in love with her dream guy, "Mr. Darcy." Instead she ends up learning so much about herself and what she really wants... or is it?? The story kept me guessing until the very end! It was such a page turner & enchanting! Did I mention I love it ;)

Being a Photographer

Since Todd was laid off I decided to take the opportunity to get a job doing something I love... taking pictures. I was hired on the spot at Sears Portrait Studio the end of the month. It's been a very learning experience. I have learned loads more about posing and selling photos, as well as learning that I don't do so well working for someone else. It's hard to have so much pressure to sale a certain dollar amount when there's no commission made and a small dollar amount being paid. That's been frustrating. It's also made me miss being at home with the kids, I love being their mom and helping them every day to learn and grow. So I'm also excited that things with the house went so smoothly so that I can get back to the real job I love... being Mom!

Don't Blink

Do you believe in miracles? We do! Despite this terrible Utahan market we sold our house four days after it was officially listed!! Plus, it was only five grand under what we asked! We are so happy that things went smoothly. Well, with some mixed emotions, since I really wasn't expecting it to go this fast. I had been hoping to let Liv finish out her preschool year with Little Learner's Academy (which I'd recommend to anyone) and I wanted to see my brothers through the end of the school year, and rack in some more dollars at work (more on that subject later). Oh well, I'm grateful for the lifted burden of having to keep a house clean and wondering if/when the house will sell.

Our next adventure lies in southern Utah where Todd and I will be returning to school at Southern Utah University. That's where we were going when we met, but when my mom's cancer spread we packed up so we could be back up north with her, no regrets there. Now we are so excited to continue our education so we can have a brighter future!

Sunday Spotlight

Typing - It is so important in this modern day to do well at typing. My mom had elegant handwriting, she was taught penmanship & perfected it because her generation didn't have computers. Many of her reports were written; therefore, it was important to write well so it could be easier to read. For my generation, where we live on computers, the focus is on words typed per minute. I am so grateful for the fun typing games my mom invested in so that we could perfect our typing ability. I am proud of my words per minute because it's my ticket into several jobs as well as the possibility to get papers/letter/etc written all that much quicker!61 words

Speedtest

Blanket for Baby Carson

I've been working on a handful of blankets, but have been waiting until I gave them away before I posted them so I didn't ruin their surprise. So here's this soft and cuddly blue one for baby Carson that arrived last week to the Davis family! This pattern of shells was easy going and easy to do. I really enjoyed it & will enjoy it even more when I see this cute baby all bundled inside of it!

Click here to view more of my blankets, or click the blankets link under "labels" to the left.

All Caught Up

What a relief! I am finally all caught up (minus a couple months that I'm finishing for last year traditional style-scrapbooking)!! Another thing I love about digi-scrap is now it's real easy to get Liv and Gary's books done since several of my pages can be slightly altered to be the perfect pages for their books too! Yay! So now I'm on to Liv's and then Garys! It's good to celebrate one's achievements!