Blast from the past

Here's some oldies from our past. I pulled out my picture box and decided to do a few pages of stuff from 2005. I had to have Jim come out and help me jog my memory on some of the details but I think we got the dates right. Maybe..., eh, close enough!

It's fun to look back at the old pictures of the kids, they are getting so big now it's hard to remember how little they were just a few short years ago. I'm trying to use up some of my old scrap stash before I buy anything new, it's hard not to shop but I really don't "need" anything. The page of Morgan is some old Making Memories and the page of Rachel is another older line of Making Memories. I guess I like Making Memories! I'm thinking about doing the ScrapTiffany challenge this week, it's all about scrapping your ugly pictures. I'm sure I can find some oldies that would qualify. We'll see how the week goes.

Happy Birthday Morgan

This weekend we celebrated Morgans 17th birthday. We headed up to Tacoma to the Southern Kitchen for lunch and it was delicious, as usual. We also went to Freight house Square, thinking we could walk around looking at the shops- but it was almost completely empty! We didn't do any shopping, instead we went to the waterfront and walked around for a bit. The weather was beautiful and it was a nice way to spend the day. I tried to take a few practice shots for senior pictures but it was just way to sunny out to get anything worth using, although I do like the one on the bench that's included in this post. Happy 17th Morgan!!

I'M BACK!!!

Wow, where have I been? I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged. Life has been keeping me insanely busy and stressed out too, so blogging hasn't really been on my mind too much. But, today I had a few hours to spend on some scrapping so I figured I'd post those pages for your viewing pleasure. LOL. It was really nice outside today in Washington, so nice I actually turned on the air conditioner in the Love Shack. It was nice to be able to spend a little time looking at pictures and putting stuff away from shopping trips and crops I've been to lately. I'm one of those weird people that like to look at my paper and organize it, it's relaxing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pages and hopefully I can get back into the swing of blogging again this week.

Saying Goodbye to Tiffany

This weekend was Tiffany's going away crop in Rochester. As some of you know, she is moving to Alaska this week. She invited over 40 ladies to come say goodbye and crop for the day. It was fun for me to see many women I had met through my connection to Tiffany, some who I now call my friends only because I had made her aquaintance. My favorite part of the day was when Tiffany stood on the stage and spoke about each of us, explaining how she had met us and how our friendships came to grow. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

Tiffany welcoming us all to the crop. 

Tiffany supplied us with stuff to each make a page of us with her.

Tiffany and her sweet mom Susie- so glad I know her.

This silly girl is Teri , Tiffany's Aunt and my sweet friend.  

Talking about her friends, my favorite part.  

Teri and Tiffany's daugther Ashley.

Silly Nancy and Tiffany.

Me and my girl.

Me, Richele and Tiffany, my favorite friends.

Seattle Tourists

You know how when you live in an area you never really see all of the cool touristy type sites? Well that was true of me regarding Seattle and some of the stuff there. Yesterday I took my friend Teri and some friends of hers, Stella and Lisa, sightseeing in Seattle. We went on the "duck tours", a super fun way to see the city. You ride in these trucks that are amphibious vehicles  so you get to go into the water in them! That part was a little scary at first but not too bad once we got going. We went to Pike Place Market and the very first Starbucks store and of course the Space Needle too. We rode the monorail, something I had never done before, it took us to the market for $2, not a bad deal. We went to PF Chang's for lunch, it was place I had also never been before and it was delicious. I had a great time with these ladies , they had me laughing and smiling all day. It was nice to get away and just relax for the day. I'm off to Tiffany's going away crop for the day.

Mike's a driver!

Tuesday was Mike's birthday and we scheduled his driving test so he could get it right when he turned 16. Hopefully! Well, he did pretty good on the drive, he was nervous and messed up on the parallel parking but otherwise he did great. He said it was awkward because he was trying to talk to the instructor and she wouldnt talk back to him- very intimidating. He was a good boy though and posed for plenty of pictures for me. He didnt even complain that he had to use his Mom's station wagon for the test! It's hard to imagine that 3 of our 4 kids are now driving, not too much longer and they'll all be on the road. Life goes by quick, pay attention.

Happy 16th Mike!!!

16 years ago today this sweet boy was born. He was a tricky one- he was a week overdue and had to be induced to get him to leave me! I think he just wanted to hang out with mom a little longer. Labor with Mike was way different than Rachel, inducing makes things a whole lot more intense. Add to the it that he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and you get the idea that it was a bit painful. We hadn't found out the sex prior to him being born so it was a nice surprise get the boy I was hoping for. My sister was working at the hospital that day so she was the first one in the family to see him. Mike and I have always had a special bond, he's my momma's boy. But you know what? I'm okay with that, there's nothing wrong with a boy loving his mom.  

We had a party for Mike on Sunday at the house to celebrate. We also have a special birthday dinner planned for him up in Seattle with just Mike, Jim and I. Oh and of course you can't forget the car.....his Dad will be giving him a car this weekend. He's so excited he made me call him to ask if he could have it early!! Not! We are off to take his driving test this morning so he can get his liscence on the actual day of his birthday.

I am so proud of the young man Mike is becoming. He is kind, respectful, smart and generous and just a really good kid. I love you son!!

More of Mike's album

So, remember a few weeks ago when I started on Mike's 16th birthday album?  And I thought I might actually have enough time to get it done? Well, not quite.... I got through to about age 12 or 13 and gave it to Mike on Sunday at his birthday anyway. He was so funny, he actually thought I got it done!! I should have played along but I knew he'd figure it out eventually. It was fun to watch Mike look through it and then pass it around to everyone else for a look too. That's why I scrap, right? I'm happy with how it is coming along so far, I'll be working on finishing it this weekend at Tiffany's crop. I have everything all packed up and ready to take with me. I like how the rub on that's on the front looks, I was worried it wouldnt stick to the fabric but it was totally fine. These albums are alot of work but it's always worth it once it's all done.

Mike's Prom 2010

In our small town the school has only about 900 kids for all 4 grades, 9th through 12th. So, because of that, when it's time for Prom, all of the kids get to go. This is only the second dance Mike has been to in the two years he has been in high school. He asked a good friend of his, Taylor, to go as his date. They arent boyfriend/girlfriend, just good friends. Jim helped Mike with his tie and cufflinks and I snapped a few pictures. Then I asked Jim to take picture of me with Mike at the front porch- always my favorite spot for pictures. Then we headed over to a friends house where everyone would be meeting.

The boys were anxiously waiting on the front porch for the girls to be ready- it was funny to watch them make small talk and patiently wait. Maybe a little nervously too.

 The girls finally made their entrance and Mike and Taylor exchanged flowers and posed for a few quick shots for me. Then all of the kids lined up in the yard for group pictures.

This group of kids are all really nice, they all posed willingly and did just about anything we parents asked them to do. There were lots of parent there snapping pictures of their kids and the whole group too- it was a really nice experience.

Mike and Taylor posed for a few more pictures for me- of course Mike had to do his "classic" pose and we got Taylor to play along- Cute.Then Shelby and anothe girl(sorry I forgot her name!) asked Mike to pose with them- hmmmm.... And this silly little girl gave Mike a run for his money in joking around while posing. They are all headed off to the Ram restaurant for dinner and then to the dance. I hope he has a great time!