Crazy Little Thing Called Life

hello there friday!

So glad you're finally here. :)

1.  mother/daughter selfies.
Always a good idea.  ha ha.

Love you Shelby.

2.  Totally random photos from this week.

Sweet little kitty Kate all curled up on the bed.  She's usually the last one to the party.
Ziva & Lola sleep on the bed all day long.  They have a full schedule that way.

Belle in front of her cabin at Camp Shiloh.  I took this on Tuesday when I dropped her off.
She comes home tomorrow....woohoo!!

Belle attempting a handstand at one of Ian's baseball games.
She is very good between-inning entertainment.

3.  Found this at TJ Maxx:

I think it's going to go somewhere in the living room.  
Once upon a time, I had thoughts of dooding it up and adding stuff to it.
But I got lazy, and now I think it will look just dandy the way it is.
I'll take a picture once I figure out where its home will be.

4.  Found these at Target:

Many thanks to my husband who made me get them.  I balked at the $13 price tag (as any good Dutch girl would)...to which he replied, "Don't be such a curmudgeon.  Put them in the cart."  Love you Iz.

Ian is Superman.  Belle is Batman (shhhh, Ian is totally stealing her Batman cup while she's at camp)...Shelby is the Justice League...and I...

I am Wonder Woman.

A happy Friday to you...
Love you Luke...only 27 more days!! :)

Project Life - Week 25

Soccer and baseball.  Baseball and soccer.
And Father's Day.  :)

That pretty much sums it up!

Playing with the timer on my camera for the bottom right picture.

I had so many fun soccer pictures, I did a little insert page:

and the back:

The top one is Belle & her teammate Sierra...the middle is Belle and her cousin Sophia (on a different Rangers team).

And we are TOTALLY hooked on this show now:

Whodunnit?  Sunday nights at 9.
Every week the 'contestant' who is furthest from the truth as to how the victim died...gets killed off.  And one of the group is the murderer.  It's pretty cheesy.  The acting is pretty bad.  But it's loads of fun.  The kids and I are all watching it, and have theories as to who the killer is.  (I still say it's the innocent flight attendant.)

Happy Thursday!
Yes Luke.  Food & gas are expensive.  Love you. 

 

 

creating keepsakes... :)

I have a layout in the current Creating Keepsakes magazine! :)
I did a two page travel spread...you can see it here.   At least I hope that link works.  It should take you to their website's sneak peek of the magazine.  5 clicks and you'll see it.
It's pictures from our Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore trip last summer...with ephemera storage. ;)

They even refer to my layout on the cover...mementos from your travels, p. 54.
Woohoo!  
Seriously tickled to be page 54.  (Except it's page 74 in the sneak peek for some reason.  Still tickled.)

Off to run Ian to basketball camp, and to do some errands in Bellingham. 
Costco, ugh.
Short posts this week, I know.  I think I have summeritis.

Happy Wednesday!
One month from today Luke!!! :)

it started out sunny....

A little Pirate baseball last night.

It was a good night for the Pirates...

Then this big, ginormous, ugly gray cloud moved over us.

It was very sad.

This is how we finished.  3 innings.  Half in the pouring rain.
But done and in the books.  Whew.

Today...I take Belle to camp.  She'll be gone until Saturday.
She's SO excited.  And I'm excited for her...but I will miss her. :(

Have a great Tuesday...Luke, don't itch those mosquito/deer fly bites.
Silly boy, camping in a swamp. 

 

super quick...

Still recovering fom a crazy soccer weekend.
I feel like I hardly saw Shelby & Ian.

The Rangers were Tournament champions at the Baker Blast:

Woohoo!  Great job girls...

So hard to believe the weekend is done and it's Monday again. :(

Bring on the laundry.  

Belle leaves for Camp Shiloh tomorrow...need to get some things in order for her.

Happy Monday!
Hope you had fun camping this weekend Luke :) 

well...

It's official!  Bring on the sunshine. :)
So after saying the Thrift Store was a dud...I had a great find yesterday while looking for elderly lady glasses for/with Belle.  A whole, ginormous bag of reader board letters (big red and smaller black)...for .99!!  Woohoooo!!
I'm not entirely sure why they make me so happy...they just do.  I know I will use some of them for scrapbooking & fun decor projects...but really, besides that they're just fun to spell stuff with.

This was going to be for today until I realized it was the first day of summer. :)

I texted Iz this one:


It's addicting...

I think I will make this one into a 3x4 card for Project Life. :)

And hey....the next kid to tick me off this summer will have the fun job of putting all 8,423 letters in alphabetical order.

Speaking of Project Life...

Last week...lots to celebrate.  Last day of school, our anniversary, fun family picnic at Birch Bay.

Not sure why Ian can't smile like a normal child...oh wait, he can.  Thanks dude.
The School's Out card is a free download from Cathy Zielske.  

And a fun extra insert page with a collage of pictures from Birch Bay:

Walgreens did a coupon for a free 8x10 collage print.  I matted it with a fun chevron transparency page (hard to see against the stone).  I'm putting a 5x7 picture on the back.

Woohoo...it's Friday!
--meeting Miss Alissa for a quick lunch at Jake's
--the laundry is finished (for at least 48 hours)
--Belle has game #1 of this weekend's soccer tournament (nice and close this time!)

Sent your package yesterday Luke...love you!
Make sure you call Grandpa & Grandma and wish them happy anniversary today! 

really random thursday.

1.  love this stuff.

Iz got it for me awhile ago...don't remember where we were.  But it is yummy.  And I found it in Safeway yesterday!

I've had the original.  Going to try the raspberry and strawberry next.  :)
And the glass jars are so stinkin' cute.  And inside the lid is a message...like 'consuming this beverage may cause joy'.  :)

2.  Theme nights, anyone?

Belle is leaving for Camp Shiloh next week.  And there are theme nights pretty much every night.  Favorite holiday, elderly night, pirate night...so fun.
So today we are going thrift shopping....mostly for elderly night and an ugly Christmas sweater.  Which Belle doesn't seem to understand will be difficult to find in June.

3.  Random photo from the soccer tournament last weekend.

These are all the Lynden girls on the team.  Carpooling Lady Lion buddies. :)
Woohoo Rangers!

Happy happy Thursday...
Hey Luke...I found another brand of dill pickle seeds the other day.  I'll send them out to you. :)

 

just shoot me now.

The next time I buy a flower basket (which will be next May at the Lynden High School Plant Sale)...please...PLEASE, remind me NOT to buy one that's mostly petunias.

It is pretty.  But oh, for heaven's sake...the plucking!
You know, all the little dead ones that have to be picked off or it won't bloom again?
It's a high maintainence basket.

Typically, baskets on my porch don't last much past July.
Die in July, it's called at our house.
I forget to water for a couple of days, and before you know it, the end is near.

I am determined to get past July.
I will water that stupid thing every day.  And I will pluck off the dead blossoms like a mother monkey grooming her baby:

I will try to post a picture of my basket on August 1.  All bushy and blooming.
And not dead.

In other news...

Shelby has been getting letters from colleges all over the country for the last few months...about javelin.  It's pretty cool...she loves it.  Just letters like they send out to tons of other kids, I'm sure...but it makes her happy.  And it's good for her confidence.
And it's nice to be wanted. :)  
Everywhere from little private schools I'd never heard of...to Columbia, Harvard & Cornell...
Cal Poly, Oregon State...it's fun to see where they come from.


Then West Point sent a letter.  Then they called.  Yesterday a packet came in the mail.
Gulp...whole new meaning to 'we want you!'  

All good stuff.  I'm happy she's happy.  :)

Enjoy your Wednesday... 

Sorry I didn't send that thing in the mail Luke...I will today. :)  
Or maybe I'll hold it hostage until you text me more.  Hmmmm..... 

 

just a teeny little home run short...

of hitting for the cycle. :)

Ian had a single...a double...and a triple (with the bases loaded!) last night.
Great job kid!

And he pitched two innings too. :)  Great job Pirates...except now they're red, not purple.
Summer ball, you know.

And even though it's not technically summer yet, it sure feels like it.
Summer baseball started for Ian.  Summer soccer tournaments for Belle.  Shelby went to orientation for her summer job in the berries last night.  Belle went to volleyball camp.
And it's sunny.  Woohoo!

Today I will visit Starbucks with Mom.  The Thrift Store's been kind of a dud lately, but who knows... maybe we'll give it another try today. 
And I want to work on Project Life.

Happy Tuesday to you!
Have a good day at work Luke...miss you! 

anniversary - soccer weekend!

1.  8,030 days
And counting. :)  We had such a nice anniversary weekend.  
Most of it was spent watching soccer...but we did manage to squeeze in some shopping...
lunch at PF Changs...

Loving this fortune.  Maybe this fall....

And between soccer games we saw Man of Steel.  Shelby & Ian loved it...Iz & I thought it was ok.  Looooong...like 2 1/2 hours.  

2.  Firecracker Tournament.

The girls had a soccer tournament down in Mt. Vernon this weekend.  They won all their games and the championship. :)

Belle and Gloria, her teammate were chosen Players of the Tournament from their team! :)

Love this one.  


Great job girls!!

3.  Father's Day...

We had a lovely Sunday...church, ham & mashed potatoes for lunch (family favorite by request)...presents, soccer, dinner at Bob's.  Just a nice day. :)

Shelby had already gone to church...she played flute for the music at the service. :)

Happy Monday...our first week with summer vacation!
Missed you yesterday Luke.  Can't wait for next month. :)