Scrappin' Ideas...

One of my favorite daily web sites is write click scrapbook.  The other day, they posted an entire list of journaling ideas, photo ideas and scrapbook pages ideas! I have "cut and pasted" the list below. In order to see examples, you will need to visit the web site, which I linked above,  click on the name at the end and enjoy the sample!  Love this!!!


Last month, as we walked through the gallery, we put together lists of page starters, prompts, or ideas, separated by our three site themes, write, click, and scrapbook. We thought it was helpful to re-examine the layouts with a different perspective (and fun, too!). Did you agree? We hope so, because we are doing it again!
This month, we are going to start with journaling. Without further ado, here are 25 stories to write:

1. a time we changed a tradition (Christa)
2. the story of our pet coming to our home (Celeste)
3. a snapshot of my day told in words (Donna)
4. if I were a pet, I would... (Lisa)
5. document a family first (Paula)
6. how I celebrated my birthdays as a child (Deb)
7. how has your style changed over the years (Kelly)
8. how you prepare your home for visitors (Valerie)
9. a scaled back celebration (Francine)
10. the favorite beverage in your home (Diane)
11. when I was small, I loved to pretend that... (Vivian)
12. document a ritual that you have in your home (Keshet)
13. what it means to you to have a sibling (Monika)
14. record something that is ending (Kathy)
15. how do you feel about your children right now (Teka)
16. tell of a family trait that you inherited (Marie)
17. make a list of things you would like to do this summer (Lisa)
18. use one word to capture your child's personality (Sarah)
19. list 5 things that describe each member of your family, right now (Emily)
20. something that made me happy today was... (Katrina)
21. your favorite mode of transportation (Erin)
22. something that changed between last year and this (Amy)
23. I witnessed a miracle when... (Emily)
24. how you feel when all your kids are getting along (Marnie)
25. a new family tradition (Karen)

Moving on to photos... Here are 25 photos you could consider taking so that you don't end up with the same photos day after day.

1. your child at play from the backside. be sure to include some of the surroundings. (Christa)
2. headshot of your favorite pet (Celeste)
3. a snapshot of my day told in photos (Donna)
4. soaking up the sunshine (Lisa)
5. the food you ate at a summer event (Paula)
6. a summer beverage (Deb)
7. a cute outfit (Kelly)
8. a child practicing a skill (Valerie)
9. a photo mid-action (Francine)
10. your family eating breakfast (Diane)
11. a field trip photo (Vivian)
12. you wearing your favorite top (Keshet)
13. your family just being together (Monika)
14. a final event (Kathy)
15. a selfie with someone you love (Teka)
16. someone resting (Marie)
17. an usual pose (Sarah)
18. a coordinated clothing photo (Emily)
19. something you know you will miss in five years (Katrina)
20. photograhic evidence of the reason you are tired (Erin)
21. a person-less photo that helps tell the story (Amy)
22. freshen your makeup and do a selfie! right now! (Emily)
23. your people in the back of your car (Marnie)
24. your table (Karen)

Lastly, our gallery is filled with great design. Here are some tips and ideas to try to keep your pages fresh!

1. trend alert: rulers and measuring tape (Christa)
2. try cutting your title out of some patterned paper and using the negative (Celeste)
3. use your favorite stamp (Donna)
4. use the same patterned paper in two places, but in different proportions (Lisa)
5. frame out your photos (Paula)
6. repeat your elements in three places on your layout, creating a visual triangle (Deb)
7. create a focal point on your photo without cropping it (Kelly)
8. add small embellishments that help tell your story (Valerie)
9. try layering your photo mattes, tipping each layer slightly askew (Francine)
10. paint your letter stickers (Diane)
11. layer your letter stickers onto your photo (Vivian)
12. use a circle garland to help lead you into the focal point of your photo (Keshet)
13. get out your label maker and put it to use! (Monika)
14. trim your photo to an unusual size (Kathy)
15. trend alert: wooden embellies and people chains (Teka)
16. use your washi tape for journaling strips (Marie)
17. create a border with 7 scraps of paper (Lisa)
18. create a triangle mosaic (Sarah)
19. create a mirror image layout (top to bottom or side to side) (Emily)
20. create a layered embellishment collage (Katrina)
21. rounded corners are still in. have fun! (Erin)
22. use three patterned papers of varying colors, but with similar scale and cut to similar sizes (Amy)
23. trend prediction: quatre foil is the next big graphic (Alexandra)
24. use a number in your title (Emily)
25. use a long descriptive title (Marnie)
26. embrace some white space (Karen)

So many great ideas!

Breeding Grounds...

As I have shared many times, the boys LOVE frogs! Well, we have a "new" frog (Freddy) that has been hanging in and around our fountain. The other night, Freddy jumped into the fountain, so Jack turned it off inorder to more easily spot Freddy and tried to catch him. But, Jack suddenly exclamied,

"Mom look at these little fish!! MOM....We have tadpoes!!!"

"WHAT!!!???!?!?? How do you know they are tadpoles? I don't see them! "

"Mom, you know I studied tadpoles at school. LOOK !! Look at all of them stuck on the walls!! There are tons of them, Mom!"

(Mom...mom...are you okay? Why are you laying down, Mom?)

No I really didn't lay down.

Jack is right...we have LOADS of tadpoles in the fountain. I had to google if snakes eat frogs...well, they do. Curses to that Freddy frog! (which I guess should be Fredricka!)

Incase you were wondering what they are checking out in the fountain...

This is what our new friends look like.

Honestly, I don't mind these...but when they turn into those little freaks of nature and sprout legs and still have a tail...something will need to be done!

Night Reading...

Jack came in the other night and announced that he was off to do some reading....

...with his night vision goggles.

Turning on the light...

which makes everything glow with a blue light.

To jack, the book looks normal and he just didn't understand what I meant that everything glowed blue.

It wasn't long before a mini flashlight replaced the night vision goggles!!

Playing Some Summer Ball...

I have shared that Sam has been participating in i9 flag football. It has been a GREAT experience for him! I recommend it to everyone!

Sam has been able to be a running back, which he can't be in Ankeny Junior Football because he is over the weight limit for running backs. He loves that he got the opportunity to try this position!

i9 sports is all about being a having fun and good sportsmanship. Each week there is a theme, such as: team player, great positive attitude, never give up, hustling, etc.  Three players on the team that  "display" that theme, for the week, receives a medal for that game. The kids loved it and they all encouraged each other....it never was a competition.

After each game, Sam and his friend would go on and on about how much fun they had during the game. His friend got to be QB, which he has always wanted to do, but has never had the opportunity.

 

Anyone can play...there were even a couple of girls on teams and boy were they good!!

As parents, we saw the this group of boys really started playing well as a team...I believe it was due to them having a good time, there wasn't any stress and the kiddos all supported each other!  Some teams were really good, but towards the end of the season, we were able to beat them, because we worked as a team, where they still had the 2-3 athletes they used for all plays and didn't work as well as a team.

As parents we had to support the i9parent pledge:

“I, the parent or guardian of an i9 team player, agree that the most important outcome of any game is for my child to have fun. My child needs my approval and support, regardless of what happens in the game.

I will refrain from the use of negative or derogatory language aimed at the Officials, the Coaches, my child, or other players. I will encourage my child and all others in the game and will let the coach be the coach. I will do my best to model the sportsmanship-like behavior I wish my child to adopt, and to support the coach in making this the best possible experience for my child.”

Practice was for 45 minutes prior to the game. Then the game was 45 minutes.  All games are on Sundays.

i9 also has soccer, basketball and baseball teams.

A few statistics from kids that played football for i9, but also played outside the league...here are the shocking and not so shocking results:

When asked their #1 reason for playing sports, the number one answer was to have fun.

When asked how they feel if their team loses, 63% said they still have fun.

84% said they sometimes wish they had more fun when playing youth sports.

84% said at one time they quit a team or wanted to quit. Why? 47% said because “it wasn’t any fun.” 29% said some teammates were mean. 23% said there were too many practices that interfered with other activities.

31% wished adults weren’t watching their games – they said mostly because adults yell too much, were too distracting, made players nervous and put pressure on them to play better and win.

We will definitely sign up Sam again for next year, because it really was a positive experience for him! 

More Summer Happenings...

Since we have had the time, here are a few things we've been trying to do more of this summer...

Eating breakfast outside...

Purchasing more duct tape so Sam can make more duct tape wallets...

Sam fixes himself breakfast (at times) and egg sandwich...

Reading and participating in the library reading program...

Eating snow cones...

Sam is trying attempting to try all the different sno cone flavors...
This one is Frog in a Blender...

More reading!

The boys love to sleep on the blow up mattress in the living room!

Have a fun summer!!

#901: All Dressed Up...

So did you hear my HUGE sigh of relief  about 9:30 last night?  I finally figured out what was going on with my blogging and photo storage.  I use Picasa for my photo storage and editing.  I learned that you get 1GB storage for free.  Once you have filled 1 GB of storage, you have to purchase more space.  Granted, there are ways to upload your photos so they won't count towards your 1 GB...such as loading them at 800 pixels, but the photos would be grainy for printing.  I thought of starting a new Picasa web folder, but then I worried that I would lose all my photos and they would be deleted off my blog...what if I started a new blog...UGH!!!  NO WAY!!!  So, finally, I bit the bullet and purchased more storage space...which I really didn't want to do, but  I was so happy, because, as you can tell, I AM BACK ON!! YE HA!

With all my research (and two days of upset stomach...dad, I now understand why you get so stressed!) I learned that I have 900 posts on my blog. So, this is my 901st post!!  I thought I would share us dressed up for the 901st posting!!


Here's my mom with two very sharped dressed men. 

Jack wore a tie in celebration of my blog working again (I actually think it is for my mom and sister's b-day!)

"Mom, Grandpa really liked my tie...he tried to take it from me!"

 

Trying to shot from a different angle. "What long legs you have, Sam! Did you get those from your mother?"

 

Remember the St. Patty's Day outfits and had to have it hat?  It resurfaced for Father's Day (as did the tie!)

I hope I didn't lose too many readers the past few days!! Thanks to those who have hung in there with me during these trying times!!

UGH!!!

I am experiencing MAJOR blogging issues...my web album is telling me that I have reached my photo limit, so I am in the process of backing up everything (thank goodness I have been doing this all along) and will try to get the posts that I have been trying to post this week posted for next week!! No need to say that I am freaking out!!!

More Baseball...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crafty Chloe...

The boys and I went to Barnes and Noble to get some new summer reading books.  While they were doing their searching...the teacher comes out in me and I head straight to the new children's books.  Up high on the bookshelf I spotted one, just for me and all my fellow crafters...Crafty Chloe!!

Chloe is a crafter and she makes EVERYTHING!!! (how fab!!) The gist of the story is that Chloe gets invited to a birthday party and is trying to decide what to make the birthday girl...

A fancy acquaintance, and fellow party attendee, London,  makes fun of Chloe for making the birthday girl, Emma,  a present. London has bought Emma a fabulous and everyone wants one, doll. Unfortunately, on  the way to the party, something happens to London and her present...Chloe just happens to be walking by and London yells...

"What am I going to do?  I can't give Emma a..."
WAIT...
WHAT IS THIS? I ask myself.
  Someone has put a post-it note over a word in the book!!! 
Seriously...a person covered the word..."naked."

I am not going to go into how I feel about this...but I must share it really surprised me!!  (PLUS...if you would read how the person "edited" the sentence...it doesn't make sense! "I can't give Emma a doll without clothes doll!"
I showed Sam this...and he said, "Her doll is naked." and then asked, "Why did someone do that?"  "Don't know," was what I told him.


 I went on to finish the book, which is absolutely fabulous (with or without the word, "naked.")  It would be the perfect gift for a fellow crafter...you could change the name "Chloe" to your crafter's name and if the word "naked" troubled you...you could decorate it into something fancy!!!  :)

Frog Days of Summer...

To my friend, Janet...SKIP THIS POSTING!!!


There really hasn't been many frogs out this summer...yet.  So the boys were super excited when they found not one, but TWO in the window well!!

Jack's "little" guy is named Bull. Not because of Bullfrog...but because when jack tries to catch this hopper, he bull dozes his way under the leaves to hide!

 

Sam's guy is named Buck. Buck is a big frog and so he named him after the ape in Planet of the Apes. (Sam had just woke up in this picture and wasn't very sure of his frog yet!)

He is a big boy!!

Jack listens to his chirp to him!  ewww.

Jack put his in our fountain and the little guy got out and hopped around.  I put my camera on the ground and just pushed the button to see what I would get...

 

 

Thought you would like to see how big this guy is!  I told Jack that he needed to put his frog back in the window well...

Jack gave him a good shower before returning him to his home.

Jack is now teaching his frog new tricks...notice how his frog is climbing on his back!!  He really thinks he could be on America's Got Talent!!

Can you spot the two in their home?  My mom was over and thought their "home" was gross. So she and the boys took out all the old leaves and replaced them with fresh ones...ewww.