These are the days...

Little Cloud

Well, it's the rainy season here in Florida which means A LOT of activity everyday here! Right around 3pm, the clouds roll in and you can hear the low rumbles of the thunder off in the distance. Apparently, Florida is the lightening capital of the US ~ nice, huh? And, let me just say "We Believe"!!!!!! The kids, like Marty from Madagascar, call it "CrAckALackin" ~ funny! 

This past spring, Sarah and I went to see the stage production of Eric Carle's works. It was a great time and we especially loved "The Little Cloud". Since that time, we have really had fun finding shapes in the clouds. With the rainy season here, we are able to look up to find all kinds of great shapes! I have to admit that this really takes me back to being a kid again. Here are a few of our "FINDS" and cool cloud shapes to share:

After the lightening stops and the clouds release their last drops of rain, we are rewarded with these gorgeous Florida sunsets! Simply breathtaking! 

So, we have learned to look forward to the afternoon showers. =)

.....I got the job!

It's official ~ I'm part of the fabulous Lauren Reid's ~ of Little Dreamer Designs 

~ Creative Team for Summer!

WooHoo......I can't wait to get started! Thanks so much, Lauren! I can't wait to work with you! =)

 

The Red Hat......

We had such a fun time playing "dress up" yesterday! Between outfit changes, Sarah donned this little red hat and let me take some portrait shots. After our little photo session, Sarah asked me if she could put on some of her dress up eyehadow. I agreed. She looked hilarious lovely! After lunch I realized I was down to one diaper for Ryan, so we loaded up and headed to the store. When we pulled in, I realized Ryan was wearing BLUE eyeshadow, too! LOL! Oh my.........=D

We grabbed our diapers and a pack of these wafers......fun! 

I have this sneaking suspicion that our summer is going to get 

VERY BUSY here in the near future! ;P

So, we really are enjoying the slow, lazy days of summer right now! =D

Before I post my pics......This is for Bubba! LOL!

           

           

               ******** and let's not forget the pink eyeshadow! ha! *********

A Little Digi Scrappin......

I have to admit......I haven't been doing a whole lot of scrapbooking lately. My love affair with my camera has taken up all of my free time! ha! But, I realized how much I enjoy the creative process of creating a digital layout. I think I'm also realizing that my style has evolved quite a bit. I am really leaning towards clean, simple pages ~ it allows the photograph to tell the story and not be swallowed up by embellishments. So, that has kind of been a challenge.

This past weekend we went to a fun bowling birthday party for the kids! It has been over two years since we went bowling. in fact, the last time was in Napa with the Clark family! Ryan was still in his carseat/stroller. So, this time was quite a difference. The kids had a great time and Sarah has decided that she wants a Hannah Montana birthday party as well ~ oh boy! ;P She can't stop talking about "The Wig"....LOL! Are we really moving past the Disney Princesses and Little Ponies..........say it isn't so!! 

Here are a few pages that I managed to finish. I am in love with these quick templates! I used this template for the bowling page. And, you really should check out Kate Teague's blog here. She is extremely creative and generous ~ she gives away a lot of great freebies and creates some fun stuff like this frame. And, this is another favorite site ~ funky playground designs. I am planning on creating Sarah's kindergarten album with some of this  and that!

Whenever I get in a creative rut and frozen by my own "self imposed" need for every project to be "perfect" ~ I am reminded of the importance of "just creating" by this quote:

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." 

Joseph Chilton Pearce

And before I forget.......Here are a few pics from Father's Day 2008:

and I just love the cards that the kids made for "Don"...haha!

A tea party under the oaks......

I have agonized for two days over a new slideshow software and I cannot get it to work "Just upload your FTP to your HTTP and then blah, blah, blah, blah!" ~ Aaaaargh! It's not that I don't like Smilebox ( I really do! ) ~ I just like the clean, classic lines of this other one. oh well......... sigh.......technology sometimes stinks! And, I'm not in the mood for the learning curve on this one! LOL! So, here's a Smilebox slideshow to share =) Oh, if you click "view full screen" it gives a nicer feel.

The other day the kids had a tea party with lemonade and watermelon. It was so fun to sit back and watch them "cheers" and "slurp"! ha!

The photos will all be uploaded into my SmugMug Album. =)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pancakes with Daddy........

   We woke up today to Daddy suggesting pancakes! The kids were So excited! Sarah and Ryan stood on their stools taking turns helping make the perfect circles. They added chocolate chips and blueberries, too!

 

 

Happy Father's Day to all of the special "Daddys" in our lives!

You make everything so special!

Slide........

I know what you're thinking....."Not another series of park pictures!".....LOL!

But, YES....there's more! ha!

We went to a new park the other day and I took this series of pics of Sarah going down the slide. As fast as she could fly down, she would turn around and run right back up. 

I was a little concerned because she has been telling me how much her hip hurts. It started hurting a few days ago when she was running. She was born breach and the doctors told us that she may have some ligament issues surrounding her hips. I sure hope not. It's feeling great today, though! Thank goodness. 

The last picture cracks me up! She flew down the slide so many times that her hair was standing up from all of the static electricity. Don't you just remember the days of rubbing your head with a balloon to see who's hair could stand up the highest?? ( Am I the only goofball fun, spontaneous kid that did that kind of thing? LOL)

I have been diving head first into photography these days. I convinced the family to come with me for a photo shoot. It was easy ~ wine for Don and food/candy for the kids! ha! I hope to have those fun pics up later today. It really gives me a lot of joy to see life through my lens. I have no idea where this passion will take me....but, I sure am enjoying the journey! =)

"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Lao Tzu

 

Make a Smilebox slideshow

                 

Thought for the Day.........

"Be who you are and say what you mean because

those who mind don't matter

and those who matter don't mind."

-Dr. Seuss

Summer's Here......

Sarah has finished kindergarten! So, now that summer is here, we'll no doubt be spending a lot of time here:

 

 

 

                                     

and the pool! This will definitely be part of our summer routine ~ pool, popsicles, park and of course the beach. We were given annual passes HERE ~ so that should be fun,too! Well, that is if a tank of gas doesn't kill us this summer! Yes, we're lucky, I guess. We're still under $4 a gallon here.

That's something to be grateful for. ;P

The kids will take swim lessons and Ryan will start potty training!

YES, let's say "bye bye diapers"! I watched the Today Show yesterday

and found "Booty Camp" in Chicago!! They promise to potty train in ONE DAY!

HELLO!!!!!!!!!! How nice is that? So, in the next few days, we'll be purchasing a Big Boy potty ~ woohoo! Wish us luck. =)

Sarah had a really great year at school! The last few days were especially fun for all of us. Since she has a summer birthday, they celebrated her with cupcakes and singing ~ so sweet!  The field day and "Kindergarten Celebration" were so much fun. Here are a few pics to share:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hope you all have a fun start to summer! =)

Our Little Ballerina........

Sarah had her first "official" ballet performance on Saturday night at the Van Wezel in Sarasota! It was DON QUIXOTE and she was in the "baby dream" scene. They have been rehearsing since February and it came together beautifully. I went down to Sarasota the day before the big event for rehearsals and here are a few pictures of Sarah on stage:

Unfortunately, the auditorium did not allow flash OR non-flash photography during the actual performance. So, I was only able to get a few pics of her on stage. There was a professional taking pictures and hopefully they snapped a few fun ones!! 

It was an unbelievable performance with ballerinas ranging from 3 years old all the way up to age twenty! The Prima ballerina was stunning! Sarah cracked us up ~ as she crossed the stage she paused to "pose" and look out into the audience! LOL! She was blessed to have special grandparents come and see her "twinkle toes" ~ what a FUN night! 

We picked Sarah up backstage at intermission and I just love this picture of her and Daddy! 

Walking back into the theatre to see the rest of the ballet.