Best Laid Plans

oh, we had a plan. we even got out of the house on time. but the best laid plans, well, you know how that goes...

we were going to start the day with a bba(big bike adventure) and end the day at the beach. (for those who don't follow my gallery, the bba is a big bike ride through the santa monica mountains, that starts at the top of a canyon and ends at the beach near malibu. it's about a 10 mile ride and a rough one!) well, we still did both, sort of. there has only been one bba and that was back in april with jay and drew. this time they decided to go again and take camryn along, since she just turned 8 and everyone thought she was ready. so i dropped them off at the starting point, and it took me about 20 minutes to get back to our house to pack up for the beach. 5 mins after i get home the phone rings. it's jay telling me to come and get them. he did not sound very happy at all. there was an accident with camryn. i packed up the rest of the children and left immediately. my mind is just filling up with all of these images of camryn being hurt. so i just tell myself that it must not be too bad since he called me to come and get them and not 911! but i know blood is involved since he asked me to bring the first aid box and make sure the neosporin is in it. the 15 minutes it took to get there seemed to take even longer, but i get there and camryn pops up- that's when i realize that she's not the injured one, jay is. cut and bruised, and in a lot of pain. what happened was that they were going down a pretty steep hill. jay was out front with camryn, drew in the back. camryn starts down the hill and ends up going too fast, but couldn't maneuver the breaks to slow herself down and she was heading fast to the bottom which was a cliff... ya. so jay catches up to her and grabs her handle bar to try to slow her down, but by this time she was wobbling out of control and his only thought at this time was to make her fall, so he pulled her into him so that they hit the rocks which were on his side. had she leaned over the opposite way she would have gone off the edge. so she crashes into him and he goes down, both bikes on top. he says once he realized that he was still alive he wanted to make sure that cam was ok. just a scrape on her elbow and a bruise right above her hip. jay on the other hand has a couple of road rashes, a pretty bad gash in his hand, and a few cuts on his leg. his hand is swollen now and he says it hurts pretty bad but he will live. and we are all glad that camryn is still with us- she came really close to going off that cliff. needless to say that there won't be anymore bba's in her near future! jay was surprised that i did not have my camera for this. as soon as i heard the words accident and camryn i left the house so fast i didn't even think about it!

after a lot of going back and forth about it we decided we should still go to the beach so the kids could play. glad we went since they had lots of fun and it took camryn's mind off of the accident. she keeps crying whenever she thinks about it since it scared her to death. she had a great time. deacon on the other hand, was terrified of the water, and carter kept finding things to put into his mouth!

i am thankful to be home now with my family all safe and sound.

I AM CLOSING MY CHOCOLATE FACTORY FOREVER- i'm sorry!
if i hear this quote one more time, i can't promise that 6 little children will continue to live here-gonna have to ship them off to grandma's house or something!
my children saw charlie and the chocolate factory again, and the quotes keep comin'!! that's how i know if they really like a movie, and they really like this one- i guess we will be owning it on dvd!!

i did a photoshoot with camryn yesterday and today i got some brushing up photo tips from dawn and helen-you girls rawk!!! this is one i fixed. i like the way it came out :P !

it's 3am and i need to go to bed. why do i keep doing this to myself???!!!

Entrant # 395

so i entered this photo in the county fair photography competition. i have never entered anything before ever in my life! i always thought it might be fun to enter something into the fair, but never knew what. this photo of the girls is not great, but i have always liked it, so i decided to enter it. it almost didn't happen. a friend had to keep on me and she bugged me so much that i just had to do it or i would never hear the end of it! so i get there today, on the last day to enter at 4:30, and the cutoff time was 5! there was a long line and i was tempted to just walk away- what was i doing here? it was a scorcher today, and i really did not want to stand in a line that was out the door to enter 1 measly photo...but i got this far, i mean, i followed all of the entry directions, went to michaels and got the mount adhesive, the foam core (and had it cut), and the velcro to stick to the back. and, on top of all of that, deep down, deep in my heart, i really want to win. not for the prize money-it's not much anyway-but for the recognition that i made a great photograph. i want to be a photographer. i'm only an amateur and i have a lot to learn, i know, but i'll get there. if i don't win anything this year, i'll make better photographs and try again next year! the fair doesn't start until the 3rd, so i have to wait to find out...i'm entrant #395! i don't have a chance! *sigh*

lol! carrie turned me on to these magnets...i think i need this one!
http://www.patinastores.com/Category/Humor_Gadgets_Games.cfm?PageNum_GetItems=7

a layout about turning 36 and a few things i've learned about myself... 

DENA!!! i can't find the kit!!! it's soooo perfect for these pics!

look at what i happened across last night. an all digital "how to make digital pages" book. i wonder if it is only geared toward the beginner, or if there will be something for all levels. in this case i guess i would be considered a beginner since it seems that all the layouts are created in one program- pse3, which i have and have yet to learn. which reminds me- i have been challenged by val to generate a layout in pse by saturday and i have challenged her to complete one in ps. i guess i better start that huh? anyway, back to the book. it's good to see more books being put out on digital scrapping. this part of the scrapbook industry is growing by leaps and bounds! when i first started in 2003, there wasn't much out there about digiscrapping, in fact, i had never even heard of it! now, oh man! theres so much out there and more and more people are going digital everyday! and what a year this has been already for me. i have been published, and am going to be published again later in the year, i am on the design team of the best, and #1 digiscrapping site, AND i am going to the convention in october, it's going to be a blast- i get to meet my scrapping buds AND i am teaching a class- how cool is that? woohoo! i have over 400 layouts done and in my gallery at sbb, i have met the nicest bunch of ladies online and have made great friends too! i am so thankful for digital scrapbooking. now, i don't know what i would do with out it.

this is my latest layout attempt. i love the colors in devyn's recital costume, but had the hardest time finding a kit to match it. enter dawn. (doesn't that sound lovely?) i showed her the colors and bam! just like that- beautiful papers! seven of 'em! i was afraid i wouldn't be able to do them justice, and i hate that i wasn't able to use them all. so that just means that another layout has to come into play... btw, these papers will be available to all when her new cd is released, called "curiousity". dawn , if you are reading this, i just want you to know YOU RAWK GIRL!!!!!!!!!

today in my life:
i broke down and went to target today with only two kids in tow. i had been holding out for the opportunity to go alone, but since we are out of diapers, i had to take the plunge. deacon ran out of diapers a couple of days ago, so i had been putting carter's diapers on him. he is a size four and carter is a three. we need to get back on the potty train (as keith calls it) with deacon, he was doing so well until he got sick and we dropped the ball.
i hate to cook. i think i dislike it so much because i can't cook. esp. rice. jay got tired of me burning the rice almost everytime so he bought me a rice cooker. no more burned rice! today the rice cooker is kaput. i had to have rice so i attempted to make it on the stovetop and what did i do? i burned it. and ruined one of my most expensive pots. humpf.

Reunited

we are all back together again! jay, drew devyn and keith came home yesterday from san diego. drew did very well at the meet. in the 100m he placed third in his heap but his timing was 9th. the top 8 qualified to go on to colorado to the nationals. in the 800 he placed third and qualified to go on to colorado! we'll talk more about that later...

camryn was in tears when she got home and devyn wasn't here to greet her. she was upset that jay had taken her with him to san diego, but i soon took her mind off of that. i took her to fiesta days, then to her favorite eatery, panda express. after that we went to coldstone for icecream- yum! i guess i am in that place too much. when it was my time to order the girl at the counter says to me "and you will be having the coffee lovers with no almonds?" "why, yes! how did you know?" "that's what you always have!" sigh. i love that icecream.

i have been trying to go to target since saturday. ok. not really trying hard enough. i'm just too lazy to make the trek with children in tow. i just like to go by myself and stroll the aisles. our target just got remodeled so strolling around is necessary to find anything since nothing is where it used to be. and now, we have a starbucks there. inside! so after all of my strolling, i can sit and have a spot of tea, or frappucino. cool.

i must have washed like 50 towels today. where did we get so many? geesh! towels from the pool, towels from the beach, towels from getting wet in the sprinklers, not to mention the ones we use from baths and showers! we are supposed to go to the beach tomorrow and that's 10 towels right there! actually though, it's time to get rid of some and replace them with new ones.
love these colors from pottery barn. i was actually thinking of going all white, but the ones on the left look so warm and inviting...maybe i'll find some nice ones at target, if i ever make it there!

i pre-ordered my virtual ink cd this evening. i almost missed out-would've hated that! i remembered this morning, but then my day got away from me and when i remembered tonight i thought i was too late since gina is arizona, but i made it woohoo! ok. now i'm just rambling without even thinking about what i type in here and i am probably boring you to sleep- what are you still doing reading this???

reunited, and it feels so good... 

Movie Reviews and A Lost Tooth

i rarely get out to catch a movie, but i have seen two good ones lately! "cinderella man" is a hit in my book. don't care much for russell crowe, but i have to give the man his due- he can act. i loved this movie almost as much as "a beautiful mind" and he played his role perfectly as a man who had it all and then lost it all during the great depression. (don't want to give too much away) like "a beautiful mind" , "cinderella man" is based on a true story. ron howard does it again yall! go see it! next, i got to see charlie and the chocolate factory. the kids are anxious to see this movie and so i went to check it out first, because it's burton/depp and you never know...
the first version of dahl's book is devyn's favorite (she's quirky that way) and she wants to see this new version very much. camryn, on the other hand, does not care for the first version and wants to read the book before seeing the new one. i have heard people say that the previews make the movie look creepy or scary- it's neither. i found the movie to be more weird than anything else and i totally expected that from the likes of burton/depp. with that in mind, i actually found the movie quite funny in johnny's "weirdness". camryn and i are reading the book together, and so far this version is on the money. there IS a scene that has to do with a cow (can't say any more than that) that did not set well with me, and thought it was totally unecessary. even though it WAS in the book, the visual was not easy to watch...
so if you read the book, you may enjoy this movie and think it was as roald dahl would have wanted it. if you saw the first version, you may definately enjoy this movie. (the gene wilder version is a memorable movie for me although the candyman song irks me) and if you have never read the book, or seen the other version AND keep in mind that this is a b/d movie, you too, may enjoy this movie!
cam is home now along with her sleeping bag/chair! i am both happy and thankful to have her home. i'ts only been a week but she looks as if she has grown a little. sigh. she lost a tooth at grandma's and the tooth fairy gave her $5.00!!! now where was that tooth fairy when i was growing up and got a quarter for each tooth???

Ramblings

like my new look? dawn made it purty for me ;) thanks chicka!!!

a letter came from camryn today:

Dear Mommy
Are you having fun? I am having lots of fun at Grandmas. And we bot Poohs Heffulump Movie. Me and Grandma are playing lots of games and having lots of fun. And I get to sleep on a Care bears sleeping bag with a air mattres inside and you can turn it in to a chair! And at Grandmas house i have to go to sleep at 8:00. But I think it would be better if I sleep at 8:00. I love you Ma bye.
Love Camryn

she is so cute.

my back is killing me today- like someone is trying to snap me in half!!! i agree with kim, it's time to go out and buy a new chair for my computer and ditch the chair from the kitchen. it doesn't sit up high enough, plus my desk is too high, it doesn't have a lowered pull out for the keyboard. so how am i liking my new desktop? lovin' it! so nice to be working on a big screen again!! i don't miss my laptop much anymore- i had alot of angst about a week ago. i don't know what was bothering me the most- the fact that i was giving up my laptop, (the portability mainly) or the fact that this very expensive laptop, not even a year old, is going to a 10 year old. yep! drew got my laptop! we were contemplating buying him one anyway but then decided that me getting a desktop would be better as far as scrapping goes, so why not just give him the laptop. i will still borrow it on occasion (like in october!) so psp and pse will stay installed.

i finally relaxed my hair today! it feels soooo nice. yes, i do it myself. i only go the salon to let them do it about twice a year, the other times i do it my self about every three months. it's only about $5-6 compaired to the $80 at the salon (see why i do it myself?)!

jay has entered drew into a statewide track meet in san diego and they leave in the morning. he's taking devyn and keith along so it'll just be me, deacon, and carter(woohoo) until saturday when mom and dad bring camryn home. so at least for friday, i can get my scrappin' groove back on! i'm gonna try and make the best of it and use my new jen wilson worn comfort cd.
oh! and dawn and trish's cd goes on presale tomorrow! woohoo! it's hawt ya'll!!

ok what am i thankful for today? my husband. i know he loves me. how do i know this? because he is so sweet and kind as he can be to me even when he has no clean clothes to wear. i am sooooo behind in my laundry i feel sick. ick. i guess i should be thankful for the laundry too. at least we have clothes to wear, right?? that is, when they are clean...

devyn has been keeping herself busy since camryn's been gone. playing dressup by herself, playing barbies by herself, getting wet in the spinklers by herself...i took this photo of her and carter today while i was playing around with the camera. i bought designing with photos (finally!) and am learning a lot about aperture and shutterspeed. taking photographs is beginning to take on a whole new outlook...it's 1am, that's enough talk for tonight.  

Happy

i bought my plane ticket last week for the digital convention in october and october can't get here fast enough! well, ok, it can. i still have to wean carter. how do you wean a baby who is not ready to be weaned? he still nurses more than he eats solids. he hates baby food and i have trouble knowing what else to give him. sigh.
back to my trip. i am meeting helen in utah and we are flying together to pennsylvania! really looking forward to meeting my digisista!
i emailed jay a mushy love note and thanked him for making this trip possible for me by taking a couple of days off from work to stay home with the kids. i sure am blessed. thank you LORD.

man, devyn just had a rough weekend. she's through with ballet, and her sister left her this morning. cam went to stay at gramma's for a week. devyn was so sad, she just kept hugging her. after church today i took her to her favorite place to eat-souplantation. then we went and got her a new barbie. she felt a lot better by this afternoon. as soon as we got home she got out a piece of paper and wrote camryn a letter. my girls are 14 months apart. for the most part they get along well, they do argue, but rarely. they really are each other's best friend. cam called tonight and devyn's face lit up when she found out it was her and she ran to the phone.
i am so glad they are so close. it was hard when they were little, but now i am so glad they are close in age, and in friendship.

this was the ad i put in the program for the recital... 

this is camryn and marissa. camryn had marissa as her teacher last year also. she is a fabulous dancer and has taught the girls so much. i am sorry i never got a photo of her and devyn... camryn made this layout herself in MS PictureIT! my little future digiscrapper! 

Recital Day

today was the girl's recital and it was both exciting and emotional at the same time. it started at 12, and the girls were supposed to be there an hour before so i got them there at 10:30. for some reason this year i didn't feel as rushed as i had in previous years. i stood in line for an hour, but it wasn't bad, i think because i was expecting it. i had my lap tickets for carter and deacon this time, and i guess i made a face at the lady at the door when she asked for it- this was a huge issue for me last year-she then explained to me why they needed it. it's so they can do a head count for the fire department. makes sense. had this been explained to me last year, i wouldn't have gotten so mad. we got good seats, and i'm thinking, so what everything is going smoothly, we are still done with this place. then the lights went down and the show began... this was to be their last performance and the girls went out with a bang! sitting there watching them on stage made me want to weep- i am so proud of my girls! devyn had her little solo in the spotlight. she really does love it, and she really knows her dances. camryn was fabulous and her tap dancing looked great! i can tell she has learned a lot over this last year!
now comes the sad part. before leaving, devyn asked if she could go and say goodbye to her teacher. i said sure and thought she would say some cutesy goodbye and we would be gone FOREVER!!!!! but a couple of minutes went by and she had not returned and i did not see her when the small crowd that had been standing around her disbursed. she had gone back inside the building on a mission to find marissa- her teacher from last year. marissa was devyn's first ballet teacher and she made it sooooo much fun for devyn and devyn adored her. last summer marissa went away to college and devyn got a new teacher in the fall, but you could tell she missed marissa. well, when i found devyn marissa was carrying her and devyn was clinched to her tight. she was sobbing so hard and did not want to let marissa go. since marissa comes back during the summer to help with recital, she told devyn that this was not goodbye and that she would see her at the next recital. i sorrowfully informed her that this was devyn's last recital and that she would not be returning to dance. ( i felt awful!!!) then marissa started to get teary.
then i got all teary. and devyn was still crying.
now, i am faced with a hard decision. devyn wants to return to dancing in the fall. i had a bad experience with this dance company this year, and everything is so dang expensive i have no reason to want to go back except dance is a part of devyn. she is one of those hyper girls who can't sit still, so she dances. and she is darn good at it. i know if she never stepped foot in another dance studio again, she might get over it, but, what if i'm making a huge mistake by not letting her "hone her craft" so to speak.
oiy!

The Most Stressful Day of My Life

always happens on a day in july, at the girls ballet recital. the girls have always wanted to take ballet classes so we signed them up. i think it was a good experience but now after 4 years, we are done. camryn started when she was four and the first year was fabulous! she had a blast and the summer was an exciting time because of recital. it's made into such a major production that you'd think people were standing in line to see a spectacular broadway play or something! i was nervous about getting her there on time, so i had sweaty palms until i got her to the right dressing room. our first year was really special, and recital was a great rush...
her second year, cam didn't have as much fun, as she was separated from her friends she had made the year before, and recital was still exciting, but a little more work just getting there, and even though there were a lot of people at the previous year's recital, nothing prepared me for the crowd i was to endure that day. it was just crazy. we complained of course and said she was done, since it didn't seem worth it, but the minute she got up on stage and danced, everything changed. we were so proud of her and wanted her to continue...
devyn decides she wants to jump in cam's third year. the girly girl in her was enamored with the pretty costumes that the girls got to wear, and so she danced her first year and did great! third year recital was a pain in the tooshy!! we waited in line for 2 hours!!! and then when we finally got to the door they would not let deacon in cause he didn't have a lap ticket-which were free- so i had to hunt down a lap ticket. i paid $120.00 for tickets to see MY children dance(doesn't that just sound wrong?) and i can't get in because of a FREE ticket stub i need to have so my baby can sit in my lap!! excuse me, but i was really pissed off at that recital! again, we complained and said they were through. watching them perform was so fulfilling and beautiful, how could we not let them do this?
this year though, was the kicker! i won't go into all of the details, because that's a lot to have to read, both the girls really didn't like their classes and just kind of dragged themselves to class every week. many a time we heard them say they wanted to quit but we would not waiver. we asked them before they signed up if this is what they wanted and it was, so we all had to stick to it. $1300 for tuition, $40 registration fee, $80 recital fee, and other costs for leotards, shoes(jazz, tap, and ballet x2) bags, and several pairs of tights. haven't even mentioned the costumes and sometimes there are more than one per child! even recital tickets went up in price, it just seemed the money spending would never cease at this place! so!
tomorrow is recital and i have to go there and get in line 2 hours early just to get a seat. i know, i know, we will complain some more, but they are NOT going back, no matter how cute they look!

camryn's recital dress 

devyn's recital dress 

camryn on her 8th birthday 

now that camryn has turned 8, this is what we will be working on! we are both pretty excited to start this study, spending time together, having fun and digging deeper into God's word all at the same time! 

Nothing Special

i don't even remember what i did this weekend, but i sure am tired!! camryn turned 8 on the 4th! it seems like only recently i was pregnant with her and trying so hard to stay that way... see, i had 3 miscarriages back to back between her and drew. so of course in my 5th month when i started to bleed with her i panicked. i was beside myself thinking about losing her. immediately went to the emergency room where they told me that i was most likely miscarrying and i should go home, rest, and call my dr. in the morning. i cried so hard. my ob checked me the next morning and told me i would do good to never, ever go to the emergency room for anything like that ever again! i had only popped a blood vessel and camryn was fine! she has such determination, even then! lol!
ok. nothing insightful to say tonight, i am too sleepy to think!

annual dinner with my good friend courtney- she kinda reminds me of ali edwards. i think it's the glasses!