Becky's Family

Becky is one of my close friends.  I am not sure I have ever told her, but I admire her.  She knows how to get things done.  She is dependable.  She would do anything for you.  And... she is a breast cancer survivor.  She is strong and brave.

It was my honor to take family photos for her this year.  The weather did not cooperate, but the kids (and the dog) did.  Here's a sneak peak...

And just for fun...

Doesn't this look like it should be on a Hollister advertisement?

Thankful Tree

Before I was married I used to say I wanted six kids.  I'm passed that thought now - but there are still times when I wish I had a bigger family.  Certain activities would be easier and a lot more fun.  But I must say I was a bit surprised with my "thankful tree" idea tonight.  The idea was to write things we are thankful for on leaves and tape them to a tree.  Then each morning add a few more leaves.  I envisioned this being a lot more fun and satisfying with a large family - or at least more than one kid.  But we came up with some great ideas and our tree is already drooping with all of our blessings!

Don't they look SO happy!  They are craft enthusiasts, as you can tell!

Now let's get a closer look at the things we are blessed with:

I have it stuck to our refrigerator so that we can see it every day between now and Thanksgiving. 

Fire Hazard!

Have you ever wondered what you would do if there was a fire?  Well, you know from this post that I have thought about it a time or two!  Some people like to sit facing an exit door. Some people like to know exactly where they are in case they need to call for help.  Some people would never go into certain situations for fear of the unknown.  Would you ever lock yourself in the far corner of a large room filled with tables, chairs and tons of paper?  For 3 days?  Who does that???

Scrapbookers...that's who.  Are we crazy?  Never mind...don't answer that.  If you have never been to a scrapbooking retreat, you don't know what you are missing.  Not only are we preserving memories - we are making more memories!

We sit with our friends and family...this year I was lucky enough to have Kerry and Tammy with me.  And Becky and her sister, Rachel, sat across from us.

We work hard...

We share tools, ideas and snacks!

Most of all we have fun!  This year a monkey showed up to visit Kerry.  He was cute and made funny noises, so we kept him around.

We didn't realize that he would attract trouble...

This little guy showed up one evening while we were at dinner.  He was WILD!  Sure, he made us laugh.  But he was a bad influence on our quiet, shy little fella.  So we had to find his original home (the end of the table behind us).  And do you know that after this wild monkey was gone, our little man started mocking us?  I told you he was a bad influence!

I LOVE getting away for the weekend.  I LOVE creating memories.  I LOVE scrapping them!

 Rachel - Thanks for letting your creative juices flow across the table!
Becky - I am sorry I am not the friend you thought I was...By the way - do you know where your punches are? Of course I don't have them.  What would make you say that?

Kerry - Thanks for skipping a poker game to be with us (nice shirt).  You definitely have your priorities in order!
Tammy - How many pages did you get done?  Aww heck!  It doesn't matter.  I am glad you came all the way here to spend the weekend with us!

Can't wait to do it all over again!

Take Two!

Well let's just say that the first round wasn't as good as we had hoped for.  For many reasons...there were disagreements, lost balloons, tears, messed up camera settings, just to name a few.  So I volunteered to redo Holly's family photos.  At first she declined, saying she was sure there was at least one good one.  She finally accepted and decided to plop her family in front of a building and let me take just ONE picture.  Her girls are so spunky...I just love them.  Ellie shared with me that the rule is when you are having your picture taken you have to smile.  I wonder where she heard that?!?!

It was Kate's idea to hold flowers.  She is our nature-loving girl!

The whole family is so dag-gone cute...

Love you guys!