Well hello! After a bit of break I am back! I am sorry for the silence, but I had 2 bouts with a serious cold that finally turned into pnuemonia! Christmas was especially tough since I was so sick! We kind of scaled back on the celebration and I had to promise my family that my homemade candy will happen as soon as I am back 100%. I actually went to the store today and didn't lose my breath just walking through the store!

Now I have to tell you about my grandkids! They came for our family Christmas party on Sunday night, the 23rd! Every year I give them all pajamas. Well this year their mom's got their jammies on them and I got to take their picture! Here it is! It was quite a trick to get them all in the picture, and in the end Jesson still didn't look at the camera, but he is still a doll! Anyways, here they are:
(L to R) Maddie (9 mos), Conner (5), Jesson (22 months), Sydney (7), Sarah (5) and Bailey (3)!
Maddie and Jesson are sis/bro, Conner and Bailey are bro/sis, and Sydney and Sarah are sisters! Aren't they adorable?

I was truly blessed this year! Not only did I get to buy a new computer, I got a Singer Futura embroidery machine and the Cricut software so I can hook it up to my computer! Since I am finally starting to feel better, I plan on keeping the next few weeks busy working with my toys! I will show you pics as I learn how to use them!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2007 is full of memories and 2008 is full of possibilities!

Have a great New Year!

Chris

A New Computer!

And it is 7.7 lbs of screaming speed! I got the HP Pavilion dv 9640 laptop, and the only thing it doesn't do is make dinner! Here is a picture of it tonight, after I got done loading all my software on it and getting it set up! It has a 17 inch widescreen!











The best part though, is the keyboard! It has a 10 key built in, just like a regular keyboard! This will be so nice when I am doing taxes this year! No more plugging an external 10 key in. And did I mention the 17 inch screen! I am almost excited for tax season to begin!








I went and bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 and put it on the computer too! I am bound and determined to learn to do digital layouts! So wish me luck! I am still learning where everything is on this thing!

So go create an adventure today!

Chris

P.S. Chelsea, you aren't supposed to know about this, so mum's the word okay?

So I have this daughter.......

......and her name is Chelsea. Today I read her last blog and she said that she going to have a contest with me to try and get more blog entries than I have! Good luck, sweetie!


I have to tell you about Chelsea. She was born when I was 34. My other kids were all born in my early 20's. And actually she was planned, 11 years after her brother Kendall! Here she is, on the front row, right. She has kept this family on it's toes since the day she was born! She is very full of life and sometimes a few other things (that I would like to beat out of her) but life with her is never boring! She keeps her dad and I young at heart.

So Chelsea, game on! If you would like to read a truly unique (black and pink) blog and get a teenager's perspective, slip on over to My space on the floor. You might remember what it was like to be a teen!

Something to Talk About

It has been awhile since I posted some layouts. I was going through my albums and found a couple of old ones I would like to share. Hope you enjoy!

Have you ever bought one of those huge bottle of bubbles at Walmart? Well I did a couple of years ago and the kids had an absolute blast with it! They blew bubble all summer and I finally threw the bottle away so that I didn't have to clean my sidewalk anymore! So I created these pages to remind me of the fun we had that spring and summer with Bubbles!

Chelsea took dance for 6 years. This was the next to the last year she took, in 2004! They did really well that year and the team won lots of awards! Each picture was from a different performance! Lots of running that year!

When my kids were really little and we were really broke, my husband found this kit to make a rocking horse for Kendall, who was 3 at the time. When Gene got it all done, I painted it like an Indian paint pony, with spots and we gave it to Kendall for Christmas. Costs us about $10. He loved the thing and rocked about a million miles on it! Well the kids grew up and the ol' paint just kept on a rocking! Tiffany's little girls loved our rocking horse and always wanted to take it home. So Grandpa, being a wonderful Grandpa, traced all the parts, then cut them out and made another rocking horse. This one we varnished, no spots! "spirit"!

Lots of Christmas Cheer heading your way!

Chris

Santa's Helper is busy!

I promised you pictures and here they are! And to think all of this was made with yarn that I had left over from other projects! I hope to give the hot pads with a loaf of homemade bread and the wash cloths with a bottle of dish soap. I am trying to write cute poems to go with them. If anyone has a cute idea, let me know!
My next project, slippers for my grandkids to go with their jammies that I already have! Then I hope to finish a sweater for my hubby that I started last year! Hoping my knitting mojo doesn't run out soon!

Do you like to make Christmas? I do! Unfortunately, we are now in a society where everyone is materialistic and I don't think they want homemade gifts! Some of my fondest memories are of making everything for Christmas! I love the gifts, the candy, the food! We exchange presents with our oldest 3 kids and their spouses each year and we have a rule that at least part of the present needs to be homemade! We have Kendall and Christy this year and although my husband is doing the homemade part, I can't tell you about it cuz they might read this! Trust me when I say it is absolutely gorgeous!

I bought 2 more presents yesterday and did some shopping on Barnes and Nobles this morning. I think I will have everyone's presents bought by the end of the week, except for Gene. Then I will concentrate on him! I am almost scaring myself, because I am never this close to done on Christmas before December! I am excited to think that possibly the 2 weeks before Christmas will be fun just concentrating on candy! It is pretty sad that it has taken me 30 years to figure out how to get Christmas done on time! Slow learner, I guess!

Go out and spread some cheer today!

Chris

Remember Me?

Been a long time since I posted, eh? Well, at the beginning of November I got the creation bug and began to knit. I knitted a sweater for me, then began to crochet. And knit. I have made an afghan, crocheted 35 pot holders and knitted 11 wash cloths! I will take a picture and post tomorrow, but just had to tell you about it today! I have been knitting and crocheting in my dreams, it has overtaken my life recently!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We did! Had most of my family here and the dinner went really smooth. I was so organized, that it is scary! I should have taken pictures, because that will never happen again! I cooked a 26.5 lb turkey! I was afraid I didn't have a big enough pan for it and it wouldn't go in the Reynolds bag, but all was well! We have eaten turkey ever since Thursday! Last night I broke down and made a turkey pot pie, just so we could have something different! It tasted good! and thank heavens, Gene took the last piece of pumpkin pie to work with him!

Did you do Black Friday? I didn't! I did it once, about 10 years ago, and vowed never again! Actually, most of my shopping has been on line or at JC Penneys and Toys R Us! I am about 2/3's done now, hope to finish this week!

Actually, Gene and the kids went tree hunting in the hills and came home with a great tree! We do an artificial in the living room, which I really decorate up and then a big real tree in the family room, which is the family's to decorate! It has plastic ornaments and lots of candy canes on it! Completely kid proof! Anyways the artificial tree is going up tonight and the real tree will go up next weekend! We will be decorating our hearts out this week!

Saturday I did venture into Rigby (just a little town) and bought some garlands and a new nativity scene. We started a family tradition about 10 years ago that we buy a new nativity scene each year. They are all really different, but special! I will take a pic of them when we get them all out! Boy I owe you alot of pictures!

Go out and have a holly jolly day!

Chris

Tagged!

I've been tagged! My friend Aimslee, Aimeslee was here... , thinks something has happened to me. Thanks for worrying about me, but life just gets in the way sometimes! So after checking on my last post 3 times, she tagged me!

Here are the rules for it:
1. Link to the person that tagged you (that's me) and post these rules on your blog before you answer.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. (But don't tag me back).
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here my random and wierd facts -

1 - I am like a walking encyclopedia! I know tons of useless but impressive pieces of trivia! If someone in my family doesn't know how to spell a word, or where they heard a story, or need some info on local wildlife or geological features, they call me. If anyone of my friends ever makes it on to Millionaire, I will be the friend they call!



2 - Speaking of geological, my major in college was geology. In my younger days, my firmest desire was to work for the federal government, manning one of those fire towers in the forest, where I could while away my days reading books! I thought it was so romantic! But even though I am an accountant (long story) now, I still love my rocks! We went to the Grand Canyon, Zions and Bryce Canyon in 2006, and I was in heaven! Surrounded by all my rock formations!



3 - At one time in my life I could hang ten! For those of you not from California, that is surfing! I was born in Idaho, but my family moved to So. Cal. when I was a baby and I lived there for the first 13 years of my life. I grew up in Huntington Beach and practically lived on the beach. Later we moved back to Idaho and somehow I could never equate skiing with surfing! I am not much of a winter sport fan, I simply wait it out for spring, when I can plant things and go camping!



4 - I have never looked my age. Wonderful now, but it wasn't great when I was 19 and 21 and getting ID'ed even though I was legal. When I was 23 we went to a casino in Reno to play the slots. I went to buy a roll of nickels (I really don't like to gamble) and they asked for my ID! I had left it back at the hotel, never dreaming this would happen! My dad finally convinced them that I was really 23 and the mother of 3 kids! I do have fun surprising people now when I tell them my age and that I have 6 grandkids!

5 - I wanted to be a country singer! Really, I did! I was even in a local Wrangler Country Showdown once. My problem? I don't drink (being LDS afterall) and I don't like bars! That is pretty much the standard area to get discovered. I had a few chances along the way, but didn't want to take time away from my family, so I passed them up. But sometimes, when no one is around, I like to belt out a good song! I have settled for singing at family reunions, the local county fair and funerals!

6 - I am an insomniac, thanks to my oldest son, who never came home on time. I would stay up waiting for him. Now he is 28, and doesn't live with me, but I still can't sleep. I go to bed about 1-2 every morning and get up with my 15 yr old at 6:30! I try to catch 30 minutes in the afternoon, but I don't always make it!

7 - I am a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal addict! I love that show! My guilty pleasure is also Law and Order, SVU. I put my family to bed and watch it at 11:00 every night!

So there you go Aimslee! And since everyone I know that has a blog has already been tagged, I will pass on tagging anyone else!

Chris

Happy Anniversary!

On Sunday, October 28th, my husband, Eugene, and I celebrated 30 years of marriage! Quite a feat in today's world! In some ways it feels like we have been together always, and in other ways I can't believe it has been 30 years! Theres alot of water under the bridge and even though if someone had shown me a movie of the last 30 years I would have run away screaming, I wouldn't change any of it! We have wonderful kids and great grandkids! I still get goosebumps when I look at him! Makes me wonder what the next 30 years will be like!

We spent the weekend, going out to eat, going out to eat again and taking a long drive through Yellowstone. This holds special meaning to us, since the week before our wedding, we made the same drive through Yellowstone and on over to Jackson Hole. It really hasn't changed that much, but it was kind of new and different anyways. It made me think about how 30 years was a long time for us, but for Yellowstone, it was just another day, so to speak. Anyways, when we first came into the park, the steam was rising off of the pots and the geisers and it was really amazing to see. And while we did not see any bull elk, we did see a lot of cows and their calves and we did see a lot of buffalo. It doesn't matter how many times I see wildlife, it still fascinates me. So enjoy the pictures we took and give someone you love a hug today!

Enjoy the day!

Chris

I Hate Colds!

I have had a long couple of weeks. Extensions were up on tax returns on October 15, which meant that we had people in a frenzy at the last minute to get their tax returns done! So I was really looking forward to today, because it is my day off and I have been working them anyways lately. I had so many plans to work on my scrapsbooks, which I haven't done in a few weeks, and to get ready for the Express the Moment crop that Chelsea and I are going to on Saturday.

So what happened? I woke up with a lousy sore throat and a runny nose! This is like the 3rd cold I have had in the past 2 months! I am so tired of this! Of course I have no energy, of course nothing tastes good, and of course my eyes hurt! I am usually a really healthy person, so I don't know why I am getting so many of these. I eat healthy, take multi-vitamins, and try to take care of myself. I guess it is stress. But how do you get rid of that? That is one I cannot figure out!

So I am going to end before I make everyone else sick! If it is possible to pass it through a blog, I would probably do it! I will come back tomorrow when hopefully I feel better.

Stay healthy today!

Chris

Just because!

We recently got a new kitten, named Ginger. She is the cutest little Siamese, with the bluest eyes. Anyways, my schnauzers Toby and Missy, weren't sure they liked this. They kept trying to chase her away!

Well, one afternoon, Gene crawled into his chair for his Saturday afternoon nap, and the dogs jumped up their usual spots, Missy on his left and Toby on his right. After a minute, Ginger jumped up their too, not wanting to be left out! Missy wasn't sure she liked it, but they all snuggled in for the afternoon siesta. It was one of those Kodak moments! So I grabbed my camera and snapped this picture!

And that's another day at the Scott household Zoo!

Chris

To Honor and Serve

On October 4, 2007 Vincent George Kamka, age 23 and of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was killed in the line of duty in Bayji, Iraq. He was returned to his parents, Chuck & Brenda Kamka, on the next Wednesday and this last Saturday he was buried in the Annis Little Butte cemetery, which sits on the other side of the butte from where I live. Even though I personally did not know the Kamkas, I was drawn to the Menan Lorenzo Highway, which is the main route from Idaho Falls to the Annis Little Butte cemetery. We went down to the corner at about 1:00 to wait for them to arrive. We noticed that up and down the road were flags posted about every 500 feet. We drove down to Menan and Lewisville and saw that each community had done the same thing. And at the church in Menan, the scouts had gathered to get their chance to honor Vince.


At about 1:30 we saw the flash of the sheriff's lights and here they came. At the front of the procession was the POW/MIA bike club, posing as the honor guard for this solemn procession. Following the hearse was at least 100 cars, carrying friends and family of this humble soldier. I was struck with how quiet it was as each car drove past us. A few waved, as if to acknowledge that we were here to share their grief.


We went on up to the top of the butte, to look down on the cemetery, with it's flag lined fence and roads. We quietly watched as the pall bearers bore him to his final resting place and caught wisps of the dedicatory prayer. We listened as someone sang and then as they did the 21 gun salute.








After having seen all these flags as a sign of pride, a sign of support, I don't know if I will ever look at the flag the same again. We have flown our flag in our yard at half staff, in respect for the Kamkas since the funeral. I hope his mom knows that here in Annis, all of us moms have shed a tear for her and that we know that a truly great soldier lies here among us. We will watch over him for you.





Heavenly Father, bless the soldiers in harms way, keep them safe!

Chris

Snow!!!!!?!?!?!?

So I don't know if you heard, but it snowed in Southeastern Idaho on Saturday! Now it may have been 90 degrees everywhere else, and we may have only gotten our first frost about a week ago, and the trees may have still had all their leaves, but heh, this is Idaho, right?

When it started, I didn't think too much of it. Then we had about 3 inches and the branches were starting to sag. My apple trees still have apples on them too, so I began to worry that we might have some branches break.

So out we went to knock off the branches! And suddenly, it really began to snow! Great big, wet flakes!

Then we started to hear trees popping all around us, like gun shots! Branches were falling every few seconds! We watched the trees across the dry bed continually loose branches, minute after minute!

When the storm was over, the ground was completely littered with branches! The picture below shows this, the yellow under the trees is the branches that broke off! There wasn't a house in Rigby that didn't loose some branches, and even in Rexburg and Idaho Falls, on either side of us! When it was all done, Rigby had the record snowfall of 6 inches!

Conference!
On a lighter note, the General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) was held this weekend. It is held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, but broadcasted around the world. There are 4 sessions, 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. It is a wonderful chance for us to receive counsel and learn gospel principles from the leaders of our church! We get a chance to be spiritually fed and uplifted!

This time, there were some changes in the leadership. President James E Faust, who was the 2nd counselor in the First Presidency, passed away in August.

James E. Faust

Saturday morning, President Gordon B. Hinckley called and we sustained, Elder Henry B. Eyring to be the new first counselor.

Henry B. Eyring

This in turn left a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which was fille by Quentin L. Cook.

Quentin L. Cook

When I was little, I always thought these leaders looked so old! All of a sudden, they are starting to look younger and younger! It couldn't be that I am getting old!

When President Eyring spoke on Sunday, he talked about being thankful for blessings and trials and even the simple things like the beautiful flowers growing outside your windows. So here it goes for me -

I am thankful that I live in a country where I can choose how I worship my Heavenly Father and that I can even talk about it! I am thankful for the family unit, mine in particular! I am thankful that I have the means to make a written and pictoral history of my family, to hand down through the generations! And I thankful that I can share my thoughts with you on this blog!

So I would like to encourage you to go and find something that you are thankful for today! Embrace the ordinary and love the simple!

Chris

Absolutely Nothing!

I have absolutely nothing to say of any redeeming value! I have not been able to come up with anything cute or bubbly or astute! So here I sit, wanting to post but not having anything of value to communicate!

The family is great, Chelsea's drivers ed keeps me hopping. I have been babysitting my granddaughters while my daughter Tiffany works in the potatoes.

Gene went hunting this week, archery. He was hunting elk and bear. Thursday he called me and told me was coming home. He sounded shook up. I worried until he pulled in on Thursday night. Apparently he had an encounter with a grizzly bear sow! He was sitting in his tree stand above his bear bait (black bear) and along came this grizzly sow and 2 cubs. She saw Gene in the tree and woofed at him and charged. He let off a shot with his pistol and she took off running with her cubs! He said he almost had an anxiety attack right then and there!!!!! So he came down, packed up his tree stand and bait and hightailed it out of there! Says he is finding somewhere else to hunt elk! The funny thing is that whenever you talk to Fish and Game they tell you there are not any grizzlies in the Palisades area of Idaho! Yea, right!

So that's our week! Still haven't found the time to scrapbook, still canning like crazy! Hope to be done this week!

And so ends the month of September!!!

Chris

The Harvest is In!

Well, Mother Nature dealt us another hand on Monday night - frost! So about 6:00 pm we decided we needed to get the patch picked. I rushed over there with my camera and got several pictures, admired our pumpkins, and then we got to work picking! There were alot of pumpkins!

I was sad that our grandkids didn't get to pick them, but Gene, Chelsea and I had a blast!

Look at our haul! The top one on the right weighed 80 lbs! The one to it's left weighed in at 70!

Most of the rest of the smaller ones weigh between 30 and 50 lbs! That's a lot of pumpkin!!! The rest of the little ones are actually different kinds of squashed that we planted!

The grandkids are coming this weekend to pick out their pumpkins, then we will have some of the neighbor kids come and get the rest! Grandpa's pumpkin patch was a hit this year!!!!

Hope you have just a pumpkin kind of day!!!

Chris

Well............

The pumpkins are still on the vine! We had a slight change in plans, due to Mother Nature! We woke up to rain and wind yesterday morning, and the high temperature was only about 48 degrees! So we decided to try for next weekend! The kids were disappointed and didn't really want to be cooped up in the house, so grandpa had to ruffhouse with them! We had a loud, boisterous house last night! By 9:30 everyone had left for home, and Chelsea says, "It's so quiet all of sudden!" We all smiled!

Chelsea finished up her homework, and we helped with drivers ed. I must confess, I am really glad that this is my last drivers ed! It is so funny to listen to Chelsea though, ready to conquer the world at 15! She already has plans for the pick-up she plans to get (not a car, a pickup!) and the awesome stereo system it will have! Dream On, honey!

Stay tuned for the great pumpkin patch...........

Chris

The Pumpkin Patch!

Gene has been watching and pampering his babies (pumpkins) for weeks and today he declared "I think we better pick them!" So tomorrow the grandkids are coming, after church, and we are having our annual pumpkin pick! This is Gene's 3rd year of having a pumpkin patch, and I must say it is probably his best ever! This year we didn't start the plants in the house, we just planted the seeds in the ground about the 1st of June! He has about 35 pumpkins and I am pretty sure that at least 2 will tip the scales at over 100 lbs! I am pretty excited!

So tomorrow, the camera and the scales will make the trek to the patch. I will show you pictures of them tomorrow night and then I am going to use some of my new fall stash to scrapbook them! See you tomorrow night!

Make the day a good one!

Chris

Bad Blogger!

I haven't done well blogging this summer! It is not that there's nothing going on, but that there is too much going on and I get overwhelmed! You ever feel like that? And when I get overwhelmed, I am not good at taking pictures, or scrapbooking, either one! Anyways, I did go to a crop at Express the Moment last Friday, even with a bad cold! I completed one page, and got some stuff for other pages. So I am moving forward. And I had lots of fun.

This last week I read Melody Ross' blog and it appears I am not the only one suffering from this! Click on the link to the side of my page and go read her posts. Maybe we should all make a commitment to overcome!

I was talking to Kim at Express the Moment on Friday, and we decided that the scrapbooking industry is a sort of crisis! They have overwhelmed us all with so much product, that we don't know where to start or what to use first. As a result we are losing sight of the reason most of us scrap, which is a history of us and our families. If you go to the galleries of the big magazines and scrap companies, there are pages that I dare say cost $25 per page! That is not a reality for most of us! And since we cannot achieve the top, we stop! Or we keep buying, thinking that magically some creative fairy will sweep dust on us and suddenly every design team in the nation will be clamoring for our stuff!

So here is my call to arms, ladies! Let's get back to basics! Scrap the memories and don't get so wrapped up in the product! If you see something you love, then buy it! But then be sure and use it, don't tuck it away to be forgotten! I am committing to setting aside time once a week to scrap and I intend on finishing my committment for 100 pages in 2007! Right now I have 42! So I better get to work!

Now, since I don't have any cute pictures to share, I thought I would show you some of the stuff that I bought at Express the Moment on Friday night! It is so cute and I am now ready for those Halloween pictures! The Making Memories Halloween stuff is soooo cool! And the Christmas stuff is really cool too! So go to www.makingmemories.com/ and look at the new stuff! You will be in love too!

Go and be creative today!

Chris

Happy Birthday Gene!

Today my blog is dedicated to my dear husband, Eugene. It is his 49th birthday! Happy Birthday hun! Here is a picture of him doing what he loves, driving his boat! (That is when he's not driving his 4-wheeler or hunting!)

Anyways I am very thankful to have him here. This has been a rough year for Gene. A year ago (September 17) he started passing out and stopping breathing! It looked like Anaphaletic (sp?) shock, but the paramedics thought I was nuts. Anyways it continued to happen every month or so clear through the winter! I thought I was losing my husband, and I was scared to death! After several doctors, thousands of dollars in tests, hundreds of tests and watching the doctors scratch their heads, we finally found someone who could tell us what was wrong! He has developed a rare condition called Chronic Cold Urticaria, or an allergy to the cold! Not cold weather necessarily, but cold air or cold water! He is now on allergy medicine and we have not had an event for 6 months! And guess what, they told us that it is anaphaletic shock he is going into, so now we have an Eppy pen just in case! The good news through all of this, is that his heart is in great shape, he has no neurological problems, and we have seen every inch of the inside of his body! :)

So Happy Birthday today and let's hope we are on top of this for good! By the way did you know that Gene is 4 million some odd seconds younger than me? He has it all worked out, and loves to tell people. Actually it works out to 4 1/2 months! I am an older woman! But I keep telling him he may be younger but I look better! :)

I love you Hun!

Can you believe.......

how long it has been since I posted? I really didn't disappear! Just had a million things to do and not enough time to do it! We had a family reunion to put on for 250 family members, my uncle died, then there was school shopping and canning my garden produce! And let's see, also 5 birthdays in the family, and registering for high school for Chelsea! My baby turned 15 in July and she is now officially a sophomore at Rigby High School! I am having a hard time adapting to this idea! In 3 years she will be in college! At least she is choosing a close school, Idaho State University! She has already decided to be a pharmacist! This girl is really a take charge, I have definite ideas, kind of person! I don't tell her often enough, but I really admire her! A very strong personality! Anyway I was watching TV the other day and saw a new Best Buy commercial where the parents pulled their RV down to their daughter's college, so they could be close to her! That started the wheels rolling! You know we could do that on the weekends at least! When I mentioned it to Chelsea, she just rolled her eyes! I know Chelsea, I am a dorky mom!

So go and make it a great day!

Chris

Some Down Time

Monday, July 2, was a scorcher! My husband and I decided that we would take Chelsea and the boat and hightail it to Ririe Reservoir, when he got home from work. Now from our driveway to the north boat ramp is 30 minutes. So I packed a picnc and the minute he pulled in the driveway at 7:00, we drove like crazy for the Ririe!

It was worth it! We parked at a floating dock about a mile from the boat dock and ate dinner! I took a picture of these sunflowers on the shore. I also took several pictures of the rock formations as we drove along. There really are some unusual outcroppings and even this butte. I was trying out my new camera and some of the stuff I was really just looking at for the first time!
Chelsea had her swimsuit on, but wasn't sure about the temperature of the water, and the sun was starting to set. In the end she just sat on the dock and relaxed, which was fine because that was what this night was all about!

We had the perfect spot to watch several wakeboarders go by. It was fun to watch them, even when they crashed!

Later on we came across a boat that had engine problems and we ended up towing them to the other boat dock on the other end of the lake. By the time we got back to our boat dock, we were the last boat in the water. But the moon was pretty full and it was gorgeous! I have never been on the water at 10:00 at night! We went home very refreshed and recharged! What an enjoyable, peaceful time!

Go and enjoy something today!

Chris

My Friend Kim

My friend, Kim Rose, has a new store! Her first day was today! I went about noon and I took pictures! These two pictures are of the outside of the store! Isn't the sign cute!

Here is Kim waiting on her customers! The store was really busy! She is still really moving things around and decorating, so I will wait to do a complete tour of the inside!

While I was waiting to pay for my purchases, her phone rang. Kim was so excited, I couldn't resist taking a picture!

Good luck Kim! I'm routing for you!

Chris

Green Acres?

Let me start by saying I am a city girl, born and raised! However, I married a country boy 30 years ago and his parents gave us some ground! Need I say more! You can take the boy off the farm but you can never take the farm out of the boy!



Over the years we have raised and broke horses, raised cows, even raised 75 chickens once. Don't ask. Over the past 10 years we have mainly concentrated on raising and running hounds. Well my son-in-law (also a country boy) decided to raise pigs! So the first batch was born. Guess where I am going with this? That's right, we bought 2 piglets. They are pretty cute right now and my daughter is getting really attached to them. She calls them Babe and Gordy, but my husband calls them Pork and Chop, just to remind her what is going to happen come about January. The poor guys are going to have an identity crisis, with multiple names and all!


Well anyway, here is a picture of Babe (pork) and Gordy (chop) as they enjoyed some over-ripe watermelon.
And let me assure you that I DON'T slop the hogs! That is my daughter's job! Mine? Take great pictures and make scrapbook pages!

So go have an adventure today, and whatever you do, never, never marry a farmer!

Chris

Patting Myself on the Back!!!!

You know how I was saying yesterday that I needed to grow! Well I did! I spent 5 hours last night, learning how to create a digital page on my computer! I created the banner at the top of my blog! It doesn't look like much, but I used 5 layers, changed colors, cropped, used text, and cropped a shape! I am pretty proud of myself! I might actually try doing a scrapbook page next!

Well I think I am done re-arranging and housecleaning here for awhile. I hope you like the page. Let me know!

Go and try something new today! Grow a little!

Changes are good!

I am changing my blog around a little, let me know if you like it! Change is good, isn't it? I have reached that point in my life, where boring is good sometimes, change upsets the cart. So I have to shake things up, make myself grow, because I am not ready to be old!

I haven't posted for a few days, not really anything to say, just been doing the boring, everyday stuff, like cleaning, yard work, errands. Sometimes I just need a little down time. I haven't scrapped too much this week, so I am going to share a couple oldies, but goodies, with you!

This one was of Memorial Day weekend last year! One of the most miserable weekends we spent ever! It rained and/or snowed on us for the entire weekend! We ended up spending most of our time in the trailer, watching movies on the laptop. The only thing good that came of the weekend was this layout! We can laugh now, but it wasn't a good time then!

The next one is also older, my first attempt with rub-ons. We had this old rocking horse that my kids loved! My grandkids do too, so grandpa copied it and made one for our grand-daughters Sydney and Sarah!

And last, but not least, here was a spring layout I did last year, showing my grandkids playing with bubbles! We had this huge bottle I had gotten at Walmart, and every time they came to our house we had to get them out! Made for some really cute pictures!

So there you have it! Hope you have a productive week and I will try to get back on my game! I am definitely in a rut, so I will try something new and share it with you soon!

I got some work done!

I really want to share some of my work! I have been cranking out pages like crazy ever since I went to the ETM Conference. Kind of got my creative scrapping juices flowing again! So not much talk, here they are!

My grandson Jesson turned 1 on February 4th! He had a really big day with the whole family!

On March 16th, he got a baby sister, only 13 months apart! His dad was the 2nd one in my pair that is only 13 months apart!

Sydney is our oldest grandchild, and she turned 6 on November 4th! She is growing up so fast!

Conner is our oldest grandson, who turned 4 on November 18th. What a little man!

Sarah also turned 4 last year, on October 6th! It is so fun to watch her and Conner, their similarities and differences! Sarah is our little dare devil!

If you read the story on this page it explains everything. This is the last picture I have of my mother before she passed away of MS. This was taken in November 2004, and she passed away on April 26, 2005.

This is Miss Bailey, as I call her! Our little tow-head granddaughter! She turned 2 in August and she gives us all a warm fuzzy everytime we look at her! She has her dad's snow white hair and blue eyes and grandma's curly hair! When I watch her, it's like watching her dad all over again. The same happy, easy-going personality!

In case you can't tell I am the proudest grandma! Six of the most beautiful babies in the world! Someone told me that grandchildren are the reward for having survived your children! Maybe they are right!

Go and make some memories today!

Chris

Did you know........

....we have deer in our field! They haven't been hanging around too much, but Wednesday the young buck started venturing back out into the hay field behind our home. On Friday I grabbed the camera and took some pictures! He is a forked horn white-tail, judging by the horns starting to appear in the velvet. I think they are so pretty right now, with horns in the velvet, and their hide so red in color! I hope you enjoy!

Chris