Blogging hiatus....is there a such a thing?

If so, I'm one of a few that has taken a bloggy break....judging from my long list of those that I follow....Wow! lots to read and catch up on! My email inbox too has been sadly neglected & is now asking me if I want to "compress" my files/emails to save space... I don't think that's a good thing... LOL! What can I say? Life happens? Always tons going on here! *sigh* I won't bore ya with the long list of "whys".... besides, some of the "whys" might sound pretty pathetic... quite a bit are legit though. I've missed not catching up with everyone and hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for the holidays!

This is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather & that I've been able to keep my windows open a time or two over the past week! The holidays are coming and that always inspires my creative side. : )

Today, I'm on a mission to rearrange my living room... exciting huh?! This is by FAR the worst space in my house to decorate AND it's the first room you see when you walk in to the house. It's smaller than any living room I've ever had and absolutely nothing seems to fit or look good. I need one of those decorating show people... guarantee they'd agree with me! LOL! I've had tiny apartments with bigger living room spaces! What makes this so difficult is not only is it a small space but the ceilings are vaulted.....BIG, HUGE VAULTED ceilings in a tiny room! You would think that a simple fix would be tall/bigger furniture... the trick is finding big things that will fit in this tiny area. *sigh* .... my dilemma for the past year now! Grrr.... If anyone knows any tricks or has any suggestion, I'd gladly welcome them! : )

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

~CIAO~

payback SWEET payback *sigh*

And a Happy Father's Day too! So, my sweet husband thought it would be hilarious to capture a shot of me doing some yard work.... a REALLY not-so-flattering picture which has now been mysteriously deleted from his phone FOREVER (meant to be said like "Smalls" said it in *The Sandlot*... FOR--E--VER!!! If you haven't seen the movie, you need to.). He's very fortunate to still have a working phone. I think I've mentioned that I live in the house of pranks.... right? Well, his was tough to top and then I remembered... I HAVE A BLOG! Bwahahahaha! Kevan thought it would be funny to send his pic of me to our son who sent it on to....hmmm... pretty much everyone in his address book that knows us.... which probably led to that out of control spiral of text sending. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that there isn't a Marine in California that hasn't had a laugh at Kyle's Mom! Geez, I've wondered since if my picture has surfaced overseas yet. hmmm.... Anyhooo, I've been called the paparazzi around our place. I'm usually toting a camera or have it within arms reach.... unless of course my battery is dead. I'm not the most proficient in keeping that darn thing charged. Ok, I'm getting off base and It's time to get to the good stuff! *insert evil laugh here* I've gotten pics of Kevan making crazy faces or worse, I'll get the gestures that say "I've had enough of the camera" (though I won't post those). So without further adieu.... Happy Father's Day to the funniest, sweetest, most loving & generous man I know! All joking aside, he truly is my best friend, my soulmate and the best Dad any child could ask for. Mushy moment over... now for the picture you've all been waiting for.... and the one that will probably earn the payback that I will inevitably regret. Keep in mind... this is all in FUN.... nasty, rotten, evil FUN! Did I mention that a GREAT sense of humor is essential in this household? I guess it can't be helped in a house full of boys.... poor Kaydee & I are hugely outnumbered so we have to play dirty. heeheehee! Here goes.... Ah yes, I believe this was the runway shot featuring the new Strawberry Shortcake attire. Kevan proudly modeled Kaydee's hat after she had been asked to put it away several times.... Dontcha just wish she had put it away Kevan? Remember while I was sweltering from the heat while working in the yard as you sat snickering in the shade..... remember I said "payback"? Let the games begin.... just as soon as I hide all phones & cameras of course! ; ) I wish all of the Father's out there a wonderful, relaxing day! Oh, and if you are relaxing and you've been known to play pranks on your hard working wife... you may want to get up from watching that NASCAR race and check on her whereabouts.... she COULD be blogging.... about YOU! heeheehee!

Just a little recap of the last few....

I had a few minutes to upload some pics & thought I'd sneak in and blog a bit. : ) We've been on the go with the c-r-a-z-y list of summer activities and I've barely had time to come up for air.

We visited the Arizona Science Center over the weekend. They are featuring the Lego Castle Adventure right now and can I just say AWESOME?! This worked out perfectly as we're in virtual Scotland (Kevan's ancestry roots) this week and there were some fantastic lego castles to explore. The kids had a blast! The best part about the Science Center is that it is totally kid friendly. They can play, run, touch, smell and we don't have to worry about ANYTHING breaking! Kaydee wore a princess costume out of their dress-up bin to fully play the part! Kaydon ran around freely, astonished that he didn't hear the words "no-no" once & yes, that is a mohawk (Kevan did it, I plead the 5th)! LOL! We stayed and played until closing time. On our way out Kaydee crossed over a floor ventilation grate and the rising air lifted her dress. When I turned to see what was taking her so long to catch up I couldn't help but laugh at the way she seemed so fascinated with this final feature at the science center. Well, it really wasn't a "feature" per se but to her it was. Of course I had to get pictures. She posed, laughed & quickly gained attention as the "little Marilyn". Now she wants to know who Marilyn is. Dare I tell her? Maybe another time... perhaps when my little diva in training is about 30?! LOL! I don't think she needs anymore encouragement in that department but oh boy, what a ride I think we're in for! Eeek!

Also, yesterday we began Summer camp at Crocodile Dock VBS. Here are a few shots of Kaydee on her first day. They transformed the church auditorium into a swamp! How cool is that? The group leaders were sporting bright neon green streaks in their hair and everyone got their very own necklace & bracelet. She was a little shy at first but quickly warmed up as one of her group leaders was also a substitute teacher at her school. She also recognized some buddies from school. It also helped that she was placed in what she calls "the coolest group EVER" because they are called the opossum BLOSSOMS! There's no denying the girly-girl in her... that's for sure! When I asked her what the best part was, she was quick to reply with "no work!". *sigh* So with that comment I can only assume that we've finally reached that age where she is not so excited about school or more specifically schoolwork. Speaking of age.... my little girl turns **9** in just 14 days! I can't believe how fast time seems to be flying! Having 2 grown kids already it's hard not to reminisce about every milestone.... both then & now with each of my kiddos. So that's what has been on my plate. What's on your plate? More soon...hopefully! ; ) ~*~Ciao~*~

whew! busy, busy, busy!

Yep, I'm still here. Still running like crazy. Since summer vacation began, I've had to speed up to keep up.... if that makes ANY sense. I've been busy with kids, appointments, meetings, crafts, virtual traveling, & working on a host of other irons in my fire. I'm also in training for my online business.... not quite ready to launch just yet but coming soon. *fingers crossed*
I've tried to keep up on my blog roll. Sometimes it's easier to read and comment then to think creatively enough to post on my own. Ever feel like that? LOL! By the end of the day lately it seems I'm lucky if I feel that I have more than 2 brain cells to rub together.
I have a few layouts & collage pieces that I've worked on here and there....truly my sanity time to be able to lose myself in something creative! : P
Posting might be a little few and far between until I can get through some of my classes & some of the kids activities but we'll see. I'll be checking in at the very least. : ) Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! ~*~Ciao~*~

Did I mention that we're in Italy this week?

Let the *Destination Imagination* begin! : )
So this week we’re in Italy. The kids are loving all of the neat things we’ve done this far. We didn’t get to really pick a place on the globe together… I picked. LOL! I went with what I knew and could teach with this short week and after our holiday camp out. I still have a small bit of the language down though it’s been awhile since I was around those that speak fluently so *check* on that. The cooking is a snap and doesn’t take much thought because it’s familiar. *check* The crafts are under construction as we speak. *check* Over all this has been not so tough given the fact that I didn’t do such a “bene” job preparing. Gratefully, my kids know no difference. ; ) So, suffice to say, I miei bambini l'amore Italia (My kids love Italy). They love the *funny* music and are always game for messy craft or cooking projects.

Some other phrases learned:

Lavarsi le mani (wash hands)
Affermativo (yes please)
grazie! (thank you)
occhi (eyes)
naso (nose)
bocca (mouth)
orecchie (ears)
spazzola i denti (brush teeth)
Che ore sono? (what time is it?)
ora di andare al letto (bedtime).... *my personal favorite* heehee!

I'm hoping to post some of our crafts and a few recipes this week but more realistically this weekend. ; ) Kaydee and I surfed for a few pics to add to our Italy blog & she loved this one... go figure! LOL!

Is she her Mother's daughter or what? ; ) Well, we're off to go make strombolli. ~*~Ciao~*~

Flea Market, Mud-Mania & a new place to travel

Well, this was one SUPER filled weekend for sure! We did make it to the Flea market at the Merchant sqare but were in & out pretty quick. On top of the fact that we got a late start Saturday (story of my life!), we had been having some on & off rains. Between the heat and the humidity, there were not nearly the amount of vendors at Merchant Square this time around. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing. We still had yet to pack up the truck and had some last minute things to grab at the store. The next flea market will be in October... wise idea! I walked out with NOTHING! Can you believe that? Kevan managed to find a few matchbox cars for Kaydon. Kaydon is a car MANIAC! I don't think that any of my boys were as obsessed with cars and trucks the way that he is. Too funny!

We ran our last few errands... QUICKLY and got the heck out of town! It was magnificent to get out of the heat for a bit. We had quite a few friends meet at the same campsight so there were tons of kids, quads, games, MUD and a never-ending amount of pranks! ; )

this little stink bug thinks he's going to sneak away on Mama's quad... Good try Kaydon ------->>>>>

<<<-------- Totally loving the freedom to just run & explore!

The kids had a blast! It was SO nice just to watch them run freely without worrying about a thing! They caught lizards, catepillars, butterflies and explored every rock, tree and hillside within 1/4 mile of our site. To say they were exhausted would be an understatement! I can't believe that they actually slept in until almost 10:30 this morning! Now, I have the unpleasant duty of unloading, unpacking & some very muddy laundry! ICK!

My little "bump on the log" ----->>>>

<<<----Yes, *girl-drama* still happens EVEN in THE WOODS!!! *sigh*

<<<--- It's pretty sad when the kids come home cleaner than the adults! We had a blast running our quads through every mud puddle at Clint's well! I had to show my sweetie who owned the woods....he can HAVE the Dunes! Bwahahaha!

I'm thinking the shoes are not going to come clean... what do you think? --->>>

Lastly, if I can ever get through the muddy laundry the kids and I are planning to start our journey to Italy tomorrow. : ) For tonight, it's a good, old fashioned American BBQ! mmmm!

Happy Memorial Day!

A big Thank You to our country's veterans!!

You are loved and appreciated for

all that you do to protect us and our fine land!

xox