Windy Hill & some layouts

We finally found some gas for the car, it took about 4 days! We have enough to last another few days which is good since our area is still pretty much out of gas. The stations in our town, there are about 4, have been out for over a week and hopefully should get some tomorrow but who knows. They've been saying that for days but every pump still has a litle bag over it. Oh well, what can you do.

Anyway, since we had a full tank we decided to go apple picking yesterday. Silly me didn't even think to check the weather channel though and it was blazing hot. I'm talking over 80 at ten in the morning, way too hot for a fall activity. We got there and it turned out the tour we were supposed to take doesn't 'run' on Mondays so we just wandered around on our own. They had chickens and roosters out running around and Ari thought it was so fun to chase them. Matt was afraid he'd get pecked but I made him let Ari loose and it was too cute. Of course the chickens ran from him but he just ran right behind them. It was adorable. We took his wagon and I'm so glad we did because we walked quite a bit and he's not one to follow. He's much happier creating his own path and just takes off. It was fun but we didn't stay long since it was so stinkin' hot. Just as well, Ari fell asleep in the car on the way home. I did get some strawberry butter and pumpkin butter from the little stand that they had and oh boy is it delicious! I had some of the pumpkin butter on my pancakes this morning, yum!







So, all in all I'd go apple picking again but definately on a day when they have the tour and the weather is cooler.

Now, for some scrappy creations. It's the end of the month which means I can share my Crop Addict October layouts. This kit was so fun, crammed with KI Memories and Piggy Tales. I actually have a couple more things to make tonight but I thought I'd share what I already have done.







I have a few more thing to create tonight, like I mentioned before and I was lucky enough to work with a very generous manufacturer this month as well. I'll share those creations as soon as I'm given permission so stay tuned!

smarty pants!

Lil' guy is getting too smart. He learned this in less than a week and trust me when I say he was completely unpromted in all of what you are about to see!!

I'm no good at this

Am I? Seems life has just been getting in the way lately.

I've been scrapping like mad, re-arranging my house and garage, playing with the kid (he's getting so stinkin' smart) and enjoying Matt's two week vacation. Are we going anywhere you ask?

No.

We don't have any gas. We were supposed to go apple picking today, no gas. When are we going to get some you ask? According to the gas station lady, "when the truck shows up". Fantastic.

Gives the term "staycation" a whole new meaning. Guess it's a good thing I have about a million and one things to do around here. I still don't like feeling trapped though. I can't go anywhere even if I want to and that makes me feel a little clausterphobic.

I did go to a Mom's Night Out tonight with my local mommies group. I wouldn't have been able to go were it not for a sweet new friend picking me up on her way! I should make her a card. Lord knows I have the time.

I promise I'll be back with pictures tomorrow but it's nearly midnight and I'm exhausted. The Bean is cutting teeth and was up about half a dozen times last night. Ouch.

Betcha think I forgot about you!

But I didn't! I've been out of town, I went on a fabulous scrapbook cruise with my friend Debbie and have been attempting to settle back into "normal" around here. I think the easiest way to tell you about my adventures this past week would be to break it down each day, so here we go!

Wednesday: Matt and Ari took me to the airport and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale to meet Debbie. We stayed in a hotel to make sure we were both there in time to board the ship. Debbie had a terrible sinus infection and didn't feel well at all so we had a quick dinner and went to bed fairly early. Ari did very well, he didn't cry at all when I left. I'm sure having Daddy and Grandma at his beck and call helped that, he was SO spoiled all week I'm sure!

Thursday: We headed to the pier to board the ship and tie up a few loose ends relating to the scrapbook part of our trip. The ship was incredible, by far the biggest boat I've ever seen. This was my first cruise so I was soaking it all in. There was a casino, night club, something like three pools and half a dozen hot tubs, a spa and a theatre for live shows in the evenings. Of course there was the formal dining room, it was two stories tall! Oh, and the rock climbing wall and bungee jumping too! We left the port around dinner time and it was such a strange feeling to be moving (fast, I might add) but not moving, if that makes sense.




Friday: We docked in Key West early in the morning. Debbie and I had breakfast at the Windjammer Marketplace which was the buffet area. Man, the food was incredible! Even for a buffet, it was so fresh and yummy. I think I gained about ten pounds last week, that's the only not so good part of the trip. Anyway, in Key West I really wanted to go to the Southernmost point in the US so we walked. It was very hot and humid but we survived. On the way to the point we passed the Lighthouse so we popped in. We walked up Duval Street on our way back to the pier and browsed the shops and bars. I like Key West, I'd love to go back someday when I have more time. We had to be back on the boat by 2 to set sail for Cozumel. We had a scrap class that afternoon and our Formal dinner that evening. I love to dress up so it was fun for me. Oh, and I totally ate escargo! Debbie even took pictures to prove it. It was pretty good, covered in a garlic butter sauce which makes pretty much anything good! Oh, while we're at dinner everynight our cabin steward comes by for turndown service. We had mints on our pillow and they made cute little towel animals out of our pool towels every day. So fun! We had another scrap class after dinner and went to bed after class.






Saturday: WooHoo, Cozumel!! We docked around 10 or so but we wanted to eat breakfast first. We had to be back on the ship at 1 to take care of some scrap things so we took a cab Downtown to do some shopping and sight seeing before lunch. It was really hot again but we still had fun. It's really fun for me just to watch people, especially in other countries, and see how they live on a day to day basis. I had a great time! We had lunch on the ship while we were checking on things and after lunch we rented a Jeep to drive to the beaches. Debbie has been to Cozumel before so she knew all the good spots. I'm thinking there was a pretty massive hurricane that hit the island a couple years ago and Debbie said it was AMAZING the amount of damage it left behind. The sand beaches were all but gone! In it's place were rocky cliffs with waves crashing all around. It was gorgeous to see but not swimmer friendly so we drove around until we found a better spot. I love seeing all the little roadside stands and bars and shops. There were a few guys kiteboarding, we watched them for a while then just sat on the beach and enjoyed the view. Back on the boat we had dinner in the dining room again and scrapped some that evening. We were both pretty worn out and didn't have much energy to scrap so we walked around the boat then went to the room and ordered room service. We were so excited because we thought we'd get to go to bed at a decent hour but by the time our room service arrived and we watched a movie and chatted it was after 1 in the morning. Oops! It was great fun though, I very much enjoyed getting to know Debbie even more!






Sunday we were at sea all day so we did a scrap class and walked around the ship a bit. Debbie is like, Goddess of the Sea so we were invited to take a tour of the Bridge (which is where they pilot the boat incase you are like me and didn't know, I thought it was a secret bridge to somewhere. Duh). Anyway, we met the crew and saw all the insturments that they use. It was pretty cool! It was actually a pretty relaxing day, did a little shopping on the boat, ate, ate some more... I can't wait to go back! We packed up our bags that evening since we were leaving pretty early the next morning. All in all it was an incredible week and just what I needed! I'm trying to talk Matt into letting me go in March to Western Mexico! I could use some help if anyone is willing ;)

Monday we disembarked the boat and headed to the airport to catch our flights home. I missed my guys SO much! I was fine while I was on the boat but once I was sitting alone in the boarding area it hit me. I was able to catch an earlier flight to Charlotte, ditch my bags in the car and fly to Louisville to pick up my little Bean! I called Sharon to check on him and she told me the power was out at their house! Apparently Ike did some serious damage while we were gone. I had no idea. As far as I know they still don't have power, going on 5 days now! Yikes! Matt got home last night from work so we're enjoying some nice quiet family time here at home, just the three of us. Ari and I went to a play date this morning then Matt and I took him to Gymboree. We're officially back in Gym classes, after seeing the sheer joy in Ari's face today I cannot take him out. He had SO much fun, clapping and yelling YAY the whole time. He did have a rough day though, he fell twice and has both a ginormous goose egg on his forhead and his first ever scrape under his little chin :( Poor guy. Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture of his adorable little face. I'm exhausted and this post took over an hour so I'm going to bed. I do have some scrappy creations to share with you later this week so stay tuned!

Update and a funny:

We decided not to go to Florida, Ari is coming down with a cold and I think travelling with him will be more hassle than it's worth.

Anyway, we took Matt to the airport and swung by Target for some odds and ends. I came home and turned on the evening news, they're saying they will have full coverage of Hanna and to stay tuned for updates on power outages. Um, if the power is out how am I going to watch TV?

What's new?

I realize it's been way too long since I've put "real" pictures on the old blog. I know I put my scrap creations on here but I'm sure some of you don't come for the creative inspiration but to see Ari! Well, we really haven't done a whole lot lately but I'll share what I have!

Ari got a new play kitchen, he loves it. He makes coffee for Matt and pours it in his little cups. He even says "glug glug glug" when he pours, it's way too cute!


He has a major shoe fetish. He only seems interested in my shoes for whatever reason. When Dick and Sharon were here visiting last week we found him trapsing around in Sharon's glittery flip flops. I think "sparkle" is his color!


He is fascinated with the tree in our front yard. He likes to hug it and peek around it. A little tree hugger already ;)


We've also gone to a couple festivals, Matthews Alive and the Greek Festival in Charlotte yesterday. Ari is officially not a fan of carnival rides! I rode the carousel with him at Matthews Alive and he was stiff as a board the whole time. He didn't know what to think and as soon as we stopped he grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go! At the Greek Festival he rode a little spinny ride with Michelle and Ella and cried the whole time, he looked so scared. We put him and Ella on the baby ferris wheel and he didn't like that either. We're not going to torture him any more, he's just like his dad. Matt hates roller coasters too!

Today we are headed down to Florida to have dinner with Dad and Brian. It's been a couple months since Dad has seen Ari and Matt will be there for work tonight so it's a win win! We will be back tomorrow and hopefully Hanna will have passed us completely by the time we get home tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Right now...

I am printing pictures for my SCRAPBOOK CRUISE!! Yeah, that's right! This time next week I will be setting sail for the Florida Keys and Cozumel on a scrapbook cruise!! My friend Debbie from Crop Addict called a couple weeks ago and invited me to help her on her cruise, she's teaching all of the classes as well as coordinating the entire trip so I get to be her assistant. I think she figured since we fly for free and I don't have a "real" job (my words, not hers!) that it would be easy for me to come and she was right. Sharon is going to help with Ari for two days while Matt's at work and I am incredibly grateful for her to be able to help on such short notice. I couldn't have hand picked a better Mother In Law, she makes a lot of things possible for me and I love her! This will be a much needed break from reality and any time there's sun and sand I can't pass it up!

I will be sure to post tons and tons of pictures when I get back. This will be my first cruise, my first time to the Keys and my first time to Cozumel! I can't wait, did I mention how excited I am? Matt bought me a super cute new dress for my birthday (which was Monday, I think I forgot to mention that) to wear on the ship. He's so sweet, he said right away that we would find a way for me to go. I wish he could come too but I don't think he would have much fun scrapping with a bunch of girls for six days!

We are headed out to the Yiasou Greek Festival with Michelle and Ella today. Ari is STILL sleeping, we put him down for an early nap at 10:15 (it's now 1:30). I guess the waking up every two hours for three nights in a row is finally catching up with him. I don't know what's going on with him, teething or nightmares or what. I do know it's exhausting though. Matt got to come home early from work due to Gustav, thank goodness. Now we just have to wait and see what Hanna is going to do to his trip on Saturday! Good thing he still gets paid when the flights cancel!

Well, enough blabbering. I need to get back to picture printing. I'll post some pics of the festival later today!

Scrappy goodness!

It's the beginning of the month which means lots of new scrappy projects to share! The kit over at Crop Addict was incredible this month. I always say that but Debbie really never lets me down. I had a blast with this kit and you will too if you hurry over and snatch one before they're sold out!







I even made a little accordian album out of a piece of cardstock! I filled it with pictures of Ari and his cousin Landon. They are buds for sure and I wanted to remember how much they enjoy each other!



The manufacturer sponser this month is Dream Street! You can create anything using 70% Dream Street products and be entered to win a yummy prize pack from them! I was able to use the Birdie Bits line by Audrey Neal, so cute!





Ooh, I made this super cute sign for my downstairs bathroom door! People are always asking which door the bathroom is so I thought I'd clear things up. I love it, it's so cute that I pretty much leave it up wether we have company or not!



I know I still owe some "real" pictures of things we've been up to lately. I'm way far behind and I apologize. It's been a little crazy around here lately and I've had a lot on my plate this past week but things are starting to calm down. I still have some very exciting news to share with everyone. Not the news I thought I'd have to share but still pretty awesome. Hang in there, I'll spill the beans in a day or so!