Back to Scrappin'

Whoa! What a busy (but great) week it's been! In the past week or two, we've had two sets of neighbors move in. In order to seem more friendly (and less like a hermit), I decided to make some baked goods to welcome both the families to the neighborhood. I made homemade pumpkin bread for one family and homemade cinnamon rolls for the other. Hopefully they enjoyed them...I know I did!

I also started school last Wednesday (which, if you ask me, is the weirdest day to have as the first day of school). Even though I only have 16 credits, I can already tell it's going to be a tough quarter. My class schedule is crazy too! I have a nine o'clock class and then anywhere between a three and seven 1/2 hour break (depending on the day) until the start of my next class. In addition, I'm observing at least 9 hours a week at a local high school in order to complete the requirements for my education program.

Last monday I joined a growth group at our church. I didn't think it would be so hard to commit to a bible study group, but it's taken me several months just to get up the courage to join one! The group leaders seem great and I will meet them for the first time tomorrow - so wish me luck!

A couple of days ago I made my d.h.'s brother's birthday card. I haven't scrapped in a while...so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to post a photo of my project. I used my new cartridge: Animal Kingdom...which is definitely one of my favorites. The card reads: "Count Your Blessings..." on the outside and "If you were a dog, you'd be over a 100 years old!" on the inside. Let me know what you think:

Today was a great conclusion to the week. After church I went to my first ever Mary Kay party. The products were great and we got to jazz up our makeup! I had so much fun...I even decided to host a party of my own. Let me know if you are interested in coming!

Better Late Than Never

So much for posting regularly! I have successfully neglected my blog for several months now...which, I assure you, was quite unintentional. Oh well...better late than never.

Since I posted last I saw my d.h. off for a 6 month deployment (in May), finished summer school, and took a 3 week vacation to visit family back home. I can't say much about d.h's deployment (at least not online), except that he will be coming home around the beginning of November! Yipee!!! Summer school was harder than I expected for a bunch of 100 and 200 level classes - astronomy, psychology, and art in the humanities...but I finished off the quarter with great grades. As for the vacation....man was I busy!

I drove down to SLC with my mom and sister to visit more family and shop. I think I had the most fun at Taipan, a home decor store in Sandy (just outside of SLC), which was recommended to me by my mother-in-law. It was also nice to meet back up with family I haven't seen in well over a year...or two. I also visited my grandma in Twin Falls and traveled through the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks with my dad. Here a few pictures from the trip:

Yellowstone Lake

The River

Upper Falls in Yellowstone Park

A bunch of bison crossing the road. (We also saw deer and elk while we were there)

Old Faithful erupting

A view of the tetons on the way out of Yellowstone

The Tetons
Oh yeah...I also ran Bloomsday (a 12K in Spokane) and the San Juan Island 1/2 marathon shortly after d.h. left. Below is a picture of the coast (near where we ran) and a picture of my friend and I after the race.

Well, that's all for now. I'll do my best to reupdate by the upcoming weekend!

Just a note to say hi...

I haven't updated my blog in soooo long. I know it will take a while to get back in the habit of posting, but I will do my best. Today I saw our tree in back blooming and it is gorgeous. I decided to play with my new camera (Canon G10) and its macro setting. Here's the best picture of the bunch:

In the scrappin' mood...

Well I'm a little late in wishing everybody a Happy Valentines Day!

Aaron and I had a very busy day. We cleaned the house (including the fridge!) and went grocery shopping together. We also went into town, just to go Best Buy and buy a movie. We decided to go with the Planet Earth series (it's amazing and I would recommend it to anybody!). We had a very nice dinner (chicken, broccoli, and tortellini covered in alfredo sauce....mmmm). Overall, the day was great!

Last night I got in the scrappin' mood and made a couple of thank you cards for a friend of mine. Hopefully you enjoy them!

Hey everybody! Since I didn't get to post photos yesterday...here are a few:

Here is one of our new coaches. Sorry the lighting is not the greatest...

This is a picture I took around Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on our way back home for Christmas. The lake was steaming, which provided for some amazing photos!

This is one of my most recent projects. I had not yet done a layout of Edmund, our great pyrenees puppy....so I decided to take the plunge. I used various colored eyelets to accentuate the patterned paper I used. The words say:

"To find the true measure of loyalty, all one must do is look to their dog.

Edmund, you have been the most loyal of friends and the most patient of companions.

You are filled with love and respect and your devotion knows no end.

And for that...we are very grateful!"

Well...that's all for today. I hope you enjoy all the photos! God bless.

Opps...

Well...I seem to have neglected my blog for quite a while. School has been keeping me VERY, VERY occupied and free time seems to be scarce now-a-days.

Alot has happened since I last posted. We spent Thanksgiving at a friends house and had deep-fried turkey (which was a first for me). It was delicious! We also got to visit some good family friends over the holidays.

Right before Christmas, my D.H. bought us a set of coaches for our living room. They are brown, leather-looking color with studs around each of the arm pieces. They are made with the microfiber material that is great for shedding pets and (future) messy kids.

Several days before driving back home to visit family (over the Christmas holiday break), we got over 6 feet of snow (which is now almost completely melted away). The drive down through Montana/Idaho was rough, but our Christmas break made up for it.

D.H. and I went on a yurt trip outside of Inkom (Idaho). I snowshoed in, while he cross-country skied. There were nine people and only six wooden bunks (so three people slept on the floor), but it was a BUNCH of fun!

For Christmas, I got a Cricut expression (which I'm madly in love with...haha). D.H. got money for tools (to fill his new Craftsman toolbox) and we ALSO received a Dyson vacuum!!! I can't even begin to tell you how big of a blessing our Christmas ended up being!

Wow....just looked at the clock...and it's 11:20pm....no wonder I'm tired! Hopefully tomorrow I will get around to posting pictures and more details of what has been going on in our lives the past couple of months. God bless!

99 Balloons

All I can say is wow...I was going through some of the new posts on the creative express website, when I came across a post for a youtube video. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qILw1iFzmIE to watch 99 Balloons. It is such a sad, but inspirational story. I only wish we all could appreciate how precious life really is...just as these parents did.