Blue Skies Ahead

I am headed to the airport for a much needed weekend trip away with girlfriends! I am so excited to spend an entire weekend in the company of talented women I respect and find delightful. Adding to my delight is that I am headed to a place that I haven't had the chance to visit yet - Cape Cod.

I will be back on Monday with pictures and stories to share. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Signs of Summer

They heard the music before they saw the truck and came running to me jumping up and down and screaming "Mom, its the ice cream truck!" "Can we?" "Hurry! Before he leaves!" After a mad dash for money in my purse, they ran out the door just in time to catch the truck. (I did another mad dash of my own for the camera and was reward with a photo of their first ice cream truck treat of the summer.) Love these little moments of childhood JOY! I know that ice cream tasted much better then the treats we have in the freezer because it came straight from the man himself.

Sam and Abbie picking out their treats (I gave them a $5 because I was in a hurry and of course they each managed to pick a treat that was exactly $2.50):
Enjoying the prized ice cream truck ice cream on our front porch:

Enjoy the little things while you can!

Feels like Monday

But it is Tuesday. Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. We didn't have any plans and decided to pack a few things and jump in the car for an impromptu trip. We asked the kids "beach or mountains?" and the mountains won out. We headed east and then south down the Blue Ridge Parkway - it was so beautiful:

At one of the pull offs we discovered a tree we had never seen before a Poplar Tulip tree. Huge trees in full bloom. Really lovely. Here is a shot of one of the blooms:Our first day we spent driving (a little further then we wanted to because we got lost on some back roads - which made us all a little crabby but after a nice Mexican meal we got settled into a hotel and we all felt better.) The second day we spent at Natural Bridge. This is an area that Thomas Jefferson purchased and built a hunting lodge because he thought it was so beautiful. Here is a photo of the bridge:

We walked the "nature" trail which ran along side a pretty creek and at the end of about a mile we saw this small water fall:

Abbie and Sam at the waterfall:

Another tree that I found interesting along the way:

Don and the kids taking a rest along the trail:

After the trail we went through the cave/cavern system uder the area. Very interesting! Sunday night, we stayed in an old historic hotel and had dinner at a wonderful little German restaurant then took the kids swimming. On Monday we left around noon and headed back to Richmond. After picking up the dog and unloading the car we went to see a family movie -Night at the Museum 2. The kids enjoyed it and it was fun for them to see lots of the places we have been visiting in DC in the movie.

All in all a fun family weekend :) Now to catch up on everything around here before I head out on Thursday to Cape Cod to spend a weekend with some dear friends.

Life is good!

More Sight Seeing

My parent just left yesterday after a week long visit - which explains my absents from the blog. Rest assured I was busy doing fun things and enjoying my time with my parents! Trying to convince them that they need to move to Richmond too. :) One of the places we went was to the Shirley Plantation. So interesting! The same family and owned and lived in this house since 1613 - 12 generations. The owner currently lives on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I love history and the way I feel when I am immersed in it!

My parents on the front porch:
The view of the James River from the main house:

The Main house (guest wings on each side of the house have been removed):

The ice house:

The store house:

The kitchens:

While my Mom and Dad where here visiting we put this quote up on the wall in the hallway from our kitchen to the mud room. I am happy with how it turned out :)

And now for my Friday Fill-in:

1. Moving across the country is hard AND exciting!

2. So thankful to live in a country where I am free.

3. My best quality is loyalty.

4. It is all in the details.

5. In nearly 10 years, I will be 53 :faint:, I will have been married for 27 years and I will have 3 kids in college.

6. A maid is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending some time with Don, tomorrow my plans include some sort of travel - still unsure where and Sunday, I want to enjoy a day with my family!

Have a great Friday!

Crazy Day

A photo I took of a weed in the woods :)

I have been feeling a bit harried the past couple days - my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law left on Tuesday after staying with us for a week and my parents arrive today for a week visit. As I sat here this morning making my to-do list I decided I needed to take a deep breath - if it all doesn't get done - no big deal right? Time for a little reflection on the positive in the day!

1.) My parents are coming and I can't wait to see them!
2.) I have the cutest dog looking at me right now and every time I look down at her she wags her tail. So sweet!
3.) I'm having a good hair day.
4.) I can see trees right out my window - so green - love that.
5.) Sushi for lunch.

Now onward with my list. Hope you are all having a nice day!

Catching Up

Hi everyone!

I have pretty much absent from the computer (and my blog) this past week. Don's Mom and his Aunt Shirley came to Virginia for a visit and I spent the week with them :) We managed to do lots of things while they were here.

We went to Williamsburg for the afternoon. We shopped a walked around for a couple hours then got caught in a rain shower - we were soaked so ended up heading home and ordering Chinese for dinner. Still a fun time :)

Sam and Jacob messing around before the rain hit:

There were some beautiful gardens in Williamsburg - I thought these foxglove were amazing!

We also made a trip back to Bell Island (love that place!) Here are Don, Abbie and his Aunt and Mom on the bridge over to the island:

In between there were lots of sports! Here I caught Abbie in action about to make a goal:

And here is Sam right before one of his games:

On Mother's day we went to Washington DC - the weather couldn't have been more perfect! After a long, fun day we topped it off with a crab leg dinner at the Hard Shell in Richmond. YUM!

The white house:

Me and my three "babies" at the WWII Memorial:

A shot of the Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial.

Now to catch up on all the laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning before my parents get here for a visit on Thursday. Looking forward to more fun then! :)

Friday Fill-ins :)

Hi all! Been busy with a visit from my Mother-in-law and Aunt. Just thought I would check in with a quick Friday fill-in :) I'll catch up with some pictures soon!

1. Apples are to oranges as my kids are to one another each different and unique.
2. All I can think of is Forrest Gump when I read - and that's all I have to say about that.
3. I think I hear crickets outside the window.
4. I love the American flag.
5. Do what you want to do, but be confident in your choice.
6. I can picture Jacob as a little boy and behind him was a Radio Flyer wagon; in the wagon was a bucket filled with dirt and rocks.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading before bed, tomorrow my plans include two baseball games and one soccer game and Sunday, I want plan to go to Washington DC!

Have a great weekend!

Happiness is...

bits of lace and trim! I can't tell you how happy these little pieces of goodness make me. They are so soft and pretty. They are an example of just one of the many wonderful things about scrapbooking. I love to see and touch all the beautiful items you can include on a page. Even if they never actually make it to a page and sit in my stash forever - they were well worth the money for the happiness and bit of beauty they brought to my day!

Make it a good one!

Layouts

I have been scrapping a lot this past week. Most of the layouts are samples for the up coming Get Inked Class at Feeling Scrappy but here are a few others that I can share now.

Christmas Eve - based on a sketch by Amy Bell:

September - Made for a challenge and inspired by a layout I saw on the American Crafts Blog.

Easter Fun - made using the free class offered by Jessica Sprague for NSD.

There is still time to get in on the NSD rub-on drawing from my Saturday post - be sure to check it out :) Happy Scrapping!

Make a Change!

I found this link on my friend Lee's blog and wow did it hit home! I was just saying to Don that I am so tired of the big chains where everything is like everything else. What has happened to unique products and creative food choices? They are at the little local shops - which are dying! I hope you will join in this cause - from this day forward I plan to make every effort to spend my money where it will make a change! Find out more here: 3/50 Project

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

They had a great price on these sporty rub-ons at Ben Franklin today so I picked up a set to give away here :) Just leave me a comment with a word you think is happy sometime this weekend and you will be entered for a chance to win. I will draw a name on Monday.

Hope you are getting some scrappy time in this weekend!

Friday Fill-ins :)

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is flexibility.

2. I love fried clams. (I don't get to eat them very often - super bad for you - but I love them!)

3. When I think of carnivals I think of FUN! (I love going to carnivals, festivals and fairs!)

4. Tulips are my favorite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include computer, printers (3 of them), papers, my camera, my build a bear scrapbook bear, a lil kinz cow, a lamp and two binders. (Lucky I listed my computer desk not my scrapdesk LOL!)

6. Rainy days make me wanna sleep.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with the kids, tomorrow my plans include Abbie's soccer game, Sam's baseball game and some cleaning in between and Sunday, I want to scrapbook! (But I doubt I will both soccer and baseball again and then Don comes home from a week in Florida)

Happy Friday!