Look!!

Look at what the nice man in the big truck brought us today!! Did we win a prize? Nope. Did we win the lottery? Nope. Did we buy a new car & get to pay for it all on our own? Yep. :)

Here is our new GTI - 2008. It had 64 miles on it when it showed up today. Haven't seen my husband since...just kidding. He did let me take a turn driving it too. It's pretty fast, fun, & it SMELLS like a new car - ahhh. Love it.

We should come up with a nickname for it...any suggestions?

Here it is!!

The pictures of my classroom! I finally got it just where I *think* I want it today...and truthfully if students walked in tomorrow - it would be ready. Although, I'm sure I'll change several things before Wednesday when they actually do come in.

So this week I went back to work - just teachers, no kids yet. I've had lots & lots & lots of meetings, but also lots of time to work in my room. My sister came in on Monday to help & she did so much for me - I am blessed. Here is a glimpse at my new room!


This bulletin board will be finished by the kids on the first day - it will be a mural, created by them from the characters in the book Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing...which will be the first read aloud...

Here are the beautiful curtains My Andrea made for me - aren't they the greatest!! Again, I am so blessed...

Side view of the classroom (notice the disco ball? I couldn't help myself - it had to come with me...)

Library book basket & board that I 'scrapped' over the top of the chalk board. Now I will use it with magnets for posters, info, etc.

That's all for now...

Le Whine...

I am off to school tomorrow. Officially that is. I went to school 4 days last week, & again today. Thanks to my wonderful sister - who came to help me today - my classroom is all set up!! So, I guess I am a little bit excited to go back to school & learn what it's like to teach 4th grade!!!

Goodbye summer...

Chill...

your coconuts. This sign was on a Noah's Bagels store while Andrea was here visiting. We thought it was too funny & had to have a picture of it. :)

Speaking of chilling your coconuts (whatever that means) I was quite productive today. Hooray! I mowed the yard, weeded flower beds, watered plants, cleaned up the house, folded & put away 3 + loads of laundry, & ran several errands. Whew! I even got to play with one of my favorite blond haired girls.

No wonder I'm tired...I'm off to bed. G'night!

Me Too...

I have a case of the blahs as well. It seems to be going around - as this friend & this friend are also struggling.

I had grand plans for today - I was going to get so much done...but then there was none.

Here's to hoping that the weekend is much, much better (& more productive).

The Glass Door Story...

BIG things seem to happen on/near my birthday. Not just the fact that I'm turning a year older...but things like this...& this year, things like what I'm about to share with you...

We were sitting around the dining room table, scrapping, minding our own business when I hear Tim out in the front yard mowing the lawn. 'How sweet,' I think to myself that he's mowing the yard in preparation for our small ice cream social that we were hosting later that evening. Erin, Andrea, Nicole, Amanda, & I continued our chattering & scrapping as Tim moved to the back yard. He finished mowing & was about to head back to the garage when I heard a super loud 'POP'. I looked to my left & saw the back door had been hit with a rock & was beginning to crack. Poor Erin had her back to the door & heard the crack, then saw the looks on all of our faces. That's all that she needed (& the rest of us) to head for cover. We ran into the living room thinking the glass was going to fall in on us. (Silly girls, we didn't realize at the time that the door is double paned...with safety glass even). Tim watched us all run away, much to his delight. Then he came to inspect the damage. Apparently a rock hit the blade of the mower right as he was getting ready to turn it off & launched itself into our back door - creating the following picture:

Jim & Tim got right to work, complete with heavy duty gloves, tarp, & very small pieces of glass. It was amazing to watch & listen as the glass continued to crack into smaller & smaller pieces - apparently doing exactly what it was designed to do.

After our nerves calmed a bit & we realized we weren't going to be showered with glass - we sat back down & continued to scrap & play. Tim & Jim did this:

We had been talking about putting in french doors - I think now may be the time...

They Said...

They said (the boys that is) 'do you want to go on a picnic?' We said (the girls that is) 'sure'.

A few weeks ago when Matt, Andrea, & E were here (before Erin-o came) the boys decided we should go to a waterfall to have a picnic. Great idea, right? We thought so. We were to leave around 10:30 am for the picnic. That morning, Andrea & I ran to my friend Kristi's house to borrow her rotary cutter for a sewing project. We returned home a few minutes after 10:30 to people sitting in my living room. I hadn't seen them before. I didn't know we were having company. Apparently these people (new friends of Tim) were joining us on the picnic...news to us. Ah well, we ran around the house & got ready. We were on the road by 10:45.

We got to our destination (we'll call it destination never ending waterfall) around noon. We were told it was a flat trail & we wouldn't need hiking shoes. Do you see where this is going? So...we began to scout around & our first obstacle was the steep slope getting down to the first waterfall. Never fear, we figured it out & were able to go down to see the fall. It was indeed beautiful.

Back up to the picnic tables for lunch. After lunch, the boys & company headed back down to the falls to take photos. Fine. Until I realized that they were going to take pictures for 45 hours. Am I exaggerating here? Maybe just a bit.

My friend Andrea & I decided that this wasn't exactly the picnic we had bargained for...we had grand plans of sewing, scrapping, & Starbucks. All of these hopes being dashed as the minutes ticked on. We became pouty. (I know, hard for you to believe, but it's true). After a few hours of photographing this waterfall, we made a trek to another nearby waterfall (where again, the trail was flat, flat, flat - or so we were told). After hiking uphill to this waterfall, we stopped on a bridge to take more photos of the waterfall. (Not Andrea & I - we were still whining). After about 1/2 hour at this fall, the boys decided they should take their whinny wives home. But did we go home? Nope. We ended up in Silverton to look at this store (the whining had stopped by then - we were happy) & then dinner in Stayton. As a reward for surviving the day - we stopped here on the way home. It was yummy. We were happy to be home. Out of the car. Away from the never ending picnic...

We Have...

a winner!! Thank you all of you who ended up playing my little game. :) Andrea F. - you are the one with the correct answer. I've always loved the song 'Bye, Bye Blackbird' & when I had that paper with 'blue birds' on it, I just couldn't resist. Congratulations Andrea F. - I'll be sending your prize via US mail next week.

Stay tuned for other exciting adventures & future contests...

Speaking of contests, did you see this?! I'm so excited!!

Okay then...

doesn't anyone want to play my little game? It's fun! It has a prize...

Maybe you just missed it in all of the madness of posting scrap creations...I'll give you another chance. I'll even give you a hint...the lyrics are on the scrapbook bird page with Nellie & Mia - 'sugar is sweet & so is she'. There you go...

If nobody plays along, then I'll keep the prize for myself & the kitties (okay, just kidding about the kitties).

Please play. Please? Pretty, pretty please?

The Last of...

the latest 52 cards:

Girl Time:

And here is my birthday present from Tim!! Oh my goodness the fun we've already had with it...& the fun we will continue to invent with it. Love my Cricut!!

Here they are - my girls - all together. This was taken in our backyard on my birthday. Precious!

More?

Here are a few more...

Prompt: Copy Cat - I think was issued from my Erin:

Front of Copy Cat: Top cards, mine, bottom cards - Andrea's :

What's New?

52 Cards...

As promised here are some of my 52 cards. I'm very happy to say that I uploaded all of them to Flickr last night (where we keep them for our group members to see) & I even went through and added ones I had missed in January! Wow - good job Jessie. :)

Here is 'Fresh - summer take' from my Andrea

and 4th of July from me:

Erin's Visit

And here is the list from Erin & I's adventures. You may notice that Friday & Saturday look familiar...Erin & Andrea were both here for those two days. Lucky me!!

Friday –
Starbucks
Nicole came over – Scrapbook Fever
Wild Pear for lunch
Michael’s / Cost Plus / BB&B (Ped Egg)
Scrapbooking
FFY Dinner – Grilled Veggies
Devil Wears Prada again
Cookies – “Dough Balls”
Napoleon while scrapping more

Saturday –
PJP Birthday Day!!
Cinnamon Rolls & Mimosas
Pedicures & Manicures
Starbucks
Scrapbooking
Lunch – Sandwiches (Quizno’s & Taco Bell)
Scrapbooking
Sliding glass door shattered!!
Scrapbooking
Clean up / Party Prep
Dinner – BBQ
Ice Cream Social

Sunday –
Andrea left
Walk around Kiskuski neighborhood
Best Little Roadhouse w/ Beth, Adam, Jim & Nicole for lunch/Mini Golf
Ice cream & cupcakes at the house with company
Halibut & rice
Dan In Real Life

Monday –
Moved Jessie out of the music room – THANK YOU Erin!!
Lunch at Subway (2:00)
Went to Nicole’s for evening/dinner
Shopping in Corvallis/Dinner @ Nearly Normals/walk to Nicole’s office/Gelato in the park
No Reservations

Tuesday –
Went to rent movies/lunch @ Big Town Hero
MOVIE DAY!!
Penelope/27 Dresses & scrapped
Amanda came over & we had burritos
Watched Definitely, Maybe
Ice cream & cupcakes again
Scrapbook

Wednesday –
Breakfast @ Busik Court
To the coast we go!!
Lincoln City, Depot Bay/Lunch @ Tidal Raves/Beverly Beach
Aspinwall’s for Peach milkshake/(Chocolate if you’re Jessie)
Naps (2 hours!!!)
Dinner @ 8! Egg sandwiches
Scrapbooked/Waitress
Scrapbooked/Sleepless in Seattle
Bed @ 2 am! Way to go girls!!

Thursday –
Slept in late
Ready to go –
Cricket play, photo sharing, being sad that Erin’s leaving. Not taking her to the airport.
Target – airport (LOTS of traffic on our way there…) – but we made it.

Seriously...

...yep. Here are some more. I may have lied about sharing 52 cards with you today - maybe I'll wait until tomorrow. :)

**And, here it is!! Surprise contest!!** In my previous post (which would have been post #300) I shared a LO with some lyrics. The first person to tell me where the lyrics are from will get a rad prize. Good luck!!

I've Been...

...a 'scrappin'. While my girls were here visiting, we made sure we had lots & lots of time to scrap. We took over the dining room - ate meals outside so we wouldn't have to move our things - & worked away. Here are some of my creations...I did others too - including catching up on my 52 cards. I'll post those in a bit. Thank you girls for all of your fun creative energy - you should come back so we can all scrap together again - what a treat!!

 

 

 

 

The list...

Here is a list of what my Andrea & I did while she was here. Read it, if you dare. And...for those of you keeping track - my #300 post is next, making this post #299. Be watching for a surprise contest coming your way!

Here's what you've missed:

Wednesday, July 23 –

Arrived

Sat outside and chatted

Chicken tacos for dinner

Walking

Wii Fit

Thursday –

Boys – Portland/Camera Store

Deacon - Vet

Taco Bell

Costco/Winco

Starbucks

Scrapbooked

JoAnn’s/Thrift Store (Books)

BBQ – Burgers & Dogs

Walk

Michael’s

Scrapbooking

Friday –

Boys – Silver Falls

Starbucks

Costco

Jessie's school to measure for curtains

Scrapbooked

Willamette Noodle/Woodburn (M&A&E)

Wedding (T&J)

Saturday –

Ocean Day –

Lighthouse, Haceta Head

Stonefield Beach, Picnic, Tide Pools, Naps, Sunburns

Lincoln City – Outlets/Momiji for dinner

Casino – Jessie won $50! That's right - $50!!

Baskin Robbins

Walk

Scrapbook

Sunday –

Starbucks

Scrapbooked

JoAnn’s/Curtain Fabric

Laundry

Park

Wild Rice & Chicken

Made cookies

Boys – Waterfall

Girls – Gilad

Cut out PJ pants

Monday –

Starbucks

Zoo/Zoo Train

Panda Express

IKEA

PJ Pants

Boys – Dallas/Focal Point

BBQ Beef Sandwiches outside

Jessie – nails

Andrea – pants

Tuesday-

Starbucks

????

Boys – Abiqua

Devil Wears Prada

Wednesday –

Starbucks

Kristi’s house for the cutter

Waterfall ‘picnic’

Silverton – Sew shop

Stayton – Apizza for dinner

Baskin Robbins

Andrea sewed curtains for Jessie's new classroom

Thursday –

Starbucks

Jill’s house for scrapbooking

Carwash

Aspinwalls for milkshakes

Went to Portland: Trader Joe’s, Fabric Depot, Chevy’s, Laura’s, Airport to fetch Miss Erin

Friday –

Starbucks

Nicole came over – Scrapbook Fever

Wild Pear for lunch

Michael’s / Cost Plus / BB&B (Ped Egg)

Scrapbooking

FFY Dinner – Grilled Veggies

Devil Wears Prada again

Cookies – “Dough Balls”

Napoleon while scrapping more

Saturday –

PJP Birthday Day!! (that's me)
Cinnamon Rolls & Mimosas

Pedicures & Manicures

Starbucks

Scrapbooking

Lunch – Sandwiches (Quizno’s & Taco Bell)

Scrapbooking

Sliding glass door shattered!! - more on this later...

Scrapbooking

Clean up / Party Prep

Dinner – BBQ

Ice Cream Social

Look for a similar list of what Erin & I did coming soon to a blog near you...

It's True!!

Yes, it's true. This is a new post from me. Remember my last post? Telling you of upcoming visitors? Well, they came that day (almost 10 minutes after I posted it!!) & my last visitor left today. So, I'm a sad, sad, lonely girl. How am I suppose to entertain myself now, alone? I don't remember what that's like. :)

I have been very blessed to have my best girls around me these past few weeks. It began when Matt, Andrea, & Ethan came shortly after the last post. And it ended today with me dropping off Miss Erin at the airport. ( insert *sniff, sniff*).

I have LOTS & LOTS of adventures to share with you...& more pictures than you would believe. I'm also happy to say that I did a lot of scrapping during these past few weeks, & I will be sharing those photos with you soon. I am in no shortage of pics or adventures to share, so I have no excuse for not blogging for the next few weeks before I return to sss........sssscch.....sssssccchhhooo....nope. Can't say it yet.

Here she is - in all of her glory, my Andrea

Here is Ethan - he set up his army men in the walk-way, so we would all be safe...

Here we are at a 'picnic'. More on this adventure later...

Here are my bestest girls - all in 1 spot. What a special treat...

So there you have it - I will leave you with those 4 pictures for now. Come back again soon to check for more adventure updates!