Extra cards

Again...left overs from my exchange cards for August, and I used same scrap fronts.  I love using up my scraps and having some ready to use when I have a few leftovers.  Makes for fast and easy cards.
I was in Twin Falls helping our store take inventory on Thursday afternoon and evening, and Friday.  It was long, but I enjoy visiting with the people there.  I did make a trip to Scrapping Girlfriends...they are soooo awesome.  I love their creativity.  I love to just go in and look everything over really well.  I didn't buy a ton...some more wood letters.  I didn't know they had those before.  I got "jingle" and "Joy".  Should be fun to do.
Friday night Reta, Mom, and I went to the International Folk Dance Festival.  I always love it.  I wasn't very excited to go this year because we've just been so busy and I had been gone to Twin...but I'm so glad I did.  It's just so awesome.  They had dancers from Austria, Belgium, Russia, India, and Columbia.  They were all very good.
Robin came down Friday evening, and did a photo shoot with the Jones family.  So she got home even later than I did.  On Saturday we went to Golden Goose, Katie's Scrapbook Cottage, and The Gathering Place.  It was fun.  Then Reta, Mom, Robin, and I went to Gooding for Brittney's baby shower.  Stephanie had done an awesome job of decorating and food.  She had chips with three different dips.  She had printed out the dip name and put it on place cards.  She had several salads, and really super good sandwiches.  She had strung a rope between her two closets in their family room and used clothes pins to put boys clothes across it, and the baby's name...Ruger Wade.  The whole thing was very, very nice.  Brittney looked so cute.  Even the games were different and pretty fun.  Brittney got tons and tons of clothes and gifts.  Hope they can fit everything back in their vechile when they go home.  It was so good to see her again.
Last night Robin and I relaxed and watched movies with Jeff for awhile, and then started working in the craft room.  Wait 'til I share what we made!  I actually love it.  I thought I'd donate it to the family auction...but I'm going to have a really hard time deciding which one to donate.  I love them both.  Robin made one and I made one.

Christmas layout

We never get to share Christmas with Robin and the boys.  Sometimes, CJ has the boys and they come for Christmas Eve, which is great, but we never see Robin.  She gives me CD's with photos throughout the year for Christmas, and I love it!  I get to see some of the events that we miss.  Thanks for sharing Robin!

Bloom Where you are planted

Ashley told me where to find a wood shop in Salt Lake, so when I went down for work in May, I finally found my way to it.  I could go crazy in there.  So many cute cut out wood things.  I loved this "Bloom" where planted though.  It's taken me awhile to get around to painting it though.  I finally got it done this weekend, and I just love it!

Cards

This is a stamp that I used for one of my August exchange cards.  I know...I'm a little ahead.  But, I stamped a full page and then had a few left over, so I used some of those fronts I have made, laying around...trying to use up scraps.  I just went ahead and used these to finish off three of them.  It's great!

Slips

A few weeks ago, Janell called to tell me that a lady was getting rid of some slips, tutu's, dresses, leggings, etc.  And that they were fairly cheap.  I went over and got some of the prettiest things.  I was excited about it.  I thought these would make cute gifts for Christmas for Ellie and Kylie and Whitney.  I hope Whitney likes it...since she takes dance classes.  I know Ellie and Kylie should like it because they both like to dance around and have fun.  Aren't the colors awesome?  I got leggings for Kylie and Whitney, but I need to pick some up for Ellie.
Jason & Sally came over last night for a visit, and their kids are so cute.  They immediately went out to pet the horses and see how they were doing.  Ivy is going to come out tomorrow night and ride Sage for us.  She is driving now...so when I offered to go get her, she wasn't sure she wanted that...she could drive...They always like to feed the horses an apple, but Ivy is pretty much the only one that will actually let them eat it off her hand.  The rest are afraid and drop it.  With a little help last night though, Sam let Chief eat off his hand!  Chief's leg is finally starting to look a little better.  It's sure taking a long time though.  Boots and Chief are almost a pest.  Everytime we're out doing anything, they are right on top of us.  Curious and wanting attention.

"Color of Summer" photography challenge

This was an old ore car full of flowers blooming, at the bottom of the Jackson Pass.  We had gone over to Jackson Hole to pick up a friend of ours that works at the airport, and then stopped to eat at Nora's.  The food was excellent if you ever get the chance to go there.  This was along their property as we got ready to leave.  I had been taking photos, and had explained to Vicki the theme of "the color of summer", and she started watching for opportunities for me!  Jeff complained...now I have two women telling when to stop for photos!".  Get used to it buddy!

This photo is coming through Felt on our way into Driggs.  Everything was so green and pretty.  I just loved it.

Another one of my favorites from the same spot.

These photos were taken downton Jackson Hole.  Everyone has hanging planters along the fronts of their businesses.  It's very pretty, but I was quite a distance from them.  Maybe I should have walked a little closer...but that would have involved crossing the street, and there were tons of people waiting for the shootout as we were there just before 6:00 pm.

This was on top of Jackson Pass, and there was still snow there...I could have walked over to it.  But again, everything was so green and beautiful.  Loved taking photos that weekend.

Blue skies.  What a gorgeous color.  Again...on top of Jackson Pass.

Green fields between Ashton and Driggs.  It's just miles and miles of these gorgeous green fields.  I love that drive in the summer.

What's more beautiful than the green fields and valley with the Tetons behind them.  And look at the snow that is still there.  It was the 16th of July for heavensakes... They had flooding in Driggs...water going over the road between Driggs and Victor.  Lot's and lot's of water this year.

I actually took this photo last year when we visited the Oregon coast...but what color!  Just had to share.  Ashley...I promise I won't send you all of these.  I wanted to get photos of a kid eating watermelon...didn't happen.  I wanted a photo of the granddaughters with the painted toenails and in flip flops...didn't happen.  So...this is what you get.

Jones photo shoot layout

I loved all these photos that Robin took of the Jones family, and I can't get enough of scrapping them.  It's so hard to pick which ones to include on a layout.  I loved the colors and the actual design of the page.  I didn't even follow a sketch, because they never use this many photos on a layout.  I liked it when I got finsihed with it.
This morning I went downstairs to get the vaccum out so I could clean the basement, and our mechanical room had water all over in it.  Luckily, Jeff made them put a drain in the floor, which helps when we have problems.  Anyway, the air conditioner was leaking.  It seemed to be coming from a valve, but they didn't have one, so it will be next week when they come to fix it.  Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day so far, and we had to shut the air conditioner down until they get this part...oh boy.  Guess we'll just live in the basement.

CJ and the boys

It was so nice when CJ picked up the boys from Robin in Pocatello and brought them down for a visit at my birthday time.  I don't see him much, so it was a treat.  And the boys were actually pretty co-operative about having their photo taken.  Thanks.
I can't get over how tall Christopher is getting, and how deep his voice is.  He has always been such a nice kid.  He holds doors for me and everything.  Taylor is growing like crazy too.  He is the life of the party kind of boy.  Hope they're having a great summer!

Lower Mesa Falls

Lower Mesa Falls wasn't as wide or quite as beautiful as Upper Mesa Falls, but it is truly spectacular.  It falls in a narrow channel, and is very turbulent.  It is beautiful in it's own way.  I was so impressed with it.  It's probably been six or seven years since we've been there (maybe longer) and I had forgotten how gorgeous it was.
On the way up, we passed Warm River, and people were floating in tubes down it.  It would be so much fun to have our family go camping together there and floating on the river.  It was fairly calm, so even the kids would have a ball doing it.

Today I had a customer come in to pick up a couple of items.  He is actually a professional photographer, so I was asking him if he still did it.  He told me he does alot of schools, and then is sort of finished for the rest of the year.  Just a few weddings and senior portraits.  I was telling him I liked to take scenery photos and that I had taken a Photoshop class.  He told me he had a great website that would help me practice and learn more about Photoshop, and he's supposed to send me the link.  I told him I had gotten a new Canon camera last year and how much fun I've had with it.
Just a couple of hours later, he came in with a 70-300 zoom lens.  Canon.  Told me it should fit my camera and I could just use it for awhile.  He said when he needed it he would come back and pick it up...I was almost afraid to pick it up.  He said it ran about $2500....yikes.  But...how awesome is that?  First off, that he would even let me use it, and that he would trust me just to keep it until he needs it....I am awed! 
I can't wait to try it out.  Robin is coming next weekend, and I'm thinking we could see how it works!!!!

Upper Mesa Falls

On our drive this weekend, we went to Upper Mesa Falls, and Lower Mesa Falls.  Today's photos are of the Upper Falls.  It is just beautiful.  They have a lodge there, and lots of bug collections and skins of animals that they actually invite you to feel.  There's a loop to walk around to see the falls from different angles.  I did not remember that the whole thing is fed from a spring...the largest in North America it said.  Isn't it gorgeous?

The water is so powerful.  I wanted to capture some of that in the photos.  The colors were so green and pretty.  Loved the drive.  Can you tell?

My birthday cupcakes

Here are some better photos of my cupcakes that Taylor baked for me.  They were just so cute, and packaged so cute.  I loved it.  Seriously!  It has to be one of my all time favorite gifts.  And it was just so thoughtful.

And even a picture of Taylor with them.  I know he hates to have photos taken, but really Taylor....thank you so much!  I just love you.

Ellie and Kylie

Isn't it funny how there are moments in life when it hits you that time is really moving fast?  Sunday when we went to Jason and Sally's for Whitney and Kylie's birthday party, Kylie and Ellie got in this little Fisher Price toy car to ride...and my mind immmediatly went back to when Brittney and Braquel were little riding together in the same car at Stephanie and David's house at Easter time.  It seems like I just scrapbooked that...and here Brittney is married expecting a baby, and Braquel is engaged!  WOW.  Time...it just goes by so fast.  Where did it go? 

Danelle said Ellie never gets in the water when they go boating, but...that day she did.  I had to laugh.  Her hair is sort of hanging (Danelle never lets her hair look like this) her swimming suit is wet and her diaper is hanging.  I'm taking photos...and Danelle tells me..."yeah...let's perserve that!"
I laugh because she told me once while looking at photos of the kids when they were young...how could you let us look like that?  Well, sweetheart...sometimes it happens.

Gotta love kids!