Anxiously waiting

Is anyone else anxiously awaiting the release of this book? I need to hurry & finish the current book I am reading. I have about 30 pages left. I think I can pull it off between now & 10 pm tomorrow night. My friend Eve & I are heading over to Barnes & Noble for their release party. By midnight tomorrow night, we will have our copies in hand. Have you read the series & are you looking forward to book #4? I want to know if Bella becomes one of them! What's your prediction? Happy reading!

Winner & other random things(recipe included)

We have a winner(s). We couldn't just pick one...we picked two! I will make another set of cards in the next day or two! Our winners are:

Congrats ladies! Annie M. & Julie, will you please email me your home addresses @ doeraimi@gmail.com

We enjoyed a fun FHE in the park with some friends tonight. Thanks for organizing it Steph. We were all asked to bring a treat to share & filled water balloon's. Now, if you know my boys, you know that this was an awesome FHE & right up their alley. Treats & water balloons, what else could you ask for? Everybody had fun taking turns using the water balloon launchers & some of the kids had a great time catching them in the outfield. It was hilarious to watch & all the Dads even got in on the action. We played Bocce ball, the kids played on the playground & there was even a soccer game going on. Did I mention that all of the treats were yummy :)? I love the shot of Brody below, he is pointing to the water balloons flying in the air.

I thought I would share the recipe for the yummy treats I made to share tonight. This recipe is from my friend Jan. ***Meridee & Jan, this is the one I was talking about.
Marshmallow Krispie Bars

1 pkg. brownie mix (one that make a 9 X 13 pan)

1 pkg. (10 1/2 oz.) mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 T. butter

1 1/2 cups of Rice Krispies

Grease 9 X 13 pan. Prepare & make brownies according to pkg. directions. Remove from oven. Sprinkle marshmallows over the top of hot brownies. Return to oven-bake 3 min. longer. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until chips are melted. Add rice cereal. Mix well. Spread mixture over mellows. Refrigerate until set. Cut into bars. Enjoy.

This is where my baby can be found if we don't catch him fast enough.

Yep, he crawled up there all by himself. He LOVES to crawl up on the counters...the coffee table...the kitchen table...the computer desk, etc... Do you see the higher counter behind him, that is what he has to get over to get down on the regular counter, never a dull moment with this boy. All of the kitchen chairs are on their backs shoved under the table. It is totally annoying but a solution that seems to work (for now anyways).

We played @ a new water park today. The boys loved this park. It has a huge playground, a toddler playground, & a water area. The water part is smaller than the park we normally go to but all of my boys agreed that the playground was so much fun. I am sure we will be heading to this park more often. We have our niece, Ciara playing with us for the next few days. She will tell you that she is a tomboy, so I think she loves the playtime with our boys. I asked Tanner to stop so I Could take his picture today & I believe he said something along the lines of "I'll pose for you". This is what I got. Silly boy.

The count down is on. There are only two weeks left before school starts. Where did the summer go? I have mixed feeling about school starting so soon but after a morning like this morning, It can't start soon enough.

I have been experiencing major pain for about 5 days now. I had to go back to the dentist after I returned home from Chicago. My dentist had to re-do the impression for a crown. Mind you, I already sat in that dentist chair for 3 hours the first time around. In order to get another impression, he had to un-do the entire temporary crown, take the impression & then re-do the temp. crown. UUGHHH, another 2 1/2 hours @ the dentist. At one point, I heard the dentist say"oh, this is not good...this has never happened to to me before". Those are never great words to hear when your mouth is propped wide open with your dentist's hands in there. Apparently, he got a tool (I am pretty sure he said it was a screwdriver) lodged in there & was holding my jaw while trying to yank the tool out with his free hand. It took him a good 3-5 minutes(it felt like eternity) of yanking before it finally came out. The right side of my face hurts from my jaw to my forehead. I am not excited to have the permanent crown set any time soon. Wish me luck!

What have you been up to & are you looking forward to school starting? Be honest :)!

Saturday happenings

I thought it would be fun to kick this post off with a give away. One of my friends from Green Tangerines is getting married in a few weeks & her bridal shower is this weekend. I needed a card... so I whipped up this simple card & decided to make a few more for my stash & a few to give away! Just leave a comment on this post & you will be entered to win a half dozen wedding cards with envelopes. My boys will draw the lucky winner on Monday. I will either hand deliver them or pop them in the mail, depending where you live! Just for fun, When you leave comment, tell me how long you have known your spouse/S.O. & how long you have been

married.

It is only 11:30 am & I have watched two soccer games already & have dropped Carter off @ a birthday party. Tanner has an all day tournament in a neighboring town. I am home waiting for Carter's party to finish and Garrett & Brody are napping before we have to go back out into the heat. I have so much to do around the house today that it is hard to spend the entire day @ the soccer field. On the flip side, it is so much fun to watch Tanner play soccer. It is HIS sport, HE loves the game. When I left @ 10:45 am, they had won the 1st two games-way to go boys.

Carter had a basketball game last night & they won, 30 to 25. His defense was great. the team we played had one kid who made all of the shots but one. Had Carter not stayed on him, they would have beat us by a landslide. Way to go Carter.

Hoping you are accomplishing a ton today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Home from Chicago

**Edited** Still waiting for my photos. Will add them as soon as I get them.

I returned home from Chicago @ 12:30 this morning & didn't get into bed until 1am...didn't actually fall asleep until 2 am. It was awesome to sleep in my own bed & wake up to find my boys thrilled to see me. Carter has told me a dozen times today that he is SO glad that I came home...made me feel loved & special. Yesterday was another long but fun day. On Sunday evening after the show ended, we headed to downtown Chicago. Paula's sister & daughter drove down to Midway to meet up with us & play. Margie (Paula's niece)was a fabulous tour guide. She knew her way around town & was able to point out historic spots & all of the land marks. I don't have a ton of photos to post today (ok maybe I do). Brandi was kind enough to upload all of my photos to her computer @ the end of each day so I could clear my card. The card that held about 400 photos a day -LOL! I only had one memory card with me. I will add photos as I receive them, I think I have a photo for each item listed below!

So with out telling a story for every little thing we did/experienced, I thought I would do a CHICAGO WAS & fill it in with all of my favorite things/memories. Here we go!

CHICAGO WAS:

-CHA - heaven for any scrapbooker or paper crafter.

-inspiring

-meeting scrapbookers who's product lines & designs inspire me

-humid & sticky

-Paula @ the wheel-hydroplaning in the rain-eeekkkkkk!

-late nights,early mornings = lack of sleep.

-cruising in the rented PT cruiser-a.k.a. gangster car

-impatient drivers who honk their horns at anyone & anything .

-Scrapbook supplies galore

-being serenaded @ the Mexican restaurant, he even made up a Green Tangerines song for us! It was hilarious!

-is the most beautiful skyline I have ever seen

-riding the L train into downtown Chicago

- all of the cool buildings

-the Navy Pier

-deep dish pizza(Chicago style) @ Gino's East in downtown. this restaurant had cool graffiti everywhere.

-riding the ginormous Ferris wheel @ Navy Pier

-tons of photo opps.

-the Windy City

-eating a Chicago Dog in Chicago (filled the hot dog quota for the next 10 years)

-seeing where Oprah lives(from a distance)

-yellow taxi's in downtown.


the River walk

-the magnificent mile-so many shops, so little time.

-Millennial park

-the BEAN in millennial park-very cool! It is a HUGE mirror. I took that picture, so what you see in the bean.mirror is what was behind me. So very cool

the water park in Millennial park- my boys would have loved it.

• 
  
  

hunting for White Sox shirts for my boys

100's upon 100's of photos being taken.

the orange FISKARS underwear-thanks for the giggle Kelly

was time to create stronger frienships with Kelly, Paula, & Brandi-love those girls!

having flat hair for 5 days straight

filled with great architect-simply beautiful

living in my GT shirts for 4 days-LOL

missing my boys...small & BIG

a fabulous get away.

Michigan Avenue

filled with laughter & smiles

catching up with old friends

full of color & life

an amazing experience I will NEVER forget(thank you Paula, Kelly, & Brandi)

missing my boys like crazy & seeing their faces first thing this morning upon waking up!

IT WAS AWESOME!

We Made it!

This is going to be short & sweet...with photos of course. Brandi & I arrived in Chicago, safe & sound (even 10 minutes early). We attended a few VIP events, went out to dinner (thanks Paula & Kelly), & then we went back to the hotel room. We ooohhhhed & aaahhhed over the new catalogs & the show give aways. It seriously felt like Christmas every time we opened a new box or package.

Arriving in the Chicago airport

After sleeping for 3 1/2 hours, we were up & running so we could hit the show floor by 9am. Oh my goodness, it was simply amazing. Yummy colors, total eye candy. My mind is still running wild. All of the designs/products made me want to run home & lock myself in my scrapbook room. From 9-5, we got to run around, check out the booths, chat it up with the various vendors, & create darling make & takes. A few of my favorite companies/designers from today were: Theresa Collins (loved her Halloween & Christmas lines), Scenic Route, & Little Yellow Bicycle.

CHA here we come!

Brandi, Stacy J. & me

Look @ those yummy cupcakes

Kelly, Heidi Swapp, Brandi, & Me

Look @ all of those YUMMY colors from Doodlebug.

I am off to look @ a few more catalogs give my two cents & then this girl is heading to bed.

Hugs & kisses to my sweet boys(big & small)

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Okay, so maybe it's not a jet plane. uummm, more like Southwest-LOL! I am flying out to Chicago for CHA in the morning (Craft, Hobby, Association). It is a HUGE trade show where companies release all of their new products/lines. Brandi (my co worker) & I are meeting up with the owners, our bosses at Green Tangerines. Can I just tell you that I am SOOOOOOO excited to be going. I get to spend 3 whole days, ooohhh-ing & aaahhh-ing(code for salivating) over all of the new papers, embellishments, stamps, ideas, samples, yummy colors,etc... On Monday, we will get to see Chicago (outside of the convention center) & shop before heading home. Again, I am so grateful for a husband who can hold the fort & troops down so I can escape, ugh I mean work for a few days -wink wink. I am so grateful for Kelly & Paula. Happy & grateful for the opportunity to tag along & represent Green Tangerines. WA-HOOOOOOO, I can't wait. I seriously hope I can sleep tonight.

{Kelly & Paula-aka visionary vixens}

Thank you for all of of your posts about your favorite books & what you are reading and enjoying right now. I finished EAT-PRAY-LOVE last night. While it was not my favorite book, it did pick up & she did have some great words of wisdom(like many of you commented on). That middle part of the book was very slow & hard for me to get through. Needless to say, I am glad I plowed through it.

I really loved everything she had to say on pg. 260. This is my favorite part, she said "People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it." If you decide not to read the book, run down to Barnes & Noble & at least read pg. 260.

I also liked what she had to say on the very last page. She wrote, "In the end, though maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it is wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely for as long as we have voices". I love that! What a great reminder to be thankful for all that we have & are blessed with.

I have started the book COME BACK. Have any of you read this one?

I am off to fold the last load of laundry. Then I will be able to zip up my suitcase & head off to bed. I will be MIA on the blog for a few days. I know I will have a ton to report when I return home on Monday night! Have a fabulous weekend!

P.S. - If you see John out & about with the boys, tell him he's awesome & that his wife misses him & thank him for me, for being fabulous! I will miss these cutie-pa-tooties.

what's for dinner?

Here is another family favorite. It's what we had for dinner tonight. It is one of John's favorite meals. This one is going in our family recipe book (that book that I still need to create)too! Enjoy!

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 pkg. (7 oz.) Thin spaghetti

2 cans (8 oz. each) mushrooms or 1 lb. fresh

1/2 c. butter

4 deboned skinned breasts of cooked chicken (can saute or boil)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 c. sour cream

Grated Parmesan

Break spaghetti into 1 in. pieces, cook & drain. Butter the bottom a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish & place spaghetti in dish. Cut chicken into fairly large pieces. Saute mushrooms in butter. Then add chicken, cream of chicken soup & sour cream to the mushrooms. Pour chicken & sauce over the spaghetti & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake @ 300 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serves 8-12 people.

**John is not a fan of mushrooms. So... just for him, I use 1/2 of what it calls for. If you leave the mushrooms in bigger chunks, they can be picked out fairly easily.

Books

I have always loved to read. One of my favorite birthdays ever, was when I was in the 5th grade. All I wanted for my birthday that year, were some new books. For part of my gifts that year, my Mom treated me to a shopping spree @ the local bookstore, Crown Books (If I remember correctly). I left with 4 new books & I was so delighted. I could not wait to get home, to crack that first new book open. Over the years, my reading as slowed down a bit. Instead of devouring a book in a day, it will now take me about a week to finish. As I've had new babies, or as those babies turned into active boys who are so busy with extra curricular activities, it is hard to find a good chunk of down time to sit & read. Right now, my reading happens late @ night before I fall asleep or on Sundays. I love Sundays, & all of the down time if gives me & our family. A day to relax, read & just be together. The boys are enjoying a few summer reading programs that we have signed up for around town. One is through our local library & the other is through Barnes & Noble. Carter has already earned two free books from the Barnes & Noble reading program. GO Carter.

One of my favorite quotes is : Books fall open--you fall in. David McCord
This quote is so true for me. It is so easy to get lost in a good book & I love when that happens.

{photo by Tanner. Boy, do I look tired or what?}

Right now I am reading a book that has not grasped my attention. I am having a really hard time getting into it & yet, I can't put it down. I have found that I can't stop reading a book, even if I don't really like it. I am always afraid that the good part might be coming up & that I'll miss out on the entire point of the book. The book I am currently reading is EAT -PRAY- LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert. Have any of you read this book? Did you like it? Did you hate it? At this point, I am just trying to get through it to finish it. Is that bad?

I just received an evite from my friend, Eve to http://www.goodreads.com/. Thanks Eve. It is a really cool site. You can create an account & keep track of the books you are reading, have read or the books you have on your list to read. You can even rate the book & write your thoughts/review on each book. If you decide to create an account, please don't forget to add me as a friend.

I would love to know what you are reading this summer. What has grabbed your attention? What's on your to read list? I would also love to know what your favorite book of all time is. Please share.

And the Academy Award goes to....

So on our way home from Tahoe yesterday, we were listening to the radio. A commercial comes on that asks, "Has your child ever wanted to be a model? Has your child ever wanted to appear in commercials or on TV shows?" All of a sudden Tanner yells "Yes, I want to be an actor. I want to be on TV". Carter simply replied, "You can't be on TV, you don't even know how to act". Tanner replied, "Oh yes I can. I am a soccer player & I KNOW HOW TO ACT ". John & I were cracking up. Every time our family watches a soccer game on TV, John will usually yell @ the TV, telling one of the players that they are such a good actor,(code for, that player is faking an injury). So... now my son thinks he's an actor jut because he can play soccer & be dramatic when falling down on the soccer field. The wheels in this boys head don't ever stop & I love that!

P.S.-The count down is on. I leave for Chicago, exactly one week from today! Woot-woot! I am so excited & I can't wait!

Escaping the HEAT

We have had a little escape to Lake Tahoe planned for about a week. It could not have been planned for a better day (except maybe if we had stayed through Thursday). The temperature hit 111 degrees in the city we live in. Tahoe was a perfect 85 degrees today. We were on the road by 9 am this morning. Once we hit the half way point, we were driving through lots of heavy smoke. A few more wild fires had started yesterday. As we continued to drive, it was getting worse. We were worried that our little excursion would be foiled by the fires & air quality. Once we hit the Truckee off ramp, the air cleared & the blue skies appeared. We enjoyed a fabulous day on the shore of Lake Tahoe. We were lucky enough to have 6 other families enjoy the day in Tahoe with us. We even had the Clements here from Utah, it was awesome to spend time with them. Between the 6 families, we had a total of 27 children under the age of 12 in tow. WOW!! We had a blast. The kids played out in the water, floated on the rafts & in the boat, there were endless hours of digging in the sand, searching for crayfish, running up & down the dock, watching Brody play in a big hole that had been dug by the older boys & the pure joy on his face(not to mention all of the sand), hanging out with the friends we love, & most defiantly... the cooler weather. We are supposed to have hot temps for the next couple of days, not looking forward to that. The typical shutterbug in me can't blog without including a ton of photos. Enjoy!