August by the numbers

Another month down...so many things to be thankful for.

ONE awesome goal headed into the net by Carter(it was the winning goal of the game) during a soccer tournament.
TWO a. back to back John Mayer concerts in two different cities.
TWO b. books read (The Smart One and the Pretty One AND Plum Spooky)
THREE a. scrapbook pages created (We are ROBOTS, 4th of July and Brody at 1 month).
THREE b. back to school nights attended by Mom and Dad.
FOUR days away on a business trip to Oregon(John).
FIVE fun couples enjoy the JM concert at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre.
SIX different classes enjoyed by Tanner on a daily basis...hello middle school.
TWELVE blog posts for the month of August.
THIRTEEN hand made cards created (lots of birthdays this month).
FOURTEEN miles logged on the treadmill.
SIXTEEN days under our belt for the 2010-2011 school year.
TWENTY TWO soccer games played between Tanner and Carter.
THIRTY John Mayer songs heard live.. *sigh* the concerts really were amazing :-).
THIRTY ONE more photos taken to represent Project Life.
FIFTY mile bike ride for Tanner with his Scout troop.
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND miles logged on my Tahoe...watched odometer turn at exactly 100,000 miles.

it's official

I have 6 hours a week to myself...we have a pre-schooler in the house. I don't think Brody ever thought this day would get here. We have been counting the days down.
He was up bright and early, ready to go. New outfit,check. A new pair of Vans,check. His new bucket(don't forget to notice the $5.00 light up scrapbook stickers from Mom's stash :-), check. His lunch/snack packed and ready to go, check.























He was even more excited when we got to school and his best bud, Sam got out of his car. They are going to have a great year.




















The most commonly asked questions as of late are:
"Did you cry when you dropped Brody off"? and
"What are you going to do with your free time"?

I am happy to report that I did not cry when I dropped him off this morning. He was seriously over the top excited this morning that I couldn't be anything but happy & excited for him. He is the type of child who would say "Don't let the door hit you on the backside when you leave, Mom".

As for free time, I am sure those 6 hours will quickly be filled with helping in the boys classrooms(room Mom and Art Docent Mom again), a little scrapbooking, working down at GT and maybe a nap or two :-).

It's going to be a great year!

Lunch date

Brody and I met John/Daddy at the Folsom outlets for a little shopping and an early lunch. Tomorrow is Brody's 1st day of preschool and we thought he needed a new outfit. He is over the top excited...talks about "his" preschool non-stop.


{this little boy loves his Daddy SO much}


{Brody with his shopping bag...he had to carry it :-)}


{a trip to the outlets is not complete until you ride one of the trains, cars or helicopters}

We are off to decorate his school bucket. It serves as a backpack and a cubby while he is at school.
Have a great Monday!

part of the club

If you have had any interaction with Brody in the last week, you know that he was going to the dentist. It is all he has talked about for the last week. We have had the same conversation, oh about...a 100 times a day. He over heard me scheduling his very 1st appointment and was so excited. He has watched the big brothers for so long that he was ready for his turn.

Today was the day. He did really well. He was a pro. What's not to love about the dentist? Flat screen TVs mounted on the ceiling above each chair,Toy Story playing, headphones, and cool shades.





Brody joined the ranks of his big brothers and is now part of the no cavity club. Way to go Brody. He is already asking when he can go back to the dentist. It is going to be a long 6 months.

I was pretty sure I was going to have to arm wrestle Tanner to be the first to read this book. We pre-ordered it from Amazon and it was in our mailbox today.















He is just lucky that I am still trying to finish a book I started two weeks ago. Reading at midnight doesn't get me very far. Tanner is half way through MOCKINGJAY and loving it. I am hoping to get my turn this weekend. Are you a fan of the Hunger Games series?

Same boy...

Different city. Different venue. Different crowd :-). Different songs heard live. *Sigh*. John Mayer was amazing. He really was.
















We brought the hubbies along with us this time :-). We all got there before the gates opened. We had fun chatting in line while we waited. Once inside the gates, we had our picnic dinners on the lawn, we sang Happy Birthday to Pete and enjoyed Amy's scrumptious cupcakes in honor of that same birthday boy.


We were all getting comfy on the lawn when Pete announced that he had landed some upgrade tickets/seats for us. SCORE. We moved from the lawn, up to section 201 row 8...just enough seats for all of us. They were awesome seats & even better when we moved one more time, more towards the center.

It is always so much fun hanging out with these girls. They are the best. They are fabulous. I love them.


An extra bonus to have these guys join us.


A few selfies while waiting for the show to start. Owl City was the opening act...45 minutes of my life(two times over) that I won't ever get back.



{I had to laugh out loud when I saw this photo on my computer. He WAS supposed to be smiling like I was -LOL}.

It was another perfect Summer night in Cali. I loved every minute of it. I am sure I had a smile on my face the entire night. My favorite songs from the evening were Perfectly Lonely, Clarity, War of my Life, Do You Know Me and his cover of Raspberry Beret. I loved his version of this song...he had cool purple lights and the crowd sang along. Two concerts, back to back = the perfect way to end my Summer.

I wonder how soon it will be before John boy (my John) will see another John Mayer concert with me :-)?

summer concert...John Mayer style

AAAAHHHHH...the day finally arrived. I have been looking forward to this weekend since March. I was beyond excited to head to the Bay Area. I got to see John Mayer in concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. I met up with my sister, Amber and my cousin, Kerstin. We grabbed sandwiches and were on our way. We met up with our friend, Michelle. Perfect company.

Here are a few my favorite/unforgettable highlights from the JM show.
- Felt right at home at this venue...it was our spot for concerts during our younger years.
- Getting to spend time with some of my most favorite people in the whole wide world.
- Listening to JM songs the entire ride down to the Bay Area and to and from the concert, anticipating what he would play that evening.
- Listening to John Mayer run a sound check while eating our dinner in line...goose bumps for sure.
- People watching...seriously never a dull moment.
- 4 scrapbookers/life artist forgetting their cameras. Okay, truth be told, I had mine but I didn't have the memory card in it...who does that???
- Giggling while taking traditional self portraits, over and over again with our cell phones.
- the {older} drunk cougar women behind us who just should have known better.
- Laughing so hard we almost cried...or some may have slightly peed their pants{see above, people watching}.
- The poor 17 year old boys next to us who happened to be the cougars prey that night...eeeeewwwwwww!
- John Mayer singing Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. One of the two songs(I haven't heard live) I wanted to hear live-YAY!
- singing along to all of my favorite JM songs :-).
- Singing along to Why Georgia with the whole audience.
- texting my friend Mer(she's a BIG JM fan, too) during the concert while Mr. Mayer took a potty break during the show. I have never had that happen during a concert.
- loved, loved, loved how chit chatty JM was during the show. He was funny,charming and very entertaining.
- Favorite songs from the evening were Half of My Heart/Dreams,Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Why Georgia and Edge of Desire.








I seriously enjoyed every minute of his show. I felt sad when it was over but then quickly reminded myself that I was seeing him tomorrow night at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre :-).

**John Mayer photos swiped from SF Gate(actual photos from our concert)...remember I didn't have a camera. I love the world wide web.
**Friend/Family photos swiped off of my sisters FB account...thanks, Am!

we are R-O-B-O-T-S

Said it my best R-O-B-O-T voice. Lately, I have had the need/desire to create. The feeling was strong on Sunday. I kept trying to escape into my scrapbook room and would quickly leave because somebody needed something :-). Life as a mommy = never a dull moment. I was finally able to sit down for a bit and was able to create another layout. When I caught word, back in February that Green Tangerines was closing, I knew I needed to purchase the Junior line by American Crafts. I had had my eye on it. It is very boy oriented and right up my alley. I used one of Allison Davis' sketches and this is what I came up with.







I am happy to have this little piece of Brody's childhood captured. For about a month straight, he would walk around the house and in his best R-O-B-O-T voice he would say "I am a R-O-B-O-T". I found this little R-O-B-O-T get up at the dollar store and couldn't pass it up. He quickly recruited Garrett and they both started walking around the house saying "We are R-O-B-O-T-S".

On a happy note, Green Tangerines is back. They will be opening sometime in September...so HAPPY!

Have a super week.

{products used: American Crafts Junior/Rockets/Thickers, Bazzill cardstock, Kaiser Crafts bling}

for a flippin' good cause

We had a fun activity with the Young Women this week. We decorated about 15 pairs of flip flops with strips of fabric for young girls and women in Africa. Many of the women in Africa go with out shoes. These flip flops will not only provide protection for their feet, they will help keep their homes cleaner and lets not forget to mention that they are kind of cute :-).



These young women always impress me.





















They are super busy girls and yet, are always willing to serve and go the extra mile for those who are less fortunate. As we tied flip flops, it was fun to chat with them about their first day of school. Keep up the good work, girls.

are you serious???

I had to laugh when I received this reminder email in my inbox. Seriously, who would forget about seeing this guy in concert???

Trust me, I won't forget about this event. It is *** and highlighted in my calendar...it is etched/fried/stamped on my brain. I am counting the days down! Only 10 more days to go. Are you going?

off to a great start

The boys went back to school today! They were ready and so was I...or so I thought I was. Tanner starts school at 7:50 and wanted to get there early. He didn't want to be walked into school...he wanted to be dropped off at the curb. Must be the middle school-er in him :-). I had John take him this morning so I could avoid the tears. I lost it when I dropped him off last week for orientation so I knew that I would be a mess today. He is so grown up and I am having a hard time with that :-).

Instead of a fashion show at our house, the boys like to lay out their entire 1st day of school ensemble. Here are this years outfits...complete with underwear, socks, and backpacks. Oh, and don't forget the Axe body spray :-). Trust me, it is way better smelling than stinky middle school boy smell.


We spent some time shopping and organizing our school supplies. This is my favorite part of the the whole back to school hype...I am kind of nerdy like that. I love the colorful, sharp crayons, packages of binder paper and new yellow pencils.


Another fun, yearly tradition is a note from Mom{Me}in their lunch box/bag on the first day of school. My sister found these cute lunch box notes and mailed them to me last year. Thanks, Am.


We wrapped up this cute little gift to take to the teachers this year {idea found here}. Love the darling ideas from these cute sisters.


The yearly photos of the boys on the 1st day of school.








I loved seeing the boys enjoy their first day of school with their favorite friends.





The boys are all home now & have been happily chattering about their day. Everyone is happy and content with their new schedule/routine. It is going to be another fantastic year.

baby love

Look who we got to meet.



Meet baby Crosby. Baby Crosby belongs to my sweet friend, Mer. He is darling...such a sweet little guy. I got to snuggle him and get my baby fix. I had to fight Carter off in order to hold him :-). Carter LOVES babies and took lots of turns to love this little guy.





Thanks to Mer and Dylan for sharing their new little bundle of LOVE with us. My boys are still asking if we can have another baby :-).

Speaking of baby love, check out my most recent layout. John took all 4 boys to soccer practice tonight and that gave me some quiet time. I was able to create this layout and read two chapters in a new book. A little peace and quiet was just what I needed tonight. Thanks, John boy.



The layout is new...the pictures not so much! This is Brody at one month. Can you say "a little behind"? :-)? I used a sketch from the most recent Creating Keepsakes magazine. The product used was Bazzill cardstock, the Making Memories Animal Crackers line and the Making Memories Noteworthy line(still two of my all time favorite MM lines). I am hoping to find some more time this month to get some more pages done...wish me luck.