We finally got a chance to go camping this past weekend. It's been since last Memorial Day weekend that we went last. It was a lot of fun, but I have to say that the mosquitos were out in full force. Apparently they thought I made a great meal, too, because my legs and feet are completely covered with bites. Ugh, they itch so bad and everything I have tried hasn't made it much better. Paul, the kids and I headed over on Thursday afternoon. We went to the Mall of America on Friday. Kailee got her first American Girl doll. She had so much fun playing with the display birthday party set up that her daddy decided to get her one of her own. She was so excited to get the doll. The lady at the checkout took it out of the box for her right away and she held tightly on to it for most of day. That is until we went to the Disney Store and she spotted a beanie Minnie Mouse. Michaella got another one of the little dogs with the carrier and Hunter had fun checking out the Lego store. All three kids thought the figures made out of the Legos were very neat. Hunter got to pick out another set to add to his growing Lego collection. He and Michaella have been working on putting it together since last night. Of course we had to cap the day off with a visit to the Rainforest Cafe. Kailee was quite enthralled with all the decorations. Friday night my parents, sister, her boyfriend and our Bolivian "sister" joined us at the campground. We headed to the Como Zoo on Saturday. That night my brother and his girlfriend came up to join us for our day at Valleyfair. My kids went on all the big coasters that they could, along with the water rides. They had a great time there.

Hunter has his last T-ball game this week. He really has done a great job this year. They stopped using the tee a couple weeks ago. They get 3 pitchs to try to hit it and then his coach lets them uses the tee again. He has been able to hit if off the pitch several times. Here is a page I did for this years season using Home Run Derby by Haynay Designs.



I took the kids to the zoo a couple weeks ago for their Animal Enrichment day. The zoo gives all the animal different objects for them to eat & play with. The kids had a great time watching the animal try out all the new items they were given. We even got lucky enough to see the zoo's three baby tigers. They were not supposed to be out on exhibit yet, but they decided they didn't want to go inside in the morning, so the zookeepers let them remain outside. Oh my were they so cute! I took so many pictures of them. lol. The baby tigers weren't the only babies we seen at the zoo that day. Check out this page using Lawteeda's A Day at the Zoo kit of all the little ones we see that day.



Kailee has absolutely loved being outside this summer. Everytime she goes outside she has to find a rock. Even when we are on pavement she has to try and look for a rock to pick up. She likes to just carry them around in her hands. When it's time to go back inside, she knows she has to put them back down. I used Trixie Scraps Nature Girl kit to scrap this page about Kailee and her rocks.



As I said in my last posting this is my guest month on the Scrap Matters' CT and I'm having a great time so far. I'm getting alot of scrapping done. Here are some of the pages I have completed so far.

These are the flamingos at Sea World in San Diego. When I seen the new Daily Download at Scrap Matters I knew exactly what pictures I was going to use to scrap with it. I just love the colors of this kit. If you missed this great kit during the Daily Download, never fear because at the end of the month Coastal Getaway will be available for sale in the shop.



Paul's dad's side rents the group cabin site at one of our local state parks every year for the weekend. The kids have a blast playing with their cousins. Of course what weekend wouldn't be complete without some water sports. WM Squared and Stolen Moments released Lakeside at Scrap Matters this past week & it's the perfect kit to scrap all the pictures from there. Here is Hunter & one of the other boys having a great time riding the water slide. They were having such a great time. The kids look forward to going every year. Unfortunately this year we weren't able to make it though, since we were camping by the cities last weekend.



I can't believe my baby sister graduated from high school this year. I used Graham Like the Cracker's Purple is my Signature Color kit to scrap these pictures of her receiving her diploma.



These page scrapped with Designs by Tater's Yankee Doodle Doo is from when we went to the Wisconsin Dells over the Fourth of July to celebrate my grandparents' 50th Anniversary.



One last page for this week. I used Inspirations from Day's new Summer Woods to scrap these pictures of the deer we seen when we were at the Royal Gorge in 2006.

Apparently I've been a bit neglectful of my blog again. oops. Lot of things have happened since my last post. Some good, some bad. Worked my way through them all and here we are. :) Won't bore you will all the details, but let's just say I'm glad the last couple months are over. Can't believe that stores are already getting out the back to school stuff & that my kids have less than 7 weeks left of summer vacation.

I managed to get 65 pages done for the Queen of Scrap contest in May at Scrap Matters. My goal was to get to all the prize levels and I succeed, so even though I didn't get crown Queen or Princess I'm pretty happy with the outcome. And thankfully my mojo didn't leave me like it did last year because...

This is my month to be a guest on the Scrap Matters' store CT! Woohoo! I'm so excited! :) Lots of fun things happening there this month.

The first of the month seen the return of the Daily Download. The designers have put together a beautiful kit for you this month. There are still quite a few days left to grab it so make sure to head over there and start collecting the pieces.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...at least it will starting Friday at Scrap Matters. They are having a Christmas in July sale again this year. This is the perfect time to get ahead of the game and get some fun Christmas projects started.

So many great releases at the store again this week. I had a chance to work with the pretty new collab called Drift Away from by Becca and Graham Like the Cracker. Love the colors and all the fun elements in this kit. I used the bundle to create this page from our trip to Sea World a couple years ago.



Another new release I worked with this week is The Basics Templates Set 3 by Haynay Designs. I used her Tumble Time kit to finally scrap one of Michaella's gymnastics pictures. Love the fun, bright colors of this kit. I can see myself using this one quite a bit. :)



Summer is a great time to cool off with a bowl of ice cream and this month's Matter of Taste challenge is the perfect place to find some fun new recipes. Make sure to check them out and while your add it scrap a page of your own favorite. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and can't wait to try it out. We have had an ice cream maker for several years, but don't use it very often. I'm hoping this challenge is just the push I need to get it out and start using it again. This page uses Happy Scrap Girl's Berry-licious Bundle.

Trixie Scraps also has a new release this week, but because of the server move at Scrap Matters was unable to release it there. But don't worry you can still grab it at Gotta Pixel and her personal store. Viva la Vino originally released during her guest spot at The Digi Chick but has now made it's way "home". She collabed with Rachel of Steel City Scraps to bring you this great kit full of rich colors. It was the perfect kit to scrap the pictures of our yummy desserts we had at Le Cellier in the Canada pavillion at Epcot.



She has also started a great new challenge at Gotta Pixel called Show Me the Mini. Each month she will give you a free mini kit that coordinates with one of her kits. Your challenge it to use every piece in the mini to create a page. This month the mini coordinates with her newest collab with Sarah Bennett, Old Glory. Make sure to check it out and join her for this awesome challenge. Here is one of the pages I made using the Old Glory bundle that is available at Scrap Matters, Gotta Pixel and her personal store.



Sya's Blueprints has put out some really great templates in the last month, too.

This layout was done using Just the Pictures.


Here is one using The Chosen One Set 5.


And finally one using Reloaded Vol. 1.


As you can see I've been quite busy scrapping. These are just a few of the awesome new products that have been released since I last posted. Make sure to check out their stores to see the rest. :)

One more thing before I say goodbye for now.

Do you have Disney pictures you are having trouble scrapping because you don't know what to do with them? Well then check out the photo swap going on at Mouse Scrappers. Mouse Scrappers is a board set up for those that love scrapping Disney pictures. There are lots of various challenges going on there to help you get your pages scrapped and if that weren't enough there is also a gallery loaded with great pages to draw some inspiration from.

Well that is all for now, until next time...

Happy Scrapping! :)

New Daily Download

Woohoo! It's time for another Daily Download at Scrap Matters! Trixie Scraps has teamed up with Plum Dumpling Designs, Pressed Petal Designs, Haynay Designs & WM Squared Designs to bring you this awesome new kit.

Click here to start collecting.

(click for credits)

(click for credits)