Ton O' Fun!

Lots going on these past couple of days. Summer is my favorite season and it's off to a fun start. Yesterday was Alex's birthday so he had a playdate at the mall. The kid's love playing in the play area they have set up there. You can see some pics of the birthday boy over on Telah's blog.

This is Natalie's friend Nathan. He is exactly one week older than her. Nathan was happy to smile for the camera but Natalie was just too serious.




That evening we met PaPa, Alan, Kellie and the kids at Big Ed's for some pizza. She liked sitting on the table, but still oh so serious.

Yesterday was also Natalie's 8 month birthday. I had intended to take some pics of her by herself but didn't get a chance, so we took some this morning. She typically doesn't like hats on her head so I'm surprised I got even one good one of her with this hat on.

And then for the big event. Her first time in the pool! She liked the water and kicked and kicked when she first got in. In the float she kinda just sat back and relaxed without a care in the world.
But she really just liked to be out of the float with me walking around in the pool with her. She loved to splash the water. It was a big hit!



Plan on spending the evening scrapping! Check back soon for a layout update. And a big thanks to the gals at the Unpubbed blog. My "Laundry Nat" layout got an honorable mention!

Scrappin Update

I took some more pictures of my layouts. Still not completely happy with the lighting/glare but it will have to do. Any of you scrappers have any tips for taking pics of your layouts? I tried taping them to my screen door (lots of outside, natural light) but it was TOO much light. You could see straight through the paper and pic! Maybe I need to take the pics when the sun is on the other side of the house? I dunno, but I'm open to any tips!

This first layout is for the Unpubbed Challenge. Used some of the new Love, Elsie products which I love! The title idea came from my mom. Back when I posted these pictures in the lo, she called Natalie the laundry Nat. Just had to use that, it was too cute.

This second one is for One Little Word. This particular challenge site has really taken off. I think they had over 200 entries for their very first challenge! Challenge #2 was to use the word STOP. I had to give this one some thought, but it didn't take long for Colin Raye's song "In This Life" to pop into my head. Some things may stop, but my love for my husband will remain. (awwww)


The rest of these are just a mixture of things. I mixed it up and did some 12x12 and 8.5 x 11's.


The journaling for the above layout says "Andrew (one of Telah's boys) really made us laugh making faces when we were taking pictures at the Opryland Hotel. We had to take one in his honor. What a cute cheesy grin!"


One last thing I want to mention. If you are into scrapbooking at all and you haven't checked out ScrapinStyle TV, get yourself over there now! :) I'm so impressed with this site. I just can't say it enough. It it put together so well, the gallery, the forum... and the webisodes are really cute. I'm currently anxiously awaiting some exclusive product by Kellie Crowe I ordered from there. And no I'm not getting paid to say this, the site is just that great! Check it out!

Cutie Pie

I had planned on updating tonight with layouts that I completed over the weekend. Got several done for various challenges. But I'll have to share those tomorrow because when I uploaded my pics of them, they were either extremely blurry or had bad reflections.

So instead I'll share some pics I took of Natalie yesterday. She really likes her bath time and that little face of hers just makes me so happy. How come a baby looks so cute with a hoodie towel on? Look at that drool!



She's ready for bed!
I do have one layout to share. This was for PageMaps Anniversary contest. They asked that we not post the layouts until the contest was over. You can see the winning layouts on their site.


Hope everyone has a good Monday!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Cheryl and her husband just recently celebrated an anniversary. She did a "Romantic Tuesday" post and shared some things about how they met, etc. and asked her readers to participate and answer some of the same questions if we felt so inclined. This put me in the mood to scan some of my older pictures of John and I and tell you a little bit about us.

* How did you and your husband meet?

I thank God often for the huge snow storm we had here in North Alabama in 1993. In March of all months! We just don't get snow down here, but that year we did. I was a junior in High School and I had a really good friend who was dating a guy that worked with John. My friend's boyfriend was so determined to play matchmaker and set John up with someone, so he gave John my number. If it hadn't of been for that snow storm he may have never called. He was such a shy guy and committed to his college studies 110%. Thank goodness he got snowed in and was sitting at home with nothing to do. My mother wouldn't let me go out on a date with him since I had never met him. So, I had a party and invited him to come, so that we could meet. We went out on our first date a week after that party.

* How were you proposed to?

Nothing very romantic about the proposal. I had gone with him to pick out a ring and I knew he had picked it up that day. We were standing in his front yard and he simply asked me to marry him.

* Was it love at first sight, or did it build slowly?
I definitely liked him at first sight, but falling in love with him happened over time.

* When did you get married? We got married Oct 2, 1999 after dating 6.5 years. This picture is the spring after we got married. March 2000.

* What is the most romantic gift you’ve received? I have 2. The first one is a swavorski rose that he gave during the first couple years we dated. A rose that would never die. He wrote the most beautiful poem along with it. Sadly I don't remember what year! But we dated 6 years before getting married, so hopefully that doesn't sound terrible that I don't remember what year. The other really romantic gift was on Valentine's Day of 1994. I had recently started collecting cherished teddy figurines and when I got home there was a dozen roses along with 8 cherished teddy figurines holding abc block letters spelling I Love You.

* Where did you go on your honeymoon? Gulf Shores, AL

* What words would you use to describe your marriage? Safe, loving, cherished, secure.

There you have it.. a little bit of our history. I am so grateful to God everyday that he is in my life and I thank God everyday for him and the beautiful daughter he has blessed us both with!

It's Friday!

There are so many challenge blogs out there, I'm having a fun time participating in them all. Found out about another called The Goodie Box. Wedding season is upon us and the challenge this time around was to do a layout using something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. You could do all 4 or a combination of them. Here's the layout I did.

Something old: Old scraps of patterned paper
Something New: New Prima Flowers and colorbok chipboard
Something borrowed: The general design is borrowed from Babs. She has a layout posted on ScrapinStyle that uses this design.
Something blue: There's various splashes of blue in the paper and in the picture

Lately I've been drawn toward the 8.5x11 format, so I thought I would start doing some pages in that size. I'm not sure what's on Natalie's forehead. I think I got a glare when I took a pic of the layout.

And then this last one is using the 4x8 picture I ordered. I haven't done a 2 page layout in a long time. May have to try to get back to more 2 pagers.

Summer is just around the corner, but it feels like it's here already! Some great sunshiney, hot weather is forecasted for the holiday weekend. Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day.

Getting to know some very random things

A while back Dawn tagged me on her blog..I had already done that particular tag, but I found this questionnaire she did interesting. So sit back and relax. It's a long one.

1. Introduce yourself.
Hi! My name is Leah, but I'm guessing you knew that already.
2. It's Wednesday during the afternoon, where are you usually?
Most days, at home, trying to get Natalie to take a nap.
3. What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
Gain
4. What brand of shampoo is in your shower right now?
Garnier Fructis - I have no idea if that's spelled right, but I'm not getting up to go look.
5. Did you ever get into a bar and drink before you were 21?
Nope, sure didn't. Wasn't my style. Didn't drink then, don't drink now. Unless you count sweet tea.
6. What were you doing last night?
Watching American Idol and then browsing the web doing my nightly blog reading.
7. Do you watch MTV anymore?
No, sure don't. And I'm still trying to figure out why they call it Music television. As far as I know they don't ever play music videos.
8. What do you think about Oprah?
Depends on the day. Sometimes I like watching her shows, other times I think she's a kook. She does a lot of nice things for the average people, but she's totally lost me on her "The Secret" "Energy forces" New Age religion stuff.
9. What color are your bedsheets?
Green and White striped
10. You need a new pair of jeans...what store do you go to first?
Kohl's is usually my first choice. The last pair I bought was at Wal-Mart
11. HEY, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? THERE WAS NO #11 QUESTION. How about a pic of Natalie instead.
12. What kind of car do you drive?
A white Jeep grand Cherokee
13. Honestly, is that car insured?
Yes. You mean people drive around without insurance?
14. Do you like sushi?
No
15. Have you ever been to Tiffany & Co. or Saks 5th Ave.?
I have been to Saks. Took a road trip to West Palm Beach with my cousin 3 years ago and went to several of those fancy schmancy places.
16. Did your parents spoil you?
Not hardly. My needs were met but I was expected to do my chores and do well in school. I had to earn most things and I'm very glad that's the way my parents chose to raise me.
17. Do you like roller coasters?
Yes, I do. I will get on anything!
18. What magazine(s) do you buy regularly or subscribe to?
Creating Keepsakes and Paper Crafts
19. Do you remember the WB show, "Popular"?
Never heard of it..guess it didn't live up to it's name.
20. When you go out do you prefer to go to dance club or to a bar?
I don't prefer either of those things. Not my scene. I prefer dinner and a movie with hubby or a night out with the girls scrapping.
21. College graduate?
Yes. My degree is in Business Management
22. Who do you think will be the next president?
I have no clue, but I sincerely hope this country is wise enough to NOT elect Hilary Clinton.
23. Are you registered to vote?
Absolutely!!
NOTE: Ok, who numbered these questions? What happened to numbers 24, 25 & 26? Guess you'll have to settle for more pics of the girl.
27. Do you like Carrie Underwood?
Yes, but be careful not to make her mad or she'll take a Louisville slugger to both headlights.
28. Been to "The Vegas"?
Yes, once. Was there on a business trip in 2005
29. How far away do you live from your parents?
About 7 or 8 miles from my parents and about 9 or 10 miles from my father-in-law
30. Are you happy with your job?
Without a doubt! Being a SAHM is the best job I've ever had.
#31...WHERE ARE YOU???
32. What did you get in the mail today?
Junk.
33. How do you like your steak cooked?
Medium Well
34. Britney Spears...ready to have a nervous breakdown or just having fun?
ready to have a breakdown?? I think she's been there, done that.
35. What do you usually order at Taco Bell?
Bean Burrito or Soft tacos
36. Have you ever sat all the way thru Gone With The Wind?
Nope.
37. Have you ever been to Mt. Rushmore?
No, but I'd love to go one day.
38. Is it just me, or was The Marine (w/ John Cena) a really horrible movie?
Uhhh, who's John Cena? What's The Marine?
39. Are surveys/lists like the cocaine of my space/blogs?
WHAT??? I enjoy doing lists and surveys, but not cocaine. And myspace is on my bad list right now.. I picked up some kind of virus on my laptop from there. I wish people would quit pimping their spaces out.
40. Where is your favorite place?
Any beach. I love laying under a huge umbrella listening to the ocean
41. What is your favorite candle scent?
Strawberry
42. Do you believe places can really be haunted?
Not really.
43. Do you smoke cigarettes?
Nope.
44. Have you ever been to NYC or LA?
Not to NYC but that's on my list of places to go one day. I've been to LAX but just long enough to get on another plane.
45. How many states have you been to where all you saw was the airport?
Not sure.. I traveled a good deal with my previous job. But I didn't have to connect too often so maybe 2 or 3.
46. Do you think 50 questions is enough?
I would have been less than that if you hadn't of asked that one.
47. Are you currently planning a trip?
No, but we're thinking of going to Gatlinburg this summer, so I might should get to planning.
48. Is Ryan Seacrest gay?
Seriously, some of these questions are just plain dumb.
49. Do you take anti-depressants?
Nope.
50. Have you ever googled your name and found out something?
Yes.. I googled what "Leah needs" and it's pretty funny. You should try it sometime if you haven't already..just put in "your name" needs and see what comes up.

Scrapbooking Overload

This past weekend we went out to Daniel and Telah's. Our usual routine is scrapping for us gals and gaming for the guys. I got a bunch of layouts done. First I completed my layout for scrapjacked. It was interesting to see pictures of Natalie all together from birth until now. Amazing how much a baby can change in just 7 months.
Here are most of the others I completed.








I also just want to put in a plug for ScrapbookPictures.com I just recently started using them and am really pleased with the pictures and their service. They are having a moving sale right now and have some good prices for larger size prints. In my last order I was missing one 4x8 picture. I called them up and they had it to me in 2 days and that's coming from Oregon!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Happy Wednesday!

There's a new challenge blog called One Little Word. Here's the layout I did for their first challenge. The concept of this blog is to take the word they give us and use that word as our inspiration for a layout. The first word was GO.

And just a funny pic to share.. I've mentioned before John's love for the Online game World of Warcraft.. well I caught this picture of him the other day.. I'm assuming he was cold..but they do have some strange characters in that game, he could of also just been dressing the part. LOL

And also some cute pics of Natalie with her PaPa..

One Page

I just couldn't wait to scrap the pictures from Mother's Day. I only got a chance to do this one page. Hope to get some more pages done tomorrow. Had to scan and stitch this one instead of taking a picture because the Hambly overlay shows your reflection when you take a picture. I'm not that great at stitching, so you may notice the seam where I put the two images together.

Picture Update

Just wanted to share some pictures from the weekend. My cousin Kris is headed to Iraq, so the family got together to wish him well. First picture is he and his dad. Then also with his sister and new niece Audrey.

Here are Natalie and Audrey together.

Not very often we have so many of the family together, so we took a group shot.

In other news..my first mother's day.. we went to church with my parents and then braved the crowd at Macaroni Grill.. here are the "moms". My mom is to the left and my grandmom is to the right. Then I had John take some pictures of me and Natalie..you're gonna see these pics again soon..I'm gonna try to scrapbook them tomorrow.




Hope all you moms had a great mother's day!

Gone to the Birds

One of the biggest trends in scrapbooking right now is the use of birds. They are everywhere. And it doesn't even have to have anything to do with the pictures or the layout in general. Just throw some birds on there for no real good reason. I have not been a fan of the birds. I just don't get the whole big bird craze. However in an effort to at least give this trend a try, I had a bird idea, so I ran with it. I was not going to just throw a bird on there all willy-nilly. If I was gonna use one, it was going to be relevant with the theme of the page. So, for the latest scrapjack, here's what I came up with. The journaling reads "You are more valuable to God than a flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:31"


Who says peer pressure ends after High School?