A Weekend of Scrapbooking

Over the river and through the woods to Palouse Divide Lodge I go!  I'm leaving this afternoon to the bi-annual scrapbooking retreat and I may never return.  The last one I went to I stayed up all night scrapbooking and got this beautiful sunrise picture from out of the window of the lodge.

Who knows what will happen this time. I do know one thing though. It will be fun! There are always lots of friends and lots of laughs to be had.

Here are just a few of the pictures I plan on scrapbooking while I'm there.

My younger sisters. Obviously, they are twins.

My newest little niece.

My baby. He's a lefty.

The t-ball team Wendy and I coached last summer.

Another picture of my baby at the Latah Fair.

Our monster kitty.

My big boy that's growing up way too fast.

And just to prove how weird I really am, here is the prime rib we ate for Christmas dinner. Don't you think that's scrapbook-worthy? It was the best prime rib I've ever had. Seriously!

So to the four or five people who actually check out my blog, have a great weekend and remember your blessings!
Amber

Scenes from the Humanitarian Bowl

I was going through my pictures to get ready for the Paper Pals scrapbooking retreat this weekend, and I realized I never posted any pictures from the Humanitarian Bowl! Gasp! How did that happen?

Well, I'm now going to rectify that situation and post some of the fun snapshots I got with my point and shoot camera at the most exciting college game I've been to in a long time. So without further ado, I bring you some of the fun back from Boise.

Here is my kids, husband, and my lil' sis at the Corner Club tailgating central.

 

Here's just a small part of the tailgating scene from the ramp going into the stadium. It pretty much rocked!

All the fam getting ready to root on the Vandals. I-D-A-H-O  Idaho Idaho GO GO GO!

This scene really filled my heart with joy. Competing in the Humanitarian Bowl is the only time you'll see IDAHO plastered across our arch rival's blue smurf turf. What a fabulous view that was!

The boys had a blast and were awesome fans during the whole game.

In fact, because of  this horn that you see CJ blowing here...

He ended up with red sore lips and even this blister. Now that's dedication!

So, with one minute left in the game and Bowling Green scoring a touchdown to take the lead we all thought it was over for the Vandals. Boy were we in for a surprise. A 65 yard pass down the field followed by an amazing throw and catch into the endzone and the Vandals had a chance to tie the game. But wait... they weren't interested in tieing and going into overtime. Nope. 'Go for two' came the motion from Akey.

And they did!

And they scored two!

And they WON!!! THE VANDALS WON!!!

Then the crowd started flowing out of the stands like water running over the side of a tub.

And the players celebrated.

 

And all was right with the world.

Let me tell you, it was a great day to be a Vandal, and I was soooooo lucky to be there for it all! Way to go Vandals!!!

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Oh Dear...

I never noticed it before, but after looking at the pictures I took last night at the first born's basketball game I saw a theme emerge.

Do you see it?

Can you see what I'm talking about yet?

Maybe this picture will help clue you in.

Now as a mother, I'm incredibly proud of my little basketball player, but no, I'm not saying my son plays like M.J.  He sure is sportin' the tongue like him though.

He actually scored for the first time last night. His contribution was six big points!  In fact, here's one of his shots. He shoots! 

 Is it in? The other kid is hoping the answer is no.

 TWO!! Sorry kid.

 Here's a few other shots from last night that I liked. He's getting pretty good at driving in.

Protecting the ball. The kids in this league are ruthless! They'll steal your ball in a blink of an eye.

 

Way to go Fighting Cheerios (a very original team name)!  Another great game, and you're still undefeated!

Remember your blessings!

Amber 

Valentine's Day Ideas for Kids

Since I haven't taken any new pictures lately or finished any new home projects to share (yet), I thought I would pass along a couple cute Valentine project/activity ideas.

Let your kids know how special you think they are and how much you enjoy the things you do together using a scavenger hunt game I used last year for CJ since he can read. It was a HUGE hit! He just loved all the notes, and he felt so special.  Here's how it works.

Cut out paper hearts and write messages on each that include a clue for where to look for the next clue. Such as this one:

So, the next clue can be found by his books which is where he'll go and find another encouraging note. At the end after he finds all his notes he'll get his Valentine's prize.

Some ideas are:
- I love the way we cuddle on the COUCH to watch Spongebob.
- I love watching you play BASKETBALL. You are so quick and always let others on the team have a chance.
- Thank you for always brushing your teeth so well and teaching your brother. You are such a great big brother!

I plan to do this project with the boys tomorrow. This one is just photoshoped together.  What mother, grandmother, or aunt wouldn't love this framed for Valentine's Day?

A few years ago I did something like this for Mother's Day, but I've also seen this done where the flower was replaced by a sucker for Valentine's Day.

Here are few more ideas.
- Cupid's Tree Scavenger Hunt
- Here's a ready-made document with graphics that I found online: VALENTINE.doc
- Decorate heart-shaped sugar cookies together.
- Handmade cards.
- Go to a local ceramics shop and paint tiles, mugs, plates, etc. in valentine colors.
- Decorate a matboard frame with foam hearts from the craft store.
- For the real young kids I found this that you could do and frame. So cute!

I hope some of these ideas has inspired you. Enjoy Valentine's Day!

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Meet Moose

Hello all! I would like to introduce Moose.

Moose is the newest member of our family!  We adopted him from the Humane Society.  He is a 7-year-old border collie/golden retriever cross.  Some people have said "What posessed you?" or "What brought this on?"  As you know, we already have a certifiable circus at our home. Why would we add another animal to the mix? Well, the short answer is because it was love at first site and it was meant to be.

You see, Moose was the dog of the game at two basketball games we attented. The first time we saw them walk him out on the court both Casey and I looked at eachother and exclaimed "I want that dog!" We knew it wasn't practical to get another dog. So, we just left it at that.  At the next game Moose was the dog of the game again, and again we both said "I want that dog!"  We couldn't believe someone hadn't snatched him up already.  But again, we reasoned that we just didn't need another dog. I mean c'mon! Twice the food, twice the poop, twice the shedding.  Three big reasons NOT to get another dog, right?

Wednesday of last week I took Winchester to the dog park. The dog park shares a parking lot with the Humane Society. I told CJ we should go see if Moose was still there.  I'm just curious, I told myself.  Maybe I should have fought the urge, but I didn't.  Sure enough, he was still there. CJ and I met him and pet him and fell in love with him.  Still though, I doubted Casey would go for it.

When he got home I casually mentioned to Casey that Moose was still at the shelter. Casey's reaction was "Really? I've wanted him since I saw him at the game."  It didn't take any convincing to get Casey back to the shelter to see Moose.  The rest is history, as the say.

Moose and Winchester get along great! In fact, he's really helped Winchester calm down and Moose puts him in his place when he's getting out of control. Oh, and don't they compliment eachother well in photos?

What a handsome boy he is! I feel like we hit the jackpot for a pound puppy. Plus, he is two of my favorite breeds combined! He has a couple issues (likes to dart out of the door and his recall is not great), but we're working on them. He's very smart so I'm confident he'll learn quickly. Other than those two things, he's a dream!

So, from our newly expanded family to your family.

Remember your blessings!