Monday In Arizona!!

Hi All and Happy Monday! It's going to be HOT here today. We are already 89 degrees before noon and it is supposed to hit 98 before today is over. Tomorrow is supposed to hit our first 100 degrees for this year. YUK!!

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It has been a busy weekend. We took Kodi down to Tucson on Saturday afternoon. Her friend Shealynn is having a surgical procedure today and wanted Kodi to come down and be with her. So we ran her down there. She plans on being there for a week. So we'll go get her next weekend. It was a nice drive down and back. But we saw three accidents - one with a fatality - on the way home. Traffic was backed up for several miles on the southbound side of the freeway. So we were grateful we were headed home and going north! All the accidents were in about a one mile stretch of road. Weird.

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Someone shot a photo radar worker on the Loop 101 last night and the guy died from his wounds. Soooooo sad. No one likes the photo radar. But it takes a pretty sick person to kill a person who is just doing their job to make ends meet for their family. There are so many shootings anymore. Kind of scary.

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Church was good yesterday. Loved the talks we had. And the Family History class went so great. I teach my class in there in two weeks. It's the one about writing/creating family histories. I gave it in our "practice" classes a few weeks ago. We as family history consultants each chose the lessons we wanted to be in charge of and then gave them to each other before we opened the class up to ward members. We've had our ward members coming now for two Sundays and have had a great turnout for it. It's exciting.

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Stephen's work is still on four day work weeks. We keep praying that things will pick up. We are hanging in there and so far so good. We are being blessed.

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We had a lovely Easter weekend. On Bunny Day (Saturday) we went to see The Hannah Montana Movie. I thought it would be all teeny bopper stuff. But it wasn't. It was a very good, uplifting movie. Great story line, a little romance, great country music, beautiful country scenes....We loved it. It wasn't anything like the TV show at all. If you get a chance to see it, do! We went to The Crackerbarrel for dinner afterwards and I tried one of their new skillet dinners. It was to die for!! Soooooo good!! And Easter Sunday Shane came over and made us his famous tacos. They are to die for too!! Stephen R. and Karma and the kids, and Chris and Melany and the kids all came to eat and visit with us. They played games and we all had a nice visit. It was a great weekend.

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Well, my CT work at The Cottage ended as quickly as it started. Something happened to the website while changing servers and they ended up closing it down. I did get to work for them for a whole week and got some fun kits. But I'm back to just working for SAS now. Which is probably a good thing as I'm trying to not do so much scrapbooking. I need to work on family history and have a hard time doing both.

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Here are some of my latest layouts. This first one was fun. Can you tell who all the eyes belong to?

I got a really nice compliment on this one of Kodi:

And that's about it for this time. I hope you all take the time to notice the simple pleasures around you today!

Happy Thursday!!

Hi All! And Happy Thursday to you! Can you believe Spring is here and it's Easter on Sunday? Hard to believe. Christmas is only 8 months away. 259 Days, 10 Hours, 20 Minutes and 40 Seconds.....no, make that 24...23....22....21...20....... Oh, well, you get the idea here. Time is hurrying on and Christmas will be here before we realize the year is gone!

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Things are really good here in our part of the world. It got up to 90 degrees a couple days ago but has cooled back down again. It has been pretty windy off and on, too.

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Last night I heard police cars going somewhere in our neighborhood. Sirens, the works. About 15 minutes later I heard five very loud gunshots. And then a few minutes after that the police helicopter was buzzing around. Haven't heard what was going on but it makes me a little nervous about this neighborhood. It isn't as safe as it was 10 years ago when we moved here. Sure wish we could get into a normal neighborhood, in a house with a yard for Frankie so he can run, and where we can have a garden. Maybe some day?????

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Stephen is still on 4 day work weeks. He had part of Tuesday off and all day yesterday. But they have work for him today and hopefully tomorrow. We are hoping this doesn't go on for very long. But we are afraid it's a sign of the times with the economy and that it may not go away for a while. I so love having him home with me though.

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Exciting news!!! Chad and Heather just let everyone know that they are expecting another new little one come October!! This will be number 8 for them. They have 6 boys and just got their first girl last July. I'm hoping this will be another little girl for them.

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And Little Ky is getting baptized on Saturday!! Yay, Little Ky! We are so pleased with his decision to be baptized.

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Exciting news - for me - I got an invitation to be on another CT! It blew me away. So now I'm on two teams. I hadn't planned it that way. Everyone thought that SAS was going under and a lot of the designers and CT members left. I stuck around. And when nothing seemed to be going better I went ahead and accepted this new invitation. Minutes later I found out SAS was going to survive. So I'm on two CT teams. My new place is cottagescrapbooks.com. The owner there, Stella, used to be at SAS as a designer. She did a couple of their challenges and I enjoyed participating in them. That's where she saw my work and she liked it. She left SAS to start her own site. Anyway, I've been on her team for about a week now and I'm enjoying it.

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Now! Here are the photos of my Spring Tree!! I made bows out of pink, lavendar, yellow, green and blue ribbon to put on it. And there are stems of purple lilacs, yellow daisies and pink carnations tucked into the branches. It's bright and pretty during the day even though all the ribbons are pastel colors. The flowers are brighter except for the pink ones. But at night when the lights are softer and low, all the colors change to shimmery pastel tones. It's really pretty at night with the softer look. So, here are the pics of the tree.

And this is our Kayta. She is the sweetest, happiest baby. Always smiling at us. I thought this photo of her was so adorable. I made this ATC for a challenge at SAS.


I did this layout for a challenge at SAS also.



This layout was done for my CT work at the Cottage. I used the kit Boyish Stuff by Mitsybell. The photo is of Chris and Ky.

This layout is done using the kit New Life. It's the new mega kit for April at the Cottage. The photo is of me and my Aunt Mary on my first Easter.

I used the kit Bella Mia by Darlene Haughin for this next one. The photo is of my Mom. I love how the colors were just right for this photo.

I hope all of you are safe and well and being happy. We have so many blessings to count even during the hard times that are happening now. Remember to look for the Simple Pleasures that are all around you. And have a GREAT DAY!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Wow! Tuesday already!! Plus it's the end of March today. Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was saying, wow, it's the end of March (2008) already. Where has the time gone? And here we are again!!

I just have some fun layouts to show you today. Looks like my job as a CT at SAS is over. For reasons unexplained at this point, everything is shutting down. Makes me feel so sad. I really loved being a part of SAS. But I have been invited to join the CT at Stella's cottagescrapbooks.com ! So I'm considering going over to there. I was very surprised to receive her invitation to join them and feel very honored that she wants me on board. Stella was a designer at SAS for a while and had a couple challenges there that I often participated in. She is a really neat lady.

Anyway! On to my new layouts! This first one is of Kayta. Isn't she a doll? This was for the March Clutter It Up Challenge at SAS.

This layout was done using PiggyScraps kit "Watermelon Spring". The bird nest in the tree is here at our condo complex. When I first saw it I knew I had to do a layout about it. It just reminded me of a summer home. The leaves are coming back on that tree now. I'll have to take another pic of it.

These next two layouts are made with the kit Blooming Dale by Lara's Digi World.

Another layout using Watermelon Spring.

This layout was made using Watermelon Spring and Courting Shabby which is also a PiggyScraps kit.

Good news - Chris passed his written test for Border Patrol with an 85% a couple weeks ago. He passed his oral interview this morning. We are excited for him!

Take care everyone!

Happy Wednesday Evening!!

Hi All! And Happy Wednesday Evening!! Stephen is out doing missionary work so I'm catching up on some of my scrapbooking assignments and putting them on my blog.

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Stephen bought me a digital camera!! I'm so excited to have my own now. I don't have to get Kodi to take all my photos for me or borrow her camera anymore. It's sooooo nice!! I've been having fun with it and learning how everything works on it.

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First up - Pics of our March Tree!! We did shamrocks and cream colored daisies. The ribbons are green, blue and white stripe. It surprised me how great they looked with the color scheme. I found the shamrocks at Joann's. They are layered wood with glitter on them. I fell in love with them.

Close up of the decorations:


Now for scrapbooking! These first two are made using the kit Love's Dangers by Laitha at SAS:

These next two layouts are made with the kit Sweet Sunshine by Mitsybelle at SAS:

These next two are made using the kit Wildflowers by Designs by Terrells:

And these last two are made using Monika Designs' Herbal Essences:

Simple Pleasures:

• Our carpenter bees are very busy lately. The other day there were about 10 of them all buzzing around the front door area. They scare anyone who comes to see us. That part isn't good. But I love having them around. I'm not afraid of them. They don't sting unless someone aggrevates them.
• Frankie got shaved for the summer and he looks like a totally different dog!
• Tomorrow night we go to the park for Kiley's birthday. Sherri and the kids are down here for their Spring Break.
• Chris did great on his written test for Border Patrol. He got 85% and now he is preparing for the oral exam on the 31st.
• After several days of temps up around 90 degrees, it has cooled down again and I'm loving that.

And that's about it for this time. Take care!

I'M BACK!!!!!

Hello All! I'm BACK!!!! After being without my computer for two whole weeks the Geek Squad finally got it fixed for me. Thank goodness we had purchased the 3 year in home warranty on it. The parts alone would have cost us over $700 and my computer is only 14 months old! They had to replace the motherboard as well as several other major parts. So I pretty much have an almost brand new computer. The first few days were pretty rough not having my computer. Plus I was out of my favorite chocolate. Very cruel and unusual punishment!! But by the end of the first week I found that life continues on - computer or no computer and that I do enjoy my other hobbies!! I did a bunch of crocheting and made little cradle purses for the four youngest granddaughters. Just have the little dolls to make for them now and a tiny blanket for each one.

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Here are some new layouts. I'm only showing the 12 x 12 size ones this time. The first few are of my sister LeAnn's mission and homecoming from New Zealand. We TP'd Mom and Dad's house to welcome her home. Don't you think we did a GREAT job?

This is how we greeted her at the airport. All the kids wore piggy noses and ears and we all had pink balloons. Fun!! Stephen R. was such a good sport about wearing the piggy things.

This is when she was in New Zealand:


More at the airport photos:



Sweet Nessa Bug! She is getting so grown up.

Teryaki, Sukyaki and Shaneyaki - Shane's missionary friends who came for his wedding, and Chad, who was his Best Man:

It's getting HOT here. We are supposed to be 90 degrees before this week is over. Not good at all. Summer is coming too fast.

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Stephen's work is going back to 4 day work weeks starting Monday. That isn't good either. But we managed to survive last time. Hopefully it won't go on for months and months like before. We just got a bunch of year's supply and I'm really thankful we have it. That will help us a lot.

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Everyone take care. Look for those simple pleasures that are all around us. They can bring a smile to your face and sunshine to your day.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday to All! I hope the weekend was wonderful for all of you. We had Ward Conference yesterday and the talks by the Stake Presidency were so good. And the spirit was wonderful. We have Stake Conference in two weeks. I have a feeling we may be getting a new Stake Presidency. The one we have now has been in for about seven years or so. So, we'll see.

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The weather has been so nice here. Still cool enough to be pleasant. I am so not looking forward to the summer heat coming.

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Here are my latest layouts using kits from the designers at SAS. This first one is of Loaryn and Luke. The look on Loaryn's face is priceless and I had to go looking for a quote to go along with it. I think I found the perfect one. "Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling." (Pam Brown). I love it! By the way, Loaryn fell out of bed the other night and broke her arm. Way to go, Loaryn! At least you did it during the school year and not just in time for summer vacation!!

The kit used here is "Lost In A Dream" by Mitsybelle at SAS.

And this is little Missy Hailey on her first birthday. Lovin' that cupcake! The kit I used is the February Mega Kit from SAS - Oriental Cherry Blossoms.

And now I'm off to create more layouts. I have two more kits I'm needing to work with. I hope you all take the time to enjoy the simple pleasures today. Look around you and see how many you can find! Have a great day.

Happy Birthday, Kodi!! And Happy Valentine's Day!!

Well, it's Kodi's 20th birthday today - for about 45 more minutes. Our day before Valentine's baby. She has had a fun day today. I made her the layered Jello dessert she likes so much. The one that takes about 7 hours to make. It turned out good like always. And I made homemade pizza for her birthday dinner. She got phone calls from Shey, Stephen R. and Chris and his kids, and was tickled to hear from them. She also got a big surprise when her friend Shealynn showed up on our doorstep this afternoon ready to spend the weekend with her. We got Kodi good on that one!! It was delightful. She just stood there repeating the same thing over and over like she couldn't believe Shealynn was really there. It has been a very giggly afternoon with these two girls!

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Kodi on her birthday --

Shealynn --

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Happy Valentine's Day to all of you out there. I hope you get to do something special with your families. Our day will be quiet. Stephen is going with the missionaries in the morning to help teach a lesson to a young lady who is being baptized next week. And Kodi has a party tomorrow night with the group of kids from her Ward that she had a party with a couple weeks ago. So that will be fun for her and Shealynn.
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The weather has been cool again. Four Peaks has had snow on them. The other day it was so cold when I walked Nikki out to catch her bus for school. Kind of a different kind of cold than we usually have. It was almost unbearable by the time I got back in the house. Weird. And we have had more rain which has been really nice. There is a chance for more tomorrow and over the next few days.

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Now, on to some digital scrapbooking layouts. I'm really pleased with how these turned out. This first one was for a challenge on SAS. I wrote about how when I was little I had a great love for books. If Santa brought me new books for Christmas my Mom and Dad had to hide them from me until I had seen all the other gifts because once I saw the books, that was all I needed.

Me and my Honey! Photo from wwaaaaayyyyy back when! Our looks have changed over the years, but we still love each other. And that will never change! I hope my children know how blessed THEY are that their parents will love each other forever and ever!

This one is from my childhood. It's my Dad standing by our car. We lived in Pedro Point, California at the time and I was only four or five years old when this was taken. I remember this house and the store next door. A little Russian lady named Vera owned it and she was always so nice to us.

My Sweetheart!

These next ones were done using Piggy Scraps kit Happy Chocolate. You can get it at SAS. I used a photo from the Internet - the one with the little critters here. The other photo is Frankie.

And speaking of the birthday girl, here are her first photos with her brothers. The photo of Stephen R. holding her was taken at the airport the day he came home from his mission. She was almost two years old before we got her first picture with him. The boys were so excited to come hold Kodi at the hospital. I couldn't believe how willingly and quickly they washed their hands and put on those yellow gowns so they could be near her! The kit I used to do these photos is called Cupcakes and Fairies by Kristi Westling at SAS.

Aunt Hopie and Uncle Jim sent us a package with things that a little girl doesn't need but just has to have. The little headband is from that package. I used Cupcakes and Fairies for these layouts also. I love the colors and the alpha.

On to Easter Saturday 1982! I used Kristi Westling's kit Some Bunny Loves You for these layouts. The first small photo at the top of this page is Grandma Merkley swinging at the baseball! Do you guys remember this ball game out on the desert?

Chris and Ben showing off the Easter eggs.

And that's it for this time. Have a great weekend!!