Sneak peek...

Some new scrapbook pages I did, featuring the Technique Tuesday stamps and chipboard shapes - all new releases for CHA summer in Chicago :)


Violet with AJ and Noah at her birthday party :)
using the new "Free Press" set (along the bottom)


My son being silly...
using the new "Main Street" set (all the letters)


Little Simone - can't wait to see her! :)
Using "Cosmopolitan" alphabet set


You guys *knew* I would scrap that story, right? :)
Using "Wayfarer" alphabet and "Back Rounds" shapes


A friend's daughter that is too cute for words :)
Using "Wayfarer" alphabet and "Whirlygigs" swirls

Reunion and the 4th

The kids were so excited to pick up their daddy!
Violet and Riley decorated a sign for him...



Then held it up high so he could see it when he arrived. Look at Riley - he just spotted his dad :)



The kids permanently fused themselves to Daddy's side for the rest of the night :)



So glad to have him home...



We spent the 4th at Papa & MamaLali's house swimming...



and bouncing on the trampoline. Oh and picking apples off their apple tree and eating them :)



after grilled hamburgers, we went out front to watch the Desert Breeze fireworks. They weren't as spectacular as they usually are, which was pretty sad. And even sadder for me was that I forgot my good lens to take pictures. These were halfway decent, but not at all what I had hoped... sigh...





Still, the holiday was fun and memorable! And we are so happy that Rick is home safe again :)

Rick comes home today!!

The house is clean!
The kids made a "welcome home" sign! :)
Laundry is (almost!) done!
We can't wait!

Violet had a great birthday...

Yep. She's 6 now. Amazing how time can fly and stand still all at once.
She had a swimming party on Sunday with a few friends, and had a great time.

Today her friend Jema (whose birthday is two days before Violet) came over and they were discussing their respective gifts. Violet was showing Jema her Polly Pocket collection, and Jema told Violet how she got a Game Boy for her birthday.

Violet paused and said, "Game Boys are so cool. I wish I had a Game Boy."

Riley, who was in the room and overheard the conversation, piped up. "You have a Game Boy, Violet!"

"No, I don't!" she responded.

"Yes you do! I am your Game Boy! I play lots of games with you!"

I love my Game Boy :)

Rick called me last night

from El Salvador.
So happy he's there... I know it will be fabulous for him!
But MAN.
Being a single parent right now is HARD!
I am exhausted!!!

It was bound to happen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_duMORCX0EU&search=snl%20target

hahahaha
thanks, e, for the link :)

No, it's not better

the second time around.



sigh.....

Yes. That's a pool. Gushing water onto our back patio. No, it's not as torrential as the last one, but it's still impressive.

And heck. It beats our record. We had our last one for what? 3 weeks?
This one made it a DAY. that is right, folks. It finished filling up yesterday. We hooked up the pump, and got in it for about 5 minutes before adding the chlorine and letting it run its cycle.

This morning I commented to Rick that it appeared to be leaning.
And. Well. That's cause the seam on the bottom was ripped. And the water was trying to come out.

And while we were gone, it found its way out, onto our yard and down the side of our house.
BEAUTIFUL.
Arrrrrrgh.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

At least this one, we think, isn't our fault.
We'll dry it out, pack it up, and send it back to Wal-Mart tomorrow.

The question remains: Do we even attempt another one? Will third time be the charm, or will it be Three Strikes and You're OUT for the Baldwins??

Note to Melinda...

Buddha's birthday was in May. Early May at that.
Um. hi.
I know you have an Internet connection.
Use it.

That is all.

Next on my shopping list?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-197826019194600575

mentos & diet coke. ;)

More from the Beach

Since SOME PEOPLE *coughcoughcarlandlianecough* weren't happy that I didn't include more photos of the concert attendees, here ya go. And no, we did not get a group shot. And yes, Carl, I know that's lame.

This first one is the *only* one that has Liane not making an odd face. For that reason it is quite rare and will be put on eBay soon.

Mimby and Luke. This was Luke acting "lively" ;)

Rick and Liane. Check out the cleavage convention behind them!

Me & Cara. Sorry about the camera shadow on our faces. It was either that or the "cleavage convention" version of our photo, which isn't appropriate for children under 13.

sisterly love after the show :)

sisterly love with fruit props. it was late. and we were delerious.


and for those that wanted to see it, here's the birthday card I made Rick to give him his tickets... 33 crows on a wire. the inside reads "I just love Counting Crows, don't you?" :)

Einstein down on the beach

Counting Crows was FABULOUS!
The only thing that would have made it perfect was if Carl were there.
So I did the next best thing... invited my friend Cara. That's Carl except an "A" instead of an "L". And she's not a guy dating Liane. But other than that, it was as close to Carl as I could get ;).


We had great seats once again. As close to the water as we could be without actually getting our feet wet. :)

And of course the music was fabulous!

Melinda was precious. She was mesmerized!






Hello Adam! ;)
Like his shirt? It says "I hate you" LOL





Happy happy happy times!

Happy Birthday to Rick!

He turned 33 yesterday... and today we're taking him to see the Counting Crows in concert! It's like 2 years ago all over again! YAY! Melinda, Luke, Liane, Rick, and I all going to the Beach at the Mandalay Bay for the show! It is such a cool venue. You are actually RIGHT AT THE POOL and they are playing right there. It is so so so rad! I am totally going to try and smuggle my camera in! I could take mine in last time, so I am hoping it will be the same. Of course the camera is a little bit bigger now... but I am sure no one will notice, right? hee hee

I love Brawny Man.

Seriously. This is so hysterical! I can't wait to see all the episodes!!

The Brawny Academy

Thanks to Danielle

who challenged me to fill in the blanks:

I AM: 30 years old
I WANT: chocolate ;)
I HAVE: two children and a husband
I WISH: I took more everyday photos before I had kids
I HATE: to fold laundry
I MISS: my sisters
I HEAR: my kids singing silly songs in the backseat of my car
I WONDER: if I will grow old gracefully
I AM NOT: as organized as people think
I ALWAYS: stop at a kid’s lemonade stand
I SING: when no one can hear me
I LAUGH: when I see my son’s naked butt
I CRY: every time I watch “Return to Me”
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: works of art
I WRITE: in journals whenever I travel
I REGRET: not playing Scrabble before my 29th birthday
I NEED: to exercise more
I SHOULD: eat healthier too
I MUST: step into the ocean if I am near it

I'd love to read about you, too! If you do this challenge, let me know!

color

i was doing a photo shoot at tule springs when this peacock came over to show off for us. such a cool display of color!

grad photos :)

Kindergarten Graduation was wonderful!
Violet performed a "Piggy Opera" with her class.

She was so adorable, and I was so proud of her!

A couple of her friends with Violet in the Piggy's Brick House...

Violet had a speaking part and delivered her lines absolutely perfectly!!

After the performance, she received her Diploma from the principal!

Violet and her teacher... this lady is by far the most incredible kindergarten teacher EVER.


We also watched a slideshow of the year, set to music... it was wonderful and fabulous and made all the moms (and some of the kids!) cry. Just perfect!

We still have another week of school, but it's all parties and fun. I am volunteering to be there on Monday to help out in the room and have a birthday party for Violet. She reserves the last week of school for all the kids with summer birthdays to have a class party with their friends. Violet and her best little friend Jema are going to have their party on Monday. Yay! :)

Kindergarten graduation

is tonight! I'll be posting photos later :) :)

The end of June

Rick is going to go to El Salvador on a mission trip with some friends. They'll be there from June 27-July 3rd, building a church in the middle of the jungle. Rick has wanted to go on another mission trip since he visited Costa Rica in 1997... and everything for this one has worked out perfectly. Our friend Kristopher (missions pastor at our church) is organizing this group and Rick loves doing stuff with him. The nicest part is that most of the trip is paid for... we only had to come up with $750... and the day after he committed to go, I got a $150 rebate check from our alarm company and a $350 freelancing check from a magazine! Talk about everything working out! God is really cool. His time off from work is even perfect. Since taking on his new administrative job, he has had to use up some of his personal days from his old position. He hasn't used them yet, but they expire July 1st. So now he will use them for this trip and won't have to use his vacation time even! Man, it's awesome when stuff works out. Just goes to show that when we step back a bit and quit trying to do everything ourselves, God works it out just the way it should go. Coolness :)

Don't you think

Barabbas would make a cute new mascot for Old Navy?



I think so :)
Here's his profile

Thirteen years ago today...

after having sweaty palms all night and acting decidedly awkward, my dear, sweet boyfriend Rick proposed to me at my senior prom. Right after the song, "I can't fight this feeling any longer." tee hee!

It was sweet and precious and wonderful and I couldn't believe how lucky I was that I met my soulmate while I was so young. We danced a bit more while I held up my hand and made the little diamond sparkle in the lights of the disco ball. Then we saw Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage... when it was still in the tent behind the hotel. Then we stood atop the parking garage and looked at the city lights and talked about how we would get married in a few years, after I went to college. I had recently been accepted to school at the University of San Diego, and I couldn't wait to go there. Everything in my life was going perfect.

And thirteen years later, everything still is. :)

He wanted to be Spiderman.

GREEN Spiderman.
*NOT* Red Spiderman.

So that's how Riley got his face painted at the school carnival...


He loved it! Hee hee.

Violet and her friend opted for a more traditional face painting job - and were matching kitty cats for the evening :)


Lots of fun at the carnival. Games & candy & sugar & sweets. Can't beat that when you're a kid.

countdown

to the last day of school.
june 9th.
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

i am so ready for the year to be over.
so ready to have a fresh start at home.
so ready to not grade papers.
to not haul around a cart of supplies.
to not have to drop off my son at a sitter.
to not have to drive for 45 minutes each morning to get to work.

i am SO ready for summer.
for playing in the pool at papa & mamalali's house.
for traveling.
for doing creative things again.
for getting my house in order.
for working out.
for working on projects around the house.

this has been a good experience for me.
and the income has been good for us - God provided money when we needed it.
so thankful for God. :)
and so ready to move onto the next big thing.

freelancing.
working with technique tuesday from home.
turning my photography into a real-life business.
being available for my kids.
being available for rick.
being available for my friends.
going to spin class during the day.
daring to try the triathlon class.

the countdown has begun.
28 days to go.

without further ado...

Take your child to work day:

Rick and his "mini-me"


khakis, polos & sportcoats! riley even got his hair all gelled back!


Riley had a great time being Rick's helper at work, and was soon running all over the office, creating havoc in his wake. He made himself right at home!


The Oompa Loompa Girl:

Before the performance...


She was right up front - and did all her moves perfectly!


Stealing a glance between acts...


Violet took her role very seriously. ;)


Afterward there were plenty of hugs for her adoring fans!

off to retreat

this weekend. hopefully rick can hold down the fort with the kids. field day at violet's school on friday and a garage sale on saturday. i will come home to the chaos that will be our house on sunday afternoon ;).

have a great weekend - and special congrats to liane and carl on their college graduations! wish i could have been there to see you guys!!

p.s. mel and papa... still waiting!

melinda & papa

get to it. i have friends who want to see the pictures ;)