Helicopter

Nothing really exciting.... we went to a hospital to visit a friend and saw the emergency helicopter preparing to take off. We don't usually see one this close so watched it for a few minutes.
Why it captures our attention, I am not sure!


Not much excitement in our world!

Weekend With Auntie

We had a fun weekend and spent most of the time at the pool. We did go out shopping once and found a dress for me, for the upcoming wedding; so nice to have my own personal shopper, made selecting the dress so much easier, plus she makes me try on clothes I would not have picked out for myself. AA and I both had fun with Carolyn here.

Comparing feet and being goofy.......

Will He Make the Chase?

After winning the opening grand race at Daytona 500 and now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana..........Will he make the Chase?


Photo Credits/Go Here.


Article here; Photo Credit: Matt Kryger/The Star

Summer Bathing Suits

This girl has several bathing suits and she loves them all. Her Auntie "M" sent her one recently and AA was happy to pose (and the head continues to tilt to the side when asked to "pose"...).

Two Left Feet or You Think You Can Dance

We hosted a small family gathering at a local dance studio and I think everyone had fun. Now to practice a little more before Nicole and Jordan's wedding.

This was the first time we left AA with a family friend, not a family member. AA stayed at her sister's house and had the afternoon to play with Granddaughter #2, Livi. All went well, thanks to Sharon!

The dance instructor with the Bride's Mom #2:

Groom's Brother......

Groom's Mom and Dad.....

Groom and Bride......


Bride's Brother (and our son)......

Bride's Sister (and our Daughter #1 & husband)......

Bride's Mom and Dad #2.....

Enjoying the dance.... Cathy with son-in-law, Jesse....

Bride's Dad and Bride, Nicole, practicing the Father-Daughter dance...

My Daily Dose of AA

We walked to the end of the dock in the early evening, as the wind was helping keep us a little cooler. We like to sit and talk about the boats, birds and anything else that catches AA's attention. I snapped a few pictures as we were leaving, proof of the wind and her wild hair.

Black and White Wednesday

Refer to the last post on the story of her pink finger!
For more great black and white photos, click here.

Pink Piggy Bank

A while back (when we were first home with AA), when we all first began Skyping with family, her Uncle George would "dance" a pink piggy bank across the web camera and make piggy noises to delight AA. It seems he has a "pig" collection.
Soon in the mail came a pink piggy bank for AA to use. We have been putting any money she gets as gifts and some loose change in it. We also had a large jar with coins in it and some bills too.
Recently, we deposited all the money in an on line bank account (ING) for AA's future use.

The official Pink Piggy bank from Uncle George.....

So I found this idea of making note cards and one of the "designs" was a pink pig.
Perfect for us!

Making "Pink Pig" note cards; AA's finger print is the pig's body:

Here's the idea sheet (there are other "critters" you can make with finger prints):

The true meaning of hand stamping:

She became very good at this repetitious task!

Our practice sheet. How hard can it be to draw a squiggly pig tail?

Proof of the "pink" in the pig!

The resulting note cards, to be sent out as gifts to some family and friends:

Success! (we used a water based inking pad, but it did take three days for the pink to go away on her finger).

We had fun!

Family Fun - Bridal Surprise

We are hosting a "Bride and Groom" get-together today for our sweet Nicole and fiance Jordan.
We were excited when they announced their engagement and they have had a very busy 10 months since then. With the wedding in early September, it is time to crank up the social calendar with those wonderful family parties and bridal showers.
I planned to print out some homemade invitations with their picture on it but decided to have some much prettier ones done and help a family's adoption fund raiser.

Check out the Perry family adoption journey and all the things they are offering to entice you to make a donation.
Her custom cards and photo invitations are wonderful.

I had two choices, both custom made. In the end we sent out the one with the engaged couples' photo.


The surprise is that we are having a group dance lesson to all learn the waltz. A little practice before the big day won't hurt! Family celebrations are times filled with fun!

*If you wish to read the Perry family's adoption story and help them fund their adoption, please check out these links:
ChipIn to donate!
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HomeMade Gifts - Love Note & Crayon Monogram

With summer upon us and many birthday parties, showers and Christmas looming at the end of the year, I was looking for some cute, trendy, elegant (!?) gifts to make.

Both of these gifts/tutorials can be found at the Trendy Treehouse - loved reading this blog!

Here's a simple framed heart under glass that is used to write "love" notes on (forget writing on the bathroom mirror!!). Purchase a dry erase marker so that you can write on the glass love notes to your Sweetie/Honey.
You can make ones that are themed specifically for a child or teenager to write caring messages to them. Since it will sit anywhere (depending on the frame style you buy) it can be moved to different locations (bathroom vanity, dresser top, mantle) for surprise love notes to a special family member. For someone to use it over, just wipe off the message, write your own message and place it for the right person to see it in the morning.
What about this as a lovely gift for a wedding or anniversary with a "love" theme; or a child with a theme that matches their personality. If you are giving this as a sweet surprise for a family member, I think recycling a frame and fabrics (maybe from a favorite worn out T-shirt?) would be a green/upcycle option.
Here's where I found the tutorial.

The second project uses crayons (new or in very good condition) and a square shadow box. Looks easy so time will tell when I make the first one!

Hope you enjoyed! Please comment with your favorite craft/gift idea. Let's use some of the summertime with our kids (or late at night after they are in bed!) to make some gifts ahead.

Missouri Trip - The Wedding - Black and White Wednesday

The purpose of our trip was to attend the wedding of a nephew.
Mark and Anitra's wedding was beautiful, the bridesmaid's dresses were cornflower blue with yellow flowers; the younger girls in the party has really beautiful yellow dresses.
I thought I would combine this post of the wedding with a black and white photo of our little daughter and her cousin, Libby. Libby was a sweetheart and played with AA ALOT!

I only have a free photo editing program (Picasa) so did the sharpening effect and the B&W change. Anything else I could do in Picasa?

DH with Matt and his son Ben:

BIL Bill with his grandsons, Lane (oldest) and Morgan, Jack and Reagen.

BIL Bill wit his daughters (our nieces) Kaci and Nikki:

More of AA and Libby:

DH and Joan, mother of the Groom:

Mark, Groom and Anitra, Bride:

It was a wonderful time with family!

Missouri Trip - Morgan Memorial Park

While home, we visited the Morgan Memorial Park cemetery to place flowers on the grave of DH's mother. A little red, white and blue seemed appropriate for our early July visit.
The family owned cemetery holds so many memories for Ford. I enjoy walking with him as he pauses at individual grave stones of family and friends recalling stories, that more often than not brings a smile to his face. His community was small and as you might assume, very close to one another.


We often visit graves of friends and family when visiting in my home state of Maine or DH's Missouri, usually we bring fresh or silk flowers. We enjoy tidying up the few that could use a little sprucing. A tradition we hope to pass on to AA.
It's good to honor both the love and the loss of family when visiting those who have passed on before you. I like that DH will often end his prayers asking God to bless our family members "past, present and future".