this song got stuck in my head

We've Only Just Begun by the Carpenters. Actually, it's just been a single line from the song that is stuck in my head..."a kiss for luck and we're on our way." Except that in my head I keep hearing "a kiss for luck and you're on your way".

I know exactly why this phrase is floating about in my gray matter --it's because I was kissing my MMM entry goodbye today and sending it on its way.

Bye-bye pizza box. Have a happy journey!

it's that time again!

A sneaky peek of the October Intro to Scrapbooking layout designed by Kristin Hayne

Class kickoff at Scrappin' Good Times is here again! I'm excited to be partnering with the delightful Kristin Hayne once again. This time around she has designed the layout for the October Intro to Scrapbooking class. She came up with the cutest CARS layout! It's adorable. (BTW, Kristin will also be teaching a super cute class with Michelle --you really don't want to miss this kickoff. There are lots of cute classes coming up!)

A couple more sneaky peeks

My other class will be in September and is called "Brat-itude". It's a Tinkerbell themed class for all you fans of that pouty little pixie. Hope to see you at kickoff!

Here's some Tink peeks:

"Brat-itude" Tinkerbell class

23 pages later

I have had the most wonderful scrapping weekend! My mom, sister and some of my friends gave ourselves a do-it-yourself retreat and can I just say the time went by way too quickly! Here are a few pics:

The die cut center

The snack bar

The crop room

I managed to do eleven 8x8 pages (finishing up a mini album for my nephew), and then twelve 12x12 pages which includes layouts that I will be sending in for the Memory Makers Masters contest. As for sleep, there weren't many hours of that --but I'll make those up somehow.

she rocks!

Shawn put up a sneak peek on her blog of our family portrait shoot from last month. She just amazes me with her talents as a photographer. Check out her blog for more amazing work from her California sessions: gypsyisle.blogspot

The good news is she is coming back next year to do more sessions, so if you missed her this year you can catch her next time.

summer so far

it seems a lifetime ago

That is, it seems a lifetime ago since I last blogged. So much can happen in a few weeks. Not always good either...

The day after my last post we heard from my sister in law that DH's dad was in the hospital. Sadly, after two strokes, his dad passed away early the next morning. It was all so sudden and unexpected since he was in excellent health. DH was out of town on business when this all happened, so he cut his trip short and made a one-night "pit stop" at home before taking off to be with his family in the deep south. Even though we're somewhat accustomed to him being gone (due to business travel), this just wasn't the same and left a big old hole in our hearts. Plus he was gone for so much longer than usual. We're glad to have him back now, though we're still all coming to grips with the loss of his dad.

Several months ago, we had scheduled family portraits with friend and photographer extraordinaire, Shawn Rozier. She was making a special trip here to California (from FL) just to do photo sessions. We had lined up a mid-week session, but with DH leaving town, Shawn was gracious enough to squeeze a quick session with us all the morning before DH departed so that we could get our much anticipated family portrait. Then, while he was gone we did our "regular" session with Shawn and got solo shots of the kids as well as the three of us together. Can't wait to see the finished product. So far what I've seen of her raw work is FABULOUS!

Here's a photo Shawn took in 2006 of DS and me

We also have had two unanticipated but lovely events in the past two weeks. First, a sweet friend who is expecting a new arrival later this month, went into labor last weekend. So Libs and I found ourselves running out after dinner last Sunday to watch their toddler daughter for awhile until her aunt and uncle could arrive.

Here's the little cutie we were watching. Wonder how she's adjusting to being a big sis?

The second event took place today - a wedding! Another dear friend who had moved out of the area awhile back recently got engaged. We were delighted that she decided to come back to our area for her wedding. A circle of crafty and creative friends put together a lovely wedding in less than two weeks - WOW!

The radiant bride from today's wedding

Just a few of the unexpected events the summer has held for us so far. It's turning out to be a summer full of surprises. I wonder what the next one will be?