there was this one time...

it's almost february

i can't believe it! here are a few layouts i did for a new kit club, freehand scraps.

heidi did a great job putting together some fun stuff in the kit. you'll have to check it out. i had chris write els a note and it is so stinkin sweet. i don't know why i don't ask him to do that more.. i am totally gonna now. :)

also.. cha is coming up and although i am not going to be working in a booth this time, i will be walking around there for one day...unless i can bring els with me, which i did last year.. but now she's a crazy toddler... hmmmmm. anyways,  it's always exciting to see all the new stuff that's coming out.

last night's sleep stunk again. sigh. im all frazzled today. next week my caleb turns 7. today els is wearing overalls and i am going to attempt photos to compare to kira's toddler photos. we have to go to target. and els just asked me a series of why? why? why? questions...hehehe.

these 2

are such little partners.

they totally play together and right now, they are sick together. caleb looks like he's getting near the end, while els is just beginning. look at those glassy eyes. poor bubba! last night's sleep was not a good one. for any of us. :( and just a bit ago, elsie fell asleep in my arms while at the store. (sure sign of being sick) she hasn't done that in soooo long. wittle baby girl. :)

i made them sit for my pics, then they both decided they wanted a turn taking pics of me. caleb's version:

elsie's version:

not bad! :) i guess i have a thing for shoving my forehead into them. they're just delicious. :) but it's all fun and games till you stick your foot in my lens.

such rascals.

happy monday!

right now

this is what's happening in my house:

it's quiet...ahhh.... kira on her computer, i temporarily moved to the downstairs table to scrap, els and caleb are napping in my bed, caleb is under the weather and i hope elsie won't be in a few days too. cam's at basketball with dad.

last night chris and i saw juno. which was wonderful. but to our disappointment, the crowd was a bit rude and noisy.. some people were even answering their cell phones (we counted 3 times, at least!) and having full conversations out loud.  soooo, we want to go back and watch it again. :)

hope you have a good weekend! if you are feeling productive, head over to ali's blog and do her super cute project.

third try

the light was gorgeous today. unfortunately i was competing with mickey mouse clubhouse and elsie would much rather stay inside under the cozy covers watching that then playing in the puddles. again. :)

and these were taken on the way back in- i was holding her and just aiming the camera at her. i always end up getting flare on faces. ahhhhhhhh!

but i think i like this one more.

but i think i like it in bw even better.

AND! i want to thank everyone for all the resources on finding the lost photos!!! i was able to recover a few of them, but i am going to hit up the rest of the list and dangit i am gonna get those photos back! here's one of the recovered from day one: (see that bit of blue sky peeking out! mmmmm!)

and that's it. i think we are both done with the puddles for awhile. (or until kira drags me out with her new rainboots! ha) im back to wanting the rain to go away. :)

no go

we hardly got any rain last night which meant puny puddles. the light was flat and not shining through the trees like the day before. she was not into the puddle too much. sigh. reenactment not so successful.

these are all with the 28 lens... up close -- i LOOVE how big her head and eyes look!!!!

and this one just cracks me up. she was sooo over the puddles. :) or lack of....

thanks for all the comments on the card rescue.. i will not give up! i will try more when i get a minute. :)

heartbroken

today i took over 50 photos of elsie splashing in the puddles with the gorgeous 8 am light...then for the first time in the 3 years that i have been using digital.. the card got corrupted as i was downloading them. i feel like i have been in a photo rut and i was really happy with these so.. my heart aches. :(

chris posted a shoot from his australia trip if you want to check it out: jac shoot blog.

hopefully i'll be back tomorrow with the reenactment. :) being a no rain kind of person.. i am hoping for rain tonight so we get some juicy puddles for els to stomp in :)

we're so glad it's friday!

one of my favorite things to do on friday is turn off the alarm clock for saturday morning. i love thinking of sleeping in the next day! :)

no i won't even let her bathe in peace

these curls need a trimming! but i loooove them!

and all we want for valentines :)

so besides the perk of sleeping in tomorrow- chris comes home!!!! we are all ready and excited! last night i read elsie a story and she pointed to the dad in the story, so i said, 'that's her daddy', and she said, 'daddy. home.'--- i believe she is ready for him too :)
happy friday!

rascals

another attempt for chris... i love how their personalities shine when i attempt group photos. :)

see chris? (he's the barber in the house) 3 of the 4 need haircuts. bad. come home. :)

this was taken this morning. see that fresh just woke up look in her eyes? :) while i was gone, my mom pulled out some hand me down overalls for elsie. i hadn't put them on her but according to mom, she made her wash them 3 times and wore them constantly. she calls them "pretty pocket pants" heehee.

so today i went on a walk with the elf and i could not get my toddler KIRA out of my head. that was like 10 years ago. endless walks with kira sporting the overalls. she lived in her overalls. i need to go dig up some pics. their little bobs and little girly tendencies-- so alike. totally brought me back to 1997. awwww.

and this year, kira turns THIRTEEN. i canNOT believe it.

also.. forgive me. i fed my kids frozen yogurt for dinner tonight. ha- i am such a bad mom. but they all had fruit in their portions! LOL...ok they came home and made themselves soup and frozen pizzas afterwards. then i felt guilty and made potstickers. so random. but i did get my first issue of this today:

i have flipped through this mag for so long but finally got a sub when kira was selling for school. im not kidding. i marked almost every recipe in this issue. i guess i don't have an excuse for feeding my kids frozen yogurt for dinner anymore...:)

for dad

i tried but not very well to get some pics for chris who is missing his kiddos like crazy. --els has a soft spot for shoes, cupcakes and toothbrushes. top it off with finding nemo toothpaste- total happy camper! :)

i woke up fine and even got the kids to school on time! but then i came home and totally crashed. the time difference isn't that much but i think it's just travel in general that is catching up to me. being a tourist is tough! :) and it totally sucked when i had to make my own meals today, LOL :P baby steps-- all i had was PB&J and a quesadilla. :) caleb played hooky with me today- we went to the park and starbucks and he was a giant help when i snoozed on the couch next to my chatty els. i will try again tomorrow to snap a few of the other kids...the non hooky players. :)

this popped in my inbox tonight and i about squealed.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! i'm so making up a reason to go get one. :)

i'm home

a focus on chipboard layout i did for KI last week since i left our camera with Chris as he headed to Australia. i will have to drag out the old one and snap some pics for him tomorrow. it's past midnight and i am of course, jet lagged. the kids all look taller and hair needs trimming. i believe my brother commented on elsie's dorothy hamill haircut. :) the flight was perfect, i sat next to a little ol' scottish lady who was just so sweet. chris had wanted me to film my reunion with elsie but i am so glad i didn't. she was outside with the boys as i pulled up.. the boys ran to me and she followed.. but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw me. i would have paid good money to know what she was thinking at that instant. she didn't smile.. or frown.. she just looked at me. she was hesitant when i hugged and kissed her and my eyes welled up with tears. it took her a good half hour to warm up and let me back in her circle. and then a few moments later, out of nowhere she says, 'i missed you mommy'. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
it's totally back to the grind tomorrow- school back in session, fridge needs to be stocked, assignments to get done... but i am SO THANKFUL THAT MY HOUSE IS CLEAN. my mom is the best. i love her so much. chris says that he's just bummed that by the time he gets home this weekend, the traces of clean will be gone. LOL he's so right. ha!
my new NZ friends.. you guys are amazing. i am so thankful for the time i spent in my classes. if you are local there and have never been there.. it's definitely worth a trip out-- what a great store. :) and in true jamie teaching fashion, she didn't have the camera.. if anyone has any pics, please email them to me. my sidekick assitant kira wants to see what she missed out on. :)
happy monday!

llamas, stunt doubles and near death experiences

before heading off to teach not one, but two classes we decided to load jamie up on some caffeine at our new favorite aukland eatery, mecca café. jamie ordered a short black, and learned the hard way short is not new zealand for grande…love the “are you kidding” expression she has looking at her doll sized coffee cup.

after parting ways, I met up with rob and his good friend jonathan and we headed on a ferry over to waiheke island. fresh off my experience in wellington, I convinced the boys the best way to experience new zealand’s wine country would be on scooter! the trip got off to a rough start when rob bailed in the gravel parking lot, falling head over heels into a pile of rocks. things took a turn for the better once we hit the open road and fortunately rob's near death experience was the only one of its kind.

we ran into a few little friends on our way along the gorgeous coastline.

then it was on to a few vineyards where rob and jonathan enjoyed tasting a few local wines.

it should be noted that for a guy that lives in los angeles, I get pretty star struck, and today was no exception when we ran into zoe bell at a local cafe. those not familiar with terentino’s last few movies won’t recognize zoe, but she’s a native new zealander who doubled for uma thurman in "kill bill" before starring in her own right as one of the most kick but heroine’s you’ll ever see in terentino’s grindhouse pic, "death proof." we sat next to zoe and some of her friends at lunch, but I chickened out on a photo op, and by the time I got the nerve to snap a pic she was already headed back to the beach. anyway, I find it funny I leave Hollywood for a tiny enclave half way around the world and still I run into a movie star!

jamie is on her way back from her classes now! I think she was quite pleased with the results, but I’ll let her give all the details upon her return! i'm so proud of her!!!!!!

friday

I am getting ready to teach 2 classes this afternoon while chris heads off with on an adventure with his friend, rob. When I am home, I scrap nearly everyday so I am having withdrawls. :) I am excited to meet some new people who love this hobby as I much as I do.

What do Jamie and chris do while on vacation? MANY MANY photoshoots… see, kids? You’d be glad you aren’t here.. do you know how many pictures we would make you take? Heehee. We also said goodbye to Chris’ family as they headed north to the Bay of Islands for the rest of their trip. It was such an amazing adventure to be able to share with them. We are so grateful for their company.

Internet is VERY expensive at this last hotel so I may not be blogging anymore until I get home, which is Sunday. We may pop in a café and check email so Kira… don’t stop emailing. :) PS- Yes, Kira… I am finally working today. :)

wellington, we love you

we truly made the most of our day here...such an amazing time! while waiting for our first excursion, chris snapped these of his parents. they are so adorable!

our guide was so informative...a great sense of humor and all around great guy.

love these pics of his parents!

love this carving with the city behind it. chris and i fell in love with this city.. reminds us of san fran.

and even though the day started out foggy and grey and even drizzly... it cleared up in time for our moped excursion. chris' cousin came along and we were all just so amazed at the beauty of this place. it's just heavenly.

tomorrow we go back to auckland via train- a whopping 12 hour train ride. wish us patience. :) then on friday is my class... then one more day together then chris and i part, as i go home on sunday and he heads to australia. my babies... see you soon.. i am missing you heaps. xo

rail and sea

today we went from christchurch to wellington via a quaint little town called picton, first by train and then by ferry.

here are our other delightful travel companions!

we ventured outside during the ferry ride to see the sheer beauty of new zealand's southern coastline. tomorrow we potter about wellington on mopeds! (unless it rains, in which case we're booked for coffee and movies and lots more nothin)

last few days

yesterday, we drove from auckland to rotorua! we saw glow worms in a cave and hot springs :)

lovely companions :)

today we took a flight to christchurch and chris and i went on a mega walk and rode a gondola up a mountain. holy cow i was beat. i believe it was the most exercise these legs have had in awhile. :) this is truly a lovely land.

view from the top-- i believe there was some lord of the rings filming around these parts! :) woohoo!

gosh i love this shot:

mom, you would have loved walking through the botanical gardens...made me think of you. i hope those rascals are being good to you! xoxox

and give her a hand.. jamie climbed a gigantic tree with chris to get these shots. :)

forgive the short descriptions.. it's late and we've got a 5am train to catch to wellington... where chris and i are riding mopeds around town. yes, folks- she's getting adventurous. :)

saturday

was a low key day.. we met up with the inlaws and visited the store im teaching at. sunset at snell's beach from the night before
driving through to get back to auckland


chris and i were over the moooooon to see our favorite restaurant in town! we ate there many times when we were in sydney. oh how we wish they would open some by us! mmmm!

today is pretty full so we will be back with more pics later!
to our kids- enjoy your last weekend before school starts! xoxooxoxox

we're here!

us in auckland!

then we headed down to visit chris' friend in snell's beach. i have to go outside to use the internet. this was much earlier in the day.

right now it's 1am and i am sitting in the same spot but in the pitch black. yes. very scary. but i wanted the kids to have a post to wake up to! i miss you guys!!!! :) while we're near the beach, daddy went snorkling. mom watched and read. she's so adventurous! :)

mom made you a message:


and she also gets a huge award for going in creepy scary barn to pose for daddy. :)

the trip has been lovely so far...even if mommy forgot her luggage of clothes at home. but she didn't forget her supplies for class! priorities! haha! good thing grammies and grampies are delivering them tomorrow!
ok. that's it. more tomorrow. i feel the mosquitos biting. big hugs and kisses!

january layouts

i am so right here right now. we leave this afternoon.

the theme for the garden is travel so i got these 2 done too. another digital because i was short on time and 1 paper.

and i was a guest for scrap for a cure.

such a great kit and awesome idea-- they give a portion of their sales to a selected charity. please check it out :) i also made this book for the kids and added more to it since i took the pics.

chris and i will be trying to blog daily for the kids.. i'm excited to meet my students in NZ.. and as much as i will enjoy kidless meals and time with my hubby--- i know little elsie's world is about to be turned upside down. i hope that mama's trips to the park and ice cream shop and cupcake shop will keep her happy!!