I can’t believe summer is nearly half over. We really need to enjoy what’s left! Here is what some of our ladies are up to…

Here’s a super cute photo from Julie!!!

This is Julie’s little guy Tyler and he went to his first Football practice this week…well it’s really like his 1000th practice…haha. Julie’s 14 year old son has been playing football since she was pregnant with Tyler. Her 2 little ones are called “Bleacher Babies” They have both been on the Football field since birth!

(funny story..Julie’s water broke with Travis her 3 YO during Football camp 3 years ago)

Tyler..he is so ready to actually “Play” football, but, he is 5 and has one more year to wait to “officially” be on the team. But he is on the practice field this year! Julie’s hubby is coaching and they got the OK for him to practice with the team! He was so excited.
OMGosh he is so darn cute out there!

What a fantastic photo Julie!!! He definitely looks very excited to be part of the team!!

Mandy’s family have come up with a great idea for a fun family activity. They decided to make a summer bucket list. It’s a list of things they want to do before summers over and the kids are back to school. This is what they have planned.

* We live next to two large national parks with 100’s of km’s of hiking trails… we plan on hiking one a week at least!

* Camping!! I haven’t been camping for 2 years. We used to camp quite a bit but now with one daughter working and the other making her own summer plans it’s hard to get everyone on the same page!!

* Trip to visit G’ma and G’pa. I would love to travel the 900 km’s to visit with my two favorite people:) I usually make it up two times a year… I hope to go during blueberry picking season so mid August!!

* Working on the house!! We are building our own house and it keeps us pretty busy!! The Hubster is now on holidays so we should be able to get some work done! Can’t wait till it’s all complete and we will love it forever:) I have to keep reminding myself that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

* Finish the 4 kits and collab that I have started… I have too many ideas rolling around up there!!

*Must jump on the trampoline everyday and must go swimming at least 3 times a week!!! Self explanatory I think;)

* Geo-caching!!! My daughter and I have started a new hobby!! It all started when I got my new iPhone… I found an app for Geo Cashing!! For those who don’t know, Geo Caching is an online hobby/game. It’s a world wide scavenger hunt using your GPS.  All you have to do is look around for a few websites you can join and look up the coordinates for a Geo Cashe take your supplies ….. GPS, iPhone, pencil, paper, water, prize to trade and some good walking shoes!! Follow your GPS or iPhone and search for the cache!! When you find it sign the book included and trade the prize for something of equal value, for the most part they are trinkets but still very cool!! Here are a few photos of caches we found in our area…

This one was hidden under a metal sign….

This one was at the river edge… the hint to find it was “My first fishing pole was a willow stick”. Yup we found it under a willow tree! <—- after a good 45 minutes of searching the wrong side of the river!!

So as you can see they are all different shapes and sizes… some filled with awesome treasure and some you just sign your name…. it’s a really fun activity that allows you enjoy time with your loved ones and going on an adventure!!

So what’s on your summer bucket list?

Good afternoon scrappers! Thank goodness I have a geek in the house because it took me an hour to get my computer up and running. I love my geek! DO you want to know who else is in love??

Teri and her hubby, this is what she wrote to me…

Gossip Girl if my hubby and I make it till July 17 (ha ha) we will be married for 34 years! I met him when I was in 8th grade and we started going “steady” then. Divorce was never an option for us.. Murder yes but divorce no!!! Oh and we knew it would be an ugly custody battle for the kiddos.. you know.. who would have to take them!!!!!! LMAO just kidding…. kinda T

Ahhh must be bliss! I think I can relate:) Happy Anniversary Terri and hubby!

I was also chatting with Mandy… she’s re-cooperating from her Ethan hangover. She was being a fun Auntie again! This week it was Rye’s big brother Ethan who kept Mandy busy! I hear they battled Bower and turned the inversion table into Auntie Mandy’s tickle torture machine.  Ethan just learned how to ride a two wheeler so they went on many bike rides and went swimming everyday!!

Julie has also been keeping busy!! They have been painting the living room with a fresh coat of paint. I hear it’s looking great! She is planning to make a “photo wall” so she went to the goodwill and got a start on some frames. She seams to find the best stuff!!! Can’t wait to see some pictures of the completed project!

On Wednesday she was busy having a photo shoot with this amazing family and their beautiful horses….

What a good looking family and I have seen some of the other photos that Julie has taken during this shoot and I have to say she is one talented lady!!!

Today is a special day not only is it Teri’s anniversary but this little guy is turning three!!

Happy Birthday Travis!!! Hope you have a fun day!

What a sweetie!!!

I still haven’t heard from Kathy… last we saw of her she was on a road trip with her three beautiful children… if we don’t hear from her by next week we will send out a search party:)

Cya next week:)

Gosh with all my computer issues I am still struggling with this laptop.  I just got all my data backed up and now today I am taking it back in to get totally reformatted.  YUCK!  So forgive me for my tardiness!  On with the dish…..  Last time some on asked for a few favorite recipes.  I am going to share some with you today.  First up is my all time favorite crock pot roast.  It is called To Die For Pot Roast and it is easy peasy!  And with summer and busy schedules its perfect!

To Die For Pot Roast

1 Pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

1 Pkg. Brown Gravy

1 Pkg. Italian Dressing

1 cup water

1 Pot Roast

Place Pot Roast in the bottom of your crock pot and sprinkle the 3 pkgs of dressing mixes on top of the roast and add your cup of water.  If desired, I am sure you can add onions.  (I am sure I do!)  Let cook on low for 8 hours and serve with rice or potatoes.  So easy!

Stuffed Jalapeono’s

1 pkg cream cheese

2 to 3 cups shredded cheese

2 to 3 garlic cloves minced ( I use fresh)

1 tbs mayonnaise

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

season to taste ( I use fajita seasoning )

1 Large can of jalapeno halves ( mild if desired or you can rinse to take some of the fire out )  I go straight out of the can!

Mix all ingredient except the jalapeno halves and then stuff the halves with the cheese mixture.  If the slices are thin, you can just put some on top of the thin slices rather than actually stuffing the half.  The pecans help take some of the “heat” out of the jalapenos!

I will try to add a few more recipes in the following weeks.  But for now that will get you started.  Rachael asked about some other programs for scrap booking.  I have tried one from Sam’s club that was just a cheap program and the issues with that is they are so limited.  So I am not one to recommend anything other than Photoshop Elements or PS.  I think there are some other ones that allow “layering” and to me that is the key.  If you want to really personalize your photos you need to be able to layer text and other goodies on your layout to make it truly yours.  I started out on PSE and really for the most part unless you are designing you can get by with it.  The programs are so sophisticated these days.  Oh I forgot about a little free program called Gimp.  That is designed to mimic PhotoShop so I have heard great things about that program.  I have not used it myself.  But I have seen it.  Ok.. well  until next time…Baskets of Blessings!  :)T

Hi friends!! I’ve been out and about enjoying the nice weather! Spending a little less time on the computer but still keeping up on whats going on. For instance…

Spotted in Wilmington NC – ModernJune and the June Bugs!!

Kathy is traveling with her 3 kids to her parents in NC–7hours on the road, 1 mom vs 3 kids… I’m sure I’ll dig up more dirt on this trip… good luck mommy!!!

Have fun Kathy and don’t let their sweet faces fool you!!!

If you’ve wondered where belhepsibah (Sara) has been I’ll tell ya! First of all she’s pregnant. She just found out she’s have a girl! Yay!! As soon as she got into her second tri her hubby left for work training and she was stuck alone and pregnant with a 1 1/2 yr old for 7 weeks! Yikes! What does she do? Road trip! She came and visited her most wonderful bestest friend in the whole world (Rachel A.K.A. Harmony Star) as well as lots of family. Funerals, graduations, this and that so busy. When she returned home and her hubby returned to her she found out she would be moving to New Mexico at the end of July I believe. And so goes the house hunting process. She’s a busy girl and even though she misses her scrapping friends, she is happy, healthy and taking lots of pictures for later scrapping. And we look forward to more pictures and wish Sara a healthy pregnancy!!

Daddy Reunion

Visiting New Mexico

I know I could spend a day drinking Ice Caps and exploring these little shops! Hmmm I think we should help Sara out and come up with some pretty girly names. I really like Olivia, Gwen, Presley, Ada, Meakin, Scotia just to name a few! Do you like unisex, trendy, unique or more traditional names?? I like vintage names… although my hubby tends to prefer more traditional names so we ended up using a more unisex plain Jane names… after all we are not famous and don’t have enough money to be eccentric so no Apples and Sundays in our family… yet:)  What are your favorite baby girl names??

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