First Day of School

Just too cute
Waiting for the bus
The girls

Taylor
Jasmine
Today was the day! The first day of school finally arrived. The girls happily bounced down the stairs to get eat and dress. They were even patient as mom took 77 pictures. Yep, I said 77. When you have a Canon Rebel, 77 is a small number. That thing can take several pictures with the slightest touch. They both did great until the bus stopped and Jasmine got on first. She stopped in her tracks causing Taylor to run into her. I think the realization hit her that she was on a bus heading to SCHOOL. Her eyes got really big and I thought she was going to bolt from the bus. Maybe it was a good thing Taylor was behind her. She started to move down the aisle like she had cement blocks on her feet. She finally found a seat for the two of them and gave me a weak smile and a wave. I dropped by the school to check on them later in the morning and they were fine. Jasmine had the problem I expected her to have. That mouth of hers. If I could hook it up to a motor I would get half way across the country in an hour. We had to have a little chat about how mommy could appear at her school when she would least expect it. To reassure her I plan to make an appearance tomorrow. Oh the joys of being a tough mommy!

While Jaden wasn't happy about the girls leaving him all alone, at the end of the day he announced he didn't miss them. After a trip to Sonic for lunch and a few trinkets at the grocery store, he figured out the benefits of not having the sisters around all day. I won't be able to scrap the school pics until the weekend. Until then, Jaden and I will play a few games and enjoy the quiet house.

Happy Birthday Hottie

This was taken when we were at CHA
Today is my honey's birthday. I am so jealous that he just gets better looking with each year. We celebrated the day by spending time at the park with our kids. It was great watching him race through the play ground playing hide and seek with them. Instead of wanting to spend the day doing something for him, he chose to spend the day making his kids happy. Now that is a great daddy. Of course I took pictures I scrap them next week.

I only have 3 more days until I have a small amount of peace in my house. The girls are going to school. I will do a little dance with Jaden. He and I have a little time alone together before he goes to preschool. That is when the real celebration begins. I keep hearing the question what will I do? My answer has been whatever I want but I know that is not true. I will volunteer at the girls' school, volunteer at the rescue squad, and the store takes front burner. I still have to teach cpr classes. There are several rooms that need a coat of paint, etc... It will take me from now until spring break to organize this house. I almost look forward to the challenge because I can do it in peace. Oh wow, I can pee without little people outside the door. I vow to turn off the ringers and sit in silence for a full 5 minutes.

Today marks sad memories for me and my little town. The town of Blacksburg Virginia has had a rough year. One year ago today a chain of horrible events started and we are still trying to stop them. When you work in EMS you become apart of a large family consisting of police, fire, and hospital staff. We lost 2 of our family members a year ago to a mad gunman who wanted to do nothing more than cause death. Derrick McFarland, security guard at Montgomery Regional Hospital, was shot to death by an escaping convict. This convict also took the life of Eric Sutphin, Sherriff's deputy. Having worked with both of these men hours before their deaths made it hard for me and my crew. With those memories still fresh in our hearts we had to deal with the April 16 massacre on Virginia Tech campus. So today our town unveiled the memorial for the 32 killed but 34 will live in our hearts forever.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Sherri Albert !!! Congratulations Sherri your bag is on the way. I have decided to have more drawings. So, keep checking back for the details of the next drawing. Until next time...

TWO MORE DAYS

If you haven't registered on the site you have 2 more days to be entered to win the Amy Butler Creativity Bag.

What do you think?

If you would be interested in a crop in Blacksburg shoot me an email. I am taking a head count to see who would be interested in escaping to scrap.

Gallery is up and running

Hey,

Check out the site. The layout gallery is up and running. Jeff worked really hard on it and I am soooooooo proud of him. If you have a layout you want to contribute to the site let me know. Maybe there will be a prize in it for you... (hint, hint)

Steppin' Out

Every year our town has a craft and art festival downtown. Most people look forward to it. People from all over come to sell their crafts. These can range from cute purses and jewelery to scary looking chairs make from drift wood. My volunteer rescue squad also has a booth. We give out balloons to kids, give tours of the ambulance, provide first aid, etc. The best part of hanging out isn't the great food from nearby vendors. It is people watching. Wow, I saw some interesting people. There were two guys dressed as a gorilla and a banana running in the Draper mile race. They did really well in the race considering the hot suits. There was Dark Vader and a Jedi (weird). My sides still hurt from laughing. I did my part by donating blood with Red Cross along with my fellow squad members. Steppin' Out is also a great time to see friends you haven't seen in a long time. We met up with some friends who drove up from NC. We haven't seen them in about 8 years. Their 22 month old, Benjamin and I became fast friends. He is adorable. I just wanted to squeeze his chubby cheeks. I am very tired from having spend Friday evening and all day Saturday there. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Enter to win this

If you haven't registered so you can be entered to win this bag, what are you waiting for? No purchase neccessary! Just register on the site and you are automatically entered to win. You have from August 3 until August 15 to sign up. The winner will be announced on August 16. Hurry, hurry, step right up...

Look what I just ordered

I want to give you a sneak peak into what I ordered for the store. It is time to start taking those back to school pictures so I ordered some paper to help you celebrate the occasion. It is also time to start soccer and football season. We already have some cute soccer paper, rub-ons, and stickers so go and check that out.

How many more days?

I have officially joined the ranks of hundreds of other parents in the world who are counting down the days until school starts. This year will be different. I won't have one child going to school. I will have 3. Even though I have 20 days left, I have already started having nightmares about forgetting to send them to school. My friend and I joke about putting the kids on the bus, go calmly inside, and streaking through the house while squealing loudly.
The summer has been busy. We have spent quite a bit of time traveling and splashing in the backyard "pool". It is time to say goodbye to the pool and hello to school