another layout...

I scrapped again today! I used a brand new Page Kit called PS-ILY by The Ettes at ettesandcompany.
Don't forget... this weekend is their birthday and you will find lots of cute gifts on their site!

A couple of scrapbook pages

These three cute pages were scrapped using the
Sweet 'N' Sassy Collection by The Ettes at ettesandcompany

(this one also used Templ-Ettes Collection 5 by The Ettes)

I just love these adorable colors for pages about my girls!
And you may see one of these pages at ettesandcompany again on Saturday!

Happy 1st Design Birthday to The Ettes

I have the privilege of working with these fabulous ladies! Check them out!

Happy Digital Scrapbook Day!

It's Digital Scrapbook Day weekend and I have some fun projects that I can finally show you! :)
(But first, I have some new products up on my design blog in my store & great sales, so go check them out, too!)

First up:
Potty Treats Jar
(We're trying to get Ainsley potty-trained again!)

supplies:
Child of My Child Collection by The Ettes at EttesandCompany
Chore Chart Kit by The Ettes at EttesandCompany
Chore Chart Kit by The Ettes at ScrapOrchard

empty soynut butter jar
tootsie rolls
rickrack & ribbon by Stampin' Up!
white fabric

Project #2:
Baby Girl Gift Bag
(I made this for my friend's baby shower!)

supplies:
Child of My Child Collection by The Ettes at EttesandCompany
white gift bag
tissue paper
hair clip (wool felt, button, net tulle, thread, alligator clip)

Project #3
(my favorite! chore charts for the girls!)

supplies:
Chore Chart Kit by The Ettes at EttesandCompany
Chore Chart Kit by The Ettes at ScrapOrchard

Wood Block from The Wood Connection in Salt Lake
Paint
Dotted Fabric
magnets
Black Cardstock by Provo Craft
Dotted paper: Discretion by Crate Paper

Project #4:
(a birthday card for Thomas... pretend you don't see this yet, Tommy!)

supplies:
Child of My Child Collection by The Ettes at EttesandCompany
ribbon by Stampin' Up!
This card will be given away sometime today at Ask The Ettes

Project #5:
(a sweet little layout of Ainsley & Daddy... two and a half years ago!)

supplies:
Child of My Child Collection by The Ettes at EttesandCompany

My pretty girls!

The absolutely fabulous Jenna Nelson has done it again! Just look at these stunning photos of my girls!

Jenna took us to downtown Provo, behind one of my favorite college haunts, Gandolfo's. We walked around the block taking photos but my favorites (and I think Jenna's, too!) were the ones we got in the alleys behind the shops & restaurants. Amazing textures and colors! I never get nervous when Jenna does our photos because I know that she will get something amazing!
Check out Jenna's site for more amazing photos!

Halloween 2009

Thomas just called me and requested that I put some Halloween photos of the kids up on the ol' blog, so here they are! :) Unedited and straight-out-of-the-camera for you to enjoy!

We started our fun-filled evening by having dinner at Aimee's house! Lots of good soup & snacks (mmm... fresh from the garden salsa!) and Fazoli's breadsticks. YUM! Then we got the kids dressed in their costumes and headed outside to take photos.

My kids don't stand still for more than two seconds so most of my photos were blurry until I turned on the flash.

Ainsley didn't want to stand by Hannah for a photo, she wanted to ride the bike.

A big ol' tutu isn't going to stop this dedicated biker! :)

All the kids together.

All the kids together with Grandma Sharon!
(It was good to see you, by the way!)
In retrospect, it probably wasn't terribly bright of me to not let Ainsley take a nap before trick-or-treating...

As soon as we turned the kids loose, they took off at a dead run! It was so much fun to watch them zoom around the cul-de-sac and then have to wait for the adults to all get ready!

Ainsley wasn't too thrilled with this trick-or-treating stuff until Aunt Jenny told her that people would put candy in her bag... not just any candy... kitty-kats (Kit-Kats). She caught on and wanted to go to every house with the big kids. One of the houses does a haunted house in their backyard every year. Last year Hannah declared the haunted house, "Freakin' Scary!". But she went again this year... and yep, it was still freakin' scary.

About this time, Ainsley decided she was cold and would rather ride in the stroller than walk.

Then she decided she was tired.

After trick-or-treating, we stopped by Grandpa & Grandma C's house for a short visit. My kids headed straight for the toys. They know right where Grandma Shelly keeps them!

I left my camera in the car after Grandpa & Grandma's house... but I wish I wouldn't have!
We went to Cori's house and had some snacky foods & desserts. Then we put ALL of the kids down to watch movies and fall asleep. And it was time for games!!!! We played some Catch Phrase & then moved over to Sing Star. I stink at that game. Try not to be surprised! I can't carry a tune to save my life. And if I ever thought otherwise, the game has definitely reminded me that I am "awful, terrible, and bad". :) I was not surprised! :) But the girls beat the boys, so it's all good!
((Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance...))
So, we were all done playing and Jenny & Jeff pulled out the drums to play GH World Tour. I went upstairs to get the car loaded. Thomas was still downstairs. I went down there and Thomas and Jeff are rocking to GH World Tour. They played SIX songs. Thomas now wants to buy drums... not happening! Wish I would have had my camera for that one!

That's all folks!
Happy Halloween!

Getting ready for 2010???

I am getting my birthday calendar ready for 2010! Thankfully, The Ettes came out with an adorable customizable calendar! It's perfect for me! There are cute little doodles that I haven't seen anywhere else. I love 'em! Here are two of the pages... Keep your eyes open for more pages!

Create-a-Calendar by The Ettes at ScrapOrchard

Today's Adventures

Our adventures began early this morning! After we dropped Hannah off at the bus stop, Ainsley & I headed over to the car repair shop to get the Subaru ready to turn in. We have a rental car for a few days... I am so excited! The manager at Enterprise upgraded me to a TRUCK for free! Score! Now I can go to Home Depot tomorrow and get my shed!!! I am itching to find a flea market or something like that still open this weekend... I think I am too late in the season for that, though. How much fun would that be?! I think I need a truck permanently. Who wants to contribute to the "Get Meredith a Truck" Foundation? :) Ainsley loves riding in the truck because she can see everything. Hannah used to love to ride in Poppa's big black truck for the same reason. So, after the excitement of getting a TRUCK with unlimited miles (nice!) I decided to head out to Hobby Lobby. I got a few random Christmas & Halloween things that I needed for various scrapbooking/crafting projects I am working on. AND... I found two beautiful glass knobs for my bathroom vanity. My bathroom is so blah, and I just love how these dressed that up! It looks so much better than the cheap brushed-nickel-wannabe knobs that were there. Thomas says that they look like something that were in his Grandma S's house 70 years ago... I take that as a compliment! :) And check out my bathroom mirrors. I am pretty proud of them. They are the $3 wood mirrors from Ikea with 5 coats of paint, 3 coats of stain & a coat of polyurethane. Up close, they look like reclaimed barn wood. If I can't live in a farmhouse, I'll make my house look like one on the inside. That's why I have roosters in my kitchen!

(excuse the open toilet, Ainsley just finished using the potty)

I wanted to get kitchen knobs, too, but that was going to be $28 and I didn't want to spend that much today. But I know where to get them when I am ready. I really think I am going to paint my cabinets white & distress them. I am so tired of blah blah oak. And I heard that you can buy paint for your countertops... Watch out Home Depot, I'm coming to buy PAINT! Okay, I am dreaming, but I have big plans for this house and it will only take me five years to be able to get to them all. I want to paint the outside of my house, too. Green with off-white trim, black door & flower boxes. There is a house a few blocks from here that I want to copy! :)

***

After my mad dash to Hobby Lobby & a quick trip to Target for diapers, Ainsley & I went and picked up Hannah at the bus stop. We got home and decided that it was too nice of a day to simply go inside. So, we headed out on a nature walk with a bag and a camera. I didn't take many pictures, but we did find some magnificent pine cones.

(Hannah is wearing her PUMPKIN SHOW jacket that used to be Shelby's!)

This pine cone will most likely be making an appearance in several digital projects I have coming up. Isn't she pretty? Are pine cones male or female? Anyone know?

It was a great day and my kids actually ate TACOS for dinner... kind of. Ainsley ate hers as bean dip with tortilla chips and Hannah made hers into a taco salad with ranch dressing and all was right with the world. I love tacos.

That's it for today.

Some Pictures

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of this month!

***
Ainsley decided that she is done with naps... except for when she falls asleep on the living room floor on a box. But that doesn't count as a nap, right?


***
Earlier this month, my sister, Angie, and her husband and daughter came to Utah for his sister's wedding. We were able to spend a few hours with Ang & Tom & Maddy. My kids were mean to Maddy. Maddy teased Hannah. Hannah cried. All in all, a typical experience with Hannah these days! :) Ainsley & Maddy actually played pretty well together. Hannah wrote a play and organized refreshments.

Angie was a beautiful flower.

Maddy liked Dora's hair.

***
Ainsley & I met Chrissy at the library for storytime. The story lady was dressed up like a pirate and had cute eye patches and bandanas for the kids to wear. Not Ainsley. But since then, she has been asking to go back and see the pirate lady.

***
Hannah's school had a fundraiser a couple weeks ago. The kids were supposed to jog for 20 minutes and sponsors paid them for each lap they completed. There were four different checkpoints for the kids to check in. Each child was assigned to a different checkpoint. They were hoping to avoid a bottleneck. Hannah was kinda oblivious. She stopped at each checkpoint to get a mark on her tally sheet! Thankfully she didn't have any sponsors (we're bad parents and don't believe in doing school fundraisers that way) who were paying per lap.
She did a really great job running. She ran or walked the entire way. I was so proud of her!

excuse the messy face, please

Hannah's teacher is so cute and so sweet with the kids. She puts her arm around each child every day as they are leaving and talks to each one.

The most adorable cheerleader at the school! :)

***
It's finally fall! Thank goodness. Ainsley loves to go outside and play after we drop Hannah off at the bus stop. Or after we go to the store. Or any reason she can find to be outside. Look, her hair is done.

No hair done here. I promise, she pulled out her own clip and hid it. We raked up a big pile of leaves for the girls and they had a great time.

Our house with the Halloween decorations and Ainsley peeling bark off our dead tree.

Thomas on the roof winterizing the swamp cooler.

Ainsley playing in the leaves

Hannah playing in the leaves, too.

I love this tricycle.

I think I want to edit this photo and frame it for my living room, or the play room.

My girls, relaxing in a leaf pile.

***

We went to pumpkin patch last night for the Cardall family party. It was a cute little farm with a produce stand. They have beautiful pumpkins with the vines still on them. Loved it! Grandma and Grandpa let each kid pick a pumpkin from the wagon. Hannah picked one for Ainsley and one for herself. She was quite picky and chose two perfect little pumpkins.

***
This morning, I met four of my aunts, a few of their kids, my cousin's wife and her kids and my two little kiddos at Gardner Village. We went to Pine Needles, an adorable little fabric store, and some other cute shops. We had lunch at Archibald's... S.L.O.W. but really good. My kids were horribly behaved, but I really enjoyed my time with my aunts. It was so nice to see them. And I got a beautiful new quilt from my aunt JoAnn. It's in browns and oranges and is folded over the back of my couch. LOVE it!

***
Tonight, Hannah & I went to her Primary carnival. We got there and found out that it was a family carnival, but Hannah decided that she wanted some girl time, so we didn't go home and get Daddy & Ainsley. Hannah & I had fun at the carnival. They had face painting, balloon animals (with a clown, and I didn't freak out), games, coloring, cake walk, popcorn, hot chocolate. They did a really great job and Hannah had a blast.

Isn't she the most beautiful Tinkerbell ever? I can't believe that my baby is so grown up!


Well, that's it so far. We have a really busy next couple of weeks. I'll post more photos when I get some!