3 more layouts I completed for my class by Jessica Sprague. The photo on the last layout is courtesy of Jen Stewart Photography ;0)

Jessica Sprague class

Ok, so I'm taking this online class from Jessica Sprague (MY digital scrapbooking heoro!!!) and she's teaching us all her tips for digital scrapbooking. I thought I was fairly well versed in digital scrapbooking and photoshop (which I was) but I have picked up so many tips from her and she is challenging me to think outside my comfort zone. I am absolutely loving this!!!

Anyway she challenged us to go to this website: www.aiga.com I'm not sure what it stands for but it's something with graohic design awards. We were supposed to pick one design that inspired us and use it in our scrapbooking, be it layout, color scheme, etc! So here is the design that inspired me and above is my creation ;) my inspiration

First Day of School

Today was an emotional day for me. I sent my Isaiah off to his first day of kindergarten and my Alorah off to fourth grade. All summer I've been excited especially for Isaiah to go and this week I've just been weepy about it. I can't believe how big he is, with no fears about school, only excitment. He didn't even look back when we dropped him off today, but his mother was crying in the parking lot afterwards. It just hurts my heart to know that never again will he be home full time with me. I don't know how I'll cope when they actually fly the nest for real ;0) Just for today I miss my boy. Then I look at Alorah off in fourth grade, wow! In my memory that's the year I remember everything aboiut, fourth grade. THat's a big year . . .

Here are some pictures from this morning. Every year we take first day photos out by the post in the front yard (Just to compare from year to year). I guess if we ever move, we'll have to sneak into the front yard for pics :)



Isaiah's first day of school photos.





Alorah's first day of school photos.





Walking into FOURTH grade for the first time ;0(


Alorah's bag all lined up with the others for school.


Isaiah hanging up his bookbag and setting out his lunch . . .


Isaiah at his desk, with some of his new school supplies!

Trash can men

Now that Isaiah is school age he's started earning his allowance. It's our theory that as part of our household our children should receive part of the household income. But the other side of that is that as part of household they should also contribute toward our home, so Alorah and Isaiah have set chores they need to do.

One of Isaiah's chores is taking out the trash. Today when Ev and Isaiah gathered up the cans Micah rushed to help! They made an awful cute crew trooping out to the big garbage cans and I had to take a picture.

Ev helping Micah with his can:






Micah helped Dad out by carrying in both cans, he's VERY strong ;0)

Tahoe

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. We spent Sunday through Wednesday up in Tahoe (just the two of us) enjoying the beauty. Oh and I made Ev take me to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He just shook his head and said I can't believe you want to go to a movie while we're in one of the most beautiful places on earth. But the sweetheart that he is he went along gamely with me and ended up enjoying it. I guess for me it's more about being able to do kidless things than the location. But we did see a lot around the lake. Next time I'd like to take the kids and do a cruise on the lake and maybe some rafting down the Truckee river. We also gambled a bit (Wheel of fortune slots) I won about $120 in quarters and nickles then the next night i gave some back to the casino ;0) so we ended making 80 or so FUN, FUN


So here's my first attempt at stitching together panoramas ~ not too good but I'll still share it.

Hittin' the trail

Tonight we decided we would ride up to Jamba Juice along the American River bike ride. It about 5 miles away so It would be a leisurely 10 mile ride and a nice family outing. The ride up was perfect, just whizzing down the hills, pumping hard to make it up the hills ~ but not too hard because Alorah has to catch up. Then we made it to Jamba, took a nice rest with everyone sipping away on straws and Lainie and Micah serenading us with twinkle, twinkle little star. As we get up to leave we discover Alorah has a totally flat tire and we didn't bring the repair kit. SOOOOOOOOO, ev and the three little ones took off for home to get the car. They came back for us after what fell like an hour and loaded alorah and her bike in the van. Unfortunately my bike wouldn't fit so I had to ride it back home 5 miles and the sky was darkening. I was pretty scared. The drama queen, overactive imagination that I have checked into overdrive. I'm sure I saw mountain lions waiting up ahead to eat me and every jogger on the trail was just pretending, they were really looking for fresh meat too. Then if I were to make it though all the peril I would just get hit on the main road by some teenager texting behind the wheel. Miraculously The Lord saved me and I made it home in one piece.
Overall it was a fun trip and I got to have some one on one with the doodlebug. Plus I had a HARD ride home trying to get away from mountain lions and bad guys. ;0)


My sweet ride . . . I absolutely LOVE this bike ;0)





Alorah totally holds her own on the rides. She pedals along hard to keep up, I think the poor thing needs a bike with gears soon as much as she rides with us.

Lainie ans Zaiah in the trailer. Isaiah does NOT like to ride in the trailer he thinks he's big enough to ride his bike alongside or at least his scooter. I just know that would be one SLOW ride on the trail.

Micah LOVES his helmet, LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his helmet. I'm just hoping the obsession passes before school age and he wants to wear it to school ;0)


Ev carries most of the load on his bike and he still hauls on ahead of Alorah and I.