End of the Summer Baseball Season

Matthew was on the Defenders team this year, and they did great, ending the season with a 9-1 record.  He missed 3 of the games due to a broken arm and the stomach bug, but really enjoyed being on the team.  Here are a few pix from last night's game, one of him batting (just look at the determination on his face), and one of him in the "ready" position at shortstop (taken from behind first base, with a runner on the base).
 

Jeremy could care less about baseball, and either plays in the adjoining field or - when Ryan gives him his iPhone - spends the time playing video games, as he did last night.

In the fall, Matthew will begin machine pitch.  Should be interesting.

Washington DC trip

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Washington, DC.  We took the subway (Jeremy's favorite) and walked around the National Zoo on Saturday.  On Sunday, Matthew and Ryan headed to the Nationals-Padres game, including batting practice prior to the game.  Here's Matthew after having his hat signed by Rick Ankiel.  They had seats on the 3rd base line, right near third base, and enjoyed the game.

Jeremy wanted no part of the baseball game.  He instead wanted to go to the Museum of Natural History and look at the gems in particular, and some of the other exhibits that interested him.  Here he is in front of a huge slab of crystals found in Arkansas.

On the way home we stopped into Ikea so I could get a few storage items for my office/craft room.  It was very hot here on Monday, and we were all glad for a swim in the afternoon.

It's hard to believe, but tomorrow's the last day of school for the boys.  I've made these crayon monograms for their teachers to thank them for their hard work and creativity. (These have been a hot item on all the crafting blogs recently.) 

In the Spring, a Young Man's Fancy Turns To...

Climbing trees.

And then falling out of them.

And ending up with a broken arm and a fluorescent yellow cast.  He can't play baseball or football until it's off.  But he is allowed to continue in tae kwon do.

And hey, at least he can still play video games. :)

This last picture has nothing to do with broken bones, but it is the entrance to our back yard. We had a good spring with no late frosts, and so the the wisteria is in full bloom, lushly draped over the arbor.  I really need to trim it back so you can walk through without having to duck, but I won't touch it until it's done flowering.  Down on the right is a lovely spread of coreopsis.  Ignore the fact that I badly need to prune back all of the abelia. 

Happy Easter

We've had a busy week around here.  The boys were on spring break (and fortunately I was between work projects), so lots of time to have fun.  My in-laws arrived on Wednesday, so more fun and spoilage for the boys.

Our pool is open and the boys have been swimming 20-30 minutes or so on warm days.  (The water's only about 68 degrees, so they're only in for a short while.)

We all went strawberry picking on Friday morning - got some gorgeous sweet berries.  Most have been frozen and put away, but we've been snacking on some, and I made a strawberry pie for our dinner tonight.  We've learned to have the kids wear red shirts when picking to minimize staining.  Jeremy was so proud of himself "because I finally broke my bad habit of eating ALL of the berries and I'm putting some in the bucket."

Of course, last night we dyed eggs.  All the standard colors, plus the traditional "ugly" eggs made when you mix a bunch of dye together for a lovely shade of yuck.

I tried to add rub-ons to the eggs.  It turned out that only one brand (Maya Road) of the half-dozen brands I tried would adhere.  But the ones that worked sure came out cute!

I hope you all have a happy Easter.

Halloween Fantasy Land

The boys love rich fantasy worlds.  Jeremy tends to prefer tales of magic, while Matthew prefers game-oriented shows, and their preferences are reflected in their choices of Halloween costumes:  Harry Potter for Jeremy and Dan (of the Bakugan series) for Matthew.

We had a great evening walking through the neighborhood with friends and neighbors.  It was a beautiful evening, no full moon this year but plenty of bats swooping around to give that nice, spooky feeling.

A few pix of the boys:

Got Mummies?

I do!  I found a little tutorial for making these adorable mummy pops (candy covered oreos) at How Does She and decided to give them a whirl.  I did order the eyes that were used in the tut, but they didn't arrive in time, so I substituted some small candies instead.  I found it takes 2 14-oz bags of candy melts to make 25 mummipops.

And they came out just adorable!  Here is a closeup:

And here's one of them in the spider clothesline basket I made last Halloween:

For Halloween this year, Matthew went as Dan (from Bakugan) and Jeremy as Harry Potter.  Matthew's in that "don't take my picture stage" and it's driving me nuts to try to get a decent picture of him.  But I keep telling myself that it will be good blackmail material in a few years...

We went to trunk-or-treat at the school last night, and the kids had a ball.   This is a picture of one of the witches hosting a trunk - hands down, my favorite adult costume of the night!

NY Trip

And finally I'm back with pictures of our trip to NY.  We love going up there in the summer, not only to see all of the relatives, but to escape the heat - and this was an unusually hot summer in NC.

It was the weekend of the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally.  Spiedies are a local type of kabob, with pork or chicken marinated, skewered, and grilled, then placed in a slice of bread.  Yummy!  They also have twice daily balloon lifts.  We went down there Sunday morning.  Walking into Otsiningo Park at 6:30 am, we could see two balloons filled up but not yet launched, just filling the sky over the trees.

We saw them from laid out on the ground, completely airless, through all stages of filling - first with cold air just to expand them, then with hot air to make them bouyant.  The boys were allowed to be right near the baskets and really enjoyed watching the process.

Then we watched them float down the valley.  It was a great morning!

Later that afternoon, we went to Great Grandma's 90th birthday party.  Over 70 folks were there to celebrate with her.  Here she is with 4 of her 6 children:

And here with many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The next day we went down the street to the creek Ryan, his brother, and their friends played in when they were kids.  During the summer, it's only ankle-deep in most spots, and you can walk all the way down to the river.  The kids enjoyed playing in it, looking for 'mud bugs' and fossils, and getting wet.

On our way home, we took a detour into Washington DC.  We spent the afternoon at the Museum of Natural History.  And in the evening we went here:

Matthew has been really into baseball this year, and the Nationals' pitcher, Strasburg, is his hero.  It was Stras' first game back after having been on the DL.  Of course Matthew had to buy a Stras shirt, and insisted on the white one against my better judgment.

Jeremy is not so much into baseball, but he made it to the middle of the first before he asked to go to the playground.  :)  I took him there, then we got ice creams for all and went back to our seats.  We stayed through the 6th, when the fun and excitement of the trip was catching up with the boys - they were clearly exhausted!

Toothless and a Freebie

Another one of my templates is up for grabs on the ScrapStreet blog today.  I used to to make this layout about Matthew losing his top teeth.  He's lost a good 8 teeth in total now, and has had a pretty much continual gap since these pictures were taken last summer.  Jeremy's not been so lucky.  He turned 6 a month ago and doesn't even have one wiggling yet.  It looks like he'll be the only kid in his class to leave kindergarten without having lost a tooth.

Toothless. Digital Supplies:  Template: Framework No. 2 by 4Two2 Frameworks, Paper: Hugs and Artfully Intense by Lynn Grievson, Work Hard Playhard by Anna Aspnes, Other: tooth cartoon downloaded from the internet, Fonts: Jefferson, Georgia.

Journaling: Matthew had already lost both bottom teeth, but he didn’t have a “gap” for more than a few days, as the new teeth were in a big hurry to fill the empty space.  Now, however, he’s lost a top tooth, and he’s got a nice gap.  He’s had an ear-to-ear smile since losing it.

Spring Doings

Spring blooms are nearly done here, but I thought I'd share what's around my yard:

The early season cherry trees were really beautiful this year:

And the lorapetalum put on quite a show as well.  Here is a photo of the nearly 5-foot tall bush in front of the house...

and here is a close-up of one of the flowers.  I think they look like exploding fireworks.

This is the later-season cherry tree that's in the backyard.  When we moved in nearly 9 years ago, it barely reached the eaves of the roof on the shed next to it.  Now it towers over that whole area.

And the phlox near that cherry tree is so pretty, nestled up in front of the day lily leaves:

The day before Easter, we went to the NC state zoo in Asheboro.  They were giving "Easter egg" treats to a number of the animals.  They blow up a ballon, cover it in paper mache and paint them to look like Easter eggs.  Once it's dry, they deflate the balloons and put snacks into the eggs, and place them around the animals' enclosures.

The cougars were such fun to watch!  They really went into hunting mode, and stalked their prey before pouncing on it and ripping it to shreds.  Here's one climbing up a tree to get the egg:

The black bears weren't quite as observant as the cougars, and it took them a while to figure out food was available.  But once they figured it out they had a ball getting their treats out.

The boys were on spring break last week, and it got into the low 90s on several of the days.  We traditionally open the pool at Easter, and by Tuesday, when it hit 92 or so, the pool was ready to use.  Ready from a balanced chemicals and clarity perspective, that is.  The water couldn't have been more than 63 degrees.  But that did not stop my boys from getting in.

They were freezing, but managed to submerge and have fun for a good 15-20 minutes before they were cold enough that the testosterone was no longer in charge of their brains.

Oh, and the dog went too...

I'll have a few scrappy creations for you tomorrow or Friday.

Some Vacation Pictures

So the last 6 weeks weren't all bad.  We did manage to get a vacation in late February, during the kids' week off school.  We headed to Florida and got on one of Disney's cruise ships, the Wonder.  It sailed to Nassau and to Disney's own island, Castaway Cay, both in the Bahamas.  Ryan's parents were able to join us, and it was great seeing the boys hanging out with them.

Of course, since my boys can make anything fun, they had a ball at the hotel, just riding on the baggage cart.

This is Jeremy at the "sail away" party, wildly waving the streamers around, and barely missing Bob and Kitty.

Both kids quite enjoyed the giant slide into the pool; this is Matthew with an ear-to-ear grin after his first ride.  He pretty much only used the slide for the rest of the cruise.

For good or bad, cruise ships are known for their extravagant and calorie-free meals and desserts.  Jeremy quite enjoyed eating - and wearing - his Mickey ice cream bar.

Castaway Cay is the private island that Disney owns.  One of the ships from the Pirates of the Carribbean movies is sunk in the bay.  The boys thought they were hot stuff getting to go to the beach in February.

I quite enjoyed Castaway Cay.  In fact, I think that if the Wonder had been anchored there for the entire trip I would have been happy.  Plenty of chairs and umbrellas, bright blue sky, sand, sea and palm trees.  What more could a girl ask for?

Apparently I'm Ancient

Matthew is 7 and in first grade. Part of his English homework is to write a specified number of sentences using the spelling words of the week.  He came running into my office a few minutes ago, delighted to read his sentences out loud to me.  And I nearly spit my drink all over the keyboard when he read:

"I hope my brother lives to be 20 years old."

Oh, to be young enough to think that 20 is old!  He must think Ryan and I are ancient.  Who knows what he thinks of the grandpeeps!

Catching Up, part 2

And finally, a few more layouts I completed in December.  They were done to give myself a short break from all the holiday preparation chaos.

This one so we can remember our trips to the flea market.  We head down there every 3-4 months, and sporadically during the summer if it's not too hot.

This one, from the December 2009 edition of Scrapstreet Magazine.  A group of us were asked to respond to Stacey's phrase "how can you not?" at our summer meeting.  My response was to document things that I find irresistable. How can you not 1. sigh with pleasure as you slip into a bubblebath, 2. have a favorite color, 3. be passionate about something, 4. play with your kids’ toys, 5. decorate for the changing seasons, 6. want to cuddle a sleeping baby, 7. eat chocolate, 8. love finding the perfect pair of shoes, 9. sing along with the radio, 10. eat popcorn while watching a movie.

And finally, one that epitomizes both boys' dreams for the winter: snow and lots of it.  (To qualify for the northerners reading my blog, "lot of it" here in the south means 1-6 inches, most of which is gone in 2 days.)  These are pictures from last year's March snowfall.  This layout ran in the Pixel Place column of Scrapstreet Magazine's December edition, and featured the digital kit Winter Shimmer.

Catching Up

I thought I'd finish out the year catching up with some layouts I did at the end of the year and have not shared yet.  It's a bit long, so grab a cup of coffee and get comfy.

In October and November, I was a participant in the Last Scrapper Standing contest over at Divine Digital.  There were 6 elimination rounds.  (I made it to the finals, but I was not the Last Scrapper Standing.)  Each of the weekly challenges had 10 requirements, including extensive journaling and some advanced digital techniques.  I'm going to post 4 of the entries here today.

First up, Who Are You, about Jeremy's love of all things costume in the past year. Since this was made, he has added  Captain Rex (Star Wars Clone Trooper guy) to his costume box.

The journaling reads:  Since he turned 5, Jeremy has been especially interested in costumes and make-believe.  This year he’s been a superhero (in a glittery cape that I made for him with fabric he picked out), Batman, and Harry Potter (both birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa).  In the last few months, he’s become, well, let’s say obsessed, with all things Star Wars.  He loves getting out his light saber and working on his “Jedi Training”.  This apparently consists of a variety of moves, coupled with a fierce expression and deep, glowering eyes.  Oh! And killing bad guys, of course.  He’s going to be Captain Rex, the clone trooper hero, for Halloween.  I can’t wait to see who he turns into next...

This layout captures our T-ball season in one page. This challenge required use of a shadow box, and extracting an image (removing it from the background).  Both the season and creating this page were a lot of fun!

Journaling: Baseball is our game, and T-ball was a family affair this year. Dad was the coach.  Matthew and Jeremy were players. Mom was in charge of getting the kids into the batting order. Supplies at hand: helmets and bats, gloves and balls, cleats, and the tee.

It was Matthew’s second year playing, and he loved every minute. He made good contact with the ball, ran hard between bases, and made a valiant effort at fielding.

It was Jeremy’s first year playing and he was not so much in love. He exhibited great creativity at the “duck and cover” move when a ball was hit or thrown anywhere near him, kept his eyes closed while batting, and made faces at the coach (Dad) when getting batting advice. Oh, and who can forget him building sand castles in the infield?

I did another page about Jeremy.  He is absolutely desperate to get the dog to obey him, and really worked hard at it this day.  (She hasn't listened to him since...)

Journaling:  Today, you were playing outside while Matthew did homework. Our yellow lab, Ribby, was running around the yard with you. You desperately wanted her to shake with you. “Ribby, sit!” And she ran this way. “Ribby, shake!” And she ran that way. Finally, you asked me to get her to sit. Once she did, you moved in front of her, held out your hand, and said “Shake!” And she did nothing. And you tried again. And still nothing. And again. And eventually she lifted her paw up, and you grabbed it. Success! You reached over to give her a hug and got nuzzled on the side of your head. “Mom! She liked it and kissed me!” At the tender age of three, you announced “I don’t like work,” and you really haven’t deviated from that position in the nearly 3 years since. But today, you worked hard to accomplish your goal.

I hope you remember this accomplishment some day in the future when you think you can’t do something. It is going to take hard effort - yes, work - on your part. You might need a bit of help from someone else to get started. It probably won’t work the first or second or maybe even the tenth time you try it. You are going to have to be persistent. But remember how great it felt for Ribby to shake your hand and give you that kiss.

And last of today's set, but not least, is Creative.  It had to include three identical photos, one original version and the other two treated differently.  My variations included a b/w old-fashioned look, and a sketch or woodprint looking version of the original (top in the layout) photo.  It also required discussing a family trait.

 

Journaling:  My father was a teacher and a jack-of-all-trades. He was a mason, woodworker (particularly cabinetry), and carpenter. In both of our houses, he built beautiful front steps (both brickwork and stonework) and various cabinetry pieces. In our second house (we moved when I was 10), he refinished all the original hardwood floors, as well as building storage units for the root cellar (yes, we had an actual root cellar!) and re-sided the entire house with clapboard. In this picture, I’m riding in a sleigh he designed, built, and painted. It’s pulled by our German Shepherd, Happy. My siblings and I, as well as a number of the neighborhood kids, had great fun riding down the street in this sleigh during the winter.

Dad knew not only the basic skills of these trades, but the craftsman’s tricks to make a job easier, faster, and/or more beautifully finished. As the oldest, I was his first pick as a helper during the summer months when he wasn’t teaching. He always had number of large projects scheduled. I got to learn why he selected particular woods, or rocks, and which nail sizes, and why those things mattered to the finished product. I learned to appreciate the need for a variety of tools, each to do specific jobs. (I also learned a lot of swear words, but that’s a different topic...) I began to understand the nuances that elevate simple work to an art form. While I never really grew to love any of these jobs, I can handle a lot of basic fixes around the house.

My creativity is expressed in cloth, paper, and pixels instead of wood and stone. I started sewing when I was 10 years old, and from the beginning I was hooked. I’ve spent nearly 35 years learning the sewer’s tricks to make a job easier or faster or more beautifully finished. About 20 years ago I was introduced to quilting, and shortly thereafter to scrapbooking. The use of color, pattern, and design make my heart and soul sing. I don’t know if my creativity is based on “nature” (a genetic inheritance from Dad) or “nurture” (due to the exposure I got to his creativity while I was a child). Either way, I’ll take it and celebrate it.