Friendship Be True

So, how is your weekend going? Ours is progressing nicely :) We went on a HUGE family walk/bike ride today. We walked to a park about 20 blocks away, and played for a bit, then walked to Taco Bell for lunch, then wound around some fancy schmancy neighborhoods looking at house that weren't ours, but we sure wished - ha! It was a lot of fun. Jacob (10) and Tom (8) were on bikes, Joe (5) and Jim (2) were in strollers, and poor Eme (6) had to walk. She was exhausted by the time we got home. Poor little thing needs to remember how to ride her bike :)

All afternoon, my mom and I "decluttered" her room. We got 2 giant trash bags full of donate-able clothes. And another trash bag full of trash. It really looked good when we were done. I LOVE decluttering - especially when it's someone else's mess. Ha! You'd think my house is clean, but it's not. Decluttering/organizing and cleaning are 2 different things :) I did have a good time, though. I LOVE hanging out with my mom :)

I also got another letter from Captain America today. I was SO excited! It's amazing how happy a little letter can make me :) Missing my man! But glad that he's doing well, and learning a lot, and that he's gonna protect our country, and make this land safe for our family and others :)

This WordArt request comes from "themagicbox". Yes, it was a bit long, but I think it turned out nicely :) Hope you like it!

Left click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, or right click on the image below to save a smaller PNG version of the WordArt. And, leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
Friendship, Be, True - Stephanie Marie JF

Did It Myself

So, yesterday evening, after a long day at the house, we decided it would be good to go on a family walk. To "walk" off some of that energy the kids all had. We walked a few blocks, then went down the bike trail. A few more blocks got us to a little neighborhood park. My mom didn't want to stay long, so we started off again.

Here's my Dad and I (and Joe), just exiting the bike trail.

So when we finally got close to home, my dad saw this huge sand hill, and said to my oldest, Jake, I'll race you up! And off he went! Jacob was quick to follow - see them in the distance.

Well, thinking that it would be good fun for the other kids too, I told them that anyone who made the top would get a cookie (we'd made homemade oatmeal raisin cookies earlier that day at my aunts house). Well, they ALL wanted to go. So, I grabbed Jim's (the 2 year old) hand, and off we went, up the big hill. Wow, was it big.

This last stretch was really hard. I had to lift Jimmy up, step by step, because it was so steep and sandy. But, the view from the top was fabulous. My mom (who of course didn't want to play), took this up close pic of us. What a great zoom - ha! Jimmy was there too, he was just too short and blocked by the tree :)

What a fun adventure!!!

Today's WordArt comes from Lynn. Yep, she's the one who was quoted too! What a great saying :) I have a lot of photos that this would apply to! I'm sure you do too :)

Click on the image below to download, and leave some love if you like my work.

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I, Did, It, Myself - Hyrule

Friday's Fresh Fruit

So, how do you like my new WordArt? Know how I do my "Attitude" research? Tee shirts at department stores - ha! Isn't that funny :) They have the BEST attitude sayings :)

And, for all of you who received the Scraporchard Friday's Fresh Fruit newsletter, the Sports Attitude WordArt preview has been fixed, as well as the download. 2 typos in 1 WordArt pack? I need to fire my editor - ha! (If only I had one - hehehe)

I was kicking around the idea of getting a marketing director/publicity person, though. Anyone remotely interested if I decide to do that? And I think I'll be getting a CT of a few people together too. I still need to work out some details on that :) Fun times!!!)

$2.00 until next Thursday (20% off)

$2.75 until next Thursday (31% off)

And, the winner of my contest last week (win the amount of your order in a coupon) was Cindy from Canada! Way to go, girl! I'll be sending you your coupon tonight! Thanks for playing, ladies!

Dirt

We went to the lake again yesterday. But, we were the only ones there for the first 1 1/2 hours. I think that may be why the kids didn't have quite a much fun on the fun scale (of course, any amount of fun is good, eh?). The tourists finally started arriving at 11, and the kids had 45 minutes to play with kids. My oldest even caught a salamander, which he was SO proud of!

We went to my Aunts house for a visit, and my Grandma and Great Aunt Shirley were there too. It was good to visit for a while. My Aunt has a HUGE tv, and the kids thought it was just like a movie theater. Too cute!

I got 2 letters today from Captain America!!! I was so excited! It sounds like he's doing well. He's in a ....um, Company? with 50 guys, and in a platoon (?) of 200. He said that they're all working OK as a group, but it's hard to get guys of all different ages to work together, especially the "punk" 18-21 year olds :) Get used to that, sweetie :) Anyway, he wanted me to go and buy him a watch, because only a handful out of the 200 had one. Holy cow!

He was pretty specific in what he wanted. It needed a backlight, and a stopwatch, and military time, and a velcro band. Plus, it couldn't have crome (nothing shiny). Sniper attractor, or something like that. Nice, sweetie. I could have done without hearing that :) But yes, I found him a watch that wouldn't attract sniper fire :) Be safe, sweetheart!!!

I thought this saying was SO CUTE, that I made this WordArt for you all. I know that my boys are usually dirty (although less so at my mom's house - she follows them around, cleaning them - ha!), so I have a TON of pics to use with this one.

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Dirt - If

Rainbow

Check out this photo! This is where we spent the afternoon yesterday - sweet spot, eh?

I LOVE going up the river with my Dad. He used to take us here as kids, and I SO enjoyed having him take me and my kids here too. The river cuts through the rocks, and makes little whirpools and "hot tubs". It was SO fun. The 2 big boys spent the whole time in the water, and the 2 little boys spent the whole time avoiding the water - LOL! At least we didn't have to worry about them drowning - the wouldn't get anywhere near it - ha!

Here's Jake and Tom with the goggle, and Eme after she finally decided that the "crawdads" weren't gonna eat her. She spent the first 2 hours with the little boys on the rocks, wanting to play, but being scared. She finally sucked it up, and realized that mom actually knew what she was talking about, that the "crawdads" would just swim away from her.

And here's the little boys with my dad. Isn't Oregon BEAUTIFUL!!! It was so nice and warm! I've been FREEZING since we moved here, and it's amazing how 20 miles inland will change the temperature. It was HOT, and awesome! Ha! I was in heaven :)

Speaking of me, here I am! I SO love bandanas (or hair hiders, as I refer to them - ha!) And, I even felt OK in my swimming suit, after all my weight loss :) I'm down to 155!!! The very skinniest I've ever been is 152. I'm not far from my lowest now! (my goal is 140)

Now, on to WordArt. OK guys, I'm digging from the bottom of the barrel here - ha! So, we spent the whole afternoon yesterday up the river. Then, I needed to get 2 new WordArt packs designed and ready to go last night, and finished that up at 11pm. So, I'm TOO tired to make a freebie, so I started looking around on my 'puter to see what was there. I found this one, that I'd made for Carla of Designing Moments, a while back. I thought you all might like having it :) Besides, you got 2 WordArts yesterday - LOL!

Click on the image below to download, and leave some love if you like my work :)

WordArt Wednesday Week 9

I don't know why I keep forgetting about WordArt Wednesday, but I do - ha! Is old age setting in already? I know I started to go gray at 21, but losing my mind too? Now that's just not fair! hehehe.

Anyway, I discovered my oversight this morning, and quickly whipped out this Freebie for you all! I kinda liked it! And, I used this FABULOUS new font from Irene Alexeeva (who's coming on at Scraporchard in October). It's AWESOME!!! So, here ya go! You get LOTS of WordArt for today :) Yeah for you!!!!

Click on the WordArt below to go to Scraporchard to download the zip file. And remember, you need to be logged into the Scraporchard gallery in order to download. If you haven't already registered, it's FAST, EASY, and FREE! :)

Garden of Flowers

I thought I'd post a few b-day pics of my son, Joe. He's such a cutie, and had such a GREAT time on his B-day. He wanted an GIJoe cake (go figure, with dad joining the Army - ha!), so this is what we came up with - isn't it AWESOME!!! We used 4 cake mixes, and 4 tubs of frosting. It was a HUGE cake. It was a LARGE rectangle cake, with 6 MEGA cupcakes on top (cut in half, and arranged as mounds). Then, we covered it with all sorts of bushes - SO COOL! And, finished off with Army Men :)

Here's Joe, posing with his cake.

A close up of the cake

Kids on the couch, right before opening presents

We didn't have candles, so we used wooden matches. Note to self - don't use wooden matches for candles - LOL! One of the matches was right under a leaf, and started to burn a hole through it, and melted off the army dude's arm - ha! Check out the smoke starting in the photo.

Here's Joe as he realizes that the army man's arm has melted off. What a look of glee! Lots of smoke too - hehehe. What great b-day memories :)

So, on to WordArt. Andrea from Boyerville Scraps and I have more WordArt for you! It's from a new freebie Mini Kit on her blog. I made 2 WordArts, one you can get from here, and one you can buy in her kit :)

Click HERE to go to Andrea's blog and buy her kit (which includes my WordArt)

And click on the WordArt below to get the Garden of Flowers WordArt free from me. Thanks, girls!

2008 Olympics

Happy B-day Joe!!! My 4 year old just turend 5! What a big kid :) We love you, Joe!!!

My mom and dad took us out to the movies last night in honor of Joe's b-day. We saw "The Mummy 3". We LOVE the other 2 movies, and this one is great too. Plus, I like Jet Lei. That always helps :) It was pretty cool! Then, after the movie, we had dinner at KFC. Our KFC had a special on Monday nights, where you get 2 pieces of chicken, a corn on the cob, a biscuit, and a side for only $2.99. It was a great deal. My kids were in HOG HEAVEN - ha!

But, before the movies/dinner, the kids and I went to the lake. It was a BEAUTIFUL day (and that's saying something for the Oregon coast - LOL!) I haven't taken my sweatshirt off since we got here, and at the lake, I actually took it off! I sat in the sun for 3 hours, while the kids played in the water. I think I even got some sun! My cheeks looked red last night - Woohoo! It should turn to tan in a few days. It was great! Here are a few pics from the lake (only the little kids, because the older ones were out swimming and out of camera range).

We got to the lake at 9am - see, if you go later, when it starts to warm up, the tourists are all there, and you have to fight for a place on the beach - LOL! So, we went early, and played with the other locals - hehehehe.

Who says white men can't jump ? Ha! I see at least a 1/2 inch clearance there!

Splash, Splash!

Isn't he a CUTIE!!!

And, there are neat paintings of people on the outside walls of our theater. It looks like people waiting in line to get in. My mom though it was so cute, she had my kids pose. Ha! Funny, eh?

So, how many of you are watching the Olympics? I just LOVE watching them! GO USA!!! This is the first time in YEARS that I've been able to watch the Olympics. We didn't have cable for the last Olympics. I made it to my parents house JUST in time :) Yippee!!! Anyway, I thought that you all might like this little Olympics Logo for this year. It would be cute on pics of you guys watching the Olympics, on an Olympic photo, or even on a pic of your little Olympian participating in their sport/event of choice, trying their hardest (wouldn't that be adorable!).

Click on the image below to download, and leave some love if you like my work :)

FONTS:

One - Felix Tilting
World, Dream - CK_Alis_Hand_Offical

Dog Tired

Today makes 2 weeks since my hubby left for training :( We're doing pretty good here, though. I'm not used to having so many grown-ups around to help out. I could get used to this - Ha! Every once in a while, though, I get a little teary eyed about missing my sweetie. We sang a song in church today, God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again, and I had a hard time keeping it together. I miss my man :)

Hehehe, isn't this funny :) This WordArt request is from Maureen. Too cute! I could use this on all of my kids "tuckered out" photos! Or, those of you with dogs could use it on napping dog photos. Lots of possibilities :)

Click on the image below to either go to my 4shared account and download the PNG file, or save the PNG file to your computer. Thanks!

FONTS:

Dog - Stamped DSG
Tired - The Buns

Creativity

Ha! I TOTALLY forgot to make your WordArt for today! Hehehehe. We went to North Bend (about an hour away) to Wal-Mart to get our hair cut (and shop!), then sat outside in the sunshine (yeah, it was the first time it came out since i got here a week ago, and I still had to snuggle under a blanket to keep from freezing - but the sun rays sure felt good!), then went to the grocery store to get some milk, then watched a movie with my dad (very B budget, but kinda funny - but then, it WAS supposed to be a horror movie, so maybe funny wasn't what they were going for - LOL!).

At 11 pm, I was ready to go to sleep, when I realized that I hadn't made anything for you all! But, thankfully, I remembered this WordArt I had made a while back, and decided to sell instead of give away. Lucky you, you get it as a freebie - ha!

So, because it's SO late, I'm not uploading it to 4shared, you'll have to just right click to save it. I promise I won't forget you again (well, for a while anyway - LMBO!)

Wisdom

I worked on returning e-mails yesterday, and got a BIG dent in my inbox! I'm down to about 70 something! Ha! And that was from over 100. I'm slowing chipping away at it - LOL! I did find a WONDERFUL website from one of you wonderful readers! Married to the Army is the site. Thanks so much! I learned a TON about what my hubby is doing at Basic, and general things that I should know about Military life. And some things I wish I had know before he left that would have made the transition easier. Who knew that I was supposed to get Power of Attorney before he left. That makes sense now, since I started filling out the Dental paperwork, and need his signature. That makes the process a bit more time consuming. So, all of you girls out there who's hubby's are joining up, get Power of Attorney - hehehe. And visit that website - it has WONDERFUL information!

This WordArt request is from Sharon in Germany. She wanted something that addresses racism. I couldn't really find a quote that I thought would make a good WordArt that had racism in the quote. I did find this one, though, and thought it would be good. I hope you like it, Sharon!

Left click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, or right click on the image below to save the PNG file to your computer. And, leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
Wisdom - Tiranti Solid LET

Cats

I have a MILITARY ID!! I don't know why, but I was SO excited to get it - LOL! I'm such a dork. We finally found the place, and went into this TINY little room where they were making the ID cards, and found out that only adults and kids over 10 need them. Nice. So I drug the other kids all the way to Eugene for nothing. Oh well. I SO wish that we had gotten a welcome letter or SOMETHING from the military with directions of how to go about stuff.

I got a packet of papers from my hubby, with ID card applications for me and each child, a copy of our birth certificates, and a letter saying that we should get the ID cards. That's all. No locations. No directions. I had to make several calls just to find the place, but it was only a recording with times. Goodness. It's gonna be a LONG life, isn't it - ha! But, I think I know the next steps. We need to get our SS cards back from my hubby, and take them back to that ID card place. And, we need to call TRICARE (our insurance) and see what to do next on that front. I'll get this all figured out someday - hehehehe.

Anyway, the kids were good, and we had fun with my Grandma Ida. The drive was relatively pleasant (we DID have 5 kids in the truck, after all!), and we got home before dinner. It was a good day! And, after the kids went to bed, my mom and I went to the store together. You know, it's kind of fun going out with grown-ups. Who knew!

Ha! It's another animal WordArt. For all you loyal blog readers, you know that I'm not an "animal person". But, I did my best - LOL! This WordArt request is from Laraine. You know, you usually do see cats in pairs or more than one, don't ya? My Aunt has 2 cats that my kids just LOVE, even if they don't love the kids - LOL!

Left click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, or Right click on the image below to save the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Tingle Institute (or something like that - ha!)

Friday's Fresh Fruit (but on Thursday - LOL!)

Hi all! I just wanted to share my new WordArt packs releasing Tomorrow in the Orchard with you all, and just couldn't wait until tomorrow! So, here they are. I hope you like them!!!

AND, one lucky person will WIN BIG at my store!!! All you have to do is purchase something from my store between now and Tuesday. You're name will be entered into a drawing to win a coupon to my store FOR THE AMOUNT OF YOUR PURCHASE!!! That's right! You could win BIG!!! So, what are you waiting for? Ha! Head on over to Scraporchard to check out my WordArt :) Or, follow the links below to see my NEW STUFF!

$2.75 until next Thursday - click here - 31% off

$2.00 until next Thursday - click here - 20% off

$2.00 until next Thursday - click here - 20% off

$2.00 until next Thursday - click here - 20% off

House Happy

So today we get to go to Eugene (about 60 miles East of here) to get our Military ID cards. We get to go to a Navy place, since there's no Army one close. Hopefully it's a fast thing. But, with my limited experience with the military so far, it probably won't be. My Aunt was supposed to come with us, but realized that she had an appointment for that day. My Grandma is coming with us now, I think. What a great luxury, to have family so close, and are willing to help. I'm perfectly capable of going to the city on my own (and have TONS of times), but it'll be much more fun with one more grown-up!

And, what trip to the city wouldn't be complete without WALMART! Woohoo! My parents town doesn't have one, so my mom is sending me with a list of stuff to get! I SO love Wal-Mart - ha!

This WordArt request if from Christine. I thought it was hilarious, and so fitting for my life - ha! But, my mom doesn't seem to think so. No only was she the driving/trip Nazi, she also the rule Nazi. Ha! When we first got here, we all sat down and talked about important house rules, and what we could expect. It was a GREAT meeting, but lasted for over an hour. The kids said "Boy, Grandma has a lot of rules". Ha! So true :) But the kids are mostly following them all (keep toys in the family room, food in the kitchen, be respectful - basic stuff like that). I think it's gonna work out here just fine :)

Anyway, I got a bit off there, sorry! LMBO! Left click on the image to go to my 4shared account to download the png file, or right click on the image to save the PNG file. Thanks!

FONTS:
House - Smargana
Happy - Gigi

Posting Layouts

Hey all! I've decided that I'm no longer gonna post layouts on my blog, because I can't seem to find the time. My inbox is full with over 100 personal emails, and I'm not sure how I'm gonna be able to get to them all. So, I think I've come up with a good solution. hehehe.

When you make a layout with my WordArt, you can post the layout HERE at my Scraporchard gallery. Then, you can come back to my blog, and find the post where the WordArt was offered, then leave a link to your layout in the COMMENT section. Good idea? I hope it will work. I still want to see all of your BEAUTIFUL layouts, but I just don't have enough time to post them all here :( My daughter drew a pic of me the other day, and my laptop was in it - not a good sign - LMBO!

Look Forward

So, there's this spikey plant in my parents backyard that grows in the sand, and my son, Tom, found it - Ha! It's really hard to see on the ground. I don't know what it's called, but it blends into the grass (well, our grass is yellow - ha!). Poor guy stepped right on it. Here he is, getting the spikey things pulled out of his foot with tweezers. Ouch!!

And here's my dad, reading to all the kids. While it may look like a nice family friendly moment, he was adding his own "twist" to the story. It had 5 little Chinese boys who looked exactly the same, and he was pointing out that even their butt cracks were even the same. Nice dad - ha!!! (The little blond girl is my brothers - Taylor)

And here's my proof that I got on the 3 wheeler. Yeah for me! Here's my one and only time on the thing. Sorry, Dad, I'm not going out for a repeat ride!!! That was SCARY! AND, can I just say that I'm not climatized yet! It's FREEZING out here - LOL! Haven't taken my hoodie off since we got here (practically)

Jimmy didn't like it too well either! Ha! Kid after my own heart :)

We had a fun time last night at the McDonald's Playland (pretty sad when that's a night out on the town - LOL!) The big boys wanted to eat Taco Bell, so they got it first and brought it there, and the little kids had McDonalds kids meals. Have you ever done that? Ha! We're such rebels. The kids had fun playing at the playland, and the grown-ups got to visit for a while (we ran into my sister's in-laws, and chatted for a while). It was a simple, yet fun, evening.

Have you ever watched ABC's "Wipeout"? Oh my heck! My boys think it's HILARIOUS! The were watching it in the other room last night, and they were laughing so hard, I thought they'd hurt themselves - Ha!!!

Well, it's another WordArt Wednesday. I thought that this one turned out quite nice :) I thought it would be PERFECT for heritage albums and pages. What do you think?

Click HERE to go to the freebie section of Scraporchard, and just remember, you need to be signed in to grab the WordArt. Thanks girls!!!

FONTS: Included in the download

Called to Serve

My dad's newest hobby is 3-wheeling. They just happen to live on the Oregon Coast, where the dunes are AWESOME! My dad took us out 3-wheeling last night. My boys had a ton of fun. Tom was first, and ended up tipping it over (poor thing felt SO bad - that one wouldn't start for a while after). Jacob was next, and kept gripping the gas too fast, making it almost do a wheelie. He didn't go too far before he decided he'd pass. Joe, Eme, and Jim got rides with Papa, and had a lot of fun (well, Jim didn't like it too much). Jake and Tom got rides with Papa too, and he even made me go! I'm not the most adventurous of people, and it was SCARY! Definitely won't be doing that again - ha! But, I did it! My hubby would be proud. I only screamed a little bit - LOL!

This WordArt request is for Angela. She wanted it for her husbands mission album. I thought it would also be good for little boys/girls dressed up, looking like Missionaries. Or for little kids playing "restaurant". Or for military pages. Or "service" pages.

Right click on the image below to save the PNG file, or click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
Serve - ATCitadelScript
Called, To - Imprint MT Shadow

Raising My Child

It was so nice to be back in my home town, and go to my home ward (church congregation). There were some familiar faces, and a lot of new ones too. It's been 14 years since I lived here, so there's been a lot of changes. Back in Ohio, my hubby was in the Bishopric (like an assistant to the minister), so I had to corral all 5 kids by myself. BUT, in my parents ward, there were 4 adults (me, my mom and dad, and my grandma) to my 5 kids. What a great ratio! Much easier on me - LOL!

This WordArt request if from Amberlee. I never did like the "it takes a village to raise a child" theory, so when she sent me this quote, I just LOVED it :) hehehehe. I SO don't want the "village" raising my kids. I think I can do a splendid job on my own - LOL!

NOTE: When I upload my images to blogger, they are PNG files (the files with no backgrounds). So, theoretically, if you right click on the WordArt, and save it to your computer, you will get the PNG file, not the JPG. Then, there will be no need to go to 4shared to download the file (4shared has been a bit screwy as of late - the past few days, it hasn't been linking things so good). So, give it a try, and see if it works for ya!

Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the png file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
Child - Rambler Script JF

Be Counted

Wow, and I thought that the actual moving was hard - LOL! All 5 kids are in my sisters old bedroom, and trying to fit clothes for 5 people in one closet (no dressers) is, um, fun - ha! I'm on a cot in the family room, and we had to improvise for a closet. Good thing I'm flexible - hehehehe!

Thanks so much to everyone for all of the kind words and thoughts during our move! You guys are awesome :) My inbox is TOTALLY jammed with emails (I'll try my best, but it may take a while to get to them all :), and I'm feeling the 'love'! Thanks!!!

Here's a few pics from our crabbing trip to the beach. While we didn't catch anything, the kids had a bunch of fun throwing in and pulling out the pots, playing in the sand, and hanging out with family. Even though it was wet and cold, we had a BLAST!!!

So, on to WordArt. This request is from Jessica. Can't remember where I got this font from, but I thought it was really cool. Hope you like it!

Click on the image below to go to my 4shared account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Be, Counted - OldgateLaneOutline