Furnace/AC update: They have been here for 3 full days. Well, HE, Don has been here for 3 full days. He's very nice and works like a dog! There are some additional challenges with the installation of this system due to the construction of this old farm house. We're still holding on to the possiblility that the builder of this house was drunk when he built this house. Needless to say, Don has been here longer than his employer hade anticipated. I believe he's making great progress and should finish up completely tomorrow. We do actually have heat, so we're not freezing. Oh-so-thankful for that :)

I thought I'd share a couple photos of one of Nick's favorite dishes, chicken pot pie. The child was thrilled when I was preparing it, complete with a homemade pie crust - yum!









Thanks for stopping by!

I should have more photos from Blake's music show last night. It was soooo stinkin' cute!

Shawn

Charlie and I went on our first mini-vacation since 2008 without the kids. We decided to scope out Hershey, PA and everything it has to offer for a future trip involving the kids.

Let me just tell you how much there is to do in Hershey! It is an absolutely beautiful town. They really pride themselves on cleanliness and friendliness. We could have not asked for nicer weather. We took advantage of Houlihan's Restaurant and The Chocolate Story Museum. Houlihan's was good, but not great. The Hershey Story was loaded with information on the town and Milton Hershey himself, along with some of the other big names in chocolate. Here are just a few shots of that aspect of our trip, as well as the villa we stayed in.

We can't wait to take the kids to Hershey to experience everything else the town has to offer. Top on our list is ZooAmerica and Hershey Amusement Park, but there are many more activities than just that. It really is a town for families.

My layout below is the layout I did for my sketch blog this week. Check it out, along with all of the other Designers' creations. It is really neat to see other peoples' interpretations of the sketch.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope to have more to share with you later.

Shawn

We finally have our new computer up and running with the internet. Windows 7 threw Verizon for a loop, but it works and that's all that matters.

We had a gorgeous Easter at my parents' home in Michigan. My Mom made roast beef, which I've been craving forever! I had to stop from stuffing myself! Soooooo yummy! I was able to play Scrabble with my Mom and Sister, which is always such a treat - made sweeter still by my winning a couple rounds :) Charlie came with us, so that was even a nicer trip.

Volleyball ended fantastically. We made it to the finals, which we have never done before in this league. Nevermind that Char and I were unserimoniously "booted" off the team we had played for for four years. We beat them in the semi-finals :) No, we didn't take the title, but it was still sweet.

My elbow is hopefully on the mend. It was killing me for the last month or so of volleyball. The Doctor said I have lateral epicondilitis. I have to do exericises, wear a brace, ice it 4 times a day for 20 minutes each and massage it. So, I get a free pass to sit for at least 80 minutes a day :) If, after all of this, it doesn't show signs of improvement...surgery.

Nick took his hunter's safety course last week and passed. He was bored the entire class. Everything was just "common sense" he said. At least Kyle was there to share in the pain of it. Now, he's good to go! And I say, "Bring on the meat!"

We have a guy coming tonight to give us a quote on a new furnace and AC unit. Can I just tell you how excited I am about that? WAYYYYY excited :) Charlie doesn't like to sweat either. He has a hard time sleeping when it's so hot.

I've been participating in the April THAW challenges over at Willow Traders and am having a blast. I love the thought of having an actual deadline to get these done. I've been trying to schedule at the very least, an hour a day to scrap. I also have been trying to use up my older kits from The Scrapping Spot. I used the same kit for these four layouts. This kit is just about done :)

Anyway, I'm off to awaken the children to kick them off to school for 7 hours.

Thanks for stopping!

Shawn

Oh, what a gorgeous day today! I don't want it to end! I want Spring to stay. I

would also like the mud to be gone, but hey!

I'm going to a crop this weekend with the girls and I can not wait! It seems like it's been forever. I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done, but I know I'll have a blast.

I created this layout using my sketch for this week. This photo is from Easter 2005, which made Kaila 1 1/2 years old. How sweet was she?

There's really not a whole lot going on here, so that's it!

Thanks for stopping by!

shawn

We are all recovering from some sort of "bug" this past week. It was not pretty and definitely wasn't invited. We are all on the mend, but still not 100%.

I'm just posting a couple more layouts from the last month or so. The single page layout was created based on a Scrapbooks, Etc. Sketch.

Here are a couple layouts to browse. I used The Scrapping Spot's March Kit for - Easter Fun, Easter and Jump-a-Licious! I used a Pagemaps sketch for - Easter.

I'm just going to post a layout for now. I'll update with pictures and more details about our weekend later :)

I was a busy little bee yesterday. I was able to create 6 layouts for the Scrap Your Stash challenges over at The Scrapping Spot. I used eyelets! Say it ain't so! Not only did I use eyelets, but I used over 60! I haven't used eyelets in years. It was kind of nice.

If you'd like a larger view of these, just double click on them.









Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Thanks to Lisa for this awesome "Valentine's Swap" over at The Scrapping Spot. I opened it up to find this really cute mailbox that she decorated with patterned paper, along with a coordinating card. It was filled with a mug, candle, chocolate/caramel covered pretzels (yum!), acrylic stamps (Basicgrey), rubons, Maya Road nake chipboard, stickers and bling! What a haul!

Ok. I've had enough snow already. I consider us lucky to have our electric. Also, we have a Bobcat, so Charlie can plow until his heart's content. He made a huge pile for the kids to play on. Nick decided to dig a tunnel, which we later deemed unsafe.

It's freezing here and doesn't look to be getting any warmer for over a week. I'm ready for Spring!

Take care! I'll be back soon to post anther layout.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Holy February! I can not believe how fast time goes. It stinks! The older I get the faster it goes. It's a good thing I take an unruly amount of photos, or I would forget what the kids look like from year to year.


We had our monthly Scrap Day at Charlene's church. I made buns for the awesome BBQ pulled pork sandwiches that Angelina made. And to top that off, Charlene made cheesey potaoes - MMMM! Alyssa and Vicki kicked it up another notch with to-die-for desserts. Alyssa made a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheeseball served on graham crackers. I'm not sure that's the official name, but that's what I call it. Vicki chipped in with a Peanut Butter Cookie Apple Pizza drizzled with caramel. WOW!!! Everything was beyond delicious!!!


My 36th birthday came and went. I made a Chocolate Earthquake Cake for myself that was oh-so-delicious! Charlie helped me eat it over the course of a week. It is definitely one of my most favorite desserts. Charlie bought me some pretty flowers, which Kaila loves to display. She doesn't even want to remove them for dinner. They're still pretty after 19 days. I honestly don't feel much different than I did when I was 18. I just have more responsibilities :)


The biggest and saddest news I have in my little world is that our laptop of 6 years completely crashed last Thursday. I knew it was going, but I had hoped for the best. Now, I'm having a hard time getting the internet to work on the our new computer with the Windows 7 operating system. I have to call Dell Tech Support to see if can indeed be saved. At least we have internet.


The happiest news for me, because I'm so very easy to please is my new peel and stick tile floor. It is a temporary floor until we re-do the entire kitchen. I just couldn't stand the other floor any longer. My husband loves me, so he took to task and completed it this past Saturday. I love the outcome. Kaila was right in there working like a champ.






























Here are a couple of the two pagers I did at our Scrap Day last month. For those of you who attend, our next one is February 27th. Feel free to email me if you can make it.

I did the Lightning Bug Quest for a Scrap Your Stash at The Scrapping Spot. Their February Kits are up as well, so get over there before they're gone! They are GORGEOUS!











Thanks so much for stopping by!

Shawn

WARNING!!! There is a "before" picture of Blake's cut ear below. So, if you'll pass out by viewing it, I advise you to go no further. There is also an "after" picture of his ear and how beautiful it looks now. Blake fell on a toy tank on New Year's Eve Eve. He wants a scar. He couldn't wait for kids to ask him what happened. I have to say, he was quite the trooper! So very proud of my little patient.

See these delightfully delicious photos? Yes, that's what I spend every 2-3 days baking. We love our bread.

Again, baked goodies. You know...what I especially don't need :)

Sledding at Grandma Lahr's.

My darling sister and me at the Bargewell Family Reunion 2008 :)

If you want to see this one a little closer just double click on it.

There isn't much else going on here besides trudging through this nasty white stuff, a.k.a. snow! I'm ready for spring! Who's with me?

If you're a scrapper and looking for some great challenges to reduce your stash, by all means drop over at The Scrapping Spot to get your challenges and get started! There may a prize or two involved. Oh, you don't have "enough" stash to create anything? That is a shame! You're in luck...The Scrapping Spot can help you there as well :) Their store is filled with all kinds of goodies ready, willing and able to be shipped to your location as soon Jill can package it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn