Create...

Today we have a busy start to the week-end. The kids will finish with their hockey games up on the Sunshine Coast tonight, that is, if it doesn't rain! Then, we have Mark's delayed birthday dinner celebrations on Saturday night.

So this morning I am uploading a few layouts that I have finished in the last week.

This one is for the monthly challenge over at Scrapboxx. There was a sketch to follow and I wanted to document the way Ethan says his ABC's at the moment. It is so cute because he substitutes letters for words. My all time favourite with his alphabet, is the letter "Q". That letter becomes the word "cute"!!

And some detail...

The next layout is for the weekly challenge at Scrapboxx. We were required to scrap a photo with no people in it. This what I came up with. This photo will look familiar. See here.

Journaling says: the dew-kissed webs of winter '08. It's amazing how many people were going to scrap the same idea over at the boxx! And finally, a layout using one of the cute journaling spots that Belinda sent me in a RAK. (Thanks heaps B.! I've got a lot of the items ready to go on layouts waiting to be put together. I will share those soon.)

Ethan and his funny little sayings! I just had to get this photo and story, down on paper!

That's Anne spelt with an "E"...

Tahlia's book week character was chosen from her new found love with the Anne of Green Gables series. I loved this series of books when I was her age and I am so glad that she has found Anne too.

Sooo...not only was I left scrambling for Liam's Robot costume, but I had to pull out the sewing machine to create her blue gingham apron! I think it turned out okay, considering I had no pattern to follow. Lol!!

She had a good time too, parading around among the princesses, fairies and super heroes! But I still couldn't find that red hair....

Rob the Robot...

Today, Liam had his book character parade. He was absolutely, (somewhat) certain, that he wanted to be a robot. Well, as certain as a five year old can be, when it comes to these momentous decisions! The choice however, had been determined some time earlier in the year, but he had only recently decided to let me know, with only three days to spare, before the parade commenced. Do you know how hard it is to find a book character who is a robot!!!!!!

We were given directions to this web site here and amazingly enough, this little guy, closely resembled the picture Liam had drawn earlier in the week. Liam had a fabulous time walking around in the parade of characters even though he had limited vision and mobility. Thank goodness for his buddy who guided him safely through the crowd!

Tomorrow, Anne of Green Gables, will be visiting the school! Now, if only I could find some red hair...

Hooray...

...for all the mums and dads who took their kids to our regional hockey carnival... and survived!!! What a day. No, let me re-phrase that. What a long, tantrum-filled, injury-plagued, sun-burning day! And that was just me! No, only joking! It was a good day for having fun and learning about the game. And besides the weather was really good.

Liam plays in the Mickey group (5-7 years) and Tahlia plays in the Modified group (under 9s). Other than that I can't tell you much more about the game. I'm learning about it as they do!!

Liam was up to play in the first game this morning. Each game had two, 10min halves. And I think that was enough for these, (mostly) five year olds, to handle.

He did really well. Proudly telling Tahlia that he now knows more about the game than she does. He has played longer. By one week. Therefore, that is why he scored a goal in his first game! Yay!!!

She promptly replied with a goal of her own, in her first game too! Yay!!!

I promise you, she wasn't the only kid out on the field. Although, sadly, her goal, was probably the last one scored for their team all day....But did I mention that the weather was fantastic.

Photo challenge...

I've just had a little bit of fun posting some photos that I'd taken, for a challenge at Scrap Therapy. There were three challenges in all. The first one had to be a photo of something old and it had to be in sepia or black and white. This is the photo I posted.

A photo of Dad's old tractor when it was down in the back paddock, with the grass being almost as tall as it. It has had a bit of a makeover since this photo was taken!

The second challenge was to take a photo of a daisy or a bucket. Since we have these gorgeous flowers growing in our garden at the moment (and I love these flowers!) I decided that that was going to be the shot. Maybe I should have thrown a bucket in there too, but Ethan's hand kept getting in the way!

I quite like it like that anyway!

The last challenge was to use the macro mode on your camera and photograph an insect. This is what I came up with.

Can you see the bee? I assure you it's there! lol! I love the detail of its wings. Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Create...

I just wanted to share this "shaped" layout I have recently completed for the Scrapboxx Weekly Challenge. Mostly because the rainbow was created using the RAK Lusi Austin so generously bestowed on me! She had sent me the extra Fiskars "He said" squeeze punch that she had in her stash. (Hence the influence with my title too!) I knew as soon as I saw it, exactly what I wanted to create. But when putting it together, I needed the extra oomph of direction, given through the challenge.

And since photos of Liam have been lacking in my scrapbooking lately, I thought it was his turn to feature! The journaling says: "and HE said...he loves me more than the beauty of the rainbow".

And as an update...

My layout "drawing" won the monthly challenge at Scrapboxx...

And the layout "she..." won the Weekly challenge...


And I'm pretty excited about that!! TFL.

Week-end photos...

We had some fun on the week-end with the kids running around crazy in the backyard. I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to get some great shots. The kids were willing too...for the most part!

But when I pushed for that "One more picture please!" they decided to lose the plot!

Guess I should have stopped when the going was good. But how could I resist these faces?

Create...

I have been doing some serious spring cleaning this weekend. I am tired of tripping over the kids toys that they don't bother to tidy away. So...several garbage bags of small "happy meal" toys later, I feel that I have progressed. A lot of stuff is yet to find its way to new homes, but at least I have it ready to go.

Among the madness of frantic cleaning (frantic, for no reason other than I wanted it over and done with before the hay-fever drove me insane), I managed to do a little scrapping. I had recently found some studio photos of Tahlia and Liam, that were taken in 2004. So, this was a good enough reason, for me, to stop what I was doing and take a break.

I found that "admit one" ticket while cleaning up too. Lol!

The next layout is part of the current Weekly Challenge at The Boxx. It had to be a layout which included a picture of yourself and seven facts, good or bad, about you.

This one was really hard for me to complete. I have never created a layout about myself before, but that in itself was the challenge. I'm reasonably happy with the way this one turned out. I especially like the letter "L" shape behind the pic. And what is this thing I have for buttons at the moment? I seem to put them on every layout I create at the moment. Lol!

Thanks for looking.

Happy Birthday Mark...

It is this wonderful man's birthday today...

You're a wonderful hubby, a fabulous dad...and the only one I'd make a lemon meringue pie for! Hope you have a great day!

The Ekka...

Blue skies, early morning and excited kids. It's been two years since our first visit to the Ekka. Last year we avoided it like the plague...because the plague (really bad flu season) was going around. Today however, we risked being coughed and sneezed on, in favour of having a good time!

We spent a large amount of our time walking through the side show alleys and looking at all the bright and colourful stuffed animals they had on offer... On offer only if you spent $5 and actually managed (by some sheer miracle) won it. We also walked through the farm yard experience, where the kids could interact with baby animals, ranging from chickens to piglets. Ethan loved this.

And we also took to the rides. After all, isn't that the show experience?


Ok, maybe our choice of rides weren't as thrill seeking as others... But the kids still had fun!



And we even got to go on the ferris wheel this year.




Not sure what Ethan was trying to do here... I think he was showing off his "Sunny Queen Egg" smile. Lol! And check out the view! We went up 46m above the ground.





We had a really good day and yes, the kids also walked away with some show bag "junk"! I'm going to leave this post with a photo of Tahlia, two years ago, when we first experienced the Ekka. Boy, does time really fly by that quickly?

Create...

Here's my entry into the Scrapboxx July Monthly challenge. We had a sketch to follow and this is what I came up with.

I quite like the colours in this one. Very simple and easy to complete. Right now, Ethan loves to draw. Every chance he gets, he'll grab a piece of paper and some pens/crayons/pencils that are lying around and create a masterpiece! Pictures of faces and tractors, are his favourite things to draw, although he has recently drawn a picture of a train as well!

I was in the mood to create a little more today and this is what I've come up with.

That's my nature boy, enjoying the outdoors! Ethan had a fantastic time climbing this tree at our Mother's Day picnic, earlier in the year.

Thanks for looking.

Afternoon delight...

The kids have been enjoying the afternoons lately. Ethan misses them a lot during the day while they are at school and when they get home, they all chase each other around the yard. The photos I have are blurry, but I really like the expressions on their faces. They are having soooo much fun!

And this photo is definitely going to be scrapped! "Look Mum! The spits!" Well, that's how Ethan says it!

Relax and enjoy...

Oh, to relax in the sun, among the flowers and watch the clouds float by...

And while your at it, you may as well have chocolate! Here's the recipe for the chocolate mousse Mark made. Four ingredients and a little bit of time...you can't go wrong!

Chocolate Mousse from Women's Weekly Old-Fashion Desserts

200g dark eating chocolate

300ml thickened cream

3 eggs, separated

2 tbls caster sugar

step 1. Break off and reserve 1 row of chocolate to make decorative shavings (or use maltesers like we did)

step2. Chop remaining chocolate coarsely then combine it with half the cream in large heatproof bowl. Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water & stir until chocolate has melted. Cool chocolate for 5mins then quickly stir in egg yolks, 1 at a time.

step 3. Beat egg whites in small bowl on high speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form; add sugar, beat until dissolved. Gently fold whites, in two batches, into chocolate mixture; pour mixture into serving glasses/bowls. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

step 4. Whip remaining cream until soft peaks form. Make chocolate shavings and add to each mousse serving!

Enjoy and let me know if you like it!!

Create...

I've just uploaded my layout for the weekly challenge at Scrapboxx. I'm not sure if I've put it in the right place, but I'm hoping someone over there will let me know! Lol!

I worked on this last night instead of doing the dishes!

The challenge had to include a vertical title, some chipboard and some rub-ons. Journaling says : She has a tendency to shine, for all the world to see.

I had fun working with a challenge. Can't wait to try it again...maybe! Thanks for looking.