Country Fair

Tonight was the first night of the Goshen Country Fair. It's walking distance from our house, but we drove over and parked because the skies looked like rain all day and I didn't want to get stuck and have to walk home in the rain. Lucky for us, the thunder storms held off all evening - there was just a slight breeze and it was a PERFECT night for the fair :)

The bandstand had a local polka band playing tonight. They were very fun. We didn't get to listen for very long because Jack wanted to do the rides ALL NIGHT, but I easily could have hung around and enjoyed the polka music for a while.

The highlight of the fair for Jack every year is the livestock. Starting around January, Jack starts asking to go see the cows whenever we drive past the fair grounds (which, like I said earlier, are right by our house - so Jack asks about the cows A LOT!). And tonight was the night when he FINALLY got to visit with them again!

John and Jack are leaving for a little road trip to Florida to visit some friends tomorrow after lunch. So tonight was our only opportunity to go to the fair as a family. I may go again with some friends another night this week - since I'll have so much time on my hands ;)

Jack loves carnival games, but he was only allowed to play one. He picked the fishing game and he won a big beach ball :)

Of course, he rode on TONS of rides. The fire truck was the first one he rode on. He begged us to let him do a ride before we ate dinner. I totally gave in - and I actually let him ride two before dinner! I mean, the fair only comes to town once a year - and it was pretty much "all about Jack" all night long.

Last year Jack wasn't really into the ferris wheel. It went to high for his taste. But this year he was eager to get on it. John took him and he yelled and waved down to us (my parents came, too) the whole time. He wasn't even scared when they were stopped all the way at the top to let other passengers on.

And this was Jack's favorite "ride" of the entire fair. He must have gone on it half a dozen times! It was just a little sort of "kiddie" fun house. They went over rolling things, up steps, over a see-saw thing, up a rope climb, across a swinging bridge, and down a long sliding board. I didn't think my sensitive little Jack would like it and I actually discouraged him from going in, but he begged and said he really wanted to, so I gave in. I'm SO glad I did - because he showed me that he's not a little baby anymore. He's a more grown-up kid who can do more independent things. *sigh*

There's "Bubba" (my dad) waiting for him at the bottom of the slide.

Jack was a BEAR when we got home this evening. He didn't want to say goodbye to my parents (he hates saying goodbye to anyone lately - except me). He didn't want to take a bath. And he did NOT want to go to bed. Of course, it took him all of about thirty seconds to fall asleep once his head hit the pillow. It was a big night for him :)

By the way - John sent me this link a few days ago of the 100 best places to live, according to Money Magazine. I was very happy, though not surprised, to see West Goshen, PA at number 12! Here's a link.

New Camera

I asked John for a new camera for my birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks. (I won't say the number, but let's just put it this way - I've got a few weeks left in my twenties) Anyway, I wanted something a little nicer than the tiny point and shoot I have now. It's nice in that I can put it in my pocket and stuff, but it doesn't take the greatest pictures. However, I'm not a super photographer or anything so I didn't want to spend a thousand dollars.

So today we went down to Circuit City in Delaware (I love living so close to the Delaware border - tax-free shopping!) and bought this really cool Panasonic camera. It has everything I wanted - 7.1 megapixels, good zoom, rechargeable batteries, takes an SD card. GET THIS - two Christmases ago I asked for a 1gig SD card for my camera. They were around $100. That was my BIG present that year so I didn't want to get a new camera that wouldn't take that card. WELL - I was looking at cards in Circuit City today and saw a 2gig SD card for twenty-five bucks! Unbelievable!

Anyway, I took around 300 pictures this afternoon and evening - pretty much of all nonsense stuff! :) Here are a few random shots - a little slice of my life, if you will :) Enjoy!

Caardvarks Ribbon Challenge

The current Caardvarks challenge is to create a card using ribbon. Easy for me - I LOVE ribbon! (and I have a ton of it!) Here's my card:

It's a pretty simple card. I did a little weaving (I don't think I've woven since elementary school art class!) with some Basic Grey Urban Couture ribbon. The stamps are from Cherry Arte (frame) and Paper Salon (thank you).

CHA - A Whirlwind Trip!

My mom and I decided, kind of at the last minute, to attend CHA in Chicago this year. We left on Wednesday evening and drove from West Chester to Warren, Ohio, where we spent the night. Then we arrived in Chicago on Thursday - we actually got into the Chicago area around 3:00, but didn't make it to our hotel until 5:30! There was CRAZY traffic! But we made it alive and even managed to find a Giordano's Chicago pizza restaurant only a few blocks from our hotel. We took a cab there, but when we realized how close it was decided to walk back - good thing because we had some serious pizza to walk off!

The CHA show was AMAZING!! I didn't take a single picture to share because I was too busy oohing and aahing over everything, placing orders, and creating make-n-takes! But I CAN tell you that I placed several orders for upcoming kits and am SO excited for what I have planned! Scenic Route, October Afternoon, Fontwerks, and Maya Road, to name a few! :)

Just got home a little while ago. I promised I'd get Jack a present while I was away (me thinking like, a t-shirt or something). He said he wanted a computer. Yeah, a computer. I managed to get myself to a Target and get this toy for him. He loves it - hasn't put it down since I got home. I'll be sure to get plenty of pictures once I'm done loving on him :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm gonna go work on getting back into the swing of things! First job - cleaning the bathroom. EWW!

The Wedding

My friend, Rachel, got married to her high school sweetheart, Mike, today. The ceremony was really nice (nice and short! Ha!)

Here's a picture of Jack as we were leaving the house this afternoon. He was SO PROUD to be wearing his new tie! He has been talking about it and asking when he would be able to wear it ever since we picked it out and bought it!

And here's a picture of Jack with the bride. He stayed in the church nursery with the other kids during the ceremony so the first time he saw Rachel was at the reception. He took one look at her and said, "Mommy! Rachel turned into a princess! How'd she do that!?" That is FOR SURE going to turn up on a scrapbook page!

Phew! I must admit, I'm a little bit relieved that the wedding is over. I was the soloist and spent a lot of hours practicing this week! I didn't want to let Rachel down! But everything went very smoothly. Well, there was one little glitch. My dad played the piano for me and while Rachel and Mike were saying their vows (right before I was to sing one of my songs), my dad whispers over the piano to me that he can't find his music. **PANIC** Then I hear a bunch of shuffling and he smiles and whispers that he found it. So, yeah, I just had a TINY heart attack! But thankfully it all worked out.

Now I am on my way out of this dress and ESPECIALLY these shoes! And heading to bed. Goodnight!

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 10

Last day of the Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge! I have really enjoyed these challenges - they've forced me to do something creative every day AND I have a nice stack of cards, too!

Today's challenge is to scraplift a card by Jenyfur from the Club Scrap gallery (they are the sponsors of this 10-Day challenge). Here's my card - it's for the wedding I'm going to this afternoon. Nothing like the last minute, right!?

The paper is Basic Grey Urban Couture. The letter stickers are Basic Grey LilyKate. The branch stamp is Paper Salon Wedding Essentials Tailored Tin. The bird is a McGill punch. And the jewels are Heidi Swapp. :)

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 9

Today's Caardvarks challenge was to create a card with a clock face on the front. Here's my card:

The paper and flower punch outs are from the upcoming Cool Blue September kit. The ribbon is Basic Grey from the Urban Couture pack. And the stamp is Technique Tuesday.

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 8

Today's challenge was to use 2 patterned papers, 2 ribbons, 2 stamps, and 2 circles. Ya know - 2+2+2+2=8? Yup! Here's my card!

Sort of a mish-mash of supplies here. The patterned papers are Basic Grey blush and Cosmo Cricket... something. The circles in the center of the flowers are from a sheet of Blush. The ribbons are both Basic Grey - one from the Hang 10 pack, one from the Urban Couture pack. And the stamps are Paper Salon and Technique Tuesday.

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 7

Lucky #7! Today's challenge is to create a "Good Luck" card.

All stuff from my stash!! Sassafras Lass paper, Making Memories chipboard circle, Paper Salon Tailored Tins stamps - the circle is from the Monogram Builder set and the Good Luck in the middle is from the Small Talk set.

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 6

Today's Caardvarks challenge is to create a 6x6-inch card. Here's my card:

The paper is from my stash - Scenic Route. The stamp is from the Paper Salon Small Talk Tailored Tin. And the felt telephone is a Sizzix die cut :)

Caardvark 10-Day Challenge - Day 5

Today's Caardvarks challenge is to create a card with five embellishments on the front. Here's my card:

The five embellishments are:

1. Ribbon 2. Letter stickers 3. Heidi Swapp Ghost arrow 4. Felt flowers 5. Brads

This is also a little sneak peek of the August Cool Blue kit! Almost everything used to make the card will be in the kit (with the exception of the brads). :)

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 4

Today's challenge was to create a card with four squares on the front. Here's my take :)

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 3

Today's Caardvarks challenge was to create a tri-fold card. Here's mine:



I had a hard time getting a decent picture because it was almost dark outside once I finally got a free minute to do this challenge. But in real life, the pink is really, really soft and the inking isn't quite as overwhelming.

I used some of my scraps from the April Cool Blue kit and the Paper Salon Wedding Essentials Tailored Tin stamp set.

Caardvarks 10-Day Challenge - Day 2

Today's Caardvarks challenge was to create two cards using the same materials. Here are my cards:

I used some of my scraps from the May Cool Blue Kit. And the stamps are from the Paper Salon Wedding Essentials Tailored Tin - they're in the add-ons section on the site.

Caardvark 10-Day Challenge #1

The first Caardvarks 10-Day challenge was to make a card using one stamp on the front. Here's mine.

I used the Cool Blue July kit and the stamp is from Peachy Kiki. It's an acrylic stamp and I actually had to cut the flowers from the stems to stamp them because I was just making a big mess trying to ink everything separately!

This card will be going out to my friend, Linda, who made the cutest patriotic soaps and left them hanging on my door the other day. How sweet is that!?

A Pleasant Surprise!

I was surprised and excited to receive a package in the mailbox from Japan the other day! It contained a sweet note and a gift from my new friend, Takako.

Thank you, Takako!