poinsettia

Ok the Christmas tree came down the day after New Years, the gifts put away in their proper place (well at least not in the living room any more), the decorations were gone that same week, but for some reason I can't get rid of this poinsettia???

It's not like I haven't tried....I don't think I've watered it since some time in December and obviously haven't taken care of it's dead leaves.  The small card on it reads: In Memory of Vincent Collis, Bill Bennet and Linda Reardon. (my grandfathers and mother-in-law)  I think that's it... Whenever I see it out of the corner of my eye some memory comes back to me...whether it's making hay with my Pop-Pop or hitching a ride with Grand-daddy to the bus stop or shopping for some great deal with Linda.  It's sort of helps me keep some memories alive in my head.   So it stays....at least for a while!

Pic #2

Spent the day relaxing, eating and learning a new game.....

(still not sure of all the rules, but I WILL beat Trampus next time!!!)

Added Conner's pic to make him happy!

Digital Scrapbooking

So I had seen digital scrapbook pages before, but never thought I'd be able to do it. It seemed so complicated, but after last weekend (my annual scrap booking/no kids/no husband/snacking all I want to/sleeping in really late weekend) my sister begrudgingly got up every time I sighed patiently explained the whole process to me I actually did a few pages....now they aren't anything really worthy of publishing so don't expect anything fancy

This one is from Kaycee's birthday party...I did 4 whole pages from her party! 

***Conner brought it to my attention that he is not in any of the pages...Ooops!

Gotta download some "boy" themed stuff!

365 days of life

 Ok saw this challenge on Flickr a while ago where they challenged you to take a self portrait every day for one year....not too interested in seeing 365 pictures of me so I dismissed the idea... then I stumbled upon another blogger's take on the challenge where she is just taking one picture a day and that was all the inspiration I needed.  One picture a day of something from our crazy family life- I can do that (plus gotta justify the purchase of my new camera!!!!)    Although I've gotten a late start I am really hoping to get at least one picture each day for the rest of 2010....I already know I'll never get them posted each and every day, but gonna try.  So with out further ado here's picture #1

The end of a long, snowy day (notice the lollipop she still holding)

That's one tired little girl!

Sisters

We watched White Christmas the other day and there is a song called Sisters that The Hanes sisters sing in the movie. It's my absolutely favorite part of the movie. Got me to thinking about Kaycee and Baylee and how much having a sister means to me. Although my sister and I in the past couldn't stand each other...these last 10 years of marriages and kids has made Dayna my best friend. She's that person I can say anything to and know that she won't judge me or think less of me (because usually we are thinking the same thing! lol) She takes care of Baylee like she was her own which means the world to me. But my point to all this is that when I looked at these pictures, I could see how much these two love each other. I know there will be (have already been) times when the going gets rough, but my biggest wish for them is to have the same relationship in the future that my sis and I have now!

Ahh the fun Christmas photo shoot

Well, we tried we really did, but I swear when these four kids get together it's like they lose their minds! Dayna and I did manage one decent group picture and I was able to get one to use in our Christmas cards, but other than that...check out the insanity!

What a ham!

Been experimenting with my new camera alot lately and to tell the truth I think I have the most willing subject EVER!

Kaycee loves posing for pictures. As you can see her brother, well not so much. But I love her enthusiasm and willingness to hold a pose until I get the settings exactly right!

I love how the lights of the Christmas tree are blurry in the background. Not sure how I accomplished that, but it looks really cool anyway!