Happy 4th!

And, Happy Birthday to my little sis! She is 31 today! Yay! I am going to try to find some old pics of her and post them here. hehe She'll just love that... (Can you see my evil sneer?)

Hope you have a great day Mandy! Have fun at the beach!

Check me out!

Okay, I have been wanting a new look for the blog for some time now. Just wasn't really sure how to go about doing it. I have been downloading digi kits for a while now -- everytime I see one I like -- with hopes of figuring out how to use them to spice up the blog. Well, today, I just decided I was going to figure it all out. And, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Yay! Now I'll be able to change the look up when I want. So happy about that! I know this isn't fancy yet, but I'm working on it! :) I still need to update my sidebar with new links and such. I'll get that done in the next few days. I have come across lots of scrappy goodness I'd like to share with you! Oh, and I'll get some pics and projects posted soon too!

Much love!
B-

I've not been a good blogger...

It has been quite a while since my last post. Lots has happened but there just hasn't been time to post. I know my legions of fans, all two of them -- hi Mom and Mandy!-- have missed my blog entries. :D

Well, school ended on May 30th. Thank goodness! I was so ready for summer break. I got all my stuff packed up and loaded in the Jeep. It was full from top to bottom. There was just enough room for me and Allison when we headed to Bryan. Don't worry. I didn't leave Whit behind. She rode with Mike. ;) He had the truck and trailer loaded up too. The girls and I had more at his parents house than we thought. Even though I tried to bring things home on our weekend trips to Bryan I didn't do a very good job. We were seriously loaded down! On Sunday, June 1st we finally made it home after 2 months apart. Talk about a good feeling!

In the past few weeks we tried to do some fun family stuff. We got to go to an Aggie baseball game against Texas. It was fun and we won! Whoop! Here are some pictures from our little outing.

I love these pictures. We had so much fun at the game. It was hot as heck but once the sun went down a bit it wasn't too bad. Mike took the girls to the concession stand got these HUGE snowcones. Allison's was really good. I don't know what she picked but it was good. Now, Whitney, she got the reddest snowcone she could get and it was SO SOUR! I don't kow how that child actually finished her snowcone. I think Mike helped her out some. When she came back to our seats with this red snowcone and white shirt I was wandering what in the world Mike was thinking when he let her get RED. Well, she did a pretty good job of keeping in her mouth and off her shirt. Just one little red spot. (And it washed out!) But, her little face was evidence that she definately liked it!

A week later we took the girls to see this:

It was at Reed Arena on the A&M campus. We told the girls that Daddy had to meet somebody up there about a job he was doing. They bought that story hook, line, and sinker. As we walked up to Reed, there was a booth selling High School Musical programs. Ally had a cow when she realized that HSM on Ice was here. I wish you could have seen the look on her face! She couldn't believe it was actually here! Mike told her he'd buy her a program. (It was only $20! ACK! Oh, but it sings when you open it.) We go inside and there are venders selling HSM stuff everywhere! When she saw all that stuff she looked like somebody had just run over her. She still thought we were there to check on one of Daddy's jobs. We found our section and our seats -- 10 rows from the ice. Even after sitting down Allison still thought she wasn't going to get to see the show. When we handed her the ticket she just looked at it for a minute before it sank in what it was. Talk about some happy squealing! Whitney, on the other hand, had other things running through her little head once we told her we got to see the show. Once it started she leaned over and said to me, "Mommy, did Daddy help build this?" I told her no and kinda giggled at her. About 10 -15 minutes later she leaned over again and said, "Mommy, was Daddy helping Troy and Gabriella?" Once again, I told her no and got super tickled at her. She just couldn't let go of the Daddy's work thing. They were both pretty cute. After about 2 1/2 hours, a $15 HSM snowcone, a $12 HSM lemonade, and 2 $5 lukewarm lemonades we finally left with 2 happy girls.

Later that night we headed to the A&M vs. Stanford Super Regional Softball game. It was awesome! I wish I had brought my camera along. Can't believe I forgot it. We were squeezed into the stands like sardines and it was pretty warm, but it was so much fun. I think probably more fun than the baseball game a week earlier. There was a lot more action, 3 homeruns, and the Sugar Daddies were pretty fun to watch too. We really had a good time. I have watched softball since. Especially the Aggies. They beat out top ranked Florida for a spot in the finals. I wish I could report a national championship but Arizona State kicked some major booty. I was disappointed but I had fun watching and cheering or yelling at the tv.

Got my hair cut a couple weeks ago. It is pretty short but I really like it. I got the lady who has done my hair for years to cut it. I think it is pretty cute and sassy. Now, I just have to find somebody here to keep it up for me. Here's a pic of it:

Allison took this picture of me for one of my scrapbooking websites, AC Bailey Designs. She did a pretty good job, don't ya think? She really is funny when I let her take pictures with my camera. She likes to tell you how she thinks you should pose and stuff. Like mommy, like daughter I guess. :D

Now that we are finally moved in, I am working hard to get the house in order. Got quite a bit accomplished earlier this week, but I have a lot more to do. Good thing I have all summer. hehe I actually hope to be almost done by next weekend. That would be a great feeling. Since this house is smaller than the last I am really trying to go through and get rid of stuff that we really and truly don't need anymore. I am even going to go through some of my crafty stuff. I think we'll just have a garage sale. Anything left over can be put out to the curb or taken to Goodwill. I hope we get rid of lots of stuff! It's actually pretty freeing knowing you have a little extra room here and there!

Well, I hope to be a better blogger in the near future now that our lives are getting back to normal. Talk to you soon!

Much love!

B-

It's Picture Day!

Wanted to add some pictures today. Thought I'd show you what our new house looks like. I don't have inside pics yet. Way too many boxes in there. Mike has been here for a week now and so far I think he likes it except that he said the A/C is a little loud when it kicks on. Not anything we can't get past though. Deuce and Dixie seem to like it. I think Deuce was a little confused at first but Mike said that he has pretty much chilled out. Dixie likes the back yard. She is constantly chasing "things" in the landscaping rocks. I am pretty sure she is after geckos. I don't think she has ever seen one before. Needless to say, she really likes it and he has a hard time getting her in the house.

This next pic is the fam on Easter Sunday. even though we are all looking in the sun squinting adn I am not too terribly crazy about the way I look, I still like this picture. It was chilly but a lot of fun. The girls hunted Easter eggs at Uncle Don's house. They ended up bringing home lots of eggs. Way too many to get eaten!





These next pictures are layouts that I have done recently. This first one was fun because I got to use my Glimmer Mist to make the blue paper. It was white cardstock to start off. I sprayed it down and really like the effect I got. And, it matches my papers really well. I couldn't believe my luck. When I bought the Glimmer Mist I wasn't even thinking about these papers, just that I liked the color of it. This picture of Whitney really captures her personality. She is such a free spirit and a definate DIVA! This layout is for a scraplift challenge at AC Bailey Designs. I used the layout on the cover of Simple Scrapbooks (by Erin Sweeney) as my inspiration. I'm kinda diggin' how this one turned out!


These next 2 pics are DT layouts that I am having trouble getting uploaded to the AC Bailey website. Not having my computer is really hard! I don't have any of the software I need to get it cropped and uploaded the way I need it and when I want to get it up! Very frustrating!

Anyway, this is Allison on her 1st day of school. I thought she looked so pretty in the outfit and she definately thought she looked pretty. I really love these papers by Urban Lily. Bright fun papers and the Bazzill scalloped cardstock is pretty cute too!






This last layout is one of my favorites right now. I love the pic! My best friend Aubrey took this picture of my girls with her daughter this past summer at a softball tournament. I just had to scrap this one because my girls really love Taylor. She is so good to Allison and Whitney. I also enjoyed using these Dream Street papers. The color combination was different from what I am used to using so it was a lot of fun. My favorite part though is the title. :)


You can find the papers for all 3 of these layouts in the AC Bailey store. Go check them out!

Well, it is Friday, my favorite day of the week, and I am ready for the weekend. Mike will be in tonight and I am really ready to see him. So are the girls! I will talk to you all later peeps!

Much love...

B-

Even when there are clouds, the sun still shines...

The last two weeks have been crazy. Our lives have changed dramatically! You wouldn't believe the things our family has been through.

The weekend of March 29th was crazy. While we were in Bryan/College Station looking for a house there was a terrible storm in Kilgore. It ripped apart our neighborhood and left our house a mess. While we didn't have any trees on top or through our house like some others, we did have extensive flooding. Bad enough that we couldn't stay there. The owners of the house came in from Florida on Tuesday and by Wednesday had completely made the house unlivable. He and his wife really made if difficult on us too. I won't get into the crappy stunts they pulled on us but after asking us 2 other times earlier in the year to end the lease early, they made sure we had no other choice but to end the lease. I can honestly say that I was/am very hurt by what these people put my family through, especially my girls. And, the kicker is that they have children close to my girls ages. I have never in my life met such ruthless people. I hope to never encounter them again. They make my stomach hurt....

After the first week in a hotel, with the help of our family, we packed up our house completely, and moved everything we owned to Bryan where our new house is. Mike and I drove down and got it unloaded and headed back to Kilgore the following day. We were so glad to see our girls! This all happened a week before we even needed to move anything. It was an unexpected move but in retrospect, I think it was a good thing that we got it over with.

Mike finished his last week at work and this past weekend we officially "moved" him and the fur babies into our Bryan house. We got the beds set up and some things unpacked. We didn't finish but it felt good to get a little accomplished. It was hard to leave him there on Sunday and head back to East Texas. The girls were upset, especially Allison. She cried off and on the entire 3 hour trip back. I felt so sorry for her. Nothing I said could make it better either.

In the middle of this big mess I was able to interview for a job at my old school. Today was the last day it had to be posted as available and I am hoping for a phone call tomorrow or the next day. Cross your fingers peeps! I am excited about this one!

Mike started his new job yesterday. While he was pretty tired he said he really enjoyed it. That made me feel so good. I know he was nervous and I just truly hoped this job would be a good fit for Mike. I think it might be. He was happy with it again today. He said the only thing that would make this all better would be to get the school year over so the girls and I could get down there. He misses us and we really miss him.

The girls and I are staying at Mike's parents house. Even though we are living out of suitcases, so far it has been working out well. It is not home but it is comfy. The girls like spending the night at Nana's house. :) They have gone to bed with her every night so far. It is nice for me too. Mike's mom is a great cook so I get that added benefit a couple times a week. Even leftovers are good!

This week we are all finally feeling a little more normal. I know that until all of us are once again under the same roof it won't feel completely normal, but with any luck the next 6 weeks will go by quickly. When it does, all the rain, sweat, and tears we have had over the last few weeks won't even matter because even when things look cloudy you can still see the sun shine.