Neighborhood Glow Parade

Last weekend, we got the cutest little invitation from our neighbors to attend a 'Glow Parade'. They hand delivered this invitation complete with a tube of glow sticks! I mean, how CUTE is this invitation and this idea?? Seriously.

At dark, we were met by the neighborhood kids completely-you guessed it-GLOWING. They had adorned themselves and their bikes with tons of glow sticks, it was so fun! Here's my disclaimer on the pictures, if you stare to long, your eyes will hurt. Taking pictures in the dark of moving subjects and getting the pictures to come out, is simply impossible (I just don't have the right gear to do it. Hey Steve, what's that lens I need again?!)

Here's Nathan, taking a seat, observing the action:


Now observing himself:


Here's Gabby, sister to Tino (Nathan's friend):


Action shot in front our Host house:


I wish I was a fun person and came up with ideas like that...because I'm 'not'. :o)

~ thanks for the fun night neighbors!

Summer Fun...and then a Mean Girl comes along.

It's officially Summer! Yesterday's temperature was 104, so the only way to beat the heat is to hit the pool!

Here's a video of us at the pool where Nathan is playing with a red wheel that turns the water on and off. He's having a great time playing with this and then this little girl sneaks up under water behind him and then all-stealth-like she pops out of the water, grabs the red wheel and pushes Nathan down. Here's the video:


Here is different video of Nathan having fun and it isn't ruined by some mean girl:


Here's just a few pictures:









Welcome Summer!

Craigs List Savings...Cha-Ching!

I cannot sing the praises of Craig's List enough. In the last few months, I have found some of the BEST deals that simply could not be passed up....check it:

Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon: $78.99 retail
Craigs List: $40.00!

Traditional Wood Bar Stool: $80.00 retail
Craigs List: $10.00 each!


LeapFrog ClickStart: $59.99 retail
Craigs List: $25.00!



La-Z-Boy Chair and Ottman: $250.00 retail
Craigs List: $10.00!



I found the floor lamp for $7.00 and the bookshelf for $10.00 at a Garage Sale!

***Savings***
CHA-CHING!
CHA-CHING!
CHA-CHING!

Grandpa Picture Project

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some incognito pictures of a little project I was working on as a gift. My father-in-law received his gift for Father's Day so I can now disclose pictures of the little card I put together.

Last Christmas I took pictures of David & Nathan together, as I was already thinking of a 'Grandpa & Me' little somthin-somethin as a birthday gift for my Father-in-Law. I had actually started this and planned to send it to him for his birthday... in January. I had completed the first 2 panels and then I just didn't make it back to my craft room until this month! How sad is that, people? Seriously.

It was an 8 panel accordion card that I decorated, front and back. Here are pictures:














He liked it. :o)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! This morning, I presented the father in our home with the customary card along with a few shirts at which he said "Thank you, I needed some new shirts." :)



Later in the day, I presented Greg with a large Tea drinking cup- he's been searching for a good size tea cup for years-at which, he said "Jeez Julia, that's perfect!" :)



Thennn...I surprised Greg with something so great, he boldly proclaimed "You are the BEST WIFE in the world!" Wow. Did you read that? I'm the Best Wife in the World! So, what did I give Greg to make such a bold proclamation?

Was it a new iPhone? No.
Was it a lift and new tires for his truck? No.
Was it a C6Z06 Corvette? No.

No, my friends, it wasn't any of these things.
It was Pumpkin Chiffon...Greg's most favorite dessert of all time.

See, I only make Pumpkin Chiffon at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yet, Greg is seriously obsessed with this dessert. It's in a 9x13 pan and Greg will eat the entire dessert, by himself, within 2 1/2 days. He literally asks me on a weekly basis-throughout the year to make this and I never do because it's like Turkey-you only eat it at Thanksgiving and Christmas! That, doesn't stop Greg from constantly pestering me to make it though. Here is Greg with his most favorite dessert of all time...



So what's wrong with this picture? I was making Lawnmower cupcakes when I gave Greg his dessert and just prior to the big surprise he had just crammed a cupcake in the side of his mouth! LOL. Here's a picture of the cupcakes that I made for our Father's Day dinner. I didn't have the right color of candy though so they didn't come out just right but you can get the idea...



Hope you all had a nice Father's Day,
Julia, The Best Wife in the World. :o)

Fun Day at the Phoenix Zoo

We are vacationing this week with the Horvath family who drove exactly 1,068 miles to hang out in Arizona! On Monday we went to the Phoenix Zoo, which was such a treat because the zoo is super kid friendly and the weather was just perfect.

Greg took this picture of three of us at the Lion exhibit holding our kids up so they could see, pretty funny.


Here are the Lions...just so everyone knows Greg took this picture because I'm likely to take credit for it 5 years from now.


When Nathan saw the Gazelle, he said, "Moooo." I can see how he would think the Gazelle was a Cow. :)


Of course the Phoenix Zoo has a splash pad for kids...it only makes sense. So this was, by far, the highlight of the day for the kids.


Can you guess which feet belong to Nathan in this next picture?

My child is the one not at risk, wearing the sanitary water shoes.



The guys...


The Hull's...


Our friends, the Horvath family...


I've been working on a new Blog Banner this week and I'll be posting it soon....

stay tuned -
over and out.

So I'm working on a gift for a certain somebody for a certain upcoming holiday and as I happily worked a basic step on this project, I realized I simply do not spend enough time in my happy place!

I finally used some of the products that I bought from the Scrapbook Convention. These are little 1x1 inkpads that I bought to replace ones I've practically worn out.


If I'm working on a project that involves paper, 99% of the time, I 'ink the edges'. It's a subtle technique that makes such a visual difference to a piece of paper. Here's an example of the before:


Just adding ink to the edges makes this difference:


I'll share pictures of this project after I'm done and have been able to send it off but for now here's a sneak peek of my project and what my table looks like in the midst of the creative process.


My final thought is, if you have a happy place...find the time! :)

My day today...need I say more?

The Ultimate Coolest Guy Ever...

Check out the guy playing Bass on the left side of these videos...this Guy is soooo Cool!




The guy on Bass is Greg -The Ultimate Coolest Guy Ever.