"Hoppy" Easter!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. We were fortunate enough to have both my parents and Marc's parents spend the day with us.Just look at those handsome boys. They have figured out how to be "hams" when it comes to taking pictures. They also know not to run off after the first picture because knowing mom there will be many more to come.Ernie and Nancy came over from Prineville and went to church and Brunch with us. They are doing well and even bought a new puppy recently named Nicki!Mom and Dad are doing well. Mom had surgery in February and is starting to feel better. Geoff came with them, he is anxious to be done with school. If all goes well he will be graduating this June. Dad and Marc had some quality bonding time over "Jack".
The boys have gone with mom and dad for a couple of days and I will head over the mountain on Tuesday to pick them up. They have lots of plans for Nana and Papa. I know they will have a blast but Marc and I miss them already!! It's so quiet in the house when they are gone. Even Lady isn't sure what to do!! Have a wonderful Easter with family and friends!

Our Flu Arsenal!!!!

As some of you may know, our family has been fighting the flu for the past week or so. I started showing signs of it a week ago Sunday. I slept all day, I got up in the morning, made breakfast and then went back to bed. I called in sick on Monday and then Tuesday, sent Marc to school conferences on Wednesday and finally gave in and went to the Dr. on Thursday. It's the flu she said!!! Drink lots of fluids, get some sleep and take this cough medicine. Then, Tucker started feeling yucky, so I took him in on Thursday evening, it's the flu, she said!!! Drink lots of fluids...yada yada yada, we knew the routine by then. This is a picture of our flu arsenal in my bathroom....So, needless to say I haven't gotten a lot done in the past week or so, I even had to cancel my Friday night class (sorry, ladies) and opted to sleep instead. But, now I am starting to feel a little bit of cabin fever!! The sun is shining outside and I am beginning to feel like my old self again. Yet, I can't go anywhere, because this is how Tucker is spending his time...Poor guy!!! So, the best I can hope for now is that Marc and Beau don't get it, too! Pray that you don't get the flu, it is NO fun!!!!

In our spare time....

Marc and I have been working on the master bathroom for the last couple of months. It all started when I was in the shower one day, I have hated the outdoor scene wallpaper in our bathroom since the day we bought this house. So, I started peeling the wallpaper off of the wall, from then on I was committed! I peeled a little bit here and there and then moved on to the hideous linoleum. Then, one day Marc and I were out doing some backflow testing and met this guy that had excess tile from some jobs he had done. We scored enough tile to do both of the upstairs bathroom floors for only $30.00!! But, the catch is it has been sitting in the garage for almost a year! I finally decided to crack down and peeled the rest of the wallpaper off. Just a little side note here... don't ever wallpaper!!!! It is horrible to remove, especially when it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. Anyhow, we tiled the floor, after many discussions on the pattern, and then decided it looked so good that we tiled the counter top as well. I am so proud to say we work very well together and the bathroom turned out beautifully!!!
It took us several coats of different paint colors before we decided on this steel blue, i love it!!We decided on this basket weave type pattern, it was easier than the diagonal
way and is prettier than just squared up.

So, the next major project is the boys' bathroom, then maybe the laundry room! Aren't home projects fun!?

Avion "Fear no H2O"

Baby, it's cold outside!!!!
The Avion team, and 345 others, took the plunge last night!! It wasn't as cold as last year and I have to give the organizers credit for things going way more smoothly this year. Here's a before of Marc and Gene in line waiting to jumpCheck out the Newschannel 21 coverage here.They raised over $95,000 for the Special Olympics!! Avion raised $2,800, thanks to everyone who donated, it goes to a great cause! The Special Olympic Winter games start this weekend! Check it out here. Here's Marc AFTER... BRRRRRR!! Keep Marc and Avion in mind for the Polar Plunge next year, we will try to raise even more!!!

Cards, cards and more cards!

As many of you know I make cards, a lot of cards. I feel that scrapbooking and card making go hand in hand. I tell everyone in my classes that if you are making a layout then you can make a card to go along with it. It is so easy when you already have all of the supplies out and everything is color coordinated. Here are some cards I made with scraps left over from a couple of layouts I did. I have had a hard time with organizing my scraps over the years, but I think I finally have a system that works for me. For scraps that are smaller than 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 I keep them organized by color in a shoe box. So, whenever I make a layout I cut the scrap down to card making size and add it under the appropriate color. For scraps that are larger I have 2 drawers that I keep them separated by patterned paper or solid paper. It works for me now, but who knows what will work for me next year.

This last card I made for a student friend of mine for her birthday. It was so easy, it took me maybe 10 minutes. I hope this encourages you to make your own cards! It can be easy and so much less expensive then a $4.50 Hallmark card, plus it comes from the heart!

PS Happy Birthday, Leah!!!