big boat and fountains

big boat

A few weeks before we left, Chad and Jamie went down to the see the "big boat" (Turner Joy) and to have lunch at Fritz (of course). Here are some pics from their adventure.





walking home from downtown...

Submarine water park

On that ONE hot sunny day we had awhile back, I took the kids down to the fountains with my sister and her family. I was skeptical about how hot it really was so I didn't put swimsuits on the kids but they needed it! Abby and Jamie walked around in their underwear (or diaper).

I hijacked these next fews pictures off my sister's blog, so they were taken by Jason. Here's the story: a ball that the kids were playing with had drifted over next to one of the "spouts" and Jamie and Sydney were too scared to go get it (for fear that the fountain would "blow"). Abby saw it and pointed to it so we told her to go get it not thinking that it would go off anytime soon (because they usually gave you some sort of warning). Well, she walked over there and the thing suddenly went off and a huge wall of water came crashing down about a foot from where she was standing! She was so frightened she ran to the nearest person, who was my sister. And EVERYTIME that the fountain went off after that, no matter how far away she was, she was scared to death, and we pretty much had to just leave.

San Diego news

So we made it, we've been here almost a week now. We've managed to make it to Trader Joe's, the pool, the zoo, the park, and the beach already! (Well, we only have a month this time!) Our apartment layout is actually the same as last time except that we have a ground floor apartment (no stairs) and a 2-car garage (with only 1 car). I let the kids run around and play baseball in the garage while Chad is at work!
Because the layout of the apartment is the same as last time, Jamie is confused why there is no bed in the 2nd bedroom. When we first walked in he ran in there and said "where's my bed?". I tried to explain that it was a different apartment but he didn't get it. The other day at breakfast he asked "is this san diego mom?", and I said "yes", to which he said "where's my bed?". Too funny. He is currently sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor with a folded blanket underneath but we're trying to find a kid's size blow-up bed for him. When we went to go buy him some bedding I asked him if he wanted a sleeping bag or a Cars blanket to which he replied "sweeping bag wike Otto does!" (so cute - he and Otto had been playing with a sleeping bag at his house!)
Jamie definitely knows this isn't Bremerton. I was trying to find him some socks and he said "maybe left them in Bremerton" to which I said "yes, I think I did!" Owell, no need. (actually we have the one pair he wore the day we left). Another thing he noticed was "in san diego have two tv's, in bremerton have one tv", he told me one evening as we were watching television together. For some reason there is an extra tv in the master bedroom this time.

Here are some pictures of the kids being silly at breakfast one morning (notice the lovely glass table - not my first pick with 2 toddlers!):

4th place

I guess technically that's where I came in on the Survivor game. I did not make it to the final round but I will get a parting gift and a chance to be guest designer for Personal Scrapper sometime this year. Here are my final (and some of my best) layouts:

FAVORITE ROOM
What is your favorite room in your house? Create a layout about that room and why you love it so much. I created a layout about my sunny kitchen.



NAME ACRONYM
Using either your initials (first, middle, and last) or your first name, create a layout with an acronym that describes YOU. I played on the fact that my name is a palindrome with good traits on the left and bad on the right (a=attentive, n=nice, n=nasty, a=arrogant)


SKETCH
Remember those fabulous sketches you created? They are going back to you so you can create a layout with your own sketch. (you can find my sketch in a the previous post)


JOURNALISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Sometimes the photograph says it all. Create a layout with a photo that tells the story, journaling can be added but keep it minimal. (this pic is from London)


CHALLENGES PAST
Pick any 2 of our past challenges (except the sketch and progressive layout challenge) and create a new layout for each of them.
1. Layout about me


journaling reads:
Do you know what I mean? Sometimes it feels like it’s so hard to find the answers. Why can’t life be black&white? It would be so much easier, I would know exactly what to do with every situation. But then again, it would be so much duller, life would have no color. So, I find myself striving to find the balance. And I am truly blessed to have one whom I call my Wonderful Counselor in this thing called life.

2. White space: create a layout with white (blank) space

I made it to the next round!

Thank you everyone for voting for me! The voting will no longer be public so I don't need to recruit anymore votes but you can still tune into the game blog to track my progress. The next set of challenges is due April 13th, which means that if I do make it to the final round I'll have to get everything done before I leave for San Diego, but I guess I won't worry about that until I have to. To give you a recap of what I've done so far, I'll list the challenges and the layouts I created with them (if you want to read the journaling you can enlarge most layouts by clicking on them):

Entry into game:
Create a layout about yourself


Challenge 1:
Scraplift a team member

Immunity challenge 1:
Create a sketch


Challenge 2:
Team theme (Vacation layouts)

Scrap the sketch (someone else's)


Immunity challenge 2:
Create an altered item
I created an accordion mini-album about my kids






Challenge 3:
PROGRESSIVE LAYOUT
Start with: 4 pictures, 3 sheets of card stock, and 4 sheets of patterned paper
Every couple days in the Survivor forum, Progressive Layout thread an item will be posted to be added to the layout. Use only (and all) the items posted.

TEAM CHALLENGE
This is the challenge the other team created for us: "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar sweet, and so are you".....create a layout that includes something red, something blue, the word "sweet" and a picture of you. I did my 30th birthday.

CHIPBOARD CREATIONS
Make your own chipboard and use it on a layout. This can be a shape or letters. I made a gingerbread man using my cookie cutter as a template.

CURRENT CREATIONS
Create a layout with something current...news, tv show, music, movie, etc. I did mine on the WTC memorial they are building.

STAMP SENSATION
Create your own stamp and use it on a layout. My journaling block was a lid to a stamp pad that I dipped in paint.


Immunity challenge 3:
ENDURANCE CHALLENGE
The three contestants that create the most layouts with the following items will win immunity. In the event of a tie, the judges will vote to determine who wins.
Here is your list of supplies:
adhesive
paper trimmer
scissors
hole punch
7 sheets of cardstock
9 sheets of patterned paper
20 photos
25 brads
9 ribbons
5 alphabet fonts
7 chipboard shapes
7 photo corners
12 staples
1 pen
5 paint/ink colors
1 stamp (alphabet, shapes, or numbers)
*You do not have to use everything on the list but you can not use anything not listed.

I made 13 layout and was granted immunity this week. Here they are:














Challenge 4:
GAME ON
What was your favorite board game as a child, or your favorite game now? Think about the colors, the patterns, the shapes, the design of the board, etc. Create a layout inspired by this game. When you post your layout in the Survivor gallery, Challenge 4 Folder, make sure you tell us what game inspired you.
I was inspired my the game of Cranium.

SPRING AHEAD
For this challenge, create a layout about 1 thing you would like to do or accomplish in the future. Post your layout in the Survivor Gallery, Challenge 4 Folder. These pics are taken of Carrie and I at CKC (Creating Keepsakes Convention) but I talk about how I'd like to go to CKU someday (Creating Keepsakes University).


Team Immunity Challenge 4:
BEFORE&AFTER
For this challenge create a "BEFORE AND AFTER" layout. You decide your own "BEFORE/AFTER". (Before/After Baby. Before/After College. Etc.)
I did before and after jamie's haircut:

BRAD DESIGN
For this challenge, create a design with brads (or similar product) on your layout. It's pretty funny that as I'm reading this now, I realize that she meant create an actual "design" (or shape) on your layout which I didn't really do. But owell, because immunity challenges are always optional and our team won it that week anyways. What I did do was use a brad to decorate the center of each flower and I also used gems to make to decorate my chipboard (which I guess makes an oval - maybe that counts!).


Challenge 5:
Create 5 layouts about you:


Immunity challenge 5:
Create a layout (any topic) with WHITE SPACE for a dramatic effect


Challenge 6:
REALITY TV
create a layout based on any REALITY TV show. Use the title, the logo, etc.
I did What not to wear:

INANIMATE OBJECT
scrap an inanimate object and journal (don't forget the journaling!) from the perspective of that object.
I did my old rocking chair:

FLOWERS
create your own flowers and use them on a layout. You can use stamps (but not flower or leaf stamps), stitching, doodling, etc., but no pre-made flowers (primas, petaloos, etc.).
I hand stitched the white flower:


Immunity challenge 6:
SURVIVOR LAYOUT


Upcoming challenges:
FAVORITE ROOM
What is your favorite room in your house? Create a layout about that room and why you love it so much.
NAME ACRONYM
Using either your initials (first, middle, and last) or your first name, create a layout with an acronym that describes YOU.
SKETCH
Remember those fabulous sketches you created? They are going back to you so you can create a layout with your own sketch.
JOURNALISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Sometimes the photograph says it all. Create a layout with a photo that tells the story, journaling can be added but keep it minimal.
CHALLENGES PAST
Pick any 2 of our past challenges (except the sketch and progressive layout challenge) and create a new layout for each of them.