Hurricane Harbor - 2nd trip

Liam enjoying himself.

Hibiscus.

DH, Kay, Liam, Brodie and Hayden

I love the way the kids are all lined up in a row...makes for an interesting photo.






The minute I saw this pink hibiscus I had to take this photo. I love the turquoise bg. and how the pink stands out against it.



Why can't I grab this stuff? It just slips between my hands!


Little Seth loves the water.

I seriously think that Six Flags Great Adventure should hire/pay me to take photos for promos of their parks. I am there all summer and take tons of photos...I mean, I even got published in Somerset Digital Studio with safari photos I took there. But I digress, here are photos from my last trip to Hurricane Harbor. I will post more photos tomorrow. Enjoy! 9223

Hurricane Harbor - 2nd trip

Hurricane Harbor Snapshots

DH and the kids @ Take It EZ Creek

Click images to enlarge.
This is a composite of 3 photos of Blue Lagoon.


Hurricane Mountain - You ride a toboggan at ""lightning fast" speed into the eye of a "splashtacular" storm.

The 4 Winds - Boreas, Eurus, Zephyrus and Nortus

June 28
Nothing beats hydro-powered thrills at Hurricane Harbor on a hot, hazy, humid day. DH and the kids had a blast cooling off.
9223

Hurricane Harbor Snapshots

Heat Wave

Since Father's Day, South Jersey has been under scorching conditions. We have had temperatures ranging from the high 90's to +106. These past 3 days have been over 100 degrees, with hot, hazy, and humid conditions. We are still under an excessive heat advisory.

I am off to take the kids to the park for a short bike ride before the temps. climb higher. I need to exercise and if I don't force myself...
9206

Heat Wave

Hey, It's Me...and my Brother

London Broil.

Baked Beans.

Yellow rice with pigeon beans.

Grilled ribs.

Grilled zucchini.

Zucchini.

Liam. Enough said.

Playing Dominoes.

Kay and Jules drawing on the sidewalk.

My brother and his daughter.

My brother, his daughter, and me. Yes, I got a haircut about a month ago. It looks short at the moment, but will look a lot better once it grows in a bit. Summer is hot here and I can't stand being hot.

A trip to visit my brother and family is always fun. I love Christine to pieces as she always makes us feel welcomed in her home. The kids love to spend time with Uncle Tito, and play with Julia. Me? I love that I get to talk to another adult...adult conversation. And food - yes, food - it is always a part of the mix. I find that food is always more enjoyable when you are in good company.

I got a chance to see my niece, Siobhan, who I hadn't seen in a very long time.

After dinner, we went for a walk around Princeton and ended up at the water fountain. It was sooooo hot. The kids and I got wet in the fountain, and it felt so good to cool off. At around 11:15pm we went to Thomas Sweet to get some ice cream, which was delish! We got home after midnight. That was a treat for us all, but especially the kids. 9206

Hey, It's Me...and my Brother

Hotel for Dogs

Our town's summer "movies in the park" series has begun. Though Hotel for Dogs has been out for a while we still hadn't seen it. I packed popcorn and sodas and took the kids to the park. We were the 2nd family to arrive - I guess we were a bit early. The movie didn't begin until it got really dark outside, which was approximately 8:30 p.m. The lightning bugs were out in droves, which was cool to be able to see them fluttering around in the darkness.

Anyway, it was an "ok" movie though I expected much better from a Disney movie. The premise of the movie - though good-hearted - is weak, and the whole movie feels very contrived. Don Cheadle's character was believable, but, imho, his talent was totally wasted. I totally hated Lisa Kudrow's character as an unfit foster parent. I guess it must be hard for good parts to come by since "Friends" ended. The kids enjoyed the movie, and after all is said and done, that is what matters. 9200

Hotel for Dogs

Happy 4th of July!

We are just hanging out at the house. The kids are playing with Brodie, our neighbor in the back.

9161

Happy 4th of July!

3rd Grade School Party

Kaylie running in the field trying to hit someone with a balloon. Just look at that grin on her face...you can tell she is up to no good. :)

Kaylie's 3rd grade party. The kids party was held at the end of the day. They had an ice cream sundae and water balloon party. Instead of wearing comfortable, practical clothing, Kay opted for wearing a pretty dress. Of course, when she sat on the floor she totally forgot her manners and was flashing everybody. ;) 9161

3rd Grade School Party

Teacher's Gifts

As the school year comes to an end, it always catches me off guard. Every year I vow that I will start making the teachers' gift early in the year, but it never happens.

I find it easier to make something for Liam's teacher because I have gotten to know her a bit better since I am a homeroom mom. However, now that Kaylie is in the 3rd grade, they don't do as many activities that require lots of help from parents so I don't socialize with the teacher much. I couldn't volunteer to be a homeroom parent in her class because 2nd and 3rd grade celebrate the same events at the same time so I take turns coming in to each class. 9161

Click to enlarge.




Liam's teacher was thrilled with her gift. She told me that she was hoping that I'd make one for her.
I used "Old School" by PixelWorks, Kate Hadfield and Rachel Young @ ScrapArtist; title font: FO Giggles by Fontologie.




Kaylie was quite happy with her teacher's gift. After I was done with the pages for the teachers, I customized the pages with a new title and journaling and printed them for the kids.
I used Baergarten's "Hello School" @ Scrapbookgraphics. Title font: FO Giggles by Fontologie. Ruler from "Old School" by Pixel Works, Kate Hadfield and Rachel Young @ ScrapArtist.

Teacher's Gifts

FREE 4 SHORT TIME SCRAP IT ACTION BY WENDYZINE

Wendyzine of Scrapbookgraphics is giving away for free this action - ScrapIt (1) for a limited time only. "This action will lead you through all the steps you need to scraplift the layout shown in the preview. You choose any paper or element from your stash. You can control the exact size and placement of each item as you go along. And, the resulting 12x12 layout is left in layers for you to adjust and edit."
Give it a try, and if you like it, she has several others that you can purchase at very reasonable prices. 9139

FREE 4 SHORT TIME SCRAP IT ACTION BY WENDYZINE

Freebies

I don't have much time at the moment to post pictures or anything else, but I couldn't pass these up so I though I'd share them with you.

If you like the look of blocked layouts, then you should head on over to the SSD blog where they have some fabulous samples and a free template.

Are you in a patriotic state of mind? If so, head on over to Lindsay Jane's blog to grab yourself a wonderful red/white/blue glitter alpha that will come handy for all of your 4th of July layouts.

If your kids graduated from High School or just moved on from one grade to the next, run over to the Shutterfly blog to get Doris Castle's Graduation Quotes/Brush set.

Weeds and Wildflowers is currently hosting a fun photography challenge. To make it easier to complete your page, they even provide free wordart. How generous!

SherryJD has a cute alpha available on her blog.

Fran has a cute kit Tendre Comme Papa.

Lastly, Scrapmatters is hosting their weekly template challenge. The template is fab...go grab it!

Enjoy and have a great day! 9096

Freebies

Quick, Go Grab This Freebie! Limited Time Offer

The Sweet Shoppe Design designers have a fabulous free kit that they created especially for Ali Edwards to give away. It is only available this weekend, so go grab it NOW!

Log Your Memory also has a few kits that are cute and FREE. If you haven't seen them, head on over to the site to download. You will probably have to become a member to be able to download. The site is very informative and totally worth the registration. :) 9068

Quick, Go Grab This Freebie! Limited Time Offer

Earth Day Fair - Part Deux

Click image to enlarge.

Good Afternoon from hot, hazy and humid New Jersey. We have had a heat advisory warning in effect since June 20th. So I have been staying inside trying to keep cool, calm and collected. :)

Anyway, I had a half hour to spare so I uploaded the 2nd batch of photos from the fair. I still have a few others to upload, but will do that later. Enjoy!

The fair had a fairly interesting assortment of creepy animals on display. Worthy of mention was the huge bullfrog, the millipede (which was really long and reminded me of a Hebrew National hot dog - which by the way, is the only hot dog that I eat) and the tarantula. There were several types of snakes, skinks, turtles and preserved specimens of exotic beetles, butterflies and bugs that I'd never seen before in my life.

The kids enjoyed the "nature arts." They were provided with twigs, dirt, sand, pods, seeds, leaves, cones, shells and all sorts of things found in nature to create their very own nature collage. Even Liam, who usually frowns at this type of thing, got his hands dirty and create his very own masterpiece. :)

I made them pose for me at the entrance of the garden because I really liked the ivy creeping up the brick wall. :) They were good sports.

There was a band playing in the background, but I was more interested in the solo artist happily playing his banjo. At first glance, he looked like he belong to an Amish community, but as I engaged him in conversation I learned that he wasn't Amish, and that he was aiming for the Elvis Presley look, not "Amish." LOL. Anyway, I told him that being Amish was good and that there were far worse things I could have called him, to which he replied: "that is true." Then he smiled at me. We chatted for a while then I let him go back to his corner to continue playing.

I will post other photos later, if not tomorrow. Have a great day.
Hugs, Kait/ 9033

Earth Day Fair - Part Deux

Earth Day Fair - Part 1

Click on image to enlarge

Last weekend we went to our annual Earth Day fair. Of course, it was a very hot and humid day, but we didn't let that deter us from attending and having fun. Though the fair's purpose was to encourage the public at large to do their part in GOING GREEN by conserving energy, reusing and recycling, it also featured music, live animal presentations , canoeing and nature walks. There were environmental displays, demonstrations, and workshops.

As we entered the fair, the first thing we found was a booth loaded with flowers, which was adjacent to a big pile of dirt/fertilizer/mulch. The kids grabbed a flower, which were free, and headed on the pile to add fertilizer/dirt to their newly acquired flower, then proceeded to grab a plastic container to place the plant within so they could add water to it.

(Item 1)Baskets and Spinning. There were several women weaving baskets and spinning wool. The one woman was on her loom spinning one long strand of yarn. Of particular interest to me where the colorful finger puppets and yarn dolls made with Alpaca hair. There were several stuffed toys, one of which was an alpaca, that were extremely cuddly soft. I asked the woman what she used to make them, to which she said: Alpaca hair. (Items 3 through 5)

Alpacas. They had 2 Alpacas which were absolutely adorable. One was black and the other was a rusty orange color. One of them kept moaning, as if calling for its mother. (item 6)

Gourds. As we walked along, we came across another craft booth that contained many beautiful hand-painted gourds. Some were made into bird feeders, others were strictly for decoration. (Item 7)

As we walked around from booth to booth, we came near the mansion where they were hosting 14 "Green Stations" to learn about what we could do to "Go Green." They focused on: (Item 8)

• Backyard composting - help the environment by reducing the amt. of waste that goes into landfills, reduce the need for fertilizers and water, and help to control soil erosion.
• Landscape Design Naturally in our Yards - reduce lawn size, replace it with native plants which require less watering, less mowing and fertilizing
• Backyard Habitats - plant trees, shrubs and flowers that provide water, food, shelter and nesting for wildlife year round.
• Proper Disposal of Chemicals - explained the need to dispose of trash and chemicals properly as these usually wash down the storm drains and contaminate our water supply.
• Proper disposal of cigarette butts - though I have never been a smoker, I was surprised to see the amt. of chemicals that go into the cigarette filters. I subscribe to the mentality that I would rather eat my money (as in buy food) than see it go up in smoke. :) Did you know that there are more than 4,000 ingredients in a cigarette other than tobacco. Common additives include yeast, wine, caffeine, beeswax and chocolate. Here are some other ingredients: Ammonia: Household cleaner
  Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
  Arsenic: Used in rat poisons
  Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
  Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
  Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
  Cadmium: Used in batteries
  Cyanide: Deadly poison
  DDT: A banned insecticide
  Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
  Lead: Poisonous in high doses
  Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
  Methoprene: Insecticide
  Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice
  Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics
  Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
  Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
  Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element

(See the site: quitsmokingsupport for more information about other toxic ingredients found in cigarettes and.resources for quitting the habit.

• Reusable Totes - this booth encouraged people to use reusable totes/reusable canvas bags instead of using plastic bags. Each of the kids got to participate in a demonstration. Kay had a plastic bag, while Liam had a canvas bag. They each placed many cans into their bags and got a chance to weight it. This gave the panelist a chance to explain why the reusable canvas bag was a much better option than the plastic bag. Not only can one carry more items in the canvas bag but it can be used again and again and again. You can't do the same thing with a plastic bag. Once it breaks it ends up in the trash. Besides, they make the plastic bags so thin that they break easily with just a few items.
• Buy Local fruits, vegetables - support your local economy, or you can pick your own directly from the field.
• Let the light in - Use shades, blinds and curtains to keep your house cool during the day and open them up to allow natural light in as the sun shifts from morning to afternoon.
• Go Solar - air dry your clothes. I like to air dry my clothes, but not the towels. Also, if you are an allergy sufferer, it is not suggested that you air dry your clothes because of pollen and allergens in the air that will undoubtedly cling to your clothes.
• Conserve water int he home by turning off the faucet
• Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth or wash your face or shave. Take short showers instead of baths.
• Recycle
• Walk, carpool or bike - select the means of transportation better suited for the distance you are traveling.
• Follow Through - make a concerted effort to follow through on your pledge to "go green."

Wheel of Fortune: Liam spinning the wheel to collect a free prize. Liam was thrilled with his prize: a calculator! Kay and I spun the wheel but we each got a nail file. (Item 9)

Garden - Smithville Mansion is a Greek Revival-style mansion, which currently serves as a museum, and has wonderful gardens. The bright orange Tiger Lilies are beautiful as they flank the pathway leading up to the mansion tours' entrance. (Item 10)

Valerie Vaugh sang about Tuckerton. (see Image 12)

Moose: Life-size sculpture of park mascot February the Moose created from trash collected in the parks. It had several openings where one could place items to be recycles such as glass and plastic bottles. (Item 12)

Bee Keeper, Bees and Honey: A local bee keeper was on hand selling local honey, and had a honey comb full of bees that he used to explain the honey-making process. (Item 13)

Live Animals: Rabbits and hamster (Items 14, 15 and 16).

Milk: While there weren't any live cows on the premises, there was a model of a cow that allowed kids to try their hand at "milking" a cow. It had 4 rubber teats that the kids had to grab and pull to make "milk" come out to fill the bucket. (Item17)

This is it for now. I have more pictures from this event, but am out of time at the moment. Today is Kay's school party and I have to get ready for it.

I hope you like the pictures. It was time consuming to load, detail and upload, but... 9022

Earth Day Fair - Part 1

Let's Go for a Walk

Come on! Let's go out for a walk. I haven't been to the lake for a long time, come with me. I'll show you my favorite hang-out spots...

After I dropped off the kids at school, I went out to the lake for a walk. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the birds flying all around, the swaying flowers and flowering trees. Here are a few of my favorites.

This weekend is supposed to be really hot - in the 90's. We are planning on going to the annual Earth Day fair, which takes place tomorrow. Of all goes well, I'll take the kids to Six Flags Great Adventure/Hurricane Harbor on Sunday. And we'll try to drag Daddy out of the house for some fun, too. :)

Before I forget, the kids last day of school is this coming Thursday. They are looking forward to summer vacation. It's going to be one busy, crazy summer!

Oh, you might have noticed that I haven't scrapped in the past month, I have ideas, but don't have the mojo.

I do want you to keep you eyes open for Lorie Davison's new kit coming out in the next few days...you won't want to miss it. :0) 8963

Let's Go for a Walk

The Simple Life

Hello Friends,

I guess you have noticed that I haven't been scrapping or posting pictures. I am at a crossroads in my life and all I want to do is shut out the world and cocoon. Now, I know this is not possible, reasonable or prudent, but the thought is there.

I've always strived to be positive, and find it really hard to do so unless I am an island of 1. But for my sake and that of my kids, I must keep trying. I have taken down time to just concentrate on de-cluttering my house, trying to mend relationships, and simply my life. I find myself bogged down and my brain and heart are screaming that I need a change.

Coincidentally, I came across an amazing blog that spoke to me and my quest: THE SIMPLE WOMAN'S DAYBOOK. I think I will take a page out their book and give it a try. How about you? Could you benefit from it?

Take care, dear friends.

The Simple Life

Quick Picks

A lot of my friends are surprised to learn that I have a dog. Well, it is not my dog, it is my DH's dog. I love animals in the wild and nature, but not to keep as pets.

My son recently turned 8 years old. Here he is getting ready for his 2nd grade spring recital.

My lovely daughter ready for her 3rd grade spring recital.

My boy at the park among the buttercups. :) 8669

Quick Picks

Hello My Friends!

click to enlarge
I can't believe how mature and beautiful my young daughter is looking these days! Pretty soon I will be having crazy boys knocking on my door. :)

One Beautiful Day Combo by Natali Designs
http://shop.scrapbookgraphics.com/product.php?productid=28691&cat=0&page=1
Font: SF Old Republic
Template by Fairly Fabulous Creations.
click to enlarge
Now, look at my children here...they look so young! This photo is from 2005.
Since I hadn't scrapped in quite a long time, I worked on 2 text paths for my journaling. :)
Boy Needful BUNDLE With Free Gift By Natali Designs
http://shop.scrapbookgraphics.com/product.php?productid=27947&cat=0&page=1
Font: SF Old Republic

Hello My Friends,

My computer is finally fixed! It took a while to get it done, but it is finally home! And I am so very happy. Now, I have to make clean out the hard drive and my externals. It is amazing the amt. of stuff I have stored in them. As I started to go through the drives, I realized that my taste in designs have matured quite a lot in just 2 years. I can't believe some of the stuff I purchased from "good" designers that are absolutely hideous! :) They were "good" at the time, but just horrible by today's standards.

I finally got a chance to scrap two pages for a blog play day over at Scrapbookgraphics. 8669

Hello My Friends!

Lulu's Egg Garden by Lorie Davison

Lorie Davison is releasing LULU'S EGG GARDEN at Scrapbookgraphics today. It is gorgeous, as all of her kits are. It is on sale for $4.80 so get it while it is at this price!

PSST! Lorie has a new blog - FROM LORIE'S NOGGIN - check it out so you can keep up with her designs and news.

Lulu's Egg Garden by Lorie Davison

Computer Down/Great Adventure

Hello,

Just giving you a little update on my comings and goings of late. First off, my computer is down. I need to get it fixed, so I can't scrap or download pictures or do anything.
:( Property taxes are due today, so that payment takes precedence over fixing my computer. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can get it fixed.

On Satuday, which was 97 degrees at its highest, I took the kids to GREAT ADVENTURE and the SAFARI. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with the idea because the place was packed. sone enters the park, one can see the line of cars leading up to the entrance. I didn't want to stay in line for a long time so I went to the safari first. We were there for about an hour, enough time for the line to come down. The good thing about having season passes and season parking is that one does not have to wait in line for very long periods of time.

--The WHITE SWANS are nesting and should have a family of their own soon. I've been to the safari 3 times already and have seen them sitting on their nest...

--The BLACK SWANS (from Australia) are plentiful this year, I spotted 4 pairs.

--The MANDARIN DUCKS are so cute. They had a whole bunch of tiny ducklings running around.

--The male PEACOCKS were out strutting their stuff, but no hens around. I spotted about 5 males with the most beautiful brilliant plumage.

--We saw a STORK up close and personal - they are kind of ugly and big.

--In BROWN BEAR LAND, the bears were trying to keep cool in the shade, while others were busyly engaged in 'OTHER' activities. As we were looking around for the bears, we spotted a pair of bears in an most intimate position. My kids are very innocent and didn't realize that the bears were not playing, but mating. Liam, who usually blurts out what he is thinking, turns to me and says, "Hey,Mama, check out how that bear is shaking his booty!" I couldn't help, but to chuckled. I told them that the bears were "grooming" themselves, just like the Baboons do. Yeah, grooming. ;)

Right before we entered the LION section, we spotted a humongous, unattended OSTRICH EGG on the floor.

We went to the EXPLORATION STATION where we saw a gigantic albino Boa Contrictor, an Egyptian Fruit Bat, A blue-tongue Skink and a Madagscar Hissing Cockroach.

In Bugs Bunny Land, we watched the BUGS BUNNY DANCE OFF. If featured Bugs Bunny and Lola, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird, and Daffy Duck, who was going to be dancing with "BEYONCE." When it was Daffy's turn to dance, Beyonce made an appearance. It was a man, wearing a disheaveled wig, silver gloves and a boa. You should have seen Liam's expression when he saw Beyonce. He was horrified. :) My poor boy doesn't have a sense of humor so clearly he didn't appreciate the impersonation.

--In Wiggles Land, the kids mounted a ride that would take them up high, then drop them little, then go back up higher, then drop them again. Liam even rode it 2 times, which is highly unusual for him. He likes to ride something once, and move on to the next bigger and better ride.

--I loved the topiaries
Tiger Turtle Giraffe

--The kids love riding the RUNAWAY MINE TRAIN, which is a high thrill, fast ride.

--The day was so bright, sunny and hot. I used SPF45 on my arms, but it still didn't do a good enough job of guarding my skin as I still got the itchy rash that I get due to my sun allergy. I guess I will have to ask the doctor what I can use to try to avoid this. With 97 degree weather I just couldn't see myself wearing long sleeves!
8471

Computer Down/Great Adventure