Girl Sprouts

And now the girl band has an official name. For today anyway. And they choose “girl sprouts” (which I happen to love actually).

They are rocking and playing and singing – each has a role and then they change to give each girl a turn on the new drums. They are singing, taking photos, playing drums, and playing guitar. I mean – really, could they be any cuter right now? I hope I never forget days like today when they are just being girls…  neighbors… friends…  and rock stars, too.   I am not getting nearly as much done as I had hoped upstairs because I cannot stop running down there to listen (from the stairs when they do not know I am listening) and taking photos of them. Just watching them be kids. Kids with really cool microphones, guitars, and a new electric drum set. Man, they do totally rock my world.

 

Kalli Rocks 

 Kaya Rocks

 

I told them I needed a cover shot for their new CD so they all gathered around Kaya. Man, I wish days like today could last forever.  

A lot louder than I imagined....

And a lot more fun, too.

 

  

These are photos of the girls and Neil - picking up their new (not pink) but ELECTRIC drums. Holy Moly are these things cool. It was a fantastic purchase from a new local music store Eddie's Guitars... (we love supporting the little guys whenever we can) and it will bring hours of crazy fun. My husband (the only boy in the house now that my dad moved back out) was so excited about this purchase because he is a musician (who thinks drums are WAY cooler than dolls). He played in orchestras when he was younger and worked at local music stores his whole life. He plays guitar and piano and it is our dream that the kids love music. Music brings so much joy into our lives...  And so much loudness. Between the instruments and all the toys my dad left behind (slot machine, pac man machine, slot machine, bowling game and pool table) our basement is going to end up being the noisy place the kids want to play! We love that!

The girls used the cash they had for their dolls to pay for their drums. They had counted it, collected it, and earned it - and they each handed over their money so there was no question about them choosing these over the dolls!

Here are some photos of their first home concert with the drums.  I am telling you - this was such a good choice they made. We would have probably spent the same on the dolls and the trip downtown to get them, and just hearing them all down there playing together is amazing.

surrounded by rock stars....

Last night our weekend plans changed because we went to have dinner with a neighbor, and they have a full drum set! Our plan was to take money the girls have saved (from their change jar, lemonade stand, tooth fairy and more) and go to Chicago to let them each pick an American Girl Doll. This has been the plan for weeks....  we have circled the AG catalog with what they like the best....  BUT, they LOVED the drums SO MUCH, the plan has been altered. They have decided to pool their money and get a (hopefully pink) real drum set.  They woke up still TOTALLY excited about the new plan....  and they got dressed like ROCK STARS (in outfits purchased with their wonderful Auntie Julie on our Colorado Journey) and we did hair and make up so they are ready to go DRUM shopping with their Dad! I love my life surrounded by rock stars.

 

Here is a photo from our adventure on the way to school on Friday (Kal and the neighbors ride their scooters and I pull Kaya in the wagon)  These neighbors have their house for sale which is breaking our hearts...  we hope another amazing family moves in there. We will miss them every single day.

 

I got this great photo of Kalli with Kaya in her class. 

  

I hope you are all taking lots of photos of simple things as they happen. Happy Labor Day weekend. 

One extra "25 Things We Love About Summer" kit available for sale...

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to capture what you loved most about this past summer, maybe this kit could help you. It is prepped and ready to go....  all you need to do it be the first to email me and let me know you want it - then think about it and email me a list of your 25 favorite things about summer and I will prep that part and get the kit in the mail to you  next Tuesday. The kit cost is $50 for the album and everything you need to create the album (you just add photos and adhesive to stick it together) and add $10 if I need to ship it to you. I think I can take Pay Pal (you all know I am not internet savy with things like that). This album can EASILY be created in about 90 minutes total - and you will have it forever. I accidentally created one extra one and maybe that could be a very good thing for your family??  :)  Here are a few photos from the inside of my album... the outside of the album is really need with four REAL SHELLS under mesh on the cover - I have never seen anything like that.

If you are looking for a more in-depth look at your summer, and you want to add in a bit of your own creativity...  Marty still has a few ONE SUMMER kits in his cart I think.  That was my first on-line class, and I have loved that process. If you pick up that kit, he will let me know, and I will forward you all handouts for that class.  Go here to see some sample pages from this kit. One person in the class told me "My kids and I have LOVED this album. We work on it together all the time." Now that sure makes my heart feel happy!  

Can you believe this summer is winding down???  Ugh - that means soon, I will have to shovel snow. I love summer and always hate to see it end.

Made a page tonight...

Polly Lund once had a patch that said "Scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy...  I think." I should have kept one of those patches!  I made this page tonight to try to capture today's memories before I forget them.  I just feel like I need to do little things to make sure I never forget our simple every day things we do. I felt lucky to take these photos this morning. And I am grateful I made time to make this simple page.
Never forget the power of scrapbooking for your own spirit and the other lives that connect with yours. I know having this page will matter one day to them. I cannot tell you what I would give to know how my Mom felt 30 years ago when she took me to first grade.

I feel lucky that I realized to stop making this all harder than it needed to be. I never would have made a super simple random page like this "back in the day" - but MAN, I love it. I kind of want to sleep with it under my pillow if it would not get all crushed.  My photos and my stories are all I really need. That has become more than enough for me, and for that, I am grateful.

I tried to cut and paste my rambling long winded text because I know there will be one of you who is like me and will SQUINT trying to read it. I have no clue why I like to read other people's journaling, but I really do. If you have any need to read this long journaling....  email me klsb@comcast.net and I will email it to you. I am SO BAD at getting things to work on the computer!

If you take time to read this blog - thanks. I hope it inspires you to simply make something once in a while. :)

Please tell me

That you guys are creating wonderful memories for your family.....  I hope you are. I am in SUCH a funk about Kalli going back to school that I cannot create anything without crying....  what is that???  I am simply printing photos of us on our Colorado Journey and tears are pouring down my face. I feel so lucky to have taken this trip with them....  but looking at the photos is making me sad.  Here are a few photos of the journal I created along our journey. My Uncle made fun of me the entire time, because as my Aunt drove the van, I journaled about what we just did and stuck in ticket stubs. I love it because it came home almost complete, and I just need to stick in photos (if I can stop crying as I print them). Ugh. I hope this is a weepy phase that goes away soon. Maybe I just need a nap! :)

So, I guess I made this on Monday, but posted on Tuesday....  still counts, right? :)  Remember - it is not always about how fancy you make it - just that you make it at all. I love these journals - messily written in a moving van and train and all....  not going to win any awards, but my girls will have them to relive our journey, and I think that really matters! :)

OK, I added a few more photos before I went to sleep. I sure do love these kids. Scrapbooking makes me happy.

I sure do love these little faces and feel lucky to have been with them on this journey. And I feel a little happier tonight knowing I have recorded how much I love them in this journal.

Is it just me??

Or do Moms get really sad taking their kids to first grade??  I mean, what is my deal? I want to cry about it.  Kal is so good about it this year (last year she cried until November at drop off) and I feel ill. I am not kidding. Ugh. I need to get over this and be OK with the fact that she is growing up, but I am struggling. Totally struggling. Here are a couple photos of us walking to school today. I pulled Kaya in the wagon and Kal scooted along side of us. It hurt my heart to watch her walk in.  She looked so small in that large sea of students. I pray life is kind to her tender little heart.

I will be back later with photos of what I am making this Monday - the plan is to simply print some photos of our Colorado journey and put them into our travel journal. I love that book and will post it later.
Hope you make a few minutes to create something that matters to you.

Blessed beyond measure....

That is how I feel tonight. Tired (even though I got a lot of sleep today), but grateful. Grateful for a fun & safe adventure to Colorado (and happy to have about 1200 photos of the journey)

and a very successful garage sale upon our return home.

And, I am MOST GRATEFUL for my husband getting the entire garage back in order and a local church for picking up things that did not sell, and my friend Lisa taking home all the excess scrapbooking stuff - so now - it looks like there never was a sale here! And our lives can get back on track. I also am grateful for the burden of stuff that has been lifted after finally making time to purge. Things got really backed up after my Mom's sudden death, and knowing I needed to do all that sorting a purging was a burden on my heart. Now that is done, and once I get things back into shape in our home - I know I will rest easier knowing that we have tried to only keep what we use and love. The sale was also a great success and my husband needs some car work done, and what we made will more than cover that. So, it was perfect timing after all.

Here are a few of the MANY photos I want to share with you guys.....

This is Kaya with fresh cookies Lisa baked that she was supposed to sell - but I think she ate them all!

Kalli with her Lemonade Stand (and chips and candy and hot dogs). She is trying to raise enough money to get her sister an American Girl doll. She has already saved enough for her doll - she is trying so hard to get one for Kaya!

Us on the train ride TO Colorado. It was an excellent trip and all four of us loved the train. (That is my Grandma - the girls Great Grandma that we got to take this journey with)

All four of us on the journey home. The girls are in their new Hannah Anderson Pajamas I was lucky enough to find ON SALE! (they never go on sale). They made the trip home more comfy for them. 

  

Us three girls in Estes park - amazing views. 

  

Where we live you pull the car off the road to show your kids one little deer - Well, coming down the mountain, we were lucky enough to be FIRST in line when the ranger stopped traffic to allow a herd of about 40 Elk to cross the road. It was unreal - like nothing I have ever seen. The mommy Elk had to nudge the babies down the drop to get to the other side. It was 20 amazing minutes. 

  

We stopped on the side of the road to enjoy a HUGE slide with the whole family. 

  

My cousin built the sets for Little Shop of Horrors and we were lucky to be there for closing night. Kaya was TERRIFIED of the plant, but Kalli loved seeing the little plant up close after the show. 

  

Auntie Julie took the girls on a wild girly shopping spree that ended with a fashion show and lipstick kisses. 

  

Kalli did SO WELL on her first day of first grade. She was amazing. I was so grateful that she has adjusted so well so far. 

  

Kalli all ready for day TWO of first grade (in some new fancy clothes from Auntie Julie).

  

Our amazing friends came in from Wisconsin to help me with the sale (thank goodness they were here) and Lisa brought her cash register which saved the day and kept the lines moving quickly. My kids love their family and we love them! 

  

One final train image - if you have not ever looked into it, price a train for your next vacation - my kids and 84 year old Busia loved it. It was an excellent journey. 

Will be back tomorrow with a few photos of the travel journal I made along the way. I missed you guys.