It's funny.

If you walk around on the streets of Stockholm today you will see a bunch of 10 year olds running around with their mother's old LVs across their shoulders wearing a layer-cake make up meal with extra large rouge and mascara supreme.

You know, when I was a kid we used to play with Barbies, watch Disney movies and participate in homemade holla hoop tournaments. (Fine, I confess, I still play with Barbies but that's besides the point).

The point is that...

Where the hell did Barbie go?! When was Disney replaced with blue mascara and why on earth aren't kids playing with Holla Hoops anymore?! Holla Hoops should be the foundation of everybody's childhood. Curse you, 21st century!

So today, N and I decided to bring the holla hoops back. For all children out there that never got to holl-AH, this is for you:

You're never too old to act immature. Now shake. Shake. Shake. : D
M.

Shade's Beach has a large modern playground in it. Actually, there are two - one for young kids, and one for more adventurous/bigger kids. It is also near the beach (hence the name) with a newly designed breakwall and harbor. While you can walk out on the breakwall, the construction changed the water flow patterns such that algae tends to collect next to it so it tends to be smelly and make the beach itself unusable.

Isaac enjoyed sliding down the fireman's pole.

Alix liked climbing onto the play structure all the different ways - stepping stones, ladder, steps.

Mom liked the path leading into the woods.  It's about a mile and a half walk if you do the whole thing (and it's not a loop, so you do need to go out and come back).  If you go at the right time, you may even find some blackberries.

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Isaac enjoyed the Frog Pond and Lava Pool, which were little pools for the kids.  They had a shelf around the edge so Alix could stand up and the adults could sit easily and were very warm.

Alix enjoyed the baby jumpers in a little pool of water.  She was on the big side for them, but didn't want to stop bouncing in the water.

Mom and Dad loved the water slides.  Our favorites were the Shark Attack, Python Plunge, and Cyclone.  All of them were pretty great, although the Hurricane Hole was a bit rough.

While the kids had fun, neither of them liked the big bucket in the Tiki Treehouse that would dump 1,000 gallons of water every 15 minutes or so.  Luckily there was a siren to warn you the bucket was about to tip.  We certainly want to go again, although we'll probably wait until the kids are a bit older and can enjoy the park more.

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I have found the perfect park. It has two play areas; one in the sun (see above photo) and one that is covered and shaded at all times. There are grassy baseball fields and dandelions galore (a Toby favorite). Also there is a chain link fence around the entirety of the field . . . on the other side of the fence is wet lands that cannot be developed; no houses overlooking. Its 1.5 miles from my house . . . making it a 3 mile round trip walk/jog; its turning out to be a perfect distance. Also, and most importantly, it is rarely inhabited by other humans . . . important for my pre-coffee antisocial disorder. And because its rarely peopled, Byron-Jack-Russell-Extraordinair is allowed off leash for duration of our stay . . . duration ranging from 20 minutes to an hour.

Taking advantage of the fields of glory here . . . loverly fields to romp and wear out small children and the dog alike.

Byron has gotten away from T here (note the dragging leash) . . . In the shaded area behind T is the second, and covered, playground.  Very nicely done, I must say!

BUT . . . and its a really big BUT . . . all the above also belongs to an elementary school. And you know what that means . . . eventually school will be back in session . . . and we will be out of luck.

This reminder came crowding into my over-crowded brain this morning when we rolled up with our spiffy double jogger and there were delivery trucks and maintenance trucks prepping the school. I have a month to enjoy my little paradise and then it will snatched back from me with no mercy. Of course I could show up and join the chitlins attending for recess. I have a feeling that won't go over so well with the school staff though.

So, my little playground radar is up and searching for a new playground . . . whilst the weather is permissible . . . which usually extends into October.

God Bless!

They are getting along pretty good lately.  They have their unloving moments but, they are brothers . . .

AACCKK!!  I do exist at 9am.  Believe it or not, I venture out into the world of exercise (I apologize to no one) looking like this . . . pre-hairdo, pre-makeup (though thats nothing new),  and pretty frickin' cranky most of the time (I blame my lack of caffeinated beverages . . . preferably coffee).  But the sun is so nice!!

And speaking of orders.......boy did we ever have fun with that!! We picked out almost everything we need for our Paper-Playground kits for the next 5 months or so. I am so in love with the stuff we have coming up! I won't spill the beans, but I promise you it's going to be fabulous!

But the best part of CHA by far was meeting so many wonderful people that I have known only online in the past. I met a lot of folks who's work I truly admire from Create My Keepsake and Two Peas, and was really happy to meet some of the new designers from the Random Chaos design team. Man, that was just freaking fun!

I do have a few pictures I can share today. Here are some of the Webster's Pages booth.

That is me with the owner of Webster's Pages, Brandin O'Neill and the Design Team Coordinator, Terri Hayes.

I have to admit that it was a pretty big thrill for me to see my cards displayed in the booth. Terri and Brandin did a wonderful job setting up the booth and adding so many pretty home decor details. They seemed to be pretty busy every time I went past, so I'm hoping they had a really good show.

One of the first places we stopped to shop was the May Arts booth. We have always wanted to add their ribbons to our kits, but have never even been able to get a catalog in the past, so we are pretty happy to be able to say that there will be plenty of gorgeous May Arts ribbons in our upcoming kits. I loved their booth just for the quantity of stunning ribbon everywhere you looked.

I'll post more photos next time! Have a great day everyone!

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The weather has been perfect, warm but not too hot with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

My medical transcription work has been almost nonexistent this week with doctors on vacation.

I've been loving watching my garden. I can see growth every single day, which is really exciting.

I've been having fun browsing through cookbooks and experimenting with new recipes to use my harvest box produce. I made a yummy recipe today with peas, pasta, bacon, onion, parsley, and sage that was even a hit with three of my four kids! That is pretty high success in this house. (Sammy was the holdout.)

I've been helping Gabe paint his room. He chose a dark reddish-purple color. That first coat looks pretty splotchy and terrible, but I seem to remember that's how it usually is with dark colors. I'm hopeful that it will look better when it has another coat or two!

I've been reading. I finished my book club book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, which I enjoyed, and for fun I have been reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen again, which I seriously don't think I could ever get sick of. I so love that book.

I have gotten some serious laundry and ironing done this week.

I've managed to get the kids to help out with some cleaning projects. Yesterday we got all the kids' rooms cleaned up and today we all tackled the family room.

Tuesday we went to the library and park for awhile. I had forgotten that on Tuesday evenings in the summer they have different bands in the park each week, so it was a fun surprise to have some good background music to enjoy.

I discovered a fun television series through Netflix, one of the ones you can watch online. It's an Irish show called Ballykissangel about a new priest from England in a small Irish town. (The title is the name of the town, which they refer to as "Bally K") I've watched a few episodes of that and I'm really liking it so far. I hope it continues to be good.

Scott has been doing his yearly military duty, this week in Portland. He's been getting home a little bit earlier than normal, which is always nice. Unfortunately the next two weeks will be out at the coast, so he'll only be home on the weekend.

One funny moment from today was looking into the family room where Josh and Sammy were watching a special on TV about tornadoes. They were both kneeling behind the couch watching, as if maybe the couch would offer them a little protection from the storm.

I'm really enjoying the very few scheduled obligations we have had. We have been sleeping in and having mostly free nights. Summer living is pretty good right now!

Alas it was bucketing down so the kids did not get to check out the play area which is in the alfresco/courtyard adjoining the cafe end of the restaurant.

The cafe end is aimed at casual dining and readily welcomes families (who supervise their children). The menu is not large but offers a variety such as wagyu beef burger with aged cheddar and chargrilled vegetables, lamb shank with (handmade) gnocchi and fish and fries.

The children's menu had four choices - pasta, chicken and  pineapple pizza (on the same Turkish bread as the burger), cheeseburger or fish and (shoestring) fries. The pizza also came with fries while the fish and fries also had a small side salad; both came with a 100 per cent juice box, so good value and healthy, fresh choices for $8.

Our mains, the burger and lamb shank, were $19 each from memory (will check the notes later) - good value compared to some other nearby establishments,and good sizes, too.

As you can see from my brilliantly inserted image, the kids were also given colouring in materials.

The service was friendly and fast, with orders taken at the counter and delivered to the table (full table service in the restaurant side).

Although we were heading to the Berry Farm we spoilt out appetites by also indulging in a piece of the choc caramel tart, a flan and fancier version of the good old choc caramel slice.

The restaurant has been nominated in several categories of the Gold Plate  awards so is well worth a visit. Note to older diners, don't sit near the door and then look cross when kids go in or out to the playground. There are plenty of other tables. The cafe is family friendly so grin and bare it!

Sorry can't report on the wines. More images on Flickr stream...

But before I go, I'd like to share my card for the Sketch This blog this week.

Used some of my absolute favorite Creative Imaginations journaling frames as the starting point for my card. Love the elegant, script wording on those pieces, and decided to use that as the greeting for the project. I then paired that with soft and subtle papers from Making Memories' Chelsea Place line, a botanical cardstock sticker from Wordsworth, and a touch of bold black for a punch. Love the overall serene and classic feel.

Be sure to check out the Sketch This blog for lots more inspiration with this week's sketch!

I'm off to finish up my packing! See you all when I get back!

This is me and my sweet daughter, Nicole on Mother's Day this year. She had just given me a whole pile of home-made gifts to open, including that crystal necklace that I'm wearing in the picture. Unfortunately, the necklace broke during that first wearing, and sat for a long time without a new cord. But now we've found an old chain for it, and I'm happy to say that the necklace is back in action!

Almost everything I used for this page comes from Making Memories. I had just recently picked up some of the papers from the Passport line and combined them here with their older line, Chelsea Place. I did have a dickens of a time reducing that mini scalloped background paper from a 12x12 format to my chosen 8.5x11 size, but eventually my perseverance paid off. The chipboard letters and the ribbons on the journaling tags are also from Making Memories. I used a Jenni Bowlin die-cut journaling piece from the July Paper-Playground kit for the background of my title, and finished the title and subtitle with stamped letters from Stampin'Up and Hero Arts. The tags on the side pull out to reveal my hidden journaling.

Hope you all feel inspired and join in on the fun. Go check out the Random Chaos site for more great examples. With our new designers playing along this week, there are twice as many ideas to drool over than before. And as always...if you play along, link me up in the comments section. I would love to see what you've done!

Have a great day everyone!

CavSon did okay.  He's still not excited about slides or swings.  They'll grow on him.

They both enjoyed the deck that goes over the lake.  We saw plenty of fishes among the junk that had been tossed in.  You can't swim at the beach anymore.  It is covered over with weeds on land and in the water.  Probably too hard to keep the gators away.  The beach was probably victim of a previous budget crunch.

The victims of the next budget crunch were sitting there the entire time we were there.  There were 3 emplyees from Leisure Services sitting, talking and reading.  Their job would be to play with neighborhood kids.  But there were no kids there.  Which is unfortunate- it was an overcast day so it wasn't mind-numbingly hot, and we saw a bunch of kids down the street.

CavGirl has experienced a number of falls off her bike lately.  Tumbles in general.  She's got a cut on her big toe that keeps opening up.  She did a good job banging up a finger.  She rides too fast and tries to turn.  We are still working on actually stopping to look both ways before entering the road.

She is currently engrossed in Jon & Kate Plus 8 while CavWife taught aerobics.  She loves watching all the kids.  She just calls it watching the kids.  We now have a video tape dedicated to the show.

His speech therapy is going okay.  He's trying.  He can make the 'p' sound, but has not yet integrated it into actual words.  But the therapist isn't happy.  He disagrees with the surgeon regarding the need to repair the fistula.  We have decided: 1. he has little experience with cleft palate kids, 2. he is not taking CavSon's speech in context (here 6 months, this is his 2nd language, undergoing major surgery...).  So, when we return from vacation, we should have a new speech therapist to work with him.

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