Who said cute isn't cool!

There comes a time in every boys life that you have to watch how much you use the word cute around them.

I have just been told that would by at 7 1/2!

BUT .....BUT.....I don't care that he will be smashing into other boys, or that he will be grunting and snarling.....

I don't care how many push ups he does, or how many times I hear the smashing of the pads....

He is still CUTE!!! Cute as a button, even behind that helmet I can see his blue eyes and that wonderful smile.

Yep the tallest bobble head on the team!

I just love this game, I love the gleam in Josh's eye, I love when he tells me tonight after 2 hours of practice..." I can't wait till tomorrow nights practice" "Football practice is the best thing in my life right now" I know that he loves everything he does, but he is truly in the moment that is football. I love that we share a passion for the game, he loves to sit and watch it on Sundays with me and that is beyond special to me.

Ok I know by season end you will have heard enough about football, but that is one thing I love to talk about, FOOTBALL!!

So I am outta here for the weekend, it is time for Scrappin Away Vacation time, 4 days and another wonderful time ahead. It is alot of work to put this together, get the store packed up and get it all to come together, but again love it! It was a bit harder this year as I am not fully recouped from last weekend yet....but I will get thru this, maybe even get some things created and I know the energy of the wonderful woman at the event will get me through! That and a few cups of caffeine a day!!

Exhaustion never felt so good.

Seems weird but it is so true.
All the preparing before, the setting up of the booth and then the actual show and it is gone in a flash it seems.
My eyelids were hurting as I sat at the store on Saturday night putting in the last of the orders from the convention. When midnight rolled around and that task was finished, I then drove the rental truck back, got an ice cold drink at Wawa and headed home. Collapsed on the couch and didn't awaken till morning.
Finally 2 days later and still feeling it a bit. But the best part...I have renewed energy inside.

It is hard to go thru the day in day out of owning a business. It can get to you in the summer months when it is a bit slower then the rest of the year. It seems no one is scrapbooking. The crop room is not buzzing with creativity as much as usual.

The remedy is GO to a Scrapbooking Convention!!!
Run don't walk, the hobby is alive. People are excited about what you have to offer, they are thirsty for creative mojo. They are happy, they want to talk about scrapbooking. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Now to get ready for a great weekend again, with 90 woman ready to get in a room and create for 4 days straight. Ready to have girlfriend time, to be inspired even more. Life is good!!

A HUGE, BIG , wonderful thanks to all that helped out this weekend, each of you made it even more special. People couldn't say enough good things about how much our customers and workers love mlpa and how they take pride that this is THEIR local scrapbook store. That just makes me beam! So rock on you ROCKSTARS!!! You know who you are!

Champion Day!

This group of boys won the championship yesterday at the "Battle in the mountains" A team tourney. There were 7 teams there, and our guys as a team defeated each of them. All the other teams lost to at least one team. Josh did two exhibition matches, losing his first by a score of 4-3 and then winning his 2nd in a PIN!

One thing I was so impressed with, with these boys on the Weaver elite team, is no matter who you are, your ability or how you did on the mat....they all were there for one another as a TRUE team. They have been learning...not only have they been learning wrestling moves so they can be better wrestlers, these coaches have been teaching them sooooooooo much more.

I know as a sports parent we are sometimes looked at as someone who just brags about our child winning awards, and this is so far from the truth. That is the end result that you see us talk about, but the road to someone becoming a champion is so much more to me. I love the growth, the maturity and the ideals that Josh has been developing thru these sports. I have a little boy that is not only taught those values at home, but also it is reinforced out there by his coaches.

I would pull Josh out of a place where I didn't see this in the coach, and actually have already confronted a coach that I didn't agree with. I will always be the one looking out for Josh.

So it was a great day, long ....but at the end of the day when we were down 2-1 in the last match and the young boy turned it around and got 3 points for Weaver Elite...As I saw each one of our boys jumping up with the excitement they had....it was a great day to be a witness to.

Thanks!

that was nice of all of you to stop by and wish us well on our anniversary! I really smiled as I read each one!
It really makes me warm and fuzzy whenever I know a friend is celebrating another year in a healthy loving relationship. It is a rare thing these days.

I have pulled up Kate's comment from the other day...cause it was the first time she has ever commented on my blog and I just was so proud of her!

Well I guess this is the moment you need one of those cute card that says "You know you work to many hours when: You forget what July 18th means (when asked I say it is not August 20th the day we meet so don't I get some points????When you call a coworker your son's name and his name is Joe not Josh oops!At least I did not do it to Mr. Bolgari (Bolivia sp? watches and Italian jewelry) who I met today in NY.When you mostly talk to your partner on the cell phone (not that it has not kept us in touch lately)Honey I love you and our life is so busy I too enjoy the few weekends our even the few hours we get to spend together!Love you and Happy 9th anniversary

Well it is Friday...long day here , Josh to camp, then it is off to the store from 10 am - 9 pm tonight. The joys of ownership, some days are long! The back room is filling up with boxes ready to go to CK Convention next week. My lists are growing tho, there is alot to do. Now it is down to finishing touches such as signs and the details that will mess you up if I don't take care of them.

This weekend is Josh's tourney in the Poconos. Sunday morning have him there at 8 am! It will be a great day to watch the Weaver team wrestle and hopefully the boys will do well. We will be spending time with our friends the Rush's so I know the day will be fun!

Well time to go pay some bills, get the day going and make today a better day! Have a wonderful weekend....and keep the drama in the T.V.

Happy 9th Anniversary!

Remember this honey?

Even tho you didn't remember today was our anniversary....(well till I gave you big hints yesterday), I still love ya!

Hey after 9 years the memory starts to fade....that is why we have pictures and why I scrapbook! So when we can't remember, we can!

Seriously tho....9 years!! I knew 10 years ago and still know today, I got lucky! I made the right choice, and I am so glad I didn't let you slink out of this. My shy shy girl!

What a wonderful day it was July 18th, 1998....well it ended up wonderful anyway. That is the day I got to marry my best friend!

After the limo never showed up, the flowers were late, the guest were late and we even had open bar before the ceremony...everything was wonderful. We got to kick our shoes off in the dunes, get married barefoot on the beach and make our commitments to one another.

Fast forward 9 years, we have a wonderful son that we are raising together, 2 dogs and a home. Your career is ever growing and I am so proud of you. I am an owner of a scrapbooking retreat company and a co-owner in a retail scrapbooking store. How much more boring could we get!!!

I love our boring life, I love that we are a family, and that there is enough love to get thru the rough spots. Anyone can do it when everything is going great, but few survive the rough spots.

So my dear I raise my glass and clink to you today...I love you so much!

Sometimes you find goodness in your email...Thanks Shirley!

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots; each hung on the ends of a pole
which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and
always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot
arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only
one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable
that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the
woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in
my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of
the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower
seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water
them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate
the table.

Without your being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to
grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each
have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good
in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell
the flowers on your side of the path!

It's Monday again!

I feel like I haven't stopped.

Kate went for her sleep study last night, good news is she doesn't have to get the c pac thing. Bad news is the "snoring" will probably not get any better till the surgery in Oct to scrape out her sinus area and get rid of the scar tissue and polyps.

So I haven't seen her since 8 pm last night.

But we had a wonderful no frills weekend.

Saturday we got up at no appointed time, no where to go and nothing to do. I remember when I would have been so bored with that, but now I cherish those kind of days so much!

We did go and see the new Harry Potter film....it was great as the other 4 have been. Josh and I also decided to watch all the other 4 on DVD this weekend. It was fun to watch them again and see somethings I hadn't seen before. Also realized I had missed the 2nd one all together...no wonder I was lost a little!! So as Josh said it was a "Harry" weekend.

Now I did the movie watching doing some cleaning in my crop room....boy did it need it! I had just piled things in there, thrown things in there. I had enough daisy bags to supply the store again! But now it is all organized for the most part. I actually even scrapped about 3 pages over the weekend. A few finishing touches and I should be able to share soon.
I actually committed to scrapping some pictures that I had cropped about 3 years ago. I used to be a chronological scrapper... pre The Big Picture Book by Stacy Julian. I have pulled these pictures out a few times and just put them back. Well this weekend I finally pulled them out and put them on a page. It looks nothing like what I had in mind when I cropped them, but it was fun to see where I have gone since then.

Sunday was all about being together, but everyone doing their own thing too. Kate and I both took time out of our things to do things with Josh. Still dealing with a little bit of an attitude when Mom... aka ME , beats him at anything. Kate is actually not that great at alot of games so Josh can usually beat her. He would rather do that then play me alot of times.

So wrestling camp today then the bank, grocery store and home to fix dinner. Hopefully Kate will make it home so I can go get my hair cut.

It was a wonderful weekend, I miss my family....even tho we are together almost everyday, I miss these kinda weekends.

ahhhhhhh....a weekend at home.

no not that weekend! ( altho those colors are screaming to be scrapbooked!)

Today I am going to get in my scraproom,

well as soon as I move a few things!

Yes today I am going to clean up and put

things away. Then I am going to mess it

all up again! But in a good way, I am going

to do some creating. I can not wait to get

some of the thoughts and designs I have for

pages down on paper. I am very excited.

Need to print some pictures.

I don't know about you, but I feel a little bit

of depression creep in when I don't get to

create for a while, I have to admit here I also

get a little jealous of people that are creating,

when I can't find the time to create.

The next few weeks, are going to be even

crazier then they have been already. With

CKC ( a scrapbooking convention) that we are

teaching at and vendoring, then S.A.V.E. weekend,

there will not be much time for creating. So I am

taking full advantage of today and tommorrow.

I will hopefully have some layouts to post next blog.

Kate, Josh and I will find a few hours today to go and

see the New Harry Potter film, can't wait for that one!

So what are you doing this weekend, or not doing!?

Car conversation

Josh: Mom, I want to work hard enough to get a Gold Medal

Mom: That is a great goal

Josh: Do they have them for Kids?

Mom: Not for wrestling, but you could work for State champion till then.

Josh: Then that is what I am going to do.

ETA:
I had to run out this morning but wanted to get that part written down.
Josh was at wrestling camp and Bobby Weaver the Olympic Gold medalist in 1984 Olympics was there teaching. Josh has been in the Weaver Elite training camp since May and just loves it.
Well on this day Mr. Weaver had brought the DVD of his Olympic Gold match and they showed it to the kids at lunch time. It had quite an impact on Josh, as per our car conversation.
Then this morning he had set his alarm and was up and ready to go, actually asking me if we could get going, because he would like to be early today.

I just love his passion and fire for this. I know he is 7 years old and that he may change his mind about a million more times before he decides what he wants out of life, but then again he might not change his mind either. I am always proud of him win, lose or draw. As long as he attacks everything he does with total commitment and does his best, that is all I ask.

I am actually getting better at practicing what I preach on that front too. I am hard on myself and feel I have to do everything perfect. I am trying to teach myself how to accept that not everything I do may be perfect, if I do it to my best then I have done it well. Also have to practice that more with people in my life. I am trying to get better.

I am learning everyday .

some leftovers....

How frigin cute is that! I love what you can find at the dollar store sometimes.

and we are back home! I love being back home...it is just wonderful to be back to our very boring lifes. Well boring in the way of no drama, just the 5 of us (yes we include the 2 dogs).

Always great to see friends, but there is nothing like the security and love of our little family.

I don't have to wonder how much love I have from these two people. I can always get a hug and they both make me laugh more then anyone else can.

Today I took a little more time for Josh and I before hitting the grind tomorrow.

Josh started Wrestling camp today and he did so great. I really love the passion I see in him for this sport. It is amazing to watch this grow. He just smiles and loves learning, and there is alot to learn in this sport. It is amazing to me how much.

So we hung out today after camp at the local pool and it was a wonderful couple hours, since it was almost 100 degrees today and we don't have central air, it was a welcome cooling off.

Not much else going on here...needing sometime to get in my scrap studio, and undo the bomb that went off in there.....I need to find that person that keeps messing up my studio and hurt her!!

the end is near!

The Mission: To win the Giant prizes in the games.
Time for the "Trade UP "

I think Josh is ready......but Kate does win!

Ahhhhhhhh! Margaritas!!!

Happy feet! Hermit crabs, prizes and smiles!

Saying goodbye to Rehoboth Beach!

The Booty! They all worked together to win the prizes!

I kinda missed this, our cuddle time. Having his buddies here all week there wasn't alot of this. Oh they grow up too darn fast. I always knew I wanted him to have buddies at the shore, and hopefully there will always be one that can come down for the week at Rehoboth. So you can feel it in the air, our last full day is here. It is sad in away, because it is just so great to relax and chill and just not have any plans....just letting the day happen. It is also a happy day, I look forward to going home seeing Cody and Cricket....being in our home back to just "us". I miss having my scraproom right around the corner, I like to have that near me. I feel a little creative mojo coming and hopefully I can stick to my plan and actually make sometime to do this. Again with the balance thing....I will get there.

So as I sign off from Rehoboth for another year. I have to say this was a pretty cool week. We had lots of people come and go. Last night just the 6 of us were sitting here and we all felt the house was so empty. It was funny. Can't wait till next year, it is so great to have this to look forward to!

Happy 5th!

The biggest wiener on the beach at the Purple Parrot

Nothing like riding a good wave!

Awesome dude!

The bike ride home.

Monkeys!

Awesome summer memories!

Grandma and Josh!

Connie and the boys!

We had a little scare that our fireworks might get rained out.

We have been coming to RB for 8 years now and never had that happen, so we were holding out hope. Well we watched another great fireworks show!!

Today we hung out at the house, then went to the beach later in the afternoon, the waves were awesome and the boys got some boogie boarding in. The wind was so wicked, after getting sandblasted a few times we decided to go on the boardwalk , and the boys played some mi nature golf. Then it was home for a BBQ and back to the beach later for the fireworks.

Connie and the boys are enjoying their time with us, and we love having them. I think the boys are sad they are leaving tomorrow, but we have already lined up a few play dates over the summer for all of them.

I have enjoyed watching Josh with the twins, they have all got together so well. It makes me sad sometimes knowing he will not have a sibling. So I am glad to know he will have great friends, and I hope these two boys stay in his life for a very long time.

I am in such vacation mode. I haven't even called the store this week, that is a major thing for me. I know Christina is probably laughing at me right now. I have tried to be good, cause I know when I get back in there on Tuesday it is going to be non stop for the next 2 months. We have so much planned.

Well it is time to go and set up for the beach, have some thrasher's fries and maybe a visit to the Candy Kitchen.

Land and Sea

That's what it is all about today! A little water, and a little sand makes for a wonderful day.

I was so very lazy today, no focus just sitting staring into space most of it.

My dear friend Jen Rubeo did have her baby on July 3rd at around 4:30 am! A little boy has come into the world and I can't wait to meet him.

I had my visit to Lazy Susans last night for my annual birthday dinner. ( oh yeah another one!)

The crab was delish as usual and I had fun teaching Kordell how to eat it and get to the sweet meat of the crab. I might have to be careful with this one...he was eating it as fast as he could get it out of the shell.

It is raining here this morning...hope it clears for the fireworks on the beach tonight. 8 years we have been coming here for the 4th of July and we have never been rained out.

Looks like an Outlet day today....got to have one good shopping day. I am sure it won't thrill the boys much, but they will survive.

Is it 5 o'clock yet?

wonderful....only begins the story

I just have to say, to have true true friends in your life is more then a blessing! The type of friend that is there for you ALL the time! Not just when they need you, not just when it is convenient for them. No that friend that will laugh with you when you need to laugh, listen to you when something goes wrong...even if it is not as bad as you think it is. But they will be there with you and say "that sucks!" That friend that you can do just about anything with, that friend that laughs with you, thinks you are funny, even when you aren't.
I got to spend two great days with that gal this weekend! Trish and I met 5 years ago and our friendship has been growing ever since. I have watched Trish grow, and I have been there for some of the rough times in her life. She has been there for me when I need to talk. We have had more times then I can remember that we just did sit down on the floor and laugh till we cryed and our bellies hurt!! We had some more great times this weekend, and got some time for us to just walk around Rehobotoh beach and enjoy some shopping. I loved showing her the town I call home once a year for a week. I loved that she loved it so much she pouted having to leave! I called her this morning and I think she was on the Internet looking for a hotel room for thurs and friday!!
I miss ya Trish!
In other beach news..the boys are just having the time of their lives right now. They have played, ate and slept their days away and can't get enough. I love it when they crash at night knowing they have given it a FULL day.
Did a little photo shot for Trish and her family, got some real keepers in the bunch!
Ok it is 5:00 HERE.....so *clink, clink*