Lake Adventures

It's no secret that one of my all-time favorite places to BE is at the lake. I grew up spending my summers there, a towel clothes-pinned at my neck pretending to be a super hero. When the cousins were there we'd most likely be found waist-deep in the mud, searching for arrowheads of which we found many, or playing Love Boat on the dry docked boat parked in the garage.The lake is also the place where I most vividly remember my great grandparents, their little camper parked next to my aunt and uncle's house, and sitting with them on the porch swing.

As much as the lake holds a special place in my heart, it will also hold that lure and nostalgia for my kids. It's quickly becoming their favorite summer hangout as well. Here's a sneak peek of how we spent the weekend, again with my cousins--only we've become the parents now. ;)

 

Mac called these his "fireworks".

 The girls had a jumping contest. Of course I was the judge and got to name the next jump, which usually involved some sort of twist so I could capture their jumping faces. "Cannon Ball!" "Twist!"" and now "Cannon Ball Twist!" The one I really wanted was of them holding hands and jumping. But I missed the shot. Several times.  But I'm not giving up.

 

 

 

Yes, I got wet after those shots. I had to QUICKLY hide my camera behind my back.

 

That $1 Store squirt gun may have been the best buy of the summer, especially for a little boy who refused to get in the water for 2/3 of the weekend. That boat and the water gun were his best friends!

 

 

  

SEC Baseball game

On the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, we took the kids to their first ever baseball game. The SEC baseball tournament is hosted nearby and with Ole Miss in the mix, we thought we'd take in a game. The kids started off doing well, and turns out we saw some friends at the ballpark. But as the game wore on we were trying to find ways to keep their attention, or at least their attention off of more food. Hence the ladybug and the change in seating.

And that was our ballpark experience. We learned to take lots of cash for food, and to be sure and meet up with friends so that the kids can entertain each other.

Carousel kit review

So it's the end of May and I've only shown you half of my Noel Mignon projects. So I thought I'd do a quick run down of ALL this month's work using the Carousel kit. One thing I love about Noel's kits is that THEY. ARE. PACKED with product! I don't think I've ever created this many layouts and projects with just one kit. And I haven't fully used it up yet! Craziness. Here's peek at what I got done this month before I move on the the super colorful Balboa kit. (Hurry, it's still available and I have a feeling it's going to be well-loved at my house. ;)  )

Carousel wrap-up:

 "Friends Always"

 "Being Intentional"

 "Life is Beautiful"

"Love You"

 and a Carousel card trio:

 

To see close-up details of any of these projects, be sure to check out the Noel Mignon blog for each of my posts.  I'll be back tomorrow to share some fun pics of our Memorial Day weekend, some fun end-of-school shots, and a fun little announcement.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Embracing the Camera

I'm up on the Noel Mignon blog today with a Mother's Day layout inspired by the Embrace the Camera movement on Instagram.

The ETC movement initiated from a blog post written Ashley Ann the author of the Under the Sycamore blog. Ashley Ann encouraged moms to jump in the pictures WITH their kids--no matter what their hair looks like, even if they don't have on make-up or what the house looks like--but to GET IN THE PICTURE! It's those memories of everyday activities, that the kids will want to remember when they look back through our albums one day. On Instagram those pictures are hashtagged with #embracethecamera.

So I've taken that challenge and have tried to be more intentional about getting in pictures with my kids. THEY love selfies, so that's what we do.  I've also tried to mix up the scenarios a little bit by taking a selfie of all of us in carpool or laying in the grass (that's what these two pictures are of). And if I admit it, I really do like that I'm forcing myself to capture these shots too. I like seeing myself with my kids in our everyday environments, or just being silly with them.  So here's my layout of 2 of our #embracethecamera selfies.

"Being Intentional"

Details about the layout: I used a neutral palette with the pops of blue from the Carousel kit (sorry, sold out) to create a fun whimsical LO. Keeping with an Instagram theme, I layered my layout on a white cardstock border, added a few mists to the kraft paper and lots of hand-drawn squigglies around the pictures and edges.

SO, This Mother's Day weekend, I want to encourage you to get out there and Embrace the Camera with your family--your kids, your mother, and other generations if you have them. I really believe it's a big deal to leave a legacy for our kids, and what better way to evidence it than by taking a picture with them. Go. Embrace the Camera. Capture your memories. Love on your family!

Love you!

Today is my first post on the Noel Mignon blog, and I get to wrap up "May flowers" week with a layout I created using some non-traditional flowers. I layered several embellishments from the Carousel kit to create my "flowers".

Here's a peek at the Carousel kit: 

  And here's my first layout using it:

 

 At first glimpse you may not SEE the flowers, but up close can see them in more detail.

Here I created 2 layered non-traditional "flowers" to go along with the newsprint vellum flower from the kit.  To get the first layered flowered look I used a MME green flower sticker and 2 MME chipboard buttons. For the second layered "flower", if you can call it that, I hand-cut the pink hearts from the Glitz Carpe Diem paper and layered it underneath the wood veneer sentiment.  

The third layered flower is on the other side of the photo, and again I stacked a coral MME sticker with two MME buttons.

In case you haven't snagged your Carousel kit yet, I heard a rumor that there was ONE left in the shop.  Sorry, it's now sold out. But it's also not too late to sign up for a 6-month subscription to Noel's fabulous kits.

Thanks for letting me share! Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Easter 2014

This year for Easter we once again went to the lake to be with my mom and grandparents. It's just easier for everyone to go there since my grandparents can't drive. SO after church we loaded the kids up and drove an hour or so up to the lake. After we ate, the kids, mainly Caroline, insisted on going fishing. So that's what we did. It was Mac's first time to really attempt to fish, so I mainly snapped his pics. His facial expressions were hilarious since at 3 he's not very patient. Then my lens broke.  As in died.  So I don't have pics of the egg hunt. :(  Nor do I have pics of the kids with their grandparents and great grandparents. :(

But here's what I DO have in pictures.

The kids were coordinating. Caroline's skirt is the same gray chevron as SK's dress.

 

 

He wouldn't stay still long enough for me to snap a true portrait of him. So it is what it is. Oh well.

 

 

  

Sweet Daddy came to the rescue to help his boy out.  Too bad Little Boy wasn't too keen on taking instruction.

And then my lens broke. :( So I don't have your typical Easter pictures, but I'm happy to have these. Now we can't wait to get back up to the lake when the fish are actually biting.

Stay tuned because tomorrow I get to share my very first layout with my new Noel Mignon kit! I'm still pinching myself that Noel asked me to be a part of the team.

Happy Thursday!!