Big Time Scrapbooking Plans

I am so exited at the great response I have had to the fall overnight scrapbooking workshop I am planning. This year a fellow consultant from Wooster, Janet, and I are planning our own overnighter apart from the rest of our group. In the past I have been a part of an overnight workshop at Zinck's Inn with around 7 other consultants. We pack the place out with up to 90 people. So this fall Janet and I are branching out on our own at the Amish Door Inn. Our previous overnighters were held from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, however we are changing the times to Friday night to Saturday night. It seems to be a big hit with my customers since I have a whopping 26 attendees so far!! In previous years I have had up to 10 people. What fun! We are going to have such a great time scrapbooking until we drop. I have been working hard getting all the arrangements set up and figuring out how things are going to work at our new location. It's been fun. Now my big project is to get my pictures printed and organized so I am ready to crank out the pages. So that's what I have been up to lately.

Beating the heat

This heat has been quite something! We have been holeing up indoors in the air conditioning or playing in the water outdoors. We had a fun day at Baylor Beach on one such hot, hot day. The kids played and played with all the fun things that they have to do there. There were slides all around the water, Kailyn could do all but the one in the deep end. Javin liked the challenge of log roll. It got the best of him several times. He came home with several bruises and cuts. The high diving board is always a favorite for Javin so, he got in a few jumps. The water was dark and green. So dark that you couldn't see your legs in the water. Weird! It was a fun day just the kids and I to be together. Javin and Kailyn played together nicely.

At home we set up Javin's Slip-n-Slide at the bottom of the play set slide and added water to the mix and "Presto" - Water Slide fun at home! It was a fast ride down then a hard bump onto the ground and then a slide into the grass to stop. They had several friends over to share in the water slide fun this summer. Thanks to the Wengerd's for the idea.

Another day was spent at Coshocton Water Park cooling off in the water and racing down the slides. This was our 2nd time out there this year and a much warmer one than before. Javin found a buddy from school to go down the slides with over and over again. Kailyn was all over the water play gym. She said her favorite thing was swimming underwater although I don't think she did much swimming underwater. She does put her head under though. We brought some friends along on this trip and I got to take the boys on the tube slide a few times. Javin and I also took our turns on the body slide.

Here's to keeping cool in August!!

Our Vacation Adventures - Part 3

We did so many fun things on our vacation!

Our first day was out on the boat tubing, swimming and picnicking on an island. Javin and Cody loved to be out on the tube. Kailyn enjoyed her turn as well. The weather was warm so Kailyn went swimming in the lake too. Their dog, Milo, went for a dip in the water too!

One day we went on a small hike to Little Wilson Falls, which turned out to be 3 miles round trip. It was a tough one for Kailyn. There were a lot of tree roots that made for some challenging footwork.




The hike was along the Appalachian Trail to a water fall.



Javin couldn't wait to go out on the kayak. Uncle Darin taught him how to row and steer it.




Another day was spent at the River Festival watching the parade, playing the kiddie games, and face painting. Pampaw bought a $2 ticket for the rubber ducky race. Weren't we surprised when we got a call later that day his duck won the race!


Javin and Kailyn loved to play with Milo and Sadie, the dogs. Sadie licked and licked us. Oreo, the cat, was in hiding most of the time.

The boys had a competitive game of Foosball going on in the basement among all the other games we played. Just for the record, I beat one round of Speed Scrabble against Darin, but alas he beat 2 rounds to come out on top in the end.


One night the kids were playing on the playground at school and we all got on the slide and Cody held us all up. It was hilarious!

It was such an enjoyable time to get away and reconnect with family. We hated to go home. Javin has big plans to go back next month. After an 18 hour trip home, I doubt that will be happening so soon.

Tastefully good times! - Part 2

We had such wonderful food at Darin and Tinna's house during our family vacation. They treated us to some of their favorite Maine specialties. My favorite was the soft-shell lobster. Their neighbor brought them up straight from the ocean. So we got to see them before entering the lobster pot and after. I had lobster eating lessons from the pros! Kailyn and Javin even liked the lobster. It was awesome!

Darin showed us how to make Maine Bean Hole Beans. He made a fire in a hole in the ground and then put the kettle of beans into the hot coals and covered it with more hot coals and then topped it off with dirt. It cooked like this overnight and we had them for lunch the next day. Javin was the official Bean Hole helper.

One night was Mexican food complete with sombreros for all and fresh guacamole and fajitas. Tinna is a wonderful cook!! We were spoiled rotten!

We also learned all about making maple syrup and how they tap their maple trees. We got a tour of the sugar shack where the neighbors congregate to boil down their sap into syrup in the spring.

First leg of our vacation - Part 1

I have so much to write about our vacation that I have been putting it off!! So here goes. We loaded up my car with all our stuff and Pampaw and Grandma's things as well and hit the road. We drove out to the Pocono Mountain area in eastern PA. There we visited the CamelBeach Water Park. The weather wasn't the greatest, but much better than the rain that came the next day. It was in the low 70's, cloudy and a cool breeze. So we were a bit cold when we were out of the water. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the slides and cool rides. Kailyn loved the water slide in the kiddie area, jumping over the waves at the wave pool and the tube slides. Javin loved all the slides, even the Triple Venom super steep and straight body slide (The one that Mom will not do.) He had a great time in the wave pool with Pampaw and found the best way to go down the kiddie slide was on his stomach.


The next day we drove up to Hartford, CT and stopped at a Children's Museum to play for awhile. Children's Museums are one of our favorite things to do!! This one had animals on exhibit as well as a planetarium show. We learned all about the planets. Some highlights were the bubble ring that Pampaw and Javin tried out, the Lego building area complete with Lego car racer and earthquake-proof structure tester, and a cool sports exhibit. Kailyn played a bunch in the preschool area too.

From there we drove on to Mass. and stayed the night. The kids traveled so well. The last leg of our trip was spent in Maine and included a stop at the outlets in Freeport for a bit of school shopping. Then we finally arrived at Darin and Tinna's house. The last few hours seemed to take the longest. I got a GPS program activated on my phone so we had turn by turn directions to guide us. However, it led us on a wild goose chase trying to locate a Wendy's off an exit. We never did find it. So much for all that useful information! ;) The rest of the vacation report is still to come.