12*30*09

This is a layout I made of Lacy's too (yes too, not two) darn cute kids again. I used sketch #50 at 52sketches52weeks for this one.
Lacy and Dusty take their kids sledding all the time in the winter. There is a big hill at a park in Lindon, and the kids just have a blast.
I hate sledding. I don't like being cold, and I'm too fat to stand up without rolling myself on the ground first lol. I remember I used to love sledding as a kid though.
That reminds me of a story. We were up American Fork Canyon with the Parker family in the winter one time when I was like 10 yrs old. I think we went to go sledding and play in the snow. In any case, the seven of us kids were taking turns having Scott pull us around on this big tire tube. Well, my butt hit the hugest rock. I can still feel the pain. I was crying so hard and he just kept pulling me around. I think he thought I was laughing. No bueno dude.
Anyhow, here is my layout. Hope you like it. Thanks for looking.

12*26*09

We had a great Christmas. We slept in (I love having a preteen who values sleep almost as much as me :), got up and opened presents, then we went out to eat at IHOP with Kim, Jason, and Andy. That was pretty fun, except Andy took his thermal shirt that Kim got him for Christmas off because it was so hot--and someone freaking stole it. Nice Christmas spirit huh?
I'm so mad at myself. I totally forgot to take pictures. And I'm an obsessive scrapbooker! So disappointed in me. So, I made everyone pose for me because I need something to document it. Shane did take video, like he does every year, so it's not like it's lost. But, I'm still mad. So, these pictures are totally fake and posed, but whatever.
Shane looks so much goofier to me in this pic than he usually does lol. He just barely woke up, give the guy a break! Sorry if the shirt I got him, or the mug I got Andy, is offensive to anyone. I thought it was funny :) Maybe I have a warped sense of humor.






It was fun for me and Shane Christmas morning. We had Garrett believing that his Christmas would be really small and that we had no money to get the big things. That is actually true, but credit cards save the day--as long as you pay them off fast enough. He really didn't get that many presents, but two of them were expensive.
Shane told him he'd have to wait until his birthday to get a red-dot scope on his gun, and I told him that he wasn't getting an iPod because it was too much money. Just a little background here--I washed his iPod with the laundry about 2 months ago, so I was feeling really bad about it. I have told them both a zillion times that I don't check pockets, but still.....
Anyway, so I give him some accessories for an iPod as one of his last gifts, and he's all looking at me like I'm stupid and says, "Mom, I don't have an iPod." Then I tossed him the iPod for the last gift. He loves it. I knew he would. The last iPod he had was constantly in his pocket, so I was happy I was able to replace it. Especially since I'm the one who broke it in the first place.
Then, a couple hours later--when he thinks it's done and over with--Shane says, "Hey Garrett, Andy's never seen your muzzleloader. Why don't you go get it and show him." This should have thrown him off because Andy was actually there when he got it for Christmas last year, but he didn't even think about that. So, he goes to get it, and we hear this yell from the bedroom, "You guys are liars!". Shane had put his gun in the case with the scope he wanted already mounted. It was pretty funny.
Shane is off work from now until January 4th. Lucky! He might have to go in one day to unload a train car, but only for a coulple of hours. I of course, have to work. Such is the nature of retail. But, this will give my boys some quality time together. They are planning on doing a lot of duck hunting and going practice shooting up the canyon. Garrett's two friends that live next door got muzzleloaders and 9mm pistols for Christmas. So, they will all have fun with that.

My Tattoo.........12*21*09

So, I've been wanting to get a tattoo pretty much since I was 18. I've always liked them and thought they were cool, but I was afraid of the pain. I was also afraid that it would be something I would regret. Well, after my mom died, I knew that I wanted one as sort of a tribute/memorial to her. That would definately be something that I wouldn't regret. But, I was still afraid of the pain and didn't really know what I wanted. Plus, I never had the money to get one. And, I wanted to make sure I had a good tattoo artist that wouldn't get it wrong.
Last year, my friend, Colin, got a tattoo from our other friend, Fawn's, cousin. (I"m pretty sure I just really butchered the grammar in that entire sentence lol.) I really liked her work. Then Fawn showed me some of the tattoos that Kami (her cousin) had done for her and her husband, Rick. Well, I was pretty much sold after that. I could see that she was good at what she did, and I knew I could trust her. But, I was STILL scared (and broke).
I thought and thought about it, and finally decided I for sure wanted to do it. I just kept waiting to have a little extra cash, which is sometimes hard to come by around here.
Then my sister, Kim, offered to pay for me to have it done for my birthday this year. I was totally excited--and nervous.
So, I called Fawn and she gave me Kami's phone number. Kim and I went over to Kami's house on December 12th and talked to her about pain, about design, price, and all of the aftercare stuff. I still knew I wanted it, so we made an appointment for December 19th to git 'r done.
That's pretty much the story. Yes, it did hurt. Probably more than I let on in some places. But, it wasn't unbearable. I don't regret it (so far). Although, in case you're thinking about it, the recovery is not all together painless either. I think it is beautiful, and I think my mom would love it.
We actually went to my Grandpa Mills's house last night (my mom's dad) to visit for Christmas, and I showed him. I was afraid he would hate tattoos (being 80 years old or so). But, he loved it. He seemed a little shocked that I was the one that did it, and I can't say that I"m surprised. I would't think it would be me either.
Anyway, here are some pics.



*The Sketch Kami made for me * and *Kami starting the outline* She used a special paper to transfer the image onto my leg so she could trace it with the needles.

Remember those parts that may have been more painful than I let on? *Almost done with the outline*

*Finished Product*

12*17*09

Here are some pics of Christmas cards I made this year. Please don't feel bad if you don't get one. I made 50 of the maroon and green one, and by the time I got my list done, I had 80 people to send them out to! So I made some of the red one that is a little more simple, and I still didn't get all of my friends covered. So, I'm sorry if you didn't get one. That either means I didn't have your address, or my fingers were just too sore to make another card!
I think I'm sending store-bought ones next year. Seriously, this is a lot more work than it looks like lol.

Also, this is a page that I finished yesterday using sketch #49 at 52sketches52weeks. This is Garrett and Ryan playing in the wagon at Lacy's house in summer of 2006.

In Memory of Bryson

I didn't know him, had never heard his name, but he has touched my life. His story makes me look at my son and listen to him, laugh when he laughs, cry when he cries, and remember that time is a precious thing. My heart breaks for the family, especially the mother of this little boy. This candle is for him, and for his family. To show our support and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
To read more about this story, click here.

12*6*09

It snowed pretty good last night, so today is the perfect day for me to just cozy up in my little office and do some more scrapping. Shane is watching football, and Garrett is playing games with his best friend, so I'm not missing much there lol.
I spent a few hours at Lacy's house yesterday making my Christmas cards, so I'm pretty glad that's done. They turned out really well, but I won't post them because I'm sending them out. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise (for those who enjoy that sort of thing). Lacy's sister-in-law, Linda, and her girls came too. We all had loads of fun. Katherine and Linda made some really beautiful pages for Kat's wedding album, and Julia made an awesome birthday card for a friend. Becka just came to chill--which was fun too.
Here are the pages I've done so far today. I used sketches from 52sketches52weeks. Ryan's page is sketch #9, and the hunting page is sketch #48. I'm still so sad that Julie won't be doing this sketch site next year. Almost everything I've done this year has been inspired by this site. I'll just have to reuse them~I saved them all to my computer :).
Anyway, here is today's work.