Our Anniversary Present...

Wooohooo!   Yep, it's a golf cart!  It's not exactly new...ummm...in fact, it's pretty darn old.  You might say it's older than the hills.  But, what the heck---it still works pretty darn good.  What more does one need, right?  Right now Neil seems to be using it most of the time.  But when cooler weather comes around, it looks like I'm going to have to cash in my chips and get MY time in the cart...lol

Just took the following pic this morning of Neil in the new (old) cart (pretty spiffy, eh?).  Neil played a round of golf  at Sundance at daybreak with son Keith, nephew Jon, and Jon's boys, Waco and Zach.  It quickly turned into another blazing hot day and the boys came back spent from the heat but ready to cool off  with some icy cold ones and chow down on some lunch on our breezy patio.



Waco showing off his golf swing form...and having a brotherly moment with Zach.



Zach sinking a putt and teeing off on hole #6.



Kara, Kegan Update!

Kara is really excited about getting a new quarter horse.  Isn't she a beauty?

Kegan is into the more "extreme" sports.  Just loves getting some air between him and the ground!

It's FOOTBALL Season again!

Yep...the Cardinals LOST but we sure had a terrific time at the University of Phoenix Cardinals Stadium.  Lots of excitement in the air and here's Neil, Judy and Keith having loads of fun eating, drinking, and just being silly:

New Scrap Layouts...

And a two page layout...

Another two pager...

Kegan's Magical Place

Hmmm...the days just seem to literally "fly by" these days.  Nothing too exciting going on...just trying to get caught up on some chores, get ready for our upcoming trip, and keep up with the day to day grind.  We did manage to get some golf in and are enjoying the new golf cart we got for our anniversary (well, new to us anyway...it's actually about 30 years old, believe it or not, but it's still in pretty good shape and gets the job done as far as getting around).   Keith and our nephew Jon, along with his son Zach, are coming by in the morning to play a round of golf at Sundance so I'll try and get some pics of them as well as the golf cart.

Did I mention that DH and I will be flying to Omaha, Nebraska real soon to attend Jasmine's wedding?  Jasmine is the daughter of some very dear friends who, incidentally, made this trip possible.  We're really looking forward to staying with our dear friends, Dan and Chris, and being able to share in their excitement, joy and being a part of all the festivities.  I hope I don't embarass myself too much at the wedding by crying my eyes out (yea, I'm such a sap...lol), but weddings are always such a happy celebration.

I  finished some scrap layouts and I'll try to get some of them posted as soon as I can get them resized.  Here's another fantasy one of Kegan.  Give him any kind of tree to climb and he's definitely up for the challenge.

credits:  Where Dreams Begin by Createwings Design at A5D.

Kegan, So What's The Story?

DH is playing in a golf tournament this morning so....yeaaah, this is my alone time to peruse the digiworld for wonderful stuff.  And wonderful it is--I just came across this wonderful kit entitled "Where Dreams Begin" from the very talented artist of Createwings Designs at A5D.  Of course, I had to scrap something with it immediately and Kegan seemed to be the perfect subject for this story.

Now it's time to get myself in gear (which means, get out of my pj's...lol...get showered and dressed) and meet my DH.  He should have finished the golf tourney by now and we're supposed to meet up with Keith and Judy and a couple others to see our dear Arizona Cardinals play football at the University of Phoenix Stadium.  It is the Cardinals pre-season opener and should be loads of fun....toodles.

Great Blue Heron On Our Rooftop!

Okay, I know it's a lousy photo but that's what you get when you're in a hurry and all you've got is a point-and-shoot camera with a crappy telephoto lens.  Still it was kind of fun to spot that awesome bird on our roof (thanks to the alert from our neighbor).   The photo was taken on July 26th but I've finally gotten around to getting it uploaded and posted. 

Beauty of a Rainbow

It's monsoon season right now and we've gotten quite a bit of rain recently.  Thank goodness too because we've certainly needed it;  the plants and trees seemed to have perked up and look much greener.  And I'm loving the fresh air (although, honestly, I could do without the high humidity).  This morning Neil and I enjoyed our coffee on the patio and it was absolutely fabulous.  There was a nice steady rain all around us, there were a number of people playing golf in the rain (although, they didn't seem to mind), and all in all it was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the relatively cool air. 

Speaking of rain, check out this wonderful photo of a double rainbow that Kara managed to capture sometime ago.  It sure didn't need much in the way of scrap elements and worthy of a whole page just "as is." 

It's Your Special Day, Shannon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Shannon! What a wonderful serendipitous moment when you joined up with this family...and we're sooo glad you did.   Have an extra special day filled with the love of family and friends.  We don't know what it's like at your place but it's raining cats and dogs over here.  Hope you get to spend your day the way you want.   We love you and great big hugs to you....Uncle Neil, Ann, and Eric

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Well, my son's birthday is tomorrow and I couldn't let his birthday pass without embarrassing him just a little bit by posting a pic and doing a blog entry about him.  No matter how old they get and don't want a fuss made over them, I think moms still reserve the right to give them a hug and let them know they're loved.   So...HAPPY BIRTHDAY Eric...I love you!

Credits:  "Estranged" by Studio Flergs @ scrapbookgraphics.com

Whoa! It's Another Birthday...

SURPRISE!

You can run but you can't hide from yet another birthday, my dear SIL!

Wishing you, Phyllis, all the very best and hope you have a fun day.

Missing you....

Love 'ya, xxoo Ann

Magnolia Time

New layout posted for Jan and Kevin...

credits:  "Magnolia" qp by Irene Alexeeva

Imagine...

Jackie, the following beautiful, young lady was the inspiration behind this next digiscrap layout I just finished:

credits: "Legends of Lavender" qp by Irene V. Alexeeva

Birthday Celebration!

Last Saturday was a day of celebration. Not one, not two, not three....but count 'em....FOUR birthdays in the family and two sets of anniversaries. Yes, I got to celebrate my birthday again...woot, woot! The fam and some good friends got together at Keith's mother-in-law's home and we feasted on some terrific food such as Italian beef with pepperoncini, black bean rice salad, crab salad, strawberry-pretzel salad, and many other delectable delights and drinks. It just wouldn't be a family get together if we didn't play some kind of cards or games and play we did---AGGRAVATION!

Here's a layout I did representing some of the day's activities:

credits: Template: Storyboards no. 2 by K Studio @ A5D

Elements by: Cathy K Designs @ My Digiscrapping Corner, and Lauren Reid, and Trixie Scraps Designs by Tracy Anderson

Aggravation is marble/board game in which you want to be the first team to move all your marbles around the board from base to home. You don't have to "aggravate" the other players to win---but it sure helps. In fact, that's where the fun begins. Yep, we hoot and hollered and laughed well into the evening and had loads of FUN!

Of course, the celebration wouldn't be complete without cake, right? Jenny made sure we had plenty of one of my all time favs...carrot cake. Doesn't it look scrumptious? yummy....

credits: Doodle Photo Borders by Glam Fairy Designs

What's In a Bottle?

Was out at Boschma's Dairy this past weekend and spotted this collection of old bottles. They were displayed outdoors beneath a patio and I couldn't get over at how wonderfully they've aged through the years. No, not by glass "collectors" standards who would classify these bottles as 'sick' (a term used to indicate the chemical reaction of heat, water, age, acids and weather on glass bottles), but there was something very artistic in their form and color. Because of where they were located and how long they had been there, it made me wonder if those bottles could talk, what kind of stories would they tell?