...TIME BOOM...

Without really meaning to, my last few layouts have focused on kiddo #3. I don't have a real answer as to why that's been the case, but I won't necessarily complain. I'm still getting events in his life scrapped, so I'll call it a win.

This layout is from his childhood. This kid was the cutest little kid and was always super busy. It was hard to keep him down. He once sprained his ankle nicely and though we tried to keep it wrapped like the Dr. suggested, that kid took it off after 2 days and called it good.

We lived with my in-laws for a few years after Lex was born and their street (which happened to be a bunch of new homes) held a street (neighborhood) party yearly. This was the first year it took place and because we were living in the basement, they felt we should be invited. We definitely felt a bit out of place, but the kids didn't really have that feeling as they were free to be kids. My mother-in-law took some great pictures of Lex enjoying life (and ice cream) on a nice, summer night.

Because it was so close to the 4th of July, I had dressed him in a patriotic shirt and when I saw Cornelia Designs new collection, Stars & Stripes, I felt this kit would pair well with the photos.
P.S. This kid still loves his fireworks and as of a few days ago, burned and stained our concrete with a smoke bomb. 

SUPPLY LIST

TEMPLATE: Ready, Set, Blend 4 by Miss Fish

COLLECTION: Stars & Stripes by Cornelia Designs 

FONT: Booming

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...JAW-SOME HALLOWEEN...

I'm an over-thinker. My brain is always 'on' and on any given day I can be thinking about a million things and very few are even related to each other. I'm sure there's a name for it, but I'm not really about to self-diagnose. I tell you all of this because this next layout happened because of all the random brain processes my brain goes through.

I don't remember what I was doing, I know I wasn't at the computer though - when I remembered that a while ago I had purchased a kit about sharks. My baby boy has been obsessed with sharks since that stupid Baby Shark song came out a few years ago. So when I ran across the kit (also don't remember where or when), I bought it, because I knew that I would use it at some point with this shark-obsessed kiddo. I then decided to scrap a page using that kit the next time I sat down and had time to scrap.

I was originally thinking about scrapping the pictures of my kid from one of the

'spirit' days at school where they were allowed to dress up as their favorite character. Zach said he went as Jaws, even though he's never even seen the movie - neither have I. I had taken some pictures that morning of him and Jace playing around, but I then remembered Zach had this costume because it was his Halloween costume and I changed my mind and went with the Halloween photos instead. One day I'll get the 'spirit' day photos scrapped - just need to find a new shark-themed kit.

SUPPLY LIST

TEMPLATE: 2021 September: Wisdom Templates by North Meets South Studios
COLLECTION: The Shark Side by Down This Road Designs (Store Closed)
FONTS: White Shark Cre (Title) and Shark Got Your Hand (Journaling)

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...BLUE JAYS 2016...

On my list of things that I miss, my boys playing baseball is high at the top. We still have some opportunities, I suppose, with Jace & Zach - however, we haven't had them play for a few years, so I'm a little worried they've missed a window. And honestly, I don't think it's really something Jace is interested in. But that youngest one...I think it's something he'd enjoy. I just have to pay more attention to sign-up dates.

Anyway, two of the three older boys played ball. Tanis didn't last many years and Nate played, but he had bigger interests. Lex played for quite a few years though and I loved watching him play. He played 1st or 3rd base for a good long while there and he seemed to enjoy it. He ended up playing on the same team for a couple of years and these boys had a pretty good team. Now, all these years later I can't remember exactly what happened, but one of the moms on the team hired a photographer to take some real photos of the team - instead of just what the city-hired photographer would do.

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I love my pictures, so I was all in. I don't regret it a bit. The day did end up a bit emotional, however, as I learned my grandma had passed away while sitting on the bleacher watching the photographer work. Whew! That was rough. Trying not to cry in front of people has never been something I'm great at. Thankfully, moms were paying more attention to what the photographer was doing than to me and these pictures turned out so great though and they've been some of my favorites for a long time.

Aprilisa's release for Gingerscraps July 2023 Buffet is called Homerun and I immediately thought of these photos to use with her collection. I had created a similar layout years ago with these photos, but I never really loved the finished page. I'm much happier with this one.

SUPPLY LIST

TEMPLATE: Homerun (Picture Perfect 273) by Aprilisa Designs

COLLECTION: Homerun by Aprilisa Designs

FONT: Talking Baseball (Year)

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...SUMMER OF LOVE...

 Another title that came from another song. Look, sometimes, I have to draw inspiration from sources outside of my head.

I think it was when I was working on the yearly video I do for my family each Christmas that I ran across this song by Shawn Mendes and Tainy. I immediately fell in love with the song and it took me back to the summer when my husband and I started dating, though we didn't spend ANY time at all on the water and we weren't quite 18.

Back in 2018, my husband and I had the chance to go to Seattle, Washington to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We were married in late November, and a road trip through Idaho that late in the year didn't seem like a smart idea, so we decided we'd go in August and end up at the Space Needle on the same day he proposed, 20 days later.

In July, a few weeks before our trip, my family had a family reunion. Each family was given a color to wear to help differentiate who belonged to whom. My mom got purple. I was over the moon, I love purple. Anyway, it was a fun reunion and we had a great day and we made some good memories.

On our trip, we wore our purple shirts on our proposal anniversary and we really just had an amazing trip. Any time I see these shirts I still get all sorts of warm fuzzies. It truly was The Summer of Love.

The July 2023 Gingerscraps Challenge reward is called: Dreaming of Summer and I instantly fell in love with the purple. Big surprise, huh? I also decided I'd use the 'selfies' I had from our family reunion. The summer of 2018 really was a good one in my book!

SUPPLY LIST

TEMPLATE: List It 1 by Miss Fish

COLLECTION: Dreaming of Summer by Gingerbread Ladies 

FONT: Summer

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