[ o ] a peek into my life

a visual update

Hello long lost blog friends...it appears as though it's summer, where the days are long, but rarely empty. Too much to do, not nearly enough time to get half of it done.

some house updates:

Not great photos by any stretch of the imagination, but it shows that my office is no longer one of a scrapbooker. My great standing desks are gone (to the basement for other great uses) and I moved in my dad's old desk from his office years ago...and it's still not done, but it's much closer than it was. And it's so bright and airy, that I love :)

the above photo shows that I finally have the shelves up in the kitchen and instead of art on either side of the dining area window, I opted for some of my white fiestaware plates...Jarrod doesn't love it, but I'm happy :)

some birthday stuff from Claire's Hannah Montana celebration.

Lake Powell and other summer fun

Just a couple days after school let out for the summer the family took our yearly trip down to Lake Powell for a week. We had a great time on the boat, found a nice place to park the houseboat for the week and enjoyed lots of family time.

 

There is a great slide off the back of the houseboat, Claire of course loves it and goes down it all the time. Last year I went down it a time or two, but where we parked this year, it wasn't quite deep enough for me to feel too safe. Jack and Max are not huge fans of the slide, but they spent lots of time in the water.

 

The photo above is of Jackson, Claire and their cousin taking a walk along the rocks just above where we had the boat.

 

The above photo was taken from about where the kids were on the last pic looking back down onto out houseboat and ski boat. I just love Lake Powell, I can't imagine a summer without it now.

 

Another pic of two of mine and one cousin...I think Max was inside playing somewhere and wasn't too interested in climbing up the rocks.

 

There go the kids heading back to the houseboat.

 

In this photo above and many that follow you can see the amazing sunsets that we get each night while we're there. We sleep on top of the boat, enjoying the stars every night...and sometimes a bit of rain :( In the photo above you can see Jarrod driving off on the jetski waving goodbye.

 

That's just about the same photo...oh well :)

 

There he is coming back, probably to get a kid or two to take on a ride.

 

There he is with one of the kiddos...not sure which one as all three love to ride the jetski with daddy...mommy, not so much :)

 

The photo above shows all three of my boys coming back after a fun ride. jack and Max's hair was hilarious when they got back, sticking up from all the wind.

 

Another sunset. (really, Carrie? Couldn't have guessed.)

 

The above photo shows a Silent Rock...you must be silent as the car drives through a rock that has been cut to provide room for a road.

she's seven now...

I'm such a bad blogger, but what's new, really? :) I've had family in town since before school got out...went to Washington for my dad's wedding...we went to Lake Powell for a week...my daughter turned seven...and it's just been busy crazy and fun...and tiring. None of that is in order either.

Before I forget to blog Claire's birthday, I thought I'd better get some photos up:

 

She got her much anticipated American Girl doll, Chrissa, who she just loves. I was surprised really at how excited she was and how much she loves her doll. It's so great to see her get her wish.

 

Something that I loved watching was Claire reading all her cards this year. She took the time to go through each one.

 

Grandpa Rick got her several games for her DS, lots of girl games so she doesn't have to play her brother's games anymore!

 

Aunt Sherrie tied the bow from Jarrod's and my present (Chrissa) in Claire's hair.

 

She wanted a Hannah Montana cake, a guitar or a microphone, but we decided to save the cool cake for when she has her friend party and just go with a simple round cake that I added some decoration to (not the coolest, I know) I added the little signs and the candles and it ended up making her happy. At least I'm getting some good use out of those scrapbooking supplies!

 

I love how happy she looks in this photo, smiling as we all sing to her, the center of our attention.

 

After a couple tries, all the candles were out and we got to enjoy the cake.

Here is a link to some photos on my photography blog for those that don't frequent it that show the kids on the last day of school on our adventure downtown to meet dad for dinner: downtown kids photos.

I have tons of photos from Lake Powell to sort through and I'll post an update about that soon. My kitchen/dining area/family room look exactly the same as they did the last time I posted, so nothing new there. Jarrod's still not sold on the color and I love it about 98% of the time...there's a window of time when the combination of natural and artificial light makes it look not so appealing. I'm trying to decide if I care about that or not...I think I just need to finish it up and get over it. I also need new art for either side of my dining area window as my old stuff is too yellow now (those will go elsewhere in the house) and I need more time. Lots more time :)

I'm off now to check on the kiddos, they're doing a little clean up in their rooms and I must say...they are doing a really great job!