Family Reunion

This past weekend we were in the White Mountains of Arizona for our Arvin and Emma Mortensen family reunion. The reunion itself was held in Alpine, AZ., but we stayed in Eager, AZ. Some of the family also was in Greer, AZ, so we got to spend some time there, too. We took a drive one day around Big Lake and the surrounding area. It was beautiful, to say the least. And the weather was perfect. It was fun to see so many cousins, most who we haven't seen since the last reunion two years ago. After the reunion, we went to visit Uncle Beans' and Aunt Lorna's cabin near Alpine. Our kids wanted to see it again, since they haven't been since they were maybe 10 or 12 years old. There were LOTS of cousins staying there and they had the mules there (for riding) and even a little pony with a buggy for rides. Our grandkids had such a good time at the cabin. There was also a rope swing hanging from a branch behind the cabin that provided lots of fun. I was especially glad to see my cousin, Tom. He even brought some of his new, recently recorded hymn CDs. It's really good. I hope he'll continue to record hymns and perhaps even a Christmas CD soon. (Hint, hint!!) I look forward to our next reunion in three years.

There Is a Reason Why

Today I spent the day with Brian in his classroom at school. He dropped his kids off here and Mark got to play with them today. Brian and I headed off to Teaching Stuff....he needed a few items for his bulletin boards. They we drove past the new school...Lake Pleasant Elementary. It looks just like Vistancia except for the color. I'm amazed that it's opening so soon. A year ago they hadn't even broken ground yet and they projected that it would take at least 14 months to complete.
Then we went to Brian's classroom. He's back downstairs after 2-3 moves last year. Yea. Our first (big) project was his Arizona boards. They were the largest of his bulletin boards. We had gathered several old copies of Arizona Highways magazines and we cut them apart to use on the boards. It's covered with black butcher paper with snakeskin borders. We selected some beautiful photographs of Arizona icons and attached them to the boards. Below one of the boards we put an Arizona road map and a very detailed map legend/information map along with the words, "On the Road in Arizona" It turned out great. We then did his Mabee's Marshalls (job charts) board, his family board, his Quiet Zone/reading corner board and his 6-traits board. We then did an area with his 8 "Be's" and another area with posters with punctuation/capitalization rules and things to remember to edit their papers for prior to turning them in. I think this is the first year that we've been able to complete all of the boards in just one day. But there's a reason why I'm not working any more. I'm too old for that! I'm beat! If I had to do that more than once a year, I'd never make it!!! I was glad to come home and put my feet up (after making a trip to Costco) and relax a bit. But what a relief for Brian (and me) to have that task finished. And the kids and Mark had a great day together, too. It's all good.

What I've Been Up To

Here's proof that I've been busy...aka...this is what I've been up to lately. Starting from the top....This is a shadowbox project featuring the new 7gypsies Barcelona papers. Next is the new Photo Tray. It's a new product this release and is quite fun to work with. I like the size of each section and it worked perfectly for a holiday home decor project. The papers are from the 7gypsies flocked red Savannah line. The embellishments are all either 7gypsies or vintage finds. The grandkids are all ours! The next project is the August creative team challenge. 7gyspies is coming out with a new clear stamp of bird images. It's very cute...you'll love it. Our challenge was to create birds using the images from the new clear stamp (we didn't have the stamps...only a picture of what they'd look like) using any media we chose....paper, fabric, metal, whatever we wanted. It wasn't my favorite project ever. But it was okay. The next project is the July challenge. We were each given a different sized artist canvas that we were to alter using the new 7gypsies Victoria paper line. I used four different patterned papers, some vintage lace, a 7gypsies bingo card from their ephemera packet and a picture of one of my ancestors, Olivia Talbot. I used pages from an old dictionary around the sides. It's tied with a piece of vintage ribbon and embellished with an old clear button. The final project is the new 7gypsies Photo Stand. I used the new Barcelona papers along with the Nottinghill 6x6 paper pack and some papers from the Gypsy Market line. I think the Barcelona paper is my new favorite. It's so versatile and fun to use. I made dividers to put between the photos in the photo sleeves (that come with the photo stand) to separate the various sections and to add a little description/journaling about each section of photos. Whew! That's a huge load off my mind to have the projects all finished and delivered to Deb so she can take them to CHA this week. So I'm done with projects....only until the next one. I know I have a granddaughter wanting to make a summertime album and another who wants to spend the day making jewelry. Anyone else with a request??