Behind the Scenes - Family Pictures

We had family photos taken on Monday.  I can hardly wait the 2 weeks to see them!  In the meantime, we had our phones and cameras there too and took a few behind the scenes photos  (with our awesome photographer, Kelli Haub's permission).  I thought I'd share a few with you. I promise to share the real deals when we get them back.

It was ffffffreezing cold (about 25 degrees) but we 'braved' the weather for some cool pics! Please don't turn us into Child/Family Services for freezing the children (tee hee)!  You won't see any candids of us all together because, well....we were all busy posing and Kelli was taking the real pics.  If you are worried about what we did since Dawson is serving a 2 year mission in Australia, never fear! We held up a pic of Dawson in our large group shot.  Where there's a will, there's a way! He was with us in spirit. *wink*

Our photographer is the one on the left with the cute red hair (Kelli).  Brookley (Tannon's fiance) was snapping a few too.

Rick, Kori and their 3 kiddos. 

Tannon and Brookley being goofy

Easton and Daysha keeping Sage warm until time to take their family's pics

Easton, Daysha and Sage

Easton, Daysha and Sage

My big teddy bear (Dan the Man) and I

Dan and I again

Tannon and his fiance, Brookley

Kori and her family getting ready for the next pose

Is your family like mine? The girls are all excited about pics, and the boys...well, the boys are NOT so excited.  It always makes for laughs!

For Always Layouts With Photos

Remember that post way back this morning with the For Always layouts we made in my June Play Group Scrappin' classes?  Well, here those are those layouts WITH photos! Head back to that old post from this morning for details on how to get this kit.

Ummmm, yes we WERE married in the 80's. How did you know?

Seeing these photos of my now 4 year old granddaughter makes me realize how fast time really goes!

It takes a special girl to be a football wife! I know, because I was one! I'm so glad that Easton found the perfect wife for him. They've been married for almost 3 years, and are going to have their first baby next month. We are beyond excited.

Birthday Layout

Happy Labor Day!

I shared a little bit about my birthday a few days ago, but I finally sat down and made a layout about it today. I was canning salsa all day today and just needed a little creative break. This is what I came up with.

I was inspired by the sketch at Creative Scrappers this week (#172) and the color challenge at Heart 2 Heart Challenges (choose your own favorite color combo). I really liked the sketch on Creative Scrappers, especially because I was only planning on doing a 1-page layout for this project. I am in love, and have been since 8th grade, with pink and green together (remember those preppie days?). I especially love them paired with black and white. Thanks to Heart 2 Heart Challenges (a great CTMH Challenge site!) for helping me choose my color combo for this layout. I used the Close To My Heart colors of Blush, Hollyhock and Pear.

Here's a little close up of the flowers and journaling. You can click on this photo to see it larger and in more detail.

Close To My Heart products used: Black Cardstock, Silhouette Creative Basics Paper Pack (retired), Sophia L2 Paper Pack, Licorice Opaques, Dimensional Elements Numbers (retired), Black Stamp Pad, Round Sponge, Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel, Corner Rounder, Sanding Kit.

You can order these, and so many other wonderful products on my website...24/7!

Dawson and Minerva

I was going through some old Halloween photos today because I am working on a Halloween Through The Years layout (Stay tuned! We are making it for October's Play Group classes {not too late to sign up} and I'll be posting the layout later this week.). I came across some photos that honestly made me laugh out loud. They are from 2003. Dawson was in 4th grade. His teacher had called me and asked if I would come and tell a Halloween Story to the class during their party. I decided to do it up right! I dressed up like a witch, even painted my face green. I named myself Minerva and I spoke with a Scottish accent. I came into the classroom with a sweepingly dramatic entrance and introduced myself (Minerva the Witch) and proceeded to tell my story. I still can't believe I pulled it off. I had never spoken in a Scottish accent before, but thanks to my love of Braveheart, I did just fine. {wink}

It wasn't until AFTER the story that I told Dawson who I was. He really didn't even recognize me. It was a HOOT! I'll never forget that Halloween. I ran into several other moms, some of which are close friends of mine, in the hall that day and said, "Hello!" None of them recognized me either. What fun!

So, stay tuned for the entire layout. But in the meantime...enjoy a little bit of Minerva and Dawson in 2003. Ahhhhh, memories.

Did you guess?

Did you guess which one was me? Several of you have posted or emailed me to find out which of the list I shared in Sunday's post was me. So far, no one who has guessed has gotten it right.

I'll tell you which one I was and the story to go with it in just a minute. Before I do, I have something much more important to share: My granddaugther, Daci learned to say Grandma yesterday! WOO HOO! Sorry I don't have any wonderful artwork to share today. I have been busy doing things other than creating art the past few days. Hopefully this darling photo of Daci will suffice.

Back to the list. I was this one:

• Over 100 people have seen my bare tush.

Lest you think that I am a habitual mooner, please let me give you a quick re-cap of what actually happened. I was 17 years old and on a first date with a new guy. We decided to go swimming. As I was climbing out of the pool on the ladder (and he was right behind me), he said, "Karen, you have a hole in the back of your swimsuit." YIKES! I politely thanked him and went into the womens restroom to check it out. Hole was the understatement of the year! The seam in the back of my swimsuit was up the middle (instead of the sides like most swimsuits) and it was totally unstitched. I didn't have a hole in my swimsuit....I didn't have a swimsuit! My entire rear portion was bare for the whole pool full of people to see. I almost DIED! I think I stayed in that bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist for a good 30 minutes before I got enough guts to go back out, get my date, and leave. I couldn't look him in the face the rest of the day.

That story should make all of you feel VERY good about yourselves, right? I hope you all got a good laugh to start your day at my expense!

Super Bowl and a Recipe

We were invited to a family friend's house (Mike, Susan and their boys) for the Super Bowl. We have always done a family Super Bowl party here at our house so we were a little leary to accept and change our tradition. But, I'm glad we did. We had a "SUPER" time! You can see my post of a Super Bowl layout I did to chronicle our usual family Super Bowl traditions here.

Our three boys. It's so good to have them all back together again.
Dan and I chillin' on the couch at Mike and Susan's house
Kori and Rick enjoying the game
Easton (what a beautiful face), Dawson and little Daci
Daci having fun at the party

The house was divided between the Saints and the Colts but no matter who you were cheering for, you have to admit it was a good game. In fact, I might even venture to say that is was my favorite Super Bowl ever.

The company was great and the food was delicious: home made ribs, baked potatoes, garlic bread, corn and green salad, 7 layer Mexican dip, all kinds of munchies, chocolate dipped strawberries, homemade 'cake balls', and chocolate pies. I told you a little bit about Susan here. She has her own candy company and is a master cook and 'dipper', and one of the kindest and best hostesses around.

Here is the recipe for my 7 layer Mexican dip (it's great with tortilla chips, fritos, triscuits, wheat thins, etc.):

Karen's 7 Layer Mexican Dip:
1 can refried beans (I like the Taco Bell brand best. They are the moistest)
guacamole (see recipe below, or cheat and buy some at the store. But, it won't be as good! lol)
2 1/2 - 3 C. sour cream
2 envelopes taco seasoning mix
2-3 C. shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 roma tomatoes (I like to use romas because they are 'meatier')
1 can sliced black olives
green onions

1. Spread can of refried beans evenly on a platter or dish (I use a fun rectangle platter that I have that has kind of deep sides, but you could even use a 9" x 13" casserole dish if you want)
2. Make guacamole and spread this evenly over layout of baked beans.
3. Mix sour cream and taco seasoning together in separate bowl and then spread on top of guacamole layer (I like the sour cream/taco seasoning layer to be pretty thick. If you like it thinner, just do one envelope of seasoning and 1 1/2 c. sour cream)
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top
5. Chop roma tomatoes and put this on next
6. Then come the olives.
7. Last are the green onions

Refrigerate until serving. DELISH!

Karen's Guacamole* (I once had the GREATEST guacamole ever at a restaurant in San Antonio. They made it right at our table. I took good notes and this is the recipe I came up with based on that):
2 lg. ripe avacados
1 Tbs. finely chopped green onion
1/2 tea. salt
dash oregano
1 Tbs. orange juice
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. lime juice
few drops of red pepper sauce

*I usually double this recipe for the 7 layer dip.