Tuesday, February 28, 2012

At the park with Michael

We took Michael to the park last Wednesday and I decided to take my camera with me. (Norpoint is my favorite place to do photo shoots. I have several photos on here from that park.) I ended up taking 96 pictures in the 45 minutes we were there.Thought I would share a couple of my favorites...





Taking 96 pictures in 45 minutes is so easy when you have such a cute subject!

Monday, February 27, 2012

So much birthday fun!

Where do I start??? Mykayla had quite the birthday celebration celebrations! Mykayla's eighth birthday was Thursday and she partied right on thru the weekend. Thursday started out with a trip to the Tacoma Children's Theater with the rest of the 2nd and 3rd grade classes. We (I got to go along and drive) saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and it was so cute! My favorite character and I think most of the kids would agree-was Mike TV. He was a punk teenager who was into his Nintendo DSs and cell phone and was always picking fights with everyone. He was actually very obnoxious but it made his whole character that much better. Thursday evening Kayla had gymnastics and then we headed to the mall to get her ears pierced. Now I have to admit, I was expecting full on melt down either before we even started or after the first earring went in. She totally surprised me and barely even flinched. I was so impressed! Thanks to her friends Lauren and Abby for coming along and being encouragement! We finished up the evening with birthday dinner with Uncle Bubba, Stephanie and Zoey at Outback.

(Going to skip forward to Sunday for a moment, then highlight the big sleepover)

Sunday morning we met up with Uncle Scott, Auntie Amanda and cousin Elliott for some birthday breakfast at Fanny's restaurant in Marysville. Cousin Jordan came along too.  Sunday evening was family birthday dinner at Auntie Nuni's. Did I mention that she is one spoiled well loved girl? She got all the fixings for her own lemonade stand, some cute earrings, $15 iTunes card (now she can buy all the 99 cent apple bunches she wants on Pet House) and two more months of gymnastics. Kayla was on her third cupcake by Sunday and yet still had not blown out a candle so Auntie Nuni hunted one down : )






Friday night was the BIG rock star sleepover!! Kayla had invited 10 girls and I was sure a few of them wouldn't be able to come so I was OK with it. Well, 9 of them came!! Totally fine and they were so good but I still think I am just a little crazy. Luckily daddy had the night off so he was here to help and entertain (You can see him doing karaoke for the girls in one of the pictures) We started off the night with some pizza for dinner then did some karaoke, pin the rock star and just hanging out. They all insisted on throwing their sleeping bags out at 7:30 and I couldn't convince them enough that they did not have to go to bed till 10. The whole bed idea didn't last too long though. The last one of the bunch fell asleep around midnight and every single one of them was up by 5:30 am thanks to the lovely wind storm that blew in overnight. Saturday morning was pancakes for breakfast and a hair styling salon. I think they all had a great time and I loved seeing Kayla have so much fun with all her girlfriends!





Thursday, February 23, 2012

Happy 8th Birthday Mykayla!!

I can't believe my (not so) little girl is turning 8 today!!

I have been trying to come up with a fun way I could blog about Mykayla on her 8th birthday. Unfortunately, nothing clever or cute is coming to me today (I am writing this the day before her birthday and will post tomorrow. We have TONS going tomorrow for her special day but I wanted to make sure to post about her on her special day)

So in honor of Mykayla's 8th birthday I am going to go with the top 8 at 8 list...
1. Mykayla loves to read and collects books. She loves to have a bookmark in several books at one time just like her Papa Barry. She is also an amazing reader who reads 3 to 4 grade levels above hers.
2. She is the best big sister! "Dissy" can do no wrong in Michael's eyes. 
3. She DOES not like to have her hair done!
4. She is kind and compassionate.
5. She is quite the singer and dancer. I might have a rock star in the making... (see pics below)
6. She is in gymnastics once a week and loving it!
7. She likes to watch Shake It Up, Austin & Allie, Ant Farm and Victorious (These shows are all based around dancers, singers and performers. See #5, go figure! : )
8. She is a comfy clothes kind of girl. You will very, very, very rarely find her in jeans. Although, she did surprise me this morning and came downstairs in jeans!!

And of course I have pictures of our Rock Star/8th birthday photo shoot...
(I had fun with these pictures on Photobucket. They are all done with the Retro: Lomoish filter.)

My favorite!!

A couple fun ones using color splash...



Happy Birthday Mykayla!! We love you!!



Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Rock Party Preview!!

Mykayla turns 8 years old tomorrow!! Craziness!! (and the subject of tomorrows post!) Anyway, we have been talking for awhile and had decided way back when to go with a rock star theme. I think I was just as excited about the preparations for this party as Kayla was. I made a banner and some 8x8 photo decorations. We also put together a rock party themed photo booth box and put together some pretty cool goodie bags. Small bargain brag moment here...I bought several rock star themed goodies at Michael's back in November on major clearance knowing we would be doing this party. I think my total was like $4.50 for 22 different items including pencils, pencil pouches, headsets and backstage passes. I was so excited!! So here is a small preview of what we have been working on. This collage courtesy of Photobucket (Thank you Amanda for the recommendation!) since Picnik is closing come April. The effect on this collage is called color splash and I think it is my new favorite.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Playing catch up tonight

Thought I would do a catch up post tonight, a few words and collages of our happenings lately...(Well for the past week at least)

On Friday morning, I got to volunteer and participate in the 2nd annual Dance a Thon at Kayla's school. They started this PTA fundraiser last year when the track that they would normally do a walk/run a thon on was under construction. We all gathered in the gym and followed along with the Wii busting a  move for about an hour.  The kids were so into it and hardly ever stopped and never gave up! I was under strict orders not to dance from my darling daughter but when I got there, was given direction to dance away since I was to be showing the kids how it was done. (So public apology to my daughter...sorry if I embarrassed you, I am your mother after all) It was a blast and the students raised a little over $10,000!!
I was back at the school that afternoon to help set up for the Scholastic book fair. Oh yeah, the life of a PTA mom! But I love it!


On Saturday, we met Uncle Bubba (Eric), Stephanie and Zoe at the newly reopened Children's Museum in Tacoma.(We have been enjoying having family close enough to meet on a Saturday in Tacoma!) What a great place for kids of all ages! Both Michael and Mykayla had a blast!!



And finally, today I got to do what I love and miss the most!! Hang out with 3 extra kids and my own 2. I had a couple of my friends kids while they were at work training and Zoe. (1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 year old) We got in all the essentials of the day: meals and snacks, arts and crafts time (my favorite!!). some dramatic play, story time, PE/large motor skills and even nap time!!! I had such a blast hanging out with them and realized what I am missing most about my old job. Guess I am still trying to move on.


I love this nap time collage. Guess we had a busy day!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Scraplifting 101

A fun post for all my scrapbooking friends...the art of scraplifting simply and quickly put!





1. You will need any scrapbook magazine, scissors, glue and large index cards. Cut out all the pages you love and mount them on the large index cards then sort them by number of pictures on the page. They can then be filed by number of pictures in a file box (see photo 3)

2. Pick your set of pictures and count how many you have.

3. Go to your box of page ideas, locate that number of pictures tab and begin your search.

4. After you have found the page idea you want to copy, grab the paper you like and do just that "copy" it!! So simple! You can make it look exactly like it or change it up a bit-your choice. 

So what does mine look like...

I must say, I am very pleased with it (and my photos contain two beautiful little girls!) I must also admit that probably 90% of my pages are scraplifted in one way, shape or form. I cannot claim originality of many of them but always add my own touch to make it mine. Go ahead, give it a try! I promise you will not go back to staring at photos for hours trying to decide how to arrange them : )

Also, a little props to my older sister Celia-she was the original "page idea index card box" inventor! And what a fabulous idea it was!!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day!

I had a wonderful Valentines Day today with 3 of my very favorite sweethearts! We started out the morning with some Valentine treats for my 2 little sweethearts; Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, bracelet and a Hello Kitty Pez for Mykayla and Cars 2, a Disney book and "popsiples" (lollipops) for Michael. Then Kayla was off to school dressed head to toe in pink wearing my silver heart necklace topped off with a heart covered fleece sweatshirt and carrying a heart themed lunch : ) For lunch, Adam, Michael and I headed to Qdoba for the BOGO free entree as long as you kissed your sweetheart. Perfect Valentines lunch! Plus we got chips and queso for free! When we got home, I went over to Kayla's school for her class Valentine party (I love that I get to go to this kind of stuff now!) The kids made tissue paper Valentines, ate lots of goodies filled with sugar and shared sweet Valentines with each other. Tonight Adam worked four hours overtime so the kids and I headed to McDonalds (Taco Bell for Michael) for dinner and then Menchies for some frozen yogurt goodness.








Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 13, 2012

A weekend full of scrappin!

This weekend I packed up my scrapbook hutch and headed to The Great Escape in Monroe where I had 6 feet of my own scrapping space and got to scrap with some wonderful friends old and new!! I was so excited to get started scrapping 2010 with the prospect of getting closer and closer to being caught up. Of course, as any exciting weekend with the Kinyon girls would go, there was a few exciting experiences that I can't forget to mention. (I will detail them when I share the pictures) Our Creative Memories consultant and more importantly our friend Lara booked this wonderful place for us to stay for the weekend and for this special weekend coordinated with Celia to have the MCN Sassy Scrappers come along.  I had scrapped with some of Lara's other customers in November and scrap monthly with the Sassy Scrappers so I enjoyed the company of all of them this weekend. What a great group of women!!

And now for the pictures and excitement...

 So basically The Great Escape is a big house with scrapping space and beds for 25. Bring your scrap stuff, food and your comfys and scrap the weekend away!

This is my 6 foot table and scrapping area. Normally I take over the space of those around me but this weekend I did really good. Kristina was a gracious neighbor though. I am sure she would not have minded if I took over her space : )

Not only am I lucky enough to share my hobby with my sisters but also my mom. 
I love this fun bond that we all have!

The Cricut-a scrapbookers best friend. We had about 120 different cartridges between four of us to choose from. I have to give Kudos to Ginger for bringing her collection of 80 cartridges I believe it was. She has got some super cute ones that I enjoyed using.

I used some of my scraps to make birthday cards and got my Valentines made for my 3 sweethearts.

We all made a bet as to how many pages Kimberley (who was in the dark about the whole thing) would complete for the weekend. We put a dollar in the pot with our guess. Some of us who had not guessed yet were lucky enough to hear her shout "10 pages done!" shortly before the contest ended yesterday. We all scrambled to fill out our guesses and get them in. I guessed 17 to which I was way off! I was at retreat with Kimberley in November and as I recall, she kicked butt on pages. Several others remembered this too and I think guessed high. Well, Kimberley discovered mosaics this weekend and it slowed her down : ) She was even up till 5 am Sunday morning on a mission to finish it. I think her total count was 12 and 2 people at her table (Hmm, that seems fishy) got to split the pot. Kimberley was an AWESOME sport about it though and was sorry to disappoint some of us : )

The memorable moments...

One entirely full cup of Starbucks coffee dumped somehow/somewhere between Celia and Stephanie. Miraculously NO PAGES WERE HARMED during this incident!! Celia swooped her pages up as quickly as possible and managed to save them just loosing her scrap paper. The clean up crew was quick and with some awesome team work, got it cleaned up as quick as it fell. Stephanie however did continue to find coffee everywhere. The best was in the business card slot in Kattrina's embellishment binder. I offered her a straw to suck it out of there, she declined : )

The honorable mention...
goes to mom. Sorry, I have no pictures to share this moment but it had to go in. We took a break on Saturday to head to Safeway for some deli lunch. We all ordered and mom headed to find us tables and chairs. After arranging tables, she proceeded to dump an entire 32 oz soda all over them. Luckily, we had not set our food down at this point. The Safeway courtesy clerk was so nice and graciously cleaned up the entire floor and area around us so we could eat. 
Guess you could say we had some fumble fingers this weekend!!

And finally, the best of all...
Celia (My darling older sister, whom I love to death!) almost started the place on fire!! We were having our usual Sunday morning retreat breakfast of sticky buns which consists of Pilsbury biscuits, a whole ton of butter and ton of brown sugar. There was some left over remnants on the bottom of the oven and when our sticky buns overflowed from the pan, the sugar added to the mess on the bottom sparking flames. A smaller flame was noticed and put out with smoke billowing everywhere. Then a pretty good size flame to which we all kind of just sat and looked at each other like what do we do. The oven door was opened (Trina had baking powder ready to douse the flames) and more smoked billowed out this time setting off the smoke alarms. Lara, our trusty consultant had stepped out for a bit to head to Ben Franklin while this all took place, pretty sure she won't be doing that next retreat! All turned out well and the sticky buns were pretty close to worth it. We later decided we were so glad there was not a sprinkler system. Could you imagine? A bunch of women scrapping when a sprinkler went off.







Wednesday, February 8, 2012

On the iPhone lately

Thought it would be fun to share some photos from my iPhone lately since I can't possibly share them all on Facebook, as much as I would love to : ) When I first got my iPhone I installed the Instagram app because at the time, I thought it would be the only way to upload to Facebook. I learned that I could upload directly to Facebook and kind of forgot about it. This past month, I was playing around on my phone and "rediscovered" Instagram and all the cool things you can do on it. Did you know you can follow people on Instagram? Which means you get to see all the cool pictures other people take too. You can also add a border or one of many tints to your photo to give it a sharper look, an old fashion look or just black and white.So much fun stuff to do!! So as I am playing on Instagram, I notice that some people have made their pics into collages which of course, I wanted to try. I found Nostalgia in the app store, installed it and now can make neat collages, save them, add them to Instagram and make them look awesome! I love both these apps and will be using them more often in the future. Both collages courtesy of Nostalgia.
 Starting top left:
* This was today, Mykayla apparently figured out Nostalgia too : ) She stayed home from school with the flu bug that is going around.
* Jordan, Payton, Kayla and Michael at Qdoba on Sunday before swimming
* Michael and I sharing a soda at Alfy's
* Michael with Elmo backpack and lunch pail on his way to see Auntie Cookie for lunch.

Starting top row:
* My niece Elliott on Sunday during the Superbowl. She was cracking me up with the Nerf guns, even made the sounds. Do you think she has several boy cousins? Oh and daddy was in the military ; )
* DJ Mikey Mike (Black & White done on Instagram)
* My niece Jordan playing Barbie fashionista
* Michael and his best bud Elo (Leo) Big hugs!!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Taking small strides toward potty training

Michael turned 2 in November so at just a little over 2 years and 2 months, we have started taking small strides in potty training. Potty training is a whole new realm for Adam and I because to be honest, Mykayla's teachers at Kindercare single handily potty trained her. I would say we had a tiny no part in it whatsoever. If you read my last blog then you would know that Michael is no longer at Kindercare. Before we left, his teachers were also starting to potty train him and put him on the toilet. Now it is all on us and it is with a little boy. Enough said! We bought Michael a froggy potty chair several months back but he preferred to just use it like a chair or stool, no interest in the toilet aspect. We were wandering Lowe's one day and ran into a Sesame Street potty chair that goes on the big toilet featuring his favorite character Elmo! We snatched it up! (I personally think it is funny that of all places we got his potty chair at Lowe's) So since we have been home, Michael will ask for the "Elmo potty", sometimes shout for it : ) He has actually gone twice that I know of but most of the time he just sits on it and we play a fun find this character game; find Elmo, find Cookie Monster, find Rotten Day. Quick story behind rotten day: Oscar the grouch says "Have a rotten day!" on his Elmo phone so that is what Michael now calls him. We sit and point out all the characters and then he is "all none" or all done. I say we are getting a good start. I know we have several months ahead of us but at least he is showing interest and has no problems telling us when he has gone in his diaper : )