sneak week at green tangerines

It's SNEAK WEEK over at Green Tangerines Kit Club. The full kit will be unveiled next week on the blog. Here is my first layout to share from a recent bowling trip:

Do you own a Cricut or die-cutting machine? I do not. I've never thought I'd have much use for one . . . but occasionally I could see myself using one . . . like for this layout in which I wanted to make bowling pins. Here is how I did it instead . . . I googled "bowling pin clip art" and found an image I liked. I copied it, pasted it in Microsoft Word, and resized the image to my desired size. I printed it out, cut it out and traced it onto my yellow paper. Yipee, I had a bowling pin!

Next, I used several parentheses from my letter sticker sheet (6 to be exact) and laid them over the pin to make the strips. I then cut off the excess. Super simple and cute bowling pins--and I didn't need a Cricut! Yes, it would have been nice to have one, but I improvised!

Have a wonderful weekend!

the little gifts God gives

This past weekend, I went away with a couple of friends to Ft. Bragg to have uninterrupted time to think and pray over our upcoming homeschool year. The scenery couldn't have been better. Our house was 200 yards from the cliffs next to the ocean . . . which I could see from my bed when I awoke. We had no internet, no movies or laundry to fold . . . absolutely no distractions.

I got a good chunk of my semester roughly planned out, but the most important thing that I came away with is that God is in control of what he wants my children to learn this year. He will give me the tools to teach them. He will fill in the gaps that I do not cover in my lesson plans. He will give me the patience that I need each day to gently guide and direct my children. I learned this as I sat and watched the powerful waves crash into the rocks . . . they may appear of control (as I sometimes feel as a mom), but God has these waves completely under His control as well.

God gave us a special gift this weekend . . . we spotted a huge whale! I have never seen a whale in person before (not counting Marine World) and it was only 200 yards from us. We trailed him for over an hour while we ran up and down the coast taking pictures and shouting whenever we saw him blow water or show us his tail. After awhile we just sat and watched. If God can give me this little gift of showing me one of His most amazing creatures, can He not plan out my days for me and my family and give us His best?

Another highlight was going down to this beach . . .

Getting down to the beach was not a simple stroll, we had to go down a rope (I got a little rope burn from hanging on so tight!) to reach the bottom.

Once at the beach, this was the view . . .

It was a great weekend full of little blessings. Hope you enjoy your week!

cards to share

I have been a busy girl this summer . . . busy with homeschool planning that is. My scrapbooking has taken a back seat. This weekend my husband is blessing me with a weekend away to LESSON PLAN! Myself and a couple of girlfriends are headed to Ft. Bragg, CA (near the beach) in a few hours for two full days of quiet, uninterrupted time. My hope is to get our goals for the year written out and the first semester of lesson plans somewhat put together. So excited!

I thought I would leave you with a few cards from the Green Tangerines August Kit.

All of them are on the simple side . . . that's all I've had time for this month! Hope you have a great weekend!

family vacation

Every year we go to the JH Ranch for our family reunion. This is a Christian camp that my husbands parents started over 30 years ago. It's a place with so many amazing memories. This year, my kids wanted to take part in the ropes courses. I wasn't surprised as their dad is always doing active things with them, but I was impressed with how high they could climb--to the top!

This is Faith, my 5-year old, all harnessed in and ready to climb!

This is called the Alpine Tower. There are 52 different ways to make it to the top. She made it all the way to the huge triangle on top!

This is Paige, my 7-year-old, just as excited as Faith to climb!

Her rope got stuck in this spot. By the time she got it unhooked, she was too tired to climb any higher--she was so close and I was so proud of her!

Our attempt at a family picture.

Seth's first horse ride.

Some of the cousins.

The pool was FREEZING, but the kids didn't care! They swam in the lake or in this pool every day.

We did this "trampoline" exercise that taught trust and working as a team--this is Paige flying high!

This is called the 757. You climb to the top and then jump to the bar that is dangling in the sky. Faith was too small to make the jump, but she made it to the very top and then they lowered her down. She had no fear!

This is a huge water slide that you go down on a mat. While the water wasn't on, our kids had fun sliding down the 6-foot drop at the very beginning. 

This vacation is never relaxing with all the activities we cram in and with all the cousins running around, but we always have a great time! And to not have to cook or clean for a whole week is quite the treat! They actually have pretty good camp food--complete with an awesome salad bar at every meal. Now to get back to reality . . . hope you are having a great day!

all aboard!

Last month we had Seth's 2nd birthday and I couldn't wait to scrapbook it! I usually don't get too "themey" with my scrapbooking, but I had this idea to make the pictures into a train (I'm sure it's not a new idea.) 

I used my Green Tangerines Kit and even did a little bit of misting . . . my first time. I haven't jumped aboard the misting trend yet. I love seeing what others do, but I haven't felt the pull to do it myself. I just lightly misted the steam puffs and then outlined them. Nothing to crazy.

I hope you are all having a fabulous wrap up to your summer! I have been busy picking out curriculum and games for our new homeschool year. I am really excited about some of the things I have planned! Have a great weekend!