Fivetulips / 5 Tulps

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T08:02:00.000-06:00

Sending all my readers a little Valentines Day LOVE.
Enjoy the day with your loved ones.

Here' s the supplies that I used:
CVW_SupplyTracker
JenMartakis_2peas_DateIt_staple
JenMartakis_2peas_Lovely_
JenMartakis_2peas_TBKFancyFrames-03
JenMartakis_TBKFancyMats-03
simply J studio card template

Week 6 February 5-11

2012-02-12T21:04:00.000-06:00

Another pretty normal week, with a little hockey on the weekends. This photo was taken last Sunday, I love how Ben is intently listening to his coaches direction.. Ben scored his first Hat trick of the season in their first game on Sunday, so he was pretty happy. Unfortunately, his team is full of ups and downs and lost their second game.

Our neighbor made Nadia a black and orange skirt for the Hockey sisters. She is posing for you. Notice our lack of snow. NOTHING.

Nadia is diligently working on writing her valentines for next week.

Our neighbor is a great friend to both the boys, but this is how I found them on Thursday after school. A friendship built on Electronic devices. All 3 were playing their ipods.

We were home on Friday evening, which is a rarity during hockey season. The boys played a little ping-pong on our new Christmas table.

Friday night was cold enough to create some beautiful frost on the window.

Saturday was a game of refereeing for Ben and couple hockey games for Ethan. AT least we were home this weekend. That's a real treat.

Defining my One Little Word

2012-02-08T13:58:00.003-06:00

From Dictionary.com. I have highlighted the parts of the definition that speak to me.

Think

verb (used without object)

1. to have a conscious mind, to some extent of reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational decisions, etc.

2. to employ one's mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation: Think carefully before you begin.

3. to have a certain thing as the subject of one's thoughts: I was thinking about you. We could think of nothing else.

4. to call something to one's conscious mind: I couldn't think of his phone number.

5. to consider something as a possible action, choice, etc.: She thought about cutting her hair.

6. to invent or conceive of something: We thought of a new plan.

7. to have consideration or regard for someone: Think of others first.

8. to esteem a person or thing as indicated: to think badly of someone.

9. to have a belief or opinion as indicated: I think so.

verb (used with object)

11. to have or form in the mind as an idea, conception, etc.

12. to have or form in the mind in order to understand, know, or remember something else: Romantic comedy is all about chemistry: think Tracy and Hepburn. Can't guess? Here's a hint: think 19th century.

13. to consider for evaluation or for possible action upon: Think the deal over.

14. to regard as specified: He thought me unkind.

15. to believe to be true of someone or something: to think evil of the neighbors.

EXPAND

adjective

19. of or pertaining to thinking or thought.

20. Informal . stimulating or challenging to the intellect or mind: the think book of the year.

noun

21. Informal . the act or a period of thinking: I want to sit down and give it a good think.

Verbphrases

22. think of,

a. to conceive of; imagine.

b. to have an opinion or judgment of.

c. to consider; anticipate: When one thinks of what the future may bring, one is both worried and hopeful.

23. think out / through,

a. to think about until a conclusion is reached; understand or solve by thinking.

b. to devise by thinking; contrive: He thought out a plan for saving time.

24. think up, to devise or contrive by thinking: Can you think up an arrangement of furniture for this room?

Idioms

25. think better of, to change one's mind about; reconsider: She considered emigrating to Australia, but thought better of it.

26. think fit, to consider advisable or appropriate: By all means, take a vacation if you think fit.

27. think nothing of. nothing ( def. 19 ) .

28. think twice, to weigh carefully before acting; consider: I would think twice before taking on such a responsibility.

Love you Scrapbook Page

2012-02-05T21:53:00.000-06:00

I had a little time with week to scrapbook. I created this digital page of Noodle and I .
Just a little reflection on loving a little girl to share glittery, girly things with.

Most of the supplies I used were from Jen Martakis at 2 peas.

Simply Beautiful kit
Date It_
SimpleStarts_no20
TBKFancyFrames-12
TBKFancyMats-12
I also used a frame from carina gardner
and a stripe template by hroselli

January 20 - February 4 Week 5

2012-02-05T21:25:00.002-06:00

After all the time we spend at the hockey rink for the boys, Nadia demands a little ice time as well. Andrew has taken her a couple times this year and she is rapidly improving. She's not very keen on playing hockey. She often mentions the "F" word. Figure Skating. I don't know if we are prepared to jump on that ship.

Nadia came home from school on Friday with a fever. Thankfully, it was short lived. She is her talkative self already.

The big news was supposed to be the snow storm we had on Saturday. Unfortunately, It moved South and gave Des Moines 6 inches, but We still have no snow on the ground. BUMMER!

Zeke loves to hang out in the bathroom while we shower. He is really hard to photograph. He always closes his eyes!

No hockey for Ethan this weekend, Ben had 3 games. Very mixed results with his team. They lost 2 and won 1. Ben scored his first hat trick this season. It is so hard to watch when you know they can play much better.

Here's a photo from the photo challenge. A picture of hands.

Enjoy the week!

February photo challenge

2012-02-03T14:45:00.001-06:00

I have already slipped behind with my photo for this year. I have not committed to 366 photos, but would really like more photos than just 1 or 2 a week. So, I am thinking about trying a photo challenge. I found this one for February and it looks fun to me. So, I am going to give it a try. February photo challenge

January Week 4

2012-01-29T22:03:00.000-06:00

Just a really ordinary week. Ethan and Dad spend a few minutes after hockey studying for Ethan's Geography test.

We were a little worried that Ethan had not spent enough time studying for this one. I guess we were wrong.

Tuesday is Laundry day. I usually have about 6- 7 loads. Miscellaneous other loads are completed through-out the week.

Ben had an orchestra concert this week. We posed a few photos, since the school is dark and he is rather far away. Ethan also wanted to show off his cello.

On Friday evening, we went to 7oaks recreation located by Boone. DMACC was sponsoring a family night. We had a great time. It was Ethan's first time skiing. Nadia and I went down the Snow tube hill. I was a little worried that she would be scared, but she was so excited after her first run down the hill. I think we all had a really good time.

January Week 3

2012-01-22T20:54:00.000-06:00

This project is suppose to help me document the ordinary things that make up our life. To help us acknowledge the little things in life that are so common place now, but will soon be gone. This is the common sight after school. B and E sitting at the table working on their homework. What I missed in the photo, is that they are eating crackers at the same time.

Nadia is a crafty girl. Truly after my own heart. She will create with anything. Her favorite currently is collage pictures with bits of paper and this one has a few feathers.

We finally had winter like weather on Friday. Even though the temps were quite low E and N played outside for a little while after school. Ethan re-created a revolutionary war battle screen. Sort of a capture the mountain theme.

We ended the week with a little hockey, of course. Ben's team was in WI and did not have a very successful weekend. In fact, they played pretty stinky, enough said. Ben did have a couple goals and a few assists. Ethan and Andrew had home games. Ethan had 2 goals and 1 assist this weekend.

Week 2 - January 8-14

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-06:00

This week was a busy week

The big news this week is that Ethan turned 10! He has reached double digits. We celebrated several times this week. Ethan had a friend over for the weekend. Then on Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa come over for a lunch and cake and a few presents.

Thursday, he took a giant cookie to school for his birthday treat.

I went back to work this week. Only 2 classes this semester, so I have some extra time to help with CPR classes at the hospital.

The mild weather that we have had so far this year changed on Wednesday and Thursday. Unfortunately, we received very little snow. Mostly just cold winds.

Ben helped me cut up fruit for dinner. He created a "Fruit Ninja" display. This is currently their favorite game on their ipods. You slice fruit with swords to score points.

Ben actually had 2 commitments on Saturday. First, We had a Jazz band festival in the Morning. They did a really good job. Then to Sioux City for a hockey tournament.

Ben and the neighbor.

Project Life

2012-01-09T18:42:00.000-06:00

In 2009 and 2010, I embarked on the journey of photographing our daily life everyday for 365 days. While I loved the finished product, (seeing 365 photos in a single album) it become a little tedious. I took a break from the project in 2011, but I truly missed it. So 2012 has arrived with a new philosophy on documenting our everyday life. I am embarking on a new journal called "Project Life" This is not a new concept and I certainly did not invent it. The original idea is from Becky Higgins, and you can read more about it at her website . The concept is simple; document your life in photos and words.

I have committed to this project. Here's some of my thoughts:

I am going to approach this project on a weekly basis
This will not be a 365 or 366 photo project. The number of photos will vary each week.
I will post my weekly photos and words on this blog every Sunday or Monday
I will be putting these in a binder with scrapbook paper and written notes.
I will try to use my stash of scrapbook supplies and purchase as little as possible, which means, my colors will not always match.
Keep it simple and enjoy the process.

My title page photo. Andrew snapped this photo of my during our Christmas celebration. It's a really good photo of me capturing our life.

Here's my photos for this week:

The first photo of 2012. Andrew and I shared a glass of wine at Midnight. We had the Vos cousins over for the night, we celebrated early and sent them to bed.

We did it! After several years of discussing, debating, looking and pricing, we purchased a new dining room set. Our special order should arrive in March.

A new haircut and color for me. The stylist spent way to much time straightening my curls. Even though I got lots of comments about my new do, I am back to curls.

A couple price photos for the first week. The milk sale is my favorite.

A library visit this week. Nadia has "graduated" from the picture books to the easy readers.

Finished up mailing the Christmas newsletters.

That sums up week 1

One Little Word

2012-01-04T17:46:00.001-06:00

I am not a fan of New year's resolutions, and have never really made them. It's seems a little artificial to make a resolution and then break that resolution the very next day. I have seldom heard about a resolution that was successful, but always about resolutions that have failed. With that said, I do like the idea of taking the opportunity of the New Year to make a fresh / new start.

I have decided that this year, I will using a single word to help me focus / refocus through out 2012. If you have not heard about the One little Word concept, you can read about it here. Ali Edward's blog

Here's a quote from her "A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow. From my own personal experience, it can be a catalyst for enriching your life."

I liked the idea of using a word to guide your thoughts, feelings and actions through-out the year. I liked the idea of not a specific resolution, but a process of focusing on a word or phrase and seeing where God leads, so no failed resolutions. The word that I chose this year is : THINK

It sounds like such a boring word, but it has been coming back to me on a regular basis this week.

I hope to share some thoughts with you this year, as I focus on thinking...

Can you help me this year? What things speak to you about the word think... Have you read a good book, seen a good quote? Please share anything with me.

Here' my first quote about thinking. Who doesn't love Winnie-the-Pooh? He's named after Winnipeg after all.

“People who don't Think probably don't have Brains; rather, they have grey fluff that's blown into their heads by mistake.”

Family newsletter

2012-01-02T22:08:00.000-06:00

Our family newsletter is completed for 2011. I really enjoying writing the letter after Christmas, so I am sorry if you expected it before Christmas. I hope to get the paper copies in the mail this week. For now, please enjoy the digital version.

A Week in our Life

2011-12-28T14:59:00.000-06:00

This week has been a great week to finish up a few projects. This July, I participated in Ali Edwards challenge to document a week in our life. She encourages you to document the little day to day things, so you can look back and see how life has changed. This project has sat on my computer, since the 1st of August, just waiting to be finished and printed. I am glad to finish it this week and I am excited to see the printed version.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive photobook layouts so you can make your book just the way you want.

Christmas JOY

2011-12-27T14:49:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas day. Just the 5 of us relaxing at home. We spent all day eating treats, opening presents & enjoying each other. Here's a few of my favorite photos of the day.

Our family tradition is a family photo shoot in front of the Christmas tree before we open presents. The kids always complain, but I remind them that this is one of Mommy's presents. Since they have about triple the # of presents under the tree, it's only fair that I get a little gift of a family photo.

I love the photos this year. It's the best gift for me.

Our other family tradition is that everyone has to sit in front of the tree to open their gifts. We take turns, usually youngest to oldest. Of course this is also for my photo taking, but it really helps us to slow down and enjoy each others presents.

I made fleece blanket for all three kids this year. I purchased the fleece back in May already when we were in Canada. Canada has far more selection of hockey fleece than down here in Iowa. Of course, I did not have the blankets completed until the day before Christmas. But they were done and the kids really seem to like them.

I hope you had a very blessed Christmas as well.

December Catch-up

2011-12-25T12:31:00.001-06:00

December turned out to be just as busy as the months before. The weekends were filled with Hockey, of course. Ben had several more opportunities to officiate some games and is feeling more confident every time. At first he wasn't sure where to stand, what to call etc.... Now, he mentioned that it might even help his hockey playing. Andrew and Ethan's team is doing better this year. They have already won more games than they did all of last year. Ethan has scored about 15 goals this season. Ben's team is struggling a little this year. He hasn't played that many games yet, so we will see how the season pans out.

Nadia took a gymnastics class at City hall this fall. She LOVED it! She has been doing cartwheels and handstands all over the house.

The weather has been really strange this December. We have very little snow, not even enough to cover the grass. Early in the month we had about a 1/4 inch that melted immediately. Nadia took advantage of it though and make a little "mountain" that lasted about 1 day.

The kids have been home from school for the whole week. This is a photo of Nadia and Ethan heading to school for their winter parties.

Finally a little more snow arrived on Thursday. This time maybe 1/2inch. The kids did their best to enjoy the little we had. Ethan and Nadia tried the sleds and we even broke out the skis from Oma & Opa. Unfortunantly, there was not really enough snow for winter fun. We actually gave up and headed to the Bowling Alley.

That was our December in a nutshell.

Sarah and Jason Christmas Cards

2011-11-28T12:00:00.000-06:00

My Sister -in- law asked me to make there Christmas Card. We took the photos on Thanksgiving. Here's the 3 choices that I am going to send her.

Card Template by Jen Martakis


I used Jen Martakis Holly Jolly Christmas Kit, and Fancy Frames and Mats.

Card Template by Jen Martakis

Advent

2011-11-27T18:29:00.001-06:00

The signs of Christmas are every where and today marks the first Sunday of Advent. We were all prepared to head to church, but the Van was DEAD! We knew that we needed to new battery, but it had not been cold and it had been working fine. Well, last night the temperatures dropped and the van battery dropped as well. Thank-you to AAA. They arrived in about 1/2 hour and actually replaced the battery for me right there in my garage. I probably paid a premium for that service, but it was Sunday and I had no desire to search for car mechanic to replace my battery. Well, we made it to church about 1 hour and 15 minutes late, which I did not think was to bad..

Ben decided we should have home church. We found a family Advent reading, which looks very good. Nadia has already started to color our daily symbols. We will be hanging our daily symbol on our tree branch that Ben found outside. IF you are interested, It can be found here.

Today's reading was Isaiah 11:1-2

The Branch From Jesse

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
   from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
   the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and of might,
   the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD

Today's Theme: Be Patient, God has a plan for you.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T22:55:00.001-06:00

11-11-11 happens once a century and to celebrate today, I took 11 photos (Well, I actually took many more, but only 11 that are worth sharing). I am plan to create a scrapbook page of what we did today, an ordinary day in 2011, a time capsule of sorts.

Today was a normal work day for Andrew and I, but the kids were home due to parent/ teacher conference this week. I had to work from 9am-12pm which left the kids just over 3 hours of alone time. We were prepared with a list of tasks and their video games. When I left for work, Ben was busy with his ipod, Ethan was busy watching Star Wars Videos on youtube and Nadia was busy "reading" stories with her leap pad.

I arrived home at lunch time and we planned our afternoon. Ethan went to play with his friend Cameron and Ben was heading to the pool with his friend Aaron. Nadia was feeling extremely left out, so we went to the pool as well.

We had a little time after the pool to finish up some homework and read. In Kindergarten, Nadia has been learning that you don't need to read words to enjoy "reading" books. She has become extremely interested in books and is beginning to sound out basic words. Her favorite books right now are "Fancy Nancy" and "Amelia Bedelia"

It was an absolutely perfect fall day. The sun was shining all day and we had temperatures in the 50s. Most of the trees has lost their leaves, but our maple out back still has many golden leaves.

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and grill some burgers for supper. We also had mixed veggies, chips and milk.

It was a rare Friday night that I did not have to work and we did not have to hurry to any activities.
We had time to play a game of Blokus. The boys always beat me, their brains must be more mathematical than mine. In fact, Nadia was in longer that me.... I'm afraid she was playing randomly, which means my brain really does not work for this game or the boys were intentionally trying to get me out.

Ethan and Andrew also spent some time working on making a glider for a school project.

After the kids went to bed, I worked on paying bills and other computer work. Andrew spent some time fixing a computer that we hope to start using soon. We had been looking for literally years, for a kitchen table and chairs that we look and can afford. Remember I am married to a designer...hence the time spent looking for the perfect design. Instead, we decided to update our living room chairs. Target had these chairs on their website for Cheap, Cheap, Cheap, so we bought 2. We really like the photo, I hope we like the quality when they arrive.

Finally, a Family photo taken immediately after supper had been cleaned off the table.

.

Now, off to bed to face tomorrow - 11-12-11.

Bruschetta Chicken Recipe Card

2011-11-07T21:01:00.001-06:00

I am slowing working on a few more recipe cards to add to our collection. This recipe is from the Hy-Vee Website. Andrew and I really enjoy it. The kids are not so keen on the rice, but they will eat it anyway. I used Jen Martakis' kit What's Cookin?

A note to my dear family..... please send me any recipes you would like added. I can't make any guarantees, but I will slowly work on them.. That means you Melissa! We want your Taco Salad and Cali-flower Salad secret!

Our Halloween

2011-11-02T22:11:00.001-05:00

We had an absolutely beautiful night to Trick-or-Treat, and what a great night we had.    Ben headed off with our neighbor to collect candy. He was sure we would slow them down.    Ethan, Nadia and I were joined by T Weber and had a great time.    Not to worry, our slow pace DID NOT hinder our candy gathering.   We ended the night with our bags full.

Here's a few shots of our costumes.

Nadia was a witch. She was asked several time if she was good or bad.   She could not decided and really did not understand what people were asking her.   When she figured it out, she decided to be a good witch. The boys thought she should take Zeke out with her, since he is a black cat.

Ben announced that this was Zeke's holiday, since it's a holiday for black cats.

Ethan dressed as a Star Wars Clone. I am going to have to ask which one. I can't remember. That's perfect for him, since we is really into Star Wars right now. He loves the books, but especially the Lego.

Ben was a Ninja, what boy doesn't love to slink around with their face covered and carrying a sword.

From one season to the next

2011-10-30T21:23:00.001-05:00

Today officially marks the end of fall sports and the beginning of winter sports. Unfortunately, the month of October is a month of overlap, so it's a little chaotic. I can't guarantee that life will slow down, but at least we can focus a little more.

All 3 played soccer this fall, with Coach Andrew also stepping in to help with the Kiddie Kicker level. Nadia loved having her Daddy as coach. He was given the team of all girls. It was a little challenging to manage all the giggling and gymnastic tricks. The girls had to be reminded they were playing soccer and not gymnastics. I give Andrew an "A" in the patience category.

Ethan played Ames Parks and Recreation. He was a little frustrated this season. There were only 3 teams in his age groups, so he played each team several times. His other complaint was that the competition was not very challenging. He was bored.

Ben had a very successful season with the Gilbert Soccer Club. He is looking forward to Spring season. He really had fun playing with new group of friends.

Saturday was the first hockey game of the season. It was Ethan and Andrew' first game. They played very well, but ending with a tie and a loss. They have high hopes for the season.

Ben decided to earn a little money this Hockey season. He took the USA hockey official class with his friend, Seth. Saturday was his first game. He was very nervous. The Referee-in-Chief for Ames Hockey came to help him. After the game, Ben expressed how hard it was. He was pretty sure that he did terrible. The Referee-in-Chief assured him that he did great for his first time. He spent some time after the game giving him some pointers. I hope Ben works a few more games to increase his confidence. He looks so cute in his official uniform.

The Tooth Fairy

2011-10-24T22:55:00.001-05:00

The tooth fairy made a visit to our house this week. This was Nadia's first lost tooth and she was super excited to have reached this milestone. She was even more excited in the morning when she found her dollar. She exclaimed, "The tooth fairy is real!" Maybe we should not have told her the truth about Santa Clause?!

Harvest

2011-10-17T21:52:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, the kids and I headed down to the farm, to enjoy a day of harvest. We have made it a bit of an annual tradition. They were working on beans; Jason was driving the combine and Grandpa was shuttling the beans to the storage bins. Here a few photos to summarize our day.

Ethan and Elijah stroll the field while waiting their turn in the combine.

Uncle Jay is the combine / chauffeur / driver.

After Uncle Jay fills the combine, he unloads to the grain cart, which unloads to the semi, which is sent to the farm to be unloaded in the storage bins.

Grandpa's jacket matches his semi-truck as he watches the beans unload.

The kids love to play in the grain. It's almost like the sand at the beach but better. Unfortunately, the grain cart fills the semi to full for safe play. I was really worried they were going to fall off the edge. I remember spending hours playing in the wagons that were 1/2 full. That's was before the big combine and grain cart.

Grandma and Aunt Sarah "shoot the breeze" while waiting to help move equipment to the other fields.

Sixteen years.

2011-10-02T21:51:00.001-05:00

Andrew and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this weekend. We didn't really plan ahead, as usual, but Andrew brought some flowers home after work (1/2 price! Thanks Groupon!), and we decided to leave the kids at home and head out for dinner. Little did we know it was parents day at ISU and every restaurant on Duff and beyond was packed full of college families having some quality family time, and leaving us with a 1/2 hr or more wait (we grew a little annoyed...). We started out trying Hickory Park, as we hadn't been there in a while, and who doesn't love their chocolate peanut butter shakes...and we ended up at Okoboji after trying several other places in between. Our last stop, before we bailed on the idea, was going to be Cafe Northwest, but 'Boji had a 15 minute wait. So we finally managed to find some food, and enjoy some time together.

We often find our anniversary a little difficult to celebrate in the midst of all our life's craziness, but I'm glad we took a few hours and did something together...after 16 years, we keep saying we'll take a "real vacation away together someday"...maybe we'll actually do that someday.

Spider

2011-09-27T22:21:00.002-05:00

We have a spider that has built a very large web just outside our kitchen window. We are all fascinated by him and completed gross out at the same time.   We have watched him build his web and kill many bugs over the past week.

It was been a little difficult to get a good photo of him.   He crawls around in his web when we get close and that scares all of us.   Ethan and I were able to get this photos the other night.   Ethan held a flashlight right at him in his web and I quickly snapped a few photos.

How long will he stay?   I can't answer that question.   No one has volunteer to remove him, so he's staying for now.   It's nice to have a little entertainment while we are washing dishes.

Crazy Life

2011-09-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

Wow. I can't begin to explain how crazy life has become since school has started.

I am teaching 12 credit hours this semester and also working my Athletic Training job for about 10 hours a week. I have been gone every evening for a couple of weeks. This Weekend I taught a continuing education class all weekend. In between my paying jobs. I am coordinating the family schedule and running kids to events.

All 3 kids are playing soccer this fall. I have only been able to watch Ben play and hope to catch a little action from the other 2 later this week. Ben has been playing for a Soccer Club team in Gilbert and has enjoyed the transition. His good friend Kyle is also playing on his team, so that has been great to share rides. Here in this picture he is playing against a friend from hockey. Ben and Kyle are in gray and Preston is in the Red Jersey.

Ben was also accepted to play in the 7th grade Jazz band. He is playing his Orchestra Bass and a Bass guitar. He thinks the guitar is way more fun. He's doing a great job. Jazz band is outside school hours, so that does require a little coordination.

Ethan is busy with Soccer as well. I hope to have a few photos later this week. He has also decided to play Cello in the 4th grade Orchestra. He had a really hard time deciding, but I think he has enjoyed it thus far.

Nadia has excelled in her first month of Kindergarten. She has made lots of new Friends, and is excited to go to school everyday. She is also playing soccer this Fall with Dad as her coach. More photos to come.

School Days

2011-08-23T22:17:00.000-05:00

We are about 1/2 through our first week of Back to School. All 3 are in school this year. Which is quite a change for me. The House has been quiet. I hope that means I can get more things accomplished during the day. That is yet to be seen, I tend to get a little distracted by shiny websites and glittery scrapbook pages.

B is in 7th grade and once again has a pretty full schedule. He is still playing the Bass for Orchestra, and Percussion for Band. He is also trying out for Jazz band where he hopes to play his bass or borrow the bass guitar from church.

He likes his teachers and has had a fairly light homework load. So far is biggest complaint is that school is dumb. What else could a 12 year old boy say.

He still takes the bus, which makes it super easy for me.

E is now in 4th grade. It's really had to believe that he has only 2 more years of elementary school. He really likes his teacher and I have heard great things about her from other people.

He is still reading, reading, reading. Often instead of completing his other chores, but I guess it could be worse.

He is disappointed that he will be walking to school this year instead of taking his bike. But he now has to walk his little sister to and from school. I suspect that will be his biggest challenge this year.

N is in Kindergarten! I can't describe to you how excited she was for her first day. The kindergarten has 2 days of meet the teacher before they come for the whole day. She did not need the time to transition. I wonder if the school district should consider a easy entry for the 7th graders. They seem to need more adjustment time!

She loves her new teacher and is making new friends. She is currently working on tying her shoes. She almost has it figured out.

I hope and pray that they all will have a great year.

By the way, I start teaching on Friday. I will have a heavy load with 12 credit hours. High school football is in full swing. So life is already busy.

90

2011-08-15T21:16:00.001-05:00

August 12,1921 - Cornelia Van Zee Vos was born.

August 12, 2011 She celebrated her 90th birthday with Friends and Family. We really enjoyed our afternoon and evening together as family. To explain the magnitude of this event, I will give you a few numbers.

10 children and spouses
30 grandchildren and spouses
25 great grandchildren with 2 more announced for early 2012

We are only missing about 7 from that total.
Our family also collected a few frequent flyer miles. We literally arrived from all over the world. Here's a few places:

London, England
Panama City
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Kentucky
Denver
Grand Rapids, MI

With many of us driving from parts of Iowa.

I can't really describe to you how much fun it was. I saw cousins that I had not seen in years. I met their spouses and children. I heard stories about their lives. We all told stories about Grandma and reminisced about how our lives very shaped by Grandma. It was extremely evident how much we all love this dear woman. Happy Birthday Grandma.


The 5 children

The children and spouses

Grandchildren and spouses


Great Grandchildren. I am not sure why B and P missed this photo.

Our family.

Dear Followers...

2011-08-15T16:46:00.000-05:00

Hello my dear Family, Friends and Followers,

As you can see, somewhere in late spring and early summer, I lost my interest in this blog. I am sure that is not a big surprise to you. Recently, I have heard from several of you that you miss my blog updates, and I am truly sorry. I have missed the way this blog has helped me keep track of my life.

I am hear to tell you that I am back. I can not guarantee a specific number of posts per week or other such craziness, but I will try to get little more regular with my posts.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Rosalie

Published

2011-06-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this book?

I have 2 layouts published in this book. I was pretty excited when they selected these pages about 1 year ago. I can finally share the pages with you.
On page 83, you will find this page:

On page 76, you will find this one:

Shutterfly photo books

2011-06-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

Back in January, I earned 2 free photo books from Shutterfly and Best Buy.
Needless to say, I had Grand intentions, but needed to quickly get those books finished since they expired on June 30. The first book is our 2010 year in review. I used Jessica Sprague's One Year templates to make this one quickly.

Click here to view this photo book larger

The second book is our family vacation from July 2010. We took a big trip to Ottawa Ontario. This book documents our days on the road.

Click here to view this photo book larger

May in Digital

2011-06-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

We had several big events is May. Ben's 12th Birthday, Nadia graduated from Preschool and Ethan ran is his first 5K. I was motivated to quickly capture these moments on a scrapbook page. The computer pages have been much easier for me right now. Paper pages seem to require more set-up and clean-up, but I do have several paper pages waiting for me to finish up.

Woodruff Design hosted it’s first annual 5K charity run, with the proceeds supporting local youth organizations. You and Dad decided to run for Ames Hockey. That morning at the run registration you found several hockey friends to run with and off you went. I was surprised to see you & your friend Sam rounding the corner to the finish line so soon. You finished your first 5K with a time of 26:38. Placing 50th out of 189 runners. You were incredibly proud of your finish & are already looking forward to next year. By the way, you left Dad in the dust. Congrats! I am proud of you.

Here's the page of the 12 year old. I used the digital template that I created from a Let's Scrap sketch. If you would like to have this template, See this post: let's scrap


You completed Pre-School on May 20,2011. United Preschool was an excellent choice for you this year. You had great teachers, made good friends and learned every thing you need to be a successful Kindergartener next year. Congratulations!

Ethan's Poem

2011-06-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks of school and the first few weeks of summer have gotten the best of me.

I will do my best to update you over the next several days.

I have been sorting through the piles of paper that arrived home the last few days of school. I ran across this little gem. Ethan's writing class worked on some poems. Several were published on the Raising Readers in Story county website.

This is Ethan's submission:

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T18:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers reading my blog. I hope you are having a great day.

Twelve

2011-05-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

Today is Ben's 12th Birthday. Only 1 more year before he enters the teenage years. OH BOY! Today were celebrated with Dinner at HY-VEE. He loves the all-you-can-eat salad bar. Later this week, we will invite a few friends over for a video game marathon. Here's a few photos of my 12 year old.

Let's Scrap template

2011-05-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

Let's scrap is celebrating National Scrapbook day with Several Challenges and lots of prices.
I have decided to create a digital template, to help my digi friends out there complete this challenge. You can find the template on 4share: Let's Scrap digital template
Here the original sketch created by Cheri:

Here's my digital template:

Please let me know if you found it useful. I hope to create a page with it later this week.

Easter celebrations

2011-04-25T22:14:00.000-05:00

I have not really figured out exactly why I love to watch the kids hunt for Easter Eggs. Maybe I just like to share in their anticipation and excited about what treasures lie within. Nadia's school hosts an annual Easter Egg hunt and pancake breakfast. Nadia really wanted to go and see all her friends. They school had obviously host this hunt before because they were very well organized. Each age group had it's own section to search with plenty of eggs, so everyone had plenty. Nadia and Ethan participated, but Ben was to old. It was really cold and windy, but the kids enjoyed the morning.

Sunday, Easter dinner was at our house. We had another Egg hunt for the little ones, while the big boys played Wiffle ball in the backyard.

The 5 year old gang (Ab turns 5 in 2 months), preparing to hunt.

Isn't she adorable?! Lila found an egg and was more interested in eating the jelly beans than looking for more eggs.

Great Grandma enjoyed watching the kids play.

Nadia on the hunt.

Digital Page share

2011-04-22T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a few pages that I have been working on the last few weeks. I have slowly been working through my digital scrapbook class from Jessica Sprague called Digi in Deeper. If you want to learn how to use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, this is the way to go! I love her classes and am always amazed how many things she teaches us in 1 page.

This page will look familiar. I previously posted this page with big fishy wings. Our assignment was to re-work a page that we were not satisfied with. I took off the fish wings and added a hint of other wings in the background. Definitely better, but it might still be missing something. What do you think?

The next few lessons were exploring free style. This style is a bit of a stretch for me, but here's what I did.

This page documents my trip to Nicaragua. I am standing on the top of a Mountain, completely amazed by the scenery and the gorgeous flowers.

Hockey is free style. Photos from this hockey season.

This page is from our summer vacation in 2009. I listed a few of the highlights of our trip. Winnipeggers will notice that is the actual Winnipeg sky line. Pretty cool, eh?

Celebrating 5

2011-04-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

Guess who's 5! yep, my baby girl turned 5 this week.

Here's a few things about Nadia at 5:
1. She loves to create. She is often coloring pictures and giving them us. She address each picture to someone, usually Mom or Dad and then signs her name.

2. She is very social and loves to make new friends. Her preschool teacher had to separate her from the group the other day, NOT because she was misbehaving, but because the other kids were fighting over sitting beside her. She tells me about a new friend almost everyday.

3. She love clothes and will often change several times a day. I know, we are in big trouble when she reaches the tween years.

4. She enjoys playing outside, especially riding her bike.

5. She is very loving. She is always full of hugs and kisses.

Canvas Mini Album

2011-04-07T13:29:00.000-05:00

I spend many hours, (more than I will admit to you publicly,) on the internet looking at all the amazingly talented people out there and the projects that have completed. I have decided to periodically share something with you that has caught my eye. Maybe you can be Wowed / inspired as well.

Today I ran across this cute canvas mini album. I was drawn to the fact that this mini album would combine more than just paper and glue, but actually use many crafty skills. Sewing, embroidery and Scrapbooking. I was considering how cute this would be for a baby gift. What about an album honoring a grandparents or a Mother's day mini album? (I won't even attempt to complete one by this Mother's day) What ideas do you have, I would love to hear them .

Scrapbooks etc. magazine has many more photos, along with the sewing instructions.

Create A Canvas Mini Album

Rosalie

Hints of Spring

2011-04-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Spring is hiding just around the corner and it peeked out this weekend, but went back into hiding for the week.

Saturday and Sunday were absolutely beautiful and we took full advantage.

On Saturday, we went for a bike ride around the lake. This was Nadia's first time on the tag-along bike. She was a bit apprehensive at first, but caught on quickly. She had a great time following behind Dad. Ben tested out his bigger bike. We bought him a bigger bike at the end of last summer, but he had not really had a chance to try it out.

On Sunday, I took the boys to the Disc Golf course. It was almost hot outside, with temperatures in the 70s.

Monday morning was a different story. Today was windy and down right cold after the beautiful weekend. We really can't complain because Spring is almost here. It's a promise: While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

scrapbook share

2011-03-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

Supplies: Bazzill Cardstock, Fancy Pants Patterned paper, Paper studio Brads, American Crafts Thickers. Miscellaneous buttons and black twine.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned paper, Visual Designs by Chris die cut. Stampin up glaze, Paper studio Chipboard, CTMH metal edge tags. Miscellaneous Buttons.

Digi in deeper class. Assignment #2. The original assignment had big wings on the page. I found fishy fins, but I don't know it I will keep them that way.

iLearn

2011-03-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

Something that I have discovered about myself over the last few years, it that I love to learn. I especially love to learn in a classroom setting with other around me. But taking classes is not very cost effective and does not often fit into my schedule, Maybe that's why I enjoy teaching...... .

I have discovered that taking online classes can give me the same pleasure as sitting in a classroom and it's more convenient. In fact, I can listen to the lesson while cooking dinner. So needless to say, I am some what addicted to taking online scrapbook classes. I love the message boards to connect with other classmates, to see and hear their perspectives is always inspiring. I love the daily messages to inspire me along in my creative journey. They are always full of ideas for pages, journaling and of course the photos. I don't have time everyday to head downstairs and create scrapbook pages, but I do have time to spend at the computer. Funny eh? I find these classes help me to think about what my next project might be what little things I can do to make my craft time more productive. I often write several ideas on scraps of paper and let them brew around in my brain for several days. I would like to say that my words are more meaningfully and my pages are better.

I especially love the classes that give you a layout, & then take you step by step through the layout, so you learn the process. So great to learn and have a completed page at the end of the process. So today, I thought I would share a few of my favorite classes sites. I would love to hear from you. Where do you go to learn new things?

This is the first class that I have taken from Shimelle. I am really enjoying it so far. I think I will check out her other classes when I am finished here.

I love, love love Jessica's Classes. I think that I have taken almost everyone that she offers. They are all fantastic. She has a great way of taking a complex task and breaking it down. I highly recommend her classes if you are thinking about learning more about digital scrapbooking.

My first Ali Edwards class. I have always love Ali's simple style. This class has really taught me to focus on my stories and photos. She encourages the students not to get to hung up on making the pages perfect. It's a great reminder that every page does not have to be award winning.

Two peas offers some great classes and many of them are Free

Photography Tips: Pixels, Resolution, Format & Memory Cards

2011-03-21T16:02:00.000-05:00

I ran across this article at the peppermint creative blog.
It explains some basic photo principles. It was a good reminder of the concepts. The article was well written, with enough details to help you understand, but not to technical to lose you. Check it out.

Photography Tips: Pixels, Resolution, Format & Memory Cards
Article by: Sarah Harbuck.

A day at the Farm

2011-03-18T22:10:00.000-05:00

Spring Break is a great time to leave the city and head to the farm. The kids and I traveled the 1 1/2 hours down to the farm. We spent Thursday and Friday with Grandpa and Grandma.

I spent most of the time sorting through old photos. I found this task very enjoyable and it sparked some memories for me to use in my Yesterday and Today class. My mom and I also found about 800 slides. Yeah 800! We decided to have the local store scan those to a CD so we could have digital copies. I am excited to see what treasures await in those 800 photos.

The kids were thrilled to have their cousins join them. My sister also had 2 boys and then a girl, so the kids are perfect playmates for each other.

The boys were outside all day. Thankfully they were hungry and needed to eat, otherwise, I don't think we would have seen them all day. They jumped the big round hay bales, and "helped" Jason with his cows. I can't say they were much help, but they go to see several brand new calves and watched the dogs round up the rodeo bulls for the rodeo tomorrow. The dogs are about the only ones that can round up those bulls. They actually frighten me a little.

Uncle Jason also has a new puppy. He was really cute following the boys around the yard. His name is Stetson.

The little girls wondered in and out of the house pretty regularly. They got to play with the newly weaned pigs before they were moved. Nadia jumped right in and showed no fear, until they wiggled and squealed to get down.

They also had some time to play games with Great Grandma. They played the memory matching game. Great Grandma was at a distinct disadvantage. The conversation actually went something like this:

Great Grandma: " Wow looked at you girls. You have such smart little brains."
Nadia: "Yeah, Great grandma, What happened to your brain?"

I was about to correct Nadia for being so rude to Great Grandma, but Grandma responded quickly with, " I don't know, I must have left it at Maple Ridge" Maple Ridge is her commmunity living home. We laughed so hard and the girls agreed that Great Grandma must have left her brain at home. The final results of memory were: Nadia 19, Anna 13 and Great Grandma 2.

We were exhausted after spending 2 days and this photo basically summarizes our time: Out for the whole trip home.

Scrapbook pages

2011-03-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

I have had a few moments in the last couple weeks to work on a few scrapbook pages. I am taking 2 online classes that have been fun, although, I don't recommend taking 2 classes at a time. First, I am taking Yesterday and Today by Ali Edwards at Big Picture Scrapbooking. This class was designed to tell my stories. Childhood stories and stories of today. I really am enjoying Ali approach to getting the stories told. She asked us to focus on the Words and the Photos. She gives us an option to go completely paper or digital and I am thinking I will do a little of both. Here's my title page layout, this is completely digital.

I am heading home tomorrow to see what other fun photos I can round up for this project.

The Second class that I am taking is from Jessica Sprague. I have taken all her class and love everything about them. Digi in Deeper is her 4th class in the series. She is great a leading her students through each project until we reach the light bulb moment. Here's my first layout for this class.

Obviously the classes have very different styles, but I am really enjoying both of them.

I have also had a little time to paper scrap.

This page was for the March Sketch Challenge at Visual Designs by Chris. Supplies: Pagemaps sketch
Scrapworks rub ons
Technique Tuesday, CTMH, and Autumn leaves stamps
Visual designs by Chris die cuts.

A card using some old Cosmo Cricket scraps

Used the brand new Simple Stories Travel kit.

Supplies: Basic Grey patterned paper, The cat die cut is by Ginny's happy cuts. You make me smile http://www.paperthreads.com/store/in...oducts_id=3275
The title was Rub ons by American Crafts.

Nicaragua

2011-02-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

The first week of February, Ben and I were given the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua on a mission trip with my Parents. My parents have been involved with Partners World wide in their Farmer to Farmer program for almost 10 years. In fact, the photo on the home page at their website is my Dad. This program works with Nicaraguans in a land bank program. The organization purchases the land and gives it to the farmer with the idea that they farmers will make payments to eventually own their own piece of land. Partners works with several local Christian agencies to provide education and training to help the farmer be successful. The purpose of our trip was to visit and encourage the farmers in their daily tasks. We hiked many trails to see the farmer's homes, families and crops. Each farmer was extremely proud of their little piece of God's creation. I can't begin to tell you all the stories from the week, but here are some photos to capture a few.


Once we finally arrived in Managua, we had lunch at Papa Johns. Interestingly enough, it was pretty much exactly like the North American version.


Ben and Grandpa are standing next to Masaya, an active volcano. Currently, the volcano is rumbling, gurgling and releasing sulfur gases.

We spent most of the week up in the mountains. The scenery was amazing and the weather was a perfect 85 - 90 degrees

The mountain roads were another story. We drove at least an hour everyday to get from our guest house up to the farms. The roads were more like trails with rocks, ruts and the occasional stream

The restroom of choice at the farms. I must admit, that I have been in campgrounds with pit toilets dirtier than theses.

Ben took a photo of me after we had hiked up to a farm. The view was spectacular.

hiking the trails to visit a farm.

A typical farmer's home. 1 room with a tin roof, dirt floor and hammock hanging from the ceiling for their beds.

Ben gets to help grind coffee at the Mombachito coffee farm.

Our group stands and listens as a farmer describes what he been doing with his farm.

Our translator / interpreter Freddie is wearing orange. He has the hardest job of the week. A Nicaraguans like to hear themselves talk. Freddie often put his hands to his head and said, "they keep repeating themselves" or "I missed most of that"

Ben had a great time playing with the kids. This is Michael.

A soccer game in the pasture. It's a miracle, but Ben did not get cow poop on his shoes or clothes.

A little game of leap frog.

The kids caught a gecko. Notice that Ben is holding it's tail in his hand. Their defense is to lose their tails if they are pulled on.

Howler Monkeys

yellow beard snake. You can see it's head hanging down in the tree, with its body up on the other branches. It's green and yellow and matches the foliage perfectly. The Nicaraguans were very nervous, warning us to get back. This photo was taken by my dad, not me, I'm to big of a whimp.

If a Nicaraguan has enough food to feed their family, they will sell the extra in the market. This is a meat stand. They sell everything. Heads, feet etc.

a small vegetable stand.

I hope that gives you a little glimpse into the amazing week that we had in Nicaragua. If you are a coffee drinker and would like to try some Nicaraguan coffee straight from the Mombachito farm. Please let me know. We are selling them for 7 dollars per bag.

Family Newsletter

2011-01-24T21:25:00.000-06:00

I refuse to call this our Christmas letter as most people would. Our family newsletter seems to come a little later every year. In fact, this year I will send it with a little Valentines' love :) Here's a digital copy, I would love to tell you that the paper copy is in the mail. But that would be a very large lie. Truth is, it's on my to do list. I suggest you print this version.

Week # 3 January 16-23

2011-01-23T22:15:00.000-06:00

Hockey weekend. This is a photo of Ethan

Nobody likes this job. Cleaning the cat box.

Ethan's first time back to the hill where he broke his collar bone a year ago.

Monday was a school holiday. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful winter day.

Basketball is in full swing for me. Currently the RS girls are ranked 2nd in the state.

The temperature dropped this week. Notice the temperature -5.

We finally had a free Friday evening. We spent it in the pool.

Nadia figured out how to kick with the kick board. She was so proud.

Our Week in Photos Week 1 & 2

2011-01-15T21:59:00.001-06:00

Here's our first 2 weeks of January in Photos:

Celebrated the beginning of 2011 with a little cream soda in Beer bottles.

Found this coneflower enduring the cold, wind and snow. They make a nice photo.

I asked Ben to take a photo of Ethan, this was the result. At least the Bananas are in focus.

We love these crackers. I'm not sure they are really any healthier than chips. Nadia took this photo.

Back to work. It's wrestling season

A little hockey. Ben scored a hat trick against Iowa City.

Another Hockey shot of Ben

Zeke is searching for Fresh Water, He decided to check out Nadia's bath.

Time to grind the Christmas ham and Freeze it.

Ethan's Birthday.

Ethan's Birthday

2011-01-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

Ethan turned 9 today. We went to bed with the promise of a snow storm. We awoke to about 5-6 inches of snow, but not enough to cancel school. He was happy to have a 2 hour delay, but a little disappointed that he was not given a snow day for a birthday present. Since today was a school day, we celebrated his birthday on the weekend. He invited 2 friends to spent the night. We ate pizza, played his new lego game and watched the movie "Despicable Me".

Here's a few photos of his day.

He can be so silly sometimes

Lighting the candles on his cake

Sorry, this photo has a terrible shadow.

2010 in Photos

2011-01-03T22:24:00.000-06:00

Life got the best of me this fall, and I did not keep up with my daily photos. So today, I went back through my photos and updated with what I had. Here's a link for you. Daily photos 2010

For 2011, I have decided not to be intentional about 365 photos. I found that posting daily photos took to much time and I neglected sharing on my blog. So my goal for 2011 is to share once a week with words and photos. I enjoy sharing the photos with you, but I hope this lessens my computer time.

Christmas Day

2011-01-03T21:32:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas Day in Oskaloosa. My Mom was hosting Christmas dinner. My Aunt Pauline and Uncle Rod were there. Their 2 girls, with their families were also there. It was so nice to re-connect with that family. We ate lots and played cards and dominos. Grandpa even took us sledding. As you can see from the photos, we had a little help from John Deere. So it was not your ordinary sledding hill. It was tons of fun! Another benefit to growing up on the farm. Nadia will tell you the Grandpa pulled us with a tractor, which at first is a little frightening. But she will also tell you, "it's the little one, not the big ones" Thank-you for that!

Christmas Week Part 2

2010-12-30T22:36:00.000-06:00

The weekend celebration was at a hotel with a water park. We really had a great time, enjoying each other and the water slides. Here's a few of my favorite photos:

The 3 musketeers

Little fishy Sienna

Ethan and Elijah

Ben and Payson

Ethan did a great job watching Sienna when Rachel needed a little break and Sienna loved to follow him around. Sooo Cute.

Big boys make big splashes.

Uncle Jason leg length made the slide a little difficult. He almost got stuck a few times.

Christmas Week Part 1

2010-12-29T20:41:00.000-06:00

We have had a wonderful Christmas season. I have taken lots of photos and have lots of photos to share. I titled this part 1 because I suspect to add part 2, 3 or maybe 4. I will start with the most recent and work my way backwards.

We spent the weekend celebrating my Parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary. We had a family photo shot and a lovely dinner.


For Better or Worse... My parents after 40 years of marriage.We had a great time reminiscing about all those times good and bad.

My siblings. We were responsible for lots of good times and a few not so good times. We learned that the Pella Christian Principal called home for everyone except Jason. WHAT?! We decided he must have given up on the Vos kids.


My family

Rachel's family - Tito. He had just started a new job as a flight attendant and was busy flying the world.

Michael's Family

Melissa's Family

Jason and Sarah

The 10 Grand kids

The whole crzay bunch of us!