2007 09 22 movie clip part II

Warning: You'll want to reach for a tissue within the first 5 seconds of this one, (and some hand sanitizer as well).

2007 09 22 Movie clips

After my mistake at the gardens the other day, I realized I can take a decent length video clip with my digital camera. So I took it out this morning with fresh batteries and got a couple of clips of the little ones on their bikes. This one is Haylee just as sassy as she can be. The one above has pretty good footage of both of them, and at the end I learned something else, I am limited to keeping the camera straight on...I'm learning so please forgive me, but they are still cute, up and down or sideways!

2007 09 21 Traffic Jam

 

Some people would caption this photo as "butting heads" but I see it as "traffic jam on Warden Street". During the summer I'd take the kids out to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards, whatever we had on hand early in the morning. I thought this was so cute of Trevor and Haydan both wanting the "fast" lane. I wish we could have spent most of the days outside but I just couldn't handle the heat, even though it really was a very mild summer. I'm so excited about today being the last official day of summer. It means much more time outside with the little ones, and they thrive on it.

I worked on another digital layout last night but my head is not in it. I will give myself a few days and try again, I seem to have forgotten almost everything I've already learned so it's a painfully slow process for me.

2007 09 17 Haydan's layout

 

2007 09 17

This layout is of Haydan after one of Trevor's baseball games this summer. I think it just allows his character to shine right through.

I am going to post a layout of each of the grandkids (so the boys don't get jealous of Haylee). Haylee will end up with the most digital layouts because I got my digital camera shortly after she was born and chose not to print many of her photos til I got "caught up" on all the other photos I had. So there are pages and pages of paper layouts of the boys but very few of her. Plus she is my girl and she happens to be gorgeous, so there you go.

2007 09 16 The little ones

Just wanted to post a couple of things from yesterday. Richard found a couple of things at a garage sale for Haydan and Haylee and gave them to them yesterday when they came home from visiting their mom. Richard gave them their toys while I was outside but I could hear their squeals of delight from outside and knew what he'd done. For Haylee he found a Vtech phonics toy that looks like a computer keyboard and she was "typing" away on it. He got Haydan a Buzz Lightyear ship and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle van with 3 of the figures and lots of accessories. They played with these toys the rest of the evening. The thing I wanted to post was Haydan's response to Richard. Richard told me that Haydan gave him a big hug and told him "you're the best PaPa ever". I know Haydan doesn't realize the difference between garage sale toys and new ones, but in his heart his Papa had given him the biggest and best prize ever. Haydan had been disappointed earlier in the day by someone else, and his Papa sure made up for it.

The day before Haylee asked me again to roll up the tape measurer for her. She loves that thing and drags it around all the time, but she likes me to roll it for her everytime she thinks about it. After several sessions of rolling it for her I told her she's going to need to learn how to do it herself pretty soon. She immediately responded with "First, I have to be a nanny!" I loved thinking of what was going on in her little head when she said that.

They are so precious and I am so thankful I get to spend so much time with them. I wish I had been keeping a blog all these months of all the wonderful things that have happended with them.

I got to go to Hunter's football game yesterday. I do regret I wasn't as focused on him playing or spending time with Trevor as I should have been. I learned a friend was on the verge of death while I was there, and her death is painfully reminiscent of my mother's last days so I was feeling a lot of grief. I kept reminding myself of the end of her suffering, and the joy in heaven when she arrives, but I kept feeling the pain of the loss of my mom. Mom died 16 years ago, but I still miss her so much. I know she's showing those angels how to have a good time, and when Jacquie gets there, I'm sure her and Mom will get along just fine.

2007 09 14 Haylee

Just wanted to add another of my first layouts here, this is the very first digital layout I did. It was a quick page which means all I had to do is drop a photo into it. Simple, you say! Not if you've never used photoshop before. I spent part of 2 different days playing with it til I learned how to size and layer. I was about to quit and go away mad, but I finally got it and I love it.

Haylee was simply stunning on this trip to the gardens, so many people just stopped and watched her and many people thought she was part of a wedding party. She loved being dressed up and responded to everyone as though she was a little princess and granted them all such beautiful smiles. This shot was at the end of the day and she was just so tired, but her beauty still shines through.

2007 09 12 Stealing Cinderella

Stealing Cinderella, lyrics by Chuck Wicks

I came to see her daddy for sit down man to man
It wasn't any secret I'd be asking for her hand
I guess that's why he left me waiting in the living room by myself
with at least a dozen pictures of her sitting on a shelf
- Chorus -
She was playing Cinderella
She was riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad,
looking up at him
In her eyes I'm Prince Charming
But to him I'm just some fella
riding in and stealing Cinderella

I leaned in towards those pictures to get a better look at one
When I heard a voice behind me say "Now, ain't she something, son?
I said "Yes, she quite a woman"and he just stared at me
Then I realized that in his eyes she would always be

Playing Cinderella
Riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him
In her eyes I'm Prince Charming
But to him I'm just some fella
riding in and stealing Cinderella

He slapped me on the shoulder
Then he called her in the room
When she threw her arms around him
That's when I could see it too

Playing Cinderella
Riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him

If he gives me a hard time
I can't blame the fella
I'm the one who's stealing Cinderella


This is a new song I heard this week. I am not a dad, but I sure do feel these emotions when I look at my granddaughter, and both of my daughters. My two daughters have gone off with their Prince Charmings, but any fella that comes along for my youngest, my little granddaughter, well, he's going to have a tough time getting her away from me til I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that he really is Prince Charming and not a wolf in disguise.

2007 09 12 Children learn what they live

This is a layout using the same photo that I uploaded in honor of Grandparents day. It's a digital layout I worked on a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty happy with it as it was one of my very first layouts that wasn't a quickpage. I didn't keep up with the credits for all the products but I can look them up if anyone needs them, I just wanted to post this to show the what a little scrapping can do for a photo. Like they say "A picture says a thousand words" and I could write a thousand words on all the thoughts this image provokes in me, but I'll leave that for another day - it is very late. Also just wanted to mention that the little ones have been so much better since our awful Sunday. After reading several other people's blogs, this weekend was rough for a lot of families so it must have been an atmospheric thing....

2007 09 11 Botanic Gardens

Today was our first mild day in awhile so I took the little ones to the Botanic Gardens. We had a great day. This shot is towards the end of our day, and of course, my batteries died right after it, but I love the feel of this shot. It's almost like the kids are locking us up to keep everyone away. Along a path after you enter these gates is a hollow pecan tree that is over 200 years old. We found it one time when Tiffany was much younger. I have a picture of her in it with her cousins, Mandy and Chris. I was thrilled to find it still standing, and hoped to get shots of these little ones in it but they decided it was a monster tree and wouldn't get close to it. So I didn't feel quite so bad about leaving extra batteries in the car. We will go back and I hope to entice them into the tree with some stories of fairies or elves or a little squirrel family. It will take some convincing though, I'm afraid, because they made up so many scarey stories about tree on our walk out, they may not even want to see that tree again.

The video clip was an accident, I thought I was in "portrait" mode and couldn't figure out why the picture didn't take. It also explains why my batteries didn't last as long as I expected them to.

2007 09 09 Grandparents day

My dad with the two little ones in honor of Grandparents Day.


What in the world is up with my two little ones? Yesterday we went to watch my two oldest grandsons playing flag and tackle football. These two little ones did not enjoy it in the least, and they got attacked by ants as we went from one game to the other. The fields are so big they couldn't make out their cousins, and on top of that, they just didn't want to be that close to a playground and not get to use it. So they were not happy yesterday. Then today their mom went to work early so I had them all day and they were pushing my teeny tiny nerves all day. From the moment they got up til I got them in bed, it has been me or them most of the day. They woke up cranky and I could sense it was going to be a long day so, rather than fight with them all day I just gave in to it and took them to the mall. We had lunch there and then headed to the kids' court where they could play to their hearts' content and I could keep an eye on both of them without feeling like I might loose one of them. They both move so fast, I fear taking them out in public much when I'm alone. They are not wild kids, but they do get excited and distracted and it's just really hard at my age and in my health to keep a hold on both of them - especially getting them in and out of the car. So, we don't do things like this very often, and when we do, I always make sure we go somewhere that has some confining structure like a fence or a wall, something so if one does go astray I can catch them before the other heads off in another direction.

They had a good two solid hours of playing, jumping, climbing and sliding on all the different toys in the court. Then we went to Wal-mart to buy them bicycle helmets. Now mind you, they have been very good since we got in the car to go to the mall and the whole time we were there they were so well-behaved but when we got home they became little demons again. I had hoped to let them ride their bikes when we got home and apparently that is all they wanted to do as well because nothing made them happy the rest of the day. It rained while we were in Wal-Mart and of course, I couldn't let them play outside when we got home so it was a miserable evening. I have never been so glad to see bedtime come since I've had them.

They are usually such sweet and gracious kids, I just have to believe there is something in the air bothering them. They have each had times where they have been hard to handle, but never like today and certainly never both of them at the same time and for most of the day like today. I hate to say this, but I sure look forward to getting to go in to work tomorrow. Their mom is working a day shift so my daughter-in-law, Mary, has agreed to keep them for me so I can keep a committment to go in to work for a bit. I am just wishing it was time to go already. I have felt so stressed with them today, I just really need to get away for a few hours.

Here's to a brighter day tomorrow. And sunshine so they can ride their bikes with their new helmets (or "hats" as they have been calling them.)

2007 09 06 "The Greatest"

Just thinking about the grandkids and Kenny Rogers song "I am the Greatest" came to mind. While I was thinking about it , I looked it up, found the lyrics (below) and then I found this great video on youtube. I love the song, I was wishing it was my boys in the video, but when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter whose boy it is when they are playing ball, each and every one of them is "THE GREATEST". I hope my grandchildren never loose this perspective of their abilities. The photo is of Hunter when he was pitcher on his T-Ball team "Yankees" about 2 years ago.





Kenny Rogers - I Am The Greatest Lyrics

little boy in a base ball hat
stands in the feild
with his ball and bat

says i am the greatest

player of them all
puts his bat on his sholder
and tosses up his ball

and the ball goes up and the ball comes down
swings his bat all the way around
the world so still you can hear the sound
the baseball falls to the ground

now the little boy doesn't say a word
picks up his ball he is undeterred
says i am the greatest there has ever been
and he grits his teeth
and he trys it again

and the ball goes up and the ball comes down
swings his bat all the way around
the world so still you can hear the sound
and the baseball falls to the ground

he makes no excuses
he shows no fear
he just closes his eyes and listens to the cheers

little boy he adjusts his hat
picks up his ball
stares at his bat

says i am the greatest the game is on the line
and he gives his all one last time

and the ball goes up the moon so bright
swings his bat with all his might
the world's is still as still can be
and the baseball falls
and that's strike three

now it's supper time and his mama calls
little boy starts home
with his bat and ball

says i am the greatest that is a fact
but even i didn't know
i could pitch like that

says i am the greatest that is understood
but even i didn't know
i could pitch that good

2007 09 04 A New Adventure - Blogging

Collecting and salvaging lost items is something I remember from very early in my childhood. I used to pick up matchbooks anywhere I'd find them, and the little comic wrappers from other kid's bubble gum. I didn't understand why people would just toss those away. So I picked them up and I saved them. That seems to be where it all started, and now it's grown into a scrapbook hobby that has taken over one room of my house and could easily invade the entire home if not for the grandchildren.

Right now I have 2 grandchildren living with me. They have been a source of joy immeasurable, and also the reason I'm often up late at night. At normal bedtime, around here it's usually 10:30 pm, I will be so tired I can't stay awake. I won't go to bed til I know these little people are asleep, so while they are chatting and winding down after their bath and stories, etc., I come into the craft room, (where I can still hear them) and browse the internet til they are safe and sleeping. Well, many nights, like tonight, it took them two hours to finally unwind so now I'm wide awake and couldn't go to sleep now if I had to. So the blog seems like a good idea.

I mentioned the craft room earlier. It is full of paper scrapping supplies that haven't been touched since March of this year. I knew I wouldn't be able to scrapbook as I had in the past with the two little ones staying here and I was more than willing to let it set to the side while I focused on them and their needs, but all these ideas and layouts and embellishments just keep calling out to me. My logical side says - don't get that stuff out cause the kids will tear it up and it will just be a source of anger for you. My creative side wants it all out in the open so I can touch it and feel it and play with it every spare second. My logical side is much stronger than my creative side so everything has stayed boxed up just like it was when I came home from my last scrapping retreat before the kids moved home...but my creative side found an outlet!

Digital scrapping. What a life saver. A dear friend had suggested it when her daughter got into it, but after seeing her daughter's work, I was so intimidated I wouldn't even consider taking it up. I did, however, start reading her blog and envying her creations until finally one day I went to one of the sites she referred to and what did I find but a "tutorial". Photoshop has been on my computer ever since I've had one, but I never even learned how to crop a photo in it, it was so complicated to me. I was given a photoshop manual by my brother who knows how much I love photography (he built my computer and installed the programs) and still, pure panic is the only way to describe how I felt just opening that program. But as I wandered around a few of the sites, I realized what they called a "quick page" had to be pretty simple, and low and behold there was a tutorial to walk you through a quick page with the very same program I happened to have on my computer. Well, what do you know? I did a layout. It wasn't bad. I had been collecting freebies from a newsletter, never even knowing how to use them, but I am a collector and these were FREE so why not? I cannot tell you how many I had or how long it took me to open them all, ( or how embarrassed I was to even learn there's a way to unzip without clicking on each and every item in a file....oh my my my!). Well, I have found a creative outlet that I can access in the evening hours while the little ones are heading off to dreamland. All my paper products are boxed up and will remain so until I can 1) return to them and scap without little helpers, 2) pass them on to someone else that will use them or 3) teach these little one's how to safely use a paper trimmer.


Anyway, I'm going to see if I can post some of the layouts I've done here. Now I've found several sites that offer challenges and even prizes and I'm considering getting my feet wet but first I want to see if I can manage a blog. So here goes....

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