Beaming With Pride.

So the other night, my sister (younger by 15 months) went to an 80's-themed birthday party.

My sister? Mother of three. Gymnastics coach. And just downright fun and cool. Growing up, my dad always encouraged us to go ALL OUT when dressing up. And still to this day, my sister (shown in the green top and pink glasses) does not disappoint!

They decided to go out to a club to dance and act crazy. There happened to be a radio station there. Here they are with the DJ guy:

And my sister with the birthday girl and her best friend.

Another one with the DJ... he thought my sister was too cool. LOL.

Then she joined a booty-shaking contest...

And won. :-)

Man, my sister is cool! I'm so proud. :-)

*Pictures taken by 103.3KISS FM Idaho. And her friend, Maranda. :-)

Visiting with Family.

So last week, I went home to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It.Was.A.Madhouse.

Back row: Dack (brother), Nikki (his wife), Mairen (sister's daughter, held by her dad),

Tony (Shaina's husband), Dad (Bob), Jeremy (hubby). Middle row: Gauge (bro's son, held by Shaina),

Shaina (sister), Mom (Dawn), Cullen (bro's son), Raina (adopted sister), me.

Front row: Alaura (sister's daughter Twin A), Reysa (bro's daughter), and Brenna (sister's daughter Twin B).

30 hours of driving

20 people heard some awesome news ;-)

11 friends visited

10 adults (living together...)

9 total days

6 children (sleeping in one room? Yikes!)

5 meltdowns (by me... tee hee)

4 cans of black olives (ew)

3 dogs

2 houses

2 puppies

1 kitten

My brother was there... along with his wife and two kids and one baby and one Rottweiler/Pitbull and one chihuahua.

My sister was there... along with her husband and three kids and one puppy and one kitten (who actually came home with us to live with Jeremy's parents... yes, we planned that).

My parents were moving from a house to a condo, seven miles away. (How cool is it that they had ALL of their kids to move for them!? I don't think they had to pack or unpack one box! LOL. Yes, we *are* great kids. ;-) )

Their dog had just died, but Mom thought THIS would be the perfect weekend to bring home a new puppy. Umm... notsomuch.

Here is Nala (age 11 mos.) with our Ruby.

And we arrived (before the rest of the bunch, actually)... Jeremy, his dad, and I, along with our Baby Ruby in tow.

Oh.My.Goodness.

It was probably one of the craziest weeks of my LIFE.

We brought my sister's twins to camp, which was super fun! What was funny... the math teacher Shaina and I had in high school? His youngest *daughter* was in Alaura and Brenna's camp! AND they got to be good friends! LOL. Too funny. I really wanted to get a photo, but they were all running around like wild banshees.

That little boy in the tye-dye was the camp speaker's son,

and he LOVED trying to get into all our photos. LOL.

Shaina's girls. I SO did not get to spend enough

time with them (because of camp). I may have to fly out to Idaho this fall. :-)

Mairen and I, however, did get some quality gluten-free time together. ;-)

I was stressed, queasy, moody, hormonal, and happy. It was WEIRD. And I heard crazy things come out of my mouth like...

"Don't eat that entire can of olives in one sitting!"

"NOOOO! Don't let the baby do belly flops off the foot of the bed!"

"Dack, wait! Don't pull the baby out of the doggy door until I get a picture!"

"Did that neighbor's dog just attack your chihuahua?"

and then a few minutes later....

"Could you PLEASE keep your dog inside, so it doesn't attack another one of our animals?!"

"No, I *won't* stop being so opinionated! .... but I'll try my best to keep my opinions to myself." (tee hee)

"If I ever have a boy, I want him to be just like Gauge!"

"What?! We haven't taken a picture of the three of us since like... 2002?! GAH! Let's take lots!" (Dad has the crazy-silly photo of us three Klein kids. I'll have to get a copy of that one. It's too fun!)

Phew. Next time, Jeremy and I will be getting a hotel. LOL. It was fun to see the family though! And I'm so glad I got some pictures! Finally! :-)

Ah. It's so good to be home.

Six Weeks.

Anywho, just made my Jell-O. Man, that is like the best fifty cents spent, in my opinion!

I'm six weeks today!

1. So... I'm tired. Really tired. I want to sleep all day, every day. This JUST started on Saturday. LOL. Going to the kitchen... is taxing. LOL.
2. I didn't start having nausea until yesterday. But I did a lot of research on ways to curb throwing up, and so far... it's working. Tea (ginger, raspberry leaf, nettles), cheddar cheese, milk and Rice/Corn Chex. Seriously, i was ABOUT to get sick yesterday... I was just sitting on the bathroom floor, taking deep breaths and waiting, hoping not to get sick, eating this stuff, and it worked! For now...
3. I have this INSATIABLE hunger! It is CRAZY! I think I've gained like 6 pounds, which actually, my midwife says, is awesome... LOL. I'm also drinking a gallon (NOT exaggerating) of water/milk per day.
4. I have 2-3 cravings every day, but they usually change. They have been: steak, spinach, chicken, sharp cheddar cheese (but NOT mild... ew, makes me sick to think about it... LOL), cantaloupe, grapefruit, apples, more steak, more chicken, nachos (chips made from scratch), and milk. I crave milk EVERY day. Which is very strange for me. LOL. I like it.
5. Aversions to sweets or any kind of dessert. Thinking about dessert or anything containing sugar makes me feel like being sick. Apparently, that means I'm getting enough protein, so woohoo!
6. Met with the midwife last night, and she's gonna run a bunch of blood work in two weeks. I'm not having my first u/s until I'm 3-4 months (we decided on this number together)... hopefully, if we wait this long, we can find out how many babies, since my sister didn't find out till FIVE months that she was having TWINS! And she'll run blood work, check all my levels, etc. once a month. I'll probably only do two u/s if everything is on track and healthy.
7. We don't want to find out the sex of the baby. We want a surprise.
8. I don't think I'll be sharing names, but I can share names I like, but he *doesn't* want to use! LOL. So we won't be using the names: Schuyler (original pron. of Skyler), Bridget, Lila, Grace, and Evangeline. That's all I can think of now. LOL.

*Sorry this post was so long. I'm just excited, and it's SO hard not being able to talk to my parents and all my IRL friends yet! LOL.

Celebrating 29 Years.. for both of us!

On July 30, 1981...

This cute, little boy was born in Texas:

And this sweet, little girl was born in California...

And then Jeremy turned one...

And I turned one...

And he grew...

And I grew...

... far away from each other, and never knowing that we were born on the same day and would some day meet. But not before we did a little bit more growing...

This is my favorite young photo of Jeremy (age 5). How CUTE is he?!?!?! GAAAAH! :-D

And me at age 6... in my front yard. LOL.

And then about ten years later, we both turned fifteen. Jeremy finally moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado (where I had moved when I was 14.) And yeah, as soon as this cute boy moved into town, I was SMITTEN! LOL.

And me at 15...

I remember telling my best friend that I was going to marry him. And whenever he was in the room/cafeteria/across the street, I would tell everyone they HAD to stop and be QUIET, so I could sit and stare. Then once he walked away, I would say, "Okay. He's gone. Continue."

We finally *met* some time later. I had found out we had the same birthday. And one day, I was at youth group (hanging out, doing my homework) before it started. And who walked in? JEREMY! He came in the room with a bag of SIX Mr. Cookie Face ice cream sandwiches (Typical Jeremy... LOL). He was alone. And the conversation went like this...

Reyanna (thinking): OH.MY.GOD. Jeremy Stark JUST walked in! OH.MY.GOD. He's RIGHT next to me. And he's ALONE. And we're ALONE! GAAAAAH!

Jeremy: Hey! Girl! Pssst! Girl!

Reyanna: Me?!

Jeremy: Yeah! Do you want a Mr. Cookie Face?

Reyanna: Yeah! I LOVE Mr. Cookie Face!

Jeremy: Me too! So... what's your name?

Reyanna: Uhh.... Reyanna. And you're Jeremy Stark! And you were born July 30, 1981!

Jeremy: Uhhh... yeah.

Reyanna: Oh! Sorry! I'm not a stalker or anything, it's just.... well, I saw your birthday on Tracey's calendar, and it's just... well, it's my birthday too!

Jeremy: Really?! Oh, neat!

He wasn't freaked out at all... promise. :-D He was just that strange. LOL. We were friends from then on. In math class, he would stick my pencils up his nose and lick my wrist when I asked him to smell my lotion or perfume. Yeah, *swoon*. ;-) I loved how silly and quirky he was!

He moved away at 17. Then I moved away at 17.5. Then he moved back at 18. Then I moved back at 18.5. LOL.

About August-ish (we were 19), we started hanging out again... A LOT. Then HE'S the one who had the crush, and I was over it. LOL. One day (November 2, 2000, to be exact), he left his laundry at my parent's house (I'm so naive... I thought he did that on accident! HA!) When he came over to get it...

Jeremy: I need to talk to you! In your room!

Reyanna: Uhh... okay. In my room? Weird.

We go in, and he closes the door behind us.

Jeremy: DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE YOU?!?!?!

Reyanna: Uhh... no?! How much *do* you like me?

Jeremy: I'm totally STOKED on you! You're beautiful and fun and funny and cool, and I think... well, I just think we should be together!

Kid you not... this is what I said...

Reyanna: Weeeeelllll... I'm not really looking for a relationship right now...

Jeremy: Well, that's because you keep going for the wrong guys! First JD, and then John. I mean, JOHN?! Really?! Are you kidding?! That was a joke!

Reyanna: Well, how was I supposed to know that after ten days, he'd turn out to be a crazy stalker?! (seriously) And okay, this is exactly why I shouldn't be in a relationship! I pick the WRONG guys! LOL.

Jeremy: Well, that's because you haven't picked me!

We talked some more... a bunch of which I don't remember, and we both walked out of there very confused. LOL. Were we together... or not?! LOL. Well, we had our first kiss two days later (Jeremy's first kiss EVER).

Then two years later, on December 25, 2002, we got married...

And almost 8 years later, here we are...

Sure, we've had more ups and downs in 7.5 years than I care to even think about. I think we've had to go through more than most couples (who have been together longer) have to go through, but here we are! We're turning 29... together!

And Jeremy, just looking at you, I know you love me. I often say, "Stop looking at me like THAT!" And you say, "Well, I can't help it! You're so beautiful, and I'm SO in love with you!" And I just know. I can see it. And I love that. You're sweet and considerate and silly and fun and amazing and intelligent, and you work SO SO hard for our family!

I thought 28 would be our best year, but really... 29 will be. You know it too, don't you?! ;-)

Happy Birthday, Babe! I LOVE YOU! And I'm STOKED we get to share our birthday every year!

Revealing New Lines and Playing Games!

Ooooh, one of my favorite weeks! CHA Reveals! WOOO!

I'm LOVING the Sass embellishments most, I think! LOL. I already have lots of their flowers... that are almost gone, by the way... so I can't *wait* to get my hands on this new stuff!

The new American Crafts is, of course, awesome, but I especially love the new Dear Lizzy. (Okay, who doesn't?!?! LOL.)

I'm sure once I see the full reveals of October Afternoon, I will love all those too. Tee hee.

Oh! And last, but certainly not least, is Studio Calico! This new stuff looks so cool! :-)

And here is a puzzle game I made! Have you played with these? They are SO fun! After I finished it, I wrote the order on the back... so I could cheat if I got in a rut. LOL! :-) Wicked fun! I'm gonna try to laminate them, so I can keep them forever and ever. :-)

Have a great rest of your week!

Busying Myself. (Yay!)

Wow, I haven't updated in a while. I've actually been busy! WOOHOO for being busy! :-D

Here are my recent layouts... older American Crafts and Sassafras stuff. :-)

Hmm... what else?! I'm leaving for Colorado in less than two weeks! WOO! I get to see my WHOLE family... including my sister and her daughters, whom I haven't seen in almost two years! ACK! We are VERY excited. :-D

Also, my mom is doing much better (but still working like crazy...). Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and Pixie Dust! ;-)

Creating with Studio Calico Ad Cards.

So... since I started subbing to Studio Calico (almost two years ago), I have been collecting their cards, ads and stickers that come in each box. (Stickers hold each brown paper back shut, and I tear each and every one off the bag and keep them in a file folder. LOL.)

At the beginning of this year, I started KitPooling with a friend, so now they go to her house. This means I get far less SC ephemera, but I figured my stash had grown large enough to FINALLY tackle this altering project I've been wanting to do. YAY!

Here is what the container looked like before. So, now, here is the container that holds my kits (you can click on all photos to make them larger)...

And I decorated each side with the stickers:

I used a sponge brush to add white paint to all the edges. (I can't do any project without *something* white, I'm afraid. ;-) ).

And so now, while I'm sitting at my computer, I get to look over and see this:

I'm stoked with how it turned out. I've seen people use these cards/ads on layouts, and I think that's really cool too! I still have a *few* left over, but I think I'll be using those for more altering projects (my SC kit photo binder)! :-D

So if you sub to SC, have you kept any cards/ads/stickers?! What do you plan to do with them?

Gluing First. Story Second.

I went to Archiver's the other day, and I found the SUPER-cute Paper Doll by Crate Paper. I had to play with it right away! Funny, this was the first time I had the layout glued and had *no* idea what photo or story I was using! LOL. That was a first for me, but I thought it would be a fun challenge. It was!


And I used mist! Woo! I punched out some labels, put them down, and then started misting. When I took off the labels, the spaces were nice and white, so I could journal there (and put photos/title). :-) Title is a bunch of Thickers.

I love this photo of my dad with my nieces! He is such a great grandpa! He always has *so* much fun with them, and on this particular day, he let them do *whatever* they wanted to dress him up. HEEEE! So cute!

Thanks for stopping by today! :-)

Finishing 28 Before 29 Comes Along...

I can't believe it. I'll be 29 in 37 days. *sigh* Well, at least I got this album done *before* I turned 29! ;-)

I did this entire album with the Joyland kit from Studio Calico. I also used the add-on, Skycoaster, and I had some from Whacky Shack too. This was SUCH a fun kit with some awesome colors!

This is a pretty simple mini. I stamped a whole bunch of journal blocks, and I created my own from some of the K & Company packaging that came in the kit as well!

(How fun is it to make your own pinwheels?! EEEE! :-D )

(On this last page, I'm going to hopefully add this stamp. I don't own it though!
Ha! So I guess I'll have to get it with my next SC order! :-)

Thanks for taking a peek! Soon, I'll have photos and a tutorial of an altering project I did with FabRips. Man, I love those things! :-D