Laura Vegas

promised a few pictures of haley … i’m only a day late. lol! i’m not sure why i don’t get that many pictures of her … the one time she won’t look at me is when i have the camera out!

i took these pictures back in july. i think everyone else was taking a nap at the time … she’s on a whole different schedule than the bigger little ones. anytime i have the camera out she just looks away … or comes right at me. when i took these i decided to just give her my lens cap to play with to distract her. i swear she played with that thing for like 20 minutes. lol! she would play with it and then crawl over to me with it. so i would toss it a few feet away … and she would crawl off after it and i would scoot back really quick to get a better view through my lens. i know … you’d think i was treating her like a dog or something … playing fetch. lol! but it worked for quite a few pictures.

although this is my normal view of haley! here i am laying on the floor and she’s climbing right up on me. she definately likes my attention … and she likes to be right up on me. preferably me holding her in fact. lol! she does have her moments where she gets busy playing with toys and stuff. when that happens i try and stay out of her line of sight … because as soon as she sees me it’s as if she realizes that i’m not holding her. lol!

and just a total sidenote. see that frame hanging on the wall on the left side? i find it super funny that i have frames that have been on my walls for over a year now … and there are no pictures in them. lol! the one on the other side of that arch has a picture … just never got around to ordering one for this frame. and above the couch in the family room (right off to the left of this picure) i have 2 super large frames … and only 1 of them has a picture! how sad is that?!?! and those 3 shelves at the end of my kitchen island (on the right side of this picture) … totally empty. i used to have things there … but then we’d have a baby around that would start getting around … and we’d have to empty things off to make in easier. now it’s just been totally empty for a few years. how boring does that look?!?!

this was a picture i took this week. once again … not looking at me. and she’s chomping on a piece of grass … which she later gagged on and then proceeded to throw up a little on the grass. but we got a few good pictures in the process. lol! that sounds terrible … and belive me … i felt terrible. the things i put these kids through just for a few pictures!

and sharing this one because i’m missing my adyson. and because after posting that picture of haley … i remember this picture from back in mine and ady’s self-protrait days. this was way back in january. i always thought this was the funniest picture. and yes … i did take that myself. lol!

we’re just doing too much missing around here. so nice to have spent a few days with wes … but missing him already (and he only left a few hours ago. lol!). missing ady and ashlen … seems like i havn’t seen them in ages (darn school breaks jenn!). missing james … how could i forget talkative, inquisitive james.

but most of all … we’re really missing alyssa! she’s more than halfway done with her hawaiian vacation … and she’s having a blast. but we miss her so much. sarah’s been doing good … keeping busy and not really thinking about it too much. but tonight after she got in bed … she just broke down crying and saying that she missed her sister so much and couldn’t stop thinking about her. broke my heart. 5 more days … we can make it! within a matter of minutes … they’ll be back to fighting and bickering … and this house will sound normal again!

got a visit from my little man wes today. i re-did my photo wall in the playroom this past week (pics of that to come) … and needed a new picture of him. i took him outside for about 10 minutes … and i could not believe these eyes i saw staring back at me when i uploaded these pics. click on them to see them up close.

i just don’t remember his eyes being this bright. and these are his eyes … no special photoshop tweaking involved (of the eyes at least … just my normal editing). lol! he’s such a little man now … just turned 2 years old. when he left me about a year ago … he was walking and gabbering some. but now he’s struttin around the house … talking up a storm. and he understands everything i say … he answers my questions. i love this age. although it really took me back to when he was here last time … still reminded me of "my baby" (i know … i call them all "my babies". lol!). so it would throw me a little when he asked me something … or climbed up on the chair like a big boy to get something down. lol!

i love being able to see all these kids grow up … to watch them become little people. i’m lucky in that i’ve kept in touch with most of my kids that have left over the years. just these past 2 weeks … 3 of my previous daycare kids have started kindergarten. i had them when they were just babies … and now they’re off to kindergarten?!?! lol! time sure does fly.

that’s it for now i think. i just had to share those pictures … i kept pulling them up all day because of those incredible eyes! of course … those eyes were actually here with me all day too. lol! i definately got thrown back into work today. i had 11.5 hours of kids … but they were all good kids today so i really can’t complain. i have a few pics to share of haley too … i havn’t shared her in awhile (sorry sarah!). so keep your eye out for her big brown eyes later!

well … vacation is over and it’s back to work time. even though we didn’t take any major trip or anything … i still feel like i need a vacation from my vacation. lol! by saturday night i was just exhausted. we were just on the run all week … never really took time to just veg.

to sum up the parts of our vacation that i didn’t blog about (and mainly doing this so that i can remember myself):

• our first 2 days of vacation (this being friday when i got done with daycare kids and then saturday) we spend doing tons of things around the house. i had a list for each of us hanging on the fridge … all of the stuff that i wanted us to accomplish at some point. as soon as each of us finished something we would cross it off. we had housework, yardwork, deep cleaning, organizing, etc. we ended up getting tons done in just our first 2 days.
• sunday we took the girls bowling. once again … we have no business keeping score. lol! the girls were way too concerned with their score and who was winning. and i did pretty good considering that my right hand is all out of whack. my thumb won’t bend much, my middle knuckle is swollen to twice the size of my other hand, and i just don’t have much strength in that hand. so i found the lightest ball there … and did pretty good. my thumb only got stuck in the ball once and i flunk it backwards. but i got better scores than joe … and quite a few strikes! then we made our way to old navy and got the girls some fun t-shirts … they were having a huge sale so we really made out.
• monday … marine world … see previous post! lol!
• tuesday … mini-golfing … see previous post. soccer practice.
• wednesday we went to the movies to see "daddy daycamp". not as good as "daddy daycare" … but still a good laugh. tons of yummy popcorn too. then the girls wanted to have a sleepover … so i called up deneen and her twins came over for the night. which the girls were so excited about (both her girls and mine) … because they have never really hung out together much. they played games all night (a lot of "scene it") … and watched a movie. i worked on a few assignments that i had saved until the last minute. lol! the girls were all up until about 12:30am … and then we all crashed.
• thursday the girls all hung out … playing games and stuff. joe watched a few movies. i finished up my assignments and got those all send off. after deneen picked up her girls … joe and sarah went for a quick swim at grammy’s house … and alyssa and i headed off to the orthodontist. then joe and sarah went to her soccer practice … and alyssa and i went to her soccer practice. we all met up back at the house for a quick dinner. then alyssa got packing for her big trip (more on that later).
• friday we all headed our seperate ways. i thought it was kind of funny … we were together non-stop all week … and now we all split up. joe went golfing. sarah went to my moms until he was done. alyssa and i left town and i took her to her grandma’s house until her dad got off work. then i headed out to the scrapbook expo. that was totally unexciting … but i did also hit up 4 scrapbook stores along the way. really didn’t buy much at all. but nice to get out and browse. there was a ton of traffic (nothing new to california i guess. lol!) … so i just hung out and did my own thing until later in the evening. then i stopped by alyssa’s dad’s place to pick up a hamster. lol! i’m in charge of the hamster while they’re all on vacation.
• saturday we had soccer pictures in the morning. came home for a bit and did some things around the house. took sarah over to her friend tawny’s house to hang out … they’re on different tracks at school and have to go 2 months without being at school together … as soon as one of them comes back on track the other one goes off track. so they had fun hanging out again together. i tried to work on some assignments and got no where. lol!
• sunday joe went to a golf tournament all day. sarah and i ran some errands. she ended up going to my parents house to swim for a bit since they had some other families over … and i think she ended up staying in the pool for over 5 hours! lol! i did some more stuff around the house … trying to get everything ready for the new work week. all the things that just get tossed around … but need to be picked up because the daycare kids will get into it. lol! also made myself start some on my assignments … and got a really good start. feel good about that.

and today is monday. joe’s still off work … he goes back tuesday night. i really didn’t have any kids today … just ariana for a few hours. but tomorrow i will be thrown back into work really fast. lol! i have my little buddy wes coming to visit for a few days … have missed that boy since he left a year ago. he’s 2 years old now … so i’m sure he’s quite active. and he’s coming bright and early … along with my neighbor kids ayana and ziek. then haley and amanda. by 7:30 tomorrow morning i will have 5 kids here (plus sarah)! that should be an interesting adjustment … especially since i’m not a morning person at all! lol! 

although we’re really missing alyssa. the girl went to hawaii!!! she went with her dad, her aunt, and her grandparents. her grandma was born there and i don’t think she’d been there for a really long time … so this is a really big trip for them. they flew there on saturday … and they come back next tuesday. i know they’re having tons of fun over there. but she’s never been gone from me that long. she calls at least once a day … and she’s emailing me when she can. it’s been 3 days … and i can’t believe i have 8 more days until she comes home. miss my baby!

well … if you’re still reading … kudos to you! lol! i hope to share some scrap stuff later this week. i did good today on my stuff i "needed" to do … so now i started something that i "wanted" to do. playing with some of the new goodies i got at the expo. will share more later!

i know it's been forever since i've had anything creative to share with you. hope this makes up for it. lol! i was challenged a few weeks ago to create a mini album using the new funky vintage mini books from making memories.

you'll have to go to the MM blog to see the whole thing … this is just the title page. i love the way this turned out … so please check it out!

and if you're looking for something different … i highly suggest one of these new albums. love the 6×9 size pages … such a fun change from your typical mini album. and looooooove the new funky vintage collection. i have to admit … when i first saw the paper packs i wasn't totally sold on them (not sure why, maybe the colors were just different from what i've been using). but then i opened them up … and they're gorgeous. i seriously can't get enough of these now … in fact i'm starting to run low on a few of the patterns and will have to replenish my stock! lol!

edited to add:  when you see them on the MM blog … for each 2 page spread, imagine the page with the little photos on the left side and the page with the large photo and their name on the right side. thanks for looking!

we got a super late start today. both sarah and i didn’t wake up until 10:00 this morning … that’s late for us. alyssa and joe were already out of the house … off to blockbuster (gotta get there early for new releases), stopped for donuts (which we never get), the bank (needed more money after yesterday), and starbucks (i hadn’t had one in a few days). the girls watched a movie while i took forever doing my hair … if i take about 30 minutes with the curling iron it looks halfway decent. which was pointless … because the wind here the last few days has been crazy and it wrecked havoc with my hair! lol!

we did make it out around noon and over the mini golfing spot. we were already about 10 minutes from home when i realized i forgot to stop at my moms for the coupon … and i wasn’t about to go back. but we got some sort of deal … i think the girl just rang us up wrong because she really did look confused. 4 rounds of mini golf … 20 free game tokens … and 2 rides on the water blaster boats for the girls. and all this only took us 2.5 hours. lol! i did get some pictures … although the sun was glaring out this afternoon and i started to get confused where to stand to NOT get shadows. lol!

the score card … very important. and very much a source of frustration and anger. lol! my girls are way too competitive … and care way too much about everything being fair and equal. "what … she had 3 strokes, not 2"!!! we kept saying we were going to toss the card and forget about the score. come to think of it … i never even saw the score card … don’t even know how i did. lol!

this is the look alyssa gives when she’s not necessarily winning. pretending like it doesn’t matter … but really it does. and as soon as she turned around and hit a hole-in-one … everything was peachy keen. lol!

joe … definately had his "head in the game". lol! he’s a big golfer. in fact he’s playing in a tournament this weekend (plays once a month tournaments with my brother) … so i told him this was his practice for that. he took this game very seriously … even got mad a few times. lol!

sarah patiently waiting for her turn. she was always rushing from hole to hole … had her ball all ready to go before the rest of us finished the previous hole. lol!

alyssa was more concerned with playing by the rules. she shot it off the course at one point and down a little hill (which i’m big on … i whack that little ball way too hard. lol!). we told her to just pick it up and drop it on the the green … and she kept saying that she had to play it from the grass. love that my girl is so big on following the rules!

he must have had a good hole! i think this was on one of the last holes … after the one that he had a total "moment" on … he was almost ready to throw his club in frustration! but he must have nailed this one! lol!

and i really didn’t want to post a picture of me … but i like to know that i was actually there for once. lol! this isn’t the most flattering picture … realizing how unflattering that t-shirt was that i thought was so cute when i picked it out at old navy. lol! but that’s me … and i’m mini golfing!

after all that excitement we headed back home and relaxed for an hour or so … and then all of us headed out for soccer practices. alyssa and me in one direction … joe and sarah in another. at least they’re on the same nights … and roughly the same times. we were trying to think of what to do tomorrow … and the girls asked if we could just stay home and "chill". we may have to do some of that. plus i have a few scrap assignments that i have to turn in on thursday … and i have a few last minute things to finish them up. wanted to have those done over the weekend … and just didn’t get to it. so i have to finish those tomorrow. so we’ll fit in a few thing tomorrow … but definately a "chill" day!

sorry i havn’t posted much. as of last friday afternoon i’ve been officially on vacation. no daycare kids for a week (love you kids … but need a break. lol!). joe has the week off. the girls got done with school last week and have the month off. we wanted to do some vacation stuff. and yet we really can’t afford any major vacation type things right now. hard to fork out money for stuff when you don’t actually get vacation pay … i’m really just giving up a weeks pay. lol! so we thought we’d do a few "daytrips".

today’s daytrip was to six flags discovery kingdom … or "marine world" as most californians call it (not sure when they changed the name). we hadn’t been there in years … actually i think it was when sarah was just a few weeks old in fact. lol! here’s a brief breakdown of our "daytrip":

• $100 for 4 tickets (and that was with a "buy one, get one free" deal)
• $13 for parking (which is a lot considering we then had to walk forever to get to the front gate)
• $25 for gas for the drive (estimated, but sounds about right)
• $6 for the girls to play the game where you shoot water at a target (alyssa did win though)
• $5 for a stuffed whale for sarah (after all, alyssa won a stuffed animal and sarah wanted one too)
• $35 for lunch (a plate of chinese food, 1 chicken and fries combo, 1 fish and fries combo, and 2 drinks that we shared)
• $7 for a bucket of cotton candy (which is actually refillable for $1, but we never did find where to refill it)
• $3 for a churro (sarah loves those, got hooked on them at the softball field snack bar)

and what did we get after forking out all that money? let’s see:

• 3 hours in the car round trip (including portable dvd player, nintendos, cd players, books, magazines, and i even had some scissors and some things that i needed to hand cut with me)
• a super long walk to and from the parking lot to the entrance (not sure if the tram would have been faster or not)
• a cold and windy day (not what we were dressed for by the way)
• 1 sea lion show (where i almost knocked an old lady out for being so rude to sarah)
• 1 dolphin show (good show, probably our favorite)
• 1 killer whale show (we were in the splash zone, and yet didn’t get wet)
• 1 hour wait time for the shows (have to get there a little early to get the good seats, and only 2 shows of each a day so you really have to plan it)
• 2 rides on roar, a classic wooden roller coaster (crazy 10-story-high opening drop, speeds of up to 50 mph, six reversals and 22 crossovers, and a 180-degree spiraling drop that features several moments of airtime)
• 3 rides on some pirate ship ride (the one that goes back and forth really high up so you’re almost upside down)
• 1 ride on the moonsoon falls (a 60 foot waterfall type thing that joe and the girls got absolutely soaked on)
• 3 rides on a huge swing ride (just the girls did that one)
• other misc rides (little ones here and there that didn’t have long lines)
• 7 trips to the bathrooms
• 49 pictures on my camera (which i’m not even sure how they turned out and not 1 of them includes me)
• 5 times i had to leave my camera bag in a "cubbie" while we rode a ride (which i don’t consider that safe when anyone could just walk up and claim it while we’re gone)
• 27 miles walked because we never could figure out where we were and kept going in circles (ok, not really 27 miles … but it felt like it)
• 2 tired girls, 1 tired dad, and 1 tired and unable to move mom (like seriously, i can’t move)
• 5 minutes looking for our car when it was time to leave (because we never pay attention to where we left it, even if we try to remember)

all in all we did have a great day … the girls had fun and that’s the important thing. we may be drop-dead tired and have no money left … but we had a good day! lol! and as we left there about 7:30 tonight … the sun finally peeked out. figures. lol!

and don’t ask me what business i had going on that wooden roller coaster(you can see it in the front of that top picture). lol! i actually love roller coasters and crazy rides … and joe is terrified of them. but i am still convinced that my ride on the "demon" roller coaster last year at another park … has everything to do with this chronic pain disease that has now taken over my life. it had corkscrews … and on one of them it totally tweaked my neck. i havn’t been the same since. lol! so i thought maybe if i went on this ride today (even though all the warnings told me i shouldn’t be on it. lol!) … maybe it would magically reverse eveything … like it happens in the movies. i don’t think it worked. and apparently my bones, muscles, joints, and all that fun stuff … they’re all seriously pissed at me for making them ride the ride. lol! and i rode it twice of all things. although the girls would have never gone on it without me … i had to do it for them too!

not sure what our next "daytrip" will be … may have to take it easy tomorrow. lol! maybe some peewee golfing … i think maybe i have a coupon laying around!

i had a big revelation last night. i actually scrap my best when watching disney channel. i’m being totally serious here. lol! sure i scrap during the day and when the girls aren’t here with me … but not as i do when we’re all hanging out upstairs. and if the girls are up here … you know disney channel will be on. a few of MY favorites are hannah montana, suite life of zack & cody, and life with derek. we’re also real big on drake & josh … but that’s the nick channel (and joe and i have been known to watch it in the morning while the girls are at school. lol!).

and i had to really search my blog for this … but it was 1 year and 7 months ago that "high school musical" aired for the first time. you can read my instant review of the movie HERE. i think i’ve seen it about 100 times since then … and still love it. it was on again last night … and i was scrapping away at my island (which conveniently faces the tv). every time one of the musical numbers would come on … i would grab my ruler (which is never far since i measure and re-measure everything i do. lol!) and use it as my microphone. seriously! alyssa was on the phone at one point wishing her aunt sheri a happy birthday … and i know she was telling her what a dork i was being. lol! i know the dance moves … and i know all the words. it may be hard to imagine (because i never dance in front of people other than the kids) … but i really get down.

and apparently that’s when my scrappin mojo kicks in the most. i dance, i sing, and i create. or if it’s a regular show (meaning it has no musical numbers) … i just listen in and create. lol! 

i’m trying to be very patient until high school musical 2 airs in just about 2 weeks. they keep teasing us with previews and commercials. and every time one of them comes on … i stop what i’m doing and watch. i can’t wait to see what i create when it finally airs … and when we get the cd.

so … is that all pathetic? or am i like a cool mom? alyssa may roll her eyes at me … but i think she likes the fact that i’m such a disney channel freak. and sarah doesn’t seem to mind … in fact, she grabbed an extra ruler tonight (because you know i have about 5 rulers upstairs just in case i misplace one) and joined in with my singing and dancing. lol!

and i keep singing my mojo song … "got my head in the game" … which if you’ve seen the movie than you’ll know what i’m talking about. and it’s appropiate since i’m working on sports themed stuff! lol!

here’s a few pictures of sarah from the other day. that crazy girl was too busy in the pool to take too many pictures … but i did manage to get a few.

making this post short and sweet … have to get back to some scrap stuff!

although i am curious … who’s reading this thing anymore?!?! lol! i miss reading all the fun comments from all of you … you’re really the link to my outside world. and i know there are people reading … becuase i can see how many hits i have every day. not fishing for comments … ok, maybe i am. lol! let me know what you’re up to these days!

edited to add (just for you eileen):  i wish i could share some layouts. if i had any i would totally share them. but alas i have nothing. seriously … the last layout i did was a month ago. but i do have a really fun mini album that i’ll be able to share next week. not sure when i can share the other stuff i’m working on. maybe while i’m on vacation next week i can get some new layouts done! keep checking back … eventually i’ll have something. lol!

i know i have pictures to share … but i havn’t got them quite ready yet. so in the meantime, just wanted to share a few things with you.

the end of summer blog-abration at lessons from the scrapbook page starts this week and runs all month long. tasra dawson is the author of "real women scrap" and has a great blog full of helpful tips on life and scrapbooking … "on taking back your time, finding balance, liberating your creativity, and pursuing your passions". i had the pleasure of meeting tasra last summer … she’s a good friend of my dad’s. so check it out … sounds like they’ll be lots of fun stuff all month long! and i donated a few goodie boxes … and you know how i like to pack my boxes! lol! so make sure you enter.

next up … wanted to share a fairly new monthly kit club, scrapbook bakery. i keep getting drawn over to see these kits … because not only does she have some really great kits with fun stuff  … but she has also had some awesome guest designers! christy, maggie, leslie, and now robyn. i chatted with the owner, heather, for a bit today … and i told her it was if she had a list of some of my most favorite scrappers. lol! she gave me the names of a few of the designers she has lined up for future months … and quite a few of them are on my list too. she also has a promotion going on until thursday night … if you use coupon code QSETFY3483 (use capital letters), you’ll get 20% off your order. so go check out her kits!

that’s it for now. hopefully i’ll be back tomorrow with more pictures. because if sarah finds out that i posted pics of alyssa and not her … there will be some trouble. lol! that would be "totally unfair" as they like to tell me!

my girl may be sassy, cranky, and tired … but she was nice enough to let her mom shove a camera in her face for a bit today! here are a few that really caught my eye tonight as i uploaded them.

 

 

so nice to have some pictures to share. i havn’t really taken any pictures in the last couple of week. which i guess is why my batteries in my external flash were dead. luckily i think i did ok without it. took these today at my brother’s house … definately found a new picture location. turns out those flowers are almost always in bloom … and it’s perfect shade in the mid-afternoon. i’m thinking of taking the girls back over with some cute, colorful outfits. he only lives down the street after all. although after i took these … my sister-in-law tells me "i wouldn’t get so close next time". i thought she was referring to my composition … and how close-up they were. turns out those plants are filled with bugs right now. lol! so i guess we should wait until they spray!

alyssa has been a real tropper this weekend … but the girl is dead tired! lol! in the last 7 days she has had 5 days of school, 15 hours of bible day camp, hours of homework,  2 sleepover birthday parties, 1 pizza birthday party, 1 family bbq/swim party. she has been dragging all weekend … and is sassy as can be. although i get that way when i’m tired so i can’t complain.

will share more this week. got a few good ones of sarah. but that girl wasn’t quite so tired … she was in the pool all day. and i got some fun pictures of everyone in the pool … which i normally don’t do because the sun is always so bad and it just annoys me. so more to come!