Niagra Falls. . . at night

we have been meaning to visit Niagra Falls at night since the moment we moved to Buffalo. . . but the timing never seemed right.
we tried. . . oh boy! did we try around Christmas. . . but let's just say that we didn't "feel" like going in 0 degree weather with 20 feet of snowfall! ha! we sure got our comeuppance this winter!
man oh man! i shiver just thinking about it. . . let's not dwell on that TOO long because i don't want to jinx myself and bring winter back early! my luck it will. . . tomorrow! :)

we went to Niagra Falls at night about a month ago and i am just barely posting a pic of it! SO much busy here with us. . . i am SO unorganized right now. . . and well, it is DRIVING ME NUTS! so. . . here's to getting our act together and getting some stuff done. school starts soon. *sigh* can't wait until year 2 is over and done with! who can empathize with me here?

on to Niagra at night. . . it was GORGEOUS!
and a lot of people seem to think so too because it was quite busy.
indy was in awe and kendy wanted to jump in. nothing unusual there!
the colors on the water were spectacular and what awe inspiring natural beauty. they chaged the Falls from rainbow to solid colors and it was just breath taking.
they do it every night. . . so if your ever in town. . . i reccomend stopping by. . . and come see us too!

one of the things i love most about living here in Western New York is all of the wonderful sight seeing we can experience. Canada is thirty minutes away and Niagra Falls is less. we only live about an hour and a half from Palmyra. . . mecca to us Latter Day Saints and it has been wonderful to see and experience it all.
can't wait to do more! :)

Giveaway!!!

Stina. . . my friend from Sweden. . . is hosting a giveaway on her blog: Sagolikt Pysslar. . . and I want you to share in the fun!

She is SO generously giving away a fun make up bag that she made using Kitschy Digitals. . . do you see the cuteness above? so adorable!

how do you get in on the fun? well, just post a comment on her blog and then tell her which cute make up bag you would like her to send you if you get your name drawn and your e-mail address. . . that is it! easy as pie :)
don't worry that the post is in Swedish. . . just scroll down and you will see the English version too!

*hurry! offer ends Aug. 2nd! :)

Tiny Bazaar Sale

Tiny Bazaar is celebrating it's one year anniversary!
Danielle Thompson is not only the creator/owner of Kitschy Digitals. . . but she has the CUTEST Etsy Shop this side of the Vatican called. . .
"Tiny Bazaar"
Come and celebrate her one year of selling on Etsy with a special discount to get her awesome goods at a good price.
All of her items (including Kitschy Goods) is 20% off!
Go and check out her amazing prints and print out sheets here. . .
you won't be sorry!

*offer does not include Kitschy Digitals digi kits :( sorry. . .
for more info. . . check out her blog here :)

10 things about me. . .

i was challenged yesterday by my good friend. . . Stina Glaas. . . to write 10 things about me.

Stina lives in Sweden and we have become friends via the internet.
we met when i became obsessed with Kitschy Digitals and Stina was already a creative team member for Danielle (my dream gig) and then Danielle invited me to become a creative team member too (yay, i have my dream gig!). . . and, well, the rest is history. . . anyway. . .

Stina is my international friend and she has such AMAZING talent!
REALLY!
such an inpiration. . . go check out her blog here and see what i mean! :)
her hybrid projects for Kitschy Digitals are just too awesome. . . she has a real eye for craftiness
oh, and. . . don't worry that the blog is in Swedish. . . she has a very convinient "translation" bar next to her posts! very smart Stina :)

well. . . onto the challenge!
the terms were that i had to write 10 things about myself
well, i am boring and was worried about having 10 things. . . but here goes:

1. i wish i had grown up in the fifties and sixties.
seriously.
give me the fifties and sixties and color me happy
girls wore the most amazing dresses
boys were gentlemen (for the most part)
movies were worthiwhile
kitchens were unbelievably GORGEOUS
decor was the epitomy of awesome
music boomed in a huge way (i heart Elvis!)
TV was in COLOR
Disneyland became to be
and everything "kitschy" was born
and believe me. . . i heart kitschy!

2. i am a geek at heart.
i love to game
really
really
really
love
to
game!
Nintendo. . . not the Wii. . . but NINTENDO!
Mario
Duck Hunt
Super Mario
California Games
Maniac Mansion
Ninja Gaiden
Back To The Future
so on
and so forth. . .
reminds me SO much of being a kid and anything that does that is SO worthwhile!
(i still have the original console that my mom and dad bought us three kids when growing up. . . and yes. . . you have to blow hot air onto the games to make them play! he he he)
i also love PC games and am i REALLY into Diablo.
i could play Diablo 2 all day long and night and still not have enough. . .
you should hear me, Pace and my bro talking about Diablo
it is dang funny!
a whole new language to learn and very fantastic FUN :)

3. if i could not create, i would die.
plain and simple

4. i want to become an Egyptologist and a photographer for National Geographic
that WAS the plan. . . and then, well, i fell in love. . . and the rest is now history
but, really. . . you can ask my rents. . . when i was a teeny bopper ALL i talked about was moving out when i was eighteen and jumping on the next jet to Cairo and starting my life!
taking pictures, digging up mummies, studying ancient life
and eating sand. . . it was all in the plan
plans change (and so do what we want!) but, i am still obsessed with all things Ancient Egypt. . . what a fascinating culture and time period. . . and i want to see the Pyramids at Giza before i die-
so, before i die, Pace has promised me that we will go and do the whole Egypt/Pyramid/Nile River thing and SEE EVERYTHING!
and of course by then i will be a photographer for National Geographic and i can document the whole thing and have it published in a worldwide acclaimed article. . . he he he :)
i will feel like King Tut when that happens :)

5. i am an avid vintage Fisher Price collector
if you know me. . . you know that i LOVE toys!
toys, toys, toys!
i especially heart vintage Fisher Price and my collection really started when i found out that i was pregnant with indy
that collection has grown exponentionally and now i have even roped my mom into it!
what a fun thing to do and really brings back the kid in you
the bright graphics, the marvelous illustrations, the simple mechanics
IT'S ALL MARVELOUS!
so. . . quite happy chance. . . my hubby got into dental school in Buffalo, N.Y. and we moved our family to a town that is only thirty minutes away from East Aurora, N.Y.!
the signifigance? well, it is the birthplace of Fisher Price and their headquarters and it is still located in the town. . . we have been (multiple times!) and it is just SPECTACULAR!
what a lovely town and what an opportunity for me
the prodigal son has returned :)

6. i *heart* to take pictures
taking pictures is a passion of mine and has been since an early age
i have progressed in my abilities but, still have MUCH more to learn!
hopefully someday i will be able to have my own dark room
(also part of my plan)
i loved my high school and college days when i could use my hands and see my photos develop right before my eyes. . .
nothing beats film. . . though i have embraced digital completely!
more than i ever thought i would
digital scrapping and photoshop go hand in hand with my love of pictures and has been a very recent venture of mine. . . i started to digi scrap around Dec. 08 and Jan. 09. . . and that's when i really started to learn PhotoShop and all the goodness that can bring into life! :)
that's what brought Kitschy Digitals into my life and is something that i *really* love to do. . .
i know that sounds a bit weird. . . but i do. . . how fun to manipulate and make something your very own! what a great way to get my creative energy out without having my kids disrupt (or ruin!) what i am working on
i am sure a lot of stay at mom/crafters get what i mean
so thanks to Danielle and friends like Stina that pushed me along with kind words and opportunities. . . it has brought me much joy and purpose in life to create and i love having a community of people that care. . . and that have become my friends.

7. i really do love my family
what a quirky bunch
they made me who i am and still make me a better person (or at least make me want to try to be better!)
my new little family in life is Pace (hubby) and my Indiana and Kennedy (Dadres)
we have so much fun together and i wouldn't trade the life i have for anything
since we moved away from all of our family "out West" we have REALLY had to depend on each other and keep each other going
thank heavens for Pace
what a wonderful husband
couldn't do any of this without him
i don't know many people out here and don't have many friends so he is my adult confidant and i am sure he is sick of hearing about all the retro stuff that i want to buy on ebay or craigslist. . . or that i have this great idea for a craft project. . . or that the girls are driving me nuts :). . . but he always listens and lets me know he cares and is interested in what i want and what i love. . . even if that means i want to buy every piece of kitsch from here to Australia. . . the sick thing is is that i do want too!
anyway. . . i LOVE my family

8. i could watch movies everyday
another passion. . . as if their is room for more!
just watched. . . "That Touch of Mink"
Doris Day and Carey Grant. . . *swoon*
highly recommended show!
the outfits and decor were making me salivate!
i have a whole list of "must watch" movies. . . but here are my FAVS! :

Star Wars
Goonies
Troop Beverly Hills
Better Off Dead
Empire of the Sun
Indiana Jones (any of them!)
Dune
Private Eyes
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
That Darn Cat
Pollyanna
Hot Rod
Back to the Future
With Six you get Eggroll
House of Wax (Vincent Price version)
Somthing Wicked This Way Comes

OK. . . this list is done. . . too many to mention. . . but notice that most are not from now?
movies and nostalgia go hand and hand for me

9. i love Disneyland
i could go on and on about this one. . . but i won't. . . you know it rocks and i know it rocks. . . so that is enough
all i can say is thanks to my parents for taking us three kids there every opportunity they had when we were younger and making such great memories for us to have forever. . . awwwww :)
Walt Disney. . . your a genius

10. well, ten things about myself came easier to me than i thought. . . easier for me to write it than for you to read it! HA!
so. . . lastly
i organize
that's it
i love to organize
makes me so happy to have an organized and neat home. . . full of retro goodness!
what a dumb way to end it. . . oh well. . . there you have it

Thanks Stina for the challenge. . . lots of fun to talk about myself!
oh. . . i should add an 11th thing: i am humble! lol

and since you held on SO long and read this (maybe, lol) here is a pic of me
i call this unscripted. . . no make-up. . . no plucking. . . chapped lips. . . hair pulled back. . . and a t-shirt
this is the mom me
not glamorous. . . but fits me

Pink Eye and Potty Training

the inevitable happened. . . one of the girls. . . as in Kendy. . . has PINK EYE!
ewwwww. . . GROSS!
poor little sod
she is such a trooper but you can see it in her eyes {literally, lol} that she is miserable!
well. . . she did a great thing and passed it onto. . . Pace!
yes! it's not ME!

oh, yeah. . . i should be sympathetic that Pace has it too. . . but i am SO happy that for once i don't have what the girls do. . . but i guess that is kind of a lie. . . i got the cold part. . . just not the icky, sticky, gooey pink eye part. . . and i am rejoicing to the heavens!
both our sick peeps can't open their eyes in the morning. . .
so, enough said! GROSS!


(a pic without pink eye. . .but wanted to share the cuteness that is Kendy )
so, here we are just trying to see if it passes. . . and if not. . . our good ol' pediatrician will be getting a phone call for a doctor's appointment. . . that reminds me. . . does anybody know a GOOD pediatrician that is accepting new patients?

i know that i have had some people tell me who they go to before but, i always forget the names. . . and i have called some places and they are always either (1) not accepting new patients or (2) they don't accept medicaid.
and those that don't accept medicaid act all happy to help you and then you tell them that you don't have "normal" insurance, but medicaid, and they certainly change their tune. . . literally!
so, all i am saying is that we would LOVE to find a nice, new pediatrician. . . thank you for your time


second thought. . . Indiana is FINALLY getting into the potty training thing!
YIPPEE KI-A-KI-O!
what a relief to be on the downslide of this thing they call "potty training". . . it has been quite a battle to get where we are and now i know NOT to push Kendy into it.
i felt all like that Indy needed to be potty trained by a certain time. . . and, well. . . it just isn't true. Indy was ready on her own. . . even though i would have LOVED that time to have been sooner! the diapers alone. . . *sigh*
so, she goes in the potty like 5 or 6 times a day and even will go in by herself and do her thing without any proding or asking! YES!
now. . . don't get me wrong. . . we have "accidents" but, at least we are on to something here!
so, i would like to thank the Dum-Dum company for allowing this to happen.
the inticement of Dum-Dums single handedly got Indy excited about potty training and it is still working. . . so let's hope her teeth aren't rotted straight through before the time she is completely potty trained! good thing Pace is going to be a dentist! lol :)

RETRO Disneyland

Check out these very {cool} and
very summery vintage ads for Disneyland. . . so 1960's and SO ME!

Friendlyable and Funable? are those words? don't care. . .
Disney is so awesome they can make up funable new words and no one can say BOO about it! :)


don't know about you. . . but something funable is about to happen with these in my house. . . i smell coloring pages and scrap booking potential!

more Disneyworld

just some pics of Disneyworld. . . had SO much fun!
we went to every park (except the water parks) and saw almost EVERYTHING!

Epcot was very neat-o. . . like a world trip in a day. . . i especially *hearted* Japan! the shops were AMAZING. . . just AMAZING! the prices were AMAZING too! they knew what they wanted for all things Japan. . . needless to say i didn't get to buy all i wanted. . . which was everything :)
{price guide. . . normal pad of paper: 2 to 5 bucks. . . in Epcot Japan: 15 to 25 bucks!. . .seriously. . . a single pad of paper. . . like post-its even!. . . ya. . . give me 20. . . cough, cough :)}

Magic Kingdom had all my childhood favorites including Pirates, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Tiki Room, Carousel and Swiss Family Robinson. . . but it missed the CHARM of Disneyland. . . what can i say. . . i am a Cali girl at heart ;)

Animal Kingdom ROCKED and we rode Kilimanjaro Safaris and Mount Everest twice each. . . and if that doesn't sound impressive. . . it IS! you don't have time to spit let alone ride rides twice. . . SO much to do in D-World. . . and can i say that both rides were just ridiculously excellent. Kilimanjaro is JUST like a real safari and we saw real live hippos, giraffes, lions, ostriches, aligators and so on and so forth in an African environment. . . Disney does everything right and this ride is no different. We loved the Yeti on Mount Everest and i haven't screamed that loud in a LONG time! so much fun :)

MGM was fun. . . but HOT! no shade really. . . but lots of stuff up my ally. . . we watched the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show and it was really neat (Indiana HATED it! ironically :) we also got to ride Star Tours. . . all time favorite ride! i am a Star Wars junkie and fanatic. so, ya, that rocked. we also met Woody and Buzz and Kendy LOVED them. . . but suprise, suprise. . . Indiana buried her head and then wanted to see them after our turn. . . because you can't just meet Buzz and Woody. . . you have to wait in a half hour line at least! what a stinker!

all in all our trip was a blast. . .
Indiana's favorite ride was Spaceship Earth. . . the ride inside the Epcot Globe (all it is is a slow moving type ride. . . like the people mover. . . that goes through stages set up with animatronic humans recreating the progress of mankind with communication. . . so funny that was her favorite. . . she talks about it everyday!)
Kennedy's favorite ride was Country Bear Jamboree. . . she SQUEALED the whole time! so cute to see. . . she clapped and sang and just screamed the WHOLE time . . . annoying for those around us. . . but very cute to me!

what a tiring trip.
two girls.
hot.
glad to have the rest of the summer to recoup! :)

Happy Birthday MADRE

Happy Birthday to my MOM!

I am so sad that I don't get to spend her big day with her. . . but I want her to know how much we love and appreciate her!
Even though we live 2,000 miles away from each other my mom is my best friend. We have been close my whole life and I love and miss her terribly.

She is spunky and sassy (just like me) and we have so much fun when we are together. Being so far away from each other is hard. . . especially since we don't get to go thrifting together. . . but it is so nice to know that my mom will always be there for me no matter what!

She is the best mom EVER!
Love you mom and hope your birthday rocks the casba! :)

Happy Birthday, Anniversay, Father's Day. . . did I miss any?

this post is a tad late. . . but better late than never

While we were out of town we celebrated not only because we were in the "happiest place on earth" but because well, their was a whole lot of special dates while we were gone!

Of course Sunday was Father's Day.
Never a better way to celebrate Dad's than to be with them!
We left Sunday morning for Florida and arrived at Disney World around 10:30 a.m. . . . this meant that we could celebrate the Day of Dad's in the Magic Kingdom.
We got to be with my dad (Mike), Pace's dad (Walt), Pace's bro (Porter) and of course the dad of my girls (Pace himself!).

It was fun. . . but so DANG hot, hot, hot!
Father's Day was the second to hottest day we spent in Florida and was just a bit miserable. I really should apologize to all those who had to deal with me in the heat. I was cranky and just down right not in the mood to be walking around and hauling kids all over a amusement park.
So, sorry! :(
Anyway. . . Dad's rock! that is what I am meaning to talk about and it was SO nice to be with all the dad's in my life on the big day! :)

On the 23rd of of June Pace and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.
Yay! Four years!
I guess for us anniversaries come and go and nothing really special ever happens on our anniversary day.
I was 9.5 months prego on our first anniversary and we (as in I) wasn't in the mood to do much of anything.
Our 2nd anniversary revolved around the new little one in our lives, Indiana, and it came and went with a post-it note saying, "Happy Anniversary!". . . Pace had school all day and worked all night. . . so nothin' special.
Our thrid anniversary we literally packed the U-Haul and my dad and Pace started the long drive across the U.S. to Buffalo, NY from SLC, UT.
I called him that night and said, "Happy Anniversary," and Pace was like, "Oh, yeah, it was today."

So this year was nice to be somewhere other than just the norm.
And I think Disney World is way different than the norm!
These four years have been the best of my life and wouldn't trade it for anything! Even if our anniversary day isn't a big deal. . . our marriage is and I am so happy that I married Pace. . . what a perfect match for me.
Seriously. . . we are two peas in a pod. Both computer geeks at heart we mesh as well together as Mario and Luigi.
He is my hero. Love you Pace! :)

On the 26th of June we all got to celebrate the "neat-o-ness" of my dad on his 55th birthday!
I can't imagine a dad being better.
My dad is amazing and it was wonderful to spend his birthday with him.
It didn't hurt that we also got to celebrate it in Disney World. The cast members gave him a special Happy Birthday pin and all of the workers in Disney World always greeted my dad with a big smile and a nice, "Happy Birthday Mike!". . . how cool :)

well, their you have it. . . my late post about the big days that happened. . .
"while we were out"!

Happy Birthday INDIANA :)

Happy Birthday to my THREE YEAR OLD!

I can't believe that Indy is three years old! The years have gone by fast and it feels like just yesterday that I was in the hospital on a hot Fourth of July welcoming Indiana into the world. Indy was two weeks late and now I know why. . . she was waiting to come on a day full of "explosion" because she has been a firecracker from the start!

Indiana. . . where to start. . . she is craziness personified and yet just so sweet and snuggly! She is so curious and loves to know what and why everything happens. . . she is very creative and is always looking for the next "art project" that we can do together. . . she loves all animals and especially bugs (she is crazy for the ants here and doesn't EVER want us to kill them. . . I did once and she looked up at me all sad and said, "He didn't even have a chance."). . . she is a copy cat and remembers EVERYTHING. . . and I mean EVERYTHING! She spits off memories that just astound me. . . she can remember little things like what color of sucker she ate with her cousin Avery when she was 18 months old. . . and I checked pictures to make sure. . . and she is always right!
Her vocabulary has always been amazing and it has really let us see into her personality even at a very small age. . . and if you have ever met Indy than you know what I mean. . . she is so expressive and just so fun to be around. She has a great sense of humor. She loves to sing and dance and her favorite movie right now is "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipmunk Adventure". . . oh gracious. . . she shakes her booty to that 80's classic like no other. . . very cute! Her favorite song is "Let It Be" by the Beatles and she sings it when I or Kendy is upset. . . she is very sensitive to people's feelings and always reminds me "we don't say that about people, it's not nice". . . and when I cry she brings me tissues and rubs my cheeks and tells me, "It's OK mommy. . . calm down." She loves her daddy and hates when he leaves. . . but so happy when he comes home. . . when I put her in time-out she always asks, "where's daddy. . . I want daddy!". . . because she knows who the pushover is! :)
Indiana is our everything (besides Kendy) and we are so lucky to have her for a daughter. Love you Indy. Happy Birthday. Please stop growing :(

Indiana's Pinata. . . out of all of the pinata's in the store. . . she picked the tiki man. . . a girl after my own heart

she gots lots of presents
and then she opened all those presents. . . with glee mind you!
blowing out her candles on her "cake". . . I use that term loosely because her cake was made out of ice cream cone cupcakes lined up in the shape of a "3". . . did I mention that they were the moistest cupcakes ever! something about the ice cream cones made them EXTRA good! :)
the "cake"
lickin' off all the frosting. . . I should have made her cake entirely out of frosting. . . it's all she really wants!
Indiana wanted to swim on her Birthday so we got out the inflatable frog pool and let the girls swim the afternoon away. . . even though it was a bit chilly here in New York. . . the girls didn't seem to mind. . . but wanted a warm bath after! :)

Walt Disney World

We are BACK from a one week vacay to Walt Disney World!

What a great way to kick off our summer of love! Since Pace has no school and I am a stay at home madre. . . that is what we are calling this summer. . . the summer of love :)

We had a lot of fun in D-World but. . .
number one. . . would NEVER EVER EVER go again in June!
number two. . . see number one

It was record heat the week we went and the temps got to a very HOT 105 degrees with 100% humidity! Oh my goodness. . . we were just like the Wicked Witch of the West. . . "I'm Melting!"
Literally, melting.

I have been in Tucson in the desert with temps of 115 plus. . . but this was a heat I have never felt before in my life! Needless to say. . . it made walking and waiting in lines very uncomfortable and pretty much unbearable! Guess what? That is what Disney World is ALL about. Walking and waiting in lines. So, we had a rough start but the temps chilled to the low 90's at the end of the week . . . if you can call that chilly! :)

Indiana already wants to go back. . . and so do I! but maybe in January, eh?
The girls were such troopers and did pretty well in the heat and all of the chaos in the land of Dis. The real hiccup we had was Kendy getting the WORST case of prickly heat! Red, itchy bumps ALL OVER her body. . . they started bleeding too!
Oh the poor girl! She was so miserable and only wanted. . . you guessed it. . . ME!
If you think you are hot all on your own in such heat you have never had to hold your own little personal heater on your hip. . . well, we tried to stay in the land of AC. . . but somewhat hard when you want to experience all that Disney World has to offer.
Magic Kingdom was OK. Disneyland is WAY better! (I am biased. . . what I grew up with!) but had the most for Indiana to enjoy. . . she *hearted* it! :)
Epcot was great. . . but not much for the kids to do. More of an adult thing.
Animal Kingdom was everyone's favorite in the Plant Fam and we had a lot of fun there.
MGM was fun too. . . once again. . . not much for toddler age to do.
We will wait to go back to D-World when the girls are older and where they can ride everything.

No regrets. . . had a blast. . . will go back. . . someday :). . . but NOT IN JUNE ;)

p.s. more pics to come. . . just trying to catch up after being gone. . . feels like we were gone for months!