Little Green Frog

I caught a little green frog today in our back yard.  Two of them, actually.  I know, I know, girls and women are supposed to think that creepy crawly things are icky and typically I do.  Don't even try to get me within ten feet of a spider!!!  But the frog was small, harmless, and kind of cute. Most importantly, Makena was on the back lawn sitting in her water table (yes, I said "in") splashing happily and I couldn't deny her the educational opportunity of meeting a living, breathing frog.

So, I did what any mother trying to educate a young child would do - I cupped it gently in two hands and carried it over to the water table.  And... like any scrapbooker would do, I hollered plaintively for Connor to bring the camera, quick!!!  He obliged, and what ensued was a delight to watch.  Makena watched the frog hop and swim, leaning way over with her nose while I held her hands so she wouldn't hurt it.  At one point, her right hand was in the same section of the water table as the frog, and it climbed up onto her hand. She thought that was the best thing ever, squealing and smiling.  Connor, bless his seven year old heart, kept shooting and got some TREMENDOUS pictures. Nice work, Connor! I have friends who won't let their kids use even a cheap point and shoot camera but Connor wields our D300 quite well. 

All of the digital scrapbooking supplies are from Jaya Prem's Hangout at Scrappity Doo Dah.  My Lucky Star kit and Date It element pack.  Jaya's Store...


I did manage to stop Makena mere inches from putting the little guy (girl?) in her mouth since she likes to explore with all of her senses.  That photo's so priceless it'll get its own scrapbook page!  I just need to decide whether to title it  "Lunch!" or "Don't eat that!" or "Help!!!" or "And then things went terribly, terribly wrong..." or "A Prince, Perhaps?"

The frog was physically unharmed.  Emotionally, I can't say, but we only played with him for about two minutes and then I put him back in the leaves where I found him.  I even set out a large bowl of water in the shade for him/her/it since it was hot out.

Layouts, layouts and more layouts

I've been neglecting the blog lately, but I thought I'd post some layouts I've done recently, in no particular order, to show off some of the wonderful things the kids have been doing lately.

Connor is reading BIG, THICK books! Gooooo, Connor! He had his best report card ever before Spring Break.

Kits are a bunch (about 10) from After Five Designs, some freebies some paid, including but not limited to Pele Mele spring and vintage versions, Prairie Morning, Citrus, Autumn By the Bay, Time Flies, Playing Hooky, and Daydream Believer.

Makena has been enjoying SAND, much to my dismay.  For a month or so, she's foregone the slide and headed straight for the dirty, messy, sand-and-water area of the playground.

Kit is "BFF" from Jaya Prem's Hangout at Scrappity Doo Dah.  Jaya's Store...

And more sand....

Kit is True Blessings from LDrag Designs.  Lina's Store...

I have been training for a half-marathon.  I used to be in cross country (four million years ago), but for almost 25 years I haven't run more than 2-3 miles because my arches have given me problems.  I'm up to 7 miles in a stretch, but now my knee and hip are hurting so I need to have my gait analyzed...

Scrapbook kit is by GET Designs, Sweeter Than...  Ginny's Store...

Connor says some of the funniest things!  I don't know if the journaling on this layout is visible so I'm going to see if I can find the original document that I typed and paste it here. 

Scrapbooking kit is by Bekah E Designs - Pallette of Sunshine.  Bekah's store...

Makena has FINALLY decided that she actually wants to learn how to walk.  We went to the tulip festival a few weeks ago and the tulips were just about nose-height.  She'd say "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" and waddle over to the next tulip as Connor or I held her hands, then shove her face deeply into it and sniff.  One of the most adorable things I've seen her do this spring!

Scrapbook kit is by Club Scrap Digital, "Blossom."

And I did this layout the other day just after Makena turned on the water in the master bathtub.  Normally that wouldn't be a problem but I'd just sorted about five loads of clean laundry and tossed mine in the tub so I could sort it later.  Long story short, I got to spin, re-dry and re-sort it, and I made a layout of Moo's mischief.

Scrapbook paper kit by Lilleyscraps Design, called Primavera.  Sara Lilley's store...

And last but not least, in my quest to do a little more scrapbooking about the adults in this family, I pulled a couple of older photos that are digital but were paper-scrapbooked before I started digital scrapbooking.  the surfing layout of Clint is from 2006 in Maui, and the layout of my 40th birthday is from 2007.  The scrapbook supplies are "Let's Talk About" by Gabs Art and "Timeless Treasures" by Bekah E Designs.  Both are at Scrappity Doo Dah.