Girl Scout Campout
Last night was my daughter's first Girl Scout Campout. The mothers, yes we mothers, were required to camp out with them. Outside, in tents, on the ground. Let's just say that I'm not the camping type and leave it at that. I took a vanilla scented bubble bath before I left and attracted every mosquito known to man. Several of the other mothers were experienced campers who came equiped with their own camping comforts of home which included chairs, blow up mattresses, cots, flashlights, coats. Me, being the novice camper, only came equipped with the items on the list. The highlight of the night was, of course, s'mores. Can't go wrong there. Yum. I will hopefully get a better nights sleep tonight! Sleep Tight.

A Gift

Lucky me. The mail carrier delivered a gift from my wonderful friend, Lynn, from Colorado. Would you check out this woman and see how wonderful she looks after having 10 kids? Amazing. I had read a little about this woman, Kathryn Sansone, from the new magazine, Lily. It's been a fun, inspiring read. She really does promote making time for ourselves, exercising, dates with our husbands and of course, prayer.

The Bucket Band
Our son's band concert was last night. It was unbelievably impressive. Cole was so excited that his band director put together a "bucket band". There were over 50 kids playing "Home Depot" style big buckets with their drum sticks, 2 playing garbage cans and one playing a larger metal can. Cole was thrilled to be chosen to play one of the garbage cans. Isn't that funny? Anyway, it was pretty amazing. Reminded me of "Stomp".

New Furniture

I love new furniture, especially when it's functional. I spotted this rubbed white 2-door cabinet at Pier One a few weeks ago. It was a brand new line. I decided to watch for it to go on sale. Much to my surprise, I received an email that they were having a big sale and this piece was included in the sale. Lucky me. It matches my kitchen table and I love the harlequins. I'm using it to store all of our placemats. It also has 2 drawers in it. I was asking my children what they thought I should keep in the drawers. Without hesitation, my son said "Papers Mom". Unfortunately, all four of us have flat surface disease. We put papers down on every surface imaginable. Hopefully this will help. Clever boy.

Old Friends
Aren't they the greatest? We were so lucky to move only an hour and a 1/2 away when we moved from Tucson back to Phoenix a few years ago. We were in Tucson for five years and met so many wonderful friends. I'm fortunate to have met the Blair family. They are so sweet and lovable. Taylor had a wonderful day playing with both of the girls. My husband kept an eye on them while Caroline and I ran off to a few boutiques where she surprised me with a darling rooster for my kitchen.

Is It Pizza?
No, it's paper. We were lucky enough to have the CK Convention here last weekend. Our local scrapbook stores and manufacturers that are based out of Phoenix often have warehouse sales during the same time period. The Bazzill sale was so much fun. You were handed a pizza type box at the front door and could fill it to the top for $15.00. You would have thought it was free if you could have seen the long lines and all of the women so excited with all of the color choices. My friend Carmen came up from Tucson to spend the day with me and we had such great fun hopping from place to place. We didn't even make it to the convention. There were too many other fun opportunities.

The Flame of Autumn
I'm passing along the flame of Autumn orginally posted by maria in Finland. So create your own little vignette, light your flame and pass it on.

The Tooth Fairy Came!

It's very exciting around here when she pays a visit. She does pay dearly, she leaves the dollar amount that is equal to the age of the child. She also leaves a tiny little note with tiny little writing informing my children of how their tooth will be used, encouraging brushing and praising them for their white teeth. In the past several years the teeth have helped build: a fairy castle, the tower for the castle, a cobblestone path, a school house, a playhouse, fairy wands, a carriage and most recently a bell tower. She also leaves a trail of fairy dust.

Where Were You That Day?
I remember receiving a phone call from my next-door-neighbor telling me to turn on the news explaining that we had been attacked. It was the most shocking news. We kept our children home from school just wanting to be together as a family that day. Today I had the opportunity to sub for a third grade class. I read them this wonderful book explaining that everything would be all right. Every illustration was drawn by a child. I'm so proud of Americans.

I've Been Tagged!
By my friend Amy, who is a wonderful neighborhood coordinator of bunco, bookclub and parties.

Four Jobs I Have Had in My Life:
1. Front Desk Manager at a Resort
2. Writer for a Real Estate Publication
3. Secretary
4. Magazine Advertising Sales Associate

Four Movies I Would Watch Over and Over:
1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. Gone With The Wind
3. A Walk To Remember
4. Titanic

Four Places I Have Lived:
1. Chandler, AZ
2. Oro Valley, AZ
3. Ames, IA
4. Council Bluffs, IA

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:
1. Martha
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Medium
4. Oprah

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation:
1. Outer Banks, North Carolina
2. Maui
3. Cancun
4. Victoria, British Columbia

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Mexican Food
3. Italian Food
4. Corn on The Cob (Grew up in Iowa)

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Hawaii
2. On The Beach (any beach)
3. Anyplace where it's fall right now
4. Europe
I'm tagging Lauren and Andrea!

Happy Birthday Mark

Today is my husband Mark's birthday. I won't tell you his age, just that he is two years younger than me. Smart planning on my part! I love this "You Are Special Today" plate. I need to use it more often. Sorry you have to work today Mark. Thanks for being such a great Dad and Husband and for working so hard for us.

Club Little House Swap
A few of the gift items that I put together for my Club Little House swap. I made a little pink chenille cushion for the highchair, painted the cabinet, lined it with paper and added a little rub on which was a suggestion from my pal Teresa. My swap/gift items will be arriving soon from Australia, compliments of Anastasia. Can't wait. This is sooo much fun.

Flag Corps
Today was Taylor's first day of Flag Corps at school. She had to write a letter stating why she should be chosen for this honor. She wrote the letter by herself and included that her Grandfather served in WWII and her other Grandfather served in the Vietnam War. She also added that her great, great, great, great, great (and several more greats) grandfather was the oldest living American Revolutionary soldier. She also got into my 4th of July scrapbook stash and added several patriotic embellishments and stickers. Her persuasive letter won her this great honor.

Bitty Baby's Play Date
Taylor and I received a phone call today inviting us to meet a friend and her mother at our neighborhood park with specific instructions to bring a baby doll. Taylor immediately grabbed Bitty Baby and lots of accessories. Holly had an extra doll stroller which helped as Taylor has worn out all 4 of hers. They had such a fun time pushing their dolls around and changing their clothes. It was great fun for them. For us too, until they told us that we were the grandma's of these dolls.

Fall Leaves Me Happy

I can't wait. Maybe in 3 more weeks, it will start feeling like fall here. For those of you who know me well, you know that it won't be long until my entire house will be decked out in fall holiday decor. I picked up these two fun items at Williams Sonoma this week. Loved the vintage child on the pancake tin and I couldn't resist, tried but couldn't, the pumpkin spatula.

Happy Birthday Paulette!
Today is my next-door-neighbor, Paulette's birthday. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a neighbor like her. She is so much fun. She's positive, makes you feel better about yourself and is so good to my kids. She makes holidays a blast. She is 10 years older than I am, but has so much more energy. Not fair! She is amazing. Today we baked 3 types of cupcakes for her and presented her with this cupcake stand. Happy Birthday Paulette.