Playing Music

I am getting back into playing live music to help save up for the cabin :) I just found this link and it got me nervous/excited. I have been practicing some new Mashups lately. I hope to be asked back.

http://www.mckinneyonline.com/Things-To-Do/index.php/name/Samantha-Fox-at-Cadillac-Pizza-Pub/event/13061/

Black Hills Trip Slideshow!

SD trip

I have over 400 photos to share but I'm waiting to convert my old hi8 tape to digital so I can put it all together.. I may put photos up separately if it's going to take too long.
 Contrary to what a few people said before we went, there is WAY too much to see and do in the Black Hills of SD. It was surreal and beautiful. I kinda like that it's a sorta hidden gem. We are already looking into buying a half acre lot to build a vacation cabin on. I highly recommend SD for your next vacation!

More photos soon!

*sidenote--john looks like he's bring arrested lol.

SD vacation over :(

 This is the cabin we rented....so sad it had to end. Week went by too fast. We really love South Dakota and can't wait to return and build our own cabin. A new family trip tradition :) We are on our way home, about 3 hrs away. Will post video and photos of all the fun soon!

This was our view from the balcony!

In town with reception for a bit---most pics are on my camera, but these are a few on my phone. Cabin is amazing! We lover South Dakota!

The Bus

We got our bus today and began our trip to the Black Hills! It was spacious, but we really did pack the whole house into it. We met up with Susan and David in Concordia KS, at a Mexican restaurant that had good reviews...but people in Kansas probably haven't had true Mexican food.
      We drove a few more hours to Lexington NE and we are staying the night before finishing our trek to SD after mass tomorrow.

These photos aren't great but I will upload my real camera photos when we are home :) I also got my old camcorder out--one I bought over 12 yrs ago...so the cassettes are obsolete now. :( 

Lucas Swims

Lucas is teaching himself to swim ! 

I took the older 2 swimming at night tonight and they had the minions movie on :) 

 Here's Eusty trying hard to balance:

Loads of sunscreen for my white bbs :P

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

We finished our curriculum for 1st & 2nd grades :) We already got our books and plans for 2nd & 3rd which we will start after our vacation--we are going to stay in this cabin in South Dakota and explore the Black Hills! Can't wait!

When we return...:

These are just Lucas 3rd grade books. Olivias are mostly Lucas' old ones. Lucas (and I) will be learning Latin :)

Here's my little homeschool graduation photo project:

Montage uh Phone Vids

Seconds long videos of random memories I want to preserve. :) 

All Posters.com

I am not very good at making a home a home...and we move around so much it may have been for the best. But man, what a difference putting things on the wall makes. Last fall I ordered some photo murals from allposters.com and was really impressed with them. Here's an 8 piece rock wall mural by the kitchen:

Well I get coupons for the site and browse from time to time. They happened to have a great promotion for their canvas prints (of your own photos) and free shipping. 70% off! So I scanned through our photos from trips we have taken and I ordered 11 canvases. They shipped quickly too. Here they are:

I recommend them and will use them again :) 

Barley & Board

The older kids are at soccer camp with TNT this week. So John and I took my mom to dinner tonight on the square in Denton. Ever since I started working on my family heritage video and learning about my grandpa's service, I have been putting ideas together to make a shadowbox for my mom. So I put this together, but I intend to make another one with all his service record and medals once I retrieve it from the DOD. I have requested his death cert so I can get an official copy of his military record.

I gave this to mom tonight before we went to dinner. We decided to try out Barley & Board, a newer restaurant on the square diwntown. It belongs to actor Jason Lee (the My Name is Earl' guy) who moved out here with his family to live on a farm. 

The food was pretty good and it was a nice place to eat and talk. 

 Then we had Beth Maries ice cream for dessert :) It was a nice night out. Denton is a pretty old town, and the square is set around a courthouse from the 1800's. Here are some old photos of the Denton square, back in horse & carriage days :)

And here's my sweet Frankie playing with RigaToni :)

For Street Carnage--My Heritage

One of my guilty pleasures is reading Gavin Mcinnes site StreetCarnage.com. He has the best sense of humor, and despite his tendency to say some nasty stuff, he seems like a good person who cares about family values. The site posts blogs and videos of his, lately they've been videos remembering his favorite things about growing up in Canada. Well, the editors of the site were irritated with the dumb commenters arguments so they said if you feel passionate about somethinh, write an article and submit it. So, I made this. I haven't heard back so they may not have dug it. But I liked making it and remembering my amazing heritage. :)