CE June Challenge

I loved the inspiration photo for Creative Embellishments' June challenge.  I was inspired by the blue, gray, and gold color combination, and I added a sun for the twist. The sun and clouds come from Creative Embellishments' Rain or Shine set, and and the Sailboat 1 piece adds the perfect nautical element to this page.

Maui 2018!

Aloha! We returned to Maui for our anniversary vacation trip this year. The view from our lanai did not disappoint!

We wasted no time getting into the water the next morning (read: Nathan got up at 5am ... he is not great at the time change game). 

We had a lot of fun splashing in the waves,

and playing with sand toys.

Nathan also enjoyed the special sandy bottom kids play area at the pool.

The next day we took Nathan on a long-awaited "big motor boat" snorkel trip. They had these really cool boards with glass viewing spots on them so Nathan could see in the water without snorkeling. He enjoyed it for about a minute, and then he wanted to get back on the boat.

Jesse and I took turns snorkeling, and saw a ton of cool fish swimming around the boat and feeding on the rocks.

Our boat also had a glass bottom viewing area, which Nathan loved. Jesse snorkeled along the side of the boat a few times and took pictures of us from the water. Nathan loved seeing Jesse being a "diver"! To top it off, I saw a reef shark from the glass bottom of the boat, though not while I was in the water.

It was a lovely trip out to the Molokini crater.

Jesse and Nathan had some quality dad-son time at the pool while I did a little work. Nathan loved going through the waterfall "tunnel" over and over again.

He also loved getting in the hammocks, but it was a lot more giggling and swinging as opposed to relaxing and swaying!

Seabreeze Layout

I love all of Creative Embellishments' ocean inspired chipboard pieces. I used the Tropical Fish, Seahorse, Sea Turtles, Seaweed 2, and the Beach Word Set 2. I used a variety of chalk and metallic ink, stickles, and crackle paint on these chipboard pieces.

Our Kitchen Reveal

Our kitchen remodel is almost complete so it’s preliminary reveal time! We installed Medallion Providence White Icing cabinets, Alaska White granite, Petraslate Harmony Lotus glass tile backsplash, Amerock Revitalize hardware, and Shaw Epic engineered maple flooring. We replaced all of the appliances and tweaked the layout so we have a bigger pantry and a one level island. We love our beautiful new kitchen!

We replaced virtually everything in this kitchen since we moved in - here is a before shot to compare. I'll share more pictures soon!

Blessed Layout

I am excited to share my first layout from our Hawaii photo shoot. I love the large Hibiscus chipboard pieces -- I used light blue chalk ink on the petals and gold stickles on the stamen and leaves. I used gray chalk ink on the title, which came from the Thankful Word Set.

Posed and Candid Pictures

Nathan had his first "school" picture taken, and it definitely fits the stereotype with his little stiff forced smile. I love it anyway -- he is such a little cutie!

Now this is a real smile -- both Nathan and Jesse are grinning ear to ear to commemorate Nathan giving Jesse a real hug for the first time ever (usually he just lets you hug him or leans in a bit but this time he wrapped his arms around Jesse, gave him a good squeeze, and said "I love you").  My heart!

If you think Nathan looks huge in that picture, you are not wrong. He is at the 93rd percentile for height! He is so tall that he is taller than the average 4 year old! The Thomas genes are strong with this one.

Our secret? We feed him frozen yogurt! Just kidding, only occasionally for a treat/bribe (this one was a bribe for him agreeing to eat a good dinner at the Indian restaurant Jesse wanted to go to without throwing a fit -- parenting a three-nager is fun times I tell ya!) Oh, and I am definitely sharing with him but he grabbed the opportunity to two-spoon it when I whipped out my phone to take a picture.

You Are My Sunshine Layout

This layout features the cutest picture of Nathan. I used one of my favorite Creative Embellishments chipboard pieces: You are My Sunshine. I painted the text with silver paint and used gold stickles for the sun.

Countertops and Nathan Videos

Major progress continues in our kitchen remodel -- we have countertops and backsplash! It will still be an non-functional kitchen for a while yet, but it's getting there.

This is my new favorite video of Nathan. He drinks a lot of milk and when he wiggles soon after, you can hear it sloshing around. He did it on purpose and asked me if I could hear his milk ... giggles ensued!

And here is another cute video: Nathan is launching a rocket ship!

Treasure Layout

I used My Mind's Eye's Lost and Found 3 - Oliver to create this layout using a number of my favorite pictures of Nathan. For my title, I used Creative Embellishments' Treasure Border Words set. I painted the chipboard gold and added glitter so that it coordinated with the other gold glitter elements on the page.

I also completed another cute-Nathan-picture layout using a sketch from the ScrapRoom blog and the patterned paper challenge from Lasting Memories.

April Antics

Our kitchen remodel project is humming along.  Tile is demoed, our new cabinets are in, and we picked out slabs for our counters.  We still have a long way to go to make this kitchen usable!

Living without a kitchen has gone surprisingly well so far, and life otherwise goes on.  Nathan (pictured here in our makeshift living/dining space) has been enjoying the birthday presents that keep coming his way.

And since both Nathan and Jesse love cars, we had to stop by the auto show this weekend.  Nathan was thrilled to be able to "drive" tons of trucks, jeeps, vans, and cars!