Santa Monica Pier and Beach

We were able to sneak in a beach day while we were in CA. It was a bit overcast, but still warm. We all love the beach, especially Miss Emma!

Keaton and Emma

Emma digging for treasure.

Emma and Brittany~my beautiful girls!

Emma posing with her clam shell.

Rick and Keaton heading out to body surf. I think the both wished they could be sailing one of the boats in the background!

Brennan, Emma, and Brittany~Emma's first ferris wheel ride!

Papa splashing with Emma.

Two views from the Santa Monica Pier.

Brennan, Rick, Brittany, Keaton, and Emma.

TFL

Anniversary Layout

This is for BSBC3 on SCS. The challenge was to make a scrapbook layout or card of a man in your life. Since Rick and I just celebrated our 26th anniversary, this challenge was perfect! I used the CTMH Bella paper pack. I love the colors in this pack! (Supplies.)

I made the bottom card for Rick from the same paper pack. Brittany and Emma made the other card for us.

TFL!

I Think I Can...

(...I love that line from The Little Engine That Could!)

Em gave us a great sketch for this week's Bellariffic Friday Challenge! You know how much I love daisies and ladybugs, so this Stamping Bella stamp was a must have for me! (Supplies.)

Hangin' With Rick's Fam

While we were in CA, we spent quite a bit of time playing in the pool at Rick's mom's house. Here are Brittany and Emma.

Emma and Keaton.

Keaton doing a backflip.

Brennan doing a back flip.

Emma and Brittany

The three girls (Me, Brittany, and Emma) and their painted toes.

Emma, chillin'!

Emma and Brennan

Emma petting a lizard.

Brennan getting a lizard kiss.

Brittany kissing the lizard.

Keaton kissing the lizard.

Keaton and Emma. I love this picture!

Rick and his mom, Anne.

Rick's mom and Joan, sisters.

Front: Jim (Rick's mom's husband), Anne (Rick's mom), Emma, Brittany, me

Back: Keaton, Brennan, Joan (Rick's aunt), Rick

Princess Emma

Everyone loved seeing Emma in her Princess Aurora costume! See...it was worth every penny!

Hanging' With My Fam

While we were in CA, we got to spend a lot of time with our families. Here I am with my mom , my daughter (Brittany), and my grand-daughter (Emma).

My mom and her favorite son-in-law, Rick! Okay, he's her only SIL, but he's still her favorite!

My mom and her boyfriend, Hal. What a nice guy!

My mom with my kids: Keaton, 19 (junior at UC Berkeley); Brennan, 21 (senior at UMass Amherst); Brittany, 25 (high school US History teacher); and Emma, 2 1/2 and the cutest thing EVER!

Just me and my momma, Victoria and Vicki.

These are at Mark's house. He's my baby brother. He and his lovely wife, Nicole, just had a baby a few months ago. I love to tease my mom that even though she is 28 years older than me, she became a grandma after I did! LOL Here's Miss Camryn Taylor Scott, 3 months old. Isn't she a beauty?

Emma loving on her new cousin, Camryn! The whole second cousin thing is too confusing, so we're just calling them cousins.

Emma and Mommy playing in Uncle Mark's pool.

Left to right: Brennan, Brittany, Emma, Mom, Hal, Nicole and Camryn, Mark, me, Rick

A Cuppa Love

Once again, Jamie gave us a great sketch for BSC80! I used Cuppa Tea by Stamping Bella.
(Supplies.)

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes...

...and taking my granddaughter to Disneyland for the first time was a dream come true!

Here, Emma and I are sharing my favorite treat: a frozen banana! I have loved these since I was a little girl and my parents bought them for me at Disneyland.

I love the look on Emma's face as she was checking out Tigger's paws.

I LOVE this one!

When we boarded the Jungle Cruise ride, the tour guide asked, "Who's ready for danger?" Emma immediately raised her hand!

I love this photo because of the hat~it's a Boston Red Sox hat with ladybugs! I found it in FL when we went for a few Red Sox Spring Training games. Check out the dots inside of the bill. Too cute!

Okay, back to Disney stuff. Ahh, the Dumbo ride! Emma enjoyed being the pilot, even if her Giffy did get a bit dizzy. Guess that's what happens when you're a grandma. LOL

Emma met the Queen from Snow White.

Emma and Brittany shopping on Main Street.

Emma lasted for 13 hours except for this 15-minute nap on Papa.

Emma loved It's a Small World. She calls it "the doll ride."

Hangin' with Uncle Brennan in line.

Chillin' with Giffy and Papa.

All tuckered out back at the hotel. She's snuggled up with her stuffed Tinkerbell, compliments of Uncle Mark and Aunt Nicole.

The only disappointing thing about Disneyland is that the princesses no longer walk around the park. Instead, they all congregate at a place called The Royal Walk. You can walk through this exhibit and meet seven of the princesses. The only problem is that the wait was two hours long! Needless to say, we didn't wait. Two hours is just too long for a toddler and for a Giffy. But while we were shopping in the princess boutique at the end of the walk, Jasmine, Belle, and Ariel walked past. Ariel blew Emma a kiss~Emma was thrilled!

While at the boutique, I felt that it was my duty as her Giffy (aka grandma) to buy her a princess dress. She chose Aurora's. Since I was buying the dress, I figured I should buy the matching shoes. I mean, have you ever seen a barefoot princess? Of course not! Since I was buying the shoes, I couldn't resist the matching purse and gloves. Really, when a princess goes out, she must have her handbag and gloves, right? That's the only proper way to leave the castle! Then there was the tiara. Every princess wants a tiara. Every princess dreams of a tiara. Every princes needs a tiara. After all, it's what sets her apart from the pretend princesses. And what good is the tiara without the scepter, especially a scepter that has a glittery, purple, illuminated handle? So yes, this Giffy bought her little princess the whole kit and kaboodle, and then some! But I did buy it all two sizes too big so that it will last for several years. I tried to appease my husband with this brilliant strategy as I took out the mortgage to pay for the ensemble. LOL But this moment, when she adorned it all at my mom's house the next day, made it worth every penny! Papa agreed.

Here are a few "artsy" ones I took.

Here's a short clip:

Being Emma's Giffy is a blessing beyond measure. My heart could make no sweeter wish than this...

Southwick's Zoo, MA

Emma loves animals! She loves to go to the zoo. We spent a day there with Mommy and Uncle Keaton. Such fun!

Happy 25th, Brittany!

Anniversary Wishes

This is for CCBJ24. Janet challenges us to make a wedding or anniversary card. The inside senitment reads, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." Thanks for another fun challenge, Janet! (Supplies.)

Diggin Stella

This is for BTC8 on SCS. Hope challenged us to use SU Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, and Cameo Coral. Such fun colors! I used Stella Digs It by Tiddly Inks. Wish I looked this cool in my garden! (Supplies.)

Loveys You

This sketch is for this week's Bellariffic Friday Challenge. Come play with us!

I used Gratty Tude by Tiddly Inks for Stamping Bella. Isn't she darling?!! (Supplies.)

Just Me and My Baby...

...celebrating our 26th anniversary!

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things...

Welcome to Stamping Bella's Show and Tell Challenge for August!

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things..."

Who can forget this delightful song from The Sound of Music? And let's face it~if you love Stamping Bella, then you also love "brown paper packages tied up with strings," especially the ones delivered by UPS!

This month's challenge is to show me at least two of your favorite things! You can use your favorite Stamping Bella stamp, your favorite colors, your favorite paper, your favorite embellishment, your favorite sketch, your favorite pens or pencils, etc. You must use a Stamping Bella image, but you can use any paper, tools, and embellishments. Feel free to use this sketch, which I copied from my SIL, Lori (scrapinglori).

For my own card, I used Kissieface (by Tiddly Inks for Stamping Bella). Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 26th wedding anniversary. Since being married to Rick is my most favorite thing of all, I had to show that on this card! We became friends in the 9th grade and began dating in the 12th grade. Yes, I actually married my prom date! LOL Even though we have three adult children and are grandparents now, at heart we are still the lovestruck teenagers from 1980. We may not look like this image anymore, but we certainly feel like it! In addition to Rick, my favorite things to use on cards are purple and bling! (Supplies.)

You can participate in this challenge here. A winner randomly drawn from among the participants will receive a $15 gift voucher to Stamping Bella!

And remember...

"When the dog bites

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad."

Happy 26th anniversary, Rick! I love you...

CASEing Jenn Diaz

Congrats to Jenn, this month's Bella's Favorite Stamper! It such a well deserved honor. Jenn's gallery is fabulous!

In honor of Jenn, Laura challenged us to CASE one of Jenn's cards~that means to copy it, changing at least two things. I chose to CASE this card. For my card, I used the same sketch and stamp. I changed the colors and paper, and I used flowers instead of a sentiment. (Supplies.)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Pinky issued a wonderful challenge for BSBC2 on SCS! The theme was "How Does Your Garden Grow?" The challenge was to make a scrapbook layout or card following these rules:

1) Use at least one image from the Stamping Bella line of stamps.

2) Use at least one photo of a garden, flower, or plant.

3) Use at least one title or sentiment.

Unfortunately, I don't have a beautiful garden. I live in the country without any property fences. A deer family (two adults weighing about 350 pounds each and their fawn), a red fox, beavers, wild turkeys, rabbits, chipmunks, owls, hawks, and a bald eagle are my neighbors. My garden is their farmer's market! So my yard is mostly wild vegetation.

However, one of my favorite places to go is the Boston Public Garden (the first in the country), especially in the spring when the tulips are in full bloom. That's where we spent Mother's Day, and the photos were perfect for this challenge. It turned into a 4-page spread~two of the garden and two of our celebration at home.

I used Bella, Olive, Hollyhock, and Smokey Plum paper by CTMH. The stamp is Papillon Ketto by Stamping Bella. I used the Cricut Storybook cartridge for the titles, then pained them with Shimmerz Pixie Dust.

In proofreading this post, I realized that I put 2008 instead of 2009! Grandma brain~that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Off I go to make a 9! LOL