Big Tex

Today is my blast from the past day, I've decided. The last two projects are ones that I created a while ago (and one a really long while ago), and this one is no different.



In 2007, we took a nine day gigantic journey of a road trip from Western Colorado to all over the state of Texas. Looking back on these photos, I see how little my babies were - Soph was still in diapers and Andrew was still in kindergarten. To this day, it was the best vacation I've ever been on. I would do it every year, if I could. Great company, of course, but who could pass up a week and a half of insanely delicious, mouth-watering, smoky, rich, authentic Texas barbecue. Yum! My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it!

Over that period, we visited several museums, rode on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, went to Sea World, and collected tons of memorabilia. The dilemma came when I went to start this portion of my vacation album. If I scrapped ever single event, my Texas album would become of epic proportions. At the same time, I didn't want to leave anything out, either.

I decided to add a pocket to the page to hold everything we found - but I didn't want anything lost, so I made the pocket out of a 6x6 page protector. That way, you still were able to tell that there were some interesting things behind the scenes, but also provided an interesting starting point to that album.

I trimmed the hole-punched edge of the cover off and attached it to my page with glue dots. I adhered the main attraction points - one each of our tickets to Sea World, the Riverboat and the JFK Memorial/Dealy Plaza Museum

Everything else got pushed back into the pocket so one day, when the kids are grown up, they can see where we went and marvel at how cheap everything was back in the old days. LOL!

All supplies here are Close To My Heart. The pictures of the Alamo and the space ship taking off are mini-postcards I picked up from our trip.

Girl pages...

Here are a few layouts I did for Sophia's album.
This is Soph with our latest addition to our family - a Teacup Terrier named Baby. She's full grown at 4-1/2 lbs. Sophia thinks she's the greatest! I think this paper is Autum Leaves - but I'm not sure. The scalloped circle is from last winter's Dazzline Diecuts special from Close To My Heart. The alphabet stamps, ink and large pink flower and small white flower are also from Close To MyHeart. The rest of the flowers are Making Memories (dark pink and brown polka dot) and Bazzil (large white flower). The button and bling brad are from my stash. The rub-on is from Stampin' Up.

I struggled with this layout FOREVER! The first page - the one on the left - took five hours of deliberating (admitedly mixed with food and gossip, but still!) It wasn't until it was all finished and the second page put together that I decided that I liked it. I think I had so many problems because Sophia's costume wasn't my favorite - those 80's colors! Both pages were inspired by PageMaps. The neon pink and acid green cardstock are from Stampin' Up, the acid green scallop & heart were more Dazzling Diecuts, and the flower bling is also from Close To My Heart. My layered flower is part leftover lei from Sophia's 3rd birthday party, part Making Memories and part Petaloo, plus a random button and CTMH ribbon. The sparkly stickers are Making Memories.

I bought the adorable Sweetwater patterned paper almost three years ago - before Sophia ever started preschool - with her first day layout completely in mind. It wasn't exactly how I pictured it, but I love how it turned out! The cardstock is Stampin' Up. There's a bunch of buttons and staples from my stash, and a Cricut font that I don't remember. I cut out the big daisies from a coordinating sheet of Sweetwater paper and added more buttons as their centers. The ribbon is from Close To My Heart.

Broncos fans at heart!

When Andrew was a baby, his first words weren't mommy or daddy. Nope, not in our house, where Broncos attire is mandatory during football season. His first words were "Touchdown" and "Go Broncos!"

After waiting longer than Andrew's been alive, we finally got our season tickets last year and took Andrew to his first game. Heck - it was my first game too! I couldn't wait to scap the experience. It was by far one of the best games - ever - to go to, but it was so loud! Andrew hates loud noises, but he endured like any fan would. It was military appreciation day - always an event that brings tears to my eyes and pride to my heart. Plus, we won the game in an edge-of-the-seat thriller. I can't wait until next season!