ListEn iN

digi love...

If you like the elements I used in my post below to spice up my pictures then head on over to our digi site... we have a really fun new Fourth of July Kit for sale. Here's a layout I scrapped this weekend using the digi kit.

our fourth celebration...

We had so much fun yesterday! Here are a few pics...





We spent the morning at the parade, the afternoon at the family "Red, White, and Blue" party, the evening at the softball tournament, and finished it off with fireworks. Boston kept telling me, "Mom those fireworks are cute!"

i did it!!!

I can hardly believe it, but this morning I ran the 5K. It took me 31.83 minutes and I placed eighth in my age division (out of 15). I don't think I would have even done it by my cute SIL, Lisa talked to me into it. I am not a big runner but have always enjoyed a short run in the morning. The last two weeks I have pushed myself so that I wouldn't pass out during the race. I guess it worked because I made it to the end.
Happy 4th of July. We have had a really fun, busy, hot day. As I have written before, the 4th is like Christmas (without the presents) for the Hall's. It it a really fun day with lots planned. Right now we're cooling off in our house and letting the boys nap. Eric just left for work, he wasn't able to have it off this year. I will post some fun pics of our celebrations a bit later. Happy Independence Day.

it's almost over...

the catalog rush. What do I mean by a catalog rush?? Well in a few weeks we will be traveling to Chicago for our second scrapbooking tradeshow this year and that means we must have new catalogs with lots and lots and lots of great new "stuff". I am the one who compiles all the images into our catalog that goes to press. It takes lots and lots of time and long hours. Luckily, our sweet Rachael has stayed lots of long hours to help me - that's what is so wonderful about my job, the great women we work with. In fact she was so diligent on Saturday that she accidentally locked herself out and had to wait around two hours for a locksmith to come. Well, it's late and tomorrow is the day that I hand off the catalog to our printer, YEAH! After that I am celebrating by taking the boys to the swimming pool. I'll be back soon.

some fun stuff...

in my etsy shop. I'm loving my new patriotic pendants. I love dressing in patriotic colors for our 4th of July celebrations and so I knew I wanted a cute necklace. My MIL bought the boys really cute matching outfits to wear this year - I'll be sure to share pics. And you've gotta get your hands on our new patriotic collection - the colors are so vibrant and bright!

a great day...

There is nothing better than putting work aside, leaving the dishes in the sink, and forgetting your worries to just spend some time with your kids. We pulled out the new water slide and slipped on our swim suits. It was so much fun to relax and soak in the sun. It was a perfect afternoon. Even better when your husband come home and does the dishes for you!

my last post...

for our Summer Blog Party. Thank you to all of you who participated and left comments. Our family is very 'outdoorsy' and so I had to make my last Summer post all about camping. In fact I just arrived home from a fun weekend camping trip. We had so much fun roasting marshmallows, eating dutch oven, and riding four wheelers. This is a cute chipboard album that my sister decorated using our Outdoor Collection. The chipboard book is also from our collection but it is not available on our www.adornit.com because we can barely keep them in stock since the whole line of chipboard books have been so popular. Check with your LSS to see if they have them in stock.

Last, it's time to announce the winners for our Fourth of July giveaway... thank you to all of you who posted! I read each post and I appreciate all of your comments and ideas. Also, for your sweet compliments. I couldn't pick just one, so I randomly chose 4 ... please email me with your address.

Danette 6/19 7:20 am
Christine Jensen 6/19 9:34 am
Tessa 6/19 2:52 am
Melanie 6/20 9:25 am

BBQ Layouts...

And of course you can't forget to scrap those layouts...

Page by Debbie Raymond

Page by Stephanie Austin

Summer BBQ's...

What is summer without a BBQ, and in my case case a lot of BBQ's? I love to cook on the grill, to me nothing tastes better. When we grill chicken I must have my favorite BBQ sauce - I don't really like any bottle sauces. I thought you might enjoy the recipe.

Mom's BBQ Sauce
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Ketchup
2 TBSP Cider Vinegar
A bunch of Mrs. Dash
1/2 TSP. Paprika

Mix together. I heat it up in the microwave for just a bit. Pour over your grilled chicken (don't put it on while you're cooking, the sugar will make it burn). And enjoy!

Now, if your having company over for a BBQ then you don't want to miss out on having these super cute decorations.

A utensil can created from a paint can and altered with our cute BBQ collection.

Your paper plates need a cute home while sitting on the picnic table.

And how about a cute tray to place your lemonade pitcher.

Last, look how cute these letters would be sitting on your picnic table. My sister just barely made these (sorry for my lack of creative background). LOVE THEM!

It's time...

to do a give away don't you think?? I sure do! I want to show you the debut of our new 4th of July Collection that is in stores TODAY!

Now, who wants to win some of this great paper, and of course the stickers and ribbon to match???? Well, the first person I want to give some away to is Raegan L. who has been a frequent follower and commenter this week. Raegan please email me.
Next on my list - a random give away. I'd like you to post in my comments, but you must answer a question for me. Do you prefer heavy weight, double sided paper over regular weight patterned paper???

You have two days to post in the comments below to win some free patriotic papers!