The pages for the Hakes album

These are the pages that I had made of my family for the album Rox and I did for Mom and Dad!


The journaling reads:
Dear Mom and Dad~
We wanted you to have a gift from the heart that you would enjoy throughout the year. We love and appreciate you very much!
Your Daughters
Rox and B-

These are pictures of Dave and I.

Tyler on his sixteenth birthday and the 4th of July.

Laurel at California Adventure and in March.

Chloe in March and helping bake pies for Thanksgiving.

Carter getting his Wolf badge and at California Adventures.

B-

Christmas Day

This is what Christmas morning looks like at our house! The stockings are enjoyed from the time they get up until the time they can coerce Dave and I to get out of bed, today that happened to be 9:00.
How adorable are they all in their matching PJs? I had to take some film shots today too, just because they were so cute!

Chloe had been wanting a sewing machine for a while, along with a load of other really expensive electronics (i-pod, cellphone, video camera, etc). We found her one that we are hoping will last her quite a while, it is very cool and sounds so smooth when it runs!

Carter loves legos, bionicles and dragons. He got so many things that have miniscule pieces, please have pity on the bottom of my pooor little feet!

Laurel loves all things anime, so she received some manga, a bunch of art supplies (pencils, pens, all sizes of paper pads smudge sticks etc) and a cell phone so her parents can keep track of her! We figure it is kind of like putting a bell on a cat, the sound is annoying, but you always know where it is!

This would be Tyler playing with the very desirable 30gig I-pod! He took his mini to school all the time and had gotten to trusting with his schoolmates and had left it in his backpack in an unlocked school room while he was in his Aikido class. He went to get it out of his backpack and was devastated to see that it was gone! We hope that he has learned his lesson and won't be taking this one to school, it was so hard to find and cost an arm and a leg! He also got a cell phone and for the very same reasons as Laurel, we need to be able to find him a little easier! I look really lovely! Not enough sleep and still recuperating form the sinus infection! Dave surprised with a cheap t.v. for my scrap room and I got him a dvd player for our room. He also gave me some scrap supplies, masking paper, embossing powder and a kraft sketch pad!

Dave was smooching on the dog! I wasn't fast enough to get the picture, but right before this picture, Avalanche had just slurped Dave's face, it was hilarious! Very unexpected, he (the dog) doesn't like to kiss us, he thinks we have bad breath! So I figure that Dave's breath must have been so bad that it was actually good smellilng to the dog and worth kissing!

One of my favorite moments of the day was when Carter (who had found, paid for and wrapped this gift) gave Tyler a light sabre for christmas!

Tyler was so excited as was Carter (it had been killing him to keep his secret!) and Tyler gave Carter the biggest hug! I wanted to cry at that moment, it was so sweet! Tyler had his i-pod, cell and light sabre with him ALL day!

Our Christmas day continues with giving out our neighbor gifts and a wonderful choir service at church! Roxanne, Brett and their boys came over for the late afternoon/evening and we had a wonderful prime rib dinner, apple pie, scones, a gorgeous salad and movies and games! We are so blessed with a wonderful family and a peaceful home! We are lucky to have had this Christmas with Avalanche! And we are lucky to have friends and family all over that we love and miss very much!

B-

Christmas Eve

Somehow it has come to be the 24th of December! Between all of life's little distractions, somehow it has gotten here whether I was ready or not!

The majesty and magic of Christmas! The lights on the tree with the ornaments that have been collected through the years, brings such happy memories and hope for the future! One of our favorite traditions is to give the kids a new ornament as one of their twelve days of Christmas gifts, so we have many wonderful eclectic ornaments!

I did get two stockings done this week, so glad that I got the kids done!

Tyler's is so vanilla, just like him!

And Chloe's is so FOOOFY, just like her!

So don't you just love my stocking model! Tyler so did not want to do this for me, so he was doing his cheesy teenage boy smile!

I will do Dave's and mine after the holidays so they will be ready for next year, I just didn't have it in me with the goo that I had, to get more done.

Another Wonderful tradition is the kids open their last gift for twelve days on Christmas Eve. It has always been PJs (this comes from my family) and so far they have always matched!

This layout was done on the picture that was taken in 2001! One of my favorite thing about any holiday is the traditions that have come from our own childhood being passed into the next generation! It is how we remember those who have come before us and recognize and respect their love and sacrifices!

One of the messages of Christmas that means the most to me is the gift of love through sacrifice that our Father in Heaven sent with his son, our Saviour! Every family does this in some way, and I am so grateful for the sacrifices that were made for me and for the love that I am able to share with my family through my sacrifices!

I wish everyone a very blessed, love filled Christmas!

B-

Family album

Rox and I decided to do a family album for our parents as a Christmas gift this year! We got all of our pictures printed in black and white. We made our sister who doesn't scrap send us pictures, and we put this together for them. We used the Basic Grey "Black Tie" collection for a cohesive look and put together a beautiful album!

I will post more pictures of it later.

On another topic, I have had a wonderful experience with some of the amazing talent from Junkitz contacting me personally and being very supportive and professional in helping me feel better about the selection process of their DT. I did not intend to sound snarky or whiny about the Junkitz products in my posts on my blog, I just wanted to express my personal disappointment with regard to my effort and the results. I don't have hard feelings about this company, actually quite the opposite and hope that at some point I will be able to have some type of professional relationship with them.
I am also very excited to be involved with doing some secret cupid activities on two peas! I enjoy the women there so much and love how this builds camaraderie within this community! I do go to other message boards, and there are very proffessional topics and wonderful opportunites for learning and information, but the kindness at two peas really helps with where I am at right now with my self-esteem!
Anyway, it is the last day of school for the kids before the holidays, so I need to go pick them up from school!
B-

Getting closer

to Christmas! Still being out of sorts is costing me valuable get it done time, but I am trying!
Rox helped me emboss most of my Christmas cards, they turned out very nice and I finally got a few of them mailed on Monday morning. This is the picture that was on the inside of the card with our greeting and signatures.
It is not a fabulous picture, but it really reflects our family!
Anyway, going to try to get something done today!
B-

The Junkitz 3-D project

This is what I designed for the Junkitz design team tryout.



It is very simple and basic on the outside and has the use of storing love letters/notes.

(as if I ever get any of those! A girl can wish.)

















The whole bummer about this is that I spent so much of my time putting this submssion together that I didn't have as much time to do the Basic Grey album the way I would have like to. That is not my excuse for not having an album that did better in the contest, because I loved what I did and would not have done things differently.


I had just prioritized this project and basically left myself almost no time to do the BG thing.



Next time (as if there will ever be a next time to do this much torture to myself) I would do things a little differently.
I gave so much time and attention to the Junkitz products getting to know them and becoming comfortable with them so that they would look "right" when I used them, not forced.

It worked for me, I love to work with Junkitz and I feel like they missed out on not having me to create with them, but they know what is best for their business. The bummer is that there are not any Local shops that carry their products and I don't really like to shop on-line. So I probably won't be going that far out of my way to use a product that is so hard to get and is a little too expensive. I am a little sour right now, it is a bummer that I don't think I was even really considered seriously, not even ever in the running.
I have so much to learn about this industry and I am not sure that my ego can take it.
Sadly, I am used to being rewarded for my efforts. I have worked in other industries that were more objectively based, and either you performed to the level of excellence and you were recognized for it or you didn't and too bad, so sad. This type of industry is so subjective and everyone is as good as the next and the only way to choose is by personal preference. I don't create anything for others preferences, I do this for myself and I obviously have WAY different taste than those who I have wanted to impress.
Oh well.
Anyway, I am sure that I will be doing more design team submissions, and I know that my heart will be broken again, I just should have realized that these contest were to close together and spaced my rejections more carefully. This puts a serious damper on my wanting to try to do any Hall of Fame layouts or trying to do this to make money to pay for my spending habits.
Enough of my whining, I need to focus on the tasks at hand. Provide a memorable and exciting holiday season for my kids, and get over this stupid sinus infection!
B-

Looooong week!

It was a long week, really long!
I was sick, fever for five days, sore throat so bad head was a snot bucket etc.
Our computer crashed hard, and was decom for four days.
The Prima DT was chosen and Rox made it (BIG WooHoo!) but I chunked that!
Not only did I crash with my Junkitz entry, I think that there was a bomb attached that blew up all of my self esteem with it.



Ima Wannabe!
What was I thinking with this LO?
Oh, it seemed so clever and unusual when I put it together, and now it is just like DUH!

It actually is really cute, but so utterly not fantastic! Really, what was I thinking?






Will U B a Ute 2
I love this LO so much! The colors, shapes, design elements were all there for me! I tried to make the little Junkitz buttons look like the ute drums with the photo turns resembling the feathers on the drums and everything (you might have to have been a UTE to get it) zig-zag stitched my stamping, and wow, I could hear it falling like lead balloon all week long. Is it really that bad? What don't I get?

My 3-D project was my absolute favorite, and well, apparently it wasn't anyone else's favorite though! I'm leaving those pics for a whole different post though!

Anyway, feeling like the biggest snot bucket LOOSAH evah!

Did get my Christmas cards stamped and embossed and put together, and now they just need signed!
Did get my birthday tags done for BooBugBear and Flo!
Worked on Mom and Dad's Christmas gift, not many pages, but at least a start.
Did get Tyler's stocking cut and layed out, now it just needs to be sewn.
I feel better today after getting some of the things started that were making me crazy while I was sick and whiny all week, but I am feeling miles behind!
Gonna try to play catch up for the next eight days, wish me luck that next week will be productive, but not as loooong!
B-

Been so sick this weekend

You know how you get that sore throat that feels like it has a hot knife sticking in it and the golf balls you can't quite swallow your water around. The accompanying fever is a delightful way to stay cozy and warm during the winter as well, until you get the accompanying chills. Yeah, you probably get the picture, and to boot I basically can't talk, my voice is gone. The nose is running constantly and the coughing, yikes that makes the throat hurt even more!
Needless to say I am a little grumpy, and Dave has been sick too, and it feels like it is a competition to see who is feeling the most awful (it is me, really!)
There was so much that I was hoping to get done this last week, and I am feeling so awful that it isn't getting done, and some of the things I wanted to try to do probably won't get done.
I know that I have to let go of things and get over it, but I am really struggling with Dave at the moment, and it makes me even grumpier when we aren't on the same page.



The view out of our backyard of the foothills to the south of the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Pictures like these remind me that it is always beautiful after a big storm, and I hope that is the case with Dave and I, we are in the middle of a big storm, and I need something good to come of it!



On a more pleasant note, we took the kids to see Narnia! What a beautiful movie, it was so enchanting and had spectacular effects. Loved the book as a kid and worried that it be a mess, but it was absolutely enthralling!
And a by the way to Rox, thanks for the post, you make me feel so loved! It is so nice to know that you are there! Actually thanks to all who have posted here! It is so pleasant to get those notes of validation and acceptance, and I really am trying to make an effort to do the same! But at least I am slow and not efficient! LOL, I think I am so not funny!
Enjoy your new week, and as Christmas nears, keep the spirit!
B-

*I* am* Snow* Happy**

Avalanche this is your big day!













Anything missing?
*Big hairy dog who waits all year in the heat for four glorious months of the year.
*The opportunity to go outside unleashed in an unfenced yard, completely unwatched (except for the camera watching)
*The intense desire to run pell mell through the drifts in the yard
*Nope nothing missing! Don't need that fourth leg to appreciate the wonderful joys that life brings!

Kind of hard to tell from this white dog on the even whiter snow.
We still love to see you play in the snow! We know it isn't easy, and that you know something is not quite right, but it makes us feel like we made the best choice; to give us some more time with you!
You are the best boy (except for your little bad doggy habits, and you know what those are mister!) and we love you so much that it hurts to think about the next bend in the road for us.
So for today, we are going to enjoy every little second of snuggles, and snow play and big white doggy hair dust bunnies everywhere!
B-

Off track

So I played tennis for about 3 hours today, feeling kind of guilty about that since I have so much to do and so little time to do it all! I hadn't played since last Saturday, so I really had a hard time not being a total doofus!
I was also feeling a little burnt out by all the Christmas stuff I have been doing, so I did a LO that was NOT one bit Christmas!

I am in a secret Santa Group at Two Peas, and my wonderful Sneaky Santa had sent me some gorgeous Heidi Swapp goodies that I had been wanting to use!

This picture of Chloe is from her sixth grade "Shakesperience" and she played one of the witches in the MacBeth vignette. She did a wonderful job, and it was fun to watch. It was also bittersweet because I realized how fast she has been growing and maturing into such an elegant young lady!

Anyway, it was a day of unwinding a little and finding the energy to try to get back on track!
B-

Monday the get it done day!

Okay, so I had a lot that I wanted to get done today.
Well, didn't really even make a dent in my list, but the tree did get lights on so the kids could decorate it tonight and I picked up the stuff to make an album for my parents Christmas gift. Got the album covered and the front decorated, used one of those cool "naked" ones in a two ring 7 X 8.5 size. Also cut the pages that I will make the pre-fab layouts on, so all they have to do is stick pictures in! I am using the Basic Grey Black Tie collection and will use red as an accent. Seems like Basic Grey has gotten enough of my sweat, but oooohhh noooo, gotta go there again! That is because they are so freaking cool!
Anyway I also made a card out of a Wild Asparagus Monogram frame, I am so slooooow with cards! I love how they turn out, it just seems like they shouldn't take that long! Maybe I will get better at them someday and then they will just fly out my @$$!

Oh, I am a little punchy, it has been a long day!

I made this card last Thursday (yes, it also took me forever!), it is for a thank you for someone who took some time to help me, I hope she likes it because she is SCARY talented!

Anyway, I am pooped.
Have another long day ahead of me tomorrow!
Hope everyone had a very productive and happy day!
B-

Family dinner

Tonight we had the family over for dinner to celebrate Chloe's birthday!
My parents, Richard and Ruth came over with Roxanne and Bret and the boys, and we had a really nice evening. Dave made a fabulous roast with potatoes and gravy and my mom brought the dessert, an ice cream sandwich layered dessert that the kids LOVE!

Also finally got my advent calender up! Kept forgetting to have Dave drill the holes in it to hang it by a ribbon.







Saw some great inspiration on Two Peas
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/.















I really like how this turned out!
There are twenty five magnets for covering each of the days. I used some Daisy D's papers and there is a Rusty Pickle postal card print in there also. I used an entire pack of Making Memories white Christmas rub-ons and used lots of different stickers rub-ons and 7 Gypsies book tape for the numbers.
Very fun!
Well hope everyone had a restful weekend and is ready to take on the new week!
B-

Chloe is Thirteen!

Chloe had her birthday yesterday! She is officially a teen now!

She got some fun gifts, the campfire Bratz dolls and tent and she decide to have shopping spree instead of a party. We went out to dinner to her favorite restaurant, Asian star and then to the mall to get some new clothes some yummy lip gloss and a new Build-a-Bear. Vanessa the dog is darling, and Chloe picked out the Sugar Plum Fairy outfit to go on her, so girlie girl!

Quit growing so fast Chloe, it is so hard for me to let go!

Bought the christmas tree today!

Carter helped Dave unravel the twine that had gotten stuck! It was so funny to watch them "work together"!

Carter couldn't reach the very tip without Dave having to bury his face in the tree!

So how much help was Carter?

We may never know, but the moment was so worth it!

How cute are they?

Tyler spent the day at Alta, we will get to hear about the wonderful storm they had up there, and the other three were at the make-up tennis work out and Laurel hit with Mosha after.

Dave and I got to go to the early morning aerobic tennis workout. It was very fun and we got a really good workout, and even ended up as "King and Queen of the court" playing together, which is funny because we haven't really played well together in the past!

Anyway, it has been a good day, snow on the ground, Christmas in the air, now I just have a few "projects" to finish! Those stockings and then some cards would be a great start!

B-

Another Quickie!

So today was really busy, but so what else is new?
I finally got the pearls onto the stocking I finished the other night, so here is a picture of it!















So cute, and so perfect for Laurel! Silly, fun, elegant and gorgeous all in one package!
So happppy! Got my hair done today, feels so much better!
Spent the afternoon preparing for the Young Women's activity tonight, we are doing twelve days gifts for her, and we got five of them made tonight!
*A decorated composition book with sweet notes from the girls in it (BG Fusion)
*A decorated clipboard (BG Fusion)
*A decorated cigar box for correspondence (BG Fusion)
*Ten cards done with BG Fusion
*A darling polar fleece blanket that is red with animal print hearts all over it!
Tomorrow I will make the matching pillow!
The girls had so much fun with these projects, and did a beautiful job of helping each other, cooperating and cleaning up! Very cool and fun activity!
Well, I am pooped, did not get any sleep Dave snored SO LOUDLY last night, aargh!
Off to take some Tylenol p.m. and force some rest onto myself, hehehe!
B-

Just a quickie

Had a long day. Tis the season!
I wish I had gotten more done, but we were lucky to get the opportunity to visit with friends who used to live here, but moved to Las Vegas a couple of years ago. They now come up once a year and stay in their time share at the Marriott in Park City. Pat and Kelley are great, and we have always enjoyed spending time with them, so it was a real treat to have them over for dinner.
I got another of the stockings done Sunday evening, looks greaat!
I found some great paper by Daisy D's and made a vintage looking advent calender for the kids to have fun with over the next few weeks! Did a quick Costco and made an apple pie for dessert.
It never seems like much when you say it, so why does it feel like I am going all day long?
Got even more to do tomorrow and less time, so that will be crazy!
Get to have my hair done tomorrow as well, can't wait!
B-

Stuff this!

The inspiration:



Neiman-Marcus has these adorable stockings!
They are priced starting at $50 and ending at $100! So being the crafty (cheap) person that I am I decided that I could do some decent knock offs for much less!















I spent $50 at Jo-Anns and another $8 at Wall-Mart on Friday. So making 6 of these will average out to be about $10 each, so much better!

The Result:

I got the first stocking done late last night (Carters) and it is huge! I should have thought about what on earth could possibly fill these babies up!

So one down five more to go!
So how much sleep over the next twenty seven days do I need anyway?
B-

Basic Grey contest is over...

...and I am not bold enough! But, I made an album that I just adore!








I did this in a weekend! I started late Friday night, and finished on Monday morning, and had it photographed, edited and e-mailed by 2:30 p.m. Yeah, I got about 6 hours sleep over a three day time period, and I challenged and pushed myself in new ways! And do I mind being passed over? No.

I have to imagine that the artists who bettered me in this have to be amazing! I look forward to learning from them and again being challenged and pushed even further!

The journaling just poured out of me, it was so honest and fulfilling to write like that. I was able to empty so much of my thoughts worries and challenges onto these pages, and it was such a tremendous growing experience!









The journaling: Believe in Yourself

The seeds of doubt are sprinkled in my life. I find -myself wondering if I am too hard on my kids, or not hard enough. Should I make them do more chores or get on them about their homework? Can I finish my education, become a ski instructor, have healthy relationships with my friends and family or run a marathon? Can I move up a level in my tennis game, lose fifteen pounds and find time to work on my marriage of 18 years? Can I be an exceptional employee, serve others through church and maintain a balance at home with my children? Will I be able to enjoy my sense of humor and maintain an appearance of dignity at the same time? Questions like these have run through my head as long as I can remember! When these moments come I have to step back and consider if I am being negative because I am afraid to try and fail, or if there is really a good reason to not do what it is I am considering. Being driven has moments of deep despair because I have to gamble so much confidence to get to the goals I have set for myself. If the gamble is successful, there are the sweet rewards and pleasures that come. If the gamble fails, the accompanying low is so deep that I begin to wonder if I will ever succeed again.
It is this constant battle that keeps me honest. I am able to revisit humility and understanding. Be more compassionate and patient. Resolve to believe that I am a success as a person. Appreciate my accomplishments and review my failings. This battle is where my belief in myself becomes stronger and receives a clarity of purpose. This is where I can go back and recall the strength that I felt when something that myself and others had told me I would likely not accomplish had been done. I know I often bite off way more than I can chew. When someone tells me “you can’t do that” it is a green light for me to say “oh really, well just you wait, I’ll show you”. This does end up being a problem at times, and without my belief in myself, I would not have enough strength and perseverance to pursue my dreams and contend with my realities.

B become more today than you were yesterday. I believe that I should be able to learn something new everyday. I should find a way to grow and stretch and challenge myself and help the others around me do the same. Self-improvement is the key to believing in yourself, if you can recall being able to do something hard, it will give the belief that what you are up against can be conquered as well.



























E enjoy your accomplishments whether they are great or small. In the hectic pace I live in, small things that are done tend to go unnoticed. I am looking for the big moment, but the little ones are likely to matter most in the long run. The time spent with the kids in the car as they are being taken to school or piano or being picked up from tennis is one of the times when I feel like my time could be better spent. But it is these moments when I get the scoop on the day or share a joke with them that will prove to be the best part of my day. I may not get to hike to the top of the mountain everyday, but I might get to make a meal that everyone will love.



















L live, learn, laugh, love. This seems so simple, but for me it can be hard. I can be very judgmental. I am working very hard to deal with disappoints using the knowledge that I will live through it, I need to learn from it, then laugh and remember to love the person who the disappointment came from. It is a difficult process for me, and one that I hope others will use when dealing with me!




















I I can therefore I will. As I previously mentioned, if someone tells me that I shouldn’t or can’t do something, I get a little stupid sometimes. A friend was preparing for a marathon, I teased him a little about his diet changes and his early morning runs. This led to him teasing me about not even being able to do a marathon. Well, that was it. I trained for 7 months and got into the St. George marathon. I set my goals made a plan, followed the advice of those with experience and ran a four and a half hour marathon. I didn’t finish with a great time, but I had done it! And just to prove that it wasn’t a fluke, I did it again the following year.



















E enthusiasm is the antidote for the mundane. When any job or task is approached with enthusiasm and energy, the time spent will fly by and the end result will be success. Bringing a smile and a positive attitude will turn the most trying of circumstances into a very exciting and worthwhile adventure! When life becomes mundane for me, I am notorious for doing something very silly to break it up. This is contagious, and others soon take up the cause to help provide a way to make the job at hand enjoyable and productive.



















V value what you have, it is priceless. So many things that I place a high priority on in my life are fleeting. Are my shoes fabulous or is my sweater in fashion? Why would I place so much value on “things”? This is one of the things about me that I place so much doubt in. Why do I treasure such momentary things, when what I really should be focusing on is the beauty and precious nature of my growing family? The time as an integral piece of their lives is so short. Placing them as my highest of priorities and investing my all into their growth process is far more important than which handbag I carry. Our wonderful dog is terminally ill. He will only be with us for a short time, and this serves as a daily reminder that we do not know how much time we have or the others around us might have. I remind myself of this constantly and try to live in the moment while I prepare for our future. The forever nature of my family is priceless and what I hold to be of the highest value.
































E embrace who you are, no one will ever be able to do it as well as you do! This seems so obvious. But so many of my seeds of doubt come from if only I could do this the way she does, or if we had something like so and so then life would be much easier. God made us to be unique. There truly will never be another duplicate of me, my life experiences, decisions and the results, ever. With that in mind, I really believe that if I am doing the best that I absolutely can every day, then I am fulfilling my responsibility to be the best me that I can.








































This was a huge "dump"!
This project is so much better to open, see the colors, feel the textures experience the belief. I have loved this experience, and look forward to another opportunity to do something like this again!

So now I am off to go make six new stockings! Found some great inspiration in the Neiman -Marcus catalog and some great deals on fabrics and notions at Jo-Ann's. Work on making some advent calenders for gifts and finish Chloe's birthday baggie book! Yup, it is a lot to take on, but I believe in myself!
B-