Best.Picture.Ever!

Get ready for the best.picture.EVER!



Love how it looks like we actually got some air.

But let's zoom in a bit.

We were told to jump like ninjas.

Steve decided making the ninja sound would help him.

Apparently, I was playing the part of a terrified ninja.

Let's zoom in once more.

best.picture.ever

El Fin

Checking Things Off My Travel To-Do List!

I've been busy checking things off my list!

Here is the view from our hotel room balcony in Nerja, Spain.



Disclaimer: This is after traveling over night and not showering or brushing my teeth or changing my clothes. :-)





Here's a pic I took that is the same vantage point as the one in this post.

And...I've done my share of sampling the local Sangria.  Yummo!

This is where we had lunch the other day.  Ri-dic-u-lous.  I know.

And I plan on getting my paella on today for lunch!

And so far the conference is going great!

Hope to update again soon!

Adios!

Spain and Italy To-Do's

If you don't know...we're headed to Spain today!

Read about it at the bottom of this post.



I wanted to share a few of my to-do's...or must-do's while we're in Europe.

Most of the time we are in Spain we will be working at a conference.

Busy Busy

So I think some of the only things we will see is this...

This is Nerja, Spain...the city the conference is in.
Our hotel is right on the sea.

Source: google.co.uk via Cheryl on Pinterest

 And I am most definitely sampling some of this stuff
...the real authentic kind...

Source: yellowsongbird.blogspot.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

And eating lots of this...
Paella!

Source: snippetandink.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

We have one free day where we might see this...

The Rock of Gibraltar

Source: Uploaded by user via Jan on Pinterest


Or this...
Sevilla, Spain

Source: Uploaded by user via Cheryl on Pinterest


But when the conference is over we are headed to Italy for vacation!
Here is my must-see/do while in Italy!
in no particular order

#1 - I AM doing this.  And I AM making everyone with me do this too!
It's a non-negotiable.

Source: Uploaded by user via Cheryl on Pinterest


#2 - You can thank my Art History class in college for the next 3 must-sees.
This one is David and he's in Florence.

Source: jenlmckenzie.com via Cheryl on Pinterest


#3 - The Pieta in the Vatican in Rome.

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest


#4 - Ya...I might cry.  The Sistine Chapel.

Source: sculpturegallery.com via Cheryl on Pinterest


#5 - Yes, I will be serenaded in one of these.
If they actually serenade you in real life...maybe that's just in the movies.
Boy will my hubby be embarrassed if I have to do the serenading.
I can do a mean version of "That's Amore"...you know...
"when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's amore."

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Cheryl on Pinterest


#6 - The Colosseum - Rome

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest


There's more...but I think this post is long enough already!

Can't wait to share with you all about my travels!

Hasta luego!
Ciao!

Valentine's Cards!

So happy to have Anna's Valentine's cards done before we leave on our trip Wednesday.

More on that later.

I had lots of Pinterest inspiration for these...and I love how they came out.

I love the square retro feel and almost 3D effect of the picture.

And I especially love the cute little girl in the pic!

I used picnik.com to edit the photo with the wording and hearts.

And I also used Instagram to edit the coloring.



And just for fun...I got little sister involved.

That scowl was about as good as I was going to get during our little photoshoot.

I have learned to take what I can get with little ones!

Hubby and I won't be here to celebrate Valentine's Day with our littles.

We will be in Europe!

Wha?

Yes...Europe.

Spain and Italy to be exact.

We are helping with a conference in Spain for about 10 days.

Then we are off to play in Italy for another 10 days or so.

We have some friends that live in Italy and we figured...the time is now!

I'm pretty excited.

Ok...I'm freaking excited.

I'm hoping to post the things I'm looking forward to seeing the most in Italy.

And then I hope I actually get to see them!

My in-laws will be holding down the fort with our littles.

We have great families who love spending time with our kiddos so we can travel the globe.

Literally.

I don't expect opportunities to come up like this all the time...

so we're trying to take advantage while we can!

Buenos Noches Amigas.

Hasta Luego.

sidenote:

I like speaking my "broken-I learned in 4 years of spanish class in high school-I can only speak in present tense" Spanish around my hubby.

He doesn't know what I'm saying most of the time.

I find that amusing.

El Fin.

 

Embrace the Camera-Baby Love

I was trying to get Ellie to give her baby kisses at the same time as me.
She had a different plan...look at the camera and smile :-)

That works too :-)



Linking up with Emily at



BTW...trying to do this post from the BlogPress app on my phone. Not as easy as I was hoping :-( Any advice in that area is welcome!

Oatmeal and Headbands...of course

My girls have a ton of headbands.

They have been living in a gallon size ziploc baggie.

Real classy...I know.

I finally got fed up with the lack of headband organization and went to my go-to site for ideas of all kinds...

Pinterest!

I searched for "headband organization."

BAM!  Done.

In about 3 seconds, I had my idea.

The next day I bought my box of oatmeal and completed the project in like 10 minutes.

Now THAT is my kind of project!



I actually need to make another one.
It's practically overflowing!

 

Here's the Pin on Pinterest that inspired me.

Source: makeitmyown.blogspot.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

I didn't have a cute candle stand like they did.

But I'll keep my eyes open when I'm at thrift stores and add it later if I feel like it.

What have you Pinterest'd lately?

Confession Time

I have a confession to make.
The only reason I'm outing myself like this is because I know there's some other momma out there that will relate to me.
I've read so many blogs about amazing Advent calendar ideas.
I think this one is my favorite.
Doing fun activities every day leading up to Christmas.
And not stressing over it.
Just making it fun and meaningful.
My goal is to do something like that next year.

And here comes my horrible confession.
It comes in the form of a picture. 

Yup. That's my Advent calendar from this year.
Pretty much the worst Advent calendar mom in America.
It wasn't bad enough that I bought it from the One Spot at Target...meaning $1.
I only got Anna to glue on 2 pathetic looking cotton balls on it.
In my defense, we left our house on the 21st and just returned this week.
Ok that's not much of a defense.
Nevermind ;-)
I'm making a New Year's declaration (because I like that word better than resolution) right here and right now.

AS LONG AS MY LIFE IS NOT TOTALLY CRAZY IN DECEMBER, I WILL DO A SUPER FUN AWESOME ADVENT CALENDAR FOR MY CHILDREN!

Did you see that "out" I gave myself?
I don't like to fail ;-)

Ok momma's...who had an advent calendar fail this year??
Don't leave me hanging out here all by myself!