My newest project

I'm helping Mandy make a wedding announcement for her sister. Fun. There will probably be a picture in at some point, but for right now, this looked the best. It has a little bit more white space between the swirl and the text then it probably should, but I still think it looks good. The swirl we got from Sharon's digiscrap CD and it saved the day. I was trying to do swirls with brushes and I couldn't get them to work. I liked the Photoshop brushes better, but they were being funny and didn't have good color and were pixelated. Then we tried Illustrator brushes and they were very clean, crisp lines and really good color and I could change the color, etc. They just weren't the right swirls for what we wanted. More grungy looking. So Sharon's swirl was easy to use and perfect. Yeah!!!

Warren Dunes

I am finally posting about Warren Dunes. It took a little while to get the post up because we all caught a pretty good cold on the beach but we are now recovered. So this was an awesome camping trip. Phil and Noelle, we missed you guys, and I really cannot believe that you guys had more fun in Costa Rica than we had here. Thanks to everyone for coming and pitching in. We had a good-size group that camped and then also a few more who joined us on Saturday. Here are the highlights:
1. Brayden loves Grant. He wants to be like Grant. Grant is soooooo funny. I think there was a bond made.
2. No nursing baby!!!!! It is so much easier to camp when I don't have a baby attached at the hip . . . or elsewhere . . .
3. Lisa and her flashlight. I'm still seeing spots.
4. Being teased mercilessly for misapplying Mike's sunscreen. See this link for the damage.
5. Awesome waves on Lake Michigan. First time I've attempted body surfing in a long time. Soo much fun.
6. Great weather. On Friday the high was 76 degrees and the water temp was 71. So awesome.
7. Running along the trails with Mike Saturday morning while he pushed Collin and Caleb in the jogger. They had a great time together. Laughed hysterically the whole time.
8. Seeing Jill coming back from the clay stream covered in clay.
9. Trying out Culver's Custard for the first time ever. I have to say it was pretty good. It helps that the Custard connoisseurs took us. Thanks Garns!

Wheezer #1 and Wheezer #2

I think the band Weezer must have had someone with asthma in it. We went to the doctor today (after having already been there on Monday) to check on Caleb's asthma. He was having an incessant cough (which is a sign of an asthma attack) even though he has been on Albuterol every 4 hours. So we went and Caleb sounded great, and then Brayden coughed and the doctor looked at him and said, "Has he ever wheezed?" Oh geez. Yes, once back in January. So she checked him all over and he is now Wheezer #2. However, he is a tiny wheezer whereas Caleb is not. This doesn't mean that Brayden has asthma, but if he keeps wheezing he might become a little asthma boy also. I hope not!!! In general he has always been a lot more healthy than Caleb, so let's hope it can stay that way. And apparently Vitamin D supplements can help with all this stuff, so we'll be starting on those. I'm really scared for the winter. I honestly don't know if I can survive another one like last year, and this seems like a bad start to be this sick in August. Wish me luck!

Verdict

So I finished Breaking Dawn a couple nights ago and I was pleasantly surprised with the book. Without giving anything away, I would say that the ending in some ways caught me off guard. My only qualm is that from a Mormon author to a teenage girl audience, there was a little too much implicit sex. I'd prefer it to be a side note instead of a theme.

200 pages in

So I'm 200 pages into Breaking Dawn (and I cheated and skimmed a couple hundred more) and all I have to say is:
1. I am glad I wasn't covered head to toe in bruises on my honeymoon.
2. It's been six years--I'm ready for another honeymoon on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere.
3. Man, pregnancy really, really sucks. Too bad she thinks all those symptoms start that early only for vampire babies. I guess I've had vampire babies.
4. I'm so glad I didn't get pregnant on my honeymoon.
5. Fun, interesting read. But sorry, Stephenie Meyer is a little predictable. Sorry if I've ruffled any feathers with that statement. And I realize I may change my mind when I've actually finished the book, but come on, the whole imprinting thing. That did not blow my mind.
6. THANKS to Jess for shipping her copy of the book to me while she was on vacation. Very thoughtful and this book is keeping me company while Mike is away in New York.