Check this out! 
The weather is glorious, the pool is now open (not to mention freezing cold!), we're all sporting brand new sunburns (sigh), and the grill has been working overtime. It can't get much better than this! 
My boys were cooperative with me and my camera for all of 3.2 seconds this weekend. It's not a perfect shot but it sure makes me happy :) Happy Monday!
Just look at this proud Pre-school Graduate, his diploma and his cheesy grin! 
We did have some less-traumatic events this week too. 
And finally yesterday was also Field Trip day for Mr. Turner. He and his Kindy class went to the zoo for the day. It had to be a rainy day, unfortunately, so this sick mama stayed home and sent Daddy and her camera instead. They had a great time and saw all kinds of animals including this babboon (who I adored - just look at how he's reaching out to touch Turner's hand through the glass) and our 1-year-old baby elephant, Scotty, who only wanted to roll around in all the yummy mud! Let's just say it was a long day though because when they got home, BOTH my boys ended up taking a nap! 
It's hard work having fun, apparently! Happy Friday!
Twenty years ago today, the worst drunk driving fatality ever occurred in Kentucky and not far from my town. It hit home with me particularly hard for many reasons. I was a senior then just graduating from High School and the kids killed were not only around my age, but from a town only 45 miles from my own. They were coming back from a group trip to Kings Island (in Cincinnati) - a trip I took myself so many times with countless groups growing up. A family friend was one of the doctors in Carrollton that day taking care of the victims and their families and I cringe still at the tales I heard from that day. 
I have been really excited to share this new line with you, and as of today, it's available for order at www.basicgrey.com (to begin shipping in June). It's our brand new line, Euphoria, and just so you have the full details, the press release goes like this:
And speaking of mothers, I want to leave you with one more layout again using Euphoric. I just had to scrap that photo I took of my friend Jennifer and her new son, Jackson, I showed the other day. Jen and I have known each other since she was 3 (she's the sister of a good HS friend) and I have watched her grow into an amazing woman - it's hard to believe she's the mom to three now herself! I hope you enjoy this LO, Jen. :) 
This weekend's main event was my friend Ange's annual Derby party. We love this party as it's both kid and adult friendly, there's tons of great food and plenty of party beverages of all kinds :) I chased everyone around taking pictures here and there and when the day was done, there were a few that I just fell in love with. The first photo is of my friend Jennifer (I've known her practically her entire life!) and her beautiful 6-month old son, Jackson. I adore the sweet look on both their faces and the love you can just feel. 
The handsome boy in the other picture is my friend Liz's son, Ryan. Ryan is probably the sweetest almost-teenage boy on the planet. He's polite, friendly, full of personality and so good with the little kids that always seem to tag along and be at his heels. He saw me taking photos of him and then started to pose. (That right there should tell you how rare he is!) Thanks, Ryan, for being such a cooperative subject.
There's nothing quite like a Mama's boy...said from a mom to three who had to wait until her 3rd to get such a boy. Just for the record, I completely adore all my boys. They are my world, but this particular boy not only knows how to wrap his mama completely around his little finger and melt her heart into a puddle, he chooses to do so on a regular basis (where my other boys think all the mushy stuff is for girls ;)).
Whoooo hooo! It's Derby Festival Time in Kentucky and that means there are all kinds of wonderful activities going on around town for three weeks prior to Derby this year! 
Unfortunately, even though it was a beautiful night, the winds ended up being a bit to high to get many of the balloons inflated. Out of 47 balloons that tried to participate, we only got to see around 7-10. Can you see in the above photo where the fire is literally going sideways as they tried to keep the balloon upright? The poor pilot was having a heck of a time and that particular rainbow balloon ended up collapsing not long after that photo was taken. 
Next up? A trip to the Chow Wagon and possibly the Steam Boat Race before the big Derby Party at Ange's (and thanks Ange, for letting me borrow your tripod last night - it helped tremdenously though I think I might have had better luck staying at your house and having that glass of wine!) Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE DERBY TIME?! It's the best part of being a Kentuckian! :)
And I just have to shout a little! Today was NFL Draft Day. We've been anxiously watching and waiting for a little news on our hometown star, Brian Brohm. It was just announced that Brian was selected as the 56th pick overall and will be heading to (drumroll, please!!) GREEN BAY!!!! My son and stepdad are over the moon! I think this might partially make up for Brett retiring on them. Congratulations, Brian, and we can't wait to see wonderful things from you as a Packer!
WHEW! We’re back! After 2 days and something like 16 hours on the road, we’ve finally made it back home from Spring Break. Thank goodness! 
Sunday was a lovely, if windy, day and we all took a morning trip to Cape Hatteras (about 40 minutes away) to see the beautiful lighthouse there and grab some lunch. Along the way we made a couple of stops along Pamlico Sound (literally, Hatteras Island is only ½ mile wide, so you’re at the beach on either side in just minutes) where we watched some crazy people brave the cool temps and try their hand at kite boarding and wind surfing. The kids loved watching them leap into the air as the kites gave them loft and then laughed hysterically as they crashed and burned! We made it back home for the littles to take a quick nap while Ken, Hoyte, Max and Ethan
bundled up against the wind for some fishing off Rodanthe
Pier in the Atlantic. They ended up catching fish after fish – mostly dogfish (in the shark family) and skates (kin to Stingrays). Ethan was SO wide-eyed at it all and would have stayed out there all day if we had let him! Thank goodness the older boys realized just how cold it was and brought them in before they turned to human popscicles!
Monday, Ken and his crew had to return to their house, but before they left, we made a trip about 30 minutes up north to visit Roanoke Island and the NC Aquarium there. The kids loved the exhibits, especially getting to pet the rays and starfish in the kids’ zone.
Carson & Hallie were fascinated with the big tanks & that shark that kept circling around putting on a show for them.
Since we were having some weather issues, we took Tuesday and went to Bodie Island Lighthouse only a few minutes away and then traveled on up the coast to Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills were we went to the Wright Brothers’ Memorial and got to see the site of the first flight. The Bodie Light was absolutely beautiful as it just had a fresh paint job. I even convinced Hoyte to make another stop on our way home to get more pictures of it on a prettier day. (Obviously this photo was from that day ;)) 
There is a monument on top of that hill now and a stone marker at each point where they landed during their four flights that day. You could see how short of a distance they really went but how much it impacted our lives today. In the museum section, they had a timeline of flight and the caption that got me most was “from first flight to the moon in just 66 years.” It’s unbelieveable when you think about it that way, huh?
If you couldn’t tell, the NC coast is known for it’s lighthouses (and I have a particular fascination with them). There are actually 5 that stretch probably a 120 miles or so along it’s coast line. Four of them are easily accessible (the fifth is so far down on the Island chain and is only reachable by boat) and we got to 3 of them. So on Wednesday, we visited the Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, just south of the Cape Hatteras Light. The fun thing was that to get there, you had to travel 40 minutes by ferry. The boys were all over that thinking it was so very cool to put our van on a boat for a trip on the water. I would have loved to spend more time there as it’s the prettiest little fisherman’s village, but with the ferry schedule, we only had time for a quick lunch and checking out the lighthouse (the smallest one of the 5 by far and one we almost missed it was so hidden!)
By Thursday we finally had some nice weather and managed to see the sun again so the boys got to build their sandcastles on the beach. We stayed on the sound side to avoid a bit of the wind, but it was a beautiful day. 
When they were done, we went back to the pier so Turner and Carson could see the fish that Dad and Ethan had caught a couple days before. They weren’t nearly as impressed as Ethan was, however! Later in the afternoon, we went back to the beach after the tide was going out so I could get some obligatory “beach
pictures” (even though they were less than cooperative - Ha!), to pick up a few shells and so they could chase the waves a bit more.
Friday of course was by far the prettiest day of the bunch (it’s always the day you leave, isn’t it??!) so before we packed and cleaned up to head home, we spent the morning on the beach watching the surfers, collecting shells, 
drawing in the sand..and then pouting all the way home because we had to leave. 
I also realized it's been a while since I've shared any work here, so I thought I'd post a little of what I've been up to. Recently I had the pleasure of working up some projects using a Pheobe kit that is being promoted on Scrapbook.com. It's an amazing value and if you're interested, you can download the instructions on how to make these layouts and a few more as well as some cards with the products when you buy it.
This layout was done when I was in the Easter Spirit and is of last year's egg hunt. I think I'll cry when my kids decide they're too big to do this, but hopefully I have a few years yet ;) To get this egg shape, I downloaded a template off the internet, resized it in Photoshop and printed it out so that I could trace it onto my cardstock. 
Just in case I ever forget why I love this state. (I'm guessing the wee one to be a couple of weeks old at best - his legs were still soooo wobbly as he was beside his mama :))
