enJOYing the little things . . .

Just for fun

You Are Fall!

Thoughtful Expressive Creative Poetic Smart

Makes sense.  I was born in the fall.  I love fall clothes.  And I love when the leaves change colors.

What Season Are You?

First Train Ride

Ronald had to go into Chicago today to take care of some business.  We made a family day of it and took the Metra into Union Station.  The kids really enjoyed the ride.  So hard to believe that I took the train into Chicago every day during my first two years of college.  That was more than ten years ago.

We walked from the station to State Street.  The kids and I shopped at Old Navy while waiting for Ronald.  I got these super cute shirts for the kids to wear on the 4th of July.  After spending an hour at Old Navy, we met Ronald for lunch at Marshall Field's Marketplace.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around Millenium Park.  Cadence just loved "The Bean", but who doesn't think it's one of the coolest things to see in Chicago?

It's a girl, and a girl and another girl!

Congratulations to our friends Bob & Patricia (she and I used to teach together) on the birth of their twin girls!  The fam and I visited with them during our trip to Northern California.  They literally live on top of a mountain just north of Napa Valley, with their house sloping off the side of it.  Lauren Elizabeth and Evelyn Meredith were born on the 7th, so they were just twelve days old when we visited.  The tiniest little peanuts!

Also, congratulations to our friends Jere & Joann who gave birth to Cassidy Jean on the 22nd.  Joann and I go way back.  We were classmates in middle school and high school.  I visited the new family of three in the hospital the day after little Miss Cassidy was born.  Enjoyed that feeling of having a newly born babette in my arms!  I miss those days so much.  Sigh . . .

And for those of you with a trained eye in photography - forgive my conversions if they look kind of wonky.  Since the computer that I normally work on is still out of commission, I've been using my hubby's laptop.  I've discovered that his monitor is not calibrated quite to my liking, but I've been dying to work on photos.  So that's my excuse.  Ha.  And I made a new banner with one of my favorite pics from our trip.  'Bout darn time, huh?

To Bryan, the newest college graduate of the Cavida clan, who better be reading my blog every day because he says he does - look HERE for pics from our visit with you.  Not all of them, but it's a start!  :o)  We're proud of you.  Now go and make something of yourself.  xoxo

Got hit by a virus

Not me, not the kids, not Ronald.  We got hit with a virus of the technological kind.  Wiped out everything off our hardrive.  My files, Ronald's files, all my photographs including the last six months that weren't backed up on anything else.  Photographs that I was planning on using for my photography website.  I was sobbing.  It happened the night before we left for our vacation to the Bay Area.  It was the day of Ronald's 30th birthday, and my husband spent 8 hours of his special day trying to retrieve all our information.  And he succeeded.  (I think he was feeling really guilty that he hadn't backed up my photos on DVDs at the end of every month like he was supposed to.)

Right now Ronald's still in the process of retrieving information and rebuilding our hard drive.  Bless his heart.  Thank goodness I've got a techno geek of a husband.

Busy weekend for us.  Our friends Joann & Jere gave birth to baby Cassidy Jean.  Can't wait to share pics.  And our friends Gloria & Oliver had their housewarming today.  Cadence got to play with her "boy fwen" AJ in his little backyard pools.  Lots of fun.

Will post as soon as I can!  Right now the internet connection off our laptop is reeeeaalllly s l o w.  Technology.  I have such a love-hate relationship with it.

Happy weekend!

Where in the world...

... is Cadence & Clark???

We're on vacation.  Having a great time in the Bay Area.
We went to see what Cadence calls the "Goden Bidge" the other day.

And look what we've got right behind our hotel . . . I love the ocean.
Too bad we don't have one in Chicagoland.

Yesterday we hung out with my friend Grace.  She was a wonderful tour guide!
Grace took this beautiful photo of my family, and I am so grateful to her.

Tomorrow we drive up to Napa to attend my nephew's graduation.

Happy week everyone!  :o)

Thirty

Happy birthday to the man who makes me smile, laugh, cry (just being real here), love and enjoy life like no other.  My husband, father of my two babettes, provider of our family, my very best friend.  I love you, Ronald.  Happy 30th birthday!

Happiness Today

This is one of my favorite posts on Ali's blog.  It was a good reminder that every single day there is so much happiness to be found, to be experienced.  Even if it's just the little things.  I meant to post this last night, but as always I ran out of time.  I wanted to share these pictures from yesterday of the kids' playdate with their pal AJ.  Happiness for us came in the form of an empty box which helped produce bunches of smiles and laughter.

Extra special happiness for this little guy who is finally getting the hang of walking.

The rest of the photos HERE.
Happy weekend!

Almost here...

Had a session with a close childhood friend whose baby girl (her first!) is due next week.  This one is my favorite.  I was actually lying down on the floor to get this shot!  Can't wait to meet baby.  Another playmate for Cadence & Clark!

Tomorrow the kids have a playdate with my good friend Gloria and her son AJ.  AJ is two weeks older than Cadence.  She refers to him as her "boy fwen".  Here's a layout I recently made for Hero that just went up on their site.  Pics are of Cadence's "boy fwen" from last summer.

Had to share one of my new favorite blogs - Clippings, recently started by the uber talented and super cool scrapping chick, Miss Sarah C.  She designs products for American Crafts, one of my favorite scrapbooking companies.  Love their pens, love their albums, love their letter stickers.

It's past eleven.  The night is still young.  I'm off to scrapbook, proof pictures and try my very best not to waste time reading other people's blogs.  Ha.

Windy & Marc at The Point

Had an engagement session with my cousin's friends this morning at The Point in Hyde Park.  My first time there.  I'll definitely be using that location for future sessions.  Yes, I took pictures with my new camera!  Unfortunately, I can't open up the files, but I will share some of those once I figure it all out.  Thanks to our friend Jere for saving me and letting me use his D70 since mine was en route to our doorstep from the camera shop.

A few shares.  The top photo is today's money shot.  Trying to get Marc to smile was hard work!  Thank you to the lady who stopped to chat with the future Mrs. & Mrs. while we were shooting beneath the underpass.  So glad I had my camera ready.  Marc & Windy are a sweet, sweet couple.  Their personalities complement each other perfectly.  Yin & Yang.  That's how they described it.  More photos later.

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The commencement address I gave last night was a success.  I got a lot of positive feedback.  Some people even told me that I should be a motivational speaker.  Um, I don't know about that.  Maybe I will watch the video and then decide if a new career is in my future.  Until then I think I'll stick with scrapbooking, photography and being a mommy.

Have a fabulous weekend!

The Garden's in Bloom!

I always get excited when the Garden blooms at 2Peas.  This month's theme:  Handcut.  It was so neat to see how all the other Garden Girls interpreted this theme.  Here are a few of my seeds . . .

Miss Cadence helping her Papa water the marigolds in the garden.

Probably the most simplest layout I've ever done for the Garden. 
I love this one for the photo and the funky patterned paper by Chatterbox.

Layouts © 2006 twopeasinabucket.com
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So tonight is the night that I am speaking for my former 2nd grade class' 8th grade graduation.  Last week I went shopping for a suit for the occassion.  All the suits I have in the closet are from my other life prior to having babies, the one where my "muffin top" did not exist.  In other words, the suits I have are too small.  I purchased a navy jacket and skirt at Target by Isaac Mazrahi.  Looked great in the fitting room, but when I got home all I kept thinking was flight attendant.  I returned the suit and ended up getting a cute linen suit in black from H&M.  My favorite part of this suit is that the pants are cropped!  And no need to purchase new shoes since I already have comfy strappy sandals to go with the outfit.  Hey, if my speech bombs at least I'll look cute.  Ha.

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Update:  My new camera arrived a day early!  Woohoo!!!  Can't wait to play with it this weekend.  :o)