The Lost Sea Adventure

Again, I know that it's taking me "forever" to get these pictures posted, but as you've heard before, better late than never!

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Josh and Daddy were able to go to the Cub Scout overnight campout at the Lost Sea on March 13, despite the rain. Rain or not, it didn't matter once they got there, they'd be deep inside the cave, and the temperature is a steady 58* year round.

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Don't you think this boy (the little one on the left, hehehe) looks "stoked"? He was so worried that they would be late arriving...they had to be there by 6pm and go in as a group, or they might not get to go down to camp....

They made it there with 3 hours to kill. (:D) So they roamed around and took in the sights...

and had a little silly time...
REALLY silly time!

I'm not sure if his look was of excitement, worry, or just plain "let's go, man!" impatience!
At about 6:30, they finally descended...down over 100 steps....
and we're still going down....

and finally, fun time...at 140 feet below ground level....

What do you think...did these boys have a great time, or what?!

(See Josh "posing"?)
What a muddy mess...but I hear it sure was fun!

A day late, and a dollar (or more) short...

So okay, I know that we're thinking spring, but I am just now finishing up Christmas!

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These should be the last of the Christmas LOs. One for each album...Josh's, Ben's, and the family. The first is Josh's...

Ben's...

and family...
And again, very similiar, but I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here! And I did use up most of each sheet of paper that you see...so that's good!
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This is the card that I made for my mother's birthday, which was Monday.

Have a great day, and as always, thanks for looking! :D

One bad day...

That's what yesterday was. We knew that we would soon be losing our dear pet Lucy. And with her breathing becoming very heavy, and keeping her awake all night, as well as us, it was now time. So Steve took her to the vet early Monday morning. Upon returning home, he immediately went to digging her grave. He knew enough to go slow and take it easy. But after digging only about a foot deep, as he turned to move the dirt, something "popped," and down he went. After about 10 minutes he was able to get to his cell to call me to come help him...I was inside the house. I ran outside and found him on all "fours." It took about 45 minutes, and the use of the car to get him inside the house. He took some ibuprofen and a nap, but not feeling any better by the time the boys got home from school. So I called Gina (thanks, BFF) to watch the boys as I took Steve to the hospital. We were there for at least 3 hours, and all they did was give him a shot of morphine and a muscle relaxer, and prescriptions for later. He is still in a lot of pain, but at least he has movement, which he didn't have without someone there to help him last night (thanks, Fred). His prescriptions are helping to make movement possible, and they dull the pain. They also make him drowsy, which is helpful to me...makes having him home bearable. {smile}. So any prayers are greatly appreciated.

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Hopefully, I will get some new crafty stuff on here tomorrow. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Hope you have a great day. :)

Preparing to say Good-bye

I say this with tear filled eyes. Lucy, our gentle mixed boxer, has been with us (me) for 9 years now. I had adopted her from a local shelter (term used loosely) in April of 2001 and they said she was about a year old. So our old friend is about 10 years old. Last week, we noticed that her eyes were much more red than usual, and that one of them was turning outward. She has always been a SNORE-ER, but here lately it has gotten a lot worse--keeping us awake at night. So, today Steve took her to the vet, who told him that she has a type of lymphoma, one of the worst kinds, and it spreads fairly rapidly. He didn't sound too optimistic, but he said that today was not the day for good-byes. He said that we could give her the prednisone to help alleviate any discomfort, but that would only be temporary, and prednisone could actually accelerate the spread. She seems to be already suffering, she can't even bark or "speak" for a treat. She has a hard time eating and drinking, due to the swelling, and sounds like she's choking while she's eating. So the next few days, maybe a couple of weeks, will tell. We won't be "keeping her around" just for our benefit...if she shows signs of further suffering, we are preparing ourselves, the boys too, for a sooner, rather than later farewell.

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Until then, here's a few pics of her to share....the first is from Nov. 2008. She was all too anxious to get to her hamburger-grease-covered-kibble, and couldn't help but drool....
This is a more recent picture, taken a week before Christmas (09). She always loved to romp in the snow...though she didn't generally like the cold...

Here is a couple from earlier today. As you can see, her eyes just aren't right, and she just looks sad....though she was wagging her tail as I talked to her as I took the pictures.

Even though we know with our minds what is inevitable, our hearts ask the question, How DO you say good-bye?

Finally!

Yes, finally, I have finished this one! I have been working on this, off and on, for a couple of weeks. When I printed the photos for it (about a month ago), I had an idea for the LO in my head, but as I began to work it, I just couldn't make the idea work. It just didn't feel right. After playing around with it, I decided to put it aside and move on to other things...like making a few cards (which was a lot fun, and a much needed break).

And little by little, stopping every now and then to do something else, it finally came together. I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but sometimes that just happens, and you have to accept it, and move on. I love the story, however, and the memories the photos depict. ;) Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying the spring-like weather! :D

Fun making cards...

This is turning out to be more fun than I thought it would be! Though, I haven't scrapbooked in a few days (week), it's kinda helping get the creative juices flowing!

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This first card is for my step-father. Not overly masculine, and still fun.

And the inside...(thought I'd take a picture of the inside this time)...
This one is for my husband's teenage nephew. (Don't ya just love those little owls?)
Again, the inside....

Kept it simple and had fun...left the Slice alone this time. I'm still only using a pack of 12 colored pencils to color the images...don't want to go too over-board, and buy new markers, or whatever. Not sure if I want to go that far just yet. Yet....

Thanks for stopping by...Have a great weekend!

:D

Bye-bye snow!? (at least I hope)....

Now that the snow has melted, and the boys are back in school, I can get these pictures posted. It's kinda hard to do, especially since they were playing online games, and wouldn't let me get on here...hehehe....

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Here's a card I made for my dad and stepmom's anniversary. It was on Monday, the 1st. I guess I can show it here now. Again, just a simple stamp (colored with pencils), and a sentiment cut with my Slice. The inside sentiment was a stamp and a hand-written message. This is gettin" purty fun!! :D

And the most recent snowfall....about 4-6". It's always pretty to look at, at first...

I didn't let a little snow stop me from enjoying a yummy grilled burger!

I had already shoveled our "redneck carport" when I realized I hadn't taken any pictures yet...

It is pretty to look at...

It was a good wet, but light snow. It packed right nicely for a snowman! :D

They're predicting warmer temps over the next several days...YAY! Bye-bye snow!

(Hopefully.....) :D