Merry Christmas!

Christmas was very special this year. The kids came up with a great idea for me to put wrapping paper up in the doorway to the Living Room where our Christmas Tree is and they could run through it on Christmas Morning! It was fun! We had a nice dinner celebration with my Dad, a blast at Mark's family Christmas Celebration in Cincinnati, then at Grandma Betty's New Condo, and here at our home on Christmas Day! You can Click Here to view all of our Christmas Photos! and you have to log into Walgreens Photo Gallery.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

Happy Anniversay to Mom & Dad!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

THANKSGIVING Celebration with Family

We spent a great Thanksgiving over at Mark's parents' new home in Cinci. The turkey was wonderful, of course... but it's always best to spend time with Family. We stayed the night and then had my family over on Saturday after Thanksgiving... I GIVE THANKS For my families!

{ A }

I love going to view Ali Edwards Blog! It gives me so much inspiration! I want to figure out how to put quotes on my page and save them so I have records of them and can use them from time to time in my scrapbooks!

Here is here site: { A } she has this quote today 11/18/07 Miles Davis : "I 'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life."

Waymo Is Back! He's a Little Confused...

He thinks he is the Wolf attacking Little Dead Riding Hood! Zac was the Alien "WAYMO" and Rachel was "Little DEAD Riding Hood" for Halloween this year. We got the idea for her costume from FrightCatalog.com and we found stuff around the house and only bought a few things to make up her costume. Zac just recycled his costumes! He is good at that. They enjoyed trick or treating with the neighborhood group of kids and ended up with TONS of candy.

Greenway Giddy Up

Friday (10/12/07) - We got there around 6:30 to the Greenway Giddy-Up and tried to set up camp before it got too dark. It was freezing so we made a fire and sat and enjoyed some marshmallows and pizzas cooked over the fire with Linda’s Griller for the fire…that thing is awesome! We are camped right behind the main tent and it should be interesting being able to see all the action like a front row seat! They had a movie tonight for the kids “BLACK BEAUTY”. The girls watched some of it but got board, so we sat around the fire and had good conversation looking at all the stars in the sky, until it was time for bed. We sacked out around 11pm and it was so cold (below 40 degrees), But the morning came and brought us warmth!
Saturday (10/13/07) - We got up and the fire was still smoldering so it was easy to start. Linda and I had a leisurely awakening and went to get coffee in the tent, so we didn’t have to make coffee. The day warmed up quite nicely and was approaching 70 degrees. The sun came out and the clouds were few. The girls played in the straw pile with a couple of other kids and played the bean toss game. They also found some hula-hoops and played the game where you hold hands and try to bring the hula-hoop through without letting go.
We went to the Iddy-Bitty Giddy Up where they have small pony rides and carriage rides so Emily got to experience a horse for the first time! Rachel actually got to drive the carriage for a short while and it was fun! Linda and I made Grilled Cheese over the fire for lunch before we were off for our ride on the trail for our reservations at 1pm. It was a great experience to just ride a trail with a guide and see the reservoir with the surroundings and take it all in! Tracey was in front, but behind our guide, so couldn’t see the people behind, then a man, Linda, then the man’s wife, then Rachel & Emily, trailing behind them was the other guide. It was about an hour ride as Tracey rode a horse called ARTI, Rachel rode PATIENCE, Emily rode SNIP and Linda rode a horse named Mr. Chubby. They were all nice horses and very pretty!
We headed back to camp and relaxed a bit, when a man approached with a beautiful horse named CHAMPION. So Tracey had to pet him and the man offered her a ride in our area. She got up on the horse, like she knew what she was doing…HAA! Well, the horse wanted to go flirt with the other horses by the campsite so he didn’t go far…which was fine with her! Later that day a girl got hurt as she rode a horse who went out of control and she fell off and hit her head on a truck tire! Tracey saw part of it until she couldn’t see the rider anymore because of a trailer blocking her view. So, Rachel and Tracey ran over to see what happened to the girl. The Paramedics came and later we found out she was going to be ok, THANK GOODNESS!!!
We met a couple that had their grandson with them. Her name was LuAnn and they had three beautiful horses. We visited with them and watched them saddle their horses. The boy’s horse was pretty and black with a white sock. Her name was LILLY. The night was a fun one…with a local Girl Scout troop coming to organize kid games. Rachel helped do the face painting and Emily assisted with the ring toss. They had cute games set up like a fair! For the ring toss they used the hula-hoops and had a blow up dolphin to try to get the rings over! They got some prizes for helping the Girl Scouts out. We enjoyed a BBQ dinner and then a singer and a band that was really great! The girls met the daughter of the people that we rented the horses from and her name was Shana. They had tons of fun with her! They jumped in the staw pile and danced around with her while the music played! We stayed up til about 11pm and the night wasn’t as cold as the night before, it was still about 50 degrees and chilly.
Sunday (10/14/07) - The girls decided they wanted to do the Scavenger Hunt with Shana (that actually went on yesterday) but just for fun! So they went around trying to find different things in nature. We met a lady named Sue as her husband rode her BLONDE horse! (She had blonde hair too!) We packed up camp and decided to venture back home around 1:00. We made it back to Linda’s home a little after 2pm and home finally around 2:30. All In All, we would definitely go back again. Great People and Great FUN! Zac had a Baseball game and they played Arcadia’s team- The Huskies and led most of the first part of the game until they lost by 2 points in the end. Booooooo!

Jason's Baptism

Jason's Baptism was today...we had a long drive and had to get up early but so worth it to see his smiles! Mark was the godfather and we got to have a quick visit with his family. I wish we could have stayed longer but Zac had an early baseball game (which looking back now, we probably could have missed!)...but when you are part of a team you can't let them down!

We went to mass and then the baptism was afterward, so it was LONG...but he was so cute in his little white suit and Mark held him afterwards and he was falling asleep.

He was such a good baby and I got to feed him after we got back to their house. What a cute baby BOY! It was good to visit with everyone but we had to head home and a lot of driving today (about 5 hours in the car, add that to yesterday when we had to drive to the south-side and DJ...that's a long weekend!)

I did enjoy watching Zac's game even though it was another loss. I love watching these boys play baseball because after so many years I know most of them and it's just FUN! Last game they won against Parker's team so they have ONE WIN! This photo was taken tonight as Zac's team-mate came into home and scored and Zac was up to bat and he congratulated him for making a RUN!

These boys are fun to watch and they look GREAT in their uniforms!...so it doesn't matter to me if they win or lose, of course it's more fun when they win...but It's the love of the game that matters and having FUN!...so I hope Zac always remembers that and it's not always about WINNING!...but how you play the game and your attitude! -GO Longhorns!

When You're Gone...

I miss you when you're gone. Please don't stay away from me too long, k? Come home to me saftely. That's why I have to play this Avril Lavigne song "When You're Gone"...but I hope it won't be too long til I see you're face again -XOXO Love, Me

Indiana & Warren Dunes Camping

We had a wonderful time camping with our friends at Indiana Dunes and taking a short trip up to Warren Dunes! This is a family photo taken at Warren Dunes. My favorite things about the trip was spending time with Family & Friends and seeing the look on my children's faces as they play in the sand and beaches! We will definitely go again!

Happy 10th Birthday Rachel

My daughter is now in the double digits...the big 10! I can't believe it! I love ya girl and I hope you had fun at your Hawaiian Birthday Pool Party Sleepover! -Mom XO

Back to School

Well it's that time again... I love it and hate it at the same time! All those school supplies and having to go back and get more on the first day of school if you don't get everything you need! I know the kids are ready to get back on schedule but don't want to have to be alert and quiet all day long to learn...but it is necessary.

We tell our kids that it is their MAIN JOB to go to school and learn to the best of their ability. I love it because they aren't here all day driving me nuts, but I miss them while they are gone at the same time. This does allow me to get some things done without hearing MOM 50million times a day, but I guess I miss it when it's gone. They come home soon enough to start buggin me again, but I wouldn't change it for the world! When the kids go back to school I try to get a photo of them on their first day, with those new shoes and backpacks-and it is so interesting the changes that happen through the year. Dreading all those papers that come home to look over I always like to praise them when they get good grades then tell them they must try harder when they fail or the grade is not up to our standards.

As we teach our kids to keep trying, I think of my own strengths and weeknesses and that I must also KEEP TRYING...to be a better mom and to get more accomplished during the day, however I feel myself fall short most of the time. As a mother, wife, friend, teacher ...etc., there are so many things pulling me in different ways...so I strive to stay organized and keep the important things that I want to remember! Sure I love scrapping those school photos and report cards, but I also want to remember how I feel. Hence my BLOG. it is so much fun to look back on things even though I don't write everyday-I love to go back and see how I felt just a month ago and as you keep doing it when you have time-maybe go back to YEARS!

I have also started journaling when I go on trips. this is a great way to remember all the days and where you went and what you did. I often forget and the days start running into each other and I forget from day to day what we enjoyed. By journaling every day and listing what you did, you can easily go back and Scrapbook your trip with ease. I use my laptop and a WORD document to keep track of all the days!

Scrapbooking is also a way to archive your feelings and for your kids to look back and see what they've accomplished. I am hoping they appreciate it someday more than they do currently. Nobody ever did it for me as a child, and it would have been nice! Scrapbooking is a way to BLOG with visual aspects and all the fun embelishments used to make your feelings important -SO DON'T Forget to journal on your scrapbook pages. Someone in the future might not get it, unless there is a story behind it!

You can start your own BLOG on Yahoo, or http://www.blogger.com/. If you would like to read mine from time to time, it is located at: http://traceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Kids at the Lake

My kids are too cute here when I asked them to pose for me after the parade. We hung out at the lake and they swam and played in the sand. Thanks kids for being WAY too cute in this photo :)

I love ya! -mom

Happy 4th of July

Here we are on the 4th of July taking a boat ride and going up to Cicero for fireworks. It was supposed to rain all day but didn't at all! We had a great afternoon riding and swimming in the lake. When I got off the boat I still felt like I was on the water after being on the waves all day -I was still rocking back and forth!

Rachel's Championship Game

Rachel’s team played in the Championship game last night and were Runner’s Up. They led the whole game and then we were 10-13 (the tigers were up) we had last bat and we made a couple runs making it 12-13 and then we had two outs and one of our batters was up and made a good hit-bases were loaded and they CAUGHT IT! Rachel was still happy to get a trophy, and happy that Grandma Betty came to see her play! So now we are done with baseball and softball and can take a breather!

Monkeys are Runner's Up!

In this photo (taken at the Monkey semi-final game that we won) the girls wanted to throw the cooler ice on their coaches but they were too tall. I had to help them a bit!

Nationals finally Win 2 in a row in Playoffs!

Nationals finally Won after a 0-16 record and loss to put them into the losers bracket. But Wednesday they beat the pants off the Yankees then again on Thursday they won against the Tigers! This is just our Youth Baseball Team, but after those kind of losses to hear people at the field congratulate us, it was FUN and very energizing! Sadly, they ended their two in a row winning streak against the Athletics Friday (Tonight) :(

But we were FIRED Up! Maybe it just took them longer to get their groove on. But it sure was fun while it lasted! Here is Zac getting a run in before they beat the Yankees Wednesday night. I just love watching my son play baseball WIN or LOSE!- love ya Buddy! I am so proud of you XOXO

Having Fun...

Here we are at the Vest Reception having fun with the Hawaiian Theme. They were married in Maui last month and we watched their slideshow and had some great food! We went via boat on Morse Reservour with the Day's to and from the Reception. It was a lot of Fun! The kids had fun as I jumped on the dance floor with them later :)

Jason Grant Born!

Our new baby nephew: Jason Grant

Born to Mike & Suzanne Bish
06-09-07 @ 4:01PM

Good Samaritan Hospital

07 lbs 7 oz.; 20.25 in.

Isn't he the sweetest?

Made it to the Southernmost Point of US!

Well after a lot of driving, we made it to the Southernmost point in the Continental USA! Geographically it is the southernmost point of the United States. Key West is AWSOME and known for the famous Duvall Street with shops, vendors selling souvenirs and conch shells. Believe it or not, standing here you are closer to Cuba than Miami; from here, it is 150 miles north to Miami and only 90 miles south to Cuba. We stayed at the WESTIN hotel & marina thanks to my friend Connie! We hung out at famous places like the Hog's Breath Saloon and Sloppy Joe's and watched the breathtaking sun set! -Before coming back up the Keys we had to stop and put our feet into Anne's Park Beach to just say that we put our feet in the water while we were in Florida!

Yeah, I am a Harley Girl...

Linda, Thanks ;) for coming and having your Harley Dude come and give me a ride! It was a lot of fun! Thanks Jim :)

My mother happened to be here at the time getting the scoop on our Hawaii Vacation and looking at photographs and you stop by with your leather jacket telling me I gotta ride! Well, my mother always told me not to get on motorcycles-they are dangerous! So me being the rebel that I am... I went on a ride! Here I am on a Harley and I have decked my MYSPACE out in Harley duds! Check it out!

Aloha!

We are back from Hawaii and it was a wonderful, educational and relaxing vacation! Here is the family at Niwiliwili Bay ready to go to Duke's Restaurant on the beach and then off to a luau show! We explored lots of places on Kauai and had a great time with Grammy & Papa. It was hard to leave them and such a lovely place. Maybe we will go back again sometime! You wouldn't have to twist my arm ;) Mahalo~Grammy & Papa!

I'm So Excited... And I Just Can't Hide It

I am pretty excited! My first trip to Kawai, Hawaii! Even though I have been to many places in Mexico including Cabo San Lucas (which is gorgeous), Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, and many places in Florida, Bahamas, and Caribbean...well-those are just a few of my favorites... I know Hawaii will be a whole different culture to experience and the kids will learn so much. Their grandparents are very excited to show them everything! They have been whale watching and I can't wait to see that, experience a luau, a waterfall, snorkeling and hand feeding the fish.

My son wants to learn to Surf....well, let's just say that makes MOTHER a bit nervous...but I am up for it if he is brave and really wants to try it. Rachel says her class will be watching the weather in Hawaii while she gone, and brought home a note about a Luau Picnic they will be having during lunch one day. She thinks it is a celebration of her being in Hawaii...and that is fun for her to think that!

The plane ride will be long, Rachel will have to practice those 7/8 multiplication flash cards. She will be with her Dad who loves Math so he will have to get her into the concept of DIVISION. He is great about that as he was working with my son tonight on how to measure circumferences and how to figure things. I am pretty much clueless on that stuff so I am glad he can help with 6th grade math!!! We will work on some Math Workbooks that Rachel got for Christmas too, and she will be reading books on the plane! I am excited for them to experience travel, even though the plane rides will be long. It sure is an experience and I want them to remember it all so they will have to write it in their journals that I made for them. We will print some photos and put them in the journal after we get back so I will be excited for her to be able to share it with her class...I am sure she will be too!

So we are off to Hawaii... I will be offline most of the time enjoying myself -ALOHA!

Scrapbook Corner Blog

Scrapbook Corner has a new Blog. Questions or comments about their blog? email martha@scrapbookcorner.us with blog in the subject and they'll repond! This is the store that I work in and have been part of the Design Team since 2004! I am so excited to be designing again and can't wait for the challenges ahead. Happy Scrappin'

Snow & Fog Days!?

Well not another day of the kids home...yes!!! Because of FOG. It was so foggy today and after a two hour delay, they closed the schools here. Last week they had three days off because of snow, we had a SNOW EMERGECY. I have taken some great photos, however of the kids having a blast in the snow. They haven't wanted to go outside because it's been so cold, but they love to be out in the snow! Here is Rachel after taking the sled down the driveway, she landed and I saw a photo op-so I said "HEY STAY THERE!"...this girl sure can pose!
Last week the kids made a snow fort and it was so cold out,

but I had to venture out and take some photos with my new lense. I just couldn't resist! As I fell through mounds of drifted snow, the kids were building and forming a snow fort and climbing in and out of it! I tried to brace myself...and here are a few photos tha I snapped in the process. I love my lense, it is a good change from getting so up close to my subjects. I like to do that, but not all the time. I like to catch them in action! Here I called out to Madison and Rachel to look over as they were

ready to climb through the tunnel.

Here is a photo of Zac digging through the tunnel

into the middle of it. His face shows how cold he is while he is persistant in getting the tunnel dug out! Snow days are quite interesting as the kids drive you nuts inside the house...I must remember how pleasent looking back on this day is and the special moments life does gives to us!

We Are The Champions!

Well, I believed in BLUE even after that first play of the Bears running that darn ball all the way to a touchdown!

I said..."Shoot...it can't go like this!" Mike, my friend and party host, reasured me that this has happened before in games and not to worry, it was still early. I wasn't worried after that and I believed in the BLUE to take it home...win it all and be CHAMPIONS!!! And they have become what I knew they were all along... Here I am sharing the night with my hubby and sweet daughter and Mike's dog Lacy, the foot warmer!

Colts are #1

COLTS GONNA WIN THE SUPERBOWL! Mean People SUCK! I had all the Colts Songs on my profile through PROJECT PLAYLIST on myspace and someone has messed with me on there deleting them so they won't work now! Mean People Suck...it must be a Bears Fan...Oh you goin' DOWN now! Or it could be someone messing with my Virtual Files on Virtual Space...well had to go back to the regular boring player and added Mudkids GO BLUE! So now what you got for me???? I'll kick some bootie...GO BLUE! Good thing I have all the songs on a CD and I will be BLARING it so *(*- You, whoever you are! COLTS GONNA WIN THE SUPERBOWL!

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS GOING TO SUPERBOWL!

I took this photo in December 2006. We were hoping the Colts would keep up their winning streek...but when we saw the blue dalmatian on top of the BLUE COLTS Fire Engine...the kids had to get their picture taken with it. The dog appropriately had a bowl in front of him that says SUPERBOWL, and we have a dalmatian! I said "wouldn't that be great if we made it to the superbowl and we had this photo!"...sure enough! Here we are. What a long road, but WE BELIEVE IN BLUE!....GO COLTS!

Dem Jeans

Today I got Zac some new jeans because he is growing so much. I got him a couple pair of Levis that were a little distressed and I think they are cool.! Zac liked the Jeans and was so funny when I held them up to show him... He said "I'm THAT BIG???" Then I said "yeah dude, you wear 14s...I know, I do your laundry-STOP GROWING!" It was so funny for him to say that...Maybe he still thinks he's a little tike in his little pants. I hope he remembers he'll always be my little buddy! But would someone find a cure for growing up PLEASE... to keep him little!

Colts Playoffs

Wow, the Colts played their heart out in the playoffs! We dressed in our Colts gear and Rach & I had Colt Helmet Tatoos on our FACE! We had fun over at Mike's and it was good to see them again last Sunday! Now we have to wait for the Superbowl! We are phyched!...GO COLTS...SUPERBOWL BOUND!!!!

GO COLTS!

GO COLTS! We are in playoffs and play the Patriots here. WOW, if they can win in Baltimore with all those mean people...they should be able to kick em all! It's our turn to get that superbowl ring. so...everyone get ready for the COLTS!!!

Girl Scout Cookie Time Again

Yes, it's Girl Scout Cookie time again! Rachel is selling cookies so get your orders into us in the next couple of weeks. Orders will be in probably around the end of February. You can pay at time of delivery, or if you want to send me a check ahead of time, just know that they won't be cashed until probably March. You can make checks payable to GSHC (Girl Scouts of the Hoosier Capital). Here is the website to look at the cookies: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies.html

They cost $3.50 a box.

Thanks! And tell all of your friends you know a Brownie Girl Scout!

You can sent orders to me at my email address: mailto: tbish774@insightbb.com

SCRAPPED-The Movie

WOW I just got the SCRAPPED movie on DVD and watched it as soon as it arrived! Well, after enjoying it very much...this guy (Wes) really got me at the end and I was choaked up!

I am impressed with Wes and getting other men involved in telling their story. So often it falls on the wife and mother. Why can't the MEN get out there and soul search a bit? No...my husband doesn't scrapbook, he is an automation engineer and liked watching the Creating Memories segment on his DVD, however he is a supportive husband of my addiction to scrapbooking. His addiction is woodworking so I love the photo with him and his layout holding a WRENCH! It is now my background on my computer!!! Ha (He didn't probable ever think he'd be that inspirational!?)

I live in Indiana and have been on a design team at a local scrapbook store www.scrapbookcorner.us and I also teach there and recently had a 60+year old man customer who wanted to document his life in photographs. I consulted with him on a couple of occassions to give him ideas and it is truly great to see men getting into this hobby that I love. I believe Digital Photography has something to do with all of this!

If you are a scrapper you gotta check out: http://www.scrappedmovie.com/ and then you gotta read his blog: http://www.scrappedmovie.blogspot.com/ I commented on his blog and told him that he has inspired me to journal more to compliment my artistic layouts! Since I am getting older my memory is fading and I feel like I need to write more things down...I feel like I am missing out on a lot. I always think I will remember what to say, but can't. WRITE IT DOWN! That is my new resolution! 2007 

Anticipation of Hawaii Travel

I am so excited to announce we are going to Hawaii this year. We will be going March 3rd, 2007 for a full week! We will be staying with Mark's mom & dad and where they vacation every winter in Kauai and part of the Marriott Resort! I made this collage in anticipation of our trip. I can't wait!!! It will be the trip of a lifetime!