sushi...for 17

"hi, we're here for sushi. oh, and we'll need a table for 17!!"

luckily, it's our usual sushi place and we had asked them earlier in the week to save us a table for 17! brandon was talking to his soccer coach about having sushi one night and he joined us along w/ his beautiful 2 boys (J & J) AND 2 additional soccer families! what a fun night!

coach M---a big kid at heart! we got very lucky that brandon was put on coach M's team. great motivator but keeps it fun on the field for the boys!

and coach M's wife, H. she helps out a lot of the field! our 2 boys and their 2 boys are the same age. he also coaches the younger son's team and if i had known, i would have switched bryan to that team to make games and practices easier! they have J & J and we have B & B. LOL

another 2 boys on the team. brandon & bryan had a blast. so "special" going to dinner with your coach!

when soccer games go bad...

getting a jump start on holiday cards.

the pictures of brandon here are from his 1st soccer game 2 weeks ago. it was a weird day.....hailed and heavy rain and then sunshine later on just in time for brandon's game. he looks pretty clean now.......after some action on the field, we had muddy boys!

the ball ended up in a puddle of mud and no one wanted to get the ball---except MY boy! that's right, #9! love the look on the little boy's face on the other team in red.

ok, so this is when soccer games go bad. last saturday's game, bryan was ready to go.

taking the ball down to their goal

getting lots of actionstarting to slow down........

attention span of 4 year olds.....

see where the action is? bryan is not interested.

finally out of gas. he had an off day. he cried soon after this picture and said his tummy hurt. as we were leaving the field, we passed by the playground and asked if he could go play. tummy problems all better all of the sudden!

so, what are your little ones going to be for halloween? this year, i am putting together brandon's costume. he wants to be ash from pokemon. i pretty much have the whole outfit. just ordered the hat from ebay. he can hardly wait for halloween this year! bryan on the other hand, wants to be this. i am trying very hard to talk him outta this one!

a monster card to put you in the halloween mood.

things that start with S

took bryan last friday to the kiddie pool when brandon was in school. love that no one is there except serious swimmers (swimming laps in the big pool). it was in the high 80's....perfect way to cool off.tried to replicate an old butterfly print you see in vintage books. would love to find an old book with butterflies and just rip the book up and frame the prints. i made the stick pins myself :) all the card needed was a pop of color and that did the trick.

bryan had his 1st soccer game on saturday. so did brandon. we had 1 game at 8:30am and another at 2:45pm. the weather was definitely cooler....felt some big raindrops here & there. when the game ended and as we were walking to the car, LOUD thunder rumbled! i've never seen bryan run so fast to catch up to me! the thunder started to rumble closer in time and we saw lightning. then, all the sudden, it started to pour. i mean, it came down!!! and can you believe----- we got hail!! jaw-breaker sized hail! just the day before, it was in the high 80's. such unusual weather!

here is a picture of bryan and his team mates before the game. so cute!

after the game and shaking the other team's hands. learning sportsmanship.

the parents making a 'tunnel' for the boys to run under after the game. always fun!

brandon's game pics another day. it's on the other camera. posting a few cards. this one is heat embossed. i scorched it a little....can you tell? both colored with distress inks. fast & fun.


another heat embossed card (not scorched).

this card & little gift below is for a friend. she has received it so i can post my pic now. she LOVES to sew and will change the thread color to match the card she's making! i can't even thread my own sewing machine! it's been out of commission for over a year now! anyways, the jello mold is vintage and so are the spools of thread. some are even on wooden spools marked 19¢! knowing amy, she will use the thread!

TFL! been nursing migraines this past week....think they're heat related. it's been very hot and humid. makes it hard to want to do anything.

summer's over

bryan had his 1st day of soccer practice today. he did real well!

bunch of 4-5 year olds. aren't they cute? these younger kids did better than brandon's team mates at their practice on tuesday. surprising!

waiting for their uniforms!

who wants a snack?

some cards i've made but haven't posted.

back to school already! cannot believe how fast summer passed by. i found out brandon's teacher assignment wednesday. he has 2!!! the 2 teachers split the days they work. that means i have to make double the teacher gifts??!! yikers! we'll see how brandon's first day goes. i have a 2nd grader now...... aaaaand, poor brybry STILL cannot go to school yet. he's looking forward to fall 2012! so am i!