3BluEyedBabies LOs

January 1- Blind Scrap

 

January 2 -Why I Scrap {journal}



{445 words}
Journaling: Why do I love to scrapbook? There are many reasons, but the most important one is that I scrap for my kids. Someday, I want them to have all these pages to look back at with their own kids and reminisce about our life together. I have always been a scrapbooker for as long as I can remember. I used to cut out magazine pictures as a kid and make collages of things I liked like horses and dogs and things I wanted. I would use Lisa Frank stickers and pens and notebooks to write down my thoughts. This was all a creative outlet for me and although I didn't call it scrapbooking at the time, that's what it was. I would also keep little souvenirs and stick them in my journals, too. When I was about 12, I was given my first camera as a gift, and from then on, I would take pictures at family gatherings, holidays, and vacations as well as of our pets. This continued all through middle school and high school. Then, when my daughter was just a baby, 16 years ago, I bought a beautiful scrapbook collection with two albums, beautiful papers, and lovely embellishments from QVC during one of their scrapbook marathons! I was immediately hooked on all the pretty papers and cute stickers! I made quite a few scrapbook pages of my daughter when she was a baby. I would get my pictures printed right away and use my favorites to make these pages so I didn't forget any of the little moments of her first year. I kept a notebook where I would write down all the little 'firsts'. I kept lots of little things to add to her scrapbook. When my second child came, and I was much busier, I discovered digital scrapbooking. It was a godsend! It was so much faster and cheaper than paper scrapping. It is a creative outlet for me, but it means so much more to me to be able to record all the happy, sad, and mundane moments of our lives for future generations. I still keep postcards, pressed pennies, and brochures from places we've been to add to a scrapbook. I do have thousands of digital pictures I need to print as well as hundreds of scrapbook pages, though. I was recently given some old photos of my family, and I wish I knew the story that went with each photo. I will be the memory keeper for my family and record all the moments that make up an amazing lifetime. Someday, I hope my kids are glad that I loved to scrapbook as much as I do!

 

January 3-Photoless-Who I Am

 

January 4 - Flower Power

 

January 5- Fill A Fourth

 

January 6- Torn Title

 

January 7- Simple Template

 

January 8- One Color

 

January 9-Bokeh Effect

 

January 10-Title With No Letters

 

January 11- Tell Me A Story
{518 words}


On Thursday, August 20, 2020, we all got up at 5:30 a.m. to spend the day at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve in Thurmont, Maryland. It was about a two-hour drive. We had packed a cooler with drinks, sandwiches, and snacks the night before and we also took a change of clothes. None of us had been to this zoo before, but it looked like a nice place online. We were also planning on going to Gettysburg Military Park on the way home. It was a nice drive and we got there a little before 8 a.m. After paying for admission, we were given a map and the kids got a cup of animal food to feed the animals. There was lots of lush greenery as we walked into the preserve. The first animal we saw was some beautiful Macaws. The first area we walked through was Madagasgar. Here, we saw a very unique animal called a Fossa. I don't think I've ever seen one before. It kind of looked like a cat and a mongoose. Next, we saw some really cute black and white lemurs that were really active and hard to take a picture of! We also saw some really pretty birds of Madagasgar. The next area was Australia where we some wallabies, singing dogs, and black swans. Next, we saw some very rare booted monkeys from Indonesia. They were quite funny, actually, swinging in the rope enclosure and playing together. There were quite a few babies that were adorable! Next up were the lazy sugar bears. They were sleeping most of the day! We went into the Giant Reptile house next. There were lots and lots of huge snakes in there. I took lots of pictures, but my skin was crawling the whole time! Back outside, we saw some baboons and some sleeping otters. Then we were able to feed some adorable deer and koi in the pond. We were having a great day, so far. The preserve wasn't crowded and it was nice and clean. Next up we saw a beautiful 24-year-old jaguar named Evita. She was rolling all around when we saw her! We saw two huge iguanas and some tortoises, next. In the North America section, we saw a lynx and a bunch of alligators before we went on our safari. The safari guides were amazing! Like Collin, they were full of goofy jokes! We got to feed bison, camels, watusi, goats, emus, and we saw zebras and it was so much fun! Next. we stopped by the monkeys again and then went to the car for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we saw the new koi pond and fed them, too! We saw more snakes, a horned crane, a capybara, and went to the petting zoo area to feed more animals! It was so much fun! I would definitely go back again and I would recommend it to anyone who loves animals. It is very obvious that all the animals are very well cared for! After leaving the preserve, our next adventure was to explore the Gettysburg Military Park!

 

January 12-Art Journaling Diary



December 25, 2020
The big day is here! Everyone will be here at 3. The house is all clean, the table is ready for yummy food, and we are all excited for Christmas Eve fun and games!
NO! I can't believe it! Someone hit Cleo. She was laying on the road and I had to go get her and put her in a box. She is gone. How could this happen? She never goes near the road. Curtis saw her on the way to the store for cat food. I'm shaking, I'm so sad. not on Christmas Eve of all days. We are all crying. It's too much.

Believe it or not, we had a fun night. We played lots of fun reindeer themed games. We laughed so hard and the 5 of us definitely needed to do that after everything with Cleo. The
lasagna & baked ziti was so good and Kas made a yummy pumpkin cake.
The kids are all in bed and now it's time to be Mr. C!
It's midnight and I'm all done and ready for bed. It was a bittersweet day.

December 25, 2020
It's Christmas!! I'm so very tired, but it was a great day! The kids and Curtis spoiled be with a new red truck cookie jar, navy blue vest, and slippers. Avery got me two new hats, a photo album she filled with pictures and new hair clips. The kids loved their presents and there was no arguing or crying this year! Dad and Kas came over and we had a great time with them opening presents and they loved the pictures of the kids we gave them! We made lots of appetizers instead of a big Christmas dinner. Curtis almost caught the stove on fire with the bacon-wrapped crab meat, but luckily he had me there to tell him to take the smoking food out of the oven! I took a ton of pictures I can't wait to scrap. Dad & Kad brought over some old photo albums and Mom-Mom & Pop-pop's wedding pictures for me to start scanning. What a great day!

December 26, 2020
Oh man, I am still so very tired! The house is full of boxes, bows, and toys everywhere! We decided to go check out the Funko Pop sale so Collin could spend some of his Christmas money. He bought 4 of them for $20. We came home and made our ham dinner and I used the mixer Deb gave me to make pineapple filling. It was all so yummy! The kids played with their new stuff and Avery ordered her new shoes she was waiting for Christmas money to get. Another fun day. We still need to figure out what to do about poor Cleo, though.

 

January 13-In A Mirror

 

January 14-Filled Style

 

January 15-Clean and Simple Style

 

January 16- Using Doodle Art

 

January 17-Acrostic Challenge

 

January 18- Combine Two Templates

 

January 19- Create A Stamped Background

 

January 20- Photography Challenge-Through A Lens of Possibility