Road Trip ~ Vacation Part 2

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sure had beautiful weather here and were busy bodies once again. It was Hubby's birthday so we did a few fun things. I was going to have a post about that but my camera's battery died so I'll have to share our weekend happenings in the next post. Here are a few photos from our road trip to Lake Michigan and home again.

At the last minute we decided to break the trip up and stay at a motel half way. It was a good idea, 10 hours straight would not have been fun. Our first stay was in Wisconsin, next to the Mississippi river. Was fun to see all the house boats!

A couple more of the Mississippi. Wisconsin was a gorgeous state to drive through. Lots of wild flowers, hills and trees.

These cute little shops are in Long Grove, Illinois. We arrived there shortly before closing time so it seemed like we had the place to ourselves. Off to the right was the neatest art gallery. David and I both wanted to take several pieces home with us! Too bad pictures weren't allowed in there or I would have showed you all the talent that was featured... it was awesome!

On the way home to SD we came across the Cheese Factory restaurant in Wisconsin to have lunch. Couldn't pass this place up since WI is known for their cheese. It was definitely a fun place to eat. The servers made for an extra special experience and the coffees and food were delicious!

Our last stay was in Winona, MN. David would really like to be in a triathlon there next year. One side looks over the Mississippi river and behind me are steep hills filled with trees. Very beautiful but I sure wouldn't want to bike up them! Honestly I would be traveling backwards if I attempted! The shot of the bridge was taken right in front of our motel.

A couple other shots of Winona.

We were in the car for well over 20 hours and this little person slept for less than 2 hours. She did amazing. It was good we weren't next to other passengers because she certainly wasn't quiet. No most of our road trip time was spent singing. When she was bored of singing by her self she insisted the whole family sing... song after song! I'm pretty sure the entire vacation she was worried about falling asleep because she might miss something. Funny girl!

Vacation Part 1 ~ Lake Michigan

Here are a few shots from our trip... and yes this is part 1, I decided to save the road trip pictures for another post, so these are just the ones taken from our resort on Lake Michigan and the nearby area. Just to warn you, hubby called me the paparazzi. Even K was pretty sick of me taking pictures. Ha, ha... but seriously how could you pass up the opportunity of capturing such fun moments!?

This is the front entrance to our resort. The geese would make their rounds around the place. So funny!

First time on the beach. Awe, just like being at the ocean... ok, pretty darn close. Kaelyn would squat down to play in the sand every two steps. It took a lot of encouraging to keep moving forward!

Our resort was awesome. It had a beach front with hiking paths in the back. It was like two totally different worlds.

The deer was a bit of a shock. As we were slowly walking I looked to the left and here she was standing right there close to us, sideways, not moving a muscle. I thought for sure she would run as soon as I turned on my camera and pointed it at her, but she stayed. And when Kaelyn and David started making noises to her, she looked at them and even cocked her head around the brush to look at them... then went back to eating! Awesome!

There was really no way of getting K to look at the camera when she was on the beach though. She was much too busy!

On one of our shopping days Kaelyn got her first carousel ride. I wanted off before she did. I didn't remember they went quite so fast and long! :)

Running back to play in the sand. Oh my goodness, she looked at me!!!

A daily must was swimming in the resorts pool. It was large as well as their fitness rooms, yes that has an s on the end! They really had it all in one place. Great food too. We ate on the patio overlooking the water every day. The seafood ravioli was incredible!

Kaelyn was so involved with the sand and stones she totally ignored the seagulls that walked around her. We kept telling her to look. She would finally and just say "hi, birdie" and return to looking at her treasures! (That's the resort in back of her.)

Jelly Belly factory tour and a picture of me! Ha! (That doesn't happen often.) I'm a total fashionista with the hat! Yes, it was actually mandatory that you wear them once the train ride started. Kaelyn's jabbering away and thrilled to ride a train.

Her favorite indoor place during our trip. Her mouth is filled with jelly belly's and cuddling a super soft plush jelly belly... what could be better?

Ok, the jelly belly store may tie with the swimming pool for K's favorite indoor places.

This was taken in Chicago. Acres of gorgeousness there.

Even though there was a huge, beautiful sandy beach we always seemed to gravitate towards the rockier part. We all had fun finding unique stones... and this one topped them all. David actually found it... but hadn't noticed the heart. He just saw the two colors and thought it was neat. Of course I had to take a few pics with it! ♥ my hubby!

See there's the large, beautiful sandy beach.

One more with the awesome rock! Love these two so much! The rock just fits us perfectly.

Thank you God for letting us see more of the beauty you have created. We are so thankful and feel so blessed to have shared the experience with our daughter. She actually said her bedtime prayer all by herself one of the first nights we were at the resort without even being told to say it with me. Didn't miss a word. She usually only says a couple words here and there. (That certainly warmed my heart!)

Ok, thanks for all those who read my super lengthy post! :)

Introducing ~ Amaria's Paper Work ~

Do you have some childhood memories that stand out in your mind as being extra special? I remember playing with paper dolls. My mom would let me cut up old clothing catalogues... it was so fun to use my imagination to create different outfits and families. Coming across a Team Member of CAC (Christian Artists and Crafters) I was reminded of this special memory. I was so happy to see that someone had an etsy shop with paper dolls!

{magnetic wooden paper doll size 5 - Mandy}

I love finding items that stimulate children's minds creatively and Amaria's Paper Work does a great job of this. There are fun sets for girls and boys so take a look!

{paper dolls from Amaria's Paper Work}

I'm Back!

Hello, hello! I hope you are all well. Wow! It has been a wonderful nine days of road tripping with my little family. Yes, I wasn't brave enough to put my 2yr old on a plane yet, as she isn't one to be quiet and she usually has to get up and run around quite often... so not wanting to bother any other passengers we decided on a family road trip. We stayed in 3 different states with one of our destinations being on a lovely sandy beach. I will share much more, but for now my bed is calling my name and tomorrow looks as though I'll be busy unpacking, organizing and taking care of etsy business.

Promise to be back soon!

God never ceases to amaze me! I am so blessed!

Enjoying the Small Things

What is it that is most important to you? What can you not live without? (Other than needing food and such to survive.) For me its hands down my family. My husband and daughter are my world and I can't imagine life without them. All my other possessions are meaningless... of course I like lots of things, but they are just things... they are incapable of love. If I needed to I would get rid of all that I had... and would be fine with just my little family. Sometimes it seems like we get to much clutter in our life, we focus too much on wanting this and that when we should be simplifying and focusing on what is most important to us.

This week I started reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Usually I don't have time to read, but my husband had started reading the book and told me to read a chapter and well now I have to read it all... that's just how powerful it is. From what I've read so far it is really good... it reminds us to focus our energy for a meaningful life. The book is about God's amazing plan for us which is so refreshing... for me anyway. It's a book for all Christians and your only supposed to read a chapter a day... they are small and completely doable for busy people. Anyway it also talks about how important family is... along with God of course.

I've been wanting to share some very inspiring blogs with you and I have one that focuses on family... which is definitely not a small thing but is something sometimes overlooked, taken for granted or takes a backseat when our lives get so busy. Well this family is filled with love, joy, and know how to enjoy the small things in life.

{photo from enjoying the SMALL things}

Kelle Hampton, from the blog enjoying the SMALL things, has such a way with words. Her heartfelt energy bounces off the words she types and hits her readers to warm their hearts as well. Her photography is also amazing and so sweet... she does a wonderful job catching such special moments of her girls and even her hubby at times. She shares some of her struggles she's had to deal with but is so good at focusing on the positive... just take a look, you'll see what I mean.

Take some time today to focus on the ones in your life that mean so much to you. Enjoy them!

Giving Yourself Permission

In order to move forward with our hopes and dreams we have to give our self permission to do what ever it is that our heart desires. My hubby came across this link about writing your own permission slip and I wanted to share it with you.

Here is a snippet from the post on Illuminated Mind:
"You know that you can’t find that permission outside of yourself. You have to be the one that gives you permission.
Yes, I can spend time on my art.
Yes, I can have the relationship that I want.
Yes, I can make as much money as I want.
Yes, I can be as bold and adventurous as I want.
Yes, I can choose to spend my time on the things that make me come alive."

Be sure to read the rest of the post HERE if your interested. I hope it inspires you to give yourself permission!

New Experiences

...for Kaelyn that is. We had a wonderful and very busy fourth of July weekend and she thoroughly enjoyed all her new experiences. Here are just a few of the fun times...

Warning: A Bit of a Photo Overload :)

Ok, the camel ride was actually from last Tuesday. My brother's family has been back and when they wanted to take the kids to the zoo, how could you pass that up!? I needed a little break from the 8ft painting anyway.

Then on to this last Saturday... headed to MN with Kaelyn and my mom to meet up with cousins for a kids play date. They had a blast! Kaelyn experienced her first slip and slide. She didn't want to leave!

After church on Sunday we were off to our first lake stop to spend some more time with some of my family members who have come from away. The girls sure had fun with the bubble gun. I even thought it was cool... bubbles inside bubbles! Wow!

Then some fireworks. Kaelyn did her first snaps. Turned out being easier to just step on them to make them pop rather than throw.

K and one of her cousins.

Then it was off to another lake to spend time with hubby's family. Kaelyn started with some bug catching there.

We went boating with David's brother and wife and his niece. We all ended up jumping off the boat for a little swim. Kaelyn was even handed in for a bit. (I haven't jumped off a boat in years... it was like I was a little kid again! Ha!) Then it was back to shore to roast marshmallows and watch fireworks. Kaelyn couldn't get enough marshmallows. Pretty sure she almost ate a bag full her self.

So fun! Witnessing more firsts for Kaelyn was priceless. She was filled with delight all weekend! Couldn't have been better.

Taking Risks

In order to succeed as an artist or crafter one must take risks. It starts when you first start promoting your work... getting it out in the world for others to see. This step is huge and can be quite scary. Will your work be rejected, will people take you seriously, will you even give your self permission to live this dream of yours... to keep pushing forward no matter what happens? When the urge of following our heart to create overflows and we take on the first risk, of course some of the scary thoughts do happen. It's part of the reality of being an artist/crafter. Many people won't take you seriously. And no not everyone is going to like what you create, but on the flip side there is always someone who will like it. If you were to look in people's houses, in clinics and hospitals, how many rooms don't have some kind of art? Very few! So if you think of it that way, people need art. It can give a place personality, it can change a person's mood... how powerful is that!? That most definitely has to out weigh all the negativity one must go through on the way to living their dream. Stay focused on the positive no matter where your passion lies. Your given a talent and urge for a reason... don't ignore it!

Self promoting is key for creative souls. You can't sit back and just hope people find you. It can be a whole lot of work in its self to get your name out there... whether on-line, going to shows, or just letting people know about what you create around where you live. Word of mouth can certainly help your business. When people find out your creative it can lead to several different jobs. When you're asked if you can do certain jobs it is up to you to say yes or no... but if you are truly wanting to succeed and your at the beginning stages of your creative journey I highly suggest saying yes. It may not be exactly what you had in mind of wanting to do creatively, you may not even quite know what you're getting yourself into but the learning experience is like no other, you can add the job to your portfolio if you'd like and more people are likely to find out about you and your business.

Luckily since I have left my "secure" marketing job I have had the opportunity to do a wide variety of creative freelance jobs. I have to be honest, when some people first ask (like doing caricatures for high school seniors) my first thought is no, but then I quickly change my mind and say yes. What do I have to lose? And when you want to make a living from being creative a pay check is sure nice! But even if the pay isn't great it's a good starting point and who knows what will come out of it.

So here is one of my latest projects... that kept me real busy last week. A 4 foot by 8 foot sign for my hometown's new museum. At first the size didn't seem that large, until we layed it in our entry and I just had enough room to walk on 3 sides of it... then it was a bit overwhelming. I took on a new risk. I hadn't worked on something this large before, but I believed in myself that I could do it. Here are some pics:

The surface - thick mdf that I can't even pick up and carry by myself.

It was hard to start the sunset, but once I got going it was fun.

A few hours were spent on researching for appropriate silhouette scenery and placement. The windmill was that hardest to paint. Painting such narrow lines and keeping them straight is not an easy task. Then the words... they are painted on, five coats to cover the black paint!

The finished product:

Not an easy size to photograph. Didn't help that it was real windy out. My husband was holding the ladder and me while I was taking pictures. :)

Have you taken any creative risks lately? (Other than standing on ladders to photograph your creations? Ha!) I hope you all had a wonderful fourth! I'll have to share a few photos of Kaelyn from her eventful weekend soon.