Four SuperPACKED Vacation Days... & now, Back to School!!!

We had a GREAT time... It was so much fun and our days were so packed full of sights and activities... much more so than on a normal vacation - but as I mentioned in the last post, we had no playmates come along with us this time for Kaye - and she was only interested in sitting still for so long?! LOL! Actually - we DID get a bit of rest in there too... but not much!
After my week of being house-bound though, I was ready for a little activity!!!

We had never gone to the Olympic Peninsula... well - Dave and I went to Port Townsend for a romantic weekend a couple of years ago - but we - uh - didn't really get out much to see the surrounding area at all?! So - this was all new to us! We stayed in Port Angeles and it was gorgeous the WHOLE time... it didn't ever get cloudy or rainy when we hiked in the Rain Forest?! The first night we were there, we found our little secret hideaway - a great little rental on a private secluded forest road! We got settled in and headed into town to catch a concert down on the Pier... gorgeous! And super fun, too! Great to see all the locals - I can see why they sort of want to keep this little town a secret!

Anyway, Thursday we hung out at the house and then walked around town a bit... who doesn't love the little touristy shops and then we went up to Hurricane Ridge... wow!? gorgeous views?! On a clear day you can see from the Pudget Sound all the way to the San Juan Islands and Canada! We had lunch at a restaurant on the Pier that overlooks the Ferries to Victoria, BC...

Friday was our packed travel day... we went to the Hoh National Rain Forest and hiked around the "Hall of Mosses"... so breathtaking... and then we drove to the Coast and hung out at Rialto Beach for awhile... and on our way back we stopped in at Lake Crescent for a bit as well! We checked in to our first ever B&B... hosted by a great couple - super friendly and full of tips and local info... I can see one of the many pluses of staying in a B&B now is getting the inside local input! I wished we had stayed here 1st so we could get the scoop on where to go and what to do!

Saturday we headed back to Yakima - stopping off in Sequim to tour one of their many Lavender Farms! Oh MY?! SOOOoooo pretty! (and the smell.... yummy!)

Then, we went to the Olympic Game Farm... which was formally owned by Walt Disney. This is where many animals featured in (old) Disney family movies end up... so they are 'tame' wild animals. It was TOO cool!!! We got to feed Yaks (Yeah - and we got SLOBBERED too!!!?), Buffalo, Elk, Deer, some other deer-like animals!? LOL! - oh - and BEARS!!! Brown, Black, and Grizzly! The bears were 'caged in' by low wide barbed wire fences - nothing that would actually stop them if they wanted out I am sure!? They would also WAVE if we waited long enough to feed them! Too cute! (although I DID keep reminding Kayelyn to stay INSIDE the car!?!?!) We also saw Cougars, Tigers, Wolves, Bobcats, etc. It was pretty amazing... oh alright... I will admit to a minor (yes, MINOR) panic attack when Dave thought it FUNNY to stop the car completely when the Buffalo were heading straight for the car... the signs on the fence entering the open field where they roam freely CLEARLY stated to NOT STOP your car... (Hey - those guys are BIG!?!!????!??)

Anyway - we also stopped in at Port Gamble... a seriously close replica of Stars Hollow - only with a waterfront! It was just TOO CUTE!!?!?!?! Then we took the Bainbridge Ferry back to Seattle and headed home! We only ran into rain once we got back over the Pass!? Go figure?!

All in all it was a GREAT trip... even Kayelyn had fun! It was just jumping those ocean wave that made her really miss Holly... that is something that they always do together and she only did it for a few minutes... she said it just felt wrong! Poor thing! Other than that though - she didn't even mention not having friends with her this time! Of course, it had to have helped that our first place we stayed at had a trampoline, and a Volleyball court set up, and a great dog (Saabie) and cat (B.C.) that were super friendly!!! That set up was sweet - even though it was a bit further out of town than I realized... it sleeps 6 easily - more if you bring sleeping bags or air mattresses... it was STOCKED with board games, a PlayStation, books, etc. - it had a hot tub, the trampoline and volleyball net, not to mention other sports stuff in a closet... we'd LOVE to go back and actually have some more downtime at the house! The B&B had an incredible view... a great master room with private bath - the couple as I said was great and the breakfast was incredible - plus, they too had a dog Otto who Kaye loved to play with! We'd love to go back to stay with them as well and take the ferry over to Victoria next time!!!

Anyway - we are home now... Dave is enjoying one more vacation day, as is Kaye... and tomorrow - WooHoo! - is back to our regular routines... work, school, walking/prayer... oh yeah! I am ready!!! And today - I can even feel a bit of FALL in the air... and you all know how I feel about that! LOL! I have a TON of pictures to scrap now... but, (gasp!?) they will have to wait - I have three clients waiting on me to finish projects and so I will have to put my own stuff on hold for a little bit!

Until next time,
Scrap On!
~Karrilee~

Finally... I am better!!!

OH My Goodness?!!?!?!!

I had NO IDEA how painful Shingles were... I simply had no idea!? Anyway - I am so pleased and happy to report that I have been Advil free since Friday afternoon and I have had no new breakouts and very little pain! This, I know, is a quick recovery! I talked to and showed a few people who had had them and they said that it seemed I had a severe case... but in one short week they are healing up and (for the most part) pain free now! Whew!? What the heck was THAT all about?! I never did get any pain meds... I found some of Dave's Darvocet (from his broken hand last summer) and took a few of those but they never really kicked in so I KNEW that they were working much - plus they made me LESS sleepy - not more sleepy!? What the heck!? Sort of felt ripped off on that front - but I am just giving praise that I am not needing anything now! We leave for vacation on Wednesday - and that was my biggest prayer - that I would be better and feel healthy enough to really enjoy our trip!

Last week - (yeah - in the midst of it all - I know?! I am crazy) I hosted a Stampin' Up! Party! LOL!? I can't remember the last time I hosted one of those!? I think EE lead one for me once - but we mostly due the catalog party... anyway - I had about 8 people come and we had a BLAST! (Oh - Darcie - Susan said Hello - and Sharon said she still has someone elses' cookbook?!) Anyway - we made a super cute card... we used the new Spiral Punch (Featured in CK last month I think) and I finally got to play with the Watercolor Wonder Crayons! TOO FUN!!! Anyway - I am closing my party today or tomorrow and then I get to figure out my own order... I am definitely getting that Punch... and maybe a few others?! I don't really HAVE any punches... I know you all are shocked?! I am one of the few scrappers who actually don't have MUCH in regards to supplies or the latest and greatest... not that punches are anything new... but I am cheap and they usually are not!? Anyway - that was fun!


As I got to feel better, I worked on designing a Custom Scrapbook Album... this is the COOLEST thing... there is a great company that now prints custom albums... you design the front (and spine, and back) cover... how fun is that?! So - I worked on a custom album for my Italy client... I will have to let you all know how it turns out in real life - but this here are the layouts to be used... On Thursday night, I had my scrapbook link at church and was able to not only work on some actual pages, but I broke out my new toy... yes ladies - I have found a new adhesive! I know, I know... I too will miss the blue ZIG glue pen... (shut up!?)... ya'll know I will still have a stash of pens... 'just in case'... but I caved in to the trend and bought my own ATG... and I LOVE IT! I just have to learn that I can not be OCD about my ATG... If I use it 'correctly' - the cost per foot is like $0.02 or something crazy like that?! Plus - Who doesnt love holding a gun!? tee hee!?! So - here are a few samples of my lo's... I can't post all of them as they are not my own and I don't want you all to see the pages before the client! But - we chose to work with the BG Stella Ruby line - so FUN and rich and yummy!

Here is a Digi LO I did featuring My Honey...
I am also working on a Digi LO of my DD as well... I will post it when I am done - just downloaded a super cool Rockin' font with skulls... yeah - too fun... anyway - here is the picture I am using on the layout... (OK - as you can see... I finished it today:)

So - this week... well - today I am totalling up my SU! Party stuff... and shopping through the catalog! Yay! Kaye spent the night with one of her best friends... possibly the last sleep over of the summer since we are leaving on Wednesday! Tomorrow I have my Prayer meeting to go to (which I have missed - literally and figuratively - the past two weeks or so!?) and then I need to take Kayelyn school supply shopping... I can not BELIEVE how stinkin' big her list is!? Gone are the new box of Crayons... in their place is a required USB Flash drive!? Are you kidding me?! How can one be completely done school supply shopping without a box of crayola crayons?! I mean - without that new crayon smell - it just doesn't seem like back to school!? Am I right?! Anyway - then Wednesday comes VACATION!!!! We have NEVER waited until the end of summer to take our main vacation and we will never again wait?! LOL!? It has taken forever and it made the summer seem rather long and somewhat boring?! Add to that, the fact that none of Kaye's friends' could come along with us this year and I can't imagine how fun this trip will be?! I just hope and pray that she has a good time - even though she will be stuck with just us!

So - that is all from here...
Scrap On!
~Karrilee~

You've been (Name)Tagged!

You’ve Been tagged...
I saw this on a friends' blog and thought it just looked like fun...
So - if you see your name below... you've been (Name)Tagged! Pick 6-8 of your favorite online bloggers or friends and tag them... have fun creating a tag for each one!

Darcie.. praying you are feeling better SOON!

Na - sort of in honor of your love for field trips to the State Pen?! tee hee!?

Just because... it is true! Love you guys!

Because seeing puppies - while it is a bit strange, is still WAY better than seeing dead people!?

Mikey... it's true - you are one of the most intellgent people I know! Deep Thoughts by Blind Mikey... it has a certain ring to it, yes?!

Super-Oober talented Corinna Corinna... in honor of your love for 80s Rock!

...because I miss worshiping with you and seeing you Dance!

Sparkly and Purple... who doesn't love a little glitter!?

Hope you are feeling better, too!

The Walk of Fame...Steph - one day, my friend... one day!!!

Anyway, you've been tagged!

Have fun!
~Karri~

Bourne Ultimatum, Shingles, & an Epidural

Yeah...that's right... those are the top three things on my mind today...

So - last weekend, Dave and I went out with Greg and Robbin to see The Bourne Ultimatum... we are fans of the Bourne series and have enjoyed all three movies... this last one was great - highly recommend it... lots more action and not as much (or should I say not 'enough') love story - but really a great flick! It was funny - we ended up sitting next to two of our pastors... Robbin said she would behave in rating the previews because of that... but there was someone in some movie coming out that she couldn't help but state, "Oh!?!! I like him!" to which we giggled like little girls?! Good times... good times! All in all, it was a great night out... even though it was a movie and so there was not any real eye contact/good conversation going on...

Next up - Shingles... OK - well - I thought that this was something that happened to old people?! I mean, honestly - I had never heard of anyone getting them under the age of, say, 70!? Then a couple of years ago, my Mom got them... I thought she was rather young to get them... well - guess what?! Yeah - you guessed it... I was in so much pain and finally decided that I did not in fact have an allergic rash... but possibly a poisonous spider bite or something and this pushed me to go to a doctor?! Me?! Now - it's not so much that I am anti-doctor or anything... it's just that we don't go... a few different things come in to this decision...but that is just how it is! So - we were lucky enough to be able to get an appt with a doctor yesterday to look at my 'bites'... he took one glance and said, "Oh yeah... you have shingles?!" Great?! So - what I didn't know about Shingles - in addition to the fact that it's not just something the elderly can get - is that they are excruciatingly painful... The Dr. prescribed an antiviral med that is suppose to help it get out of my system faster than 'normal'. No pain meds... no topical creams... just the antiviral stuff?!

At the time - I thought the stinging was painful, but I have a fairly high tolerance for pain and didn't think to ask for anything else... today - however, well - I can say honestly that I would rather be in the midst of childbirth!? And that is saying something because I only had one on purpose!? I told Dave last night that at least my labor only lasted 5 hour and it didn't hurt thsi bad... AND someone at least OFFERED an epidural and various other drugs - to which I insanely said no to at the time - but today?! Today I would say YES!... PLUS - with labor - at least at the end, you have a baby!? With this, when it is over - I get nothing!? Well.. nothing but SWEET RELIEF!?!?!?

So - I am off to take as many Advil at one time as possible without o/d'ing... and maybe I can get a little sleep!? It sure doesn't seem like it though!? Oh yeah - and I did get a box of goodies to work on teh Italy album... I finally have the stuff - and I can't even pretend to try to feel creative today!? And tomorrow isn't looking so good either?! Crap!? Where is my source when I need her?! I believe, many many times in the past, a special someonEE has offered to Hook Me Up...?! LOL!? Heck - today - I would take you up on it?! (Maybe?!)

Scrap On!
~Karrilee~

Yeah - I'm now starting the Summer Countdown for School!!!

It's been about two weeks - and I have created nothing... not one thing!?

I ordered all my papers for my latest Design job but they will not show up until Monday or Tuesday - so I am busy playing around with the Journaling... and trying to wait (patiently?!) for my box of goodies to arrive so I can get started!!!

I visited my sister and newlywed niece earlier this week... I was hoping to go over ideas for her scrapbook (Wedding Gift) and see the photo's she chose - but that didn't happen... I don't think that she has decided yet on the photo's yet and I am not sure how many she has picked out so far... it is a gift and I am sure that it will be a full album - but I'm hoping that it will not be TOO full... The Disneyland Album is also temporarily on hold right now too! Hopefully just for a couple of months?! This way however, I think I will be able to start and complete one at a time with focus and it will work best in the end! Aaah - those Tuscany photo's are calling my name!!!?

However, it's not like I have nothing to do... I have nothing to SCRAP - but I have plenty to do!? I have housework - which never sounds like fun... I have laundry like crazy... I have books piled up again awaiting my attention... I have (finally) planned our vacation to Port Angeles and so I need to hurry up and wait for that long weekend to get here already... I have a Stampin' Up party here in a couple of weeks, and my Scrap Happy group meeting as well... I have a school sports physical I need to get my daughter before school starts, and of course, there is the Back To School frenzy of activity that simply must occur!?! I keep fantasizing that we can skip it all... but alas... it has begun here?!

After our visit with my family, (and working on my website with my webmaster Jack - It needed a bit of updating, and creating one with Jack for my hubby at http://www.daveaggett.com/) ...my daughter and I stopped in to do some Back To School clothes shopping on our way back home at Columbia Center! We love this Mall and have been going here for school shopping for the past several years... we always find way too many things and so many of the stores were having GREAT sales... I am talking almost Yard Sale prices... boxes of things for $5.99, $4.99, $2.99, and $1.99... of course - my daughter couldn't really make her self 'dig' to find anything?! I tried to find things for her... but it didn't matter WHAT I pulled out of the box, she didn't like it?! I silently wondered if it was on a hanger and not on sale for $1.99 if she would love it?! Sigh... okay - well apparently this store that USED to house all of her favorite clothes - well they don't so much anymore?! Apparently the biggest issue is that for the past couple of years, she has loved all the hip clothes - but this year - what is 'hip' is not so much what she likes and that makes it a bit more tricky to shop!? About 2+ hours into the Mall wandering, she said that she really likes the clothes at Fred Meyers and Shopko... !?!?!?! Um... OK!? We HAVE those in our own town and the prices there are more reasonable by far?!!? (well - except for that darn $1.99 box!?) So - we ended up meeting a friend in the food court - where we spent a whopping $8 on lunch and left the Mall bagless...

We did however get to go shopping a bit yesterday (in our own town?!) and praise the Lord - she found SEVERAL items that she needed and loved... so - we are well on our way to having that new school wardrobe! Whew?! It was not looking so good on Wednesday!? The most troubling part of that was the fact that we ALWAYS enjoy shopping together and have a great time... now I know that we may be soon approaching the phase of wanting to shop with friends more than Mom... I get that... I remember that... and even though I am WAY cooler than my Mom ever was... (LOL!? Shut up!? I AM!!!?!!!) I will give her that in small outings. Of course - I am much more aware of styles and a bit more strict in what I deem appropriate than my parents were too... but - I have to say - yesterday we had a BLAST... we were laughing and giggling and oohing and aahing over the cuteness of this outfit or that top... I had to let out a quiet sigh of relief... PLUS - for under $125 she got 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of Bermuda shorts, 2 sweatshirts, 2 cami's for layering, 2 tank tops, 2 tops, 1 pair of capri sweats, a pair of flip flops, and some undies too!!!! Yeah!!! So - we still have those dreaded Bra's to buy as well as some other shoes and maybe a few more tops, an actual WARM sweatshirt, and a skirt or two (because I can still dream, can't I?). That of course doesn't even mention the actual SCHOOL supplies?!

So - last night I went to Bunko... and won a cute little Lemonade set from Linens-n-things! Kaye had Marissa and Holly both spend the night and they were featured on the hide-a-bed playing old school Super Nintendo into the wee hours of the morning and giggling to no end... now the girls are gone and we are getting ready to go spend the afternoon with Stephanie - Kaye's cousin from Nashville, TN! Tonight, Dave and I are going out on a date with our friends Greg and Robbin... we are way overdue and so in need of it! Between work, Dave's night jobs recently, traveling out of town with Kaye, and sleep overs, I don't think I have actually TALKED with my husband for about three weeks?! I mean - sure - a little... and not ALL talk... but eye contact with a real conversation sounds great!!!

I will create something soon... maybe something digi of my own... we'll see!? Once again, bucket inspires me to create in digiland...

Hope you are all enjoying the summer and finding comfort in knowing that it is soon coming to an end! LOL! (Only 24 days left here!!?!?!) Woot!

Scrap on!
~Karrilee~