Chicago...in 48 hours.

so, we covertly planned an impromptu trip to Chicago last weekend...as in, Allie had no idea. we woke her up Thursday morning, threw in the car and simply said 'we're going for a ride', lol. having made this trip a dozen times, we thought for sure she'd figure out where we were headed as soon as we passed Toledo on the Ohio Turnpike...nope. it wasn't until we were halfway across Indiana when she said 'hey...are we going to Chicago?!'

and she was way excited. the best part for us was the look of genuine surprise on her face...we'll have to do that again someday. now...what she DIDN'T know was that we had scored awesome tickets to the US vs. Honduras Men's semifinal soccer game at Soldier Field that night. we have become a family that is semi-obsessed with soccer, lol. which is odd...because if you had told me a year ago that we would be into watching professional soccer, i would have called you crazy. but as it stands, we are HOOKED.

the Men's team had secured their spot for the semi-final on Saturday night...and since we knew we were going to Chicago anyway, we figured why not go to the game?! she had been making posters all week and hanging them around the house...'GO U.S.-BEAT HONDURAS', etc. so while Mike was checking into our hotel, she turned to me and said:

'Mom, this means we won't be watching the soccer game...that stinks.'

to which i replied:

'oh yes we are...we are going to WATCH that game Allie. FROM THE SIDELINES!!!'

to say she flipped would be putting it mildly, lol. this was the look on her face at the stadium that night... it rained for most of the first half...but we didn't care. we cheered our team on, and they won. (until Sunday when they played Mexico in the final and got their hats handed to them...ouch.) i'm guessing that Soldier Field must have 60,000+ seats..and every single one of them was filled. it's a neat feeling to be around so many people who share your excitement for the game, walk around with pride supporting their country's team and truly get into the spirit of the competition.

the next day we just stayed near the hotel and bummed around. Woodfield Mall is near where we always stay (it's close to Mike's family), and now that she's into shopping, we spent the better part of Friday afternoon there. we turned in early Friday evening, since we were heading into the city on Saturday...we were wiped out and the rest helped immensely.

so.

Allie loves her American Girl doll, Emily. we get to the American Girl store about once a year, and she so looks forward to it...her eyes glaze over, she gets all giddy and she is flying high with excitement. but wait...'MOM! i didn't bring Emily, because i didn't know we were coming to Chicago!!'

fear not, sister...mama's got you covered, lol.

that doll was packed neatly in the back of the car...like i would forget?! here she is, showing off Emily's new ear piercings that she got done that day...and after seeing the mayhem that is consistently there every time we go, no matter what time of year...i have to say that whoever came up with the idea was a genius. recession?! you'd never know it in that place, lol!

after our trip to AG, we decided to spend the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. (we are members to a similar museum here in Ohio, so we get in free...woot!) i had wanted to go see the pirate exhibit at the Field Museum, but they were dead set on the Science museum. we had a good time...

the highlights?

the 30 minute live show called 'Poop Happens'...teaching kids about digestion, lol. i have to say that i was laughing so hard i was crying at the 2 college kids that work for the museum and do this show. and every kid in there was teeheeing at the fact that they were allowed to be talking and making jokes about poop without being reprimanded, lol. so right from that show, we hightailed it to the lab for...

'Dissect a Cow Eye'.

now.

i was worried a bit...10 was the youngest you could be to participate, so Allie just made the cut. (no pun intended) but she was adamant, and we got the last eye available. (whew. she had been looking forward to this lab all stinking day and would have been MAJORLY bummed had we not gotten in.) i was shocked...it was an actual lab like when i was in high school Anatomy class! each 'student' had their own lab setup...complete with SCALPELS. now, i handle scalpels everyday...they are S-H-A-R-P.

i freaked a bit.

but i relaxed and told myself to let the dude teaching the class do his job...he informed them about safety, etc. and she did just fine. until they handed out the eyes, lol.


uh, yeah. they don't exactly look like most people expect them too...and between the weird color and the muscles/nerves hanging off the back side of it, she looked a bit freaked.

but then fun Professor Dude teaches them to do the 'Cow Eye Popsicle' trick with the scalpel (demonstrated below), and all is well, lol.

before you know it, she was engrossed and totally loving it.

when we were walking out, she was like 'Mom...is that like what you do at work, only you use brains?'

to which i replied...'well, kinda. only the brains are attached to patients and they are alive and we're a bit more careful.'

pause for thinking.

'so no 'Brain on a Popsicle Stick' for you?'

'uh...no.'

we laughed, and she told us that she loved the dissection...and maybe she will go to Medical School. personally, i have every reason to believe she meant it. the girl LOVES science...so we intend to encourage her to pursue it as long as she is enjoying it. then again who knows...she has also told us she wants to be a rock star, an actress and an accountant.

after that, we hopped in the car and hit the road for the trip back to Ohio. she was looking out the window as we were driving on the Skyway through downtown, and she told us...'you know what guys? this was the best weekend ever.'

to which we just smiled at each other.

because for us, the most exciting part was the whole surprise concept...at her age, it's getting harder to surprise her with things, you know? no more Santa...no more Easter Bunny...and she isn't easy to keep secrets from.

but this one.

this one last minute weekend trip.

this one made an impact on her that i have a feeling will last quite some time.

i know it will for Mike & i.

:)

Studio Calico August.

the Over the Rainbow kit is officially available now over at Studio Calico...so much versatility in this one, that you can do just about anything with it! i loved the primary colors that seemed to stand out...just bright and fun.

so, as a confessed rub-on lover, i find myself hoarding (and using) them all of the time. but sometimes, the color isn't what you need...or you want something a bit more subtle. so i married 2 of my fave things...my rub-on eraser and my paint! (this would be the 'technique' i mentioned that excited me all to pieces, but probably isn't quite as interesting to anyone else...hahaha) i used the rub-on on the cardstock, then painted right over the top of it. after the paint dried, i used my favorite adhesive eraser, available HERE in the Studio Calico shop...and rubbed the whole darn thing off, leaving behind a cool 'negative' image of the original rub-on, without the color that didn't quite match. dig out those rub-ons and start playing...i did a little experiment after this and the possibilities are endless! you can mist over them, ink over them, paint...you name it. eta: it looks like the eraser is already sold out, but i'm sure a reorder will happen!! i used the same technique here, on my 'Prone to Drama' layout...but after i erased the image i doodled inside of it. now, i can NOT doodle to save my life...but with the negative image as a guide, i just followed along the pattern with my pen and let loose, lol.

this would be the pinked circle stamp that most of us are in love with...i can think of about a million different uses.

ahhh...this dress. still remember it as if it was hanging in my closet this moment. and the Melissa Frances chip ledger letters that i have been coveting...yessssssssssssss.

we do so many road trips, that i keep finding pics of Allie keeping herself busy.

pics from the Columbus Crew game that we took Allie and 2 of her friends to on the 4th of July...they had an absolute blast, and it's fun to see them all whooping it up together.

still recooperating here from the last week...from working 3 12 hour shifts in a row to a whirlwind impromptu trip to Chicago, we are BEAT. so today is officially dedicated to chilling out.

enjoy your day!

=)

Over the Rainbow.

just a reminder that Studio Calico's August kit, Over the Rainbow, goes on sale tomorrow night at midnight EST. (that's Monday night...woohoo!!) don't forget...if you are a subscriber, you can purchase add-ons beginning at NOON EST tomorrow...and there just may be a few items in the shop to keep an eye on...join us tomorrow evening in the chat room to while the time away until midnight!!

we are just getting home from a totally last minute, whirlwind trip to Chicago...and i'm flat out exhausted. details to follow, lol...have a great week!

just like old times.

last year at about this time, Allie's best friend Shannon moved 10 hours away. you'd have thought it was the end of times...and never having been through that myself, i just tried to remind her that she could make new friends...while still keeping in touch with Shannon. well, she did just that. they talk every Sunday evening on the phone...a short call, just long enough to catch up with their weeks...but they look forward to it. and every summer, she comes back with her family to visit for a week...so when they pulled in our driveway last Sunday unannounced, needless to say it was a pretty cool surprise. so we had a little reunion sleepover the other night...also inviting the next door neighbor girl who went to school with them. we took them putt-putting (they had a blast) and then they teeheed well into the wee hours of the morning. and while Allie was bummed to see her leave again, this time she knows it's definitely just a short time until they talk again...it's been a heck of a week around here...ear infection that required a visit to the ER (which resulted in a precription for $94 ear drops...yes, you read that right. that was the cost AFTER insurance...yikes.) then some unexpected work for Mike's truck...then my crown falling off of my tooth, lol. i was beginning to think we were the house that had the rain cloud over our heads. but thankfully her ear is getting better...Mike's car got fixed...my dentist told me to pop that crown back on until i could get into see him (seriously?), and things seem to have evened out.

for now, lol.

so that's kind of where i've been for the last week.
and if you made it through this far, here are a few more sneaks of the August kit, 'Over the Rainbow' at Studio Calico...

kind of haphazardly 'discovered' a new (to me) technique this time around...and am having a blast with it! you can see a bit of it in that first pic up there, and in the first pic in the previous post...nothing earth-shattering, but i think it's fun!

have a great week!

bluebirds fly...

to get sneaks of Studio Calico's August kit...Over the Rainbow!

i'm officially in love with several things this time around. like these wooden letters... and these Melissa Frances chipboard letters.

and this pinked circle stamp..

and the journaling cards...oh, the journaling cards.

***side note: extras of the journaling cards as well as the wooden alphas will be available in the Shop on Reveal Night...you will want extras...i promise.

as usual, April & Scarlet have put together an awesome assortment of goods for us...including some things i wouldn't have bought for myself, but ended up having fun with. start checking out the rest of the DT blogs (listed on the right over there ------>) for more sneaks.

also...

have you checked out the Lily Bee blog lately?? HUMONGOUS giveaway of EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF BOTH LINES!! leave a comment before Friday at noon EST to enter...and while you're there, check out the new blog header...hmmm...could that be a small peek of what's in store for their new release??

been busy enjoying summer with the fam lately...it hasn't been too awful hot/humid thus far, but it's only July. and aside from Allie's annual summer vacation ear infection, (which she developed this a.m....and since she couldn't be seen until tomorrow and was really miserable, we took a trip to the Pediatric Urgent Care where they proceeded to prescribe her the annual $100+ ear drops in addition to the oral antibiotic...which HAD to be flavored 'Root Beer' at the pharmacy...cross your fingers she feels better.) things have been A-ok.

as they say in the song...

'summertime...and the livin' is easy.'

the spirit of independence.

wow.

i know this pic is oooooooooolddd...like, circa 2001 old, lol. but while i was flipping though some oldies looking for one of my brother and i, i found it.

and it reminded me of the simple things about being a kid in the summertime.

like skin missing off of your knee.
like pigtails and popsicles.
like not noticing the heat.
like trying to catch the most fireflies.
like running through a sprinkler.
like putting an 'X' on a mosquito bite to make it stop itching.
like bbq's and fireworks.

ahhhh...fireworks.
which inevitably brings us back to the 4th of July.

and i remember trying to explain to her what Independence Day means to us in this country.
that to some people, all it means is bbq's, fireworks and an extra day off from work.
but to others, it means a day to think about what people have done for our country as a whole...for it's people.

because anybody can wave a flag and claim to be patriotic, right?
but the people that take it a step further than that...they are the ones to think about on the 4th.

and in this day and age, our independence should mean more than ever.
so from my Dad, who served in the Army way back in the 60s...to my sister-in-law, stationed in Iraq for another 6 months...it's a time to say thank you to them.

because this holiday is so much more than a parade in your hometown.
it's the reason we are who we are today.
so remember to be proud of who we are as a country...
it didn't come easy then.
and it's still not always easy now.
celebrate your independence...
and be thankful for those who fought, and those who continue to fight for us.
but not just on the 4th of July...

every.
single.
day.