NOTE: Lots of photos...sorry!
Howdy,
The in-laws go to Myrtle Beach every year and they have been asking us to go with them every year. We took Tyler when he was about 2 but they wanted to see Adoree's reaction to the beach. So we finally agreed to go this year. We just returned on Thursday and fortunately didn't have any problems with the weather or traffic. I will share some photos with you in a minute. But first I want to share with you a wonderful interactive card by Creative Design Team Member Johanne.
Is that cute or what! Johanne used my Cutie Firefly file on a stair step card. The greeting actually slides back and forth. I have always wanted to make one of these type cards and seeing Johanne's makes me want to make one even more. Here is what Johanne had to say about her card. The details she puts in her cards make them extra special!
Cutting Files:
Cutie Firefly by Shelly Sweigart
Side Step Card from Jan Bryson
Spinner & Sun Tag from Johanne Larouche
Papers:
Breaking free and 29th street market from My mind's Eye
Gypsy Curry from Bo Bunny
Savannah from Scenic Route
Stamp:
CHR 026 A from The Stamp Bam
Other supplies:
Embossing powder - moonstone
Distress Ink - Brown corduroy
Antique silver brads
I resized the files
for the firefly and made it using mostly printed and plain cardstock. I
made the wing from vellum, inking the edges, painting with Twinkling H20, and
hand embossing them, pressing lightly so it didn't lose the transparency.
I glued the firefly to the card with double thickness of pop dot.
To make the card, I
used Jan Bryson Side Step Card but modified it to get only two steps and
resizing it to my liking. I made the spinner section from instructions on
the net just like the following link:
I made a pocket on the
second step to insert a tag for my sentiment. I printed the sentiment for
this tag and also for the spinner. I stamped and embossed the top of the
tag.
Inside greeting translation:
A wish for
you
May your
birthday be so nice. May it be enjoyable, relax, and fun.
Happy
Birthday!
I actually have my cutie bugs file collection on sale for 30% off until the end of this month (August). If you would like to purchase it..please click on the preview.
Okay now for those vacations photos I promised you. I was very nervous at how the kids would do on the long ride to Myrtle Beach. It is at least a 10 hour drive. So we decided to drive 6 hours and get a hotel room then drive the remaining 4 the next day. It worked out really well that way. I packed many travel activities and also wrapped up small gifts for the kids to unwrap every so often along the way. They really enjoyed that.
I honestly never ever thought we'd buy the kids hand held "video games"...but we did end up buying Tyler and Ipod touch and Adoree a Leapster Explorer. I have to say it was a wonderful investment. On the ipod Tyler was able to watch his favorite Spongebob episodes and Farily Odd Parents videos plus play games and take photos. We do have video players for the car but both kids have to watch the same movie so when Adoree wanted to watch something Tyler didn't want to then he could just use his ipod. I do believe this kept him occupied the majority of the trip as he didn't really play much else.
Adoree doesn't like riding in the car...now she has gotten better since she is older but she is a child that constantly likes someone to play with her and interact with her plus she loves dancing. Being confined to a car seat is very hard for her. We were hoping she would fall asleep for a little while at least. She did fall asleep but waited until we were 10 min from the hotel! She did this both days. Now this photo was taken on the way home. She was sooo tired at that point that she actually did sleep for a few hours. Oh and see that cookie sheet on her lap....best idea ever. She used this not only for playing but also for eating snacks. I won't go on any long car rides without this sheet again!
Above was the view from our hotel room. We stayed at Long Bay Resort. There was a small deck in which you could step out and see this view. Adoree and Tyler loved it. Adoree instead of saying she was going out on the deck..she would say "I'm going to the view".
Here is the photo of the kids with the inlaws. Poor Tyler every time he takes a photo that involves a sunny day he looks like this. Adoree looks pretty happy though. We had to beg her to pose for this. She absolutely hated the waves. She doesn't have any fear of the water but the waves were kinda choppy and her being soo small I think she probably thought they were going to carry her away. I very rarely see her scared so this was a new experience for me. She held my hand with a death grip every time I took her near the water. Tyler actually does have a fear of the water but we were very proud of him as he actually enjoyed the waves.
There were oodles of pools at the hotel. This pool was great because the water was very low and the kids could go as they please. Tyler loved this submarine as he figured out he could control the water coming out of some of the spouts by turning the handles. He was in heaven!
Oh my gosh! Look at this photo of Adoree. She looks soo grown up like she is posing for a magazine or something! Where has my baby gone! I can't believe she will be attending preschool in Sept. This is the same pool the submarine was in.
I think I've bombarded you with enough photos for now! I didn't take a ton of photos but hubby took photos with his camera too. I think I'm going to do one single scrapbook of Myrtle Beach. That way the kids can fight over the album later in life! LOL! Truly I realized how important scrapbooking is when I got our the photos of the trip to Myrtle Beach when we took Tyler to show Adoree. Tyler loved looking at the photos and Adoree loved seeing what she had to look forward to.
I'll probably share some of my favorite aquarium photos and the Children's Museum sometime soon. So please come back! Thanks for stopping by!
Enjoy your Sunday! I am praying for everyone in hopes Irene doesn't cause you too much damage. Keep safe!
