scaredy dog

isn't he cute?

he's such a funny dog.

he hates the storms. and here in the sunshine state we get lots of storms. thunder roars, lightning strikes, rain pounds on the roof and this little guy shakes like a leaf on a tree.

he runs to me and tries to get as close to me as possible.

i was doin a little craft on the floor in my pjs (because that's how I work best) when a big storm came through. ziggie was sleeping in the corner... but he popped up and jumped on my lap so fast it was all a blur.

i mean, really on my lap. he wouldn't move, and i felt bad for him so i didn't want to move him.

although it was a little difficult to work on my project with a fur ball in my way i couldn't help but leave him there- he was so cute.

and he was soooo asleep. i could feel him falling deeper and deeper asleep as his weight got heavier and heavier on my leg.

soon my leg was dead. but he was still so cute.

and for him to be this asleep during a storm is a rare find, so i didn't want to ruin his little nap.

i thought about trying to get a way to my camera to capture this moment that made me laugh inside and happy on the outside too... but that'd wake him up. luckily i had my phone right by me and that little camera froze him on my lap forever.

oh, little ziggie- i hope you always run to me when you're scared.

chasin' Bill

4:00am rolled around a week ago today, and we were up and at 'em, on our way to the Packer's house to drop off Ziggie and travel to Cocoa Beach in search of some good waves for our surfer dudes. Thanks to Hurricane Bill the swell was supposed to bring 8-12 foot waves. To say the guys were excited would be quite the understatement.

Jeff and Rand got out there for some fun waves and had a good time. Unfortunately they weren't the dream waves they were hoping for, but they had fun.

Tiff and I hung out with the little munchkins on the beach for a little bit, walked around Ron Jon's, and ate lunch at Subway and a treat at DQ. Reef stole Tiff's ice cream cone... seriously, grabbed it right out of her hands and continued to practically inhale the entire cone. She managed to sneak it away for a quick second and swipe off some of the ice cream so he didn't get brain freeze and sugar over load. He was in heaven with that thing!

We swam in the pool at the hotel and had a great time. It started to rain while we were swimming and the sound of the rain under the water was so relaxing. sounds weird, i know, but it was great. We showered and headed off for some Mexican food... my carne asada was delicious! It was quite an entertaining dinner with a giant cup of horchata splashin across the table, Kirra practically chocked on some enchilada but managed to cough it up on her own... just for it to fly across the table as well. Quite the entertainment our little family makes.

When we came back from dinner Jeff and I sat out on the patio and watched the lightning streak across the sky. The beauty of this world always leaves me awe struck. I am amazed how lightning works... how it can flash across the sky and then spark down to the ground. It's strange to me how something so dangerous can also be so beautiful. The flashes had me completely enthralled in their power and radiance. I wish it was possible to freeze it in a photograph.

It was a lot of fun to get away for a little while.... just relax and enjoy being with the family. It's fun to be able to take advantage of the opportunity we have to travel together. I loved it! It was a great weekend! Thanks for comin' along Packer fam- we love you!

friday favorites: picasa

I love collages. always have.

Some of you have asked about the collages I've been posting. I've used some different programs to create them, but then emily told me about picasa. and now I'm hooked. thank you emily.

Picasa is great. You can edit, download, share and create fun things with your photos. and it's FREE. which is one of my favorite parts! To be completely honest, I haven't played around with it much... other than making collages.

Two qualities I look for in programs I enjoy using:

*easy to use

*FREE

To make your own collage once you have Picasa on your computer, make a new folder and add each picture you would like to be included in the collage. Click on the folder you want, above the pictures there is a toolbar of options. The first icon is a green arrow and if you put your cursor over it, it says "Play Fullscreen Slideshow". The second icon is the one you want, it should say "Create Photo Collage". Once you click the icon, it will take you to a window that looks like this:

On the left of your pictures there will be a "Settings" tab and underneath that is a pull down menu:

From here you choose the type of collage you would like to make.

Picture Pile:

Picasa basically throws your pictures down on the table. You can change the layout of the picture by clicking and dragging the pictures to the desired location. You can change the size and angle by clicking on the picture and rotating or enlarging the circle:

The next option is "Mosaic":

I usually like to add a border around my photos. To do that you go to "Grid Spacing" and slide the bar until the spacing is how you like it.

Then you have the "Frame Mosaic" option:

To set the sunset picture to "be framed" by the others I clicked on it first and then clicked on the button that says "Set as frame center". Picasa will automatically put that photo in the middle and fill the others around it.

The next option is "Grid":

Picasa will automatically fit the photos to a grid. To change the set up of the collage above to portrait instead of landscape I clicked on the "head" icon. When you want landscape, you click the "mountain" icon.

Then you have the option of "Contact Sheet":

The "Contact Sheet" creates thumbnail versions of your photos. In the collage above I edited the background color and added a border to each photo. You can add a border to all the photos or click on an individual photo and then click on the "Picture Border" option you would like. To change the background color to black I simply clicked on "solid color" and then chose black from the color square. You could also set an image to be the background.

If you're not happy with the layout of your pictures, simply click "Shuffle Pictures" and Picasa will rearrange them for you.

And then, when you are done playing and creating your masterpiece click "Create Collage" and you are all set!

(...because I can't get enough of nicaragua)

Do you have a program you love using??

girls just wanna have fun

Last week I was lucky enough to have a fun sleepover with my nieces.

we LOVE sleepovers!

We have so much fun together being goofy. I had talked to the girls earlier in the week and asked them what they wanted to do... Mekena had it all planned out. We were going to eat Angel Hair for dinner (because that's her favorite. not spaghetti, not pasta... angel hair.) play games, color, watch a movie, eat dessert, watch another movie and eat popcorn. Then in the morning we'd eat waffles, watch a movie, and play more games.

We started the night with a trip to Blockbuster and the market. Each girl picked out a movie to rent, their choice of cereal and their choice of treat. Mekena chose "Mickey Mouse: Halloween Fun", Reese's Puffs and chocolate ice cream. Kirra chose "a Bug's Life", Lucky Charms and popsicles. As you can see, the girls thoroughly enjoyed the popsicles and wanted to do a little photo shoot once I pulled out the camera.

We also had some fun with photo booth. (don't mind the no makeup and lack of picture quality... the photos are full of happy memories and that's all that matters to me anyways)

Of course we watched movies and ate popcorn as well.

The next morning the girls had a pillow fight with Uncle Jeffy, we ate some yummy waffles (and cereal), colored, jumped on the couch, and took a trip to the library and read some good Strega nona books.

I love these little girls. We have so much fun together. They are two of my best friends and I am so lucky to be able to have this time to be so close to them.

Thanks Mekena and Kirra for always knowing how to bring a smile to my face and warm my heart. I love you lots and lots!

kindergarten, here she comes

Yesterday was Mekena's very first day of school. ever. in her whole school career- yesterday was the first of the first.

and she loved it!

I drove over to the Packer's house early in the morning to join in the fun. The whole family loaded up and drove to the school.

Mekena was lookin' so cute in her little uniform! We walked to her class, (which coincidentally is the exact same classroom I was in when I worked at that elementary school... what are the odds?! It brought back some fun memories and made me wish I was back in the classroom workin' with the little kids.... someday.) she quickly found her seat and was ready to start learning.

We all said our goodbyes and left... mostly dry eyed. Little Kirra did not want to leave. She wanted to stay and color with Kena and was so sad to have to leave her for the whole day. Those two are best buddies!

The end of the school day came and we loaded back up in the car and we were off. Kirra was so excited to see Mekena! You would've thought they had been separated for years! She couldn't wait to see her little booty back in that empty car seat.

We went straight to Mekenita to see Rand and celebrate with a "first day flan", which was delicious! These little kids are so dang cute! Mekena is an amazing big sister... and it shows by how much her little brother and sister missed her while she was away for a few hours.

Mekena loved her first day! She told me all about a story they read about a little girl who ate too many cupcakes and turned pink. She was a good girl all day so her card stayed on green. Her favorite part of the day was recess, lunch and play time. Today she got to play with the blocks but hopes tomorrow to be able to play in the kitchen. She met lots of new friends, but she said she forgot to ask them their names. She is adorable and will be the greatest little student ever!

{oh little Kena, how can it be that you're already in kindergarten?! i am so lucky to be your aunt. thanks for letting me be part of your special day. i love you past the moon.}

party time

last week we celebrated my sweet nephew's first birthday! We had a great time and it was so fun to see him enjoy his little dump truck we bought him.

Everybody was ready to party and have a good time! Even Chiso wanted to join in on the fun!! Oh wait, not everybody.... the birthday boy was a little sleepy. Should we party with out him?

He could either read our minds or smell the chocolate cake because he woke up just in time!

He fixed up his party hat and was anxiously awaiting to get his hands on some chocolate.

oh.... the yumminess is gettin' closer.

...he's almost got it!

here's uncle jeffy and kirra celebrating with some cupcakes.

I LOVED watching Reef eat his cake- it was one of the best things ever!

thanks little man for letting us be a part of your special day.

we love you!