Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Creating Keepsakes Magazine
Scrapbooker of the Year Finalist
Trip to Las Vegas

I'm sure I have told most everyone I know by now, that I was thrilled to be chosen as one of Creating Keepsakes Magazine's Scrapbooker of the Year top 10 finalists. To enter the contest, I submitted 20 scrapbook layouts and an essay describing my perfect day. And since "making" top 10 we each designed a make & take, wrote an article proposal with artwork, had a phone interview with three CK editors, and a few other little things. Wow!!! On September 18th they flew all of the top 10 girls out to Las Vegas for three days at Memory Trends, as a congratulations & to announce this year's "Scrapbooker of the Year".

It was an amazing trip. They put us up in a suite at the Venetian, an truly elegant hotel. We were treated like queens!!! Stan was able to get a few days off (and believe me, he really got a good razz from the guys at work about taking time off for scrapbooking)!!! I had the opportunity of getting to know each of the top 10 girls before Vegas... so we felt like old friends when we arrived! Each one of these amazing women has so much talent, I felt blessed to be among them! On Wednesday, September 19th Creating Keepsakes crowned Elizabeth Kartchner this year's Scrapbooker of the Year!!! Yeah Liz!!!

I am so grateful to have had this opportunity of a lifetime!!! Woohoo!!!

emma & me
the morning we left for vegas


torrey & me
the morning we left for vegas


stan & me
on one of the outside decks of the venetian
(thanks liz for taking this picture of us!!!)


me with liz kartchner
creating keepsakes' new scrapbooker of the year!!!


creating keepsakes magazine
scrapbooker of the year
top ten finalists
at the memory trends trade show
las vegas, nevada


all of the "top ten" girls just before the announcement banquet


stan & me
this is the check-in lobby at the venetian


"the husbands"
liz's husband (collin), ingunn's husband (jk), my husband (stan)
stan was such a great sport! he wandered around the memory trends scrapbooking trade show for three days taking pictures, and hanging out. it sounds pretty silly, but this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. i felt so blessed to have such an amazing guy, who is so supportive there with me!!! go navy for letting him off the hook for a few days!!!



my ckmb friends
leslie, me, liz & annie


measuring up to ali edwards

c.d. muckosky, me & ali edwards


me & lisa bearnson
(founding editor of creating keepsakes magazine)

the outside of the venetian

just part of the inside of the venetian hotel!!!
this area is a mall with restaurants (stan & i ate at the restaurant across the canal in this picture... YUM!!!) the canal runs through this area of the hotel, complete with gondolas with singing gondola drivers!
Davy's Visit from Japan
September 2007

Davy and his girlfriend Hiroka


Danica & Dave
(can't tell they're related...)


this is what happens when you let your kids
play with their food!!!
noel & dave's thanksgiving "muffin man competition"
we had an early thanksgiving dinner for dave since you can't find turkey in japan. hiroka and shiho had never had turkey before!



emma with hiroka and shiho (hiroka's sister)
doing a "traditional japanese pose"
i talked to hiroka for a bit while we looked through some photo albums of mine. she said that one of the things she liked was that the girls were "just doing normal things" in the pictures. she said that in japan, all of the pictures of kids they are doing the peace sign. emma fell in love with both of them... and was glued to their sides the entire visit!


dave the 4th & dave the 5th
Jason & Megan's Visit
August 2007

noel & jason


torrey & uncle jason


emma & uncle jason


auntie megan & uncle jason with
emma, madison & torrey


jason & mom


grandpa, jason & dad


while jason & megan were visiting we had a night on the town we stayed at the seattle waterfront marriott, and had dinner at the tap house grill in seattle
Torrey's New Grill

Torrey lost her second "front tooth" this week
and last week...


she pulled out her first tooth herself!
so the totals now are as follows:
dentist - 2 teeth (scooter accident & making room)
mom - 2 teeth (1 bottom tooth & 1 top tooth)
torrey - 1 tooth (1 bottom tooth)
Back to School
September 2007

Torrey & Emma
on the first day of school

First day of school outfits

Fashion Forward Girlies

Back to school backpacks
(in their favorite colors)


Walking up to school
torrey at her desk


emma at her desk


emma only went to school for half the day...
so she was quite excited to see the bus coming!