My boy turns 12, Summertime, and a Challenge!

This past weekend my oldest son turned 12. 12! It seems like yesterday he was carefully placed in my loving, anxious, and exhausted arms for the very first time. In just 2 short weeks he will be pulling even further from my protective arms to enter Junior high. While he is probably just a little nervous, I'm freaking out. I have no idea what to expect. I know he's a good kid, but it's almost high school... My hope is that he meets a great bunch of kids and forges a bond that will last through the years and hopefully a lifetime. (I met my bff at the same age, and after humm xx # of years we are still bf's.) That he will continue to get almost straight A's, knowing that hard work will get him everything he wants. That he will fit in, that he will be every one's friend, that he will find his niche, whether that be sports, arts, or something else. Finally that he will always know we are his biggest fans and that he can come to us with anything.


This past weekend my family, my mom, and a group of our friends packed up our cars and headed to the beach. 13 in total. Yep 3&1/2 hour drive to the beach! It was worth every. single. moment. We had a blast. The kids played in the water for hours, we had a BBQ on the beach with tons of yummy food, and I got a wicked burn... Yes I applied sunscreen. I'm just really fair and should have re-applied every half hour. lol. The beach was wonderful. Sandy shores, beautiful water, and not a cloud in the sky. (Hence the burn.) Here are a couple of pics of our kids playing.

Here's the birthday boy!

The little miss and her friends who paid no attention to me. haha

Mr. Q "saving a lady bug from the water. There were a bunch of them, all over the place...

The kids had so much fun with all the blow up floating toys I brought. I was a little out of breath after finishing that one.

My little man splashing the girlies. Trust me this feisty little one gave it right back!

So moving on to the challenge, if there are any takers. It will be just like last week. I know mama never said there would be days like this will play. 3 techniques and 3 embellishments. they are. photo clips, transparencies, and dies(cuttle bug for example). Distress everything with ink, YAY, emboss, and only use cardstock. No patterned paper at all. Have fun, leave a comment when your done.