The Davis Clan and the Pumpkin Patch

I would have to say that Jackson won the award for the most entertaining at the pumpkin patch this year. Last year Drew won, hands down, with his pumpkin patch pouty attitude. (He hadn't quite adjusted to life with a baby brother and was not shy to display it in tantrums. Lots of tantrums.) At least this year he was back to sweet Drew.


Jackson was so excited with everything because it was all so new to him. Most of my pictures are of his backside, he was always on the go. I'm quickly discovering that getting a picture of both the boys together is next to impossible. They both were going, going, going and usually going in different directions.

While Drew was making his way through the mini-maze, Jackson caught sight of the pony. He instantly wriggled out of my arms and chased, (and I mean chased), the pony. It was hilarious!

When it was time to pick out some pumpkins. Jackson took one look at a cute little orange one just his size, touched it just because he has to touch everything at least once, and then spent the rest of the time running up and down the little bumps throughout the patch.

He ended up doing a lot of this.




This year we only ended up picking out mini pumpkins because my mom has turned into "Farmer Debbie" and she ended up having four perfect pumpkins for us from her garden. I'm excited to do some carving tomorrow!

Is it too early for...

Christmas stuff? Maybe a little, huh? I couldn't resist though. Merry Christmas a little early.



I had begged Mom to order these 3D Countdown Calendars from Karen Foster and surprisingly she actually got them. (She doesn't listen to me very often. I could go on for hours about the many times we've argued over conversations we've had or, in her opinion, we've never had.)

For years I've said I wanted to make an advent calendar for Drew and I just never got around to it. Finally I got around to it but now I've got to think of fun things to put in each box. I don't really want to do candy but instead maybe a different Christmas activity. If you've got any must do kid friendly activities let me know!

Spooky Recipe Card

Of course, for my October Recipe Card I had to go with a Halloween layout!



Halloween is one of my favorite subjects to scrapbook, mostly because I love Halloween. Cute kids in cute costumes, baking fun Halloween treats, watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", carving pumpkins...I can go on and on.

Last year was the first year that Drew really got involved in the carving process. He loved scooping out all the gooey, sticky insides and was proud of his little orange scoop. He did get a little mad at the fact that we wouldn't let him handle the carving tools. I carved his mini-pumpkin for him and later he used a little plastic tool to add "freckles". He was so proud of his jack-o-lantern that I didn't think he was ever going stop looking at it. We had such a good time and I'm looking forward to our carving fun this year!

Camera Lovin'

I'm thankful that even though I'm in a house with three boys I did manage to convince one to love the camera.


Honestly, I didn't convince him, he has always looked right at the camera. He's still learning on how a camera works though. He'll look at the camera and then smile after the flash goes off or he hears the click. Such a little goof ball.

I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. A very teeny speck of a light, but still a light. I'll take it! I've been so busy the last few months with events that it will be nice to relax a little. Although, I've been busy enough that when it does slow down I'll probably be bored.

We just got back from CKC Kansas City on Sunday. This was the first time that the whole family went. Drew loved staying in a hotel and the whole time called it our apartment. He was also surprised to find out that Stacey, Jeremy and Grandma all had apartments there too.

Scrapbook Generation celebrated our 5th birthday on Monday. I can't believe that we've all managed to work there for five years without killing each other. There have been a few close calls but for the most part it's been great. It's been an amazing opportunity to discover what each of us is good at. Plus it's been so much fun meeting so many others who love scrapbooking as much as we do. Thanks for five years and many more to come!

The Naked Sketch

Have you ever scraplifted yourself? I have. That's the beauty of creativity, there are absolutely zero limits.

• as seen in Creating Keepsakes special issue 101 Expert Solutions for Scrapbooking

After I made "The Drink Thief" I realized there was something about this layout that I really, really liked. Now before you think I'm tooting my own horn, let me explain. It wasn't the papers, the design, or the details that got me. It was the photo placement that I loved. Three 4 x 6 photos and then three smaller photos. To me it was the perfect blend. Room for some big, uncropped pictures and then three smaller photos that would work great for details.

So you know what I did? I copied it. Kind of.

• as seen in Creating Keepsakes special issue 101 Expert Solutions for Scrapbooking

The picture placement and sizes were exactly what I needed for this layout. To mix it up I changed up the papers, colors and the overall placement of everything, except the pictures. It's amazing how using different supplies and paper arrangements can make a layout look completely different from the original.

It's kind of like a naked sketch. A sketch that shows only the photos and it's up to you to design around them. I say, give it a try. Scraplift yourself! Or try taking a sketch you love and only following the picture placement. Another reason sketches are awesome.

On a side note, I wanted to say thank you to all of your nice comments about our (Scrapbook Generation's) sketch books. You all have had the nicest things to say and we love hearing that you are enjoying them so much! To know that you are getting a lot of use out of them makes us so happy. Again, thank you! :)

Recipe Card #2

Allison's Creative Kitchen recipe card #2 is now available on my blog. (Look right)

I'm so glad that my boys are really starting to bond! Drew was less than thrilled when we brought baby Jackson home from the hospital. Just when we thought Drew was warming up to the idea of having a baby brother, probably when Jackson was about 9 months old, he said to us, "Can we take him back to the hospital?" It's been a rocky road but it pleases me to no end that just a few days ago Drew told me, "I think Jackson is going to be my best friend." I think so too.

For those of you that don't know what my recipe cards are all about here's a little information.

On the front
• Color photo of the layout.
On the back
• Basic supply list of products used,
• Basic directions to recreate the layout.
• Spice it Up! supply list.
• Spice it Up! directions.

Have a great weekend!