Embrace the Camera - Dec 30

The last embrace the camera of 2010! Can you believe it?? 

Last week, for the first time in nearly 12 years we had a family Christmas with everyone together. 

The whole family.... all crammed into my parents house. 

10 Adults (or grown kids) and 8 kiddos. whew...

On Friday my mom, my niece, Maci, my nephew, Jaden, and I made cookies. LOTS of cookies.

We had a great time baking, and telling stories, and  of course making messes.

 

Taking time to be goofy....

 Jaden and Maci enjoyed helping with the dishes.

Then I took a break to get my baby fix  and read a book with Miss Jocelyn.

I hope you all had a Fabulous Christmas.

The year is almost over - only one day left.

I can't wait for 2011 to see what the new year will bring :o)

Now its your turn to Embrace the Camera.

Embrace the Camera : Dec 16, 2010

Today is the day to Embrace the Camera.

I forgot my camera card at home today, so I get to share one of my favorites.

This is me and my 'baby' Ziva.
She loves the beach and so do I. We've been talking about making another trip which made me think of this shot. Just me and my dog on the beach.

Doesn't get much better than that :)

Your turn to "Embrace the Camera".

Don't know how? Visit Emily's great site!

 

Happy Birthday Ryleigh Roo

Today, December 14, is Ryleigh's Birthday!

She is 11 today. I can't believe how big she is getting. I have been a part of this girls life for 8 years now. Boy, what a crazy 8 years it has been.

I will never forget the first things she said to me when we met.

"Ozzie ate my binkie!" and "I have a mole on my butt."

Very funny stuff to hear from a 3 year old the day you meet.

And jeez, was it embarassing for her dad. Ha Ha!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday Miss Ry! Enjoy your day and all your years to come!

We love you, Dad and Kara

Pig Killer

That is me ... I hate to admit it ... but I am a killer of pigs.

I have recently acquired a Verizon Droid X. My FAVORITE phone ever!

With this phone (along with the additional costs of having it) I have found apps.

There are apps for everything. I found a kindle app to read my books, a recipe app to find new things to try for dinner, and I even found an app that holds all my store card information. You wouldn't believe the room I now have in my purse and wallet.

It's sickening :)

But of all the apps that I have downloaded... my favorite is Angry Birds.

Have you played it yet?

I can't believe how addicting this is. You shoot birds across the screen to knock over blocks and kill pigs. I dont' know if it is just my addictive personality ...

But I . Can't . Stop . Playing .

Even right now it is all I can think about... I'm supposed to be working.

Working on the next level ;) 

You can even buy the birds and pigs as stuffed animals... is that taking it too far??

I think not!

Check out : Shop Angry Birds They are Super Cute!

If you haven't found this game yet, don't get it ...
unless you plan to be like me and somehow have time to spend the next two weeks playing only this game (which I don't).
Oh... and don't plan on getting any work done :) 

Speakeasy Party

A few weeks ago my friend Sarah and I threw a Big 30th Birthday Bash - Speakeasy Style.

A joint birthday for Sarah and Natalie both turning 30!

 Here are a few pics from the evening.

The party was held at a local Grange which turned out to be a great setting. With its hard wood floors and church benches, the feel of the room was perfect for a 1920's Speakeasy.

 During the evening guests were encouraged to step into our photo booth and take a classic shot with friends. Everyone was encouraged to dress in their best 1920-1930's attire and choose from our wide array of props. Here is a taste of how great that turned out.

With a 1920's theme to the party, we didn't serve any alcohol during the party. People were asked to BYOB  in a flask if they chose to drink. We served water and lemonade for those who chose not to drink.

We did however have a few jars of Moonshine (whiskey in water)... though most of it was still there in the end.

 Overall the party was a huge hit. People danced into the night to the tunes of Six Foot Swing. A local band here in Spokane. 

I hope that Sarah and Natalie enjoyed their party. I can't wait to plan the next one.

Party Design and Styling by Kara Ziegler and Sarah Miller
Photos courtesy of Courtney of Small Beginnings Photography

Paper Designs by Dana Kangas

Cupcakes from Rosauers

Cake from Costco

Sledding and a Snow Man

Maci, Ryleigh and I went sledding last week.
I think this was my first time sledding in more than 10 years and we had so much fun.

The girls loved sledding in the snow.

This video was the first time Maci went down the hill by herself.

Ryleigh made some snow angels and did a little posing in the snow.

Then we all made a little snowman. Once it was finished, Maci decided to eat him. She said she didn't want to waste a perfectly good snowman. Don't worry, I made sure it was all clean :) She's so silly...

After our fingers and toes were froze to the bone, we made the quick drive home where we warmed up with some Hot Chocolate and a Candy Cane.
It was a really good afternoon.

Embrace the Camera - Dec. 9

It is that time of the week again ... time to Embrace the Camera!

Thank You Emily at the Anderson Crew for giving me an outlet to share!

As most of you know, I don't have any kids of my own but cherrish my step-kids. This week however, they are at their mom's house with pink-eye.
(Thank you Mom for not sending it to my house too)

So today I share with you a photo of me and my Hubby. I just received this photo from a party we did a few weeks ago for my Bestie's 30th Birthday. This is just one of the photos from the photo booth that ended up being a Huge Hit. (more pics to follow soon)

Photo via: Courtney at Small Beginnings Photography.

Thanksgiving

We took advantage of the beautiful snowy weather at my parents house in the woods this Thanksgiving. Was this a great day to take family pictures or what?

 With the exception of Jake's hair, this didn't turn out so bad. But burr... was it cold.

Mom and Dad took advantage of the setting and took their first nice picture in years.

My cousin, Elisa and her family braved the cold for a few minutes with the babies to take a quick family picture.

Overall it turned out to be a Great Holiday with lots of good food and company. 

We ended the night with some fabulous pie, and as my mom said... we all wobbled home.

... where Maci slept like a baby.... just kidding... it was only cider.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Did you do anything memorable?

Back to the 30's

Had a fabulous 20's/30's themed birthday party for two Amazing Ladies on Saturday.
It turned out beautifully and could not have gone better.
Here is a little sneak peak  :-)

Embrace the Camera

This is my first entry into Embrace the Camera. I am never in front of the lense, always behind it. It is a rare occassion that I can get my husband to take the pictures.

Technically I am not the Momma here, but the step-Momma :) I don't kids of my own, but in my world, I have lots of important kiddos to love (and spoil).

This is Ariana, Ryleigh and Me. It wasn't taken today, we actually woke up to snow this morning. (I know... don't say that dirty four letter word YET) This was taken a few months ago at my parents home. I just love Ari's laughing face in this one.

Next week will be a new picture, I promise.