Thursday, November 5, 2009

East Coast Experiences

Here are the rest of the pictures I wanted to post of our trip.


Ok. So these aren't really scenic, but it's a great story. My little girl got a Godzilla stuffed animal from the Empire State building as her souvenir. Since we couldn't make it to the State of Liberty ferry (6 hour wait) we decided to take the water taxi that goes around Manhattan. While we were waiting in line, along with a ton of Chinese people I might add, my girl accidently drops her little Godzilla in the Hudson river. I should have taken a picture of it in the river, but she was screaming too much and I was trying to calm her down. There was a fairly swift current that took little Godzilla across the river to the next pier. My husband and oldest son ran around to the other pier and just barely fished Godzilla out of the river, thanks to a plank of wood nearby. I'm totally surprized it didn't sink, especially since it was wearing the bracelet that her Aunt Jo gave to her. (She still wears it all the time by the way.) Anyway we got Godzilla back, and not with out some happy cheers from the Chinese people too. It did smell funny and we had to wash it before we could let her play with it. Definitely a memorable experience.

Times Square, NYC


The Staton Island Bridge, that was actually constructed and finished by a woman. Very Cool!

Milton Hershey's home in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was an amazing man. He went bankrupt 6 times before finally making it with his Milk Chocolate. He never had children so along with his wife, they started a school for underpriveledged boys. The school still runs today, and now accepts girls too. It is for K-12 grades, the students live in houses on campus with house parents, and each house has Chocolate Milk on tap. Upon graduation, each student gets a full wardrobe, luggage, cash, and an $80,000 scolarship to any college they choose. Since Mr. Hershey didn't have an Heir to leave his fortune to, it all went to the school. So now, whenever you buy Hershey chocolate, a part of that money goes to the school to help underpriveledged children get an education. Amazing! Kind of makes me want to go buy some Chocolate, well to eat it too.

Philadelphia, PA where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed.

Just the trees next to the Parking Lot at the Temple.

The Washington DC Temple.



The Washington Monument in Washington DC


The Bridge to Arlington Cemetary at Dusk from the Lincoln Memorial.
Arlington Cemetary
The view of the US Capitol Dome from inside the Capitol Building.
The inside of the US Capitol Dome.
The US Capitol

A chandelier in the Capitol Building.


One of the Rooms inside of the Capitol Building.


The White House


I think the Library of Congress was the most ornate building I have ever seen.
The Potomac River with the Jefferson Memorial to the Left.


The Jefferson Memorial


The Lincoln Memorial
I think I will finish with the Lincoln Memorial. It really is much bigger than you think it is. While we were standing there, I wondered what President Lincoln would think of our country today. Has it become what he envisioned for us? Have we honored his legacy properly? Are we really grateful for the freedoms we enjoy? As we walked around the Capitol, I was amazed at the workmanship of that building. Did you know that President Lincoln ordered the Dome to be finished during the Civil War as a hopes to unite the country that at the time was divided? I think that although he was a mortal man, he was also a wise visionary. May we each be grateful for the country we have been blessed with, and may we each do our part to preserve what our forefathers sacrificed so much to give us.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Amazing Places I've been

I had to share some pictures of some amazing places that I have been recently. Plus since my 2yr old dropped my camera in Kool-Aid, I got to buy a new camera. It's a Nikon D5000. I'm still a newbie at digital SLR cameras but I think the pics turned out great. All are on the east coast. I will try to label them as we go.

Niagra Falls


The Smith Farm in Palmyra, NY



The Sacred Grove


The Palmyra Temple


The view from the Top of Hill Cumorah.



These were taken at a cemetary in Boston, Mass. Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Mother Goose are all buried here. I saw the pennies and asked someone what the significance was. I was told it is a Jewish custom. I need to research that more. Very interesting.
The USS Constitution, or Old Iron Sides. The oldest still seafaring comssisioned vessel in the US Navy.

The monument at Bunker Hill, Boston, Mass. Similar yet not near as big as the Washington Monument in DC.
Manhattan Island, New York City, New York from the Empire State building. (I'm so glad I don't live in a city like that.)
The National Museum of Natural History in NYC. You know, the one from the movie Night at the Museum. Unfortunately it is nothing like the movie on the inside. Rexy isn't even there. I was so sad.


I was amazed at how mesmerizing the Stature of Liberty was. I couldn't stop staring at that amazing monument that has greeted so many millions of immigrants to this country, probably some of my own ancestors too.


Mmmm. Chocolate. This is at the M & M's World Factory at
Times Square in NYC.
Well that's a good place to stop for now. I took over 1000 pictures on this trip. My husband kept saying 'there goes the crazy lady with the camera.' It was fun, quick, exhausting, and a great education. I learned to appreciate things I never even thought of before.
Enjoy!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Thanksgiving advent calendar

Ok, so my life is super crazy right now and I probably won't get this made in time, and I know you are itching to get yours done, I decided to post the patterns for the Thanksgiving Advent calendar. I cut out the pieces from construction paper so you can see what it will look like. The turkey looks like this:
The pumpkin is the same pattern you used in the halloween calendar:

Here are the templates:

Now for the finished banner.
Super cute and easy!



You can see the full tutorial here.

This is what I made for my sister for her baby shower:






This is the card that went with the baby book. Just take a silk flower apart, and attach to card with a brad.


Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Cool umbrella

Hey everyone,


I got an email from http://www.artscow.com/ this week for a custom designed umbrella for $13.99 with free shipping, and since I'm moving to Seattle, I thought it was a necessity. I designed my own, but you can put pictures or other designs on it if you want. Check out the examples they have.

I designed these logos to go on the umbrella using brushes in Photoshop that I got from http://www.brusheezy.com/. Here are my designs:

The font I used was freebooter script which I used on my blog header.
The coupon code you use to get this deal is: umbrella1399
I can't wait to get it!

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