Oh baby!

Lucky Joe is a proud Uncle of lots of little kiddos, and recently this little fella was added to the mix. Leo James Lofstedt was born on July 28th with a head full of dark black hair. I love it! He is so precious and so teeny. I'm excited to watch a Lofstedt grow from day one :) Welcome to the world little Leo, you are very loved!

I love making little albums for baby gifts; something easy that mom's can just insert a few pictures. I usually do a month by month book until they're one, but this time I did a book of "firsts" (first picture, first bath, first steps, etc...) if I know Kelli well enough, she'll take lots of pictures :) I made this mini album from paper lunch bags (so easy!). I love the idea of sticking extra pictures in the "pockets".

A few pictures from Kelli's Baby Shower:

Lastly, before I left Starbucks, I helped throw our store manager a baby shower. Here are some pictures from Shilo's Baby Shower: 

a little banner I made for Baby Kellen

And how cute is this diaper cake one of the girls made!

Coeur d'Alene

A few summer snapshots:

In June we headed to CdA to watch Iron Man. I missed it last year, so I was excited to go and witness these amazing athletes. For those of you that don't know, Iron Man is a triathlon that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. The time, commitment, dedication it takes to train for one of these things blows my mind. Not to mention what an accomplishment it is! We met our friends Anna & Brent, sat outside and watched runners as they finished the homestretch to the finish line.

 

 

 

 

 

My next picture brings me to a different day, but still in CdA. My friend Anna invited me to her Grandparent's cabin along the lake, where we relaxed, sun-bathed, and took the boat out. It was a day during the week, so when we went out on the boat, the lake was pretty quiet. I was simply content in watching Anna wake-board and her cousin knee-board until they decided it was my turn. Let me just tell you, I AM AFRAID OF THE WATER! I'm not a good swimmer, I can't tread water, and I've been know to flail when I can't touch bottom. They assured me that I obviously would have a life jacket on and suggested that I try knee-boarding first because it would be easier to get up. Do I face my ultimate fear and give it a try? *note: I've never been pulled by a boat. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been IN water over my head! So, as you can imagine, my heart started beating as I pondered the idea of 1.jumping in huge mass of water 2.being pulled by a boat, and 3.actually having the ability of getting up on the board. My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest, not to mention my hands started to shake. I got my life jacket on, got in the water, and positioned myself. So far, so good. As the boat started to pull away all I could think about is how many times this was going to take me. I didn't realize the faster you get up on your knees the easier it is. So as I slowly crouched up to the knee position, I started to lose control. I held on to the rope (with dear life) with one hand. When my arm got tired, I switched to the other arm...I just couldn't get two hands on it and there was no way I was letting go, I'm way too stubborn and I was very determined! ...IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET UP, but I did...on my first try!!! :) It was so much fun and when I think about how worked up I got, it makes me laugh now. But, that's why "learning to swim/tread water" is on my 30 before Thirty. I would have put wake-boarding or knee-boarding on my list, but never in my dreams thought that that accomplishment would be possible.

Thank you Anna for sharing your cabin with me and pushing me to do something I normally wouldn't do! 

Scrabble on-the-go

Joe & love to play S C R A B B L E. I remember visiting Spokane for a whole month one winter and every morning we would wake up, grab a cup of coffee and play a game of Scrabble. Our games can last for hours. Since I usually just leave our score sheets in the box...I counted one time, and I think out of something like 40-some games, Joe has only won once or twice! (Don't worry, he kicks my butt in Yahtzee!) But, he still continues to play me in Scrabble. That's what you call....

 

D E T E R M I N A T I O N 

S C O R E:  Tab 275 * Joe 148

D I S C O U R A G E D  H A N D S O M E

G O O D * S P O R T

Some Random Photos

....................from Ohio.

Sadly, (besides my sister's wedding) I didn't take many pictures when I went home. Here is a little collection of some pictures I did take: my brother's new puppy, catching lightning bugs (there's nothing like sitting outside on a warm summer night and watch the fireflies light up the countryside), and an ugly storm that delayed our flight home.









 yikes!