**Brandon and Ana**

Brandon and i...taking self portraits!! Gotta love it! Some of them turned out kind of cute... Brandon loves to make silly faces and i just laugh at them! So much fun!

**Shasta's Bridal Shower**

Last Saturday was Shasta's Bridal Shower! She is getting married in January...and she couldn't get away without having a shower! This picture of her was not taken on the day of the shower, but it is a favourite of mine so i had to use it.

As little gifts to all of the guests that came (close to 40 women came for Shasta!) these little candy boxes were given out. We had plenty of extra candy boxes after Shasta handed one out to each lady...so they came home with us! We have been eating candy for ever it seems...there was a lot left over...the kids like it though!

A bunch of little treats for everyone! You cannot have a bridal shower without snacks! Jessica made up a menu and i spent Friday in the kitchen baking it all up...m&m cookies galore, pumpkin bars, striped delight (a bar with pudding and cookie crumb crust), and lots of hearty vegetable beef soup! Yum!
Okay, unfortunately, at all bridal showers you must play those dumb games! Here was one that we played...it was called something like "dress the bride" or something close to it! There were eight teams and each team had to create a wedding dress with toilet paper! From the eight teams Laura, Lisa, Shasta, Ceara, and myself all had to be dressed with toilet paper! i must admit that this one was kind of interesting! The picture above is Shasta being the model for her wedding dress...created by Gramma Betty (in the brown) and Pastor Shirley (in the purple).
Here is Laura's dress...this one was very good! They did a good job making this dress from toilet paper!

Here is Shasta and some of her friends...Kara, Shasta, Bobbie, and Carol.
This was after the meal was eaten, the games played, and the gifts opened...we were thanking everyone for coming. Mary in the middle with the turquoise shirt helped us plan the bridal shower and Jessica on the far end who really put everything together!
Everyone was *very* generous with gifts for Shasta! This table we thought would be big enough to use as the "gift table", but there was quite a bit of overflow!
After the gifts were opened and brought home...they covered our dining room table! Shasta's car was very full with gifts...but they were all gifts that will come in very handy for her...most of them were kitchen gifts. Shasta's kitchen will now be very well stocked!

**Eau Claire**

Last weekend Brandon and i drove over to Eau Claire to visit his brothers and their families. We had a great weekend...hopefully these pictures will show it! Saturday, Brandon and i met in the Cities at his Great Aunt's house (aunt Mona...such a sweet lady!) and had a brunch with her...and then headed out to Eau Claire. The drive was not too long...just under 2 hours... i was starting to become rather bored in the car so i started taking pictures of Brandon!

Brandon absolutely loves his little niece, Samantha! They spent many hours playing on the floor with blocks, magna doodles, and colouring on the white board!

To the pumpkin patch! On Saturday afternoon, after Samantha awoke from her nap, we decided to go to a local pumpkin patch. Samantha had fun walking around trying to choose a pumpkin...here is a picture of Tiffany and i "suggesting" good pumpkins to Sammy! She seemed to like the ones that had soft spots in them...but we found a couple good ones!

Bryan and Tiffany are walking with Samantha after we chose our prized pumpkins to go pay for them.
i love this picture of Samantha...we were in the kitchen carving pumpkins and she must have been in the middle of saying something from the way her lips are pursed...but i love the look of the big eyes!
Brandon carving out a face in the side of the pumpkin he chose...i don't have a picture of all of the completed pumpkins though...only bits and pieces!
i think this was Samantha's pumpkin her dad carved out for her...so cute!
And of course..."the guitars"...off and on throughout the entire weekend Brandon and Bryan would play their guitars! Brandon has been playing for a little over ten years and Bryan has been playing since early spring...both of them have taught themselves how to play! So this weekend was spent sharing what they know with each other! They were fun to listen! Very talented and creative in making up little songs or picking up songs from other artists and singing along with their playing!

**Brian and Nikki's Wedding**

Last Friday we went to a family friend's wedding! The wedding was very nice...small and simple. It was a Catholic wedding in town and then the reception was in Brainerd at the Ramada Inn. At the reception there was a lot friends and family we had not seen in quite some time so it was nice to be able to chat and visit.

Brian and Nikki at the reception!
i love this picture of mom...actually it is a picture that didn't turn out!

i didn't want to use my flash at the reception to attract unwanted attention...

and i wanted to use the sepia tone but with the lighting in the room

it just didn't turn out...but i like this picture anyway! Mom was moving her arm

to take a sip of the wine...and the shutter stayed open longer to capture more light!

Emma...the kids were really good at the reception, but i think after a time the were ready to go home!

Here is Colter and Emma...finding interesting ways to drink their punch!
Dad and his brother Joe...they don't see each other too often so they enjoyed chatting and catching up!

Dad and his trucker friends! From left to right...David, Josh (holding his new son), Dad and Colter. They all used to work together so they enjoyed sitting down and catching up!

The Snowball Dance! yep, i got roped into going onto the dance floor! My cousin Blayne and i danced for awhile...kinda fun!

**my new gadget**

This is my new little gadget...an ipod Nano! Call me crazy for buying one...but i kinda' like it! It is so adorable and so tiny. i am afraid of losing it or sitting on it in the car! But it comes in very handy when i take long road trips to Brandon's or when i'm exercising or when i'm scrapbooking. When i first got it i had no idea how on earth to use it let alone put the music on it! So of course Brandon was sweet and helped me get it going. He downloaded the iTunes program for me and put some of his music on it that he thought i might like. Some crazy tunes that the kids like...Fish Heads, which i have never heard before...but it keeps the kids occupied in the car! And also some really good music like Jack Johnson (3 albums of him!!), Neil Young, Sean Paul, Josh Turner...i like them all.

And now i have finally figures out how to put my own music on it! Some of the artists i have added to my collection of 110 songs...Gwen Stefani, Keith Urban, Lindsay Lohan, Rascal Flatts, Hilary Duff, Trace Adkins, Simple Plan...a lot of my favourites!

When i bought the Nano it came with an extra set of Sony headphones...

i like using the bigger set...better sound!

Look how small and thin this little music playing gadget is!

Incredible!

**Reason #7**

This is yet another reason why i love Brandon...he is wonderful with Emma and Missa! And they absolutely love him! Emma and Missa follow Brandon around trying to get him to play with them or else watch a hand game. And he loves to play with them! He gets right down onto the floor and plays games with them or else lets the little girls crawl all over him and even put little hair clips in his hair!!

**love this**

I love this series of pictures! Mom took these pictures of Brandon and i when he was up Labor Day weekend. Mom was trying to take some nice pictures of us together...she got a few nice ones...and then there are some where we felt like screwing around! i have a really hard time keeping a serious face for too long...as some of these pictures show! i was going to post these pictures earlier, but i couldn't find them until tonight when i found mom's stack of picture cd's!

**mom, lisa, and me**

Last night after everyone was home from their trip to town and back and i was home from work...we were sitting around the dining room table talking. This is a very frequent occurance at our house...we love to communicate and sitting at the dining room table is the place where so many great talks have taken place. Laura had the camera and decided to take some pictures of mom and i. Why, i am not sure...but i liked how they turned out. Everyone says mom and i look a lot alike...i think we do too!

Here Lisa has joined us! There were actually several pictures taken in this little "photo shoot", but i think these were the best! The other ones we were making funny faces or sticking our tongues out! i guess Lisa is still making a funny face here...but it is cute!
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**blue eyes**

i really like how this page turned out! It is very simple yet it shows a lot. Brandon has such blue eyes...i love them...but this photo was taken in black and white so it does not show his blue eyes. So i thought i would be creative and "fix" that problem...i found my turquoise marker and coloured his eyes...it looked fine until it dried...then his eyes were green! Darn...that didn't work so i looked around for a blue


marker...the only one i could find was a permanet marker! So i used it. Well, it made is eyes blue, but so dark blue they looked kinda' scary! And when i tilt the photo in different angles it makes it eyes look hollow and devilish! Not at all the real Brandon eyes! So i have learned my lesson...permanet markers do not belong in the scrapbooking world! Next time i think i will try a computer program to colour his eyes!

**another page**

Another page...this time i decided to create on an 8X8 page. i love this picture from our last trip to Rosebud so i wanted to use this and eventually put it into an album.

i used Bazzill cardstock, buttons and rick rack from walmart (they do have a great craft section), "smile" epoxy sticker from the dollar bin at Target, Heidi Swapp cardboard arrows and letters, and EK Success Bookworks words and stars.

**Scrappin' Again**

i finally scrapped today! i had a day off of work so after i got home from pilates class i decided i was in a creative mood...so downstairs i went to my room and began. Of course i brought my music with me and listened to jack johnson (i'm addicted to his music...thanks Brandon!).

i used...Heidi Grace paper and rub-ons, Heidi Swapp cardboard letters, Bohemia transparancy with scrolls, Target dollar bin brads, Target clearance pin, Zig Writer pens, foam for the flower and heart (bought at the dollar store!), and ribbon from Walmart (yes, that's right... walmart!)

**Grandpa**

**Grandpa** Brandon's grandpa really, but i like to call him my grandpa! He is so sweet...my favourite! He has a good heart, loves his family and wants the best for them, is such a giving person, he is the best grandpa!

**A child needs a grandparent, anybody's grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world. ~~Charles and Ann Morse**

dirt bikes!

After we finished shooting we turned out attention to the dirt bikes! There was an 80cc bike (the one Brandon is on) that one was so much fun! And then Mike was on a larger bike...it must have been a 125cc...it looked similar to the bike dad has.

Mike...popping wheelies! i kept missing the wheelies with the camera...so this one is staged! We all cleared out of the way and let Mike try another wheelie.
Nick...jumping the little 80 dirtbike! That little one didn't get too much lift, but they had fun taking it on the course they had made!