Hey there my gorgeous peeps!

Well i can hardly believe we have been back for two weeks and i am only just getting this post up. Time sure is zooming by and whilst i was thinking things would slow down once we got back from all our travelling, it has still been busy as ever. We have needed to pick all the tiles and cupboard colours and what not for the new house and of course get the kids settled back in. I have come to realise that there really is no such thing as things being quiet….hahahaha…. well especially with 5 kids! All good though, and just hoping i have enough energy to keep going

So more about our trip! We flew first to Brisbane and then to LA, and then to Washington….boy oh boy was that a long and very tiring trip! I have to say that the kids did amazingly considering… they are such troopers. We had the wonderful pleasure of spending some time with Bryn and Kate for a few days before all the other out of town guests arrived. It was a the perfect opportunity to help them with the final plans for the wedding. Rod did gardening, as the wedding was at Kate’s parents property, and i did errands with Kate etc… it worked out so well. Here are just a few photos of the kids with some of Kate’s animals….

Tiarne with Molly the horse…

Mr Jo meeting the donkeys…

Once most of the out of town guests arrived Bryn & Kate hosted a Rehearsal dinner for everyone. It was a Aussie / US BBQ….so prawns and ribs, along with a band, and trap shooting! What a fabulous night. We took lots of photos, but i won’t bore you with them all, and just show you a few of the ones of family…

Kate with the boys…..

Rod and I……

My mum with Mr.Jo

My spunky brother Bryn and I….

Bryn with Janaya…..

So the Rehearsal dinner was on the Thursday night, and then on the Friday there was a Bridal Shower. Typically it is hosted by the Bride’s Grandmother. So Terri (Kate’s grandmother) hosted it at a little local restaurant on the Friday lunch time. It was so special to have all the close friends and aunties there for an ladies luncheon. I took lots of photos once again, and just narrowed it down to two to share….

Kate with her mom….

Kate and I together…..

Friday night we had the real rehearsal at Kate’s property in preparation to the BIG DAY the next day. Janaya and Mali along with myself were in the Bridal party, so we were all there getting the instructions. Once again it was a really lovely night!

THE BIG DAY!

So here at last was the big day, the day we travelled 33+ hours to be there for! It was SO hard to narrow down the photos for you, so i have just picked out my favourites for you to see…..

Bryn and our Dad…

Bryn with his Groomsmen…

The Bridesmaids, Bride and Mother of the Bride before the ceremony….

Janaya and Malakai walking down the aisle…

My turn….

The Bride and her parents…. her dad was so emotional and cried the whole way down the aisle…

The Bride and Groom….

Mum doing her reading during the service…

The kiss….

Inside the Marquee…

Hottie Hubs and me….

Mali…

Us all doing a speech and Acroptic poem for Bryn & Kate….

Bridal Waltz & Kate getting emotional…

Another shot of the Hottie Hubs…

nnnaaawww… Mr Jo in his suit….

…and again

Here is is with daddy….

Sadly i didn’t get any pics of Tiarne and Elijah on my camera, but hopefully the professional photographer will have some!

SOOOOO… the day after the wedding we stayed in at the hotel so we could relax and catch our breath again. The kids went swimming in the hotel pool and i slept lots!

Monday we drove up to Philadelphia and had a tour at Yards Brewery where Bryn was working the past 9 months….

Then that night Kate had her University Graduation night at the Sheraton. One of her friends gave her his spare tickets so i have very very blessed to be able to go along! That sure was special. Then next day as other went to Atlantic City we decided to head to Lancaster Pennsylvania the home of the Amish. Seeing as i had read a lot about them in novels it was pretty special to check it out. Very different to what i was expecting, but great to see them out in their Horse and Buggies!

Definitely a fabulous day out and about in the Country side. On Wednesday we drove down to Annapolis which is the capital of Maryland. It is on the coast and really reminded me of Fremantle. It also has the US Naval Academy there which we toured…FABULOUS! Such a gorgeous place and a place i would love to go back to one day. The next morning we drove up to Washington DC, and did some touring around. We went to the Smithonian Museum, the Lincoln Memorial, The monument, and the Jefferson Memorial and of course saw the White House as well. What a fabulous place this was too!

Bryn & Kate in front of the White House….

Us as a family in front of the Monument….

Me with Mr Jo…

Mr Jo with Bryn, whom he is named after! (love this shot!)…

Then with Kate….

The next morning we had to say our very very sad goodbyes to Bryn and Kate as they were heading to Las Vegas with some friends Always so hard to say goodbye! Anyway after that we drove up to Baltimore and took the kids to the Baltimore National Aquarium, which was fabulous! On Saturday morning we drove out to the Eastern Shore to where Kate’s parents have a holiday house in Neavitt. There was an Outlet shopping Centre on the way so of course we had to make the most of that too!

Kate’s parents house in Neavitt… and that is the beast we drove around in for the two weeks.. i miss this car, it was fabulous!

Neavitt is on the water so here is another shot of the waterfront at the back of their house….

Beautiful….

Then last of all a shot of Mr Jo in his pram which he pretty much lived in for the two whole weeks! He was such an amazing baby on the trip considering he had no routine and what not! So blessed!

So people there is a snippet of our trip. That sure was a lot of photos, and i hope i haven’t bored you silly with them all. It was hard to cut them down and not show you them all! As you can see it was a pretty whirlwind trip, but such a HUGE blessing that we could all be there for the wedding together.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Hello again!

So hoping you have had a fabulous week! It is starting to be that crazy busy time of year again huh? Where do the years go? Anyway hopefully you get a chance to hide away in your stamping space in the coming week and make something with this week challenge sketch

Here is the sketch for you to work with:

Here is my stamped sample for you… another masculine card, which i honestly don’t make all that often so it feels great to do one!

Have a fabulous weekend peeps!

WHOA There peeps!

How have ya been? Have ya missed me?

We have been around the world and back and i have nearly caught my breath again! Life sure has been taking us for a spin around the block lately and i don’t deny i am hanging out to get off! BUT having said that we have truly had some of the most special months of my life as well. New baby, Monnie’s Wedding and then my brother Bryn and Kate’s Wedding in the USA as well. I promise to share more of that with you shortly, but for now i need to catch up on the challenges from the past two weeks

This current week we have a great colour combo for you all….

Here is my creation for you….

I took the opportunity to make Hubby a birthday card for his birthday next month, using this great colour combo…. yep the big 39…. last birthday in his thirties! Be sure to see all the DT goodness over on the Challenges blog!

And just so you see it, seeing as i did make it, last weeks challenge which i just didn’t get a chance to blog unfortunately It was a sketch challenge….

And my sketch challenges creation….

Some pure innocence from MFT!

Okay well i will be back later today with the newest challenges, as well as some holiday snaps!

CIAO!

Hi everyone!

Greetings from the USA!

We have been having a blast over here as a family and amongst my extended family and friends. Sorry to be so MIA, but we have just had so much jammed packed time for sharing just hasn’t been possible. BUT only a  couple more days and we will be back in Australian soil and i will spill it all along with photos i promise!

So last week’s challenge creation just didn’t get up….sorry! I had it up on the challenges website, but with all the wedding prep and what not, i just didn’t get the chance to blog. Then this week we have been on the road touring with Bryn & Kate.

Anyway this week we have a LOVELY colour combo for you all…

Here are your colours….

Here is my colour creation….

It was SO nice to get out the Copic markers again and colour this little beauty up! Anyway be sure to see all the other colour creations from the amazing DT over on the Inkspirations Challenges Website

Oh and here is last weeks creation for you if you missed it…. I made this card for Kate, for her Nursing Graduation that I got to attend on Monday night in Philadelphia!

Ciao for now and i’ll see you back on the other side of the world real soon…. We are now heading off to the Baltimore Aquarium with the kiddo’s.

Take care!