Let's ATV

We had such a fun time! It started with a night in San Diego and an early morning drive down to the border. The tour group, "Let's ATV" picked us up at the "Last Exit USA" and drove us down to Primo Tapia (that's about 10 miles south of Rosarito), in a cushy, air-conditioned van.

All the ATVs and riding gear were waiting for us right on the beach. The friendly guides made sure we all knew how to operate our ATVs and set us loose in the sand dunes. That's my husband in the photo above with the ocean behind him... what a beautiful spot!

That's my daughter (17 yrs) in the photo above riding across the sand dunes. The guides were always watching, making sure we were safe. They were also assessing our ability to make sure they felt confident enough to take us trail riding in the afternoon.

That's my son (14 yrs) in the photo above. He asked me if I noticed that the guides always seem to be watching us when we get stuck. Hahaha!... and we got stuck a lot! Me more than anyone else in the family.

After an entire morning on the beach, we drove into Primo Tapia to a great little taco stand! The guides took our order and brought us food.

The tacos were huge, and tasted great! There was a whole selection of toppings for the tacos... YUMMY! Here's us feeling silly after filling our stomachs.

We passed the beach ride of the morning and graduated to the coastal trails. This place is called "The Cross." Our guide, Marco, told us that local ranchers used to gather here for mass before hitting the trails.

That's me! Actually, I'm not moving, but it makes for a nice photo anyway. You can also see part of the trail, that we came up, behind me.

We had some great views! Look how far we came! We started all the way down there by the beach!

Our last stop was a riding track, with turns and bumps to jump over. I think this is our guide Marco. It's hard to tell... everyone looks kind of the same in the riding gear. LOL!

I think this is our other guide, Alberto. Marco lead the group and Alberto had the unglamorous job of bringing up the rear, through all that dust.

I didn't ride the track... my hand and thumb were so tired I was having a hard time holding the throttle lever. But, my son gave it a go! Look, he got his front tires off the ground!

We highly recommend this tour group! They are very professional and very friendly. If you are looking for an ATV tour, visit: http://www.letsatv.com/

On our way to... Mexico!

Well, seeing that we live in Southern California, it's not that big of a trip. Mexico is only a couple of hours from here. But, we are going to have a great time!

As a Father's Day present, I booked an ATV trip in Mexico for the entire family!... and we leave tomorrow! We are all looking forward to it. My hubby has driven ATVs on several occasions, my kids have both driven a couple days last fall, and me... well, I've ridden on the back of my husband's, but have never driven one myself. Yikes! This should be exciting! I'll post again when we get back and let you all know how it went.

Chix Meet - Jane (Whoopsie Daisy!)

It was so much fun! I got to meet one of my favorite online friends, Jane! She was down in my area on a family trip to Disneyland. My daughter and I drove up to meet her at a local Starbucks. Speaking of that... we got lost! You would think that Starbucks would have correct directions to their stores posted on their website. Well, I digress... Jane is a wonderful person, even more wonderful than she is online! We talked non-stop for an hour before leaving her, and even got a little peek at the Disneyland fireworks that were going off as we were sipping Starbucks on the patio. We tried calling the Chix cropping in Virginia, but we just missed them. If any of you other chix are in the Disneyland area, let me know! I know where the Starbucks is now! LOL!

Book Review - Alfred Kropp and the Seal of Solomon

This is the second book in the Alfred Kropp series. My daughter says it's scary... my son and husband love it. I think it's creepy in parts, but something that would really appeal to upper middle school boys. Alfred Kropp is set in modern times. He is a 12 yr old direct decendent of Lancelot and as a result he reluctantly gets pulled into paranormal events and bumbles his way into saving the world (and dealing with girls)... the paranormal Forest Gump. There is a lot of sword fighting (he is the decendent of Lancelot) and lopping off heads... if you can deal with the violence, this is actually a fun book. I ended up rooting for the loveable "big headed lout."

Book Review - Maximum Ride - School's out Forever

This is the second book in the Maximum Ride series by adult author James Patterson. It's a sci-fi book about genetically altered kids, who's DNA was mixed with that of birds... so they have wings and can fly and are supposed to save the world. They haven't saved the world yet. Maybe they'll get around to that in the next book. I'm still not sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are yet. It's all very confusing. This is a Young Adult book... I recommend it for late middle school or high school aged kids.

Book Review - Beauty

I'm a big fan of fairy tale retellings. I loved Ella Enchanted. Ella Enchanted is one of my daughter's favorite books; which is saying alot, since my daughter is so not a reader. I picked up this book expecting a fun light-hearted retelling of Snow White. But, what I got was a creepy book... a very disturbing little man, imprisoned/poisoned girls, lots of thowing up, and a princess who is going to rule a kingdom some day (even though she's so stupid!). I hate books about girls being stupid and living happily every after! I think it sets a bad role model for girls today... and where are the seven dwarfs? (LOL!) I recommend you give this book a miss.

Another 2SCD June kit layout

A poll I did at 2SCD told me that the ladies there are inspired by simpler designs. Of course, as a member of the DT, I want to be inspring! So, here is what I hope is an inspiring layout done with the 2SCD June kit. Everything I used is from the June kit except for the blue circle and blue brads (which I used to match the photo). It wasn't sunny this morning, so you can't see the cardstock and letters sparkle, but these are gorgeous!

Book Review - Drift House, The First Voyage

Do you like pirates? Mermaids? Adventure? Talking animals? And the idea of there being a drain plug at the bottom of the sea? Throw in some unlikely time traveling heros and you have a fun summer reading adventure! This first book in the Drift House series was tons of fun! I've also read the second book, the "Lost Cities." It wasn't as good, and I don't recommend it unless you totally loved the first book and are looking for more.

2SCD Online Crop was GREAT!!!

The online crop was fun! It was great chatting with the ladies, playing games (even though I didn't win, LOL!), and seeing all the great projects. The winner of my crop prize package was, Angie! Congratulations, girl! Your prize is in the mail, on it's way to you!

Here are some of the projects that I finished during the crop! Thanks to all the other hostesses for getting me inspired!

Book Review - Bridge to Terabithia

I've read almost all the Newbery Award winning books except this one. I always thought it was about two friends. One of the friends dies and the other one is left to deal with her death. Well, then I saw the movie trailer of an imaginary land with monsters; and it looked like a lot of fun... So I picked this book up from the library... and it's about two friends. One of the friends dies and the other one is left to deal with her death. {sigh} Actually it is a good book, sweet in spots, about a boy and girl growing up in a small town, and the friendship that blooms between them. Leslie shares the magic of life with Jess, and in the end Jess learns to share the magic of life with others.

It made me cry... it made my 14yrs son cry... it'll make you cry...

Another 2SCD June Layout

This is totally not my style, I don't leave this much white space when I scrap. Can you tell I scrap-lifted this? I saw it in Quick and Easy Scrapbook styles by Memory Makers. I couldn't resist! I had all these iPod style photos of my daughter that I created, just sitting on the computer, and this was the perfect layout. Listed in the journaling below is her playlist that she listens to on the way to a game to get pumped up!

The layout was made with the June kit from 2SCD. I worked really hard at the lighting so that the black glitter cardstock would sparkle. It's gorgeous!

Here is the link to tutorial for creating the iPod sytle photos:
http://www.macmerc.com/articles/Graphics_Tips/260