Let's go to the Zoo!

so, as many of you know we have been in chicago for the last two weeks. dave has been in class at north park and the kids and i have been staying at my in-laws (aka: mimi & papa) in naperville. we have had so much fun seeing old friends, hanging out at the pool and going on excursions! yesterday i took the kids and their best bud nathan to brookfield zoo. when the kids were younger and we lived here we had a membership and came often - however in all those years we never spent an entire day there. we arrived around 10:30am and left at 5pm. we all had a blast!!

a few more pics...

where does the time go...? we have already been back from vacation a month and i am just now putting up a few more pics. we had a blast in florida and feel so blessed to have friends that would allow us to use their condo for a week.

Family Vacations

Considering my last entery included snow - it has been a while since i last updated.... however, i figured there wasn't a better time to update than now. we just got back from our 2nd annual family vacation to florida. i have tons of pictures (i will post more later) however, i thought this one would be an appropriate one considering it is the only one we have as an enitre family!

Sledding Fun

after all the snow we've gotten over the last few weeks we haven't gotten in as much sledding as i would of liked - it has just been too darn cold. however this last monday, the kids were off school and it was a balmy 30 degrees and we had to go out! we had a blast on the sand dunes near our home (a.k.a. sugar bowl).

All products are from the NYC Urban Beat Collection by Trace Industries.

U R B A N B E A T

- Chicago Blues -

this is a layout i did real quick to show one of our fun new paper lines. more to come!

BLIZZARD 07

i have lived in the midwest all my life and can't ever remember a snow storm like this. you know it's bad when church is cancelled!

Trace Industries - CHA SNEAK PEEK!

Here is a little sampling of what we will be premiering at CHA this next week. If you will be going to Anaheim please stop by and say Hi - we will be at booth #5359. I will be uploading more images of our other new stuff later today - so check back!

the christmas dress

lilly and her cousin ally received matching christmas dresses from their grom jennie. we had so much fun watching the girls twirl and show off their dresses on christmas eve. both girls felt so special and looked beautiful! thank you grommie!

especially for grommie....


or anyone else who wants a peek :) mom, i thought you might enjoy seeing a few more pics from the last couple of months. we love you and miss you!

DYLAN LESLIE POHLAD

Welcome to the family! On December 13, 2006 little baby Dylan was born. He was 8 lbs. 6 oz. at birth and as cute as can be. Holding my sweet nephew was such an awesome blessing and privledge.

Annie said labor and delivery was a breeze. One contraction and one push - who is that lucky!! Ally and Logan were loving having a baby to hold. They were both adorable to watch as they interacted with their new baby brother.

SNOW DAY!!!

The day after we got home from our Cruise we found ourselves in a good old Michigan snow storm. School was cancelled and we all had a blast playing in the snow. I must admit it was a little wierd thinking about how we were all playing outside a couple of days earlier in our bathing suits and today we are in snow suits :)

40 Years Together!

My inlaws celebrated forty years together this year and took the whole family on a Disney Cruise. We left the day after Thanksgiving and had a BLAST! There are so many pictures from the trip - so, sit back and enjoy watching a quick slide show of a few of my favs!
Words and pictures don't due any justice to how beautiful the Bahamas are. It was by far the most relaxing and luxurious vacation I have ever been on. Aside from a few bouts of motion sickness it was perfect. Our family pic is in front of the ocean in Nassau. We spent the day at Atlantis - WOW!

Thank you Bob and Shar for all you do for our family. We love you both so much!!!

"electric blue"

how does the saying go, "like father, like son". if you know my husband you know that his hair could change on a moments notice. when i first met dave his hair was silver, since then i have seen it become each of the primary colors plus a few others. over the last few years he has become a little less adventurous in his coloring and has maintained that "bleached" look and in turn has had fun playing with our boys hair.

today is wacky hair day at school for the boys and they are so excited for their new looks. last year, dave shaved calebs hair into a mohawk for wacky hair day and the look has stuck - so, since a mohawk is a regular thing for him he had to do something else - coloring it was the only option in dave's book. last night around 10pm caleb walked into my studio (where i was still working) and said, "look - electric blue". i sat there stunned with a smile and said, "yes, yes, it is". lukie came down a few minutes later with his electric blue hair too.

the funniest part about their hair is that it is permanent - it won't wash out. so, our christmas pictures this year should be fun! shoot - i should of suggest red and green instead of blue - LOL!!!

bye bye booth

i finally feel like i can take a breath. my dad and i have been working for weeks putting our newest booth together for Memory Trends in Las Vegas,NV. all the hours and hard work are sitting on a pallet in my garage waiting for the trucking company to pick it up. phew!

don't you hate it when you feel like you are forgeting something. that's how i feel right now - i hate that. i guess it's a good thing i'm not leaving until saturday - so if something has been forgotten i can bring it with me.

i am super excited for MT this year. we will be running two make and take tables - teaching lots of techniques. the amazing lisa whitten and tiffani smith will be the gals showing off their mad skills at the tables. we are also introducing four amazing mobile kits - using trace chippers. they are super fun and easy. if you will be heading to sin city for the show stop by and see us at booth #725.

Saturday Morning Soccer

yes, the signs of the season are upon us. all throughout my life there are little reminders that fall is here, like the uniforms and socks in my laundry room, the dirty cleats by the back door, the goals in the back-yard and the balls rolling around in the van. YES, soccer season has officially started, and i am yet again transformed into the epitome of the woman i swore i never would be, i am Soccer Mom.
over the course of the summer we have played numerous games of soccer in the backyard and the boys have worked on their dribbling skills and talked so much about what their teams would be like this year. they were so excited! caleb has been playing for a while, but he was so excited to have a "real" jersey this year, not a t-shirt. for lukie, this was his first year playing on a team and to top it off his dad was the coach. we all thought lukie would do/be great. he has a fun playful spirit and has loved playing soccer with his dad and brother for years. so it came as a huge SHOCK when all of the excitement came crashing to a complete halt on the field. lukie wouldn't go on the field, he wouldn't sit with his team and suddenly digressed into a baby with a bunch of whining and crying about how he wouldn't go on the field. it took us all by such surprise, literally moments earlier in the van he was talking about how excited he was. this last saturday morning was his 2nd game and this picture is of him sitting all by himself - not playing. notice his team-mates in the background. i wonder what is going on his mind and what it is about his personality that won't let him go out on the field and play. i know he loves to play and practice with his team - what is it? well, whatever it is - i love the kid!

Your Smile

every once in a while it seems i am able to capture the essence of my kids in a photograph. more often then not, my most favorite pics are those that were never planned. now, my dad would say that a photograph is made not taken. but, his perspective is that of a professional - which is NOT me. i understand that in order to get the perfect photo many things must be in order like, lighting, positioning, good behavior, blah, blah, blah, however, so often i find i become more concerned with the making of the picture than the true beauty of it and the photograph is never what i thought it would be.

this is a picture i took this last may while we were vacationing in florida. we were waiting at the dinner table for our food and just goofing around - nothing planned about this photo! the moment i saw it i knew it would serve me well. ohhhh, that sounds horrible (i've already used the photo for 2 package inserts). the beauty in it for me isn't that my lilly jane is goregeous (which she is!) it's that it captures her true smile. i like to call it her "inside out" smile because it seems at times that it will over take her face - now that wouldn't typically be a good thing i suppose. oh well.

i framed the photo with our 8x8 chipper frame and used ranger distress ink to add the splashes of color.

i am so thankful for moments that remind me to sit back, relax and enjoy!

first day of school 2006

welcome to the diller family "first day of school" photo. it seems like just yesterday it was me and my three brothers standing for my mom on our front steps for our first day of school. where oh where does the time go.

caleb is all excited about getting to go to school for a full day and eating lunch at school - he is heading into first grade. lukie will be starting kindergarten - he is anxiously eager. lilly jane will be my only one home. crazy.

Dear Jesus, watch over my babies. remind them you are with them and will always protect and keep them. may they see you and feel your love. in Jesus name - amen

taking the plunge!