Dude! We had fun at the ranch

Hiya! We're home from the range, lol.


It took us about 6 1/2 hours to drive south because we stopped for lunch at the Burger Queen, lol, but we had a blast at the reunion. I was wrong, it was a Guest Ranch, not a Dude Ranch, but for the things we wanted to do, it was all the same thing to me. The kids swam, Steve did some trap shooting, we spent time with family, got to know the ranch dogs, including a 10 week old German Short Hair pointer named Newt, and my girls even got to ride their first horse. They both have ridden ponies before, including just a week or so ago at the County Fair, but this was a great big horse, and they were SO excited. His name as Pirate. The scrapbooker in me was so excited to hear that, lol. Now I'll have another use for my Pink Paislee skull and cross bones stamp! Turns out sweet Pirate lost her eye as a young colt. I don't know how, poor thing. She was really gentle with the kids and that's all that matters.




Aren't their cowgirl hats cute?! There were craft projects set up for the kids and one of them was to decorate a hat band for a cowgirl hat. Morgan chose red and Payton chose blue. It was a really cute "western" idea for this location.

Another lady in our group, I guess I should say Steve's cousin... probably 3rd or 4th, brought paints and did some face painting. This was the first time either of my girls had done that and they both chose a butterfly. They loved that part.

Anyway, we had a great time and are ready to go on our next adventure! Steve and the kids are at his parent's house with his sister and her clan right now so that I can get a few things done here before we leave again.

Before I go I wanted to share a few scrappy things. First.... I got a new printer! I needed a new printer, and I've been wanting wide format for a while because I'd just love to print my journaling right on my 12x12 layout without having to be tricky about piecing something together, so when I saw the $100 rebate and the free shipping for the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 I jumped on the opportunity. Check it out here. I just finished hooking it up and am impressed with the few images I have printed so far. I'll let you know what I think after I print on a layout.

The printer came with Photoshop Elements 3.0 - Now, I've been wanting to upgrade, as I already have 3.0, but if you don't have an editing program and have been meaning to try it out, I'd love to share this CD so that it doesn't go to waste. The first person to email me at cooperdees at yahoo dot com can have it. 3.0 is what I currently use. I believe it's the minimum version you need if you want to take online classes on Elements or Digital Scrapbooking, or even classes at your local college.

I know I said I had Pink Paislee projects to share, but I'm not quite ready yet. I got busy packing last week and my mojo got tossed out with the used dryer sheets, so I wasn't able to finish before I left. I promise to share something before I leave again on Wednesday. Did I say I'm leaving again on Wednesday? Yes I did. For the month of August I'm pretty much living out of a suitcase. On Wednesday we head back to the beach again, this time with Steve's parent's and his sister and her family. We rent a beach house every two years with them, and this year decided to tie it in with the family reunion we just went to. I'm basically home to do laundry and feed Goldie, the Beta fish, before I repack and head on the road again. Good. Grief. But it's supposed to be hot for the coast so I am so excited! I'll be home again either Sunday or Monday.

One last scrappy thing I did want to share with you.... Oh my heart how it fills me with such joy. The first first photo I have ever taken of my sweet pup, on the very first day he was part of our family, I think he was about 8 weeks old.... well that photo is on a layout, and that layout is on the cover of the September issue of Scrapbook Trends. EEEEEEEEKKKKK! I had originally submitted this layout months ago and it was slated for the April issue. Well, I was contacted about potentially wanting to save it for the cover, but a couple of months went by before I was notified that it was chosen. I know I have shared all of this before... but can you sense my excitement! I am over the moon! And the cover looks so darn good! I am absolutely framing this for my wall. What a way to honor my firstborn, lol.

Cooper is my lab's name. Cooper is also my maiden name. And did you see my email address? Cooperdees. Cooper D's. Basically. My BFF in highschool always used to call me CooperDee for some reason.

Anyway, I couldn't be more honored or excited, so when I saw the photo of the cover in a recent Scrapbook Trends email, I had to snag it and share it here:





And that's it! Have a great day! Let me know if you want that Elements 3.0 CD.