"No flash cartography"

Today, the family was over for another round of corned beef and cabbage dinner. Now that everyone is gone, I realized I missed some good photo ops.

• Playing Angry Birds  (the IRL game - not the iphone version) with the girls 
• Derek cowering from the dogs 
• the girls showing us their talent show dance routine 
• the yummy desserts mom and grandma made 
• the actual dinner, which is new for me because I only just discovered that I like corned beef
• Rocky stealing a piece of dessert
• Kylie missing her two front teeth
• Taylor reading a Vampire book
• Derek hugging Great-Grandma

But I didn't even take out the cameras today. And I'm glad I didn't. I sometimes feel like I'm removed from the fun because I'm watching through the lens or looking for good shots. We don't all get together like this very often. If I want to scrap about it, I can always do a page without photos.

Kylie was using her iTouch to take pictures of the dogs - and that just made me so proud. I teased her using her line from Disney World - "No flash cartography." At Disney, any time we were at a show, you'd hear an announcement -  "No flash photography" - and Kylie didn't quite interpret that right. So when she'd get tired of me playing paparazzi, she'd say "no flash cartography." That kid cracks me up!!!  It was definetly a no flash cartography kind of day.

I did take one picture, using my iPhone. Penny looks beat after all the company left!

******

So while I didn't take many photos this week, I played with lots of them! 

 These are some of the photos I took in December 2010. I have had this title in mind for this page since then. I put two two-page templates together and after I got all these photos on here, I realized I didn't leave much room for anything, so I just gave it a little title. I love my friends. We had the best time that month. I hate that I don't get to see some of them much anymore. Credits: Project 52 template from Jen Wilson Designs, Micheline Martin's Chirpy Solids, December word from Lili Designs.

 These are some pics from St. Patrick's Day this year. I didn't take out my camera much this year either - see reasons above! - and I just stole some pics from my friend Oscar on facebook. Credits: Kaye Winieki's Shamrocking from Lily Pad (I broke down my ban on digi shopping for just this kit because I needed it!!!). Inspired by the One Story Down Girl Vs. Scrap challenge for March.

And here's one of my first pages as part of the One Story Down team for the Designer Spotlight on Pink Reptile Designs. These pictures are from the Bronx Zoo last summer. I am in love with that butterfly background - and I am easily sold on a kit like this that has all my favorite colors and things - owls, sunflowers, buttons. Yummy stuff. Credits: Pink Reptile Designs' Happy Day papers and elements and Dark Wood Brad Alpha from Zig Zag Scraps.