Hi, Kate!

Happy birthday, Kate!  You're the best!

I know it snowed in your part of the world today, but maybe some visions of our recent cruise together will warm you up?

As Birthday Week draws to a close, I can't help but look forward to this time next year because there's a good chance that I'll finally get to spend it at home with my family.  My fingers are crossed!

xoxo
Laura

Hi, Mom!

Happy birthday, Mom!

I wish I could be there to do fun things with you like this:

Or maybe even just do a little knitting together.

This year, I gave my mom a book called Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, which sounds awesome and which I haven't had a chance to read yet.  Have any of you guys read it? Hopefully I'll find a little time to download it onto my Kindle and start reading it soon.

Anyway, I love you, Mom, and I hope you had a great birthday!

xoxo
Laura

Hi, Dad!

Birthday Week is upon us again.

If you're a newish reader here, you may not know what that is.  You see, everyone in my immediate family (with the exception of me) celebrates their birthday within one week of each other, and we've started calling it Birthday Week.

I really like it because I get to dedicate the whole week to how much I love my family members.  So without further ado...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!

I hope you're spending the day doing fun things like this with Mom:

And if you're really lucky, maybe you'll even get to look at some pretty rocks!

(My parents are geologists.)

I love you, Dad!

xoxo
Laura

My Sister's Birthday

Today is my big sister's birthday.  Happy birthday, Kate!!!

I made the above picture by arranging rhinestones on my notebook and setting it out in the sunshine so that it would sparkle.  fun, huh?

Anyway, here's a photo of me and Kate on the first day of school when we were little kids:

Even back then she was super cool with her sweeping bangs and her denim shoulder bag, while I was so nervous about the new school year that I was visibly on the verge of tears.  That pretty much sums up our personalities to this day.  It's funny how life is: everything and nothing changes all at once.

Now we're all grown up and Kate is nailing it as a big fancy lawyer in Washington DC, and I hope she's having a fabulous birthday!

xoxo
Laura

My Mom's Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday!  Happy birthday, Mom!!!

My parents went out for dinner and dancing at a fancy hotel in Colorado Springs last night to celebrate.  Doesn't that sound fun?

I did a little embroidering for the occasion, as pictured above.  I used this embroidery technique.

This is my mom (and my sister):

I wish she were in Mexico with me today; there's surfing here too!

Anyway, my mom is really cool and I love her to pieces and I hope she's having a great time in Colorado Springs!

xoxo
Laura

My Dad's Birthday

Today is my dad's birthday.  Happy birthday, Dad!!!

I really wish I could be in Denver celebrating with him today.  Regardless of where I am, though, I hope he's having a fabulous day and I hope there's cake involved (preferably accompanied by several large scoops of ice cream)!

This is my dad (and a little bit of my mom behind a giant surf board):

Yes, my parents surf.  They're cool like that.

I love my dad!

xoxo
Laura

p.s.  I made the stamped "Dad" picture by cutting out a stencil, taping the stencil to my notebook, and stamping all over it.  This is the same process I used a couple months ago to make a piece of stamp art for my wall.  See?

Birthday Week

Every single one of my family members' birthdays falls within one week of each other.  Every birthday, that is, except for mine.  I get October all to myself.

Anyway, this is the week!

Because I'm far away from my family (I'm in Jamaica, my parents are in Denver, and my sister is in Washington DC) I will be celebrating here on my blog.  Don't you just love the internet and it's ability to bring people together no matter where they are in the world?

Let the fun begin!
xoxo
Laura

p.s.  I made the birthday week picture by cutting out letters from Real Simple magazine and pasting them into my notebook.