A little Summer Inspiration while I am away..

Hey sweet friends!

First off.. WOW AND THANK YOU!!!! Holy cow!! I am just blown away by your generosity! TRULY!! So last week we did a fundraiser for the girls and boys of The Shelley 3rd Youth Group For their summer camps. YOU guys all kicked BUTT and guess what? We raised exactly $4000!!! HOLY COW!!! that is crazy insane! The best part is now EVERY kids gets to go to camp AND they have enough left over to give to other youth community in our area for theirs as well! YOU GUYS ROCK!!

 So thank you!

So what have i been up to? well can you guess? lol.   THe old new house!  The house is coming along AWESOME! i am hoping HOPING that we can move in Late June. We Just have Trim, Paint and Tile left.. I can't wait!  Normally my husband could probably have that done in the next week or two, however.. Silly ME decided LAST FALL that it would be a good idea to take our yearly family vacation, the day after our kids got out of school. (Their last day was yesterday). SO today we are leaving for 10 DAYS.. what?? lol

Of course I assumed we would be totally moved into our house by then, (I was thinking March at the latest lol). and so doing the trip in Ma, was totally not a problem!  Well.. NOW here we are SOOO close to being done and moving in..  and since my husband is doing all of the finishing work himself..  it's actually KILLING me that we are leaving!  Don't get me wrong, SO excited to spend time as a family, relaxing, laid back on the beach. But man oh man, I wish I would have planned it another time. BUt it's all good! lol.

So where are we going? Well, each year we have seemed to go on a cruise, or california, or something. THIS year I wanted to do something totally different. BUt what? I wanted low key, not busy busy busy. I wanted warm weather, sand and warm ocean water (not so much on the east or west coast lol). I also wanted small town atmosphere as well. Hum.. where to go. THEN I remembered my sister, Leah, who lives back in East said that every year they take their family to the Gulf Shores of Alabama for their family vacation. She said it's like the best kept secret because it has white sand beaches, WARM waters (from the gulf coast), and since  it's not a HUGE destination place, prices to rent houses are SUPER Cheap! AND the best part.. it's small town, laid back. Easy going. So I suggested it to the family and they said WHY not? 

So  I started looking and flights to Mobile were about the same for us to fly to florida where we normally do a cruise from. Then I checked into beach houses (we ALWAYS rent from VBRO.com. they are rentals listed by home owners). I just wanted to SEE how much a house directly on the beach would be). I WAS BLOWN AWAY!  Seriously tons of beach houses for rent. great sizes, awesome views and like ON the beach for anywhere from $80-$200 per night! that is CRAZY insane! In California you would be $1500-$2000 PER NIGHT. From that moment I was HOOKED! We booked an AWESOME house on the beach for a full week and it was a third of a cost we normally pay for a cruise! (Granted it doesn't include food, but dude food is NOT going to cost me thousands of dollars lol).  We like simple like Pb&J's, chips, hot dogs. We are on the beach right?  I am SOO excited to go actually.. just TOTALLY TOTALLY wish it was AFTER we moved in. I am just so anxious to move into our house. But it's okay. We have our whole lives to be in that house right?  This is the LASt family vacation we will take before Braden (my oldest) Graduates next year and goes on a 2 year mission for our LDS Church. So this was pretty much the only time. This fall he has football and next spring he has golf. So this really was our only opportunity to go. It will be fun. I know it. Once I get there I will be glad. :)

SOO we are leaving in just a few hours, but totally wanted to come in and say Hi, and tell you whats up with the family and leave you with a little bit of inspiration to get us through the next week while I am gone!

I thought it would be fun to share some art I have been making this year.. over the past few months (most of which I show how to make in either my SHe Art 3 workshop, or my Behind the ARt workshop).  Just thought it would be fun and hopefuly give you a little bit of inspiration as we head into summer.. to get your paints OUT and get messy!

WHICH by the way, I have pack and entire suitcase of paints, canvases, oil pastels and more for both BEN and i for this trip! While the kids swim in the ocean, we are going to paint on the beach! wahoo!  

so here we go..

This girl I painted on a "date" night with Ben, at my studio. We decided to paint for our date (as we often times too). Man I love that guy...

 

She is definitely a character.. Not perfect, but I kinda like her that way..

 

This next girl is probably one of my favroites..

I Just love the look in her eyes. She looks like she is FULL of hope. She is Strong and yet very kind. Love this girl.

Another one that I fell in love with was this cute little funky girl.

 

 

This last girl is one that I recently did.. in the Behind the Art class! She is simple and has no face.. but I actually LOVE her this way.. she didn't need a face :)

Soo. that's it! I have a tons more to share.. but just wanted to share a few things today!

SOOO, I hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend.. AND an awesome next week!  I will be posting pictures on my instagram and facebook account of our trip for those of you that are interested!

AND sorry.. I know some of you have requested "friendship" from me on facebook and I haven't approved it. it's not because I don't want to, its because facebook limits the amount of friends you can have on a personal account! AND I am at my max!! they won't let me add one more person. That is just so weird. I know I can start over and do a business one, but for now, just keeping my regular page. I think you can still SEE my facebook page, even if you aren't my friend as it's not private. You just can't comment.  

SO.. I will see you when we get back!! 

Happy Friday!
xoxoo

Christy

 

Comments

[Jenny Martin]

I love your beautiful girls - the 2nd one is my favourite too - It almost looks like a photo!

[tina]

Beautiful Girls, Christy! Have a wonderful vacation! Looking forward to hearing more House news! What a grand adventure! Love ya!

[Tanya]

Not sure if you knew you can convert your personal page to a business page and not lose a single "friend". You probably already know this. Have a great day!

[Jill Shivers]

I am waiting,waiting and waiting for you to talk about your fibromyalgia. Sure hoping you have time soon!

[Verbena]

We had a condo at Gulf Shores - awesome place and great seafood. Our favorite place for local seafood was a little small place called King Neptune. Best shrimp and oysters around!A nice day trip is Fairhope, Alabama. A quaint small town, interesting shops, and good food. It is located on Mobile Bay. Hope you enjoy our beautiful Alabama shore!

[Betty]

I'm so happy that you raised the money for the youth group. Can't wait to get my mixed media package! The girls are beautiful! Thank you for sharing all your talent with us. You have inspired me beyond words! Can't wait to hear about the hidden gem beach front vacation! Have fun!

[Paula Haynes]

Have a great vacation and don't fret about what you left behind, it just wasn't meant to happen the way you planned and that is ok. Be in the moment and enjoy. Loved the behind the art class and look forward to the next one.

[Judy in Huntsville, AL]

Christy - Christy! CHRISTY!!! You're giving our secret away! We LOVE The Gulf - and Gulf Shores especially! Hope you're there and not further over into Florida - it's end of school and graduates ALWAYS head that way!
Some tips - Pensacola Naval Museum is free - and fun with kids of all ages - only 30 -40 minutes from Gulf Shores - and our favorite place to eat - TACKY JACKS, hands down - and of course The Shrimp Basket [all you can eat shrimp on Sundays and Wednesdays] We lived in Mobile years ago, so you'll be in our old 'stomping grounds' - Have fun!

[Melanie]

Hope you & your family have an amazing time!! :)

[Francine]

Have a great time, the Gulf Coast is awesome, have lived all of my 58 years on it : )

[Annie Lou]

Greeting from Annie Lou. I have been to the Gulf Shores in Alabama and it is truly a well guarded secret !!! I went there for a wedding in October and we stayed in a condo and .... it was $60 a night !!! WHAT ??????? Have a fab time and you sound good !!!!!

[heather williams]

ooops...meant to say & be able to comment! :)

[heather williams]

Hey, Christy....this might be helpful to know for those who have sent you a friend request on Facebook: next to the "+1 add friend" request is "follow", if a person clicks "follow" they will be able to receive all of your updates & comment. :)

Safe travels & enjoy!!! Blessings ~H♥~

[Belinda Arnold]

These are so fabulous!! Just love the one thats yellow!!! and that brave, strong girl!!! LOL Peace