We had the best vacation ever this year - six days at Disneyland, one at Legoland! Finding gluten free food at Disneyland that the kids would eat was somewhat of a challenge (new goal - get the kids to eat hamburgers! Our lives would have been so much easier if they would!), and they ended up eating a whole lot of fruit. We all dropped a few pounds! Crazy as it seems, we had the longest stay ever, but I got the fewest drawings done in this year's book! I guess now that they are older, we spent less time napping (okay, no time napping) and bedtime became later and later. I'll have to catch up on it this week. I didn't bring the Nikon, either, only my iPhone for pictures, which worked out really well. All of the shots were uploaded to Shutterfly before we even got home! I also downloaded three Dineyland apps while we were there, which kept the kids busy while we waited in line or for food. The Hidden Mickeys one was a real hit - Max LOVED looking for them! What did I ever do before the iPhone?

Legoland was really great - so mellow, no crowds, lots of play areas, not just rides. It was also gluten free heaven - no special orders, no talking to chefs, they just had GF buns for hotdogs, and cookies, snacks and even cereal in their little snack market! For most people I now this sounds like no big deal, but when you are on a restricted diet, it means everything. I did get sick once from Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian, and Matt accidentally glutened Max with Crunch ice cream bars. They were supposed to get ice cream while Madeline and I went on the Haunted Mansion ride, and when I got off and saw what they were eating, it was like one of those slow motion bits where you're running and waving your arms, "nooooooo." Too late - full rash that night, and lots of carrying him the next two days (he get fatigue from gluten). Overall, though, I'd say we did pretty well.

Now the house is in a state while I decorate for Halloween. I have come to find this year that my regular art work seems very appropriate for Halloween decor. Hmmmm.....  I'll post some pics when the place is back in order.

First off, I'd like to give a big shout out to the fabulous ladies who came to my art journal class on Saturday. I sure had a great time, and I hope you did, too. I'd love to make this into an on-going class, with a focus next time on quick ink backgrounds and composing pages. Tell me what you think. Also, if any questions have come up as you have been working on your pages (please tell me you are working on pages!), feel free to leave a comment or email me from my web page link on the right. This is an on-going process, and we are all in it together! I have been working on four pages, although only one is complete. Those who were in the class may recognize the background; it was one of the unfinished ones in the journal I brought. After a series of layers of ink, gesso and old rub-ons, I found a small photo left over from a previous art project, and taped that on. I wasn't quite sure where to go from there, when I noticed the shadow of my hand on the paper. I grabbed a pencil and voila, done!