Last Day of School

I am getting far behind in my journaling. The last day of school was over a week ago and I didn't post pictures of Hannah's last day as a kindgergarten-er. It is amazing that no matter the age, getting out of school for the summer always has such excitement. Hannah had a final school program where the kids sang a song for each month of the year. They were songs they had learned all year long. It really was so cute.

And to top off the day, Hannah's teacher made a great scrapbook for each child recapping each month of the year. It in she had taken pictures of each child for their own individual scrapbook. She took pictures each month and had the kids do art projects each month for the book and had them write, draw and answer questions to show how much they have grown, learn and develop all year long. It really is the best little gift for each kid to have! I will try and take a picture of how cute it is. A real treasure for Hannah to keep to help her remember her kindergarten year for many years to come.

Craft Club - Clowns

On Thursday we had our first Craft Club! We did the theme based on clowns. We read a book about the circus, since our library didn't have a book about clowns. We made clown faces made out of paper plates and lots of embellishments. And the then kids took home some circus cookies that I put in a little bags I got in the Dollar Spot at Target and made little tags that said "Clown'n Around."

The kids had fun creating their own clown faces and taking them home to show their parents. It was so much fun for all that I think we will do it again next week and this time we will do something Fourth of July-ish!

Book: C is for Clown (this would be a much better book to read)
Craft: clown faces
Treat: animal crackers or cookies

the cupcake smash

It is funny how each kid reacts differently to a cupcake. Some won't touch it and other devour it (at least with my kids). Jake was one that smashed it all over the place. I am not sure much got in his mouth as much as all over his highchair. He loved smashing the yellow and blue until it made green. Seriously it doesn't get more fun for him (unless you count the bath afterwards). I think that is why he made the mess, so he could have a bath!

Summer Craft Fun

I was thinking about how I would entertain my kids this summer. What would I do with them that would be fun, creative and take some time. Of course my mind went straight to arts and crafts, since Hannah loves, loves, loves arts and crafts. I also came across this website and she has sooo many cute ideas that include arts and crafts and they are all centered around different themes (even more fun).

On a side note - go and check out her site. It is so cute. Her photography is beautiful and fun all at the same time. It is inspiring to see all that she does with her kids... what a good mom!

So, I decided each week, we would do arts and craft centered around a theme. But then I got to thinking, if I am going to go through all the effort might as well invite others to join in the fun (or should I say make it more fun)! So, that is what I did. We invited the neighborhood kids over for a weekly arts and craft hour (or so). Each week we will have a theme and with that theme we will read a book, do a craft project and have a treat!

I can't wait! I think it will be so much fun for the kids and just as much fun for me! A little mini-party each week.
Here are the invitations I made for our neighbors inviting them to the Summer Craft Fun! This first week is clowns so stay tuned!

My 1 Year Old

My little guy turned one last week. What a crazy week it was. Let's see if I can quickly recap. My mom came to visit (which was a huge help), I got LASIK surgery, Hannah had several end of the school year parties, Chris and jake's birthday and the last day of school, plus Jakey got sick.

But we of course celebrated our guy turning one. I can't believe he is already so big and not a baby anymore. He loved his birthday cupcake. I will have more about that next post. But for now here are some pictures to capture Jake's big day!

Oh and he took his first steps last Sunday night. So, three days after turning one, he has decided to try the walking thing. Now he really isn't a baby anymore!

Activity Day - Father's Day Cards

For our Activity Day activity this week, we made candy gram cards. I bought cardboard, candy bars and let the girls write a candy gram for their dads. Then they wrapped them up. Since we still have 10 days until father's day.

Some candy bars we used were:

Twix - Be "TWIX" you and me, you are the best dad around.
M&M - You are a "M&M" - a mighty man!
SNICKERS - There is no "SNICKER"ing when it comes to how much I love you.
MIKE & IKE - Even, "MIKE AND IKE" agree you are great.
STARBURST - You are a "STARBURST" of energy and love in our family.

You get the picture. Something easy and fun and what dad wouldn't love a card made out of candy bars!

Party Central

I love throwing a party. I will always try and find excuses to throw one, although I don't do it as often as I would like because they are so much work and because there are soooo many adorable ideas out there. Well, to add to the pluthera of cute ideas is this great birthday site. Click on any of the links on the left hand side and you will get adorable party ideas from people just like you and me. Check this site out, you will be overwhelmed with cute idea after cute idea. Warning: Be prepared to spend some time on this site. And if you have a party coming up and need some ideas.... you are welcome :-)

Free on Itune

I thought I would share with all of you in case you haven' to to the itune stores lately. there are a lot of good free kids shows in their free section. I just downloaded Phineas and Ferb, Dora, WordWorld and then they have over 20 Sesame Street episodes. Go check it out before the disappear.

Activity Days - Service

Last week for Activity Days we had a lesson on Service. We had a Rock Star Pedicure Night. We started the night out by have a lesson on the story of Christ washing the feet of his disciples. We talked about why it was an act of service. The girls had to come up with an act of service they would do that week for someone. Then we leaders gave the girls Rock Star pedicures as an act of service to them.

The girls loved it of course. I got the glitter at Michaels for a $1 and the tin pans at the grocery store The flip flops you will notice came from Target in their $1 spot. But they didn't fit the girls, they were too small. Oh, well. I was going to have this at my home with candles, music, treats, etc. But that last time I did a pedicure night at my house with the YW two NEW pieces of furniture got ruined because of the acetone from the fingernail polish remover, so my husband asked that we not do that again.

So, we had it at the church, it isn't as "spa-like" as I had hoped, but I don't think the girls minded at all. And after looking at my saying, I used the word "sweetie" because i had bought some candy for the girls. But I realize I should have put "be a Rock Star And serve someone today"... that would have worked too.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

waiting for the fish





We had a such a fun weekend. It really was a nice, perfect weekend. We started out by not really knowing where we were going to go. We had a few ideas (san Diego, Solvang, San Fran, yosemite), but we didn't know for sure what we wanted to do. So, we just got in the car and decided to go south. As we drove and talked, we decided the most fun thing for the kids would be Sea World, so we headed to San Diego. We didn't have a hotel, but using my trusty iphone, we found a deal on hotels.com for really nice hotel in La Jolla. It was a 4 star hotel but cheaper than 2 star hotel prices. It had the most beautiful pool and it was awesome to stay somewhere nice. It does pay to fly by the seat of your pants :-)

We went to Sea World and had a really great time. Even though it was a holiday weekend, the crowds were too bad. They have a new dolphin show and I really liked it. Ella loves Shamu, so we saw that show twice. She walks around the house with her stuffed killer whale and makes the tail hit the ground and says "Shamu splashes and gets people wet." She loved it. We sat in the "Soak Zone" but each time were lucky we didn't get wet, we probably should have, but we either got the small shamu, so it didn't reach us or the whale hit close to us but missed us. The people in front of us where soaked.

We also fed the sea lions. They were so loud. Some were very aggressive and some were patient for the person to throw the fish in their direction. Like the sea lions picture above.

We then went to the beach. The kids had a blast. They could have played there all day. We had our bucket and shovel and the girls had a blast with the sand. Hannah was everywhere playing in the sand, water and waves. Ella was a bit more timid about the water. I thought for sure it would have been the reverse with Hannah shy about the water and Ella all over it. Go figure.

Jake loved the waves too. He loved when the water would come in and get his feet all wet. He had this nervous laugh about him (it was cold water), but always had a smile and loved it each and every time. It was the perfect day to be on the beach. Not too hot and not too cold.

That night we got back to the hotel and went swimming in their pool. The girls loved swimming in the big pool and the hot tub was their favorite part. Jake loved it too. It was like a giant bath and he just splashed and splashed the whole time. The poor guy was so sick. He looked miserable, but you would have never known it. He loved the whole thing. Just at night it was hard when he was coughing up a lung all night long. This happens every time he gets new teeth. He gets a full-fledged cold and it is always bad.

On our last day, we woke up to go swimming again and then headed to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Newport beach and then to
Downtown Disney for lunch. We figured since we aren't getting our passes again until the fall, we would stop by to get a little Disney fix. Chris wanted to go to the front gate of Disneyland to get a picture to send to his family as a joke,
but it was a cruel joke to Hannah. She could see inside the park, but couldn't get in. She kept saying "can we go on some rides or get a picture with a character." It was very mean.

That was it. Then we headed home. It was a very nice family vacation. One that will go down as our favorite. Now back to reality and laundry.... all good things must come to an end.

Problem & Solution

My girls love to do puzzles. We have so many puzzles that come in those flimsy, cardboard boxes that aren't worth anything after a child gets a hold of them. And they take up a lot of space too. So, while at Target months ago, I decided to buy some pencil holder packets and then it hit me... they hold puzzle pieces perfectly. So, I bought a bunch of them and now they are where we store our puzzles.

Most of mine have a plastic window, so I cut out the picture from the box so they know what they are putting together and put it in the window. It really is a great solution to the puzzle problem. We have about 12 of them and so the best part is they store so easily and don't take up a lot of space.

If only..

I found this woman's blog and was giddy with excitement at all of her DIY projects she has done in her house. I love when people can look at something "ugly" and make it into something beautiful. I love this mudroom... she revamped the whole thing herself and it is adorable!!! I love how she used a coffee table (she cut in half) to create the benches... I mean seriously... that is so creative. Check her site out.... she has great ideas. Now if only I could do this with my mudroom!

Here is a direct link to all her makeover projects.

Photography Logo and Business Card

I was able to complete another logo for a fantastic photographer. Again, another great business name to work with. The photographer was such a pleasure to work with and made the project that much more fun. Check out her website!

Bowling Excursion

I don't know what it is about bowling, but it is always fun to do. It is hard to get a lane and has become very expensive, but still a fun family activity. So, about a month ago, we had a monday off and decided it was the perfect day to go bowling. The girls loved it and Hannah almost broke one hundred (with the help of bumpers of course). Ella had to do everything all on her own which meant carry her ball to the slide and then pick it up high enough to get it up on top. And Jake just tolerated it, but loved it when we would jump up and down with excitement. The next time your family has a day with nothing to do, go bowling!

Birthday Party Thank Yous

I promised I wouldn't have another post about our last birthday party, but I forgot to mention our Thank you cards. While I was at Blockbuster asking for posters, the nice manager wasn't able to give me a poster, but she did give me 25 of their cardboard place holder cards for the movie Monsters vs. Aliens. I wasn't sure what to do with them, but then my husband suggested using them as thank you cards.

Brilliant! So, that is what we did. We sent these out as thank you postcards. $.44 stamp and off they went. Easy, fun, perfect!

Activity Days - Modesty Lesson

This last week for activity days, we had a lesson on modesty. We discussed what 'Modesty" was and what clothes were modest and which ones aren't. We discussed why we have these guidelines for wearing modest clothes and how we could make immodest clothes more modest. We did "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes" and taught how it can help them remember to be modest. When you touch your head, does your shirt show your belly? Shoulders: are they covered? Knees: are your skirts or shorts touching your knees (or close to it) and Toes: when you bend over, does your shirt show your waist and are your pants showing your bum?

Then we had two pieces of cardstock (one for modest clothing and one for immodest clothing) and the girls made collages out of the different clothing they cut from magazines. It was a great lesson and much needed for the girls. Not that they are immodest, but they really got into the lesson and asked many, many questions about what was okay and not okay to wear. As they cut out clothing they asked all kinds of questions and how they relate to them and their wardrobes.

I handed out this quote for their binders and then I gave the girls pop rocks with this tag attached to it.

(The guitar image isn't my creation and now I can't find it on the web.) I feel bad not being able to give credit to how created it). If someone knows were it came from, let me know and I will add a link).

Need to go on a trip...

to New York City just to try one of these pretty little things. PopBar

Swim, Swim, Swim

My girls love to swim, although before we started taking swim lessons, none of them really knew how to swim. Hannah took lessons 2 years ago for our local swim school where the philosophy was dunk and learn. She did learn how to swim after her classes but it didn't stick. So, this year, I had to have my kids learn to swim, I couldn't go to the pool with 3 kids not able to fend for themselves.

Well, both Hannah and Ella love their swim classes. They have both graduated to the next level and Hannah finally knows how to swim. They love that they both have a "gold medal" and both got to ring the bell. Hannah has informed me many times that she likes this swim teacher way better than her last swim teacher. They love it so much that they play swim class when they take a bath. They will be in the bath for over an hour and Hannah teaches Ella different swimming tasks she learned that week.

It has been so good that we have decided to extend the lessons just a bit longer. When it makes everyone so happy, might as well keep it up! P.S. Ella's look isn't because she is scared, she was freezing. I made her stand out there while I tried to find my camera... mean mom :-)

Kitchen Gadget to Love!

I was at Sur La Table the other day and was at the checkout counter and saw this little guy. Our family goes through strawberries like they are popcorn, so needless to say I am hulling strawberries almost every other day. The guy that worked there told me this little gadget was great, so I said "sure let's get one".

And I am so glad I did. It works great and works better than a knife (once you get the hang of it). I am so glad I picked this gadget up. Happy Mother's Day to me!

image from sur la table

Activity Days - Mother's Day Bath Sundaes

I know this is being posted after Mother's Day, but i had to wait to post this idea, so that I wouldn't ruin the surprise for many of my activity day moms. But this is what my Activity Day girls did for mother's day this year. It is a cute little Ice cream sundae made out of bath salts and a loofa. Isn't that so cute!

We had to package the ice cream sundaes in these brown paper bags, so that the moms wouldn't see their present, since we made them 10 days before Mother's Day. But I think they turned out cute with the little ice cream tags.

Okay I have to be honest, I didn't come up with this all on my own. I think it originated from here.

We had a blast putting them together and the girls were super excited to give these little treats to their moms.