Splashing Good Time!

I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all at Amy's party today. It got pretty warm, but the clouds were building by the time we got underway. Thankfully, no rain fell. The only water came from the slip n slide, squirt guns and water balloons.

First up, here's the cake I made. We saw it in a Jello dessert cookbook. The kind you see at the check out in the store. That's blue Jello in the center.

And this is what I did with the part of the cake I took out.

Amy's ready for some fun!

General mayhem...

I cannot believe I got this GREAT shot of Ryan nailing the football through the tube.

Love the look on his face! (hope you don't mind my posting this, Heidi)

Amy slipped and slid for a bit.

Then we had the water balloon toss...

followed by the full fledged fight!

Steve stood on the deck and randomly nailed his daughters. It was pretty funny to watch.

Thanks for the help with the wind break, Becky! LOL

Amy gets so excited, she squints her eyes.

After most of the guests had gone, Amy, Hattie and Jessica started dancing to the music I had playing (Luau party songs). The song they played over and over again was Wipe-Out! It was so cute to see them dancing with such care-free abandon.

This is one of the gifts we got her. It's a MythBusters Science Exploration kit. Amy's been known to watch the show with Steve. Anyway, with this kit, she can make a marshmallow launcher!

When she took a good look at the box, she exclaimed...I know Daddy picked this one out. LOL

So, there you have it! It's amazing how much goes into putting together even a casual type of birthday party.

But, Amy thought it was a blast and I over heard a couple of kids say it was one of the best parties they'd been to. 

Awesome!

Thanks for stopping by.
I sure hope you've had a great Saturday, too!

Successfully Nine!

Well, it's a day late, but it's official now. Amy is now successfully nine years old (her use of the word successfully in that sentence-love it).

After hearing her share that her birthday is coming up for months and months, yesterday was the big day. We are having her party this afternoon, but she got to open one gift from us to tide her over until then. When asked what she wanted, she always said the skipper thing. You'll see, she got her wish. Man, it was tough to get any ideas for other things she really wanted. She really didn't have any burning desires and would run the gamut from the skipper to a piano! LOL

This is the skipper thing she wanted.

Nothing like being able to grant a wish without breaking the bank. 

LOL

She also mentioned she'd like something to make her bike look cool. 

I found a spoke light that either lit up solid or blinking. 

She thought it was very cool.

Yay!

Because I know the time's a-coming when gifts like this won't be quite so cool.

Then she had to try out the new "skipper."

At around 7am.

Ready....

Set....

GO!!

The day was filled with my running errands to get ready for the party and our upcoming road trip.

When I got home, the girls wanted to go to lunch at the school that offers free hot lunches every week day.

On the way home from that, we pass the pool. 

They wanted to go swimming.

(it was already in the upper 80s by noon, heading toward the upper 90s for the day)

I knew they'd love the feel of the cool water...

So, I took them home to get suited up and we headed to the pool.

The day care that was there included kids that the girls knew from school, so they had a blast playing with friends.

For dinner, we headed to Red Robin and had an enjoyable meal together. With her getting very embarrassed when they sang to her. But she was happy to endure it for the sundae she got when they were done. LOL

After getting home from that, I needed a bit of a "break," so I headed out for a little bit of quiet mommy time.

As I was walking toward the van, Amy hollered out the window....

Mom, you always make my birthday awesome!

That, my friends, is THE best thanks I could have received!

Hope you have a "successfully awesome" day, too!

*Ü*

Lazy (?) Days of Summer

Ahhhh...the good ole Summertime has officially started this week.

Which means in a few short days Amy will have a birthday. (Her 9th, sniff, sniff)

We've got a family road trip coming up soon, too.

Until then, we've managed to keep ourselves busy at home. 

Well, not AT home, but around town.

*Ü*

We've been to swim, a playdate (a make up one, since the originally planned one was postponed due to one of the playees becoming sick), roller skating and a local carnival. And three of those occurred in one day!

Ahhhhhh, the lazy days of summer.

Steve noticed a carnival set up in the parking lot of a local mall and after dinner last night said he'd like to go. 

So, we loaded up into the car (sans camera-darn) and headed over.

I was quite impressed at how daring the girls were this time, especially Jessica. She was quite vocal on the attractions she wanted to try. And try them she did, with a big happy grin on her face.

Amy wanted to ride the Sizzler, which is one of those spin type rides she discovered last year when Grandpa was in town. You know the one where you sit side by side and as the ride gets going one of you gets smooshed by the other one. I wore flip flops (what was I thinking?), so couldn't ride with her. Steve got the honors and they both had a blast. (Jessica wasn't quite tall enough, so she hung out with me).

It was a fun, happy time. 

And while the prices they charge are exorbitant, 

the smiles on their faces, 

while munching on a 2 dollar snow cone 

was definitely worth the price of the ticket(s).

This fun trip was after the made-up playdate, and 

the terrific time at the roller rink.

Yep, I have to agree with the girls, it was one awesome day.

Lazy days of summer, indeed.

For the record, they were up this morning, before 7am!

As you can see, Mommy has still found a little teeny bit of time to crochet.

This is Mama Tortoise. Baby may (or may not-I'm ready to work on other projects) follow soon.

I couldn't find the same yarn as the sample in Crochet Today, but I really liked the colors in this multi colored yarn and decided to throw caution to the wind and make a pink turtle. LOL

Hope your summer adventures bring you lots of smiles, too!

I Played With Paper Today!

These came out a little darker than I thought they would, but I think you can still get a good idea of what I used anyway.

Under each card I've linked the blog that inspired my creation. If you want to know what supplies I used, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll get back to you.

Enjoy The VA Sunshine

This is the first card I made today and boy am I rusty! LOL I also had to take a few trips out to the garage to find the border punches I wanted to use as I don't have enough space to have all my goodies in the house.

Willow & Paisley

On this one, I ended up using the Home Accents cartridge and my Cricut set at 1 inch. Then I used the negative space as a guide for gluing the individual pieces down.

Sharing What I Love

The vase on this one is from the Cricut cartridge, Walk in My Garden, again at 1 inch. And I used a Cuttlebug folder.

Lea's Cupcakes & Sunshine

I like the colors in this one.

It was fun to finally play with paper again.

Maybe I'll do it again, soon. LOL

Have a great weekend.

PS I was interrupted numerous times while working on this post and decided to just hit publish. 

Gone Fishin'

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments on the Father's Day gift idea I shared. Hope you're right and Steve likes and doesn't think it's too cheesy. LOL

Been busy crocheting another project from the Crochet Today issue I picked up. This project is one of the main reasons I picked up the issue. The s'mores were a happy bonus.

First up, here's a cute little bear:

He wants to go fishin', but needs a few things...

Like a hat to protect his sweet ears and head.

When he gets to the creek, he'll have to make up his fishin' pole

Like, so.

Oh, goodness...looks like he was pretty successful already!

Yep, he sure had a happy day!

Whoops, looks like those little fishies want to try to get back to the creek!

Not to worry, our little friend got them back into the basket.

Now, doesn't this make you wish fishing in real life looked this cute?

LOL

*Ü*

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Father's Day Gift Idea

I saw this idea on a blog I read called Someday Crafts here. It's a blog that showcases different craft/home decor projects found on the web. The author saves the ideas to use 'someday.' I believe she has helpers to find stuff. Anyway, I've found lots of great ideas and this is one of them that was easy to create! Thought I'd share it in case it appeals to you to.

Yesterday, the girls chose to wear the sundresses I made them. They looked awfully cute, if I do say so myself. There came a time of the day (after slippin' and slidin') where the sun hid behind the clouds for a little bit. I thought it would be a perfect time to take some pictures.

Here are the shots the girls chose to use:

(I probably could have taken the glass out of the frame for the shots, but I didn't. I think you can get a good idea of how they look anyway)

I didn't print the photos at home. Instead I uploaded them to Sam's Club and picked them up in a couple of hours. 42 cents, with tax.

The letters are from Hobby Lobby and they are 50% off this week. I just got a D and an A. Around $3.00 for the letters.

The frame was found at Joann's, used a 50% off coupon, so it was $4.

I originally thought to have the frame sitting horizontally, but the pictures didn't fit right. I kind of like this better.

So, the present didn't cost much, but

the fun we had getting it together was priceless.

*Ü*

And just because they are cute, here are some shots that didn't make the cut (but maybe should have, LOL)

Impromptu kiss

And the funny face after she snuck it in.

Now to hide it and keep the secret until Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day.

Inspired to Crochet...

A project found in the July/August issue of Crochet Today magazine.

I was wandering around JoAnn's yesterday and had some 50% off coupons burning a hole in my purse. This is the first time in a long time I've had good coupons where the store didn't already have the magazines on sale, so I quickly scanned through this magazine and the May/June issue. I liked what I saw, so I bought them both. 

*Ü*

I actually didn't see this project until I was on my way home and checking it out at a red light. Then I couldn't wait to get home and show the girls.

Boy, they were as excited as I was!

Yay!

So, I got to work and before long had these made up.

Marshmallows on a stick!

And you can't have marshmallows on a stick without something to toast them over, right?

Omg...check this out!

Isn't that just the cutest little fire you've ever seen?

And I never, ever thought I'd say that about a fire! 

LOL

Me thinks it is a hit with my girls!

So, what do you do after you toast the marshmallows?

Hmmmmm.....

How about...

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*

*

*

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make S'mores!!!!

Yes! So very cute!

One on its side and view of the top graham cracker.

I think I giggled the whole time I was making this.

Did not take long at all, I had ALL the pieces crocheted last night and put the marshmallows together on the stick and had the fire done. I just needed to sew together the s'mores. Which I did just a little bit ago.

Just the ticket to pretend it's s'more weather

even though it's still raining.

And that's enough to put a smile on anyone's face.

*Ü*

Happy Sunday to you!