Twas the Night Before School...

Another summer is at an end and here we are on the eve of the first day of school.  School clothes are all purchased.  Supplies are all collected (and is it just me or do those list from the school just get longer and longer?).  New backpacks are labeled.  I even gave the little guy a haircut today.

So here I sit running through my final countdown list one more time.  New lunchbox notes  - check! (I'm using these this week)  First day of _____ signs for photos - check!  Questionnaires for the kids to fill out tomorrow for their scrapbooks - check!  (I found the ones I'm using this year here)  "If I can give you a hand" tags (printable here) ready to be printed and attached to some hand soap or anti-bac to send to the teachers - check!  Plans for a good breakfast and supplies for baking cookies to have waiting for the kids after school - check!  And a couple of friends lined up to join me for my annual Mom's Brunch tomorrow after the kids get on the bus - you betcha! :)
Happy Monday and Happy Back to School!

Wreaths with The Girls

 Craft day with The Girls!  I haven't been able to say that in a long time - since we moved, in fact.  Not the craft day - I've had a few craft days here and there (can you imagine how badly the withdrawals would be for me without some of those?!?).  It's the term, The Girls.  That's an official term in my head.  The Girls - a group of friends that get together to share some fun, which often involved crafting.  I had two of those back in Utah - one was a set of friends from high school.  We had a designated Saturday once a month, just for us.  And the other was my monthly card-making group.  I have missed both very much since we moved (almost 3 years ago now!).  So I'm very happy to have found a great group of ladies here that have quickly turned into my Go To buddies not only for hanging out at the pool or back yard BBQs, but will also join me in my crafty craziness. :)

Things just kind of fell together for us.  A neighbor wanted to make a wreath supporting her favorite football team before the season started but didn't know how to do it.  We very quickly had a nice little group that wanted to learn as well. 

We started with a fun little shopping trip to the craft store, having luckily been able to find a time when all the husbands could watch the kids.  And oh what fun that shopping trip was!  I can't imagine what the employees at the craft store thought as we spent the better part of two hours in the deco mesh section, full of big ideas and enthusiasm.  Plus deco mesh was on sale for only $5 a roll!  Everyone walked out of the store with supplies for at least two wreaths each.  And me - well I had enough for four different variations lol.  (And this after going in there thinking that I had a wreath for practically every holiday already)

Last Friday was our big craft day.  We went into it with lunch prepped ahead of time and kids either happily playing upstairs or home with their dads (gotta love any guy who will help us indulge our crafty craziness!) and spent the entire day making wreaths.  So fun!

5 ladies, 9 wreaths.  Awesome.  My favorite part is seeing how one method/theme can be interpreted differently by each person and they all turn out so different from each other.

There's wreath #9.  One friend had to leave early in order to set up for her daughter's bday party and her finished wreath didn't make it into the group shot at the end of the day.
So which one is mine?  And yes - I only finished one.  Host and teacher duties will do that to ya - not that I'm complaining.  I loved it and not finished up everything gives me an excuse for hosting another craft day :)

Anyway - this one is mine.  The funny part is we don't really even watch football LOL.  But the original inspiration wreath was really cute.  And it's kind of a joke between my husband and myself that with all of the Alabama fans in the neighborhood, we should show some sort of Utah spirit.

 

 I tried out a new look with this one - a combination of the poufy wreaths and the curly ones I've done in the past.  I really like the added texture and interest it gives to the wreath.

Cute right?  It makes me happy, even if I still have no real intention to sit down and watch a game.  Go Utah! ;)

Back to School Already?

Here we go again!  We're on the downhill side of summer and in full prep mode for school.  We have 2 1/2 weeks until the big day here, but I know some people have already started back.  I'm kind of sad about it actually.  This summer has absolutely flown by and I find myself wishing for many many more lazy days by the pool.  Oh well.  Fall has its good points too - like school shopping.  I kind of like dragging the kids from store to store and forcing them to try on all the cuteness :)  And we all know how fun it is to stock up on 50 cent notebooks!

 

We finished up the last of the clothes shopping this past weekend.  Tyler was in full cowboy mode that day and while I had convinced him to leave the hat in the car so he could try on clothing more easily he still insisted on putting his boots back on with each pair of jeans.  Love that funny kid!

Now with stacks of school supplies waiting to be labeled, lunchbox jokes Pinned (but not printed yet), and summer swimming lessons almost at an end it's time to start the final countdown.  So of course I made a set of blocks :)

 Actually I made two sets so I can give them to the teachers - either as a Hello gift at Back to School night or save them up for Teacher Appreciation.  (I did post a listing in my Etsy shop if anyone would like their own set)  How good would I be if I was all ready for that (teacher appreciation) so far ahead of time?! lol 

 The base has two sides ("days til summer" and "days til school") so it works for either the beginning or the end of the school year.  Genius, no? ;)
Now where is my List so I can figure out what else I need to do before school starts...?  Only 19 days to go!

Linking to:

 

Catching Up and Summer Vacation

 Our summer has been split between two things - working hard and having tons of fun.  Not the least of which was our two week trip back home to Utah over the 4th of July.  It was jam-packed with family, friends, and all kinds of fun including trips to the lake

 

hiking to Timpanogos Cave

 

riding horses (Kaitlyn did so at every opportunity - probably at least 5 times.  She's getting to be quite the horse-woman)

 

 BBQs, rodeos, collecting Brag Tags (fantastic program sponsored by Heber City - I'll talk about that more in another post), a night away for Sam and myself...
We've been madly scrambling  steadily and surely chipping away at the stack of orders and other To Dos that piled up while we were out having fun.  This past week, in particular, I put in a lot of hours out in the garage - way more than I want to think about when all I really want to be doing is splashing in the pool or having back yard BBQs with friends.  But the end result is that I have given myself enough breathing room to no longer feel stressed about getting orders out in the time frame promised.  And I can start working in a few smaller fun crafty projects like the neighborhood wreath-making day I have in the works, and this baby gift I just sent off.

I've cut back on the amount of crocheting I do, but I usually like to pull it out as one of my Go To gifts for new babies.  In this case I did a Baby Brother/Big Brother set of monster hats, with a matching applique onesie for the new little one.

 

 Kinda makes me wish my little ones were that size again, if only for a day.  Then I look at my quick-growing kiddos and am pretty happy with who they are right now.  And since it seems to be baby season again, it's not like I have a shortage of reasons to make cute little items or snag some cuddle time with a tiny one (without having to go through the sleep deprivation of having a newborn - hehe).  I just did newborn photos for a friend (still working on edits - that's a post for another day), have a baby shower in the works in a couple of weeks, and have at least two other friends due this fall.  I'd better get finding some new gift ideas and carving out craft time... :)

Officially Summer

You know what yesterday was, right?  June 21st - the official "beginning" of summer!  We're about two weeks into the summer here, which already feels both endless and as if time passing by much too quickly.  We haven't had many lazy days yet, but I know at some point they are coming.

And see?  The little one is already getting into trouble during down time (actually I have no idea when he did this - I spotted it when I got up this morning.  It's scotch tape and didn't pull off any of the already-chipping paint, so not a big deal other than the fact that he should know better than to put anything sticky on the furniture), at least a little bit.  Usually I combat the inevitable summer "boredom" with a list of Summer To Dos, and this year is no different.  We slowly compiled the list over the last few weeks and Kaitlyn in particular, was very involved in the process.  I love that she wants to read all the books on her bookshelf (she's got a fairly large collection and is turning into quite the reader - just like me!).
I'm pretty happy with everything on the list this year and I think we've struck a good balance between lots of fun and a few things that will feel a little more like "work."  And considering that summer has barely begun and at a quick glance I think we have participated in at least four or five of the items on the list I'd say we have a pretty good start.

So - here's to the first day of summer!  What's on your list??

Almost Summer!

 It's June!  I know a lot of schools are out at this point and I'm so jealous!  For the last week or two all I have wanted to do is hang out with friends at the pool or in the back yard.  Forget the schedules, forget the Have Tos - just soak up the sun, enjoy the company, and watch the kids have fun! 
We've been going through the paces of wrapping things up - final dance recital, field trips, class parties, Kaitlyn's first time taking the EOG's (End of Grade tests - they are huge here UGH) and Friday was Tyler's Kindergarten graduation/awards/ice cream party (oooo he's getting way too big!).

We are down to the final week of school and I'm just as excited as the kids are.  (Someone remind me of this at the end of July when the kids are driving me nuts and all I want is a day of peace and quiet ;)  )  Since a lot of my time this week will be spent doing final prep work for our Girl Scout Bridging/End of the Year Party I thought I'd better get ahead of things and put the End of the Year School gifts together.  They came together pretty easily this year.  Weeks ago I ran across the After Sun lotion in the Target Dollar section and snapped up a few bottles, knowing I'd be able to use them for something.  Here and there I found the small containers of sunscreen and chapstick with SPF and then I spotted the double wall glasses at IGA for $3 and knew I had it made.  The thing I really like about these particular glasses is that they have the flip top instead of a straight straw, which means much less chance they will spill if you put them in a cooler or beach bag.  I may have to go back and pick up a few for myself!

I found the printable Summer Vacation tag here.  And that's it - quick, easy, cute, and not-too-expensive end of the year gift for the teachers!  The bus driver will be getting the same tag on a Toblerone.  So we're all set!  Now BRING ON SUMMER! 

Dressed Up for Summer

 Happy Memorial Day!  Hope everyone is enjoying the fantastic long weekend - we sure are!  Usually these "smaller" holidays catch me by surprise and we're left wondering how to entertain ourselves.  This year the down time was very much welcome, and to add some fun to the mix we had a very fun BBQ with new neighbors Saturday, pool time yesterday (and probably again today) and today we will be heading out for some shopping and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (our belated Anniversary celebration since Wednesday, our 14th anniversary, was crazy busy).

As usual, we have had all kinds of things going on including projects in the works.  Since I'm still in Spring Cleaning/Updating mode, the front porch was one of them.  We have a pretty great front porch - plenty of room and I love the stamped concrete.

 And it's just kinda sad to see such a great space go unused for so long.  So this year I told the husband that for Mother's Day I wanted furniture for the front porch.

 I really wanted rocking chairs, but they won't rock on the stamped concrete.  Adirondack chairs felt like the wrong style.  I eventually found a nice (and inexpensive!) metal bench online and on Mother's Day weekend we took a trip out to the Outlets to find some accessories.  I'm either really picky or shopping in the wrong places, because I only came home with a few pillows for the bench and a new door mat.

 Prompted by a Mother's Day card and cash from my mother-in-law (Thanks Jacklyn!) I spent a fun half hour in the garden section picking out annuals.  Oh - and did I mention I spent a few hours a couple weeks ago repainting the posts and railings?  And ta-da!  I think our front porch is all set for the summer!

 Look - I even remembered to put out the red, white, and blue wreath for Memorial Day. ;)

 I'm still going to keep my eyes open for a small table and maybe another chair for that far corner.  But for now, I'm liking the final results.

Happy Mother's Day to me! :)