Summer at it's finest

We've been enjoying our summer. How about you? Here's what we've been up to...

Two weeks ago we took a little road trip to San Jose, CA to see some family. In-n-Out Burger is always a stopping place.

We also took the kids to Great America and they had a blast!

This was Sweet Pea's first roller coaster ride ever! She giggled the entire time!

This girl and her map.

And these boys were thrill seekers and arcade kings!

She wasn't so sure of the carousel.

While we were in California, Sweet Pea lost her very first tooth. She was pretty excited!

Another stop at In-n-Out...all smiles around

Side note: Baby girl LOVES this dress and would wear it everyday if she could.

And yes, The Boy is holding a jawbreaker the size of a baseball.

We got back from California the day before my birthday.

A birthday fairy left these on our porch. So thoughtful!

I still don't know who dropped them off, but I love Sunflowers and are enjoying them still!

My mom baked a beautiful cake. We met my parents at the park to watch the hubby play softball and have cake and ice cream :)

Notice Baby girl is wearing that dress again. HA!

The day after my birthday, my hubby took us out for my favorite pizza place and topped it off with some ice cream!

We were all happy campers!

I got to spend the next day with these silly girls at Fun in the Park, a fun event with lots of booths that feature different community businesses and organizations.

The next night, we celebrated marriages with our awesome small group. The couple on our right was celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary, so what did we do? We crashed it.

We shared our engagement stories, parenting and everyday stuff. We love these people!

I shared on my Facebook page that my mom had given me a bushel of apples from her garden and I was looking for a good applesauce recipe.

I ended up using this one from The Pioneer Woman. It turned out so yummy!

I had a cute little helper too.

One of the items on our summer list was to do a craft. The kids and I made these little robots from a kit and they had a great time racing them. You can find the kit here.

So there you have it...are a few of our summer highlights so far. What are some fun things you have done this summer?

Baby Boy Gifts

As I've mentioned before I have a lot of pregnant friends right now. A few have already had their babies and my hubby's cousin is due any day now! For their little guy, I made these...

They are naming him Ryan, hence...the "R". These are easy and fun to make. And you can't go wrong with onesies and burpies!

In other news...I keep forgetting to mention that I got an Editor's Choice Award from Craft Corners. They featured me in their weekly segment, Best of the Web. You can see it here. I am totally honored and excited! They've got some cute and great ideas for crafts.

I hope you're having a fantastic week!

Spring Break is here

Well, we are officially on Spring Break. Last week we had more snow, which was quite a way to spend the first day of Spring. I think this photo sums it up nicely...

via

These are not my kids and I did not take this photo, however my lovely and talented friend, Emily, did!

The snow is now gone and the rain is back...blah. Today the kids had a playdate but before their friends arrived we had time to do some painting.

We used this as our inspiration

I hand drew some butterflies on paper with a sharpie and the kids colored it in. 

They gave their paintings to their playdate friends before I could get a picture of them, but I did manage to snap a shot of their other works of art :)

painted by the boy

painted by sweet pea

Since there is rain in the forecast ALL week, I have the feeling there will be lots more where this came from.

Happy Tuesday to you!

St. Patty's Fun for the Kiddos

It's looking like we're going to have a quiet weekend at home due to all germs that decided to invade our house. To beat the cabin fever and boredom, I'm trying to plan some fun activities for the kids.

Here are a few St. Patty's crafts and recipes that we've done in the past (either at preschool or at home)...

This is a fun one and you can add streamers (crape paper) to make a fun wind catchers to look like this...

via

Last year, we made these...

I found the idea here

The neighbor kids were over and they had a blast rolling them out

What festive activities do you like to do with your kids?

Diy Rosette Headband

A few months ago my best friend's daughter turned 9. We had purchased her a small gift, but I wanted to add a little something personal and unique as well.

So, in a pinch, I made her this little headband...

I already had all the materials and I used this tutorial for the rosettes.

It was an easy and quick accessory to make and does not require any sewing. You should try it! The little girls in your life will love it!

Upcycle Your Christmas Cards

I love getting Christmas cards! I love seeing all our friends and their families and how they have grown since last year.

Last week I finally took them down (I don't rush into de-Christmasing, as you can see).

But, before I tossed them, I cut them up...

I put all these scraps in an envelope and put them in our Christmas boxes for next year. Now, they can be used for gift embellishments or tags.

What do you do with your Christmas cards?

Sewing, Sewing & more Sewing

This is what our dining table has looked like for the last 4 days...

 Piles of fabric

Stacks of ribbon

and lots of other sewing stuff.

I currently have 8 pregnant friends. That's 8 babies arriving very soon!! So, I've been sewing away for baby gifts.

I went to a shower this weekend and here's what I made for my sweet friend, Kaitlin and her baby girl Leah, due to arrive next month.

Personalized onesie with matching headband...

felt flower tutorial here

And no nursery room decor is complete without an initial...pink and yarn-covered, of course!

It was so much fun making these for precious Leah. And now I'm off to start some BOY gifts :)

Craft Day

Our little sweet pea asks to do a craft almost daily. So yesterday we did a fun fall craft that goes along with the theme at school: "I am special".

The idea came from here. It's called the Fingerprint Tree.

First we traced her arm and hand on a piece of paper for the trunk and branches. Then she painted it.

Then, it was time for the fingerprint stamping. I think that was her favorite part.