And Summer has just begun...

Whew, been meaning to post pictures of all of our end of school year activities, but we've been busy since school got out.


Olivia was a beautiful ballerina and tap-dancer at her dance recital.

She got several awards at her end of school awards day. She was most proud of the high attendance award - after all the days she missed as a kindergartner!

She "bridged" from being a Daisy Girl Scout to a Brownie.

We got to visit Paige & Steven, go to a Red/Cards game and to Six Flags! If only we had seen the Reds play a day later, when they won!

This past week, Olivia, Daniel & I were at Girl Scout Camp for 3 days. They had loads of fun doing experiments, crafts and games. I think the favorite was swimming at the park pool!

Friend Friday

A cute picture of Daniel and his buddy. They were waiting for their sisters in dance class. Nothing like little boys and some dirt!

One box of gumballs, so many ideas!

I love the bright colors of gumballs. Put together in a cute container with some ribbon and you've got a great gift!

My ideas came from my favorite craft/gift shop in Louisville (pic below) and from a blog - which I tried to find but couldn't locate, sorry. I'm thinking the large canister was close to $20, yikes I knew I could do something similar!


It all started with a huge box of gumballs from Sam's - for less than $18!

For Teacher Appreciation Day, we put them in washed Ragu Jars and some mason jars. I spray painted the Ragu jar lids and they looked great. The sticker said "thank you for "chewsing" to share your talents at SLES, Olivia had a "ball" this year!"

The kids helped me separate the colors for one of our apothecary jars.

We also separated some colors for my FBLA officer installation. Each color represents an office. My fellow business teacher and I thought we would jazz up the ceremony with candy instead of candles! The kids loved them.

The last idea is in a peanut butter jar. We go through lots of pb here and I've been saving these up. I simply made the logos in MS Publisher.

Hope you enjoyed these ideas. We've still got quite a bit of gumballs left, so we'll be making more gifts this summer!
We've been very busy with end of school, dance recital and Ryan's graduation. Will post more soon!

I'm linking this up to A Soft Place to Land, Tip Junkie, and Today's Creative Blog. Go to these sites to see some fabulous ideas!

She's Growing UP on Me!

Olivia has had some big seven year old events going on lately. She lost one of her front teeth and the other one is barely hanging on!

In the past, we've talked about getting her ears pierced. She definitely wasn't interested, because of the pain. Just a couple of weeks ago she announced that she was ready to get them pierced. We just had to find the right time.

One of her friends, E, had wanted her ears pierced too. So E's mother and I schemed to surprise them after dance class Friday night. We announced we were going to the mall to eat and get them pierced! Screams of delight could be heard for blocks!
Olivia was a trooper and had no problem. I was proud of her. After we ate dinner, the girls were treated at various stores around the mall. I'm definitely seeing shopping in her future!

Upcoming events for Olivia include testing at school, Girl Scout awards (becoming a Brownie), the end of her first grade year, and her 4th Dance Recital.

DIY Day

Olivia has been wanting a desk in her room. I've been on the lookout for one. My mom and her bargain shopping friend, Doris, found a great one at a local flea market (at a great price). All it needed was a little TLC.

The desk is in really good shape. I just needed to sand it and give the chair a good coat of primer before painting. I happened to have the pink fabric in my stash.

As you can see, she has already started using her desk, for many things and loves filling up the drawers!

Enjoy DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

Spring Break in St Louis

We were lucky enough to travel to St Louis for a couple of days during our beautiful spring break! Nanny went with me and the kids to visit Paige & Steven, while Jeff was on nights.

First, we went to the Botanical Gardens. The tulips and spring flowers were absolutely gorgeous.

Then it was on to the Butterfly House where we saw tons of butterflies. Olivia had me take lots of pictures as she is studying butterflies in science. This cool sculpture was out in front of the entrance.

The next day we went to the zoo, along with half of St Louis! It was a warm, sunny Saturday and everyone seemed to want to be outside! We enjoyed elephants, bears, penguins, sea lions, and much more. We'll be back soon to check out the other half of the zoo!

Easter Fun

The kids got some fun stuff from the Easter bunny, including "The Squeakuel" which has already been watched about 10 times!

Jeff and I got them chocolate eggs with their names on the side. Jeff took little toys to a local candy store and they made these. They put the toys and more candy inside the eggs. Needless to say, these were a big hit!

All dressed up and ready for Easter church service.