Around the House: Kindergarten

Today was Jude's first day of kindergarten. My goal was to make it special and not cry. I think I succeeded in both areas. This is what he woke up to this morning.

Yesterday I spent some time with my trusty sewing machine and made some "ziplock" baggies for his lunches.

The whole crew walked sweet Jude to school.

I think if the hubs hadn't been with me, I would have lost it. It was hard to walk away from that school and just leave him there.  He said to me, "Mom, 3:00 is a long way away." I said, "I know pickle." As I type this my heart is heavy and I miss him terribly. But, as I was reminded by my MIL, they can't stay little forever. (insert sad face here)

I will say that my friends an neighbors have been awesome. Friends have called, emailed, texted and prayed for me/us. And my dear neighbor across the street brought me flowers and a sweet note. I love my neighborhood! I am blessed for sure.

Come on 3:00 - get here already! Happy Monday friends. To all you Mommies out there with kiddos starting school today, my heart goes out to you. I now know exactly how you feel. xo

The Life

Thirteen hours of highway broken up with some beautiful rollings hills, farm land, rain, Freddy's and Rock River Rapids in Derby, Kansas made for a pretty awesome road trip with my littles and SIL. (I should note that the rain was the first that I had seen in months. It was beautiful.)

Now that we're in Iowa, we have enjoyed the farmer's market with THE best homemade ice cream ever, extremely mild temps, more rain, estate sales and family water war. Ahhh, I love family vacations.

 do ya see that kickin' homemade bass?  awesomeness.

 (that's the face you get when brother "steals" the ice cream.)

world's best ice cream

the water war "plan" - boys attack girls from treehouse

weapons

 the attack

 boys team

girls team

Fun. Fun. Fun.  Estate sale and thrift store finds coming later this week.  I hope you're enjoying your family and these last few weeks of Summer. xo

Follow the Line

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It all started with a book that we checked out from the library. Follow the Line. My oldest and I loved the illustrations, the "story", the adventure and the color palettes. Since this discovery, we have joined Laura on her line adventures Through the House and Around the World. Each book is amazing in it's own right. Countless hours have been spent following Laura's lines while giggling and making little discoveries about one another thanks to her questions found on each page.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email from THE Laura Ljungkvist telling me about her new book. At first I thought it was an assistant signing off as Laura. Ha!  Complete cynic and skepticism on my part - sorry Laura. (PS. brilliant marketing) Laura asked me if I'd like to review her new book...Follow the Line to School!  What? Hello perfect timing! So without further delay, here's a little peek into Laura's latest book, Follow the Line to School.

Although I miss her more extensive line drawings found in her previous books, I know this one will become an instant favorite in our house. It's so much fun isn't it? Well done Laura. If you want to follow the line with Jude and I as school starts at the end of the month, be sure to pick a copy of your own - it's available now! xo

Weekly Challenge: Soak In San Diego!

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While Texans were suffering through 100+ degree days, my fam and I were loving every minute of the breezy 70's of San Diego! It must be said... it was one of the best weeks EVER!

Lego Land - check.

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San Diego Zoo - check.

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Encinitas for breakfast with this awesome blogger - check.

Moon Light Beach - check. (note to self: just because it's cold, doesn't mean you don't need sunscreen. Ouch!)

Camp Pendleton Purple Foxes tour - check. (I have a new found respect for those in the military. One word - AMAZING!

George's At The Cove - check. That was one seriously amazing dinner and view - thank you no marine layer, you made for a lovely dinner and sunset!

One Solid Week with Amazing Friends - check! Thank you McNaughtons for a truly memorable week, your humbling hospitality, and a friendship that grew even deeper over late night chats, silly songs, Mavs games, and lots of laughter.

Hope your week was a memorable one. Pics to come next week. Happy Weekend! xo

Eight.

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Over 10 years ago I met the man who would one day be my husband. We wouldn't date until a few years later, after he moved home from NYC.

We dated a year. Were engaged for a year. And married on June 7th, 2003. Year one was hell! Things slowly got better. Two baby boys later, a house of our own, a lot of hard work and faith in Him alone brings us to year EIGHT! It's gonna rock!

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eight

I love you baby! xo

Weekly Challenge: All In

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Week one we went "all in" and began our summer "list" I shared with you Monday. So far we have 50+ activities on "the list" and we've managed to check off 3 this week. I better slow this train down or I may have nothing left come August.

Painting - not just any painting, but painting with bouncy balls instead of brushes. We put a piece of paper into a lasagna tin, dipped our bouncy balls in paint and then dropped it in the tin. When you pick up the tin and move it all around, the ball creates really fun patterns.

Lava Lamps - this amazing science project was a total hit with my boys! They keep asking to do it again and again! I guess when it's somewhat explosive it speaks to the hearts of boys. Love it. And, I've got to admit, this was really cool. Brilliant idea!

Water Guns - If it's above 80 degrees my guys think it's time to get wet. Water, giggles and exhaustion - what a great trio!

Spray Paint - One napping. One eager to spray paint. Bring on the fun! Can't wait to show you guys the finished goods. Got the idea here. (My oldest loves to spray paint his scooter. Orange, blue, whatever suits his mood.)

 

my inspiration

Feed the Ducks & a Little Basketball - Who knew a row of crackers, a blanket, and a basketball could make for such a fun day!?

the ducks will be a repeat early next week. these lilypads are about to bust into full bloom - I can't miss that!

Drums - Uh-huh...we know how to get a party kickin'... drums.

(sick - the bottoms of my pans are disgusting. sorry you had to see the underbelly.)

Week One of Summer = total BLAST. Ha - take that rain, hail, tornados and sickness! We can't be stopped! We're off to Austin for more fun. Have yourself a rockin' weekend! xo

Daytrippers

If you're local and looking for something fun to do - why not hop the train and check out Downtown Plano. I know...sounds a little lame a first. Downtown Plano? But yes, seriously...give it a try!

Oh my gosh - Georgia's Farmers Market is everything I wish Dallas Farmers Market was - easy to shop, friendly, guaranteed farm fresh and convenient.

We stopped for lunch at Urban Crust. Yummers! The best part - our waitress gave the boys their own dough to play with while we waited for our lunch. She said they'd even cook it for the boys if we wanted. What? Really?  Awesome sauce. Waaaaayyy better than your run of the mill crayons and paper.

The park right off the rails is super cool and age appropriate with 2 play-scapes: one for little littles and another for older littles. There's also lots of room for quilt/blanket picnics. Why not stop at the Farmer's Market for fresh fruit and drinks to take parkside? We are totally doing that next time.

We also checked out Eisenberg's Skate Park, but we had so much fun watching the kids skate and talking to everyone that I forgot to take photos. This was Jude's favorite part by far. When we got home he hopped on his skateboard and scooter to start practicing his "tricks." What a great family day-trip. We had a blast! I honestly felt like I was out of town. Ah-mazing! xo