St. Louis Zoo

Grandma Laura and Loren flew into St. Louis on June 26th.  We picked them up and then enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo.  It was a fun day for all of us!


Grandma and Loren

going to the zoo

elephants

giraffes...Mack's favorite

hippos
















zebras

lots of walking

thirsty guy

a fun-filled day!

June...

Wow! Where does time go?  I was really hoping to blog more frequently this month.  Hmmm... maybe in July.  

We have had a busy month and are trying to slow down a little.  We just bought a house here in Kahoka and are excited to settle in a little more permanently.  We have spent the past couple weeks moving and unpacking.  Whew!  We have moved more than enough in the past few years and look forward to staying put for awhile!  The house is great and we love it.  We have planned to do a little remodeling and it will begin Wednesday.  Let the chaos continue. :)  We are excited about the completed plan and hopefully the dust will settle (literally) before school starts again.


Scott has been busy with the football team.  They have been to team camps and are playing weekly 7 on 7 games.  Mack and I love going to support the team!


Last week was VBS at our church.  I taught the 4-6 yr. old class and Scott was in charge of games.  Mack got to hang out with one of his little buddies in the nursery and join my group during activities for most of the week.  What an amazing experience for all of us!  We felt so blessed to have been involved!

Grandma Laura and Loren arrive on Tuesday for a month long visit.  We are SO excited to see them and spend lots of time with them!  They will stay a few days with us and then we will all spend most of our time together at the lake house.  YAY! 

Here are some recent pics:

after seeing Kung Fu Panda...  lol!

a day at football camp...

growing so fast...

we love to read!

Have a GREAT week
...stay cool!

aprons and painting...

Mack's new favorite activity is painting.  My new favorite activity is sewing aprons.  Hmmm...we are becoming rather crafty around here. ;)  On Saturday Mack and I went to Walmart to go hobby shopping.  He picked out new paint, some brushes, and sponges.  Then, he was so patient while I dug through fabric to find coordinating pieces for our aprons.  Our Walmart just expanded it's fabric section and was in a bit of disarray.  No worries though we found some beautiful fabric.  

When we got home Mack napped and I opened up my new sewing machine.  I hadn't touched one of these since Home Ec class in high school.  Needless to say I popped in the DVD and held onto the instruction manual for dear life.  I sort of measured Mack before he went to sleep and was going to make up the rest as I went.  Let's just say this simple little apron took me all afternoon and evening.  The good news is I only had to use my seam ripper once.  It turned out GREAT! (as long as no one looks too closely at the stitches)  It is double sided so he has choices...choices are good for 3 yr olds!


Mack painted after his nap and then wore his apron to help me work on dinner.

Sunday morning Mack and Scott were up before I was.  Mack came trotting around my bed at 7:30 and got right up next to my cheek and said, "BOO!"  This is how he normally wakes me up...he thinks it is funny.  Thank goodness it is followed by a smile and a kiss. He says, "Mom can we please go paint some pictures?"  In my sleepy state I replied, "Maybe" and then dozed back off a bit.  I still sensed a presence and opened my eyes again.  Mack was standing there looking at me with his head tilted and his eyebrows raised and said, "Mom I don't understand maybe, will you please just say yes."  How could I resist his sweetness?  I got up and we went outside to paint.

 

After church it was naptime and I got started on apron #2.  I really don't know why I wanted to make aprons.  I have NEVER used or even owned an apron before.  I got my sewing machine for Mother's Day and had no idea what I was going to do with it.  It sat around in the box for a couple weeks as school finished up and I thought about what I wanted to make.  

Now I must admit that I LOVE pinterest.  Since I do not belong to any social networking sites I do not actually have my own pinboard...I just get on frequently and browse the most recent pins.  This is where I got the idea to make an apron and then started googling patterns and ideas like a mad woman.  I knew I wanted something ruffly and cute.


Here is my inspiration picture (I found it as I googled ruffled aprons):

I could not find a pattern/tutorial to make this specific design.  However, I found these two sites and basically combined the instructions and made a few changes to create my own apron. 
(click on the links below)


1. full ruffled apron

2. ruffled half apron

Here is my finished product.  I officially finished it at midnight last night.  I really enjoyed making it!

 

I will get to wear my new apron as I work on my next project - strawberry jam.  Thanks to my friend Nancy for sharing some fresh strawberries with us.  Yum!  I have never made jam but Nancy says it is easy and is willing to help me get started.  I can't wait!

windy day...

About a month ago we were at Walmart and I bought a Spiderman kite as a surprise for Mack.  I  put it on top of the fridge and honestly forgot about it.  Well, yesterday I cleaned house and found the kite on top of the fridge.  (This is why I try not to use the fridge as a shelf.)  Yesterday also happened to be a perfectly windy day.  After Mack's nap we all went out to see if we could fly this kite. 

We did... and the WHOLE family had fun doing it.

graduation time...

We have had a relaxing few days at home and are looking forward to many more.  We have played with play doh EVERY day.  Mack loves play doh... we probably get it out at least twice a day.  We have also been drawing and coloring a lot of pictures...Scott or I draw as Mack dictates what to draw.  He is sitting next me right now, telling me we need a picture of Wolverine...wish me luck!

I LOVE this pic...

Yesterday we went to Bloomfield for my cousin, Dekota's, graduation celebration.  Time flies!  It was nice to spend the afternoon with family.  Congratulations Dekota!  We are so proud of you.  What an exciting time for all graduates this year.  We took a few pics before we left home (then I forgot to take my camera with me, oops).  Mack was in a silly mood and I couldn't get a "normal" smiling pic...these turned out better anyway!  Love this little guy!

                 

Have a BLESSED day!

HIP HIP...

HOORAY! 

Summer break is here! 

Yesterday was our last day of school.  I packed up my classroom and turned in paperwork by 4...and then took a BIG sigh of relief.  This will be the first time that we have ever had a full summer break.  I  previously taught on a 12 month schedule for many years and then we moved cross country last year and were very busy. So...we are REALLY looking forward to enjoying this long summer vacation.  I am excited to blog more frequently. :)  I also plan to finally get my laundry put away, the house cleaned and reorganized, some fun crafty projects started and completed, exercise, and just RELAX!


Mack is also super excited about summer break... he loves that we will get to stay home together everyday.  This morning he came into our room and woke me up at 6...yep, 6am!  He asked, "Mom is it summer break now?"  I said "yes" and he said, "Yay, wake dad up and let's go downstairs and play!"  This early wake up kick started my exercise plan and I got out for an early morning walk.  I returned and played play doh with Mack all morning...summer break is wonderful!

Recent pics...

I enjoyed a nice quiet Mother's Day.  Scott and Mack got me a sewing machine that I hope to be able to figure out in the upcoming weeks.  Hmmm...we will see.  We met Mom and Dad at the Catfish Place for dinner.  I love this place!  I grew up going there often and have great memories of times with my parents and brother.  I love that it hasn't changed a bit and that I get to create new memories with my own family. 

Happy Thursday!

Cheers to the weekend!

April showers...

We have been enjoying the rain for the past couple days.  I LOVE it!  I find the rain to be so calming and relaxing... and fresh.  Our dog, Moon, does NOT enjoy any thunder or lightning.  She literally attaches herself to one of us and just cries and whines...too funny.

We went to the lake house last weekend for some R & R.  It was great!  My mom and dad came down for a quick visit.  Mom enjoyed being entertained by Mack and Dad helped Scott do some yard work.

Mack and I made a fort/tent:

precious...and ornery!

 He looks SO BIG and grown up here...

We went for a walk and enjoyed the playground one evening.  We hope to do this more often.  Mack had a blast!

Moon & Soxy enjoyed the outing too.

     

The Easter Bunny found us while we were there.  Mack enjoyed hunting for eggs and finding all of his goodies.  He was very excited!