Camping Trip!

This past weekend we met up with the Bilberry’s at Lake Catherine State Park in Arkansas.  We had a bit of a rough start with rain for most of our drive, but the park was dry and was actually under a burn ban (i.e. no campfires.  Boo!).  However, the scenery was beautiful and the temperature was so much better than it had been the last few weeks in Texas.  In fact, our second day was spent in jackets and hats to fend off the chill in the air!  Glorious!

Our campsite had a beautiful view of the lake where the kids enjoyed throwing rocks and feeding the geese.  We spent most of our time at the campsite with one visit to the playground and a brief walk around our part of the park.  Ari spent the bulk of his time (I’m talking hours at a time!) digging away in one little corner.  The only “treasure” he found was a 6” long nail that ended up in the bottom of the lake along with his rocks.  The dads took the big kids to a nearby disc golf course Sunday afternoon while the moms and the little girls stayed back to nap and enjoy the peace and quiet.

We were able to use the charcoal grill to roast the traditional hot dogs and s’mores among other yummy foods we chose to make.  Mostly, we relaxed and caught up with good friends and stayed up way too late :)  The kids actually slept pretty well in the tent and were great on the road once again.

All of us are already looking forward to the next camping adventure (which will have to wait until #3 arrives)!

 

(For more pic’s check out the Bilberry’s post too!)

Mommy’s Craft Time

Despite my early pregnancy symptoms and adjusting to our new schedule, I’ve managed to find some crafting time here and there.  Crocheting is still the easiest for me to fit in and actually finish a project, but I did manage one non-crochet project lately :)

First up, a hat and booties for my friend’s nephew:

When I found out he was born prematurely (30 weeks), I whipped up this set for him in the meantime (hat & booties).  Click here to see him wearing the hat – so sweet!  (You can also read the whole story on her blog.  An amazing journey to say the least!).

And just for comparison:

Here’s my non-crochet project.  A “What’s Up Weekly” Board (idea here).

I found a magnetic dry-erase board at Target along with the cute day of the week magnets (it was going to cost almost the same price to buy enough scrapbook stickers to spell everything out!  Yes, I know I should have bought them somewhere else, but I just wanted to be done!)  I measured and drew my lines with the dry-erase marker then hot-glued ribbon over the top to make them more permanent.  I used a 1.375-inch square punch and hand-drew all the happenings.  I used the magnet roll and wooden craft star as shown in the original.  Ari loves knowing what we’re doing each day and has had so much fun moving the star to the next day.  It really is a very helpful tool and was so much fun to make!  :)

Now I have a request to all my crafty friends out there.  I received these tea towels as a wedding present, but I can’t bring myself to use them or give them away.  Surely there’s a craft I can do with them to display them, but nothing’s standing out.  I’ve thought of framing each, but I thought I’d see if anyone else had a fun idea.  Thanks in advance!

I’ll wrap this post up with this last link since I consider cooking a form of crafting.  IKEA just published a Swedish cookbook (only available in Sweden right now) and it looks so neat!  This will definitely be going on my wish-list if and when they release one in the US!

Oh and one more thing (really, I promise)….I know there’s been a serious lack of posts lately.  Keira’s in that phase where she wants to see the picture before you take it and we end up having a battle over the camera so I just don’t get it out much these days.  However, we have a camping trip this weekend and Ari’s birthday party next weekend so there should be plenty to post about in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned!  :)

4 Cheers 4 the Birthday Boy!

Our sweet boy turned 4 today!  It’s been really fun watching his excitement build the last few weeks (ever since his close friend turned 4).  I could tell he really “got it” this year.  He woke up earlier than usual this morning and was in the best mood.  Well, until I informed him we were still going to the YMCA for my typical workout day.  Once he got past that, it was all good again.

After the Y, we visited some friends, picked out Halloween costumes and ate lunch at “Old McDonald’s” (as he calls it).  We had a leisurely lunch inside with plenty of play-place time – a rare treat!

Testing out the costume :)

When Daddy got home from work it was present time!

“Look at my pile!”

 

A balance bike from Mommy and Daddy!

Ready to roll!

After our tasty dinner of animal-shaped chicken nuggets and mac ‘n cheese, we enjoyed ice cream cake with our dear neighbor, our friend Luke and his parents who are in town from England.

As I type this, the birthday boy, his sister, Daddy, Luke and his parents are out flying model airplanes.  I’m sure Ari’s climbing the big pile of rocks and finishing off a great birthday!  We love you Little B! :)

 

(P.S. – the big party isn’t for a couple of weeks so there will be more birthday pictures to come!)

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of preschool for this next year. It was Keira's first day period. I think I was the most nervous out of all of us (we switched schools, it was Keira's first time, it's 5.5 hours, etc.). We've been talking about it around here for a couple of weeks now to get them prepared. Keira's been pretty excited - especially once we purchased her backpack, lunch box and nap mat. Ari was upset at first, but the past few days has come around.

Today went off without much problem and I'm hoping that's a trend that continues! Ari walked right into his room and Keira was fine until she saw some of her fellow classmates crying. A friend dropped off her little girl a few minutes after me and said Keira wasn't crying by that point. What a relief!

They were both excited to see me when I picked them up and were in the best moods the rest of the day and evening. We celebrated by spending some time at the school's playscape and picking up some Sonic happy hour slushies and fries on the way home. Keira's been eating everything in sight since I picked her up and I have a feeling they'll both sleep well tonight!

All smiles at home before we left.

"Mommy, I'm ready to go!"

Excited outside his classroom.


Group shot! (excuse the hair - it was a rainy day. Should have gone curly!)

Getting nervous outside her classroom.

Here's to a great school year for all those students, teachers and parents out there! :)