[Oh Martha Monday] Fourth of July

Since July 4th will be upon us in no time, I thought I'd seek out some patriotic inspiration from the folks at Martha Stewart. Of course they did not disappoint!

july 4th tablescape

flag planter

flag bicycle and also bicycle clip art

makes me wish our town had a bike parade!

flag cake-stand

fourth of july invitations clip art

one of these years we'll have a 4th of july party!

flag sheet cake

flag favors

paper cones clip art

stars and stripes gazebo and also the DIY for the fabric star medallions

if the fabric stars are too much this tissue fan "fire works" how to seems easier

icebox cake

patriotic fans and how to

red, white & blue ribbon stars

balloon fireworks

How can July 4th be just two weeks away?  I've a feeling that this summer is going to fly by!

Have a wonderful week!!

[Father's Day] Portraits & "My Dad" Questionnaire

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and grandpas out there!

This week was CRAZY-- last week of Kindergarten, kazillion birthday parties, basketball games, giant hole in the backyard... So this Father's Day we kept it simple.  Smarty Pants drew portraits of his dad and grandfathers (unfortunately Happy Vee wasn't interested in this part). We also did a "My Dad" questionnaire for each of the boys.  I got the brilliant idea from Inchmark Journal.

THE PORTRAITS

Dad--

The Grandpas--

"MY DAD" QUESTIONNAIRE

We had fun with the questionnaire.  The boys liked answering the questions and I enjoyed hearing their impressions of Daddy. 

 My favorite responses-- 

from 3 year old Happy Vee "I'm going to live with my dad until I beg him."

and from 6 year old Smarty Pants "My dad's job is driving me to school."

I also packed up goodie bags for each of the dads, filled with their favorite things-- iTunes for the Mister, tea and biscuits for papa and a bottle of wine for grandpa.  We're going out to lunch later, so I'd better sign-off!  :)

Have a lovely day!

Digging for Treasure

The backyard project is coming along swimmingly (I know... pun intended).  It's actually quite amazing how quickly and efficiently the contractors work together... Dancing around each other as one team excavates, while the other twists steel into intricate patterns.  It's an art form.

Although visions of a beautiful backyard dance in our heads, the highlight so far has been some of the found treasures.

fossilized shell--

Since we are over 10 miles inland and 900+ feet above sea level, it's amazing to think that this area was once under the ocean... several million years ago.   

It's possible that this marine dweller (perhaps brachiopod?) was around before mammals...

I love the green and rust colors.  I should clean it up a bit more, but I'm hesitant to do too much.  It's actually quite big, the size of my palm.

snake skin--

My husband found this after the workers left for the day.  I've chased garter snakes out of our garage before and our neighbors have had large rattlesnakes in their backyard... so not exactly shocking.   Luckily this one is pretty small though.  :)

 

Here's where we're at with the backyard.  I believe an inspection is in order before they can continue further.  

Have a good one!

[Weekender] The One With... Future Pop Stars, Gourmet Food Trucks & Jack Hammers

Ahhhhh, the weekend.

Birds are chirping,

Bunnies are grazing,

and then the sweet sounds of... 

jack hammers.  

BUTTA-BUTTA-BUTTA-BUTTA.

So began our foray into backyard home improvement.  When we moved in 3 years ago we knew this day would come.  And after several months of planning, we broke ground Friday morning... at 7 AM sharp.

tearing down the wall to let the bobcats in.

timber!

buh-bye pink cement!

It was kinda fun to watch.

much better than tv!

And quick too.

Friday...

Monday...

With our backyard in disarray, we decided to escape the house for a little while.  I'm not crazy enough to drive around LA looking for Gourmet Food Trucks, so we jumped at the chance when they were in our area. Pretty yummy stuff!

We also had Smarty Pant's final school performance for the year.  He rocked "Stereo Hearts" and even did a little rapping... Not sure where he gets it from, but he loves to perform!

Hope you're having a nice week!

[Make] Wood Gum Ball Necklace

I've been wanting to make one of these colorful wood "gum ball" necklaces for a while now.  I'm not sure if anyone calls them that, but they look like gum balls to me!

I've seen them in various forms-- half painted, plain, neon, personalized, polka dotted... Since I recently stocked up on a bunch of plain navy, white and black tees for my summer uniform, I decided that a colorful necklace would be a fun wardrobe addition.

Click "Read more" for the How-To

[Weekender] The One With... Baseball, Baseball & More Baseball, Birthday Parties and Cars Land Too!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately... it's taken me almost the entire week to recover from the weekend.  Yes, I am a wimp.

On Saturday, we left the house at 8 AM and didn't return until 10:30 PM.  It was a day devoted to baseball-- closing ceremonies for Smarty Pant's league, his All Star game, and then his team's end of season party.  And if that wasn't enough, we capped off the day with a late dinner for Papa Vee's birthday.  By the end, we had kids sleeping at a restaurant.  Pure exhaustion.  I don't know how parents do it with multiple busy kids... I'm barely keeping up with just one in sports.

Smarty Pant's All Star game... and me playing with Photoshop :)

Hanging out at the game with my ever present Toms.  These crochets are the most comfortable yet.  The only downside is the lace "tan" action that's happening on my feet.  Not pretty!

On Sunday morning we went to a birthday party, then headed out to Anaheim. One of our friends works for Disney and asked if we'd like to preview the new Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure.  Of course we said YES!  We are very, very, very lucky!  Lucky that he actually got tickets and lucky that he thought of us.  Did I mention lucky? We had an amazing time.  The boys were awed by everything. Wish I could say more but...

So we weren't allowed to take photos, but I was able to dig up a few night time shots via the Disney website-

the backdrop to the radiator springs racers ride

the town of radiator springs

The photos don't even do it justice. The backdrops are pretty stunning, it's like stepping into the movie.  The boys were amazed. Smarty Pants even asked how they made the sky look so real... he he!  In true Disney fashion, the level of detail blows you away. It's a must to see the neons turn on in the evening. And the Radiator Springs Racers ride.... awesome! I think that's about all I can say without getting in trouble.  :)

So I'm getting back into the swing of things.  I'm working on a fun project and will share it next week!