Wee-Ones Wednesday: Here, Fishy Fishy

Last week, we took the little ladies to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It's not super huge, which is perfect for our attention spans. We were there for about two hours. The girls loved looking at the big fish and seals, did not really want to touch anything, and thought the concrete stairs in the outdoor amphitheater were just amazing!  About halfway through, Lilly was on Dan's shoulders and decided to borrow Daddy's hat. She looked so cute, I think I better go get the girl a fedora. The girls are very well trained about asking for souvenirs, and think pressed pennies are very exciting. We are so blessed!

Misc. Monday: Pirate Love

I mentioned awhile ago that our wonderful friends, Brian and Emy, renewed their wedding vows pirate style. It was beautiful and so much fun. Everyone looked amazing! The creativity of the costumes blew my mind. Dan and I made our outfits with clothes we found at a few local thrift stores.  I love the way my hair clip turned out. I cut up a pirate toy from the Dollar Tree, along with some felt circles, and added some feathers, easy peasy.
I had the honor of making the bride's bouquet & the groom's boutonniere, and I got to walk the bride down the aisle. Dan officiated the ceremony with bits from the Princess Bride and some pirate vocabulary thrown in, and our friend Amy made some adorable photo props. Emy ordered the most delicious cupcakes and thought of every detail. We even played a pirate themed murder mystery game after dinner. I honestly can't remember when I've had more fun! All of the photos were taken by the talentedWill Parris.

Sew Crafty Saturday: God Bless the USA!

America banner from At Second Street, steamers from Dollar store.

The ever changing console table. I hung up one of Lilly's old dresses too.

The subway art is from eighteen 25 and the land of the free is from i heart naptime. The patriotic Tootsie Rolls are from the Dollar Store. I love that place!

All this stuff is from last year, so I don't mind if it gets a bit of sun damage!

Little flags add so much.

This is the 6 foot table that my sweet hubby put up in our bedroom for me!

I spent the last week getting ready for our annual 4th of July BBQ and scrapbooking. I have decided that this will be the last scrapbook I do. Starting 2011, I will make digital family albums. (You may be thinking to yourself, "This is 2011," but I say that because I'm still on October 2010!) Whoo, it feels good getting that off my chest. I've gone back and fourth on this for awhile now, but realize that scrappin does not bring me the joy it used to. It's become an obligation and there are so many other creative things I want to do with the little extra time I have. Anyway, I was planning on writing about the decorating for the 4th, but you got a tangent on something else entirely. Thanks for listening, I mean reading.   ;)

Wee-Ones Wednesday: Big Bear

For our first mini vacation of the summer, we went to my parents condo in Big Bear. It was so much fun. The second day, Lilly asked me to make a list of all the things we wanted to do. Putting our feet in the lake and going to the candy store were on the top of the list. Iris decided to plunge in the lake head first, fully dressed and fully submerged. Poor Daddy had soggy shoes for the rest of the visit. The most exciting thing about this visit was that we finally got to go on the Alpine slides! I can't believe how much the girls have grown since last summer.

Misc. Monday: #1 Dad

Yesterday, the Michael girls had the chance to honor and celebrate the most wonderful Dad we know. Lilly loves Daddy's tickles, singing, and riding on his shoulders. Iris loves running through Daddy's legs, hearing him sing, and cuddling on the couch. I adore watching the man I love do such a wonderful job loving the girls I love. We hope you had a fantastic Father's Day!

Sew Crafty Saturday: Playhouse Part 3

I glued clothes pins to the wall, so the girls could
hang up their art work.

You didn't think a Kindergarten teacher would forget books did you?
Dan's grandfather built this bookcase, so it's pretty special to see it get some use.

We originally planned to have the chalk board wall inside the play house, but then realized it would get very dusty very quickly!

Here's some curtains for the play window.

I know, I know I keep posting pictures of the playhouse, but it's really the only crafting I've done all week!

Wee-Ones Wednesday: Under the Sea

My little sis turned 32 on Monday. To celebrate, we went to California Adventures with the intention of getting on the new Little Mermaid ride. The park opened at 10am, but they started letting people in at 9:30. We were corralled straight to the ride and worked our way through a very long line. It moved surprisingly fast and before we knew it, we were under the sea. Penny and I were way more excited than our kids to be going on this new ride.
The Little Mermaid was our favorite Disney movie as kids. I can remember us singing and twirling along with the movie. The ride brought back so many wonderful memories of growing up with my sister. She taught me what it means to be loyal, how to love, and how to argue. We were always together and always there for each other. Penny is still my best friend today. Having a sister is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I feel very blessed to be able to give each of my daughters a sister. 

Misc. Monday: Playhouse Part 2



This is the view from the front door of our new playhouse. I used Velspar paint samples to paint some of the beams and fabric from my stash. The curtain came with Iris' crib bedding set (We never used it). We spent no more than $50 on this shed conversion. I'm amazed at how nicely everything came together!

This frame housed a different picture in our bedroom that I had grown tired of, so I used it to frame this stamped piece of scrapbook paper instead.

This is a "Land of Nod" craft table that Grammy and Papa picked up for us at a thrift store. The # buckets and stools are new from Ikea. I wasn't thrilled with the color of the stools, but once I went through my fabric stash, I realized that the green was a perfect color to go with the pink florals I had on hand.

The girls really enjoy the loft. It is quite cozy filled with blankets, stuffed animals and books. Dan picked up the little doggies on the back wall at an estate sale a while back.

Fresh paint, fake flowers from the Dollar Tree, and pinwheels give the window boxes a new, cheerful look.

This little quiet corner is located behind the craft table.

These name canvases are my favorite craft project in the playhouse. All I did was cut the letters out of left over fabric from the bunting and hot glued them to the canvases. The girls had a blast putting their hand in pink paint!  I got the doilies at Joann's with a coupon, and used a coupon at Michael's for the canvases.

I nailed up yard sticks and used a hot glue gun to attach the clothes pins. These ABC cards were in Lilly's room and are now located right under the loft.

I'm not sure this is what Tuff Shed had in mind!

Working on this playhouse has brought me so much joy. It's 70-80% done and the girls are already playing in it everyday. I still have to make curtains for the front door, a ladder needs to be built, and I'm talking Dan into building a little deck out front to make a porch complete with a free standing mailbox.

Sew Crafty Saturday: Daddy Decor

I loooove how this turned out and with some fabric, stamps, and photos, this wreath could be yours!

Printable found here



Found at Yesterday on Tuesday

 

The typewriter has a few Bible verses for Dads and we enjoy the book "Biscuit Loves Father's Day."

 

Subway art here and mustache card here

The console table is now decked out and ready for Father's Day. All I have to do is wrap a few small gifts and we are good to go. I love decorating for special days a few weeks early, so we can really get in the spirit. It was so fun searching blogs and finding subway art & printable cards. There is tons of great stuff out there, but my favorite has to be "All About My Dad" from Yesterday on Tuesday. I got to ask Lilly about her daddy. Did you know that Dan is 100 ft. and 1 in. tall and his favorite place to go is Home Depot? I'm planning on interviewing the kids every year to see how their answers change, then bind the pages into a book. Won't that be sweet?
And did you notice the cute wreath? If you visit my blog or home at all, you know that this space is always occupied with a wreath. Anyway, I'm pretty proud of it because it came out of my own little head. I made the banner by cutting up an old denim skirt and stamping on it. The clothespin was left over from the "We love Iris" birthday party, and you can't lose when you use pictures of your kids!