Speak Now

Anyone who knows my husband well knows that he is a HUGE Taylor Swift fan, event though he doesn't like country music. So he was SUPER excited when for his birthday this year he got Taylor Swift tickets from his parents! The game was now on for who was going with him!! I LOVE me some Taylor Swift, but then so does my 8 year old...Hmmm what to do???Well he decided that the best thing to do was to take Emmah!! We planned it as a surprise so that made it all that much better! 

 

She has not stopped talking about the concert since getting home last night! And to quote Emmah "Best night ever, I will never forget this moment!"

I'm pretty sure she had a good time!! (So did Dad!!)

Adventures of Fun

On Monday we decided to surprise the kids with a trip to the local amusement park! It was a TON of fun, especially with a group of friends!!

The whole gang, minus adults...maybe we'll try that next year!

 We rode roller coasters, played games, and even enjoyed the water park! It was a ton of fun and we can't wait to do it again next year!!! 

Do your kids like roller coasters?? (Mine do...I can motion sick since having Jake so I'm in trouble!!)

Parlour Time

My family takes its ice cream pretty seriously...I mean my dad even has a freezer devoted just to ice cream!! So of course to celebrate my dad's birthday we headed to his favorite ice cream place EVER!! The Parlour in Jackson, Michigan. Now if you ever get in the area I highly recommend you stop. This place is old fashioned ice cream at it's best! The sizes are HUGE and the taste...AWESOME!

 What made this even better was the fact that my sister Mary from Florida and her family were still here, my other sister Sue and her husband Bill came down, and my brother Jeff was up from Florida as well!  

  Mmmmm....family memories and ice cream, I don't think it gets much better!!  

May the Force Be With You!

In our family we have some serious Star Wars fans so it was no surprise to me when Jake decided he wanted to have a Star Wars party! So of course as usual...I went NUTS!!Here are the invites: 

 I used an example online and made it my own, pretty simple and nothing too fancy!Then it was on to some party favors, treats, decorations, and all out fun!! 

 I plan to also post a little how to for some of my other party items as well!! I had so much fun with this party, I mean who wouldn't?? But I just LOVE a good theme!! May The Force Be With You!

Six

Today was a very important day at our house...Jake turned 6!! I can hardly belive that my baby is now 6 and is going into First grade. Where does the time go?? We had a lot of fun today celebrating and plan to make it a full birthday weekend!!  

We celebrated with friends from daycare at Chuck E. Cheese! It was a TON of fun and I think everyone had a great time!! We have the BEST daycare lady and are blessed because she LOVES all the kids she cares for, and is great at doing it!! She remembered everything, from goodie bags to fun cupcakes to share...she's the BEST!

Tomorrow we celebrate my dad's at his favorite place in Jackson The Parlour, then Jake has his party on Sunday! All in all it will be full of fun and full of memories!

Fountain Fun

 

This afternoon the kids were just sitting around and the temp was rising...what to do? Well this mom decided that we should finally take advantage of a very unique place we have in town! We are lucky enough to have a splash pad in town, it is basically a random fountain where water shoots, squirts and splashes in all directions! Now doesn't that sound fun?? I know it does to me, I would LOVE to run through it myself, but that might look a little weird... Anyway, we headed there today and had some much need cooling off from the heat, although I hear more is coming and it's only going to get warmer!  

How are you staying cool this summer??

Pay Up

In our house we have recently started to give our kids allowance. We felt like they were asking for EVERYTHING all the time and we didn't want to just keep shelling out the money. So with that being said the allowance has started. Each of them earn $3 a week as long as they keep their room clean and their bed made. I am working to put together quick and easy check-off's for them to use for this. We require them right now to save $1 and eventually when we raise their allowance in a few months, they will also be giving a $1 every week.I didn't want to pay the kids to do chores, isn't that part of being in a family? I mean no one pays me to do laundry, cook dinner, clean the house (of course this is assuming I do those things!!) They do each have chores they are expected to do, and they really aren't anything real challenging. I started a chore chart not too long ago, but it didn't work out too well, so we're re adjusting!I am thinking something like this:  Mine will have the days along the side with the chores along the top. Each week they will have a extra chore to complete and not something they are normally responsible for, to pick this they will chose from a can with popsicle sticks. I hope to have 5-7 chores in there they can choose from. Do any of you have some great ideas to share?? I would love to hear them!! (I promise to post a tutorial when I get them together, my plan is to start the first week of August with the new charts so we are in full swing when school starts!)

Family Fun

This week we had the best visit with our family from Florida!! My sister Mary and her kids Shelby and Ethan came to visit us at our house!! It was great! The kids were so excited and could hardly wait for them to arrive and LOVED every minute they were here! We played some cards, chatted, took bike rides, did a little shopping, got ice cream at the famous Captain Sundae, ate dinner at a family favorite Crazy Horse, watch the street performers, and just plain enjoyed each others company!!

It is so nice to have family come to see me, I hope they know just how much it meant to us!!
It was sad to see them leave, and I had a moment or two today. I have just really come to realize just how important family is and LOVE all the fun times we are able to spend together! I think my kids have already started the countdown til we go to visit them in December!!

"A family is a gift that lasts forever"

-Author Unknown

Fabulous Find

So one of my favorite places to shop, besides Hobby Lobby and Target is Michael's!

They have a great $1 section and I have found some really great stuff in there to either use as is or get crafty with! The other day the kids and I stopped by so I could grab a couple items I needed, we were heading for the door and it started to downpour, so we wasted some more time and of course in the $1 section!  Well guess what I found?? These: 

They are absolutely perfect for the end of my cabinets in the kitchen and go swell with my color scheme! I couldn't be more pleased with my find. They had 6 different ones and I only got 3, but I'm happy with my selection!!

 I love it when I find what I didn't know I was looking for!

The Fourth

This is the first year we really haven't had too much going on for the Fourth. Usually we head up north or have a get together with friends, but this year people were gone and it just didn't pan out.Well a super friend Katie from A List Maker's Life invited us to join in on some holiday fun, a Patriotic Parade on Wheels!! It was warm, but a lot of fun!The kids each chose their wheels and we headed down to Heinz boardwalk to spread some cheer!

Here's Emmah and Jake getting ready to decorate their wheels and to pass out some candy to any friends we meet along the way! (Each kid got to decorate their own bike, then get a back full of candy, keeping 3 for themselves, to hand out along the route!)

Here is our whole group of new and old friends!! This was a fun time and we can't wait to do it again next year! (We even grabs some deals today for decorations for next year!!)

Thanks again Katie!