Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Pool Time

School ended for the girls on Friday. My sister and niece arrived Friday afternoon for a weekend of fun, sun, food, and shopping. It is always the perfect combo. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of our time together. I was lost in all of the fun!!!

But, on Memorial day afternoon we got in some pool time and I captured one photo of the girls hanging out together and having fun. 
A blurry but happy image of the girls


We are so grateful to the men and women who have served (my dad and my brother-in-law) and who are serving (my nephew) our country! God bless them all.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Last Day of School

On Friday the girls had a half day of school. I picked them both up a little early and made sure to get an end of the year photo of them. 

Hard for me to imagine that I now have a 4th grader and an 8th grader! Amazing!!!

Ms. Griffin (Shelly's teacher) and Shelly

Payton and Lily

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Awards, Ice Cream, & Summer Fun List

Today was Lily's awards program. She did an excellent job this school year. So proud of her. Here is the one shot I got of her with one of her awards.



After the awards assembly, I headed to Shelly's school to help out with the ice cream party. Lots of yumminess there!!!








And once home, we created our Summer Fun list for this year. Here are a few of our previous lists from years gone by...







And, with that, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the official summer break---TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Can't wait.




Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Teacher Gifts & Class Gift

There are so many cute and clever ideas all over the internet/Pinterest for teacher gifts. I found all three of the ideas I put together on Pinterest.

For the three main teachers that Shelly has, I put together a drink dispenser filled with various little extras.






The dispensers came from Target and inside I added the following:
a package of Wet Ones
Strawberry lemonade packets
A Cliff Bar
EOS lip balm
A cute canvas key fob
Polka Dot napkins
Chewing Gum


I also put together a small gift for the assistants, specialist teachers, bus drivers, principal, and office workers at Shelly's school. These were simple little combos of an orange Izzie sparkling clementine drink and orange chewing gum packages. We especially enjoyed the little tags---"Orange you glad it's almost summer?"







Lily is giving her teachers and principals the same gift with the addition of the key fob.

And, finally, we created some small Happy Summer gifts for the children in Shelly's class. We just bought small packets of Kool Aid and crazy straws from Target.



Shelly's gift ready for delivery



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Shelly Awards Day

Yesterday was Shelly's school awards day. I was so pleased with her progress this year. She is a happy student who works hard to do her best. So proud of her!

Waiting in line for the awards presentation!

Shelly and two of her teachers


A job well done!



Tuesday, May 14, 2013

May Day

Each year Shelly's elementary school holds the May Day celebration complete with the dance around the May pole. 


Watching the other performances


Ready to dance


Each grade performs a dance and this year the 3rd grade danced to the theme from Laverne and Shirley. 
Dance Time

It was such a cute performance and Shelly was so excited about it all.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The 13th Birthday

On Sunday, Lily turned 13. It was such a fun day with the perfect combination of birthday festivities and Mother's Day love.

Awhile back Lily let me know she wanted to pass on the annual big birthday party and simply celebrate with John, Shelly, and me. I was not quite sure if that was really what she wanted. So, I asked her (bugged her) many times if she was sure that's what she wanted. And, every time she answered "yes". So, for the first time in her 13 years we had a low key family birthday.

We made it a weekend celebration starting on Friday. She and Shelly got their nails done and we had a frozen yogurt snack afterward. 

On Saturday, the girls and I went strawberry picking and relaxed by the pool in the afternoon. Saturday night we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, did a little shopping for Lily (she got some new TOMS), and had another fro-yo snack.












Sunday morning I had the house decorated with 13s and some fun streamers. Then I made her favorite breakfast...bacon, cheese omelets, and cinnamon rolls. She was a happy girl. After breakfast, it was time to open her gifts.









The fun continued...the four of us went to Target and Lily was ready to embark on a fun 13 minute shopping spree. She and Shelly dashed around the store and had tons of fun and laughs along the way. She was a smart shopper spending most of her valuable time in the clothing department. This was one of the highlights of the day and I loved seeing Lily smile and laugh her on her special day.


















Once we were done it was time to head to the mall for a little more shopping. She found a few more cute items to add to her collection.









With all of that shopping done, it was time for a terrific outdoor lunch/dinner. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. All of us together talking and enjoying good food and the sunshine.

The day ended with a yummy cookie cake in honor of Lily. And as I put her to bed she once again told me how great her day was and hugged me tight while she shed a few tears of happiness. And, at that point I knew that this new teenager was the same little four year old who would cry once her birthday was over. And, I think the tears are representative of how much she loves having a special day all her own. Exactly the feeling I want both of my girls to have about their birthdays. Success.

Check out this little video of the 13 Minute Sweep: