End of Summer FUN

Noah starts school tomorrow (I tried not to sound too super happy when writing that - Lol). The end of Summer crazies are in full effect and we are ready for more structure and routine. At least I am :) The last week or so we have been  cramming in some Summer fun and checking some more items off of our Summer list.

We did a few pinspired activities....
First on the list was pool-noodle marble races from this pin.

This was a super fun and easy activity (although we ended up with marbles all over the place).

Next on the list was making soap clouds from this pin.
Here they are watching the magic happen...

All you do is put a bar of Ivory (only Ivory works apparently) in the microwave for like a minute and a half. After it cools a bit, you have this bad boy!

At this point, Hayden ran screaming into her room because she was scared that the cloud was going to get her. She was hysterical. No idea. She's a funny one for sure ;)

After the trauma of the soap cloud, we made slime from this pin :)

(below pic was made using Photo Gird on my smart phone)

"look mom, I made a hot dog out of my slime.".... (um, sure, hot dog. right. ewe.)

Hayden didn't run away from the slime, which was a nice change :)

The next day we had a water balloon toss :) My fingers hurt, but it was worth it!

Last up from the Summer list was a backyard camp out :)

Josh and I sat by the fire while the kids played in the tent before bedtime.

The actual "sleeping in the backyard" part is a daddy/kids activity. I tucked them in and enjoyed some quiet alone time inside our cozy house :)

Other than Hayden wetting the bed (arg) it was a successful camp out :)

Noah starts first grade tomorrow - FIRST grade! Yikes! Such a big kid. Hayden doesn't start preschool until the 11th so her and I may have some more beach/pool days in our future.

Happy end of Summer everyone :)

Crafting with the Kiddos ROUND TWO

Hello there!!! It is hot and earthquakey here in SoCal but we're surviving ok. The kids....well, they're still driving each other (& me) crazy. Ha! Anyway, I had some crafting to do for my etsy shop so I decided that it may be easier if the kids have a project to work on too. Honestly, I didn't get too much of my own stuff done but it was fun to get crafty with them. Take a look at our supplies....

$1 unfinished wooden birdhouse from Michael's
$.77 craft paint from Michael's
f-r-e-e paint chips from Lowes.

First the kids painted their birdhouses.....

(Needless to say, I'm glad I put the sheet down on the table)

After that, I cut the paint chips into strips...

Then I gave each strip a nice fringe...

Time to attach the "shingles."

Final (messy) step - GLITTER!

I just dabbed on some tacky glue and let them shake on the sparkles...

We dumped off the excess and our houses were done :)

Hayden's:

Noah's:

And here they are hanging from the tree in the backyard waiting for their new tenants :)

I didn't actually put any birdseed in there (or weed seed as my husband calls it) so they are just a cute backyard decoration swaying in the breeze.

Hooray for Summer & getting crafty/MESSY!

Fancy Schmancy etc

Hello there friends, happy day to you all :)
I have finally finished making & packaging my fancy schmancy felt hair bows for my etsy shop. If you follow me on instagram (my user name is arichardson79) then you already saw this pic.

 Seriously....my thumb has been numb for the last 3 days after the scissor marathon it took to make these beauties. Not joking. I made a bunch of these fun bows and fumbled through it on my own. After I figured it out and got rolling, I saw this tutorial on pinterest. It would have been handy to have this info prior to getting started. Ah well :/

Ready for some eye candy?!

Summer Sorbet.....

Sweet Love.....

Sunny Day...

Ocean Dreamin'.....

You likey??! I likey! I'm discovering that I like what I make more than the masses do. Haha. Still crickets chirping in my shop but hopefully as I keep adding new pretties, that will change :)

And here's a pic that makes my heart smile....

Noah had his first Lemonade stand at the park on Saturday and had a blast. He made $29!! A cute little old lady drove by and just gave him money as a donation for being a cute boy :)

Check!

AND - my heart is also happy because my sweet hubby begrudgingly planted 3 big hydrangeas in the front yard (against his wishes). He's not a fan of the bloom but they are one of my favorites. It was a lot of hard work to prepare the neglected, sandy soil for plants, but he did it just for me. Love that man!

(I will try not to kill u).

Happy Summer everyone!!!

Our 2012 Summer List etc.

YAY for Summer!!! We are having a blast so far. It has been amazingly beautiful here in SoCal for the start of Summer and we are soaking it in every day!!! I recently made our 2012 Summer List and we are checking things off left and right :)

Here is our list with some things checked off :)

Here are some pictures of our "Summer List" fun!
Picnic in the park for Nana's b-day:

We picked our first batch of tomatoes:

Mmmm. They make me happy :)

We went to the beach (which is on the list a few times because I know we will practically live there all summer).

We went to the Beach Club (which is a pool with a sandy bottom that the kids love)

We did some slipping and sliding....

Weeeeeeeeee.

And we started swimming lessons.....

So as you can see, we are busy busy with Summer fun! I have been working on a diy project or two that I will hopefully be posting about soon. Here's a teaser pic for you...

AND - I have begun to shell-ify my house....

HOORAY for Summer!!!!!! I'll be back soon with some DIY goodness...I semi-promise :)