Summer 2011 Fun

We have been spending much of our time on the lake this year.  

Daniel loves to tube and always has a smile on his face! 

Katelyn's a bit more serious on the boat :) 

I can't believe my first born is almost 12! (beautiful girl too) 

Momma skiing 

Katelyn got a good ride on the wakeboard and left me hanging by the shore waiting for a pick up :) 

Cutest flag guy ever!!! 

Emily's first time up on the skis!!!! Way to go! 

The kids are so impressed when Matt skis (me too :) )

The lake is about 99% full here and completely covering the bathroom at Island Park Campground. 

Here's a shot from the dam, again showing how much water there is this year!

We are so blessed to have a boat and a lake so close by that we can just head up a for a few hours of fun whenever we want. Good, clean family fun :)

Summer List progress

Well I have "sorta" made some progress on my Summer To Do List:

This wreath came out great (the picture is a bit bright though)

And... when I saw Target had these window coverings back in stock, well I decided not to make my own and buy these. They are a bit short so I think I will buy another panel and take it apart to add one more ruffle to each panel.

At some point I hope to get to the other projects, but we've been busy with Marlins, boating, baking and such! Stay tuned for those pictures :)

Summer "To Do" List

Here are some inspired ideas I would like to accomplish this summer. Click on the Title to follow the link for the Creative Gal and her tutoial. Be sure to comment on her blog and thank her for sharing.

1) Faux Scroll work (to adorn my living room walls)
2) Faux Wainscoting (for my stairway walls)
3) Patriotic Wreath (to hang on the front door, of course!)
4) Curtains (for master bedroom) using a shower curtain tutorial

What's on your "Summer To Do List?"

Ladies' Night Out!

 Almost every month one of my friends has a birthday or other reason to celebrate! This month we celebrated Denise's birthday by all attending "Ladie's Night Out" hosted by the Reedley Downtown Association. It was so much fun; but then again, any night out with my best friends is always filled with lots of fun and many, many laughs! Love you all very much GIRLS!

 Shinn Photo takes AmaZiNg Photos! Don't you agree?

Happy Birthday Toast! Photos by Ashley Testa-Burk, Reedley Exponent

Date Your Mate

After a 2 month blogging hiatus I am back!  My super fabulous, beautiful on the inside and out, amazingly creative, sister-in-law, Erin (Burns, that is), asked me to share for “Date Your Mate Fridays.”   To read about the basics, CLICK HERE but be sure to come back J

I LOVED the Date Your Mate Fridays and looked forward to seeing what super fun, creative, silly or romantic ideas would be posted. I can honestly say that my husband Matt and I do “Date.” But like many couples, could probably date more often. I love Matt dearly, but let’s get real…Life happens. I am not always “in love” and goo, goo, gah, gah over him. It takes work. But, the “work” is so worth it and has made us more deeply love than when we first met. So, here is what WE think about Dating Your Mate (Broken done into organized lists-because that’s just how I am. I love lists and post-its!)

DONE IT… (Ideas we have done at least once)
~Shared a romantic dinner in the place we met (Booth #2 at Kelley’s)
~Taken the boat out for a sunset cruise on the river.
~Gone out of town. Alone. No kids.
~Hidden in the garage (curled up in the back seat of our boat with a blanket and the lights off). This is a super hilarious story I will have to share another time.
~Gone for a drive with no destination in mind.

DO IT… (Things we do regularly to stay connected)
~Volunteer/Serve together at church. I know you may be asking how this “fits” into a date night, so I will explain. On Wednesday nights the kids go to Kidzspace at our church. Our family and another family serve the kids dinner every week. Then when they head off to their classes, we eat together and spend time alone before it’s time to clean up and pick up our children. It’s been a huge blessing that’s really drawn us closer to God and to each other.
~Meet with other couples to share God’s Word, discuss a book, play games, eat good food, build friendships, and share lots of laughter. I guess you could say this is a “group date.”
~Relax in our Jacuzzi tub together. Sometimes we jump in at the end of a long day to “catch up” with each other. Other times, we just start the day off with a relaxing Jacuzzi and simply enjoy each other’s company.
~Cuddle on the lounge in the backyard and star gaze (although the dog I recently rescued now thinks the lounge is his bed).
 ~Garden together. We both appreciate a beautiful garden, so we work at it together.
~Take our children to Matt’s parents for the evening and then have a date night at home alone.
~Cook together during the summer.
~Run errands together. Yes, I know that doesn’t sound “romantic” and it’s not really. But, we call it a “date” and look forward to time to talk, have lunch and get things done without having to worry about anyone else but ourselves for awhile.
~Flirt with each other: in person, through love notes, and texting. After all, we flirted when we were first “courting” each other so why stop just because we are married?

DESIRE TO DO IT… (some things we would like to put in the DONE list)
~A Roll of quarters date-Each of us gets a roll of quarters and together we brainstorm what we can do using only our rolls of quarters on our next date.
~An old fashioned picnic, with a blanket, bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, salami and o.k. even the ants!
~ A let’s be kids again” date where we do lots of fun and silly kids stuff, like roller skating, laser tag, ice cream for dinner, etc.
~(Matt says) A car show date where we jump in our 57 wagon (of course after it is finished being restored) and head out to a car show, preferably out of town J
~An auction. We both love old stuff and would like to go to an antique auction just for the fun of it.
~A letter of the alphabet date where everything we eat and do starts with a particular letter of the alphabet.

There are so many things you can do with your spouse for a date night. Be creative. Think out of the box. It can be any time of day, fancy or casual, an hour or a day, practical or foolish, planned or impromptu… it really doesn’t matter. What matters most is taking the time to create “moments” and show each other love so when the business of life happens you have strength to power through until your next date night.  

Absence

Dear Blogger Friends,
Yes, I now, 3 weeks since I blogged. Life is busy. I miss blogging. But...playing catch up with school and "life."
Hope to be back soon :)

Creating and waiting for Spring

What have I been up to? Maybe the better question is "What haven't I been up to?" Seriously, besides being wife, mom and teacher, I have been sewing, garage sale-ing, sanding, painting, glue gunning, and oh so much more. Take a look!

I bet you are wondering what I am up to? Well, if so, you will have to wait until my projects are complete :)
In the meantime...
I will be dreaming of the ocean and all things spring.

Enjoy your Tuesday. Hope it's filled with all good things