Random Happenings

I had some images and stories I wanted to share but I didn't have enough to dedicate a whole post so here we go! I combined a few photos! Enjoy!

Beautiful "Baby"

I snapped this photo of a beautiful little lady. Erin is growing more beautiful each month and I was thankful to catch this moment. 

Thank You

I complained about the intense heat we got this summer but I was aware that many people had it worse than I did. I left a little note for our Mail Carrier to thank him for all he does! 

Ben said he talked to the Mail Carrier the next day and he said the note was so nice and made his day. I really want to start doing more of these random acts of kindness to others! 

Bye Truck

We said goodbye to Ben's truck. It was time for an upgrade! 

Craft Time

It had been a long time since I got crafty but I had a good excuse. Addison's 3rd birthday! I made her a tutu! I used this piece of cardboard to cut the tulle in equal pieces. 

A work in progress!

The finished project!! I loved how it turned out but would have done more tulle and longer tulle if I did this again for this age group. 

The back. 

Added a cute little boa!

Farmer's Market

A good haul from the Farmer's Market: pickling cucumbers, bagels, peppers, tomatoes, flowers and sausage. 

A fridge full of delicious fruits and veggies!

Our little Garden

We may not own our own home but we do want the place we rent to feel like home so we decided to work on the front part of the house. 

This is before we started working on the two garden areas. 

The weeds were getting out of hand (and I did work on this before the picture was taken)!

Weeds growing everywhere, a big plant overshadowing the rest of the garden space and a messy sidewalk. 

Besides the two grass-like plants on the side and some tulips the rest of this is weeds. You can see there are big rocks that line the sidewalk but there is a space where there are no rocks.

Plain deck, weedy mess and no color.

Day 1: I weeded the small garden area, leveled it out and added compost soil. 

Day 2: Ben dug out all the old soil and threw compost soil on top. 

Day 3 Memorial Day: Ben split up the big grasses and put them in two separate areas. 

I evened out the dirt Ben threw into the large garden area. Ben moved over some of the tall grass to under the tree. I picked out some fushias (Ben choose the flower type) and we hung them up as well. 

The side of our house was pretty bare - not even grass could be found here. 

We are growing some sunflowers there (you can barely seem them in this photo). 

We threw in half of the grass plant here. 

After I dug up the ground, added compost soil, and leveled out the area.

Ben took a few tree limbs down to add some extra sunlight on our little friends. 

Bye tree.

Preparing to plant our friends!

Bachelor Button

Zinnias

Moss Rose

Ben found the missing rocks. They were there along just covered in dirt. We made a mess clearing out the rocks and let the dirt dry for a few days. Then I cleared the sidewalk off. 

Here is what the yard was looking like at the end of Memorial Day.

I'll put up new pictures after we put the mulch on! 

(Hopefully that gets done soon!)

I can't wait to show you how our garden has grown!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Happy Teacher's Appreciation Week!

I appreciate the teachers who spend 8 hours with our kids and I appreciate the teachers on my staff who spend the next three hours with our kids. I wanted to let these teacher's know I do appreciate their hard work and patience.

The Milky Way, M&Ms and 100 Grand were put into two bowls for the two schools I oversee. I put a sign next to it explaining why I picked those 3 chocolate bars and the staff signed the Thank You Sign. 


1. M&Ms because you are "marvelous and magnificent."
2. Milky Ways because you are "out of this world."
3. 100 Grand because no amount of "money" could replace all you do!

All the goodies!

For my staffs I put goodies into a bag and labeled them. Each day they get to open one and receive their treat. 

Monday: Thanks for sticking to the PRIDE pledge!

Tuesday: You are o-FISH-ally awesome!

Wednesday: Thanks for helping Champions to shine!

Thursday: You deserve an extra PAYDAY!

Friday: You are one in a million. Each staff member got a lottery ticket. (not pictured)

All ready to surprise my staff!

3 Birthdays, 3 Days, 1 Party

My family and Tia's (my brother's fiancee) family came to visit for Easter. While both families were together I thought it would be fun to celebrate my brother's birthday. After talking to my mom about this plan she suggested we also celebrated my dad's birthday (two days after my brother's). When talking to Tia about this she mentioned her dad, Ricky, has a birthday in between my dad and my brother. 

Justin: April 14

Ricky: April 15

Randy: April 16

I wanted to celebrate all three birthdays with one party! I used a primary color scheme and added a personalized cake for each person. I made the decorations, cake, etc. in the 24 hours leading up to the party and for most of if both my dad and brother were around. I had to be super sneaky (and it helped the boys spent hours outside). 

Entering into the dining room. 

Happy Birthday Banner

Balloon Garland and Pinwheels

Our dining room was transformed quickly before the party began.

My mom and I had just over an hour to decorate, frost the cakes, etc.

Gift/Drink/Treat Table

A closer look.

I made this sign and hung it on the wall next to the gift table. 

I saw a similar idea online and came up with the Rocks one on my own. 

This was the cake table (I forgot to take a picture of the cakes!)

Over each cake was a sign for each birthday boy. On the sign was fun facts about the year they were born.

Here is Justin's.

We all ran inside except for the birthday boys who sat outside talking about Justin's new truck. When they came up we all sang to them but I think it took them each some time before they realized the party was for them. 

Ricky checking out his facts and "cake." 

The boys blowing out their candles. 

Justin had camo cupcakes (tutorial to come) and guests frosted their own cupcakes.

My dad, Randy, had a gravestone cake (he turned 50).

Tia's dad, Ricky, had a piece of Mackinac Fudge. 

The boys opening their gifts!

Ricky, Randy, Kelly (my mom), Tim (Tia's brother, Tyler's friend"

Tyler (Tia's brother), Maria (Tia's mom) and Tia