Marissa's 5th Grade Party

Every year the 5th graders at Marissa's school have this big, FUN, end of the year picnic party at a nearby park.  There are a lot of activities that all the kids get to do throughout the day.  They are split up into groups that rotate between all the activities.  Marissa's group was up first at the DUNK TANK!  While it was a nice day, it wasn't very hot, but there was no way the kids were going to pass up going in!  Too much fun!!  They took turns aiming the play & being the "dunk-ee".  If they couldn't hit the target after 3 trys they  used their hands...no one would get left un-dunked!!  LOL!

 The kids played a variety of games like volleyball, kickball, minute-to-win-it games, water balloon toss, & wall ball.  They had a DJ there mixing tunes too.  I think all the groups danced to Cotten-Eyed Joe.  I know Marissa's teacher made a point of dancing with all the groups from her class--she can take any of them on! 

This was our group at some point before having lunch....

The best part was after lunch when the fire truck arrived.  No there wasn't a fire.....they came to hose all the kids down!!

There's Marissa being adventurus.

She told me she couldn't see from all the water....

The fire fighters made sure to shoot the water far too, just in case though they had an extra hose nearby, so there was no hiding from it!

Afterwards the sopping wet 5th graders....

I gave Marissa a BIG hug.  She had so much fun!

Her & Ariel, BFF's since Kindergarten.

When they were dried off (mostly) they all got these backpacks to use for next year in middle school.  Inside was their personal memory book with pics from all their years at the school.  They also got class t-shirts to wear to their "assembly"/graduation tomorrow. (They don't call it graduation, but it's much better than the "Principle's Assembly" that they call it.)

Then came the traditional signing of the yearbooks.  It brought back so many memories....and made me want to dig out my yearbooks. ;)

Our 5th graders....it's been amazing!

12 on 12 June

Can't believe how fast the year is going!  Here are my 12 on 12 for June....

Finally stopped procrastinating & made the girls' their annual doctor appointments.  They don't like going since they always get their fingers pricked but this time, Marissa also has to get SHOTS!  She knows it & is NOT a happy camper.

Since today's plans changed due to weather, I found time to get my hair cut.  I couldn't stand it anymore & was LONG overdue.  My last haircut was in February!  This was my second time at this salon with Nichol & I love the cut!

Loving the freebie from Silhouette today!  I'm a sucker for polaroid shapes!

Been trying to warm up since getting home from my haircut.  It's been raining & I always feel cold when it rains.  My beat up, worn out, purple, fuzzy slippers were the perfect fix to warm up my feeties!

My little ducklings walking to the car in the rain after school.  Marissa has the cutest owl umbrella IN her backpack, but refuses to use it for whatever reason & arrives to the car soaking wet.  **SIGH**

The second chair for my work island in the scraproom came today!  The room is getting closer & closer to being "done"!

Made a big pot of sauce for dinner tonight.  Unfortunately, by the time Joe came home it was late & he wanted to order in pizza.  Oh well, less cooking for me, I guess!

Finally going trough all the papers that need to be filed/tossed that were threatening to escape the cubbies above.  Still have more to go through but it was a good start.

Joe did such an awesome job painting my large "S" that I asked him to paint these for me too.  He did it without hesitation.  The man is truly amazing!

The new chair for my work island in my scraproom, put together by my handy hubby, despite my telling him to relax & do it tomorrow.  He was determined & I think a little curious to see how it looked with both chairs.

How full my project life binder is & it's only up to April 9th.  Starting to think I might need more than 1 binder.  I might have to cut back on all the inserts I keep in there....

This corner of my scraproom needs to be cleared out by Saturday.  The twin size futon we ordered will be delivered & go here.  Just a few more things to do & I'll be able to call it done!

5th Grade Volleyball

Today was the 2nd annual Joe's vs Pros Volleyball game at the girls' school.  The 5th graders (Joe's) against the faculty (Pros).  The kids wore orange team shirts while the faculty wore blue.  The teachers played a game against each 5th grade class (there are 3).  The 5th graders came in a class at a time & ran around the court high-fiving all the younger grades.  Then the teachers were all announced with team nicknames, but weren't nearly as cheered on as the kids.

The rest of the grades acted as the cheering squad.  At lunchtime they bought pom poms for their teams.  Gianna (in orange) is in the front row, rooting for her sister.

 

The cutest little cheerleader there!

They were playing with a beachball so the rules were modified a bit.  The first class up won their game against the teachers.  Then Marissa's class was up.  The teachers (a few in particular) were playing ruthlessly & won that round. :( 

 

Before starting the next game, the whole school took a break & danced the "cha cha slide".  It's a favorite around here. Then it was back to business.  This is what it looked like when the last class played.  This game seemed to go the longest & you couldn't help but feel the kids desire to win.  It was intense! 

 Happily the 5th graders won!  They beat the teachers 2-1!!  The roars of everyone inside the gym was deafening!!  It was happy chaos!  Of course, I couldn't pass up a few photo opportunites...

Marissa with her friends...

Way to go 5th graders!!

Scraproom Update: Full Steam Ahead!

Last I talked about my new scraproom was way back HERE.  We were painting...that's just about where it stopped too.  We were waiting for the electrician to come in & add lighting but our stars didn't align for awhile.

Then we get a call from the cabinet designer to set up a installation date, so we had to kick it into high gear.  We first had to rip out the old carpet that's been in the room since we moved in 12 years ago.The cabinets & desk were going to be installed before the carpet was installed.  Joe tore it all out & I helped pull out some staples. 

A few days later the counter tops for the cabinets & desk were delivered.  I had sort of forgotten what I had picked out & LOVE how they turned out!!  The colors I'm going with for the room are Purple (obviously), White, Black & Gray.  I am in love with most things gray lately & I love it paired with purple.

We finally managed to get the electrician in to install 4 high hats & a new ceiling fan with lights.  It's amazing what lighting can do to a room!  This room previously had lighting from the furniture & a lamp that did nothing for the size room it is. 

Soon after, the cabinets were delivered.  I couldn't believe how many pieces there were!  Never mind trying to figure out what went where...but luckily, that's not my job. ;)

Here's a sneak peek of the desk.....

A peek of the counter top & cabinets (that I LOVE!!)

The desk all put together.

Counter again (also waiting on some hardware for the cabinets)

This is where the work island is going to be after the carpet gets installed....

Angled view of the counter

The carpet was installed the morning of Marissa's sleep over party....it was a hectic weekend to say the least.  It's a gray/charcoal color with a slight waffle-ish pattern to it. Soft & comfy.

The Monday after the Birthday Extravaganza I started moving in, despite it not being completely done.  Hey, I was told I could move in & I took full advantage of it! 

Moving in was both fun & stress full.  As much as I like organizing, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with it all & not have to move things around a gazillion times.  I wanted to move in as fast as I could & get back to scrapping!  As it was I fell behind in my Project Life album...need to catch up!

This is my old space downstairs in the Den after most of my stuff was moved out.  Looking mighty empty...

One of the bottom drawers in my new cabinets hold my alpha stickers.  Confession: I have two drawers like this of alphas.....I have a problem.

A few weeks went by & the island was finally installed.  This counter was a Corian top with a slightly different color from the cabinets but I love the play of colors!  The shelves are for all my patterned papers & cardstock. 

I had mentioned to Joe that these pretty shelves from Michael's would look cute in between the 3 windows so after the island was installed I bought one & he installed it right away.  After filling it up we both agreed that another one on the opposite window would balance out the room...so I happily went back to Michael's for another! ;)

A long time ago, I found this HUGE letter "S" at TJ Maxx.  It was a vintage-y white, but I wanted it a bright white.  Joe offered to spray paint it for me & took it to his shop.....only it got put off for awhile.  It wasn't high priority since I had nowhere to put it.  Of course once I started moving my things in, along with my collection of "S"'s I asked him if he could bring it home since I wanted to spray it purple.  He said "Oh you don't want it white anymore?" & I said no I want it the purple-ly grape color that I had sprayed a few other things (wire baskets from Target).  He said sure no problem, all casual like.  Just a few hours later, he comes home holding my S all shiny PURPLE!!  He had already been spray painting it for me as a surprise!  He completely "gets" me!!

Since he did such a great job, I casually asked him if he minded spraying a few more things (I may have bowed to his superior spraying abilities) & sent him to work the next day with this owl (it was white) & this S (that was black but I already had a lot of black S's).  By that night I had these in my craftroom.  He rocks my world!

We got 2 of THESE chairs online from Target for the work island.  They've got a "suede" feel to them & they're comfy.

So now, I am all moved in & catching up on Project Life.  We have a few things left that we're waiting on to finish off the room then I'll share it all!

Happily Married for 13 Years

Thirteen years ago today I made a vow, to love Joe with all of my heart, forever.

It's been an amazing journey so far, full of ups and downs.  Good times and bad.  I believe the good far out-weighs the bad.

We look back on our wedding as one of the happiest days of our lives.  We reminisce about our day fondly & often, not just on our anniversary.  We share our memories with the girls, hoping to set a good example of love for them.

We love each other more and more each day.  We look forward to time spent with one another, with or without the kids. We listen to each other.  We help one another.  I couldn't have picked a better guy to spend the rest of my life with.  He makes me the happiest girl alive!

This day, thirteen years ago, I married my prince and I get to live happily ever after with him...

Happy Anniversary Joe! 

I adore you!

Marissa's Pioneer Day

Every year at school, the fifth graders celebrate Pioneer Day.  Not that it's a holiday or anything.  They're just learning about it in class & have a day where they dress up like pioneers & do crafts like they would back then....of yeah, they also get paired up....to DANCE..with BOYS!  ;)

I took the easy route (sorta) & ordered Marissa a costume online.  I don't sew & didn't think I'd have an easy time coming across a bonnet....  Marissa was happy with her costume.  I told her it's going to double as her Halloween costume...yes, she rolled her eyes at me. 

First thing the kids did was the dance.  It's best described as a square dance.  The girls lined up on one side & the boys on the other.  Some kids took it in stride, while others were downright not happy about it.

Afterwards we took advantage for photo opportunities.  Marissa with some of her BFF's.  No they did not plan on matching....

When they went back to their classrooms, they did an assortment of crafts.  Broken into groups they did weaving (or looming), dried apple wreaths, photo frames, made pumpkin mini muffins, and a few other things (that I don't remember).

Marissa really got into "looming" as she calls it.

I signed up to take pictures of all the fifth graders.  One of the moms brought in props & we posed the kids in front for pics.  The girls sat in a rocking chair holding a quilt, & the boys stood holding a pretend rifle.

Marissa looks so cute & had so much fun!  Despite having to dance.... WITH BOYS! ;)