First Day of School

New clothes, new lunch bags, new start
I love their new lunch boxes! Very cool. From Planet Box. The Modern Art magnets J loves, he named Warhol and Mondrian. Apparently those Art Days are paying off!

Lots of compartments...lots of options.

S headed to 2nd grade.
He thinks his teacher is "very, very funny".

His shirt stayed white and clean for about an hour into school, when he got a gusher of nose bleed. Thank God for Shout!

J headed to 4th grade.

He thinks his teacher is "really, really, really nice."

Art Day with Aunt Gwen/The Pink Lady

S was not so into it. I'm not sure why.

J making his watercolor.

The whole group.

K was very precise. She calls me "Pink Lady", which I love!

Niece S creating her watercolors.

FYI Crayola watercolors are the BEST! Totally worth the extra money.

M, being the oldest, actually listened to the directions.

Her parents would be shocked!

I love the concentration!

Finished art project.

My art piece. I like it, very colorful.

I already have a list of close to one hundred new art/craft projects for next summer.

Maybe I should homeschool, and then the boys and I could have art day everyday.

I'm sad that the summer is coming to an end. I will miss the boys, not the fighting, but the closeness.

Good Mom

Is it wrong that I taught the boys to tip their heads back and drink Hershey's syrup right from the bottle? They need to learn these life lessons at home, right?!

Introducing...

My newest niece. She was born on Friday morning. 20 inches, almost 9 pounds.
Look at her hair. She's a beauty.

J loves babies, and had to get his chance to hold her.

He was so sweet with her.

Welcome to the world, A!

Antique Shopping

I want this!
S is hunting wabbits.

I love this quilt... how fabulous are the sunflowers?

This thread is $5... any suggestions on what to do with it?

National Mustard Museum

The boys outside the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin.

J has been wanting to go here all summer. He's a little odd, but I like that about him.
The great wall of mustard, organized by nation.

We watched a film about mustard at the Mustard Piece Theatre.

Enjoying lunch, with mini hot dogs, brats and pretzels, topped with any kind of mustard available.

Here is the mustard vending machine.

We came home with several kinds of mustard. There are thousand of kinds of mustard in the gift shop, all available to taste. S won a bottle of Kopp's mustard in a ring toss game. I got two jars of Grey Poupon, just by giving a five dollar donation. We had a great time, the trip really "cut the mustard".

Door County Weekend

We started our trip with a stop at THE Farm. Kisses to S from the kids.
J feeding the goats.

S loved the cats.

Yummy chocolate shake from the Door Co. Ice Cream Factory.

Movie under the stars. The Zookeeper at The Skyway.

The funniest part of the whole evening was running into a family from school.

It is a small world.

Blankets, Wheat Thins and curd.

The biggest catch so far this year. J was so happy and proud!

The Door County Fair Demolition Derby.

I think the Lilly pants were the right choice, don't you?

All I could think was Marisa Tomei, in My Cousin Vinny, saying "Oh yeah, you blend."

Excitement abounds.
There were even a few women in thie co-ed showdown.

This little guy slept through almost all of it.

The boys really enjoyed it.

Amazing Race Party - all in pink

I was asked to plan a party, and I loved almost every minute of it. The hundred degree temps on the actual date weren't my favorite part.

The birthday girl wanted it all in pink, glitter and girly. I wonder why I was asked to plan it?!

The cupcakes came from GiGi's Cupcakes- strawberry shortcake.

Flavored marshmallows, dipped strawberries and pink lemonade.

Roses, feathers and scattered jewels.


The girls doing one of the challenges: getting pink balls into pink buckets!

Water bottles, ready for their name tags.

Don't you just love the Dollar Tree Store?

The front of the house all decked out.

Treat bags for all: pink bubble wands, pink bath sponge, lotion and bath gel, nail polish, and even a pink polka dot rubber ducky! Lots of girly things for a whole bunch of girly girls.

The birthday girl was happy, and so were her parents.

I hope I have a chance to do it again!

Sanibel

Heaven: Sand on my toes, a million dollar view and a good book. Does it get better than this?
J doing the "Sanibel Stoop".

My sister said this made my legs look long.

Ah, to dream of having long legs like hers!

S and his Gulf find.

Water, sand and Lilly.

Our new family member. We named him Frasier.

If you need a place to escape, check out Casa Ybel Resort. Fabulous!
We will be back.