Friday, June 29, 2012
{this moment} -- seven years ago
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Pride Park...Six Years Later
I was snapping pix of the kids at the park this morning and realized that I had snapped some very similar pictures about 6.5 years ago when we were at the park during my Grandmother's 80th birthday party. My how things have changed in the years since!
Going up the ladder...
January 2006 (Ella 2.5 years & cousin Alex behind her)
June 2012 (cute cousins Robin, Will & Henry)
Coming down the slide...
January 2006 (Aidan)
June 2012 (Will)
June 2012 (Veronica)
On the Merry-go-Round...
January 2006 (Veronica & Ella)
June 2012 (Sam, Henry, Will & Robin)
June 2012 (Will, Max, Ella, Henry & Robin)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Veronica's Wedding Shower ~ the details
A few weeks ago I had a wedding shower for my sweet cousin Veronica. There was no theme, no grand decorations or elaborate plans. I kept it simple & sweet, and relied heavily on homemade goodness & the help of others to make this party memorable. And it was. I'm going to share some of the party-planning ideas I used, maybe they can help you with your next shower. And if you have any great bridal shower ideas please leave a comment below, I have one more shower to co-host this summer!
The beautiful, blushing bride to be...Veronica with her bouquet of ribbons. Don't forget when hosting a shower to ask a guest or two to put together a bouquet from all of the ribbons on the gift wrap for the bride to carry down the aisle at the rehearsal.
LOVE pictures :: I took four of Veronica & Brendan's engagement photos and edited them using picmonkey.com and added the letters L-O-V-E to them and printed them out in a large size and hung them up as decorations at the party.
Family Recipes :: I asked everyone to contribute family recipes to give Veronica...it was a family treasure (read more about these adorable recipe cards in this post)
The Food :: Usually I just have appetizers & desserts at showers that I host, but this time we had lunch, which inclued this delectable pretzel sandwiches from Kramer's Market ~ so tasty! For more great appetizer recipes for your party, check out these great snacks on my blog.
More Decorations :: I made a sweet pink banner using my Custom Cutting System from Creative Memories to make this cool banner (same font as the wedding invites). The banner could easily be made using a cricut, or even printing out some kind of template online.
Sweets! Delicious cupcakes made by a friend of mine, and Cake Pops from Sweet Lucy's Cakery. I've been opting for small desserts at parties instead of big cakes lately. Everyone seems to like the bite-sized treats.
The Bride & The Matron of Honor
Games we played...
Candy Guess -- how many mints in the jar?
Purse Raid (see printable here)
How well do you know the bride? (I put a spin on this one...asked the groom to fill out the questionaire as well, just to see what his answers would be --it was fun!)
What are some of your favorite things to do at a wedding shower? Do you have cool decorating ideas? Fun games to play? A favorite recipe to share?
Monday, June 25, 2012
Menu Plan Monday ~ In Reverse ~ June 25
Sausage-Kale Breakfast Strata (I was trying to find a way to convince myself to like kale, and this recipe did it! Delish!)
Bruschetta (served with Pita Chips at a party)
Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Black Bean & Rice Burritos (from Skinny Mom's Kitchen -- one of our favorite meals!)
Isn't this napkin adorable? Here's the tutorial (easy to make!)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
the candy bar!
We went to the Candy Bar today in the Main Strasse Village, with a gift certificate the kids got for their birthday from our cousins, Doug, Vicky (from Vicky & Jen : What Really Matters) and their lovely munchkins. They always think of the coolest gifts. This year they gave the kids a "Summer Fun" box filled with a collection of gift cards to fun places...like the Candy Bar! The kids eached picked a piece of candy and a bottle of rootbeer. It was a happy day indeed! You can read more about The Candy Bar on Family Friendly Cincinnati, Shannan wrote a great post about this wonderful little shop.
Friday, June 22, 2012
{this moment}
Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
a dip in the pool...
I've been such a slacker when it comes to blogging this summer. We've just been having too much fun, and I've been quite busy with note card jobs (yippee!!). One of our favorite things to do in the summer is go to the pool in the evenings. I prefer taking the kids in the evenings for many reasons...it's less crowded, Michael can join us, and the sun & heat are not so intense. I like packing up a dinner and swimming right up until bedtime...then it's home and straight to bed. Last night the baby was so exhuasted that he put himself to bed on his own. Here's a few pictures from our fun last night. Max was away at Cub Scout camp (where he shot TWO bullseyes with the BB Gun).
Sunday, June 17, 2012
#1 Dad on Vacation
We spent the days preceeding Father's Day hanging out with the #1 Dad in a cottage at Rough River Dam State Park. It was a wonderful getaway....we relaxed, read books, played video games, took a pontoon boat ride, went swimming, walked in the woods, took naps, explored the area surrounding the dam, and totally forgot all the to-do lists and work/chores we left behind.
Happy Father's Day to you Michael, and to my wonderful Daddio and father-in-law! You can read all about the most important men in my life in this post here that I wrote last Father's Day...
Friday, June 15, 2012
{this moment}
Inspired by SouleMama: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Our Summer Fun List
Last year we began the fun tradition of making a list at the beginning of the summer of all the fun things we wanted to do while the kids were on vacation. We didn't finish the list last year, but it was a nice guide to have. I hope you find some inspiration from our list for summer fun, and if you have a summer fun bucket list please leave a link below!
Our Usual Fun...
Cincinnati ZooBehringer Crawford Museum
Cincinnati Museum Center
Our local Swim Club
Storytime at the Covington Library
Hikes/Walks
Steps!Cincinnati Nature Center
Boone County Cliffs
Glenwood Gardens
Fun & Games
Lazer Kraze (Max & Sam's idea!)Roller Skating
Washington Park
Smale Riverfront Park
Shop at Jungle Jim's (is the new one open yet?!?)
Visit Ault Park
Visit the UnMuseum
Summer Goals
Finish Reading Logs for the Library (munchkins)2009 Scrapbooks (Mama's goal)
Fill the deepfreeze in preparation for the Fall/Winter (Mama)
Finish reading Game of Thrones (Mama)
Make ties for the boys to wear to a weddingSew 3 new skirts for Ella (Mama)
Work on Sam's Quilt (Mama)
Design 3 new Cards for my Etsy Shop (Mama)Vacations/Day Trips
Indianapolis Children's Museum
**I will be crossing things off our list as the summer goes along -- please be sure to share your summer plans in the comments section. I'm always looking for new fun ideas for things to do with the kids, and I'm curious as to how everyone else is spending their vacation!
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