Happy Independence Day!

Our Independence Day routine stays pretty much about the same from year to year.  The only thing that usually changes is where we actually go to watch fireworks.  This year we stayed closer to home and just hung out in Leesburg for the day.

In the morning, we packed our bags for the day and headed to Leesburg to watch the annual 4th of July parade.  This year Jacob wasn't IN the parade, but we still like to go see it.

Our favorite part of the parade is the fire department, of course.  Lol  After that we always wanna just leave, but then figure it would be rude, so we stay and watch the rest. haha

After the parade we went to my mom's house to swim at the pool while John and his friend, Adam, went to ride their motorcycles for a bit.  It was so cool for the first time as long as I can remember that it was actually too cold at the pool, and then later after the sun went down it was really chilly!

After we swam and ate the goodies I had made the day before, we got showered and changed to head on over to Ida Lee to stake out our little spot for the fireworks that night.  The boys, of course, wore their shirts we had made earlier in the week.  You can see the post on how we made them here. 

Then we met up with John and we all left to go over to Ida Lee for dinner, music and fireworks.  Like, I said ... it was much chillier this past year then it has been in years past.  By the time the sun went down, I was freezing!  But, that didn't stop us from walking around and checking things out. And, just having fun, in general.

We hope everyone had a happy and SAFE Independence Day.  Happy Birthday, America!!

4th of July Treat!

Here's another fun Pinterest project I did last summer for the 4th of July!

(Image is linked to the original site where I found this treat)

I pinned this one when I first got my pinterest account years ago and just never really got around to making them.  I'm glad I did last summer because they were so yummy!!  Definitely making this one each summer.

So, to make these all you need is strawberries.

 white chocolate chips 

and blue sugar sprinkles (which I just realized I don't have a picture of those, lol).

Melt the chips over low heat until smooth, then being careful not to mess up/rip off the stems, dip the strawberries 2/3 of the way in to the white chocolate and finally 1/3 of the way in to the blue sprinkles.  This is what they look like when they're finished.

They're not as pretty as the above picture, but boy did they taste good. Lol  We enjoyed them that afternoon while lounging at the pool!

4th of July T-shirts!

This is the original post where I found this adorable little project on Pinterest.

(the image is linked to the original post)

Anyway, I saw these really cute 4th of July t-shirts on Pinterest and just knew I wanted to make them with the kids this year, so off to Michaels we went where I bought them each a white t-shirt, fabric paint and some sponge brushes.  When we got home, we got set up and started to make the shirts.

I helped the younger two do their hand prints, while Jacob did his on by himself.  Then I helped Henry and Scarlett use their thumb to paint the lines on, while Jacob did his own again.  I think they turned out really cute, and the kids (my boys, anyway), got to wear theirs on the 4th of July!

Congenital Heart Walk - Pittsburgh 2014

June 29, 2014 .. that was the date of the annual Congenital Heart Walk in Pittsburgh (North Park).  Last year was the first one I had ever attended, and the first since losing Ashlee to a congenital heart defect 6 months before.  It was a hard day.  I cried a few times yet didn't let on that I was (thank GOD for sunglasses!).  This past year, however, was a lot easier and I was actually able to enjoy the day some.  It was on a Sunday morning, though, so I didn't even get to go to the cemetery.  To date I haven't been in a year, I think?  It's been too long, I NEED to go.  :(  Anyway, we had to pretty much bail as soon as the walk was over so we could on the road to get home at a decent time.

I was so happy to get to hang out with my cousins, though.  I'm always happy when I get to see them!

This year we changed our team name to "Ashlee's Angels" and had matching t-shirts made for everyone on our team.  I kind of came up with the design, but Dawn took care of the ordering of them.  They turned out so great!!

The walk was held in North Park which is actually really close to where Ashlee and Mike lived before they got married and for a little while afterwards, too.  It's such a pretty park!!

OH!  I almost forgot ... this year I was able to actually raise the minimum $100 they like everyone to try to raise before the walk, so I earned a free t-shirt.  It's not about that, though. :)  I'm just glad we could be together to walk and raise awareness for all the people living with or who were taken too soon due to a congenital heart defect.

School's Out For Summer!!

FINALLY!! After what was, undoubtedly, the longest school year EVER, today was Jacob's last day of school!  His last day as a Kindergartner!  I still can't believe I am the mother of a 1st grader!

Naturally my camera wasn't far from my hand as I wanted to document Bubba's last day of school, so I could later compare shots from his first day.  And, boy am I glad I did because he grew so much!!  So did Henry!

We walked over to the bus stop as that's our normal morning routine and there were several other parents there (with cameras in hand) to wish their kiddos a great last day of school.  Keep in mind, after Christmas break last year, these kids practically didn't go to school the entire month of January because of snow.  So, with all the make-up days and then the school year ended up being an extra week long anyway (and we go pretty late in the year to begin with because of so many teacher workdays/holidays that other school districts don't get off) that by the time this day rolled around, EVERYONE, and I do mean EVERYONE, was so ready for summer vacation.  So ready!  I mean, it was only a week before Independence Day!

Anyway, back to the pictures we took at the bus stop.  Here is Jacob with his two buddies that he hangs out with the most at the bus stop/on the bus: Mark Anthony (in the middle) and John David (on the left):

And then, a nice group shot of all the kids from his bus stop for the 2013-2014 school year:

And, because I got one of him getting on the school bus at the beginning of the year, I had to get one of him getting on the bus at the end of the year, too.

Here's a fun comparison from the first day to the last:

It's crazy how fast they grow in less than a year!!

Our newest family member!

Meet our newest family member, Charlie!

We were at the DMV one weekend in June and had been talking about getting a new kitty for awhile.  Well the topic came up that day at the DMV, so I hopped on Craigslist to see if I could find anyone giving some away.  I found ONE ad.  In Maryland.  I called and lo and behold .. they had ONE kitten left ... a boy.  Just what we wanted!!  So, when we were done at the DMV, we drove to MD to pick him up.  He was for the boys.  Bella just doesn't care for them, and so they wanted a kitty who would love them and play with them.  Charlie has turned out to be just that!!

Look how tiny he was!!  I miss those days .. he grew SUPER FAST!

Anyway, as I was saying .. he loves the boys!  They toss him around and play pretty rough with him and he totally puts up with it.  If John or myself try to touch him, he flinches .. it's the weirdest thing, but whatever.  We got him for the boys and he is totally in love with them, so mission accomplished!!

Some nights when I go to bed as I'm checking on the boys I notice him tucked in the corner of their bed with a sleepy look on his face ... he looks up at me, lets out the tiniest little "meow" and puts his head back down.  He's in utter relaxation mode when he's with them. :)

Now, Bella, on the other hand, too a really long time to warm up to him.  I'm glad she has finally gotten to the point where they can co-exist, but still to this day sometimes when they're "playing" I wonder if they're truly playing or if HE'S playing and she's mad and fighting him off.  Lol  

But, sometimes, like in this picture, I come home and find them hanging out together or sleeping very close to each other, and then I realize that they get along a lot better then either of them would like to let on.  Lol

Summer Pinterest Project!

If you know me at all, you know I'm a Pinterest-aholic!  LOVE that website!!  I found this really cute little project a long time ago, pinned it and then completely forgot about it until this past Spring/early Summer when I was trying to overhaul our yard/flower beds.

(Image is linked to the original post I found on Pinterest)

So, I took that idea and ran with it.  I love blue and yellow together, and it just so happened that I had both those paints in my basement, plus I had stencils, so all I had to go buy was the planters (and of course the flowers and soil, but that came later on).

I painted a few coats of the blue paint on the planters or the course of a day or two.

And, then I used my stencils, the yellow paint and a stencil paint brush the paint on our house numbers.  One number per planter!  Then I found some pretty flowers to plant in them and last I lined them up going down on our front porch steps to show our house number.  

I gave the entire yard (front and back) a makeover over the course of a few weeks, but this is all I took pictures of.  I love how our front porch area turned out!  Nice neat and patriotic. Lol