Garage Makeover: Slat Board

If you want to organize your garage in an easy low cost way, check out slat board options at Menards. Another similar idea is at Home Depot and it's called FastTrack by Rubermaid.  We went with the Menards product since it was cheaper and because the store actually had the baskets available.  If you purchased the track system at Home Depot, you would have to order the baskets online.  I really admire how cleverly Nate hung the slat board to the wall.  He first used his level and drew a line where he wanted the bottom of the slat board to be.  Then, he placed screws along that line where there were studs.  Then, with my help, we sat the slat board on top of this row of screws to rest while he placed several more screws into the slat board itself.  Once the slat board was secure in place, he removed the row of screws it was sitting on. 

The next part is the fun part, place the various hooks, baskets, and shelves where you want them and watch your garage look sleek!  We are loving this.  We have a very small garage and now have more room to walk between the cars.  I'm already wanting to do this same thing on the other side of the garage to hang tools.  Overall, the project cost around $150.

2012-2013 School Year: First Day of School

1st grade and 4th grade.  My girls are now both full day students!  I've been missing them both tons today!  Here are some photos I took before school.  Yes, they still enjoy dressing alike...

I painted our front bench over Labor Day weekend.

Mikayla's 4th grade buddies!

Prayers for Elyana this year. She doesn't know any of the girls in her class...

American Heritage Girl Camp

I was nervous and excited for the girls to go to camp for the first time a few weeks ago.  Nervous because it was their first times ever camping. Also I was nervous because Nate was out of town for the week.  I had my mom come visit to help out.  We camped at the Boy Scout GameHaven Reservation Camp here in Rochester. Camp started early on a Monday morning with Elyana's unit. We worked on earning badges all day and ended the day with a fun campfire and delicious S mores sandwiched between fudge striped cookies.  Elyana was so excited to sleep in a tent as you can see in her picture below. Nate came to get Elyana the next morning after breakfast and dropped off Mikayla.  My mom stayed at home to watch Elyana and Nate left for his trip.  Mikayla worked on earning 3 badges Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I was so excited to see her try so many new things!  I learned a lot and tried tons of new things too.  I led all 40 something girls throughout the week with crafts.  Our favorite was the smashed leaf journals we created from gathering various flowers and leafs on our many nature walks.

The girls playing on one of the many obstacles of the obstacle course.

Mikayla and her buddy Hannah.

Mikayla about to canoe for the first time!

So excited to sleep in a tent!

Walking to breakfast, or lunch, or dinner...

Mikayla liked archery so much!

I really liked shooting BB Guns.

Outside of Mikayla's tent.

Some of our smash leaf journals.

I was so nervous letting her learn to use a Swiss army knife.

Throwing tomahawks!

Random Summer Pictures!

We were on our way to swim somewhere.  Mikayla is liking nose plugs this summer. She can focus on her strokes and not holding her nose now.

We spent many days this summer at Foster Arrend Pond.

We got this ice cream maker brand new at GoodWill. After we exploded ice cream inside our freezer, we learned how to make ice cream that can just freeze for several hours inside a tupperware container. Comment if you want the recipes! Only 4 ingredients!

The girls have been making Rapunzel hair with boas and scarves clipped together.

A little end of summer fun at Mall of America with Cousin Sophia!

A Few of My Ideas This Summer

The bath puff suction cup hooks are perfect for drying wet swimsuits in the shower!

Reuse an old lanyard tag to make after school reminders for your child's backpacks. This would work great to remind your child about bus numbers/stops, or for day care reminders.

This is a smash leaf journal cover. Pick leaves and flowers, lay them flat on a piece of wood, spread a thin cotton material on top of your findings, tack it down tight, and hammer with a rubber mallet. Decorate your journal! This was done for an AHG Camp Craft. See next post...

A Bit Belated, but Elyana's Birthday

I realized that August has become so busy that I forgot to post Elyana's birthday photos from June. The problem with the photos from her party was that the batteries kept dying in first our video camera, then our digital camera.  I used my cell phone to take a few, but it isn't the best quality.  My mom was there to take tons, but I still need to show her how to upload her photos from her digital camera.  So, here is what I have:

Waiting patiently for her cake to be lit!

Dora Loves Boots Cake

The crown she's wearing flew off instantly once inside the free ticket machine.She was so focused on catching her hat, she didn't catch very many tickets.

Elyana had saved up money for a very long time, combined with her birthday money, and gift cards, we unleashed her in Toys R Us!