Mikayla's 9th Birthday!

Elyana was working on her cake decorating badge and helped me make the cupcakes for Mikayla's party. I love baking with her and I hope she keeps up her passion for cooking.

We went to the House of Bounce and the girls had so much fun.

Backyard Summer Memories

 We have really been enjoying our pool we have this summer.  That float Elyana and I are on is no longer.  The girls were watching that Wipe Out show on TV and decided to play a version of their own by jumping onto it from the the pool ladder.  I am sad that the days have already been shorter and the weather is turning cooler. I hope we can squeeze in a few more memories!

Hell?

     I thought that post title would catch your eye!  I put this out on Facebook earlier today and realized I should put it on the blog too. Here's another funny quote from Elyana:

Elyana watched construction workers digging a hole in the street yesterday. As we passed by, she said, "I guess they're looking for hell." I honestly couldn't tell if she was joking or not.  Mikayla pipes in, "You can't dig to hell, Ellie!"

 

     I'm behind on posting photos of the girls' birthday parties, but I hope to do that this weekend before next week. Next week the girls are going camping for the first time and with their American Heritage Girls troop.  Monday night I am camping with Elyana and on Tuesday, she gets picked up and Mikayla gets dropped off for 2 nights of camping.  I will definitely take a lot of photos.  Pray for good weather and a safe fun time!

      The school year is closing in quickly and so I'm trying to get as much of my teaching prep work done as possible.  If only I had my own laminating machine I wouldn't be at a standstill on a few things...  One can only dream and possibly save up for next year.  

Front Entry Remodel!

Nate and I had been thinking about putting tile in our entryway. We had it picked out and just hadn't scheduled a weekend. Next thing I know my best bud is back from Germany and headed out of town again in a week. Karin agreed to hang out with me AND majorly bless me with her expertise in helping me in our project.  We wanted ceramic tile flooring, but ceramic tile flooring requires a thick cement sub-floor which wouldn't be possible if we wanted to open our front door ever. We chose Snapstone Tile Flooring. It is a porcelain tile glued to a rubber backing and they "snap" together and are placed right on top of your existing floor. Once the floor is in, all you have to do is grout and add your baseboard trim back on.  Karin and I worked on it all of yesterday while the guys entertained the kids. She headed back home to the cities late last night, but we kept their kiddos for a sleepover. Nate and I cut and placed the final pieces today. I spent the afternoon grouting. I'm incredibly sore and tired, but it was very worth it! I can't believe that little miss clumsy/accident prone me can handle a wet saw with skill!

Before

It begins...

Karin makes the first cut on the wet saw we borrowed from our friend Steve.

Halfway done and my knees started aching. I grabbed some foam and duct tape.

Almost done!

I thought I'd let Nate place the last tile!

Ta Da!!

Oops, I have one little tiny square to cut...

This is how small it was, tough one to cut on the wet saw!

All done!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Elyana wanted to work towards her cake decorating badge for American Heritage Girls. She had her nose in my cake book looking for the perfect cake to make her daddy. She decided she wanted a "game" cake for a dad who loves games. It was a checkerboard cake. After dinner and cake, we went to the local Rochester Honker's Baseball game. Even though it was rained out in the 4th inning, I think it was still a wonderful evening!

Three More Photos

For some reason, these wouldn't post in my last blog update. The first photo is of silly Elyana in my grocery cart "wearing" her new headbands. We received a few chuckles in the store. The other two photos are of a few more updates we have done on the house. We replaced our rotting back door with this nice steel one. I still need to paint it and the trim white.  We also received an air mattress sleeper sofa from my mom that we put downstairs and so we rearranged our upstairs once again... I love the new arrangements and we're really enjoying our new couch.

Some photos from June so far...

On the last day of 3rd grade for Mikayla, the class brought in "camping" stuff and made blanket forts all over the room.

Here is Mikayla with her friends under their desks.

 

Then the 3rd grade teachers made a huge pancake breakfast!

Here is a craft that I made for the girls' American Heritage Girl Day Camp. It is a magnetic organizer to keep their service log sheets in.

 

 The next photo is of the other craft I did with the girls. It is a patriotic wind sock! Very easy to do.

The next photos are of the girls' swim lessons at the YMCA. Here they are on the way there. Mikayla was trying a nose plug. We found she could learn to dive if she didn't have to worry about holding her nose!

 Here is Elyana with her swim teacher! She was grinning the whole time, each time, for the 2 weeks.