six flags and sea life education

I love that Six Flags has a program to teach kids about the animals they have at their park! Our homeschool group was the only group walking through the entire park to visit the sea animals . . . it was strange not seeing the rides running. This was a fun and colorful layout for me to put together using my March Green Tangerines Kit Club.

Happy Friday morning! I am looking forward to date night with my husband tonight! Hope you have fun plans too!

at the ranch

We just returned from vacation to the JH Ranch. We love going there as a family when there are no campers in site and no schedule to be kept. We read books, played games, hiked in the mountains and had fun in the snow. It rained or snowed for much of the time we were there . . . it was beautiful and the house was warm and cozy. I could have stayed another week. Here are some highlights:

The girls had a blast in the snow! Seth wouldn't even dare put on a pair of snowpants or boots. He had no intention of setting foot in the white stuff . . . so strange as he's had fun in it before!

There is a pond behind the house we stay in that is a perfect backdrop for pictures.

Hiking in the mountains is always a highlight.

We always visit the full-time groundskeeper. He raises goats and three of the goats had babies while we were there. They are SO cute!

Now it's back to reality! I will have some scrapbook shares this week . . . stay tuned.

p.s. I finally changed my blog header . . . it had only been a year! : )

mayflower anyone?

I am a part of an awesome homeschooling group through my church. We have a leadership team that organizes events (aka "fun stuff") for our group. I am part of that team and I organize two educational co-ops per year. It is no small undertaking and I have a team of moms that are a huge help! Below is a recap of the Thanksgiving co-op we had back in November. We taught the kids all about what it means to be grateful and how the first Thanksgiving came about. It was a blast!

My favorite part of this layout is the Mayflower boat! It was so simple to make. I used a coffee cup sleeve and used a circle punch in the middle. I then used a wooden stir stick (thank you Starbucks) for the mast. A few pop dots and glue dots later I had my boat!

I love documenting my children's educational experience. They love looking back to see what they have done and the things they have accomplished.

All product was from the March Green Tangerines Kit Club. 

Have a great weekend!

the memorial service

Tim's dad died on February 24th and the service was March 5th. We traveled to Southern California and spent a week with family. Our kids had so much fun with their cousins. The first several days we were there, I spent scanning and editing pictures . . . lots of pictures! So many memories.

My family wanted to see the video/pictures that I had the privilege of compiling, so this post is mainly for them. If you are curious what it looks like to grown up in a family of twelve children, there are some fun pictures throughout. The beginning of the video is a 2 minute clip of Gene praying a prayer of blessing over his children and grandchildren from this past December. Little did we know at the time how near the end of his life he was . . . I am so thankful we have this recorded.

The end of the slideshow is my favorite, so if you don't have time to sit through 13 minutes, scroll to the last picture! The memorial service was wonderful and we were so thankful to have the time with family. We are truly blessed. Thanks to friends and family that have prayed during this time of transition. Gene will be missed by all who knew him.

colour suite challenge

One of my favorite magazine is  Scrapbook and Cards Today. They are based in Canada and you can download their quarterly magazine for free! Gotta love that! They have a great blog loaded with daily inspiration. I decided to take part in their monthly Colour Suite Challenge based on these colors . . .

This is a simple card that can be thrown together in a few minutes. I challenged myself to use only "old" supplies . . . just trying to get through my stash! Send a friend a card today . . . just because!

doll birthday party

This morning we celebrated Faith's 6th birthday! (Her real birthday is in 2 weeks.) She requested a doll birthday party and asked that everyone bring their favorite doll. As we were in Southern CA until Wednesday, I didn't have a ton of time to prepare . . . but thankfully, this was one of the easiest parties I have ever put on!

It's become a tradition each year for my mom to sew the girls a dress. In the past they've chosen material based on the theme of the party. This year, Faith requested a rainbow dress and a matching dress for her doll. She was thrilled with the outcome! Thanks Grandma!

Faith came up with all of the party activities herself. First, she requested to play three songs on her harp for an audience . . . this is her attentive audience. Faith even sang the words to the songs as she played!

Next, she wanted the dolls to play musical chairs. The dolls had to quickly find a seat when the music stopped! After musical chairs, we played hide the dolls and Faith was the seeker. All of the girls had SO much fun hiding their dolls and then telling the birthday girl if she was cold or hot. After hide and seek, the girls played dolls and had fun running around the house.

We had lunch and snack for the big girls and for the dolls. I'm pretty sure the big girls consumed both plates. Hot dogs + Little Smokies, Goldfish + Baby Goldfish, marshmallows + mini-marshmallows, big pretzels + mini-pretzels, chocolate chips + mini-chocolate chips. I also made mini-cupcakes for the dolls which the girls brought home for their siblings.

Lunch time was LOUD. These girls can TALK!!! I think the only time they all had their mouths closed was when I prayed over the food!

I purchased these 3-inch dolls at the Dollar Tree. Each came with an outfit, a stove and a pot. I set them aside for the girls to take home with their dolls after they ate their cupcakes.

Decorating these cupcakes was easy. I'm sure they could look more professional if I had the proper equipment, but a table knife worked fine for me and I was able to make a frosting "dress" on each doll. Once you insert the doll into the cupcake, put the doll arms in the air while you frost. Upon completion, lower the arms and she looks like she is wearing a beautiful pink gown.

Along with the dolls, the girls each took home a baby bottle (purchased from Michaels in the baby shower section) that we filled with Skittles.

We had a fun morning! Jessica and Becca--you were missed! Happy Birthday Faith!