Saturday, July 7, 2012

Girls Morning Out

 This morning I took the girls to the farmers market . . .
  They were fascinated with all the varieties of tomatoes

 We bought some of these Fairy Tale Eggplants

 
Adrianna couldn't wait to snack on some baby bell peppers

  The girls each got a Sunflower

 We took a break for some fresh lemonade and a cinnamon roll

 The girls enjoyed getting samples of breads, honey, veggies and fruits at some of the stands

 What we took home . . . sunflowers, fairy tale eggplant, sungold tomatoes, and baby bell peppers
 Aren't these so cute?  We came home and roasted some eggplant with squash and onion and snacked on the tomatoes and peppers with hummus.  Yum!


The girls loved the farmers market and are asking to go back next weekend. 

Natalie




Friday, July 6, 2012

A week ago . . .

Ava was just getting back from camp.  My sister's husband is a pastor at their church and he took the youth.  We thought this would be a great opportunity for Ava to go to camp and have an adult family member with her.  That way we didn't worry as much she would feel more comfortable being away from home.  While they went to camp, Adrianna was with my Mom visiting my sister for the week.  I missed them so much! 

Aaron and I were able to catch up on some movies and TV shows that we don't watch when the kids are around and I got to spend some time in my craft room :)

Pillowcase with crocheted trim

I stopped by the Hospice flea market one afternoon. . .


Got a red Pyrex bowl, mini salad spinner (Yay!!) and a teacup.  Not sure why I bought the teacup but it was only 50 cent.  The salad spinner was $2.00!  I couldn't believe it.  I had just told Aaron I would like to have one.  And I can't remember what I paid for the Pyrex bowl. . .

Adrianna came home the day before Ava did . . .

She had so much fun with my Mom and sister but she was glad to be home.  My Mom brought her to me at work and she jumped in my arms and gave me the biggest hug when she saw me. 

My neighbor shared some squash, cucumbers and tomatoes from her garden with us that evening.  She let Adrianna pick the cucumbers.

Adrianna and I had a lunch date with while we were waiting on Ava to get home that Friday.

Ava had tons of fun at camp!  I was worried about her going and she did have a moment of homesickness before she actually got to camp but quickly got over it when camp actually started.  She had a blast!
But she was really tired when she got home!

This past weekend we decided we would take the girls bowling and let them use some of their free bowling passes they earned at school.
We really should go more often!
It was kinda late when we went . . . Ava was tired

I took the girls to the fireworks Wednesday night.  The Mr. had to work so he missed it.  We decorated our own 4th of July t-shirts the night before.  You can see them in this post.  I didn't want to fight the crowd and traffic at the Arts Center where the fireworks were going to be so we did the same thing as last year and found a good spot in a parking lot close by, set up our chairs, and enjoyed the show from there.  Then we packed it up as fast as we could and high tailed it outta there and beat all the traffic leaving!  Yay!


Today the girls and I spent 5 hours shopping.  Not sure how that happened and we didn't even get much.  But we rewarded ourselves with a Mocha Coconut Frappuccino from Starbucks while we were in Barnes and Noble.

Anyway, that's what's been going on in my (instagram) life!

I still need to blog about what I did for my birthday!  I'll get to it!

Natalie


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

This Land Was Made for You and Me




Ah, the 4th of July.  Independence Day.  The day we, Americans, celebrate our Independence.  And how do we do this?  With picnics, cookouts, family gatherings, parties, and playing outside (so long as the weather isn't scorching).  The day where Americans stuff their faces with hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, potato salads, corn on the cob, watermelons, and homemade ice cream all in the name of freedom!  The day where, sparklers, parades, desserts, patriotic crafts made by kids, and homes and stores are adorned in colors of red, white, and blue are all part of our prideful celebration.  The stars and stripes of the American flag are everywhere!

We watch wonderful displays of fireworks and "oooh" and "ahhh" in fascination as the beautiful lights dance in the sky.  There is something about the patriotic songs mixed with the display of fireworks that brings tears to Americans eyes as they reflect on the country they love so much.

I'm not sure how this full feeling of pride comes about in Americans.  Is it the history behind what our ancestors set out to achieve, the fact that brave men and women still fight in honor of our country, or is it because we are brought up with these traditions?  Or could it be that it's something we are born with?  I don't know.

I usually buy the girls a fun 4th of July type shirt every year.  I have to buy one every year because Ava grows out of hers each year and Adrianna feels left out if I get Ava something and not her.  Anyway, this year I decided we would make our own fun 4th t-shirts!  I bought a couple of cheap t's for the girls at Old Navy and some fabric pens and let the girls do what they wanted.

Ava loves peace signs so I described a shirt I saw at Old Navy and helped her design her shirt.  Adrianna wanted something with a flower (of course) so I made an iron on transfer for her so she could color in her design.  I think they turned out great!

In case you are wondering . . . here's how we did it.

For this project you will need:
a plain white t-shirt
fabric pens or fabric paint
cardboard
(I used electrical tape to make the peace sign outline on Ava's shirt)
put a piece of cardboard inside your t-shirt before you start so the paint doesn't go through to the back
I used electrical tape to make the outline of the peace sign
Ava's started filling in her flag design from the bottom up and go a little off course.  The flag was supposed to stop at the bottom of the peace sign but we ended up having to fudge it a little to make the circle turn out right.  The middle line should have continued straight through to the bottom of the circle.  Oh well, it looks great anyway!
Ava's shirt
Adrianna's shirt
Let the shirts dry over night and you're good to go!
I opted to go with a simple bleach pen design of fireworks on my red t-shirt.  I bought a new red shirt at Old Navy, because it was cheap, and used a bleach pens to draw my design.  I put a piece of cardboard under the top of my shirt so the bleach wouldn't run through.  I left the bleach on the shirt for about 20 minutes but I don't think it bleached it out enough.  In retrospect, I should've washed my shirt a couple of times first because I read that newer shirts that haven't been washed won't bleach as well.  Since I bought the shirt yesterday, there wasn't time to wash it a few times and dry it.  I also read not to leave the bleach on for too long as the bleach would eat through the fabric.  Eek!  I didn't want holes in my shirt so I washed it out after 20 minutes.  There's always next year!!
photo credits go to Ava for these two pics!

We'll wear our new shirts tonight when we go watch the fireworks!

To all the men and women who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces and their families, thank you!  Without your sacrifices, we could not celebrate our freedom and this great country we live in!

I'll leave you with a little piece of history . . .

In a letter form John Adams to his wife Abigail:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

[July 2 was the day that the Continental Congress had voted in favor of independence.  July 4th was when the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted.]

I think we, as Americans, have upheld the expectations of John Adams.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun day!  Happy 4th y'all!!

Natalie

P.S. - Google prompted the title for this post.  Check it out ;)