summer happenings

Today was the first day of summer vacation!!! 

I love having the girls all home together~

We can have some just hangin' out fun family time. 

Swimming, playing in the sun, sidewalk chalk and Popsicles.

Camping, parades, and fireworks. 
Naps, BBQ's and playtime at the park.

Walks, crafts, reading, and games. 
Campfires, bike rides, and more swimming.

Oh. . . And because I want to keep my kids busy this summer~

chores.

I told them the other day that they were going to learn to work this summer so

they could turn into hard-working girls Grandpa Sherwood will be proud of. 

And, besides the chores, I have signed them up for just about every activity under the sun.

I want them to be worn out at the end of the day and I don't want to hear "I'm bored".

.Art class.

.Dance.

.Tumbling.

.Swimming lessons.

.Tennis.

.Summer camp.

SO, HERE'S TO SUMMER VACATION!

P.S. It's 78 degrees outside right now. BUT, the wind is blowing. To our kids that means it's somewhere around 100 degrees below zero. . .  Which explains why Kylie just walked outside wearing her WINTER COAT.  Yep.  Here's to SUMMER VACATION!!  :)

D * I * Y fever

I think I have officially become a DIY junkie.  I don't know how many cans of spray paint I have been through in the last few weeks, but I probably should have bought stock in the spray paint business. 

The project I finished yesterday and am the MOST PROUD OF!!! was inspired by Censational Girl ~ one of my new very favorite bloggers.  She refinished some old, grimy chairs and turned them into these beauties.  You can read about them and see the before and afters here:

 *Spring Green Cottage Chairs*

Well, I decided after seeing these, that something similar would be just the thing I had been looking for to put on our bare front porch.  So I headed off to the local thrift store. 

I hit the jackpot! 

I found two of these old worn out chairs and took them home for a grand total of $8.

I took the seat off and recovered it.

I ripped out that webbing on the back of the chair and had my sweet hubby

cut me some pieces of wood and attach them to the back...

and then I sanded and painted and sanded again until I had my super cute chairs! 

I sat them out on the front porch with another little thrift store find (the table) that I painted antique white and then added some red and blue touches for the upcoming holiday.

I'm a sucker for red~white~and~blue. . .

Perfect, aren't they???!!!!

Another post!

 I have realized that my problem with blogging lately is that I haven't really felt "narrative"...

So, for your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of our cute kids!

Her turkey dinner did the trick! By the time I got the dishes done, she was out cold!

Notice the intense concentration! :)  Syd and I were playing Jenga and she did MUCH better than I thought a 3 year old would do playing that game!

I spy a TAYLOR in a TREE!

(Although it doesn't appear this way, she is actually about 15 feet off the ground!!

Eye-level from my parents' deck)

Isn't she sweet!!  I just love her to pieces!

And I love the age that she has reached.  She's trying to

figure out how to crawl and talk and is so much fun!

Yes, I know that I am missing pictures of Kylie....

The baby is screaming and the girls need to go to bed.

She is not forgotten. Pictures of her coming soon!