The Pool is READY

...not that we have had much "pool weather" these days! Kyla got to be the first one to take a dip...hopefully this video works longer than the last video I posted.

 Kyla and I "supervised" as it is a family afair to get this pool up and running...

 Landen was sporting his new ORANGE t-shirt my parents got him from Jamaica...orange is his favorite color!

 Dad and Katie...sucking out the last little bit of yucky water!

 That face...who could resist...Love love love him!

Ben being a goof...as usual!

Now if we could only get some sunshine!!! Happy "Summer" everyone!

Welcome Rilee...

Ben and I drove down to see my cousin Lindsey and Levi's new baby! She is such a sweet little girl and truly a blessing to our family. And talk about a load of hair!!! She is a darling baby...one you could hold for hours...and so I did!

Rilee has the sweetest big sister! Lexy Marie...you are just too cute...such a good big sister! Full of smiles and giggles...in case you can't read her t-shirt it says "I'm a princess, Mommy is a queen, and Daddy is around here somewhere!" Ha!

And this little bundle has got to be the best baby! She slept almost the entire time we were there. Check out that hair...isn't she darling?

Lexy loves to give her "sissy" kisses...

There's those beautiful bright eyes...Rilee Yvonne you are a blessing and we can't image this world without you in it! Love you to the moon sweet girl! XOXO

Staff Party...

Every year we have an "End of the Year Staff Party" at Phyllis' house. She has the most beautiful house out on Birch Bay. We occasionally luck out with some beautiful weather...this year wasn't as sunny as last year, but it was warm enough to be out on the deck! We all have a great time visiting, relaxing and truly enjoying one another without the need for "collaboration" about students, curriculum or schedules! It is nothing short of fabulous! I kind of forgot to take pictures...so there aren't many...someone on the other side of the deck must have been saying something very important.

 Again...someone on the OTHER side of the deck must have been saying something extremely interesting!

This is our principal telling her story about the "cactus announcement"...this one will go in the books...unfortunately I will not disclose this story on the blog...but just know that it is hysterical!

My good friend Jessica and I... this was her first year in our building...she is AMAZING! So thrilled to have her as a teacher in our building! A friend for life most definitely!

 THEN...(sorry Amy)...right as we are all loading up we noticed...a flat tire...on Amy's car!!!

 Naturally, as we have a staff full of women...we get Phyllis' hubby to come out...Dave to the rescue!

 Out comes the stroller out of the trunk...found the spare tire...

 Soon decide the tire looks less flat now that it's not against the curb...it might just need a little air...again Dave to the rescue!

 But first...Collin takes a quick look at the rest of the tires to make sure they aren't flat!

 And...Parker sleeps! Such a sweet baby boy!

Such an eventful day...! I am so blessed to have the privilege of working with such an amazing staff at Sumas Elementary. I truly would not change it for the world. Until next year Sumas Crew!

Pinterest Project #2

This project was a little mix of two different Pinterest ideas. First the coffee sleeve...this is something I wanted to make ever since my mom got me one from Janice at Grandiflora. I just had to figure out how to make it! With a little Pinterest searching I found a pattern...which I didn't understand AT ALL due to the crochet lingo! So I did a little "googling" and found a YouTube video that showed me what a "double half stitch" was...then I was in business! I made my first one...and thought it needed a lil something. That's when I found the felt flowers! My mom and I made a trip to JoAnn's and bought some yarn, felt and buttons. While mom was in Jamaica I pumped out 16 of these bad boys! There were five different ones...

 A closer look...they were kind of hard to get a good picture of!

Now I am out of buttons...and I have given them all away already! So it's time to make another trip to JoAnn's! I love that I can get multiple cozies done in a day...I am all about quick projects! Onto the next project! (Although I am going to continue with this one for some more gift giving, such a fun present!)

My Love

Ben and I have come to realize...we RARELY take pictures together anymore! So we are going to work on this. Here is our first ditch effort of having proof that yes, we do spend time together! This summer I will hopefully get more pictures of us...doing more than hanging out in the house! Looking forward to a great summer together!

Morning Routines

This week while my mom is in Jamaica my sister has been coming over in the mornings to help me with my hair...Ben has not mastered the straightener yet, nor does he plan to, apparently he has limits! :) Needless to say, with my sister comes her sweet kiddos! Landen is always great and finds a cozy spot on the couch to watch morning cartoons with Ben. Kyla on the other hand likes to be where the girls are...that means in the bathroom watching me get ready. This girl is going to know all about make-up and hair by preschool at this rate. The other thing you have to know about Kyla is...she likes her breakfast ASAP! So...this means she eats breakfast...in the bathroom...while I get ready! She did manage to give us a few smiles between shoveling in the pop-tart! (And yes I am aware that pop-tarts are pure sugar, but I am the aunt, she likes them, and I go to work by the time the sugar is in her blood stream!)

 Mouthful of pop-tart, but still a sweet little face!

 Mixed with a little patty cake!

 Then back to more pop-tart! While she eats, every bite is paired with "MMMmmmm!"

 She does offer to share occasionally...but unless you like your pop-tart with a little spit, I don't recommend taking her up on the offer!

 After breakfast she does break away from the primping to play with her big brother...who is sweet enough to pack down loads of toys from upstairs!

Her big brother can always get her to laugh...she loves him bunches! I love this picture of her...her chubby little cheeks remind me of my sister and I when we were little. I am going to have to find some pictures of us to do a comparison!

We all miss grandma (mom) and grandpa (dad) while they are gone, but we are so glad they got to take a fun vacation to Jamaica!

Pinterest Project #1

Lately I find myself surfing Pinterest a lot! Over the last few months it has been my little "get away" from studying...paper writing...revising...editing...blah blah blah! NOW...I can actually do some of the things I have pinned on my pinboard! Hooray. This is the first project I have tackled from Pinterest. It is a new "filing" system for our bills. I HATE paying bills! I am typically a very organized person...however...billing brings out the worst in me. So here it is...my no filing, but organized system! I have a 4 inch, three ring binder...

The front of the binder has a pencil pouch with all the supplies I need for sitting down and paying bills...such as my favorite calculator (yes I have a favorite one), a black pen: used to write down bills, on the due date, and the amount due, a red pen: to indicate when the bill has been paid.

Behind the pencil pouch is a monthly calendar where I write in each bill on the due date as well as how much will be paid. When I pay the bill online, I write "Paid" in red! I also have a divider for each bill we pay...this is where I "file" the bill after it has been paid! At the end of the year...I can empty my binder...actually file it away in the cabinet under "2012" and prepare my binder for the next year. Pretty great huh? I am excited to have an actual system...and something Ben could pick up and figure out without a lot of guidance from me, if he ever wanted to take over the book keeping! :)

I am looking forward to completing more Pinterest projects this summer...I am in the middle of another one, but I decided to do this one in bulk so I will wait until it is completely finished before I post about it! Stay tuned!

New Toys...

My mom bought the puppies new toys when she was in Bellingham...they all get extremely excited when anyone comes home with a bag...they immediately start rummaging through any bag sat down on the floor. Well, Ace decided he didn't just want one toy...he wanted all three! Apparently we need to work on sharing!