New York

I just got back from my first time to New York.  I had such a great time.  My husband had a conference for work so I tagged along.   There were so many fun things to do and see.  

  We rode these tour buses around the city and they showed us all of the iconic places you see in movies and TV.

Double decker bus was very cold but fun to ride on the top.

  This is ground zero.

Statue of Liberty.

Time Square at night.  Our hotel was in Time Square.

Trying to stay warm on the top of the bus.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roof top of the Met.

Chew Backa made of LEGOs.

Temple

Central Park

My favorite place was Central Park.  So pretty this time of year with the leaves changing.

We went to Wicked and Phantom.  Both amazing.

There are so many wonderful places to eat.  Our favorite restaurant was "Carmines",  an Italian place.

Top of the Rockefeller Center.  "Top of the Rock".  Doesn't get much better than the Empire State Building in the red lights.  

I heart NY.  Can' wait to go back.

Soap Bottle Directions

How cute are these soap bottles I want to make some for Christmas teacher gifts.  I got this idea from brownpaper--packages.blogspot.com


ITEMS YOU NEED:

• soap or lotion--any size or shape
• spray primer
• spray paint
• text: vinyl, foam stamps & craft paint
• ribbon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove any labels, and excess "gooey" stuff from the outside of the soap. Goo Gone, or any adhesive remover should work well. Make sure the container is clean and dry.


2. Remove the lid/pump. This step is IMPORTANT---you must prime the bottle BEFORE painting. If you don't, the paint will run, or leave you with major streaks and bumps. I used a spray paint primer--I like Rustoleum--and sprayed it very lightly, just to cover. Let dry completely. *Note: One can of primer will last quite awhile. I made several, and still had a lot of paint left.


3. Next step...painting. When using spray paint, remember, less is more. Stand back a little more than you would if you were painting wood, and kind of let it mist over it. It will cover quickly, so you really don't want too much. Let dry completely.

4. Now you're ready for text! I rummaged through some extra vinyl I had, and chose a "w" for our monogram, and "joy" for a Christmas version. I also wanted to try using paint and my foam stamps for one, which I did for the Halloween version. If you're using vinyl, apply as you normally would. If you're using paint, you need to do one of two things--either use spray paint (just spray some paint onto a paper plate--not foam-- and use your finger to apply it to the stamp), or you'll need to spray the bottle with a moisture-resistant craft spray to protect the craft paint. If not, as soon as it gets wet, the paint will run.

Black Paper Chain

I wish this was a picture of my house for a fun Halloween party but it is not.  I found this picture of a black paper chain hung from their ceiling.  So cute for Halloween.  Never would have thought of that.  Found this picture at eighteen25.blogspot.com

Another Lunch - Blog

I said the other day, "if I have to make another school lunch I might die."  It is only October, we practically started school last month.  I don't know if any of you other moms feel the same way, but I feel burnt out.  I was happy to find a fun website about different lunch ideas.  Can't we all use some fun food ideas.  I want to buy this silver lunch box (above) from (PlanetBox) but they are kind of pricey $35 for one.  Need to sleep on that one.  The lunch ideas are free.   I like FREE.  Check out the website it has tons of ideas.  anotherlunch.com

Boo Blocks

 Here is the latest craft I have made.  My sister had made some last year and they were so cute I couldn't wait to make some for me.  This was a super easy, fun and cheap craft to do with blocks, modge-podge and scrapbook paper.

Dad's First Little Girl Coaching

 Lauren said the only way she would play soccer was if her dad coached her.  Even though Ryan had coached other teams before he had never coached a 5 year-old girls team.  As you can imagine there are challenges at this age.  He is doing a awesome job with them.

 Lauren was very excited that her team is called Dazzle.  Ryan even came up with design of the t-shirt.

Basketball Team

Here is the Basketball team that Johnathan played with over the summer.  He played with a bunch of kids from church.  Even a couple of girls.  Johnathan did great.

Day at the Fair

Winning prize watermelon.  I am thinking it was around 50 lbs.  It was twice as big as Luke.  First he sat on top of it and then he stopped to take a picture.

He would love to drive a real tractor one day.

Bubble Boy

This was a funny video of Luke being bubble boy.  It was has cousin Oliver's birthday party in our backyard.  Thought you might like to see this.

First School Day

I am pretty excited that the first day of school is here.  I missed them a lot the first day of school.  The house was so quiet I didn't know what to do with myself.  Then I found lots of things to do.  Including helping at the school in the library and PTA.  They ride the bus home together and Johnathan is so good to take care of her.

Johnathan is in 2nd grade and has Ms. Windom.

Lauren is in all day Kindergarten and has Mrs. Rich.  I asked her how school was going and she said, "I am really tired and hungry after school but I love kindergarten."

They picked out their new backpacks.

Last Summer Fun

 Last event before the kids have to go back to school.  We went to Joyland.  Our town's amusement park.  It is nothing compared to some but the kids loved it.  We had friends that gave us free tickets.  It so very hot but it was an all around fun time.

 I think Lauren and her friend road this one 10 times in a row.

 This was the wild mouse.  Johnathan loved it.

Luke was very happy about the helicopter ride.  Good bye summer.  Hello school time.