a saturday in lititz and then swimming!

Where oh where did May go? March felt like months long and then once that passed now it's all oh okay, June tomorrow? April and May were just blips. That's all. Back to our weekend of fun! As is becoming tradition we took the kids to Lititz Springs Park and let them tear around for a bit and then the adults go over to the Bullshead. Little fun for them, little fun for us... Plust it was Colton's birthday! Happy day to him!

let the memorial day weekend festivities begin!

As we know our Memorial Day Weekends are packed from start to finish with all sorts of fun summer-like activities. And traditionally, that always includes a trip to Hersheypark.

the school carnival!

I feel like this was ages ago already.... Time is really messing with me these days. A few weeks back the elementary schools banded together and had a carnival for all the kids. Of course it was raining because for awhile there I'm pretty sure we lived in an Edwardless Forks so they had to move the carnival indoors, to the Farm Show buildings. Only in our town right? My mom came along for the ride because she is a brave brave Nonna. 

our summer bucket list

In a different form than in years past but it's here just the same! As you all know this weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year... It just is so full of the promise of the fun summer to come and I love me some summers with my kids and all the adventures we pack into them! The Summer of Yes is almost here people! My Sandlot summer! More exclamation points!!! I have activities planned each day of this nice long weekend. Half day today! Monday off! And only eleven more days of school left!!!! Happy Memorial Day weekend!

And lest you be worried, I know the real reason for the holiday and you best be sure I'll be explaining it all to the kids like I do every year when I get all emotional seeing the veterans walking in the parade. You do it too.

Summer here we come!

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aging american flags and some patriotic decor

I have about a hundred and one of those small American flags they hand out at parades, do you know what I mean? I never throw them out because, American flags. But they are just so bright. I don't want bright. I want aged. Distressed. Who am I? So my mama suggested I "age" them. Mothers. They always know best yes? Now like I said I had about a thousand of them so the thought of dabbing them with scratch remover to "stain" them sounded far too tedious for my quantity over quality mentality.

a final deck update. i think.

If I keep saying it it'll be true right? But even after I took all these initial photos my father came over and installed our outdoor fan so I mean, jokes on me I guess? 

one store to rule all others.

Oh this store. It can take all my money. I honestly could have walked out of there having bought it all. I've never been in a store like that before, that is trouble for me. I can only go back with like, cash from a birthday gift or something. Anyways. I had so many people recently tell me I just had to go to Cocalico Creek. And I was like: meh. Sure, when I get around to it. But the recommendations just kept coming so I finally enlisted my mother and off we went with Dom in tow one Thursday morning.

And it was like Joanna Gaines Herself had been involved in the creation of this store.

a quick and easy mantle refresh

It's sort of like the Field of Dreams in a way in this house. If I wish it, Matt will build it. Or something maybe not at all like Field of Dreams? But I mentioned to Matt I wanted an aged wood mantle and like two days later there it was just waiting to be installed. He just got a piece of wood, aged some nails, beat the wood up and stained it and wala! He did attach it to the old mantle with screws but I suppose if you weren't completely ready to make a commitment you could just rest it on top of your existing mantle.

the planetarium! and an astronaut!

A coworker of my brother's put in for this very large grant in order to refurbish his school's planetarium. Following that? Anyways Matt and I have this thing for the stars and wanting to support we voted daily for this grant to be chosen and.... it was! So of course on opening day we had to go check it out! Even though we don't live in the area or go to the district of course... We got tickets online for the children's show, figuring that would be best for our three. And off we went! 

updated outdoor lighting

Whoops. I did it again. I saw old fixtures that were in fact not old and I thought well no. Not me anymore. So I took to Shades of Light and found these and the rest is history. And I love them so! Thanks to my dad! Okay and Matt for being the manual labor.

food truck frenzy

The neighboring town of Lititz not only boasts my older brother as one of it's residents, but also tons of fun events and cool restaurants and the like. Last Friday was their Food Truck Frenzy. Food trucks. In the park. We had done this one in the fall and loved it, so of course we all packed up and went once more. Matt and I are nothing if not punctual so we were naturally there almost an hour prior to start time. There is a playground right there and ducks who are starving for old bread. We also wanted to scope out a table and figure out a plan of attack. Which trucks to go to and so forth.

our mother’s day

Mother's Day can be a difficult time for many different people for many different reasons. This past Sunday I woke up just really feeling that... How difficult this day can be for so many people, some extremely close to me. I really tried to focus on the here and now and these lovely humans that I am blessed to raise and my own parents that I am blessed to have. Of course I have a fabulous husband who had the kids make these quite bright and festive stepping stones for my garden on top of taking care of any and all little house chores he could conjure up. Which is saying something because he is always such a major helper. We had a slow morning at home with mimosas (pretty sure Mother's Day mimosas need to be a thing) while we watched the dreary day unfold. That weather just did not want to cooperate. Guess Mother Nature was having a moment....

gretna glen field trip

Another field trip in the books for this year! This time with Letty's class. I've heard tales of this trip, that it's messy and muddy and if it rains oh Lord help you! Thankfully we had lovely weather for our trip to Gretna Glen, a camp just shy of twenty minutes north. The camp counselors are just those nature loving excited types.... The one who led the initial meeting was amped up on something wild I'll tell you what. I consider myself a morning person but whatever she was taking I want. Yowza.

a party for the budding artist

Letty had the honor of attending her girlfriend's birthday party this past weekend at Big Dream Creative Arts Studio. She's done this once before and if she had her way it would be the place where she too would have her birthday parties. It's just such a cute place and I love everything about it. The programs they offer and the fun whimsical way they have it decorated. It's just the cutest. And they are moving! I am so excited to check out their new location! Yay for local businesses am I right?!

race.

That's just what it's called. Race. I mean technically it's the Race for Education but it's just such beast that it becomes just: Race. Dun, dun, dunnnnn. 

Just like last year, the kids send out mailers to family and the sweet and loving supportive family members (thank you!!) send in donations for the PTO. This is a massive undertaking for all. Parents, students, volunteers, teachers, no one walks away untouched by Race. I got a wee (tiny) bit more involved than last year and wow. No joke, this Race. Not to mention that it's nearing the end of school and there is just something happening all  the time. Jam packed activities from here on out people!

our first pool day!

The end of last week, let me tell you! The weather gave me a serious case of summersitus. That's a thing, I'm sure of it. The temperatures were in the 80's, the sun was out, and it just felt like surely this is summer now?! I pushed back homework time and I let the kids stay up a smidge later than usual, playing outside just as long as we could. It just felt wrong to have to prepare for school the next day? Not with temps like that! It's gone by now of course but! It happened! We have the tan lines to prove it!

The pool has been open for I think just over a week with her solar cover on just soaking up those rays and heating up a degree at a time... Kids don't need much though they'll jump in to just about anything (69 degrees to be exact). The excitement was almost too much for them to bear. Luckily we had already planned on the entire family coming over for a BBQ (see aforementioned good weather) so we told all to bring their swimsuits. If they dare. Only a few did.... The kids swam and played on the playground and we all sat outside at the new table and hey! We all fit! At the table! It was wonderful to have all that room to sit! The new set up works!

some updates to our lighting. again.

Can't stop, won't stop. 

I was sitting on the floor at the top of our stairs and Dom was being difficult, refusing to come up to brush his teeth and I put my head back in frustration which put the light fixture directly in my line of vision. That's how it started. And maybe it was my frame of mind from Dom but I looked at it and I said: I hate you. To the light. I love my son, as difficult as he is. But the light. Not my style anymore that's all. I wanted it gone. So I took to the internet and found the Kichler Barrington line at Lowe's. I'll just take them all please! Anyways so while the light at the top of the stairs started it I kept going as I tend to do. The light in the powder room had to go as well! To this:

a craft night with the moxie shoppe

Let's see if you can follow this... My brother-in-law's cousin's wife has a shop. The Moxie Shoppe. She had an open house right before Christmas and I was amazed. I could have purchased sooo many things had not my wallet and budgetary needs not denied me. Good for her. Is what I'm saying. She had another open house last weekend and of course I immediately planned on attending. But then she got me to my first ever craft night. I see those things of course.... craft nights with ladies and maybe some wine and I'm always like... no. But this time I had to go and support Sara. And of course I also insisted my sister join me. 

so what's new with you?

I have never been more thrilled to see all those Justin Timberlake meme's. You know the ones... It's gonna be May? Oh how thrilling! April really sucked the life out of us. It was cold and rainy and gray and it even snowed and just no. No thank you. May! To the rescue!

daddy daughter dance. the three d's.

There is a first time for everything and this year our elementary school had their first Daddy Daughter Dance. Now to be honest when the paper came home Matt was like, uhm, no. But Letty was just exploding with excitement about it and so of course as Matt does, he agreed to go. Willingly. We picked out her dress and she even put on her little Pixie Dust perfume. Matt got her a rose and took her out to dinner at the location of her choosing which ended up being Eat. And then there was the dance. Matt sent me tons and tons of photos and videos and our little girl did not stop moving! Matt said she was literally bouncing around. He said she was so social and little lady friends just kept popping  up everywhere to say hello.

skate night!

Ah how nostalgic is a skate night am I right? The roller rink hasn't changed since the 70's, if not longer. The music and the disco ball. The creaky old wooden floors and skates you may have worn when you were 14? All of that. In one night. Our church wrapped up our Wednesday night church season with a family skate night. Which naturally, we went to. Not Dom, that poor boy stayed at home with his father and we were all the saner for it. I took David and Letty and a neighborhood friend and off we went! David's first skating experience!