Vacation photos!

                              We got home Saturday from our fun filled vacation week. This year we went to Virginia Beach.  We spent 5 days at the beach and then stopped over night in Washington D.C. on the way home. I have been to both places before but, I'm not sure if it counts if you're not old enough to remember being there. We had the best time! We all love the beach, so going was a blast and to go to D.C. was amazing. I think this may have been the best trip ever. Virginia Beach is beautiful. We went to a few other places while we were there. Let's see. The beach, obviously.  We went to downtown Norfolk to see a huge ship. We drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, both ways. We went to First Landing, were the first settlers landed. It was hard to believe we were standing in the same spot. I love stuff like that. We spent a whole lot of quality family time together, I love that best of all! Our visit to Washington DC was amazing as well. The buildings, memorials, and monuments are so much bigger than I realized. The day we went was the same day someone vandalized the Lincoln Memorial with paint. I will never understand what possesses some people and their actions. Thank goodness it is fixable. So without further delay here are some pictures. No groaning now. I won't bore you. Now remember this is just a sample of our pictures. I lost track of how many we actually took.



The beach

Cape Henry Lighthouse (new)



The beach



The beach



The beach



First Landing



Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (off the side)

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (inside)



The USS Wisconsin



My Boy



The Capitol Building

The Washington Monument (being repaired)



Lincoln Memorial ( with some paint still on it)



House where Lincoln died (duh)

King Neptune on the beach

All you need

                                          We had so much fun! It was an awesome trip! I must thank my hubby and my Boy. I love them so much. It's always nice to spend time together as a family. It really makes you appreciate things more when you can do it together. I hope you enjoyed my "little" picture presentation. Thanks for stopping by. Have you taken a trip this summer? Or are you going to? Well if you do, have fun and be safe. ENJOY!

Look up in the sky.......

                                  

                                          In the summer we see this a lot around here. I still get excited every time it flies over our house! Like a kid, I run outside to get a glimpse of this amazing thing. Well, it's amazing to me anyways. It flew over our house twice yesterday. I love when it flies over at night too, with it's messages blaring in the darkness. It just makes me smile!

It is summer!

                                        Did I just realize this?  No. Just stating a fact. A fact I am very happy to say is true. I get to spend so much more time with ny family in the summer. No schedules, no homework, not too many hurries, and family. I love summer. Kids grow up so fast. Time flies. I am thankful for all of the time I have with my family. I love them all  so very much! My posting will not be as scheduled the next couple of months. I will be spending as much time with the family as possible. I will still be posting,  just not on a schedule. I will try to post often, as often as I can. I hope you understand. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Beach inspired fireplace decorations

Remember this?

                                      Remember I said I couldn't promise that I wouldn't show my faux fireplace again. Well here it is, I know, again. It's looking a little different though, that has to count for something, right? Well, not in the above picture. I had to put that up there in case you didn't remember it. You know I'm only thinking of you!  Almost everything beachy I made from stuff I already had. Except for the wooden fence. I got the wood at Lowe's for about 3 bucks. So here's the after:

 

 



                                            

 

 

                              Where to start? Let's see... I made the summer banner from scrapbook paper and ribbon I already had. Just paper this time nothing fancy. I used the same stencils as before with the family banner. Oh, I just remembered I did buy the fishing net for this too. I got it at the Dollar Store. It was made of white cotton string. I mixed some black, green, and white paint together then thinned it with water. I soaked the net in it for a few minutes and then put it on the driveway in the sun to dry. The wooden fence is supposed to look like the fences I have seen at the beach. I bought two pieces of wood at Lowe's. I cut them into 3 pieces each and used some rusty wire pieces to connect it together to make it more fency, yes I said fency not fancy. I stained the wood with the vinegar and steel wool stuff. Have you tried that yet?  That may be what my next post is about. I really like the way it makes wood look. I made the beach sign also.  It looks pretty when I light it up at night. I put some seashells we have collected from past trips to the beach in some jars along with sand. The brass lantern was a gift from my favorite cousin quite a few years ago. So there you have it. Again, not very fancy, but I like the simpleness of it. It seems to fit there. Just the right beachy feel I was going for. 

I hope you are enjoying you week. We'll talk again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

No more pencils

          No more books... You know how the rest goes! So excited today is the Boy's last day of school! That means no alarms, no homework, no schedules, and  fun! Yippee! I can't wait! I just might be more excited than he is....OK that last part is not true. He's very excited. SO. AM. I. I'm not one of those Moms who dreads the last day of school, nope, no siree. I absolutely love having him here so we can spend time together! So let's get this show on the road already. But I don't want the summer to go too fast! Have a sweet day!

Summer Decor

                                 
                                          This may or may not be my last wreath. I am not even sure I would call this one a wreath. What would you call it? A door decoration. Ok. Whatever we call it, I think it might be my favorite one so far! What says summer more than flip-flops? I mean really? I know. All this one took was flip flops, a base, and some decorations. I got my flip flips at the Dollar Store. I would get them quick, I don't think they stick around long. I painted a wooden "welcome" from the craft store and everything else I already had in my craft stash. The base is just some cardboard strips I glued the shoes to. Total cost on this one $5.00. I have to say another one turned out better than I pictured in my head. Since only 3 people live in our house, I wanted to do a pair for each of us. But I think 4 balanced out better in the long run. It took a whopping 20 minutes to make. I spent the most time cutting the card board strips. Hot glue holds everything together. Yep, my favorite so far! As I said I can't promise there aren't anymore "wreathes" in my future. I really like something to decorate the front door. Since I have been feeling better i have gotten a few more projects done. Some more summer decor. I will be back to show them to you soon! Have a sweet day!

Another wreath

                                   I guess you could say I have a thing for wreathes these days. I don't know why, I'm just on a wreath kick I think. This is one I have wanted to make for some time now. It's more summery but, I am ready for summer! I love the beach and pretty much anything that goes along with it, except for seafood. Nope, don't want any part of that! Weird, huh?  I know. Anyways, here's my latest beach inspired wreath, What do you think?

                                       Now this wreath was a bit more expensive than the others. This one was about $8.00. I bought the wire wreath base at a local craft store for about $2.50. I gave it a quick coat of white paint, I didn't want the green wire to be so noticeable. I found the sisal roping at Walmart. It was a pretty good size package for about $5.30 including tax. The seashells and starfish I already had ( for quite some time, I might add) for some beach inspired project. This wreath hangs on my side door. We don't live anywhere near  the ocean so this will have to do for now.

                                     See my little helper there. She was "helping" me wrap the metal base with the rope. She was very eager to help, too! I didn't use the whole package of rope on the wreath. It depends of course on the size of the base. I tied my two ends together to hold it in place when I finished wrapping. Pretty easy. Believe it or not I have one more wreath in mind to make. I am running out of doors though. Here's one more shot of the finished wreath.

         
                                         I have a few more beachy project ideas. After all, I have quite a few shells left. I hope you have a sweet day. Thanks for stopping by today!

It's summer... please cut me some slack

I know I know. I have been slacking lately. But, it's summer. That has to count for something, right?  Well it does in my mind. Thanks for understanding. We have been keeping busy and being lazy, too.  Just everyday stuff. You know summer stuff. Swimming, hiking, hanging with friends, enjoying the sun and hanging with family. We've had some lazy days in there as well. You know you need them. I haven't really worked on much Etsy stuff ( loose translation: none). I have listed a few things here and there on Ebay though. Not gonna rich from that I can tell ya! Overall I have to say we have been having FUN! And that is what is important!! I have a project in mind, but to be truthful, I could post it tomorrow or next week or not at all. I will try to post more often though ( Note : I said try ;P ). Hope you are enjoying your summer time. Talk to you soon. Have a sweet day!

Summer, summer, summer

Sounds like a Cars song. Oh, am I showing my age? Oh well. Summer is here! YAY! The Boy is officially a Middle schooler. HELP. I only cry when I'm alone. Just kidding.  Where does the time go? Actually, I am so excited for him. A whole new world will open up for him. He's ready. Me, not so much. Not so ready to move on and let go. I have enjoyed being his mom so much! I know it's not over, he is getting older though.I know he will always need his Mom.  He makes me so proud. At his awards assembly the other day he received the Character award, the third time this year I might add. We went back to school to visit ALL the teachers he has had and get photos with them. They had wonderful things to say to him. They were all so great. They could tell he may be a little unsure about Middle School. They reassured him and told him he will be great there. Priceless. That's the way his teachers have always been. LOVE THEM!  Now it's time for summer fun to begin. I can't wait.

Summer....

Summer is coming. I can feel it! The weather here has been wonderful. Perfect evening walking weather. We actually got 3 nights in this week .( Thanks Diana) Four miles each time. YAY for us!! Can you feel summer coming? It's wonderful. isn't it!