It's Been A While...oh And I Almost Forgot About the Giveaway

Hello to everyone. I know it has been a while since I've been posting...but it has been one crazy summer so far. K and I started a new job at our YMCA working with all of the kiddos there. It has been a lot of fun. K has had a hard time learning how to share, but she's a three year old only child...it's to be expected right? To top that off, my dear, sweet husband has been gone training for six weeks now. He is scheduled to get home TOMORROW. But alas, it is not going to be for long. The Coast Guard has reactivated him to active duty for sixty days to help with the oil spill clean up (thank you BP) and he leave again on Sunday (yes I am aware that both Sunday and Monday are national holidays....the Coast Guard isn't observing this year). So this means another entire summer with out Greg (this makes three summers in a row). I am used to it by now (sad), but K is already having spells where all she wants is daddy. It's going to be a hard couple of months.

I guess a perk to having just us girls around though, is I am doing some fun stuff with the kid. Every Wednesday here in PA, there is a free concert on the pier. This includes a huge bubble machine and tons of chalk for the kiddos to run around and play with. Not to mention that the music is fun.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot about the great giveaway that Stash Manicure is having right now.

You should check this one out for sure!

Summer, she is a-comin'

With Greg ever so busy with training so far this spring, Kaelin and I have had a lot of "just the girls" things goin' on. But, so far the weather this spring has been less than desirable...that is until this weekend - YAY! K and I just knew that we had to spend some time out in the ever elusive sun while we had the chance. I first thought about going to Salt Creek (a staple in our outdoor repertoire) since the tide was something like -3 feet...but an injury to my foot threw that out the window (insert sad face here). What was there to do that didn't involve too much walking? In the words of the Super Sleuths, "think, think, think!" Besides a scenic drive in the county (not too suitable for a 3-year old), the only thing I could think of was...having the car slobbered on by some really HUGE animals at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim.


So, K and I bought 2 loaves of bread and headed out. The yaks were the first big animals that we came up to...and they had no issue with sticking their entire head in the car to get a slice of bread. Man, oh man, did those guys smell bad. The bears were my favorite - they do tricks for you! But by far, the scariest part was the American Bison! Right when you enter the park, there is a HUGE sign that says, "DO NOT FEED THE BUFFALO! They will charge your vehicle!" Having been a frequent visitor to the park, I already knew of this rule, so we were out of bread by the time we got to the bison. The people in front of us...not so much. They had 5 or 6 bison around each of their vehicles eating right out of their hands. So when it was our turn to drive past them, guess what they were expecting? BREAD!!!! And we had none. One of the big bulls got upset when I had my windows up all of the way and decided that he might like to nudge our car just a little (from the front and then from the rear after we had well passed them)! SCARY!!!

To our surprise, the park was having a fundraiser for their predator exhibit (to build new enclosures for the big cats and wolves) and that included face painting and bouncy houses!!! Kaelin nearly leaped out of her skin to get over there!

After nap time, it was still to nice out to not do anything. So out came the "Poor Man's Slip'n'Slide," aka a blue tarp and sprinkler, and the tricycle. K had a good 2 hours out playing in the sun.

This morning, we woke up to clouds and wind, but earlier in the week I had made plans with myself to go strawberry picking at Graysmarsh Farms. So K and I got up and dressed this morning and headed out. An hour and a half and 13 pounds later....K and I called it a day. It was much colder than yesterday and the wind was a-blowin', but summertime is ever so close. Now we're off to make some strawberry jam!

YAY SUMMER!!!

Marilyn's Maze Giveaway

A dear blogger friend of mine, Marilyn of Marilyn's Maze, is having her 100th Blog/1 Year Anniversary giveaway.

Swing by her blog and check out all of her Great stuff!!!

Strawberry Fun

I blogger that I follow is having a fun Strawberry Giveaway.


I really love this time of year and the way that even looking at a strawberry gets your mouth watering. Summer is gearing up and this giveaway would be the perfect start to summer for any crafter. Stop on by and enter to win!

Airplane Traytable Cover for Kids

I don't want to say that I am a germaphobe,

but after I watched a special on Oprah a few months ago

about how germy airplane tray tables are,

I am super cautious when I am flying.

Traveling with a three year old makes matters worse

(especially when that three year old is very handsy).

I brainstormed for a couple of days about

what I could do to minimize the germ interaction

when I fly with my daughter.

Of course I have sani-wipes in my purse,

but I wanted something that would slide over

the tray and that she could eat on. I also wanted something

that would keep all of the "activities" that we bring on the plane together.

So this is what was born....

The top is vinyl so it can be cleaned. Also, games like tic-tac-toe can be slid under the vinyl and grease pencils can write on the vinyl (you can use the same game sheet over and over then!). There are three pouches on the front for pens and colors and snacks. The underside of the cover is another pouch that holds paper and coloring books. I also added a strap so that my daughter can carry it on her own. The cover in the pictures is now the 3rd one that I have made...one for my daughter and two for some friends of ours. All three are a bit different...but I love them.

First Camping Trip of the Year

The weather was too good to pass up a camping trip.

We loaded up the car and

headed out early Saturday morning.

We weren't quite sure where

we were going to end up,

we just knew a general direction for where we wanted to go.

Once we found a spot, we quickly got to work on getting the camp set up...

...and then we got to the relaxing!

There were some great views from our camp.

And of course there was nature!

We played around and had a lot of fun.

We had a great time and can't wait until the next camping trip!

(Kaelin was passed out before we hit the main road)

Great Givaway

I came across a great blog, The Workshop Window, with a great giveaway going on until May 16th. For all of you gardeners out there...this is fantastic. Even if you aren't a gardener and just like great vintage things, this giveaway is for you too! Check it out here. Here's a couple of pictures of the giveaway too!