porch redo

when we lived out by the camp the drive way took you right to the back door and through the laundry room to come into the house. no one ever used our front door when we lived there. so when we moved to this house we were excited that it had a front door with easy access. however this house also has a second entrance through a screened in porch. this door takes you right to the dinning room or straight through to the back yard. some how this has become our main entrance now as well. it also had become a dumping ground for toys, stinky shoes and even trash while it waited to be taken the the big can in the garage. so whenever someone came over or even just us coming home, we always walked through a mess. so i wanted to clean up the porch and make it a more welcoming place. i repainted the walls and some shelves, hung one of my paintings, got a great bench for a bargain, made some really cute hooks for the kids to hang their jackets or backpacks on, and put a rug down. i like how it turned out, i still sometimes trip over bikes and toys but we are getting there. here are some pics. my favorite project was the spots for the kids to hang their things. i had seen how to do this on someone elses blog. great idea!

the turkey hunting party

wow, i cant believe it but 5 years ago we were sitting in a hospital room amazed at the life of our first son and now we are having archery birthday parties for him. this was his first official birthday party with guy friends from pre-school and church. in the past we had just done a family party. when we asked him what kind of party he wanted, he said he wanted a "camo turkey hunting party with bows and arrows" so that is what we did. dave and i always have so much fun planning stuff like this and coming up with creative ways to do things. sometimes we get a little carried away and have to keep eachother in check :) i actually found camo plates and napkins at kmart! dave set up his hunting tent and turkey decoys, we blew up balloons and stuck them all over a large target, and we made little wooden fish and fishing polls so the kids could "fish" in the pond. it was so much work, but SO MUCH FUN!

we love having people over and enjoying our backyard with them. when everyone got there we played in the backyard on the tree fort and zip line. then we did the fishing. after fishing, we had pizza, crazy bread, watermellon, and salad for dinner. after dinner, dave helped the kids shoot the bow and try to pop balloons on the target, the kids all did really well with it. we were so pleased. we knew garret would love it, but didnt know about the other kids. they all seemed to have a great time.

then garret opened his presents. he was so kind and appreciative for everything, and that made dave and i so proud. you never know how kids are going to be sometimes. :) all he asked for was this cool fishing poll that shot the line out like a rocket. he had seen a commercial for it and wanted it for a while now. my parents got him that and sent it up for his birthday. he LOVED it and was so excited. he also got a more advanced bow from daves parents. it is a childs compound bow. i tell you what, the kid did pretty good on presents.

after gifts, we had cake and cupcakes for dessert. i made a turkey cake and bunch of little target cupcakes. it was so fun working on it and i was so pleased with how it turned out. when garret turned two i made a sail boat cake and ever since then i have been making creative cakes for our kids and for their cousins. it is a fun thing for me to do so show them how much i love them by making something super special that no one else has.

so here are some pictures of our fun party. this sure has been a busy week. garret starting school and then turning 5! i am pooped. :)

Garrets first day

so garrets first day went really well, i think :) he is a funny guy. it was hard getting him to talk about it. i think he needed to process it b/c as the day went on and all day today he has been bringing up other things about his first day. i think he really likes his teacher Mrs. Ayers. She seems like a great teacher the little bit that i have gotten to talk to her. Garret goes back on Thursday and then his 5th birthday is on friday so he is going to have a busy week. we are really proud of him. i think school is going to be great for him. he wasnt sad at all to stay. i think he was a little shy but excited. so here are some pictures of him seeing what the backpack fairy brought and of him all dressed up for his first day.

twas the night before kindergarten

wow, so garret starts kindergarten tomorrow morning. it is hard to believe this is the beginning of a new stage in our lives. he will be in school for the next 12 years and that means we will be too :) to be honest i am really looking forward to him being in school. i think it will be really good for him. i am praying that he makes lots of friends, really enjoys his teacher, and just loves to go to school everyday. for the first two weeks of school the kindergarteners only go a few days to get used to going. i had never heard of this before but it really seems like a good idea. it gives the kids a chance to go with just a few other kids and lets the teacher learn their names and spend more one on one time with each kid. we will see how it goes. i think garret will be very tired when he gets home. he and dad went on a guys camping trip last night to celebrate going to school. they had a great time. i wanted to be there too. maybe next time Rae and i can go too. one more thing is that i am looking forward to starting a new tradition with garret. tonight the "backpack fairy" will be coming and loading garrets backpack full of all his school goodies and a new shirt to wear. what fun!

the equine connection

my sister in law debbie has a horse business called "the equine connection". it is a program that helps teens that are going down the wrong path, learn to make right choices in their lives by riding and caring for horses. the greene county fair has been all this past week. this year she got a booth to promote her business and asked me to paint a sign for it that she could also use later and hang on the outside of her barn. i had a great time working on it. she came over a couple of times to watch the kids so i could paint. it always feels to good to do something creative by myself. i am really proud of how it turned out. she asked me to make up some business cards if people asked who painted it. we will see what comes of that.

grandpa p and gram

I have been meaning to post this picture now for a few weeks. this was taken at camp right before they headed back to Florida. i just love it!