and I am...

outta here!!

Today I leave for a much anticipated, with my sister, kid free trip to ALASKA!!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am! My sister is amazing (as most of you know!) and she won the top 10 % of the sales force for Johnson and Johnson. To celebrate the company gave her a cruise for two to Alaska and she is taking me!!!! AHHH!! I seriously can't wait!

My in-laws are graciously coming to stay with the kiddos to help Derek out. I am sooo thankful for their help! It is a serious blessing to know that my little ones will be having just as much fun as me. I have organized some fun outings and tried to organize my life as much as possible to help them out. I also put together 'care packages' for everyday while I am away. My mom and dad this for us when we were little and I still remember opening them everyday and reading the note and seeing what kind of goodies were in store... So I wrapped each of these goodies and wrote all over the outside of the packaging things like "I love you, be good for G and G!" and "I will be home in _ days" and "Have fun at your last day of camp" etc... here is what I got for each special day...

a new art project... in case the rains come

a few new games

another new game along with silly string and mints

new towels with their names... they LOVE swimming and plan on doing that a lot with Grandma and Grandpa!

a new felt board... I have been wanting to do one of these for awhile!

kind of like play-doh(?)

definitely play-doh! :)

Princess coloring and old-school coloring

Emmy is obsessed with lip gloss and I couldn't resist the charms!

They are both on a big bug kick! They go on adventures catching bugs... it is hilarious! These will help. The handles unscrew and their are tweezers inside for capturing bugs and then storing them in the handle.

more art...

more play-doh!

SO... hope they have as much fun as I do!

I obviously am not blogging while I am gone... so I will see you in a few weeks!!!

Monogram Mondays...

Here are a few of my favorites from this past week! Enjoy!

Monkey embroidery on the front (that I designed... I am super proud of it! :) ) with the name on the bootie

Cute bib with applique and name

Cosmetic bag

cosmetic bag

super soft darling little dress that we now carry... appliqued with a Lilly 'K'

New baby gift... onesie (with the name on the bootie!) and bloomers

I did 41 of these cheer skirts!

Lamb lovie

Lamb lovie

Cute little shirt, onesie, and bloomers for one twin...

Cute little shirt, onesie and bloomer for the other twin

Tank dress transformed with a name

Cloths for a shower gift... she wanted a traditional N and a scripty N so they can interchange them

Here is the scripty

can't forget the dogs!! :)

Another tank dress

A cute T

The girls new towels! LOVE THESE! Polka dots, pink and green and stripes... PERFECT!

Summer Fun

Painting on the Patio!

My girls LOVE to paint! They love to craft. They love to create. And, let's face it, I love to do all these things with them.

The other day we packed up our easel and paints and took them to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was fun painting outside!

Here are a few pics:

Gabby with paint all over her face... good thing she couldn't see it or she would have FLIPPED!

Painting side by side... ahh the sweet joys of summer (I am just going to pretend they didn't fight over painting on the others side...) :)

Ok... Gabby had an amazing painting... actual people and a cross and shapes. It was so neat... then she painted over EVERYTHING and it was a big blob. What do I do to get her to stop!?

Emmy and her sparkly, paint-filled fingies

Emmy decided she was done with the painting and ready for the pool... hey, me too!

Suzanne and Rob's Wedding

My beautiful, wonderful cousin got married to her best friend this past weekend... and when I say best friend I am serious. Suz and Rob have known each other since 1989! They have travelled through so much happiness and pain. They are truly soul mates and it was amazing to see these two so happy!

It was a fabulous wedding weekend!

Suz made some extra time for us so that we could give her our present... her favorite color is red (as you will see from the wedding pics) and my mom made her this quilt which I monogrammed and then I did coordinating sheets (in her hand).

My Aunt Marcia took us all to get our nails and toes done. It was super fun to match the bride (she is in the far picture)!

My cousin Kurt (back row) next to his wife Jan, Kellie and Derek. In the front, is my Aunt Jane and Uncle Kent

Dad, Mary, Mom, and the girls

My cousin Karin (who is expecting number 3) with Willie and their boys, Warren and Grant

Two ring barrers and little Kate as a flower girl. They were super cute!

Uncle Doug and Aunt Marcia walked their daughter down the aisle... she looked radiant!

They are sooo in love!

My dad did a reading

Emmy didn't want to sit(what a shocker!)... so we stayed in the back and of course she made a friend!

The sweets table was at a perfect height for little Emmy who had quite a few pieces of chocolate!

Instead of centerpieces... they had these beautiful cakes on each table. Each one was a different flavor and guests were encouraged to find their favorite and make new friends. It was such a cute idea... and very yummy!

Watermelon carving of the bride and groom... this has gotten to be a tradition in the family for special occasions

Sweets table

My cousin Ross with his wife and two boys... his daughter was the sweet little flower girl

Me with the beautiful bride

Gabby thought she was so funny and such a big kid playing with her older cousin Kellie

Sisters

My little family

Gabby, Emmy and Kellie has a blast running around the open field once all the chairs were pulled in. What a fabulous view... I swear I didn't photoshop it! :)

Grant and Warren playing in the bubbles on the back deck

Gabby got one last kiss from the bride right before she left... they are honeymooning in Argentina

The VERY happy Bride and Groom!

Congrats you guys. I am so happy for you cuz and can't wait to see all this life has for you...

yep I said it... bring on the babies!! :) We need another reason to visit soon!