Did I mention that we're in Italy this week?

Let the *Destination Imagination* begin! : )
So this week we’re in Italy. The kids are loving all of the neat things we’ve done this far. We didn’t get to really pick a place on the globe together… I picked. LOL! I went with what I knew and could teach with this short week and after our holiday camp out. I still have a small bit of the language down though it’s been awhile since I was around those that speak fluently so *check* on that. The cooking is a snap and doesn’t take much thought because it’s familiar. *check* The crafts are under construction as we speak. *check* Over all this has been not so tough given the fact that I didn’t do such a “bene” job preparing. Gratefully, my kids know no difference. ; ) So, suffice to say, I miei bambini l'amore Italia (My kids love Italy). They love the *funny* music and are always game for messy craft or cooking projects.

Some other phrases learned:

Lavarsi le mani (wash hands)
Affermativo (yes please)
grazie! (thank you)
occhi (eyes)
naso (nose)
bocca (mouth)
orecchie (ears)
spazzola i denti (brush teeth)
Che ore sono? (what time is it?)
ora di andare al letto (bedtime).... *my personal favorite* heehee!

I'm hoping to post some of our crafts and a few recipes this week but more realistically this weekend. ; ) Kaydee and I surfed for a few pics to add to our Italy blog & she loved this one... go figure! LOL!

Is she her Mother's daughter or what? ; ) Well, we're off to go make strombolli. ~*~Ciao~*~

Flea Market, Mud-Mania & a new place to travel

Well, this was one SUPER filled weekend for sure! We did make it to the Flea market at the Merchant sqare but were in & out pretty quick. On top of the fact that we got a late start Saturday (story of my life!), we had been having some on & off rains. Between the heat and the humidity, there were not nearly the amount of vendors at Merchant Square this time around. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing. We still had yet to pack up the truck and had some last minute things to grab at the store. The next flea market will be in October... wise idea! I walked out with NOTHING! Can you believe that? Kevan managed to find a few matchbox cars for Kaydon. Kaydon is a car MANIAC! I don't think that any of my boys were as obsessed with cars and trucks the way that he is. Too funny!

We ran our last few errands... QUICKLY and got the heck out of town! It was magnificent to get out of the heat for a bit. We had quite a few friends meet at the same campsight so there were tons of kids, quads, games, MUD and a never-ending amount of pranks! ; )

this little stink bug thinks he's going to sneak away on Mama's quad... Good try Kaydon ------->>>>>

<<<-------- Totally loving the freedom to just run & explore!

The kids had a blast! It was SO nice just to watch them run freely without worrying about a thing! They caught lizards, catepillars, butterflies and explored every rock, tree and hillside within 1/4 mile of our site. To say they were exhausted would be an understatement! I can't believe that they actually slept in until almost 10:30 this morning! Now, I have the unpleasant duty of unloading, unpacking & some very muddy laundry! ICK!

My little "bump on the log" ----->>>>

<<<----Yes, *girl-drama* still happens EVEN in THE WOODS!!! *sigh*

<<<--- It's pretty sad when the kids come home cleaner than the adults! We had a blast running our quads through every mud puddle at Clint's well! I had to show my sweetie who owned the woods....he can HAVE the Dunes! Bwahahaha!

I'm thinking the shoes are not going to come clean... what do you think? --->>>

Lastly, if I can ever get through the muddy laundry the kids and I are planning to start our journey to Italy tomorrow. : ) For tonight, it's a good, old fashioned American BBQ! mmmm!

Happy Memorial Day!

A big Thank You to our country's veterans!!

You are loved and appreciated for

all that you do to protect us and our fine land!

xox

I made it!!! Wahoooo!

I'm not one of those Moms that dreads the last day of school. Nope, I LOVE Summer vacations and all of the cool things that we plan & do! Aside from the obvious, slower paced mornings... hey, you'd love the break too if you had 4 kiddos that attend 4 different schools at 4 different times! I should have ZERO cellulite for as much as I run my behind off in the mornings... but sadly my morning exercise hasn't affected that one bit. As I was saying; aside from the slower paced mornings, we pack in as many fun things as we can. I love participating in the local library programs. The library is important to me. As a kid, we didn't have Internet... shocking, I know... in fact we didn't have computers. period. If we needed to write a report we usually spent at least one Saturday at the library scouring through card catalogs, reference books, taking notes & READING. I love the smell of a library. There's that certain musty book smell about a library... LOVE it! Does that make me a little nerdy? Oh well. It's important to me to share those things with my kids. Sure, it's not as convenient as point & click but I believe the experience is invaluable.

One of the things that Kaydee & I came up with for a super-cool Summer activity is traveling... very far... A LOT! Who wouldn't love to travel and especially to distant lands? Since we aren't able to vacation for long periods(for real) frequently, we've settled for.... are ya ready?...... really corny title..... keep in mind, I had the help of my 8 year old daughter to think this up. *DESTINATION IMAGINATION* Basically, we have decided to pick a place on our globe every Sunday night. Beginning Monday we will imagine traveling to our destination and throughout the week we will cook, make crafts, and learn a bit about the lingo & culture of our imaginary vacation spot. Cool huh? This is in addition to swimming lessons, art camps, youth theater, kid friendly museums & Crocodile Dock camp at our church. Sound like fun? I look forward to our Summers throughout the school year and try to think of different things to do as we go and as they get older. As we near the end of Summer, usually a few weeks before school starts, the natives become restless (like most kids usually do) and we start seeing those signs of what I call *vacation burnout*. That's when I start my "i can't wait for school to start" countdown..... just in time. ; )

To kick off our Summer we are going to load 'em up and head for the mountains for a little camping trip this weekend (for real...LOL!). We're only going for 2 days & one night. Kaydon has never been camping so this should be interesting. I figure that as long as we have his woobie and enough ice to keep his sippies cool we're good to go.

So, what kind of plans do you have for the Summer? Traveling anywhere?

Until next time... ~*~Ciao~*~

ENABLER ALERT!!!

Guess what's goin' on this Saturday??? Give up?

I'm so excited! *happy dance* I had a blast at the last flea market that they had and scored some amazing deals as mentioned here! So, what are you up to next Saturday? Mike? Lesley? Ellen? Kim? Jennifer? Are ya up for some junkin' fun? I'll even bring the sunblock! Anyone that knows me knows that I'd pretty much rather perform my own root canal before being outside in the crazy-hot -heat. Nope, I'm usually content indoors once Easter has passed. So, if I'm willing to suck it up and slather myself in sunblock then it must be worth it. Right?

Hope to see some familiar faces! : ) ~*~Ciao~*~

Mosh Posh Blog Party!

Just passin' along the invitation to all. There's a very cool blog party happening at Mosh Posh. There are some AWESOME things to win just by posting a comment to their blog too! SEE???
<<<--------
Check out some of those yummy scrap supplies!
So what are you waiting for? Head on over and post a comment on their boards! And if you haven't submitted your entry yet... the clock is ticking! Hurry, you have until 10pm tonight to submit your best work for their *June - Guest Design Team call*. If you've already submitted your entry; GOOD LUCK TO YOU!
Hope to see ya there! ~*~Ciao~*~ ; )

Mosh Posh June - Guest DT entry

Here's what I submitted to Mosh Posh. With Graduations around the corner I chose to create some layout ideas and gift ideas.

Celebrate Every Success

This layout is a celebration of Graduation milestones. It features 3 photos of my son, Kyle, during different graduation ceremonies. One from preschool (Top left), one from High School (Top right), & one from bootcamp graduation (bottom right).

The tag reads: Celebration ~ To be all that is possible we must attempt the impossible. To be all that we can be we must dream of being more.

For my wildcard I chose to stay with the Graduation/Celebration theme. I created a keepsake chipboard invitation. It's a tri-fold card that can display senior pictures or what ever pictures you choose. It also has the invite information on the inside of the front cover.

Open for display

Inside of front cover shows the "save the date" calendar & invite info

Here are the 2 keepsake photo pages. The invite cover can be folded behind so that the matted photos are all that show.

Lastly, the finished back side and cover (front of card).

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek! ; )

Happy Creating! ~*~Ciao~*~