Bug Catcher necklace

I follow the WhiMSy love blog. She is so stinkin' creative. She and her daughters made these necklaces with a container to put bugs in. We made ours today. so fun and simple. I wish I could think of things like that. Click on her link for the tutorial. Here is Bay and June wearing them. June of course loves necklaces so whether or not she puts a bug in it she is happy.

Emery

I will blog about Tony's awesome birthday since he won't. He had been feeling sick and stayed home from work the day before. On his birthday, he slept in and then decided to go to work. I was glad since I wanted to do our usual surprise when he comes home after work. After he left I began blowing up balloons. The girls and I decorated the kitchen with them. When the girls went down for a nap, I made rice Krispie treats. Later, we anxiously waited for daddy to pull into the driveway. As he walked in the door we greeted him with a Rice Krispie "cake" and song. Then we gave him his present. Tony then got cleaned up and ready to go to the Emery concert. We thought we were super late since the event started at 6. It was held at a church. We knew it would be geared towards a younger crowd. We got there and realized how old we were. They had lots of outdoor games and stuff for the teenagers to do. It was so weird to be in that environment. We definitely felt out of place. We decided to go get something to eat and come back later when the bands would play. Emery wasn't scheduled to play until 10. So we rode around trying to find something to eat and then Tony yells, "that's Emery right there!" They were walking across the highway to go eat. We decided to let them choose were we would eat. They chose Wings To Go. We went in right behind them. I bet Tony was about to pass out. He really likes this band and they were right there in front of him. They are a Christian band that is pretty successful but not so well known that fans would follow them around and beg for autographs and pictures (except us-ha ha). At least not in small town IN. No, we didn't bug them with all that. We just sat near them and ate our dinner. Tony finally struck up a conversation with them. It was awesome. When Tony walked away, I told them it was his birthday. So then we talked about that. We decided to go back to the church and get close to the stage. And that we did. Since the crowd was small and it was in the parking lot of a church we were able to comfortably get to the stage. There were several mosh pits but we only got knocked around once. Toby, lead singer from Emery, gave Tony a happy birthday shout out and dedicated a song to him. Awesome moment again. I wished they would have played a little longer but what they played was good. We hung around afterwards to get a picture and thank them. I am so glad I was able to enjoy this with Tony. He has been to one of their shows before but I was unable to go. This was probably the best birthday he has had in a long time. If you have never heard any of their songs check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOtAgiH2Wfo

Naturally Named

I love knowing creative people. Catherine Clare, who I have known since elementary school, has started a new little business which I think will be a hit. She photographs architecture and nature that form natural letters of the alphabet. Many people are ordering the letters of their last name but my name is too long so I think I will just get an "S" or a monogram "tSa". She is having a giveaway now until friday so click over and write a comment to enter. Below is a picture from her Natural Collection where she has decoupaged the photo onto a wood frame.

Here comes the birthdays..

With vacation over now it is time to plan birthday fun! Hubby has a birthday on the 14th. We are going to an Emery concert. Then Bay's talent/puppet show birthday party is on Aug 29th. I just sent out the invitations to a few people from church who have little girls Bay has played with before. I hope I haven't gotten myself in too deep. I have never invited this many people to my house and I hope I will be able to entertain and feed them all. And if it rains I will probably have to cancel because I am pretty sure everyone would not fit inside our house. And if it doesn't rain and people do show up, I hope Tony and Bay will entertain everyone on our little "stage". Then in october, it is June's turn. I can't wait for all the balloons, cake, and singing. Life/Birth-what an awesome thing to celebrate!

Dauphin Island, AL

Well, we are back but we aren't happy. Our brains are stuck in beach mode. I think I am having withdrawals or something. We had such a restful vacation at Dauphin Island, AL. We stayed at the Whale House. The girls loved it. Never a complaint about the beach. I didn't really even have to discipline much since they were occupied with fun and family. I guess that is why I was at peace- the kids were content. I didn't get as dark as I had hoped but any tan is a good tan for me. June was scared of the waves so she kept her distance. Luckily, there was an area where the ocean spilled over and provided us with a baby pool- pee included. Bay ran through the water with some little friends she made. Uncle Trae and Aunt Tiffany let the kids fly a kite. That was a first for my kids. Daddy spent most of the time fishing either off the beach or on a pier. He thoroughly enjoyed it. We took our flashlights and went searching for crabs one night with the kids. They loved it. Tony and I spent our 5th yr. wedding anniversary while we were there. We went out to eat and then headed to the beach to star gaze. The cool breeze felt so good. It was the most comfortable weather I think I have ever experienced. I almost fell asleep it was so comfortable. Someone shot fireworks off on the beach near us. That was cool since we got free entertainment on our anniversary. I thanked Tony for planning that ahead of time, ha ha! It was really good to just hang out with family. We hope to add more family next year and we probably will end up at Dauphin Island again or somewhere near it. And here is Bay and June in action:

Ballerina Bay

Today, I took Bay to her first dance class. It is an intro to dance called Mommy and Me. It only lasts 30 minutes. There were probably 6 girls and their mommies there. Her teacher is Mrs. Connnie. When we arrived we saw our friends Holly and her daughter Jordan. We chatted with them for a little while and then Bay saw the studio. She started to go in and said "I am ready to dance". Unfortunately it wasn't time yet since classes were changing. When it was time she went in and began dancing all around the room as if she had been waiting forever for this moment and she was finally "home"(see video below). Her leotard and her ballet shoes are a bit too big but that didn't stop her. The ballet shoes we purchased from payless start at size 7 and she needs a 6(she will grow into them). All the little girls were so cute in their ballet attire. They all lined up and followed instructions from their teacher. The little routine they worked on was to the song "Bipity Bopity Boo". I was very proud of Bay. She listened and followed instructions well . I hope this behavior continues each week. Sometimes she can be very hard on herself if she can't do things perfect. I always tell her she does great. After all their hard work they got stickers. Bay said, "I am thirsty and hungry" She had worked up an appetite. Some of the girls began playing ring around the rosy. It was cute to watch the girls interact and dance together. When I told her the class was over she became very sad. She did not want it to be over. We took some pictures with her friend Jordan before we left. We will miss next week due to the beach vacation but I can't wait to go with her again.

Drift wood/Falls of the Ohio

Grandma and Mrs. Andrea came to visit us. My mom has an interest in drift wood and I knew the perfect place to get some. Big ones too. We went to the Falls of the Ohio in Indiana. It is a rocky area where there are many fossils. We went to the beach area right before it. It was hot but cool in the shade. I brought the beach toys since there is sand to play in. This was the second time Bay has played in sand. All went well with that so our beach trip to AL should be great. There are so many trees down and drift wood everywhere. Someone had put a long board over a down tree and made a see-saw. So I see-sawed with the girls. Drift wood was collected and hauled to the truck. We then had a picnic overlooking the river and let the kids play on a playground. Naptime was coming quickly and they were very fussy and tired so we headed home.