Lovin' these summer days...

I am truly enjoying our last few days of our summer. School will start ( haven't set a date yet) before long and our days will soon be filled with busyness and activity. I am getting really excited about our upcoming school year and have some great things planned. I can't wait!

Anyway, we spent yesterday morning at the pool with my dear friend, Celia, and her two cute kiddo's, Tyler and Amy.

We swam all morning and then had a picnic lunch by the pool. It was so much fun!

Last night we took our college kids from church to a Knights baseball game.

Corban was very excited to get his picture with Homer, but Riley would not even think about getting close to him.

Here's a few pics of our group...

Most of these kids will be heading off to school in just a few short weeks, so we have enjoyed spending as much time with them as we can. They are all coming over to our home on Saturday night for a cookout and swim party. Should be fun!

more yard sale fun...

We had a wonderful weekend. We got a few things crossed off our "never-ending" to do list which is always a good thing!

Saturday morning I got up early and headed out to a few yard sales. The weather was rainy and overcast, so I got a little wet running back and forth from the car to the yard sales. The weather wasn't enough to stop me though. I continued on, hoping to find a bargain. Despite the weather, I still came home with a few treasures.

I found this fireplace screen for $5.00. When I bought it I thought I would spray paint it black, but I put it in front of our fireplace and thought it looked okay just the way it was.

I also found three great pillows.

I brought them home, took them apart, added some fringe, and replaced the back with black material.

I think they look a ton better now.

I also found this cute footstool/ottoman. She was asking $30.00 for it. That’s way too high for a yard sale! I asked her if she would take $15.00 for it and she said yes. Sometimes on raining days you can get a better bargain because people need to get rid of their stuff and get out of the rain. $15.00 is still a little high for a yard sale, but I knew I had a great place for it and it's in perfect condition!

After I was finished with the yard sales, I met Shane and the boys for breakfast.

Later Saturday evening we had our dear friends, Richard and Amy, come over for dinner. They used to live across the street from us several years ago and we would hang out all the time! We would get together for cards and dinner almost every weekend. When we moved away, we stayed in contact over the phone, but didn't get together nearly as often as we used too. Just a few weeks ago, we found out that they bought a house in the neighborhood directly across the street from our new neighborhood. They are only 2 minutes away from us now!! We are so excited to be living so close to each other. I foresee lot's of game nights again.

Richard and Amy now also have a precious little boy, Tristan, that they adopted about ten months ago. He is adorable and my boys had a great time entertaining him throughout the evening!!

Sunday after church, we had some time just to rest and hang out! We had a "pizza picnic" upstairs in the playroom on Sunday evening where we watched a movie with the boys. It was a perfect ending to our weekend!

My window mistreatments...

I've been very open and honest on my blog about my love and slight obsession for The Nesting Place. She has such great, practical home decorating ideas! This week I have given some of her ideas a try. I made rodless mistreatment's for the playroom and the boys room.

Here are the playroom mistreatments. I still have to add some fringe to give them that finished look.

And here is the boys room...

I am so happy with the way they turned out! They are definitely not perfect, but as the nester always says..."It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." Now as soon as I find some fabric for the dining room, I'll be mistreating that room too. I can't wait!

One Man's Junk is Another Women's Treasure

I LOVE to go to yard sales on Saturday mornings. It has to be one of my most favorite things to do. You just never know what treasure you will discover.

Well, yesterday morning I headed out along with my sisters, Bethany and Kelly. Here we are at the start of our day.
We began our adventure around 6:30am in hopes of finding a great bargain. I normally map out where to go so I can make the best use of our time and also to be sure we don't miss any sales on the way. Our first stop was a neighborhood yard sale. These sales are the best because you can enjoy more sales with the least amount of driving. We were definitely not disappointed. We each scored some really great deals. One of the best sales we came upon was at the home of a lady who owned a home accessory store. She had closed the store and was selling her goods at her yard sale. She had lots of great stuff at GREAT prices!!!

So what did I come home with? All kinds of great stuff! I only spent a total of $40 and this is some of what I picked up...

I found this black, wood mirror with a attached shelf.

I just loved this pair of chair pictures.

This topiary was only $1!!!

I have been looking for a new bathroom rug for my guest bath downstairs.
I found a great one today!

This plate was my favorite find of the day. I bought two of them.
The are so pretty and I love the colors!

I also found a little tykes picnic table, a few games, and some clothes for the boys!!!
My sisters did great too! Kelly found a Vera Bradly pocketbook and wallet in mint condition for only $10!!!! That definitely was the find of the day. Along with a few other items, Bethany found this adorable khaki and checked Pottery Barn Quilt. It too was in perfect condition.
What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!!!!!

VBS Week!

Tomorrow is our last day of Vacation Bible School. We have had a super week though, visiting Outrigger Island. The kids have learned about God's truth-aloha style.

Corban brought along his very best friend (in the whole wide world), Abby, and her brother, Luke, for the week of fun!!

While Corban, Abby, and Luke were in their classes, I was volunteering in a preschool classroom with Riley. We have had a great week together.

I have loved every minute of it. The kids in his room are so sweet! I already knew these kids because they are in my classroom on Sunday mornings too. It was an extra special treat to be with them all week long!

After VBS was over yesterday, Luke and Abby came home with us to swim. They also stayed with us for the night.

After the busy day we had, everyone was very tired and in bed by 8:00pm. I never heard one word out of them. They were sound asleep in no time!

( I must add though---they were up by 6:15am this morning... READY TO GO!!!!!)

We're Back...

We are home from the beach and we had a wonderful trip. The boys had so much fun and we had a great time with my family making wonderful memories. Lot's of fun in the sun and relaxing by the pool. You just can't beat it!!!
We are back now, well rested and ready to face the world again. I have lot's to blog about, but no time for that now. I must unpack and get ready for the week. Our church is having their VBS this week, so that's where we will be. Should be a fun filled week!
I'll probably need another vacation after it's all over though =)!!!!

Here's just a little peek at our week... Go check out my sister's blog. She did a great job blogging about our wonderful week...


Eating Superman ice cream at the Yum Yum Shop in Garden City. This is one of our favorite spot's at the beach!

"What should I build today?"

Corban and Riley

Our Family

And there off...

We are heading out of town today... beach bound, of course!!!! Can't wait to stick my toes in the sand and smell that sweet ocean air!! I hope to be able to post while we are away, but I'm not sure we'll have Internet access!
Be back soon...

Nesting Fever

I really enjoy reading the blog called The Nesting Place.
If you are looking for some decorating inspiration, you must go check her blog out! She has the most fabulous ideas. I have really been inspired this week to "nest". We've lived in our house for almost one year now, and for the most part each room is "decorated". I still feel I'm missing those finishing touches that really make it look so nice though. So I decided I would begin to add those touches throughout my home. With a little inspiration from the nester, and my glue gun in hand, I decided to have some fun.
I just discovered the wonderful world of fringe and have gone crazy with it. I have used it before to complete pillows I have made, but never realized how truly versatile it can be. Hobby Lobby has there fringe on sale this week too!! The fringe for the kitchen was $3.27 a yard, and 30% off of that. Here's some of my latest projects...

I decided to start in the kitchen. I added fringe to all the valances.

I love the way they look now. It just added that finishing touch.

I had a little extra fringe left over so I added it to this lamp.

I couldn't resist getting this fringe too. It's just so pretty and dainty.

It goes perfectly on the curtains that I made for the nursery.
Gives them that finished look.

I have come to discover that everything looks better with a little fringe.