Welcome to JULY!

Can you believe we are half way through 2016?  Even though it is HOT outside right now, it will begin to cool off before we know it and Hope will be headed back to school...Middle School!

She is having a great summer with her nanny Ashley!

Joe had several days off around the 4th Holiday, and I was in Florida (details below), which means I DIDN'T have to go to any parades this year!  :)

I usually end up taking Hope, Annie and Ally to 2-3 parades over a 2 day period.  This year it was Dawn and Joe's turn to make sure they got to a parade.  LOL!  They will likely never let me leave town again over the 4th.

This was at the Waukee parade...

...and Ally walked with her gymnastics team.

So while they were having fun at parades, etc...I was enjoying a girls trip to Florida.  IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Evon and I walked down to Crabby Joe's one night for dinner.

Here are the three of us.  Unfortunately Tara had a cold, but we all still managed to have fun!

The condo we stay in is right on Daytona Beach.  So we didn't have to go anywhere to enjoy fireworks. which were shot off right on the beach.  So cool!

Every day the ice cream truck drove down the beach, because Daytona Beach is a beach you can drive on.   I wish I would have had money with me to go get some ice cream just to say I did it once.  I wish we had ice cream trucks around here too.

I love and miss this view.  I got a lot of sun and did a lot of reading by the pool/beach.

Below is Joey the heron, which is a frequent visitor to the restaurant (probably because they feed him shrimp).  We like to go there for the sweet potato tater tots.  They are GOOD!

Now most mornings I slept in (because i was on vacation and I could).  LOL!  But on the last morning I got up to see the sunrise.  And it did NOT disappoint.  We even had a pod of dolphins swimming around too.  You can see one fin in the picture below, on the right of the sun, close to shore.

It was an incredible trip with great friends and was just what I needed to get my mood back on track.  It makes me very thankful for the great friends I have in my life, especially those that I know have my back right now.  Your kindness will never be forgotten (you know who you are).  :)

So in honor of great friends, the 4th of July and yesterday Joe and I celebrated our 21st anniversary (we took no photos-ooops), here are some layouts and cards.

Here's to 21 more years together (and hopefully a lot more than that).  Until next time...

Darla

Goodbye Gert...

HELLO...Rosy!

So, I have been holding off as LONG as possible purchasing a new vehicle...however, when the window in my 2004 van fell down into the door...

well...my decision was made for me...it was time to buy a new vehicle.   Goodbye GERT (Thank you for your service...it was greatly appreciated!!!  I know it sounds crazy to appreciate a vehicle, but that van has been there for me through a LOT of event (even if I NEVER liked the color of the van).

I was actually bold enough (when we dropped off the van to be fixed) to ask for a "loaner" vehicle to drive over night to see if it was something I would want to buy.  Well, I was SOLD (hook, line and sinker) with all the new features of a vehicles available since a 2004 model. LOL!

I was dazzled.. and quite frankly...It was time.  The van was slowing going to become a "money pit" of issues.  We had several smaller "bills" to fix things, but this one was going to be over $550 to fix a window that had dropped into the window.  

So...let me introduce...ROSY...the newest member of the Weber family.

It was raining when we we got home with the car, so It is not a great pictures...but you get the idea!  

All I can say is that it has a LOT of bells and whistles that I am trying to figure out!

Welcome to the family Rosy! 

Until next time...Have a great weekend!

Darla

So what have we been up to....

Well, I have not been good about keeping up on the blog.  Sometimes I get busy, other times....well...sometimes I just am not in the right frame of mind to make a blog post.  Let's be real...life is not all roses, but sometimes that is all I choose to share.  :)  Life is not perfect, but it is how we choose to deal with those moments.

So lately...I have been dealing with those moments, but during that time, there have been some great memories to share as well...so here we go!  :)

So the last time I posted, it was the day before Mother's Day.   I had a great mother's day!

The following weekend we decided to check out a nearby gem...Ledges State Park.  We did some local hiking and had a great time.

All three of us got some great exercise hiking (there was a LOT of stairs going UP...LOL) and then we finally got to make the climb down too.  

Then Hope and I took the opportunity to walk through the shallow creek and do some exploring of some locations we saw from above on our hike on the steps.

And then there was the END of Hope's elementary school days.  In her school, they have why is called a 5th grade clap out, where the 5th grade class walks through the school as all the underclass(kids) clap them out on the last day of school.  

I finally convinced (or possibly bribed) Hope to take a picture with her teacher, Mr. Spreacher, on the last day of school.  Even though she was hesitant to have her picture taken with her teacher, I think she really enjoyed her 5th grade year.  LOL!

Thanks to Mr. Spreacher for all the work he did this year with Hope.  He earned his keep working with Hope this year, trying to prepare her for middle school.  

Then we took a few pictures of Hope and her friends...Brooklynn....

...and Anna.

And the funny thing...Hope wanted to ride the bus home the last day of school, even though I was standing right there willing to take her home.  LOL!  So, of course, I let her ride the bus home.

Our neighbor, got a great picture of Hope, inside the school, during then clap out.  I am so glad, because the pictures I took were not that great.  LOL!  Thanks Amy!

So...I have a middle schooler.  WOW!

Here's to the next adventure...until then we are going to enjoy the summer.  Hope is having a great time with her Nanny (Ashley), which is the sister of Anna (above), so they have hung out quite a bit this summer.  I am so thankful for Anna/Ashley and their family.  We used to live across the street from them, and they are a great family to have as friends!

We have enjoyed some time at the pool and just hanging out at home.  I am working only 4 days a week, so on Wednesdays (so far this summer) we have been lucky with the weather and have had the chance to enjoy spending time at the pool.  I LOVE it!

And with that...here are some random craft items.  I made this card for my mom for Mother's Day.  She loves to sew and I wanted to make something that represented that.  So the card is shaped like a thread spool and then the sentiment and the fitting mannequin seemed fitting to give to mom.

And since summer is HERE, I thought I would share a page helping me remember all the fun Hope had with the lemonade stand she had.  

While, the lemonade stand has been "grounded" so far...if it comes out this summer, all proceeds will go to a charity.  Hope has initially decided to donate all proceeds to the Animal Rescue League.  

Here is the journaling I did with my own hand writing.

The summer is still young...so I look forward to all the adventures yet to come...

Anyway...here are a few cards to share as well...which cover Easter and Spring related cards.

Now that we are through most of the "Spring" celebrations..bring on SUMMER!!!

Until next time!

Darla

Because of you...

...I am a mom.  Today is birthmother's day and I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell Hope's birth mom (Jessica) how thankful I am for choosing Joe and I to be Hope's parents.

This is my all time favorite picture of Jessica and Hope together.  Hope was about 3 years old.

I am so glad that you have continued to be a part of Hope's and our lives.

She loves it when you come to her events...

...and just come to visit so she can have a relationship with her brothers and sister too.

We love you more than you can ever imagine!  I hope you had a great day today and another fantastic day tomorrow with your kids!  

Here are a few cards for graduation and other spring celebrations.  Congrats to all the grads this year!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Darla