Another Build it Project by Hayden~

Hayden was till feeling the wood working bug and so

he got another wood project down I had saved

in our crafts closet for a rainy day~

This build it yourself came from home depot last year I

got from a special event we went to and just saved.

It is a cute wheelbarrow planter.
Hayden was soo impressive to me that he needed no help whatsoever!

I just supervised and watched him go to town as he hammered

all the wood pieces together ~

He picked out the Pink and Green colors too and after

he started painting it I said Hayden it looks like a

yummy watermelon!

So he made watermelon seeds on the pink part

and this little wheelbarrow is the cutest thing ever!

I'm soo proud of him!

Hmm it won't be long now till I can get him to start really

making some things around here...

like a newly remodeled back deck

or a

covered porch swing

or even a

privacy fence around the backyard Ive been wanting!

ha ha ha

A mom can dream cant she!

Love ya Hayden

Somer Jane

Baby Shower for My Cousin Jessie & wife Stephanie~

Attention:

Baby Boy Brock Marshall

will be arriving soon!

I was soo honored to attend my cousin Jessie's & wife Stephanie's baby

shower on May 15th for their first baby to be here in July!

(Pictured above is me with my Grandma Pat, Stephanie & my Aunt LeeAnne)

The babys room theme is Marvel Comic Book Characters

which I think is really wicked-cool!

Steph really recieved alot of nice baby gifts and I think they need

to rent a UHaul to get it all back to their house! ha ha

This little batman outfit was given to baby Brock by
Grandma Pat...isnt it too cute!

I gave Baby Brock this cool personalized Spiderman baby blanket
which hopefully looks amazing in his nursery!
I hope he loves SPIDERMAN! ha ha

Wonderful day and a wonderful baby shower for Baby Brock!
Can't wait to meet you in July lil' guy!

Love your Cuzin'
Somer Jane

Lowes Build and Grow~ Jimmie Johnson Race Car!

So on Saturdays Lowes stores has an awesome program for kids

thats totally FREE!

You only have to sign up online in advance to reserve a spot.

They have different things to build from wood each Saturday and each kid

gets their very own apron and safety goggles to take home too!

All for FREE!

Today the kids and I went to make Jimmie Johnson's #48 Race Car!

(My favorite nascar driver by the way, I wore my #48 hat to represent! hee)

Mr. Vince was nice enough to help Hayden out while I was taking

photos and watching Miss'Lyza Jane.

(Lyza was not having any part of the hammer whatsoever...maybe it was just the

manual labor that she wasnt having part of though...

either way she just watched big bro make his race car! )

Hayd' was doing a great job and was really into the hammering.
I was proud that he didnt whack his fingers at all either! hee
He was using nice precision, maybe he's a future wood worker?!
Hey, Contractors make good money right?! ;-)

Putting on the finishing touches to the #48 Race Car!
GOOOO JIMMIE!!!


'Lyza Jane waving the flag for the race car!
My cutie-girl!

TAA DAA!!
All finished with his hand built Jimmie Johnson Car from Lowes!
They even gave him a certificate for his acheivement.
Super Cool LOWES home improvement store!
Thanks so much for this build and grow program you offer!!

We will be back soon~

If you are interested in attending one of the Build and Grow clinics
in your neighborhood check out their website for details~

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com




Till next time~
Somer Jane

Hayden & Mearas Lunch Play Date~

I stopped by my best friends Heathers house the other day

and she was feeling like POO...no pun intended! ha

So I told her I'd run to the store to get her some supplies and

take her daughter along with us to get her some fresh air.

So we had a little impromptu picnic at the park while we were out~

It was a hot day but the kids had a blast running and playing on

the playground (note to self: TIME TO STOP WEARING JEANS!)

Whew...it was HUMID!

While we were eating our picnic under a pavillion at one of my

FAVORITE PARKS in the city called,

Billy Dunlop Park

(great memories there)

we saw a birds nest with baby birds right over us!

Awwllll

If you look closer below you can see their little beaks hanging out

over the birds nest...too sweet!

The kids thought this was awesome...me too!

Hayden had a great time playing with his friend Meara

today at the park. We should do it again soon but take her

mommy when she feels better soon!

Get well my friend~ Heather!

Somer Jane

Hayden gets a Library Card!

The Summer Reading program at the library is coming up.

It begins June 7th and is a very popular event!

(I only wish it offered more times or days, since it is soo packed)

Nevertheless, its worth signing up for and taking the kids to

endorse the summer reading throughout summertime!

Today in being prepared for the summer reading program rush, I figured we

would sign Hayden up for his very own library card.

I have been wanting to get Hayden his very own library card

for awhile now but was waiting for the right moment...

but there is no perfect moment and I would have been waiting forever.

So today we went to the library and signed Hayden up for his very

own OFFICIAL library card!

(He just finished Kindergarten so that was a special moment in my book!)

Here below he is signing his name to receive his card~

(Awlll, Im a proud mommy!)

Here he is proud as can be with his very own library card~

Our next to do was to teach Hayden how to search for books on the
computer card catalog database.
(he thought this was super cool searching for books to find)


We found our books now its time to check them out with our new card!


I love the library's new self check out system, it took a second to figure it out
the first time we came a month ago, but its a lot quicker!
I never see lines to check-out now!
AWESOME!


Soo the reading program is coming up soon, if you havent signed up yet
get down to the library to do so!!!
Here is some info below:

“Tadpoles and Tagalongs” programs are for all children not yet in school (under age five) and their parents or care giver, on Tuesday and Friday at 10:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. On Friday, we will repeat Tuesday’s program. At each program, a limited number of tickets will be given out on a first come, first served basis.
The Summer Reading Program, “Make a Splash, READ!” for elementary age children (five years and up) will be held on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Children should be old enough to attend this elementary age program without parental supervision.
On Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. there will be a “Pajama Story Time” suitable
for the whole family.
Each participant will receive a “Reading Log” to track books read or total hours read. Participants may count the amount of time or the number of books read to them if they are listeners. Older children who read picture books to younger children may count the time spent reading to the younger child but not the number of books read.
Participants are responsible for keeping track of the books they read or the hours that they spend reading. “Reading Logs” should be filled out completely. For every eight books read or two hours of time spent reading, participants will be eligible to receive an incentive. Please use one log for hours read and one log for the number of books read.
All participants in the “Make a Splash, READ!” program will receive their own “Make a Splash, READ!” Passport. This is an attendance booklet that the child should have stamped once a week when they attend a program. The CHILD named on the “Make a Splash, READ!” passport is required to present the booklet to be stamped. You may attend as many programs per week as you wish, but only one stamp will be added each week.
At the end of the Summer Reading Program, if the participant has attended one program per week for at least three of the five weeks and has received three stamps in their Passport, they will receive a book of their choice at no charge.


Happy Summer Reading Ahead~
Somer Jane

School's Out for Summer!

So we just bought a pool to celebrate the beginning of SUMMER!!

YEAH!

The kids are super excited and plan to eat, sleep and swim all

summer long in the 'NEW' backyard pool.

I was going to buy a summer pool pass to a city pool but

after looking at gas prices and the cost of a family pool pass,

I figured this pool on sale at Wally-World for $250 was the better deal!

(If I can get two full summers out of this pool it will be soo worth it)

Technically, its already worth it though seeing the excitement

and fun my kiddos are having and this is just the beginning of summer!

One of the grandmas gave us the kickboards last year at the end of summer
and Im glad they did...they are getting used this SUMMER!

Hopefully by the end of this Summer we can get Miss 'Lyza Jane

out of this life jacket and starting to doggie paddle!

Hayden is swimming already but should be even stronger by summers end~

his favorite thing to do is snorkel and dive under water to retrieve things!

If anyone is wondering what are plans are this summer you can bet

it includes grilling out and swimming in the pool most of the season!

Feel free to stop by and take a dip anytime!

Heres to the start of a

GREAT SUMMER

FULL OF FUN MEMORIES!

Somer Jane

Books to Check Out at your Local Library~

I like to post neat books that we have found at the local library every now and then.

We have 3 cute and worth-mentioning ones

here for your reading pleaure below:

'Wheres the Dragon' is a cool book (especially for boys) that has raised pages

that you can feel marking the dragons hidden in the pages.

Its really neat that along with the story you can search

for all the hidden dragonsin the illustrations of the book.

(there are alot hidden too)

We all enjoyed reading this book by Jason Hook very much.

This book about Farmer Joe and the Music Show was note-worthy

because of the colorful pictures and cute storyline.

My kids love books about farms and animals, so they liked this

book by Tony Mitton.

This book I was interested in checking out myself since it was written by

the Dutchess herself, Sarah Ferguson.

It was along the same lines as the Fancy Nancy book series

so if your little girl likes those books she will like this story as well.

It made me want to throw a tea party for my little princess

by the end of the story. ;-)

Summer is here~

time for checking out a few good books!

Somer Jane

The Many Faces of 'Lyza Jane~

This is what happens when your princess gets a hold of your camera

and decides to hold her own personal photo shoot.

hee hee

I found these on my camera one day and didnt even know she

had taken the camera...they made me laugh!

I love the little things my kids do to make me smile and most of the time

they dont even know that its funny, priceless.

Love you Princess EJ!

Somer Jane

2nd Annual Strawberry Farm Pickin' Day~

This is our 2nd year to go out to H & S Farms to pick some fresh

STRAWBERRIES on Mothers Day weekend!!!

(I'm hoping to make it a family tradition if I can)

If you have never picked fresh strawberries right off the vine then

you have never tasted a TRUE strawberry!

Of course my baby-girl above taste tests up and down the strawberry fields!

;-)
Hayden, my boy, is a great little strawberry picker and does a great job
finding the perfect strawberrys!
(he tends to like the smaller ones though, opposed to
his momma who likes the BIG ones! hee)

'Lyza doesnt put much in the actual basket to take home,
she does have the red evidence all over her face when we leave
the fields showing what she ate though! ;-)

DON'T THEY LOOK YUMMY!!!

Our basket is filled to the brim, time to go home and
make some strawberry pies!!

Before we leave they had to say Bye to the cows...

I dont think they eat strawberries guys!

Showing off his sticker that says:

I PICKED STRAWBERRIES!

Resting on the swing with grandma, My-Hope,

after a hard day pickin' berries!

My Babies and Me~

(I love you two crazy strawberry-lovin kiddos!)

Hayden the Strawberry~

'Lyza the Strawberry

Till next year...thanks for the strawberry fun

and family pickin' time~ H & S Strawberry Farm!!

We'll be back soon.

Somer Jane

Strawberry Pie & Berry-Delicious Strawberry-Daiquiri Cake Recipes~

Every year I get my craving for some red, Juicy~ STRAWBERRIES!!

Well, luckily we live about 20 miles away from a Strawberry Farm~

and every May they open for "Pick-Your-Own" strawberries at their farm!

We absolutely love going to the strawberry farm!

Here are two of my favorite recipes I like to use with our freshly

picked strawberries from the farm below.

They both are yummy and BERRY-DELICIOUS!!

Somer's Strawberry Pie

1 medium size bowl of washed, de-capped & halved strawberries

(bigger strawberries the better!!)

1 package of strawberry glaze

1 tub of cool whip

1 pie crust ( I prefer graham cracker crust)

To Make:

After you have washed and halved your fresh strawberries, let them sit a minute

in a colander or on a paper towel before adding to a big bowl.

In a big mixing bowl, mix the bag of strawberry glaze in with your

strawberries. Folding over gently to get all the strawberries saturated

with the red glaze. When mixed well, fill your pie crust with the

strawberry glaze mixture, spreading just to the edge of the pie crust.

Chill in fridge until ready to be served.

Top with as much cool whip as you can stand just before serving.

Enjoy this juicy-sweet PIE!

My 2nd recipe is Strawberry-Daiquiri Cake.

I actually got this recipe from a lady I worked with a few years back during the summers I worked for the city swimming pools.

Its popular and the best Spring/Summer recipe to take to cook-outs!

(I took this one to a Mothers Day Cookout this past weekend!)

My Handsome son who likes to cook and make things in the kitchen

supervised the mixing part of the cake today...

of course I think he really was waiting for the best part of

licking the mixer utensils after the cake was mixed to be honest! ;-)

Berry-Delicious Strawberry-Daiquiri Cake
I tried to remind myself to take a picture of the cake when I was done
but forgot and everyone started digging in before I finally got the camera
ready to take the cakes close-up! ha ha ;-)
It was really good though, I must say!!!


Berry Delicious Strawberry-Daiquiri Cake

Ingredients:
1 strawberry cake mix
1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
1 can frozen daiquiri mix (thawed)
1 (8 oz) container cool whip thawed
fresh strawberries

Directions:
Bake strawberry cake according to the directions on the box. Then after it comes out of oven while still warm make holes in the cake and pour condensed milk over cake. Then pour daiquiri mix over that. It will take a while for the liquid to soak into the cake. Let in cool in refrigerator for 45 minutes or so and then cover with coolwhip and then top with halved strawberries. Refrigerate.

It is very moist and berry-yummy!
You will love it I promise.
My next recipe I hope to post on here is a
Strawberry COBBLER!!
Mmmmm
But, first I need to go out and get some more berrys!
;-)


Enjoy~
Somer Jane