Happy May Day!

I can't believe that in just three short weeks I'll be home for my brother's wedding and Whitney's wedding reception. My week at home is packed full of seeing friends, spending time with my family, visiting one of my oldest friends, Justin, in Houston (I'm missing his wedding because it's the same day as Whitney's reception), and hopefully relaxing a bit...I can't wait!!!!

This week I've been busy making Whitney's wedding present (I'll post pics later - can't spoil the surprise), making a treat for Paige's new baby Kylie (pics later), and finishing the Rehearsal Dinner invitations. They turned out pretty cute - I had to modify them a bit after the first one proved to be too bulky for the mail. I had a knot in the pink ribbon and the & sign placed at the bottom at first. Then, I changed them to this....






What do you think??

Have a great weekend! I think we're going to visit Leavenworth, WA (it's about an hour away). They're having a Recycled Art Show there this weekend - everything is made from junk. It's supposed to be pretty cool, and the town is this cute little Bavarian town with wineries (yum!) and cute shops!!

I'm slightly obsessed...

...with pretty peacock feathers!! I've also been rather obsessed with Etsy ever since I got a really funky scarf from my friend Whitney that she found on Etsy. Today I was looking for something fun to wear in my hair to jazz up my plain blue dress for Leann's bridal luncheon. Whatcha think??

It's from an Austin artist, which made it even cooler - love supporting those Texans!! :)

Spring is in bloom

Sorry for the delay in posting, but the sun is out, and I'm loving the opportunity to spend my afternoons outside!! We had our Girl Scout meeting (with my volunteer troop) two weeks ago, and one of our Junior Girl Scouts brought in her pet bunny as part of the Pet Care badge. The girls LOVED it!! Easter weekend was pretty low-key and rainy, so we just hung out at home. This week was Marcy's birthday. I took the day off of work, and we went out to lunch at this quirky little midwest restaurant. We also explored the Ballard Locks, enjoyed massages, explored a cool Winery, went to the beach for the sunset, and ate dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a really nice, relaxing day!!

It's Standardized Testing time in Washington, so Girl Scouts is cancelled for the next couple of weeks. It's nice for me, because now I get a chance to catch up on paperwork, planning lessons for the end of the year, and take advantage of working from home (my favorite!!).

I'm in the middle of several craft projects - I was inspired by my friend, Paige, and her CUTE nursery, so I'm creating something for baby Kylie!! I think it is going to turn out super cute, and I can't wait to finish it. I'm also knee deep in supplies for my brother's rehearsal dinner, working on the invitations, and working on favors for the bridal lunch we're having for his fiancee. I can't believe their wedding is only 5 weeks away!!!

I hope everything is going well in your corner of the world. I am planning on getting out this weekend to take pictures of all the cherry blossoms in bloom here. I'll post those soon - they are spectacular!

Seattle in bloom - tulips are everywhere!! Reminds me of the Tech campus.


The Kaper Chart at our troop meeting - Each troop task is written on a branch, and the girls names are on the leaves. Definitely one of my favorite creations. You know me, I can't do anything ordinary :)


Lindsey with her mom and their bunny, Pear, at our troop meeting.


Easter decorations - I love these little bags!


Our Easter Tree - the ornaments are felt - I've been collecting them over the years, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out this year. We just used a branch we found outside, and it worked great!


Marcy opening the birthday present she got in the mail from my brother.


It was GUITAR HERO, so the classic rocker face was definitely necessary!! Hopefully we won't get complaints from our neighbors like Bryan and Leann have for rocking too hard....we'll see

Hike to Wallace Falls

Spring Break finished with a spectacular weekend - gorgeous sunny weather with highs in the 60s. It was the first day with weather that good in 188 days!! I couldn't believe that when I heard it on the news. We took our troop (the one I volunteer with) on a hike on Saturday to Wallace Falls. It was a great trip, and the girls really had fun on our first outdoor excursion as a troop (we did, too!)

Wallace Falls


It was a Girl Scout field trip, so of course we had a craft - lanyards, what else!?!?


Billy got to come along, and he had a blast (he's still tired!!)


Marcy asked each of the girls to find a rock, and then explained what type of rock it was - Girl Scouts, remember...everything is done with intentionality...(and hopefully earning a badge or two...)

Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break for Seattle Public Schools, and that meant a couple of days of rest for me, and then two full-day field trips with my 4th and 5th grade troops. The 5th graders voted to go rock climbing with the money they earned during cookie sales. We rode the city bus to the indoor rock climbing gym, enjoyed a sandwich lunch (also their choice - as long as I brought hot Cheetos - they are obsessed!!), climbed for a couple hours, and then rode the bus back to the school. Everything about the day was great - except the freezing rain....ahhhh!!! The next day I woke up to see snow falling (are you kidding me with this???) as I prepared to take the 4th graders to the Space Needle. None of the 4th graders had ever been to the top of the Space Needle, so it was quite a thrill for them. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the top (complete with more hot Cheetos!!) and the girls did a scavenger hunt finding out facts about Seattle. The next stop was the Seattle Center, which was turned into a giant bounce house. The girls had a blast.

One of the 5h graders making her way to the top of the rock wall


5th grade girls after an afternoon of climbing


4th graders at the top of the Space Needle


Our spectacular (ha) view from the top. It was so foggy and cloudy that day that we couldn't see beyond the city limits. Big bummer!! (See the Pepsi sign? Below it and to the left there's a brown building - that's the Girl Scout office!!)

A Day at the Coast

Our good friends, Jenny and Annie, whom we met at Camp Togowoods, came to visit us for 5 days!! We had a blast showing them around Seattle - we visited the locks, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, hiked the Cascades, and ate delicious food! For our final day, we decided to be ambitious and drive all the way to the Pacific coast. We woke early, enjoyed Top Pot doughnuts (yum!!), and then caught the ferry to the Peninsula. It was a beautiful day to spend traveling through the Olympic Peninsula. We made it to the coast after a couple short hikes and it was totally worth the drive. Marcy and I can't wait to go back again this summer for a longer trip - maybe backpacking along the beach!!

Thanks for coming, Jenny and Annie! We had a blast!!

Our view of the Olympic Mountains from the ferry...


On the ferry.


My standard National Park entrance picture...


Cresent Lake - an awesome glacial lake that is really deep and rocky with very little plant life.


Jenny and Annie at Marymere Falls


Marymere Falls - quite small now, but once the snow melts, I'm sure it will be a raging waterfall!


Ahhh, the Pacific Ocean. We were there during high tide - 12 foot waves!!


Hanging out on some driftwood during high tide...

Update

Well, I said I'd be back when the last case of Samoas left the condo, and that day was today!!! We finally have our craft room back - yay! And that means it's time to start making invitations for my brother's and Leann's rehearsal dinner.

Cookie Booth Sales were exhausting, but really successful and fun!! The troop I volunteer with ended up selling over 2000 boxes of cookies! My work troops each sold around 250 boxes of cookies. It was really cold most of the weekends, but some of the stores let us set up inside which was great!!



My 6th grade girls are entering a "Operation Cookie Drop Box Contest." Each troop had a drop box at their booth sale where customers could donate boxes of cookies to soldiers. Troops could enter their drop box into a contest. The winning troop gets a tour of a local news station and a pizza party. The girls designed a drop box like the one dropped from planes to the troops. It would be so fun if they win!! This weekend we deliver our donated cookies to the council, and apparently it's supposed to be a big production. Last year donations filled two semi-trucks! I can't believe it!! Should be cool.



I'm taking Friday off, and I'm really excited - it'll be my first day off in 28 days! I think Marcy and I are going to go skiing. Next week, our two best friends from Camp Togowoods (where we worked in Alaska) are coming to visit for 5 days!! We've got a lot of fun stuff planned, and we're looking forward to spending time with them.