Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and Happy 4th of July! We started with the parade. It's a tradition that we join our close friends to watch the parade every year. This year we also had our new neighbors join us for the fun. There was the color guard at the beginning -

Then the horses!

The kids get tons of candy thrown by each float. (Even Michel was collecting some candy!)

And there is always the fun of watching Michel and Jeff pick on each other!

Love spending the 4th with my friends!

Hope your holiday was just as fun!

3 Fish!!

Happy 3rd of July! Today we went to the Harrisburg 4th of July Parade. We had a wonderful time. It's always a great parade. The kids came away with lots of candy and goodies. More pics to follow.

As soon as the parade was over we hit the road and came to Wendy's house at the New River. Almost right away the boys wanted to go fishing. David took them down to the river and had to remind them how to use their rods.

Then they headed out into the river. It was a little deeper in some places so David had to carry Gabe.

But Gabe caught 3 fish! And he was the only one to catch anything. The first one got away and they released the other two. He was so excited!

Drew is getting pretty good at casting. Tomorrow, David is taking him to Pembroke where they will take a guided fishing trip on the New River. He's so excited. He should catch lots of fish then.

The Tooth Fairy goes on vacation!

Gabe had another loose tooth. Now, this is cause for major trauma and drama in our house. He won't play with it or wiggle it or anything. He's too afraid it will hurt and bleed. Especially the bleeding part. Major trauma! Now, it's not that he's afraid of blood or can't stand the sight of it. He loves to see anyone else's blood. Just not his own.

So we were about to go to the beach for the week. I did NOT want to spend my vacation suffering through his loose tooth. He'll let it go on until it falls out of his mouth completely on it's own. And in the mean time, he won't talk correctly or eat or anything. NOT - repeat - NOT spending my vacation that way!

It just so happened that I had a follow up dentist appointment on the Friday before we left. So I made Gabe go with me and the dentist pulled out the loose tooth. It was so ready. He fought her but she persevered and out came the tooth. I fought with him for 45 minutes two nights before but no luck.

Yay! Tooth is out and we can enjoy our trip! Saturday comes and we drive 4 hours to the beach. We are there all of an hour and Gabe starts complaining about another loose tooth. I told him it's no big deal, don't worry about it. Ten minutes later he's about to freak out because it's so loose. I looked closer this time and sure enough, it's ready to come out. Great. I tried so hard not to have this worry during my vacation! So I march him to his room and tell him that we are not leaving his room until that tooth is out! He wanted to go back to the dentist. What?! The dentist is 4 hours away! Think again, Little Man!

About 15 minutes later that tooth was out! YAY!! He didn't like it but I got him to sit still long enough and out it came. The tooth fairy managed to find him at the beach and leave him $1. He was very happy. So was I! And now he is even cuter than ever. Let me introduce you to Snaggle-Tooth!

He says this is his scary face:

I don't care what he says, he's a cutie-patootie!

Teacher gifts

This year I almost forgot Teacher Gifts! So the day before the boys had their class parties, I made 3 altered books with matching cards. These are so simple to make but so much fun. Here is a picture of the one I made for Gabe's teacher. I think this paper is from an old MME paper pad.

Schooooools out for Summer!

Well, it's official. I have a 6th grader. YIKES! I have a SIXTH GRADER! I can't believe it. But it's true. Drew graduated 5th grade today. There was a ceremony this morning with a guest speaker, diplomas, awards and lots of tears. He was so excited to graduate and he's already nervous about starting middle school. I've told him we have lots planned this summer so it's too early to even start thinking about school starting back. Actually, I think I'm the one who isn't ready to think about it. But I know he will do well. He's a good, smart child and he will be just fine.

I'll just keep telling my self that.

Here is Drew with Mrs. Gouveia (left) and Mrs. Reid (right). Mrs. G. left a few months ago on maternity leave and Mrs. R. has been filling in. It was so nice to see Mrs. G. again!

Here is Drew and his best buddy Cole during the 5th grade "walk thru". This is a very special tradition. Kindergarten thru 4th grade lines the school hallways and cheers and claps as all the 5th grade classes walk thru the school to the graduation ceremony held in the gym. It was so special. I was standing in the front hallway as they made their way toward us. There was a group of teacher and parents and administrators standing around me in tears!  And here are Drew and Cole as they entered the gym. It looks like they are ready to party!!

 
 
 
 
 
 

And of course we can't forget Gabe! He's a rising 2nd grader! Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Rodgers. She was wonderful! Gabe received an award for Most Logical Thinker!

Schools almost out!

And the boys are super excited! They are having all kinds of fun activities at school, like Field Day and Fun in the Sun Day. The 5th grade is even taking a trip to the skating rink for the day on Monday. That should be fun. Also wrapping up the school year was the Drama Clubs performance of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Drew was Huey Kazooie, part of the orchestra.

Then, on May 25th I had a birthday. Let's just say I turned 29 - again! (wink, wink!) We had a small party at my sister's house with wonderful food, family and my best friend. She made me the cutest gift - an "Everything 40" gift basket!

There was $40, 40 ounces of chocolate, 40 reasons to NOT start my diet, 40 brads for scrapbooking and a cute little treasure chest of 40 hopes, dreams and wishes. It was perfect! We all had a wonderful night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome back!

Hi!! I'm glad you found me here! I have had 2 blogs for a while and have been thinking of consolidating them in to one brand-spankin' new one. So here it is! I named it "This Busy Girl" because, well I am one heck of a busy girl! The boys are about to get out of school and our summer is already all planned out! Yikes! And with them being home all day, every day, with me, every hour, all. summer. long. I'm going to have even LESS time to get things done!

So, here is where you can come by and see what we have been up to - both family adventures and my own personal adventures in papercrafting. And please, bear with me as this blog is an ever-changing work-in-progress.

Enjoy!