"Grandpa" Pictures for Father's Day

It's always hard to find something for a father that hold meaning isn't just another tie or mug to be tucked away. So when I ran across this idea on Tip Junkie I knew that I had to do it!!
I took 7 different pictures of the kids, each time holding a different letter that spelled out the word "Grandpa". I then had them printed and put them in frames for my dad and my grandpa. They were a hit (who wouldn't love pictures of their grandkids!!). I'm lame though, and forgot to get a picture of them before I gave them away. But here are the pictures I used to make them.

Last Day of School 2009

The last day of school is always bittersweet. It means saying goodbye to friends that you've spent all year with and will probably not see during the summer, yet hello to summertime activities like sleeping in, going camping, and swimming all day long.
I managed to catch the kids on the last day of school. They have grown and learned so much over the past year. Hunter has completed his speech therapy and finished kindergarten. Shianne has completed 3rd grade and finished her first year in the Starz Performing company.
I am so proud of both of them. It's so hard to believe how fast they grow. There are days I still feel 23 years old, but then I look at my beautiful daughter and handsome son, and realize that I am aging too. I just hope I'm doing it as gracefully as they are!!

Go Blue Bombers!!

Last week Hunter had his first tee ball game of the season (and of his life!). He was super excited. Of course, they're a bunch of 5-6 year olds, so their knowledge of baseball rules are minimal to none for some. So it was quite the adventure.

The coach has them all bring their bucket, which is their "bench". It's a great idea. He sets them all upside-down in batting order, and the know exactly where they need to be sitting, etc. Word to the not-so-wise though.... do NOT write your child's name in permanent marker on the bottom/seat of the bucket - it WILL rub off on the behind of their white baseball pants!! (we learned the hard way....)

My first try at Cake Pops....

So I've been seeing these "cake pops" everywhere on the internet, and thought they were SOOOO CUTE!! With Hunter's birthday coming up I decided to give them a try. His class is having a Summer Birthday party at school on monday, and my plan was to make cake pops to take for his class.

The first step was to bake a cake. Hunter picked out chocolate.



After the cake had cooled, we crumbled it, mixed it with cream cheese frosting, and rolled it into balls and stuck lollipop sticks in them.




After they set up for a bit, it was time to start dunking and decorating....





It took a while to get the hang of it, and they can be a little time consuming, but in the end they were cute.....




...and tasted GREAT!!!




Check out Bakerella - she is the originater and master creater!!

Summer Fun!

It has been a beautiful weekend - warm, sunny, and nothing going on!
Shianne took some time to rest in the pool....




Hunter spent most of his time flying his new remote-control helicopter. He bought with money from Grandpa Collier for his birthday.



One of neighbors had their grand-daughter at their house, who happens to be the same age as Shianne. So they had a great time playing in the pool and with water balloons.


These are what they called "woman boobs".... lol...



It's been a perfect weekend!!

Banana Bread

My family loves to eat bananas, but no matter how many or how few I buy, there always seem to be few left over. I'm beginning to think they do it purpose because they know I won't throw them away - instead, I make banana bread.
This isn't any old banana bread though. It's my great-grandma's recipe. So needless to say I'm not about to give it away. I will however share a few pictures of the process....

KAR Competition

On Memorial Day weekend the Starz Performing Company took part in their final competition of the year. The girls had a great time, and did an awesome job. Our Shooters were down one girl (she's been out with a broken toe), but we still managed to walk away with trophies galore. Nice job girls!!!

"Let 'er Rip" (tap):
Elite Top 1st Place
High Score Overall
KAR Kid New York Workshop Invitation
Cutest Cowgirls
Best Costume



"Soul Army" (hip-hop):
Top 1st Place

"Crazy in the Classroom" (production):
Top 1st Place
High Score Overall

The Great American Sport

Sunday we went and watched our 11-year-old nephew play in his baseball tournament. It was perfect weather: not too hot, a few high clouds, a few drops of rain, a slight breeze and plenty of sun.
They won their first game of the day, which meant they were headed to the championship game and gaurenteed 2nd place. The championship game didn't go too well, and.... they ended up taking 2nd place. We are so very proud of all the boys and really enjoy watching them play.

Warming up:


Getting their t-shirts:


Team Photo with trophy:

Jumpin' Summertime Fun

The weather is telling us that summer is here, and last weekend was perfect: hot, Hot, HOT!! By Sunday we were trying to find a way to cool down and still enjoy the outdoors, so we placed a sprinkler on the trampoline and had a jumpin' good time. At one point all 4 of us were on there! It cooled us down quite a bit, but trampolines are hard work - we were all exhuasted afterwards!! Here are some fun pics of Brian and Shianne on there....

More singing...

Here are some pictures from Hunter's kindergarten concert, and another video of them singing. They grow up so fast!! He was so nervous at first! It didn't take him too long to get warmed up though. He was soon his goofy self (I think he was tired of me taking his picture!!). And had a blast!!