Learning to Sew

I have been wanting to learn to sew for quite some time.  A friend gave me a sewing machine a LONG time ago that has sat in my attic for years.  Finally, a sweet friend at church is giving me lessons.  My first project was a dress to send to Nicaragua with one of our mission teams.  I was soooo excited.  I think it turned out well.  Here is a picture of Ella modeling it :)

 

I got so excited I found a self-tutorial on a drawstring bag and made this:

 

Now I've bought some fabric to try and make a totebag.....so fun :)

VBS 2013: AIG Kingdom Chronicles

Just wanted to share a few pix from VBS this year.  We always use Answers in Genesis curriculum and it is absolutely amazing.  It unashamedly presents the gospel and makes it so easy for the kids to understand.  The focus this year was putting on the full armor of God.  The lessons are so good.  I especially loved the one this time where they likened watching something on TV with just a little bad stuff to eating a brownie with just a little dog poop in it.  And of course we told the story while the kids were enjoying some brownies :)  Here are the pictures....

Main Stage

Suit of Armor

Ella at craft time

Leah at music time

Girls singing on stage one morning.  (I have a new camera and haven't quite figured out the action shots yet so it's blurry)

Summer Wreath

This is a wreath I made for this summer.  I started it last year and tried the trick I saw on Pinterest where you use a pool noodle for the foam part of the wreath.  Disaster.  The yarn and letter were too heavy and it just couldn't hold it's shape.  So after hours of wrapping yarn, I was aggravated and just put it in the closet.  I pulled it out a few months ago and unwrapped all of the yarn.  Then I did what I should have done at first, and bought a styrofoam wreath from Hobby Lobby.  I spent forever wrapping yarn but was so much happier this time because it was strong and looked so much better.  I painted the wooden letter and attached a cute butterfly. 

Swimming Lessons

At the beginning of June, we signed the girls up for swimming lessons at the YMCA.  Ella was already a pretty good swimmer but could improve, but Leah was totally attached to her floaties.  The YMCA uses swim belts to help kids learn rather than swimmies and we saw great improvement right from the start.  We even came home and ordered Leah a swim belt.  By the end of the two weeks, though, we realized it was a waste of money.  She swims like a fish now.  They both jump off diving boards and swim in the deep end with ease.

 

Leah's Kindergarten Graduation Celebration

I can't believe my little baby graduated from Kindergarten.  We had a small celebration with just a few family and friends.  I made homemade pizzas, cake and gave her a diploma.  I also made this cute banner that I couldn't seem to get a good picture of.  She is obsessed with dolphins so her gift was a Barbie dolphin trainer :)  Didn't get a picture of that either :(  The important thing is that she had a great time and we celebrated her accomplishment!!

Last Day of School

We made the last day of school this year a FUN DAY!!  We started the day with a few Minute to Win It games.  Then, we went to the park and finished our day with ice cream.  FUN!  Here are a few pix of the day......

Minute to Win It Games

We played several games and the girls had fun with this.   I had fun laughing at them attempt these silly games.

In the first game, they had to blow a cup from one side of the table off of the other end using just a straw. 

 The second game, they had to try an pick up 5 ziti noodles with a spaghetti noodle in their mouths....NO HANDS!  That is harder than you think :-)

 The next game, they had to move as many M & M's as they could from one plate to the next using just a straw.

 The fourth game, they had to put a dab of Vaseline on their noses, and move 5 cotton balls from one plate to the next, again, using NO HANDS!

 The last game, they started with an Oreo between their eyes and had to try and get it into their mouths using just the movement of their faces.  This, too, is harder than you think!

The Park

We went to the Millbrook park.  It is nice and shady on a hot day and has a fun creek for them to play in.

 

Ice Cream

Our last stop was ice cream from Bruster's.  They had a great last day of school!!

Reveal Cake

This is a gender reveal cake that I did for some church members of ours.  The cake batter was dyed BLUE :)  This is how they chose to reveal the gender to their parents.  Cute, huh?  Hopefully, I will figure out how to get the picture she texted me off my phone and put it on here to show you the actual reveal.