Dance Recital

this past year both girls took a dance class.  

morgan hadn't taken a dance class since she was 5 but over last summer she had taken a hip hop class with some girls from her gym.  she loved it and wanted to continue it through this past school year. 

morgan enjoyed the class but decided her career is dance is officially over. she definitely feels more comfortable on a 4 inch balance beam than a stage.

this was mauryn's first dance class.  after a bit of a rocky start {this is a child who does not deal with new things very well}, she loved every minute of it. she was constantly dancing around the house, in the store, and pretty much anywhere she went throughout the day.  

the girls had their dance recital the day after we returned from maycation.  

probably not the best planning on our part. it was fine for morgan but after a full week of vacation, a morning dress rehearsal, and a recital that fell during naptime mauryn was beat by performance time.  she did fantastic during the dress rehearsal in the morning but by performance time her fingers were in her mouth and her little body was just dragging. i was just happy she got on stage and danced sans fingers in her mouth.

just a few pictures of the girls at their recital.  

morgan in her performance

morgan dancing with her classmates

miss mauryn in her performance. she made HUGE progress in wanting to even get on stage to perform. it took a few months of prep work before her christmas recital to get her to go on stage so by the time the spring recital came she was ready to get on stage.  i think dance was such a great confidence booster {not that she needed much help in that area} and a way for her to get over her anxiety about trying something new.

her very favorite part... getting to jump and bounce around

mauryn with her teacher the sweet miss jana

Maycation

i am just now getting around to writing about our trip to california in MAY.

i did get pictures edited and uploaded onto my blog in JUNE.

it has taken me until the end of JULY to actually get the post written.

looking back i guess this is par for the course with my maycation posts over the last two years.

summer comes and my brain takes a vacation too.

our maycation was a bit different this year:

 - lance took a week off and joined us on our trip this year

- we spent the first part of maycation in san francisco

- it was FREEZING cold

as we were planning maycation and realized we couldn't meet up in bass lake until the monday of memorial day weekend, we decided to take a few days and explore a new city.

we totally feel in LOVE with san francisco.  

we enjoyed a tour of the city where we visited pier 39, fisherman's wharf, ghiardelli chocolate, the golden gate bridge, the painted ladies {from opening scene of full house which my kids watched in the car on our way to ca}, and many other fun sights.  we explored the shops, rode BART {which goes under the water... the kids thought that was great}, and took in a baseball game.  we can't wait to go back!

on our way to bass lake we met up with the jones' and the cheney's for lunch in the park.

lance hadn't seen his cousin sean {lindsey's husband} in 7 years.  we spent a few hours with the cousins catching up.

after lunch we headed down to bass lake to spend the rest of our week.  

we spent the week kayaking, 

learning about balance,

eating cookies {i am not allowed to show up without cookie making supplies ;o0 },

trying s'mores egg rolls {yummy!},

making new friends and making silly faces,

playing in the lake,

sunbathing and catching up with friends,

playing in the sand,

enjoying the view,

resting in the presence of a friend who really knows me and loves me,

going on a boat ride, 

stopping by millers for a fudge bucket, 

seeing how many gumballs you can fit in your mouth, 

getting a picture of michael landon {fans of little house anyone??},

fitting as many kids as we can on a couch for movie night, 

enjoying the quiet in the car from wiped out children,

and of course a stop at in and out burger {love}.

i am so thankful for this week each year.

it is a time to refresh and renew, not only our spirits but our friendships.

i am thankful for this friendship {made through blogging} where we can share and delight in each others lives and families.  

it is truly a gift.

Book Shelves and School Room Changes

last winter on a whim i moved our school room from our kitchen table to our office.

it worked well for most of last spring but i knew i wanted to make some changes before school started this year.

one of the changes i wanted to make was adding some book shelves.  when i saw this idea for using ikea spice racks as book shelves i knew this would be perfect.

since we don't have an ikea close by and i didn't want to pay shipping i begged pleaded bribed asked lance's sister if she would make a pit stop at ikea and bring me a few spice racks.

i started with a few ikea spice racks,

some colorful paint from home depot {i love the little sample size containers},

and had three new book shelves.

since the spice racks are such an inexpensive book shelf, i had lance's sister bring me a few extra to paint for the kids' bedrooms.  i am always finding books laying on their floor or under their beds from reading at bedtime.  lance mounted the spice racks next to their beds and they are now the perfect spot for their bedtime reading books.

i made a few other changes to our school room.  

we added two white boards and a bulletin board that the kids can use for their school work or i can use for instruction.  

i changed workboxes for landon and mauryn.  i am so excited to use the new system once we get our school year underway.  i think it will be perfect for my needshelptofocus son.

i am loving the color of the bookshelves that match the color of our workboxes.  it will be nice to have school in a room filled with bright colors and that is more organized.

Insta Joys

i had great intentions of posting my pictures last week.

then summer fun got in the way {again} and here we are a week later with a post filled with pictures of the joys and happenings in our life over the past weeks.

 mauryn has decided to have an ice cream theme for her birthday party.

which is in november.

 i am so thankful i have a child who is a planner.
this is proof she is my child even though she looks like her father.

we are picking up all manner of ice cream related things for her fall birthday party at discounted prices.

 an ulta opened close to our house.

the girls and i stopped in there one evening and it happened to be their grand opening.

we picked up a rainbow of nail polish colors for $10.

we came home and had an at home mani/pedi party.

 we love spending hot days at the water park.

my two little ones love to sun bathe after spending time in the pool.

 this little lady loves to paint.

she loves rocks.

i let her paint her rocks.

she thought it was the best day ever.

 this is my yoga partner.

she might be way more flexible and coordinated than her mother.

my mom sent her the dress she is wearing.

 she would wear it every single day if i didn't it hide it  so she could give her other clothes a chance.

 landon thought painting rocks looked like fund so he joined in on the fun

 my friend jeni gave me a gift card to a new yogurt place for my birthday

the kids and i had yogurt for lunch

i love summer where having yogurt for lunch is perfectly acceptable

 target dollar section you stole my heart again

colored beads + yarn = an hour of entertainment for my little people

 more sprinkler fun

this has been worth all $15 worth of materials and then some

best idea EVER

 post nap snuggles with my baby

priceless

 we spent an afternoon making homemade sidewalk chalk

 upside down goggles

ariel in her hand

this is how my girl rolls

 giant hawiian ice at the water park

yes please

strawberry and pineapple is my favorite combo right now

 hello lovely jo totes camera bag

i am in love with purple right now

the biggest surprise when i got my camera bag... i was looking over my receipt and it was shipped from right here in my town. how did i not know this??

 i received the best gift EVER

an entire 6 hours in my house by myself

glorious!

 more water park fun

this little lady is getting so brave... no hands!

 prepping for a milk and cookies baby shower

 morgan was at gymnastics camp

landon was at warrior camp 2011

mauryn and i had a lunch date

 our homemade chalk was finally dry

mauryn could hardly wait to test it out

it worked perfect

 my sidewalk and driveway are proof of that fact

 we spent last saturday night downtown boise with the kids

outdoor eating and kid friendly

thanks five guys!

 after dinner we met up with our neighbors to watch the twilight criterium bike race

the kids loved cheering on the bikers, clicking their little clickers {which conveniently have been lost}, and the glow sticks

 it didn't take landon long to do one of his favorite things... climbing a tree

it was the perfect spot to watch the race

 the mister just relaxing in the car

 landon finally got brave enough to try the drop off slide

he loved it!

 kid book shelves finally finished and installed

yes!

 round one on cookies for the baby shower

i had a hard time keeping my little fingers off of these babies

 school room is almost ready

which means summer is almost over

boo!

 the mister all cowboyed up for the rodeo

i am pretty sure he is one of the cutest cowboys i have ever seen

 all ready for the milk and cookies shower

 another new yogurt place opened near our house

we had a groupon so that gave us an excuse on a random night to visit with our wonderful friends/neighbors

it was super yummy!

 we had a beach day yesterday

it was perfect

sun was shining, slight breeze, and happy kids

i had no idea this beach was even in our area

after six years of living here this was a find!!

 mauryn's favorite friend, yellowstone the buffalo

she decided yellowstone needed a little makeover

nothing like a buffalo with a flower in her hair

whoever introduced me to pinterest is in trouble!

i haven't even it made it to the website yet

i've just been browsing on my phone when i get a spare second

i am in love with this site

so much creativity, so many beautiful things, so inspiring

how was your week??


i am linking up again with jeannett this week.