Canvas and Cocktails

My friends and I decided that we shouldn't let our artistic talents be wasted in private, so we decided to participate in a Canvas and Cocktail event. We had a yummy dinner at the Cherry Cricket, and headed over to the Canvas and Cocktails store (store? event?). Luckily we got there really early, and were able to score a table to ourselves in the back. Otherwise you have to sit in a row of people and it seemed a bit claustrophobic. I can't be that close to people and expect no injuries.
The directions clearly stated that we need a couple of drops of each paint color, though the teacher was not aware of my ability to spill paint, so I decided 5-10 drops would be more sufficient.
Case in point, my brand new sketchers are now my old paint filled crappy shoes.
ANYWAY....
We had cocktails. We had spilled paint. We had FUN :) It is a great event, and I highly recommend it. You don't need to be great at painting, the teacher is really good at helping you learn, and you can tweak your painting to your own preference.
My masterpiece is currently hanging in the basement with pride. The unfinished part of the basement we never go into. :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Adam had Kindergarten Continuation last week. I can't believe he will be a 1st grader next year. He has grown so much this year. He lost his first tooth, rode a bike with out training wheels, learned how to write full sentences along with learning how to read, spell, solve math problems, and so much more. I am often surprised at how grown up he seems, with his thoughts, and actions. He is such an amazing kid, smart and so thoughtful. He is also very talented at art. I am amazed at how well he can draw, and when we do crafts, or build something, he puts so much thought and detail into it. We are so proud of you buddy and know you will love 1st grade just as much as you did Kindergarten!

Here is a little digital scrapbook I put together of Adam's year at school. If a pop up shows up, x out of it. It takes a second for the scrapbook to load, be patient. You can click on each picture to make it bigger.



And more pictures from graduation

Hallie Turns 4!

Hard to believe she is already 4. I have no idea where the time went, because I feel like we were just getting ready for her 2nd birthday. We had a fun day planned with our friends and their kids, and planned a Circus Theme Birthday, with a hot dog cart, balloon animal guy, and fun games!
Thanks to our awesome friend Christine for making the cute cake and cupcakes! We managed to avoid the rain, and everyone had a great time.
Thank you all for coming, and making it a special day for Hallie!




Here are more pictures of the big day!

Roses are Red

How can you resist a man who brings you home beautiful flowers when you have had a bad day, not only flowers, but a gift card too! I am spoiled and I love it, and him. :)

Jo Koy

Jo Koy is probably one of the funniest comedian's I have ever seen. He is on Chelsea Handler often, and has a huge following. If you haven't seen him live, try to do so, you won't regret it. Unless you have zero sense of humor, then save your money. Seriously, we were all laughing so hard we were crying, most of the show.
We went to dinner at the restaurant at the top of the comedy club, which was great, because then you get to sit closer to the stage, and we had excellent seats. 5th row, right in the middle.
We got to meet Jo Koy after the show, and he autographed t-shirts, and we got a picture with him.

Thirty-Six.

Well, finally, Matt is the same age as me again. He does like to point out whenever I get carded, that I am older than him. But now he caught up with me and has to wait 6 more months to point that out again. :)
We went to Benihana for his birthday, as it is one of our and the kids favorite places to eat. Benihana tip: If you sign up for the Chefs Table (free) you get a $30.00 gift card to use the month of your birthday. And kids 12 and under who sign up, get a really cool Benihana mug on their birthday. and they are all different designs and the kids love them. Adam has a plan to collect all of them.

And then there is the cake. Ohhhhh the cake. My parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and our friends came over Saturday night for dinner for Matty's birthday, so I ordered a cake. Not just any cake. a BATMAN cake. Why Batman? Because they were out of golf. So, logically, Batman is the next choice. And it was a cool cake. So I order the cake and agree to come pick it up Saturday morning. Saturday morning arrives and I go to pick up the cake. I walk into the grocery store and I notice that there is plastic covering everything. I walked back to the bakery and told them my name, and they said... "oh... well, our power was out yesterday and just literally came back on today, and we were unable to make your cake you ordered". When I asked why they didn't call, they said "well, our power was out". That must mean all cell phones would not work in stores with no power, obviously. So they give me a replacement cake. That was yellow, purple and had "Happy Birthday Matt" written in every different color frosting, inlcuding pink, and it was totally a girl cake. They tried to soften the deal by telling me they were going to give me $10.00 off. I was annoyed, but there are more things in life to worry about then a cake, so I took the girl cake home.

And it sat on the counter, where none of us remembered it was there until the next day, where we took it to bowling to share with everyone there. So I am sad Matty did not get a cake, however, he did get Creme Brulee when his parents took us out for dinner, so that made up for it. :)

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! ♥♥♥

Sping is Here!

Adam wasn't quite ready last year for the training wheels to come off, but this year, he wanted to try again. Matt took them off and spent an afternoon teaching Adam how to balance, start and stop and after a few trials up and down the driveway with Grandpa and Dad, he is now riding up and down the sidewalk, turning, and stopping like a pro!
Hallie has also figured out how to ride her big girl bike, and is doing pretty good. She stops suddenly for no reason and it takes her a bit of time to get going again, so we are working on that.
But it is so nice to see them out having fun and riding bikes. It also reminds us how fast they are growing up!

From Bike Videos

From Bike Videos

We also took advantage of the recent warm weather and went to the park. It's a nice big new one, and had playground equipment that has been updated since we were kids. Gone are the days of the steel teeter-totter where you could jump off and about break the jaw or tail bone of the person on the other side. And Merry-Go-Rounds? Not the old kind where you can literally fall off if you aren't holding on. These are all plastic, safe, and made to ensure children's safety. While I am glad the kids are safe, it makes me a little nostalgic for our old park days. We all turned out ok. And you haven't experienced a slide until you go down a steel one on a hot summer day. ;)