Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

Howdy!  I'm blogging tonight from Bella Vista, AR.  That's right.  Our vacation has commenced.  Let me begin...

1.  We come down here a lot during the summer to go boating and hang out with my mom.  However, there is so much we haven't done yet so we decided to spend our summer vacation down here.  (You can certainly try to rob our house while we're gone but 1.  Our neighbors are awesome and would call the police and 2.  We have nothing of value.  Even our "good" TV takes a solid 5 minutes to boot up and turn on.)

Anyway, we got down here last night and spent this afternoon on the lake.  It was just our little family plus my mom and we had so much fun!  (There is something to be said for only having four kids on the boat.  I love having friends and cousins join us but it's nice to be just us, too.)

Sadly, my mom still can't get her toe wet so she had to be careful.  (Remember the last time we were here she had to get stitches.  Major bummer!)  Thank goodness we had awesome water guns for her to use!  (Forgive the blurry pictures but I'm using my mom's computer which doesn't have Photoshop.)

The big girls were both able to wakeboard.  

Here is #1.  She rocked it.

 

#2 was pretty awesome, too!

The hubby and I each took a turn but I failed to document us.  You don't want to see that anyway.  But I will say, I totally have it figured out now!

After all the wake boarding you knew the girls went tubing, too!  Here's the proof:

 

And the big girls...

All in all, we had great weather and loads of fun.  It was definitely a successful first day of vacation!

2.  Before we left yesterday, the hubby and I did some work around the house - mainly in the bathroom.  Our floors are FINALLY prepped and ready to go.  We still need to add the heating element and then will come the tile.  I really feel like once the tile is done the rest will fall into place rather easily.

Here's what it looks like right now:

While the hubby was taping the seams, I started work on a couple floating shelves in the water closet.  I'm really liking where this is heading:

These shelves just need a facia board, some stain, and that's it!  They were seriously easy to put together and will add just a little bit of something in there.  But I have to say, I can't wait to get my toilet back!  

3.  We have a few goals to accomplish this week:

• visit Crystal Bridges museum
• go for a hike
• go kayaking 
• go shopping
• go out for dinner
• spend the day at Silver Dollar City (I've never been to Branson!)
• take my mom out to lunch (a belated Mother's Day gift from me to her)
• and just generally hang out and have fun

4.  We are excited to celebrate the 4th of July down here.  We're going to buy fireworks this week!  And we're planning all the awesome food we're going to cook once the weekend rolls around.  My sister and her family will join us so we'll have a great time!

5.  For those of you who know me...you might remember my dad had his stroke exactly a year ago today - June 28th - also my nephew's birthday.

Last Sunday was pretty difficult since it was Father's Day.  I miss my dad every single day but the reminders that he is gone were glaring on Father's Day - especially on Facebook.  

But I refuse to get angry and depressed because what good would that do?  Instead, I live my life and continue to celebrate my kids and my family because that is what he would have wanted.  He loved us all and would have wanted that for us.  

So we continue to move forward...

6.  Remember how I said we didn't celebrate Father's Day last weekend?  We did, in fact, celebrate it today.  The hubby joined my mom for church this morning.  While they were gone we got cinnamon rolls going. Our brunch was delicious and the hubby's favorite!  I bought him a Dewalt impact drill for his gift.  (Admittedly that was as much for me as for him.  Shhhh...don't tell).  Then we spent the day on the lake and let him shred it for as long as he wanted.  We capped it off with a delicious dinner and a DQ ice cream cake.  We are all so lucky to have him!

(Yes, his gift was wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper.  It was either that or a Princess gift bag.  What can I say?  That's how we roll.  At least it was wrapped!)

And there you have it.  I hope you have a great week!

Make-Up Monday

Hello.  Sorry for the radio silence but we have been busy.  Really busy.  This week should settle down a bit and for that I am happy.  So let's catch up, shall we?

1.  My little girls did an art camp for the first time this year and absolutely loved it!  They attended with one of #3's BFFs:

I'm so glad I finally enrolled them this summer.  At first #4 cried - big, rolling, alligator tears - because she didn't want to go.  Well, I made her go and what do you know?  She loved it!  It was all they talked about that week.  And on the last day of camp the parents were able to go to an Open House and see all the art work created.  It was such a fun experience for them.  If you're in the Overland Park area and looking for recommendations, look no further than Wolf Creek Art Studio!

2.   Last week our nights were busy but the week prior we really enjoyed casual nights down by the pool.  It's so great because it's only two houses down and we just walk over whenever we feel like it.  That week I think we were down there three nights in a row?!  The kids swam and swam while the hubby and I just chilled out - maybe drank a beer or a glass of wine.  It was fabulous and what summer is all about!  I think we might be able to enjoy it this week, too and I'm totally ready for some downtime.

Here are the littles with their little neighbor friend, whom they adore:

Don't you just love the shades?!

3.  We celebrated #2's birthday a few days before the real thing.  It's hard to schedule summer birthday parties and get good attendance!  So we went with a Thursday night and it was great.  Originally, #2 wanted to play laser tag followed by a swim at the pool in the dark.  BUT...it was especially hot and humid that day.  So the girls decided to skip laser tab and just go swimming.  They really, really wanted to go in the dark but the weather was looking iffy so we went a little early.  They still had fun!

4.  Two weekends ago we headed down to my mom's house in Arkansas.  The weather gave us a little bit of a run for our money, but we persevered and won out.  The hubby and I even managed to sneak in a 7 mile run so that was really nice!

Of course we visited the Farmer's Market in Bentonville on Saturday.  They had the BEST produce and flowers that day.  (I think I say that every time?)  

We spent the rest of the weekend day on the boat.  The big girls each brought a friend so we had 6 kids with us that weekend!  All the girls were able to go tubing and the big girls water skied and wakeboarded.  (Zoe learned to wakeboard and Adeline learned to ski - so it was a big weekend for them!)  Let me tell you, 6 kids is nothing.  The hubby and I totally nailed it!  The only bummer (and it was major) was that my mom dropped a tool on her toe and ended up with a broken big toe and 7 stitches!  Ouch!

I took pictures of the girls at the lake but I'll spare you pictures of the toe.  You're welcome.

#1 and her friend, Zoe.

 

#2 and her friend, Adeline:

Addy's mom said they look the same as they did in kindergarten.  I think she's right.  I love that picture!

And here is #3.  Not sure why I didn't get a shot of #4?

 

 

Here are all six of them together - they swam a lot!

 

5.  Last Monday #2 turned 12 years old!  It was special because Adeline was still here visiting us from Dallas so she was able to join us for #2's birthday dinner.  #2 requested Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  Of course I obliged her, even though they are a major PITA to make.  (But oh so good.)

 

At 12 years old, #2 is:

• Funny.  She has such a great sense of humor!
• Determined.  She has to have the last word in every argument.  Every time.
• Smart.  She is doing extra studying this summer just so she can join the Math Plus (or whatever the heck it's called these days) class next year.
• Argumentative.  She loves to argue with #3.  Only #3.  Go figure?
• Friendly.  She has several friends from grade school and seems to be collecting more from middle school as well.  Love that.  I always tell my girls you can never have too many friends.
• Helpful.  She loves to be my sous chef in the kitchen and I love to have her help!
• Athletic.  She's a great soccer player - she doesn't get rattled back on defense.
• Musical.  She's been taking piano (again) for the last year and she really enjoyed choir this past year in school.

We are so grateful to get to be Lizzie's parents.  She's an awesome kid!

6.  While the big girls (and their friends) came home with us from my mom's house, the little girls did not.  They were treated to four days with Gamma and they loved every minute of it!  Although I will say she wore them out - not the other way around.  They were exhausted when they got home Thursday night.  But definitely a good exhausted.

They went fishing, hiking (although short - remember my mom's toe incident), shopping, got pedicures, saw a movie, went out to dinner, and just generally hung out with my mom.  #3's favorite part was fishing and #4's favorite part was going to see a movie.  So cute.  Here they are fishing:

And yes, they each caught a fish!  

7.  Last week was crazy.  We had a birthday dinner (for which I not only had to cook but hit the grocery store as we had NO food), a birthday party (for #1), a trip to the airport so Adeline could fly home, and a round trip to Nevada, MO to pick up the little girls.  All before Friday!  

So the birthday party...yep, #1 had her party last week even though her birthday was back in March.  We just had such a hard time finding a good day for it and we finally decided on a Wednesday night.  The theme was outdoor movie night.  I think the girls had fun!  They came over and jumped on the tramp for quite awhile before coming inside for pizza and presents.  I started the movie at 8:30 but it wasn't really dark enough until about 9pm.  Oh well.  With pick up at 10pm we didn't really have a choice.  Here's the set-up:

And I put out a popcorn bar when the movie started:

I will say it was fairly easy but I wish we owned an outdoor movie project because renting it was kind of a pain.  All in all, though, it's a really easy party to put together!

8.  Then last weekend our family scattered between three different states:  I took #1 to Columbia, MO for a swim meet, the hubby took the littles to Omaha, and #2 stayed in town with a friend.  

I can't tell you how many hours I spent in this building this weekend - mainly because I don't want to add it all up or I'll cry:

 

I know I've written about it before, but #1 has sort of hit the wall.  She's not dropping very much time in her races or she's adding time.  I know she'll get past it eventually but it doesn't make it any easier while she is going through it.  Thankfully she loves the sport and she's very determined.  Plus, she has some tremendous friends on the team which really helps!

My saving grace this weekend was that I managed to squeeze in a 7 mile run.  Despite the humidity, it was a gorgeous morning!

9.  Since our family was scattered to the winds this weekend we decided we are going to celebrate Father's Day next Sunday.  That way the hubby will get spoiled and he'll get to "shred it" at the lake.  That feels like a win-win for all of us!

10.  Lastly, I've been trying to curb my clothes shopping this past summer.  It's not that I am not buying ANYTHING, but I am being very selective and trying to buy pieces that will coordinate with what I already have.  It makes it feel like I'm growing my wardrobe much more than I really am - so it's sort of like I'm faking myself out!  I think it's a bit similar to a Capsule Wardrobe but I am not going to go down that path completely.  It's just too limiting.  So far I've purchased:

• a striped black and white dress (Marshalls) that goes great by itself or with a blazer.  I can totally mix and match different shoes, too!
• a linen chambray dress (Marshalls) that I can wear to the office or with a pair of Converse.  I can belt it or not - multiple looks!
• a pair of Navy with hot pink laces Converse (Marshalls) that I adore.  And #1 is so embarrassed of me when I wear them that it makes me want to wear them even MORE!
• a linen dress that I'm totally wearing for the 4th of July (Old Navy).  I just got it and wore it this weekend and received a ton of compliments on it which made me feel great.  It's definitely casual but I can wear tons of different shoes with it - so that's almost like a whole new outfit, right?!
• a sleeveless white shirt (Old Navy).  I have some bottoms where I only have ONE top that matches so this will go with a ton of my wardrobe.  It's very simple and and has an adorable dot pattern to it.

Phew!  I feel like I wrote a ton this week.  I think we are now all caught up.  Have a fabulous week! 

Six on Sunday

Hello there!  I hope you enjoyed the (mostly) beautiful weather this weekend like we did!

1.  This weekend was filled with soccer try-outs!  #2 chose to remain with her current team and coach.  We're relieved they were able to stay together and we're looking forward to another fun year.

#3 is going to play with KC United next year and we're excited for her.  Two of her friends chose the same team and I'm excited because that means CARPOOL!  Plus also, her two friends are great and so are their parents.  Next year promises to be fun for the girls and they will have a chance get a little more serious about soccer.

#4 is still really young and will play recreational soccer again next fall.  Although she's not really sure she wants to do it but when I asked her if she wanted me to sign her up again she said yes.  So we're going to give it another try.  And if she decides to pursue something else, that's fine, too!

2.  #1 started her summer schedule for swim and she was pretty much exhausted this week.  She swims Monday through Friday from 6:30 - 9:30am.  Then she swims again in the afternoon from 4:00 - 6:00pm three days a week.  Plus, she also swims Saturday morning from 7:00 - 9:00am.  That's a lot of pool time!  

Last week wasn't quite as hard because they moved practices around to the outdoor pools that were heated or to indoor pools.  That meant morning practices were only two hours long but that is still a ton of swimming.  Good thing she really loves it!

3.  The amount of rain we have been getting is nuts.  I'm so sick and tired of it so I was really thrilled with the last two days - it was gorgeous!  (Minus the thunderstorm Saturday morning - but it was early.) We were able to hang out at the pool for a few hours yesterday and today.  It was hot enough out that the cold water was actually bearable.  So fun! 

4.  We didn't plant a vegetable garden this year because we need to move our raised bed to a sunnier spot in the yard.  Well, the crazy rains kept it so wet neither of us wanted to tackle that project.  Bummer.  We did make up for it a bit with our cutting garden.  Every year we add to it and every year we fight with the bunnies.  We are on our second summer with Darby, the stone cold killer cat, and she has changed our luck!

I've tried for YEARS to grow lilies and this was my year!  Check these out:

 

Gorgeous, right?  

And we planted a strawberry plant just to see what would happen and look!  Strawberries!

The kids are so excited and they go check on this all the time.  Love it!  I've heard strawberries can spread and take over and I'm ready!

5.  Friday night the hubby and I joined our friends for an evening out at Jazoo!

Jazoo is a fundraiser for the KC Zoo.  The idea is to dress up but not take yourself too seriously.  It was our first year attending and we had so much fun!  Seriously - it was a great night.  

Food and drinks are included in the ticket prices and there are tons of little booths (I don't know what to call them?) where restaurants serve single-serving dishes.  For instance BRGR was there and they served small hamburgers. We found risotto with shrimp.  The food was really good, if a little difficult to eat on the cardboard tray they give you.  The food and drinks are spread out all along the various paths so thankfully I was smart enough to wear flat sandals - no heels for this girl!

And every time we go to an event with our friends, Jason and Susan, we are guaranteed a good time!  I'm so glad they invited us to attend and break out of our little JoCo bubble.  We're hoping to go back next year.

6.  The girls enjoyed their first week with our nanny, Maddie.  In fact, #3 had a playdate but was ready to come home earlier than usual because she missed Maddie.  Isn't that cute?

The girls were busy last week but nothing too crazy.  You already know #1's swim schedule.  #2 had soccer camp, #3 is on the Olathe summer swim team, and #4 generally just wants to hang out with Maddie.

This coming week the little girls have an art camp so that will be fun for them.  And #2's BFF is flying in from Dallas on Wed.  Our whole family is really excited for Adeline to visit!  Plus, we are having #2's birthday party on Thursday night so we're going to have a really fun week.  Friday we're planning on heading to my mom's house to hit the lake this weekend.  I hope we have good weather - I'm a little nervous.  

I love summer!  And that's it in a nutshell.  Have a great week!

Thrifty Thursday...How to Build a Floating Frame

Howdy!  Can you believe I am here on a Thursday night?  Blogging?  It must have something to do with a relaxed summer schedule.  I love it.

I've wanted to make this for over a year and I finally just did it.  Nevermind the stalled-out bathroom remodel, I wanted to make something simple and quick.  So I did.

I made a floating frame for the wrapped canvas I painted:

I love it!  This hang in our powder room on the main floor.  Which means this room is tiny and gets no natural light.  Which means it's virtually impossible to photograph well.  But you get the idea!

I started with eight pieces of 1x2s I purchased at Home Depot.  They came in sticks of 48" long.  I think altogether they were maybe about $20 - $25?  I'm sure I could have found something cheaper but I didn't want to waste time looking and these fit the bill!

 

Why did I choose 1x2s?  Well, they are actually 1.5" wide by about 1/2" thick.  My canvas was 1.5" thick so I knew I needed the 1.5" side of the 1x2 to cover the canvas and let it "nest" in the frame.

The first thing I did was give them a light sanding.  (I DETEST sanding anything so I never do as good of a job as I should.  Just sayin')

 

 

 

After they were sanded, I glued them together in sets of two so they looked like an "L":

I always use too much glue - don't be me.  Because then you have to wipe it all off really well.  (Glue does not stain.)  And also, I don't like getting my hands dirty.  Never have.  Never will.

After the pieces were dry I stained them all.  I didn't take pictures because 1. I forgot and 2. Boring pictures.

The next part I needed to use a little math.  My canvas is 30" x 36" x 1.5".  I knew I wanted the canvas to float in the frame so I needed to cut my pieces a bit longer than the canvas.  I think it floats by about 1/4" all the way around.  You should probably be able to use some great algebraic expression to find out how long to make your sides, but I just eye-balled it.  Basically, I knew if each of the two sides were the same length and cut to 90* the corners would match.  It worked!

Once I had the four pieces cut to length I glued and nailed them together.  (I used the pneumatic nail gun which made it much easier.)  I let that dry and then I turned the canvas upside down, centered the frame over the top (I think I stuck scrap pieces of wood to keep it centered), and nailed it down to the canvas:

 

And here is another shot of the finished product:

 

Close-up:

 

I don't really decorate with pink, though I adore it!  Here is the other side of the super tiny bathroom:

Just enough pink!

Holler if you have any questions!