SOCIAL MEDIA

Pep Assembly Fun...

2.28.2015


I got the biggest kick out of trying to find Zoey in this crowd which consists of her fellow schoolmates at their latest pep assembly this past week. Hint: She is on the left side and sitting next to a friend who is wearing a green sweatshirt and has long, dark hair that's in two ponytails. Can you spot her?

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Minocqua Players Drama Club presents...Sleepy Trudy!

2.21.2015

Zoey had so much fun this weekend acting in her first ever "official" play, Sleep Trudy, in her school's drama club! She was so excited all week and I was so worried she was going to get sick or be burnt out by the week's end but alas...my worry was for nothing. The show was fantastic and she was amazing! All of the kids were!


This has been such a fun experience for Zoey. They practiced and practiced their lines...she had play practice every day of the week with the exception of Wednesdays for close to two months! It was a pretty big commitment.


There were some friends in her class in the play (and participating in the costumes and set design) and also kids from other classes and grades. The play was for kids in 5th - 8th grade so she really got to get to know many of the other cast members through this experience as well which has been so good for her!




Zoey (and all the kids) knew their lines perfectly...they truly did a great job and the play itself was a fun one to get to watch. A funny tale with many fun lines for kids and adults to appreciate alike. It was a great selection!





Here is a picture of Zoey with a friend and cast-mate.


It's been a busy weekend...Friday after school she stayed after school for a cast party and dinner and then they went right into getting ready for their performance. My mom and step-dad came up to see the play Friday evening and then took us out for dinner to celebrate a job well done by Zoey...



And then Saturday Ethan's parents came to watch the play too! So fun and special for Zoey to have special guests at BOTH performances!!!














When Zoey was done with her Saturday performance she shared with me that she wished she could do it just one more time that day!  :) Luckily she will get to perform the play three more times on Monday and Tuesday of next week for her school!





Some of Zoey's good friends came to the Saturday performance as well which was so special. Here is a picture of Gracie and Lily with Zoey. They even brought her pink roses...so sweet. Did they know they would match her hair?


After the performance Zoey got to go out to eat AGAIN with Ethan's mom! She celebrated with a kiddie cocktail.


You can tell Zoey is a bit tuckered out here...but still smiling!


And here is a group shot of all the cast and crew for the play. So much fun. I'm so glad that Zoey tried out for this and got a part. I know that she has the acting bug for sure...she's already talking about what the play might be for next year!



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Paper Crafting Fun

2.18.2015

I had the pleasure this week of hosting my first crafting program at the library where I work part-time. I've had programs at other libraries in the area before so it was fun to have one at the one where I now work! We had a small group this time around but it ended up being perfect for the project that we had planned. We made wreathes by wrapping paper strips that we had cut around a Styrofoam wreath form and then decorated the wreaths with some simple lollipop flowers. So easy and fun...perfect for an afternoon of crafting. The weather has been so very cold here lately so it was nice to spend an afternoon cozy and warm at the library! We had tea and cocoa and some special treats too. Perfect!

The papers we used for the wreaths were from SEI and it was so nice to have papers to use for this project that coordinated so perfectly so that everyone could get busy crafting right away.


I think everyone had a great time and everyone left with something that they were proud of creating. 

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Baking Fun


For Valentine's Day this year I wanted to give Zoey a little gift that was something that she could do on her own or with me and didn't want the focus to be all about candy (she gets enough from her classmates and school party) and she had mentioned awhile back before Christmas that she wanted an Easy Bake oven...well, at that time her Christmas gifts had already been bought and I felt if I added something else in to the mix it would have been "too much" Christmas. Fast forward to just after Christmas and our local Wal-Mart was having sales on lots of toy items...including a major price cut on the Lalaloopsy Baking Oven. I looked at reviews for both the new version of the Easy Bake Oven and the Lalaloopsy Baking Oven and the Lalaloopsy one was rated considerably higher in all the reviews that I read. Apparently the new version of the Easy Bake Oven has a bulb that you have to change out and it doesn't cook as evenly. On top of discovering that the Lalaloopsy Oven was at our Wal-Mart and on sale I discovered that it was actually marked cheaper online and I knew that Wal-Mart would price match the ad so I took it in and they did! So, this little oven has sat in the basement since after Christmas just waiting for Valentine's Day to make it's debut! 

When looking for baking mixes for her to use I stumbled across The Build-A-Cake Bake Shop on Etsy and placed an order for cake mixes and pizza mixes and they are so much better than the store bought mixes and so much cheaper too!


Zoey is having so much fun baking on her own...she loves the oven and all the different options of things that she can make using the mixes from Build-A-Cake Bake Shop! So very fun. Here is a double layer orange cake that she baked last weekend. She even made the frosting. :)


So fun! She was so surprised and tickled with her valentine surprise! 

Valentine's Day Party with Friends!

2.08.2015

Working a long day on Friday is tough sometimes for weekend plans...especially when you are a procrastinator AND a crafter! Somehow I always make it work though! Zoey had a little get together with a couple of her friends at our house Saturday to celebrate Valentine's Day. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun putting it together. I love having an excuse to plan and prepare. This week was just a bit busier than usual so some of the planning was a bit last minute.

I got some paper fans and balls in the party section at Wal-Mart for cheap...they always make it look like a "party" is going to happen!


They also had cute paper straws that matched so I picked those up too. I added some little flags to a couple of the straws using my Silhouette Cameo die-cutting machine and cut out some fun hearts for added decor too.


I used my die-cutting machine to create some little treat bags for the girls as well. They turned out pretty cute and also added a bit of fun in the way of adding to the "festive" feeling of the party. I actually decorated the kitchen earlier in the week knowing that Friday was shot as far as putting things together so at the end of this week we couldn't eat at the table...I wouldn't allow it!  :) Ethan and Zoey didn't care though because that meant they could eat in the living room!


At the dollar store I found some cute little fox note pads, some valentine's day themed pens, sticker sheets and I had to pick up some conversation hearts too! I also found a cute little Valentine set from American Girl that I got for the girls too.



I picked up some pink marshmallow hearts (because who doesn't LOVE marshmallows?) and the plan was to have hot cocoa with pink marshmallows but the girls just ate the marshmallows...and that's okay...they were too tasty to let sit for very long.


Cupcakes this time around were not homemade...picked up at the grocery store.



I picked up a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and my friend Amanda brought fruit and veggies for us for a nice little lunch. When I stopped in to Papa Murphy's I was the first one there upon their opening, right at 10am. I asked the young man if it would be possible to get a heart shaped pizza and he paused and shared that they weren't actually selling them yet but that he would make me one. So nice!


I'm so happy these girls have each other. They truly have FUN together. Play together...there's no drama and for that I am so thankful.



It's kind of cool that these two (Zoey and Gracie) met when we first moved here when Zoey was still just two years old. I love that they have that history and back story. Who knew they would be such good friends.


The girls painted some sun catchers that I picked up at Wal-Mart...I'm pretty sure they were just 99 cents each.




I had gotten the Barbie house out earlier in the day thinking the girls may want to play with that for a bit and I was right. They also played with their American Girl dolls upstairs and played some board games for a bit too in Zoey's room.


It was a pretty laid back get-together and that made it all the better! Baby Lucas even got in on playing with the girls this year! What a lucky little boy...he got to crash his first Valentine's Day party with three pretty, sweet and doting girls!




I know that Zoey is smitten with baby Lucas...he's such a charmer. Zoey got to hold him for the first time. So cute! Seeing these pictures really makes me realize how much Zoey has grown up. It won't be long and she'll be able to babysit! Crazy how time flies.





Such a fun time! Thankful we were able to get together for a little Valentine's Day fun with the kids...celebrating early just makes it all the more merrier since there's more fun to come!

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