4TH OF JULY IDEAS

Can you believe the 4th of July is right around the corner? Where has the time gone? As you can probably tell from previous posts, I usually try to do a little something for each holiday at work and for church. It's usually something small because while I have a work credit card and can put the work purchases on it, I still have a budget I need to stick too and they don't pay for my non-work related goodies (of course!) But, I found some cute things out in blog land and then on the way to work this morning thought of a couple more things. I thought I would post them so you can use them as well! These are perfect for last minute!

For both primary and scouts we are going to be talking about America, the flag and what freedom means. After which we are going to be playing the bingo game I found here. How stinkin' cute are the pieces? Loved them and loved them even more when I got them back from the printers! I also looked around and was originally going to give the following out for work / church: (if you like them, you can find them here. She has already made up the tags which is an added bonus!) But, them I found these:
and thought perfect! Snaps are pretty inexpensive (in fact, for my Utah friends, I found a box of 40 at either Harmons or Macey's grocery store for $10). You can find the tags here. Even better? They have tags made up for both boxes and for the top of ziploc bags.

Last year for work/church I got boxes of sparklers (you can usually find boxes of 6 for about $2-$3) and put "Hope your 4th sparkles with fun." I also thought about getting small bags of different fireworks and throwing a note on it that said, "Red, White & Boom! Happy 4th of July!" You could also get the glowsticks (I found a tube of 50 at Macey's grocery store for $2.99) and say, "Hope your 4th glows with fun!" One other idea is to get the smoke bombs and say, "Hope your 4th is smokin' fun!" Super cheesy, but both kids and adults LOVE this kind of stuff! Anyway, hopefully you can get some ideas of your own and I hope everyone has a very happy (and safe!) 4th of July!

JUNE VISITING TEACHING

with a little scouts thrown in! For June I printed out the adorable printable found here. The Bubs and I were recently called to be the Wolf den leaders and we were going to visit the newest Wolf scout. Well, I just happen to visit teach the newest Wolf scout's mom, so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone. Since this was a little last minute, I ended up just grabbing a loaf of bread and some whipped raspberry honey butter from Great Harvest. But, for my other two ladies I think I'll probably try the cinnamon honey butter recipe she has. It sounds yummy! Not too shabby for last minute (although it would have been cuter with some ribbon!)


Like I mentioned, we were recently put in scouts (along with our current calling as primary teachers). I have mixed feelings about it. Scouts is one calling I NEVER wanted. But, some of the boys we have are kids from our very first primary class when we were called three years ago. So, it's kind of fun to be working with them again! Jack is one such kid. Love him! He's such a sweetie and to this day will come up and give us the biggest hugs when he see's us in sharing time. We were going to his house to welcome him as our newest scout and meeting the previous den leader so she could give us a run down of what the calling entails. I didn't want to go over empty handed (I know, I know - hey, it's me!) so I hurried and threw this together.....

I thought it turned out cute and will probably use it again. It was fairly inexpensive and what kid doesn't love soda and gum (can you see the A & W root beer peeping out from behind the gum?) Happy June everyone!

CHOOSE JOY

Life is interesting. I don't know if it's because I'm in a reflective mood, because some unexpected happenings popped up this past week or because there are some new changes coming, but it's made me take re-evaluate some aspects of my life. There are so many different ways the actions of not only us but also others can influence how we look at things. How we react to things. Even sometimes how we choose to live our lives. Sometimes that's a good thing. Often times, though, it's not.

I found the above saying on a blog one day (please, ignore the blob er, reflection in the glass) and loved it. I would love to give credit where it's due, but I honestly cannot remember which blog I was on. Anyway, after printing it off and pairing it with the adorable orange vase I found, I put it by my kitchen sink. I wanted some place where I could see it on a daily basis for that kick in the butt I sometimes often times need. Life goes by way too fast and sometimes I find myself wishing it away. You know what I mean. It's the small and simple things that often bring you the most joy. But, how often do we take time out to enjoy those things? So, with new changes coming and life becoming even more hectic (and no, I'm not making any baby announcements), this post is a reminder to me to take time out, even for a minute or two and just choose joy.

HAPPY 60TH MARILYN!

Sorry, the following is a bit of a picture overload! The Bubs mom turned 60 in May and in honor of that, his dad decided to throw a big surprise party for her. Now, although the Bub's dad was "planning" the party, he wasn't really "planning" the party, if ya know what I mean! I mean, c'mon, he's a guy! And although some guys are GREAT at that, Gerald, um, isn't! So, the Bub's little sis and I decided to take over and decided on a 50's theme as she was born in 1952. We didn't have a ton of time to throw this little shin-dig together so I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. Although there were some hiccups that day (such as the Bub's dad not inviting anyone, forgetting to get tables and chairs and the guest of honor being a couple of hours late) I think overall everyone had a great time (especially with the photo booth they brought in for the occasion!)




Isn't this great? It's made out of records and coke glasses found at the dollar store. The Bub's sister found something like it on pinterest and of course we HAD to recreate it! I think it was my favorite decoration by far!



My very cute and creative sis-in-law made the cake and cup cakes (which were delicious!)


It was a little windy that day, thus the ghetto taping job of all the tablecloths. We'll just ignore that part, m'kay?




These were from the photo booth (which was SUCH a hit! Especially with the kids!)

The Bubs and P (our nephew - isn't he such a cutie?)

I had so much fun putting this party together and I think the birthday girl was super surprised....what do you think?