Project Life//May 21-27

 Hi Friends!

Holy cow!  I had so many pictures from last week--4 pages and 2 inserts--definitely a record for me.  Narrowing down my pictures was a challenge.  There were so many pictures, I didn't have a whole bunch of space to write this week.

 Last week included Jack's big 5th grade Bike Hike.  This was my third Bike Hike, and it was definitely the best of the three.  I had a blast riding with Jack's "Fab 5" group, and hanging out with all my favorite 5th grade moms.  Maddie had her final concert that same day, and it was also our 20th anniversary.  May 24th was a crazy-busy day.  : )

 Of course, the weekend was no less crazy-busy.  It was nearly impossible to narrow down the 152 photos from the hoedown--so I just basically stuck with what I put into the blog.

 I did a couple of inserts this week, too.  One for our anniversary and one for my mom's retirement dinner.  I was completely bummed that I didn't end up with a picture of Tom and Tommy from that night. : (

 I totally want a re-do of mom's fabulous party so I can take more pictures!  It was such a lovely night!

Whew!  That's it for last week.  I am so glad that Emily's parade was on Monday--I'm not sure how I would have fit those pictures into the layout.  Besides the parade pictures, I haven't taken any other shots this week.  I think it may have something to do with the overabundance of pictures I took last week.  I know there's lots of pictures coming this weekend, though--Maddie has her 8th grade dance on Friday night, and the One Direction concert is Saturday (the girls are SOO excited!).

XO,

Vicki

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Hi Friends--

Check out these *gorgeous* pictures my kids took of each other over the weekend.  I absolutely love them. I love them so much, I think I'm going to have to frame a bunch of them and hang them up.  The picture of Maddie above is my favorite of her. 

And this is my favorite shot of Emily:

I love the lighting and composition of this sweet shot of Jack and Emily:

And this is definitely my favorite shot of Jack:

Hooray for impromtu photo shoots!

XO,

Vicki

Good Old-Fashioned Fun!

Howdy Friends!

Holy cow!  We had sooo much fun at yesterday's Hoedown!  There was plenty of sunshine and good food and laughter and all kinds of dancing. 

Somehow I ended up being the bartender and I swear I made 852 frozen margaritas.  I got tons of compliments on my little burlap & mason jar centerpieces and at least 52 of the guests told me that it was so cute that I matched the table clothes (every woman's secret wish)!

Most people came dressed up for the party, but no one was cuter than Tommy in his little cowboy hat.  He's so adorable!

 John did an awesome job teaching and calling the dances:

 I ended up dancing with pretty much everyone at one point or another, what with all the switching of partners and the doe-c-does and promenading and all.

Nobody danced more than my brother Tom.  It was so fun just watching him laugh and dance the whole time.

I was kind of worried that it would be too hot to dance, but we just kept pouring more ice over the drinks, and everyone kept dancing.

 In true Tom and Tommy fashion, there was an over-abundance of food:  ribs and chicken (they had 3 grills going!), and all the side dishes anyone could ever ask for.

I made another one of my (now) famous lemonade cakes garnished with fresh fruit.  It was a huge hit and disappeared in no time.

I loved every single moment of hoedown goodness.  Why don't we all folk dance more often?  It is a scientific fact that you can't help being happy when you're swinging your partner to and fro!

Thanks for the memories, Tom and Tommy!!

XO,

Vicki

Shine On!

Hi Friends,
Guess what!  I'm jumping on board another fun bandwagon--this time it's Pass it Forward sponsored by The Shine Project.


Here's the Pass it Forward description from Ashley over at The Shine Project:

"Pass It Forward was designed to get people to do little things, everyday, that make an impact on the community around them. Pass it Forward is designed around a card. Each card is given a unique ID number. Lets say we're at McDonalds, and I decide to pay for the person behind me in the drive through. I'd give the cashier the card and tell them to pass it along to the next car when the give them the food that has been paid for. I then go home and log into the website that is on the card and find my unique ID number. I log into it and add my information... my first name, city, and a description of what I did.  If the person behind me is you, you would pass it forward to someone else, and then would go home and do the same thing.  From the very beginning, you will be able to track where your card goes, and how many people you affect just by doing one simple act of kindness."

 

 

For the next 4 weeks I will be doing random acts of kindness for different people in my life. Next week I will pass it forward to a family member and then I will blog about it.

 

 

Here's the schedule…

Week one: Pass it forward to a family member

Week two: Pass it forward to a friend

Week three: Pass it forward to a neighbor/coworker

Week four: Pass it forward to a stranger

 

 

Want to join me?  If you click on over to Pass it Forward, you can read all about the program and even order the little cards to give out (only $2.50, and part of that goes to a scholarship fund). 

I am all for ANY opportunity that promotes kindness. 

Kindness is the BEST!

XO,

Vicki

Best Decision I Ever Made

Happy 20th Anniversary, John.

I love our life.

I love you.

XO,

Vicki

Quote Love

(source)

XO,

Vicki

Project Life Update//May 14-20

 Hello!

Check out my *very* green and red layout this week.  I swear I do not plan to coordinate my pictures each week, but it certainly seems that way, doesn't it? : )  Because of my weird schedule last week, all of my pictures were taken on the weekend, and because it was gorgeous all weekend, they were all outdoor shots.  Hence, a whole lot of green.  : )

Not a lot of earth-shattering pictures this week.  Just simple shots from the weekend.  I did include a copy of an e-mail one of my students wrote me because it was just so darn awesome!  I also tried to capture the week in words where I didn't have pictures.

I'm already wondering what color next week's layout will be.  We've got a HUGE weekend planned--my mom's retirement dinner on Saturday, an old-fashioned hoedown on Sunday, and Emily will march in the Memorial Day parade on Monday morning.  I'm pretty sure I'll need an insert for next week.  : )  I'm more-than-a-little giddy about that hoedown.  I haven't done any square dancing in 20 years.  Check out the AWESOME invite Christy designed (love it):

Can't wait!

XO,

Vicki