Summer Shoes

Sarah needed new tennis shoes. And, with only 4 weeks left until school starts I didn't want to buy school shoes yet. The shoes I was looking for would be used for jumping in puddles, playing in the park and wading through streams. Play shoes.

Surely shoes like this could be found at Target or Kmart (I do not shop Walmart). Surprise surprise. The only shoes we found were camoflauge print. So, with the help of a little fabric paint and some rubber stamps we transformed them into peace and love shoes.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Every other year the girls have a birthday party. Here in East Cobb I am always shocked and amazed by the amount of money parents spend on birthday parties. Especially for parties for pre-schoolers. I was guilty of having huge parties for my girls when they were small and two years ago it dawned on me that I could never keep up with the expectation I was setting. That is when we decided to have a party every other year, and keep it small.

But before telling you about Sarah's party, I must admit I am not a good shopper. I do not like to shop. I do not like shopping malls. And for Father's Day I actually went to a major department store located at a mall. When we pulled up to the mall Sarah looked out the window and asked: "Is this a Mall? The sign says this is Town Center Mall. Are we at a Mall? Are we mom? Really? Are we?" The girls were so excited to be at an actual shopping mall.

After finding dad a few Father's Day gifts, the girls and I took a tour of the mall. There are many who enjoy the sights and sounds of a shopping mall. Not me. I am overwhelmed by merchandise and background noise and am distracted by the kiosks in the center. All of which is designed to entice you to consume. I am just not interested in this level of consumption. And around the corner and at the end of the main corridor is where Sarah discovered the Build A Bear Workshop. And for her birthday, she asked to go to the Build a Bear Workshop. She invited three friends.


We were the first to arrive and thankfully we arrived before a large party was scheduled. We had the entire store (and employees) to ourselves. The girls picked out their pals, had them stuffed, fluffed and brushed, registered for birth certificates, selected an outfit and we were out the door.

On the 12-hour drive to Ohio a few weeks ago, we gave Sarah an early birthday present -- a CD recording of a story called Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker. In the story, the main character, Stink visits a candy store and buys a jawbreaker which is not all it is promoted to be. His sister, Judy Moody asks him to buy her one piece of penny candy and then goes on to describe the multitude of candies she would like to have. Sarah asked if there was such a thing as a candy store like the one in the story! So after Build A Bear, we went to the Sweet Factory where each girl picked out a couple of pieces of candy.


Then off to the pool for some pizza and swimming and fun.


And the cake? Our favorite Hello Kitty! Easy enough to make, the girls helped. Take a 9 x 13 pan, and bake a cake. Cut the corners off and save for the ears. Shape the remaining piece into an oval, put the triangles on for ears, frost and decorate. I used a Peanut M&M for the nose and cherry shoelace licorice for the whiskers. It was hard to cut into her adorable face.

Summer Vacation

We packed up the girls for a trip to Atwood Lake in Ohio. Atwood Lake is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Eastern Ohio.

We took a detour through Athens, Ohio and visited the Dairy Barn and Quilt National '07. My favorite quilt was Chinese Characters by Robin Schwalb. This piece really draws you in, and as you get closer you find a message on the background. You have to stand and decipher the message as some of the letters fade in and out. But it is an interesting message and it compels you to spend the time to discover it.


Quilt National will be at the Dairy Barn through September 3, 2007. It was worth every moment of the 12 hours it took us to get there.

After Athens, we headed on to Atwood Lake to see Grandma and Grandpa and their two doggies Hagar and Captain.


The girls had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Sarah especially enjoys fishing with Grandpa. She caught quite a few fish -- a Catfish, some Blue Gill and a good sized Bass.


Learning to row a boat is an important thing to a 7 year old. By the end of the week Sarah could successfully negotiate the pond. We let her take Sophia and Captain out for a tour.

The weather was glorious. Cool at night and warm during the day. The baby birds were everywhere. Here is a sparrow's nest in a juniper bush.

The girls enjoyed tubing on the lake.


Leaving is always hard. The girls had a great time. The memories of visiting grandparents are the kind that last. I still remember visiting family when I was a child. I can remember the trips to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and Colonial Williamsburg -- but what I remember is that we went. But the memories I have as a child are ones of the things we did when we visited cousins and aunts and uncles. Digging up worms, catching fireflies, fishing and swimming in the pond. I can actually remember those specific events.

I hope that our girls will fondly look back at this trip to Grandma and Grandpa's and remember playing with the doggies, catching fish, learning to row a boat, tubing, watching fireworks on the lake and roasting marshmallows with their grandparents.