School is out

Yes, Summer time is here! I made my first ever French lemon tart for Father's Day. I was so happy because not only does it look similar to the ones at the Wegman's bakery it tasted so delicious. I got the lemon filling from here and for the topping I took berries and sliced peaches mixed it with a little lemon juice and sugar over the stove and it made a syrupy glaze. What a treat!

Next up- I made these Summer Popsicles from here and we all enjoyed them. However, I have to agree with my sister Aubrey- they taste better if you mix the pureed strawberries in with the yogurt.

Alison and Lauren on the last day of school and yes Bailey is wearing a tutu and a blue cape to the bus stop.

Lauren won an award at school for being a "kid of character." She loved kindergarten and cried the last day of school because she said she will miss her teacher. What a sweet girl!

Alison had a piano recital recently and one of the songs she played was a

duet with her good friend Emma. Alison has done a great job learning the piano this year.

More Backyard Birthday

The big change around here is that Bailey and Lilly now have different haircuts. Bailey has a bob and loves saying "Bailey Bob" and Lilly has the longer hair now. So its easier to spot who is who and their first initial goes with their corresponding haircuts. These two are so funny when they play together and they love to get into mischief . They sing a little song from Wonder Pets-"Lets go to work- Teamwork!" and that's when you better watch out because their working on making a mess or trying to get that snack or treat they know they shouldn't get into. Besides all that they are truly sweet. Bailey recently had pneumonia and had to have some shots and a nebulizer treatment at the doctors. While we were there Lilly was trying to make Bailey laugh and kept doing all sorts of cute things to get her to smile- when she did she would say- "Yea- I made Bailey laugh!" Oh, as a mother your heart melts when you hear your children getting along and being kind.

On another note- here is a closer shot of the decorations I made for their party. I made these zig zag streamers in rainbow colors- you can find them here. I also made these star medallions that I stamped in the middle to say SISTERS. Then I made a triangle banner that I stamped on it BIRTHDAY. I think all the decorations gave it a festive feel.

I made these easy chocolate-dipped marshmallow lollipops and the kids went wild for them.

Lastly, I decided to make two birthday cakes this year. Steve helped me make a banana cake with a chocolate frosting.

A Backyard Birthday Party

Memorial Day was also Bailey and Lilly's Birthday. We celebrated with neighbors coming over for some grilled food and some backyard fun.

Steve made the shark out of watermelon (inspiration via Stuart).

Throw in a slip and slide and everyone is happy!

Bubbles make any party more fun.

Happy Birthday Bailey and Lilly!

Gallery Wall

I went with mom to Ikea and got myself a bunch of white frames so I could make a gallery wall of art prints and family pictures. I also spray painted some of the frames I already had white so that they could all match. Before we put all the pictures up we used different papers we had around the house to match up with the frames and tape them up so we could decide on a configuration that we liked.

Then- ta da!

A close up. You can see I have one last frame to fill. I'm still working on what I'll put in that one.

I love the shells that I hot glued in this one shadow box. The quote is something I typed up that says, "Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work"- Pres. Gordon B. Hinkley.

I love that all the frames are white and I could add more pictures when I'm ready. This was a fun project. I'll post later some of my inspirational images that I used for this wall.

1/2 Marathon and Mother's Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend we had when mom, dad, Jen and Conrad came for a visit for a race and Mother's day. We had beautiful sunny days and packed a lot in.

Alison had a play at school that weekend too and did a great job as a bunny in: The Bear went over the Mountain.

Mother's day breakfast- the guys made a feast for us. They treated us very well.

My partner in crime- Elinn and I are running buddies-we're part of a small running club in our neighborhood.

Steve and I ran our first race together. We had a good time training together, but when it came to the actual race we didn't talk as much as I thought I would since we were running at a good pace. We finished in 1:53! Yea- under 2 hours!!!

more running friends!

Dad, Steve, me, Conrad and Jen- happy to be done with the race. Great job everyone!

Easter, Part II

After our visit in Amherst we went to visit my parents in Northboro. We had a few days with family there. First we went into Boston and visited the Science Museum with Aubrey, Charlotte and mom. Tons of fun.

Trisha was still not feeling great but she helped us make the bunny cake with the girls.

Grandma and girls make a coconut bunny cake- so cute.

On Easter Sunday it turned out to be a beautiful day and the kids played outside for awhile before church.

Easter baskets! We loved spending time with everyone!

Easter, Part I

We had a great Easter! We went up to Amherst, MA first to visit Grandma Muriel and Omar. They spoiled us with good food and company- even a jelly bean cake. We went through Grandpa King's old barn and we found some major treasures in there. We were given a few pieces of furniture that I'm fixing up (more on that later).

Alison and Lauren by the brook.

Steve and his mom

Thanks for a great time!

messy rooms and forts

Nap time has become code for disaster area for Bailey and Lilly's room. I'm thinking it might be a better idea to take everything out because I usually can't open the door when I try to come in since they've taken out all their books and clothes from their closet. This is picture is tame compared to some other days.

Lilly finally crashed.

The girls love making forts and playing hide-and-seek lately. Of course, a pile of blankets is a must in the fort along with all the dollies and stuffed animals.

Before and After

This little baby is something I've wanted to paint for awhile to brighten this corner. I sanded it first then primed it and then mixed a couple of colors together to get my French inspired distressed table to look like this:

This color makes me so happy! And, yes, Aubrey- there's a 'bird on it!' Ha.

Another project and ice skating

This is the little reading nook in Alison and Lauren's room that wasn't really working anymore. We were finding it constantly cluttered in their room and we have a good deal of books for such a small shelf.

Here is a free book shelf we got- so I spruced it up with a little bit of paint and now it looks like this:

Ahh! Much better.

On another note- today, I took the girls ice skating. At first they were a bit nervous holding onto the sides, but it didn't take them long until they were on their own skating. They both fell down and wobbled quite a bit, but we had a great time.

Valentines Day-get ready!

I love this Valentine idea from Eat Drink Chic. A cozy picnic for two sounds like bliss. However, you could alter this idea for a family Valentine picnic.

In the spirit of Valentines day I wanted to share a couple chocolate recipes that I love (Valentines day= chocolate).

Chocolate Sauce

1/2 stick butter

3 squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate

Combine in a small pot and stir until melted on low heat.

Then add 1 can sweetened condensed milk

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Lia and I could just eat the whole thing!

Brownie Pudding

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cooks- Ina Garten. It's rich and a perfect crusty top with a molten chocolate middle. You can find the recipe here.

The Twin's Room

Bailey and Lilly have recently advanced to "big girl" beds. They finally discovered in December how to climb in and out of their cribs- hence the need for change. I spray painted their beds originally white and then changed my mind so now they're pink. My mom sewed their adorable quilts. My inspiration for their bedding was from here. They love their room and their new beds.

My newest project was taking these frames (which I spray painted white) and stapling fabric on the back and then hot gluing their letter onto the fabric. I think it creates a nice pop of color and modernizes the space. When my sisters were here they gave me the idea. Thanks!

Lilly

Bailey

We're all getting excited for Valentine's day- which means our table is covered with a plethora of paper crafting.