Project 365: Week 20

Day 134: Off to a birthday party at the dance studio! Our friend Calleigh is celebrating her 5th birthday, and the girls can't wait to celebrate with her!

Day 135: The floor is in!!!! It looks so good! We were torn on which flooring to go with in the reception area, but I'm thrilled with what we picked and how it turned out! It's amazing what a difference the flooring makes!

Day 136: 1st trip to the dentist! This is Claire's first official trip to the dentist. She's been before to have her teeth counted, but this time she had them cleaned and checked. And guess what....NO cavities!!!

Day 137: It's the end of pre-school! Tonight was the "graduation" program for Claire's class. She looked so grown up on the stage! I can't believe this year has gone so fast! She is ready for Kindergarten!!!

Day 138: On the last day of preschool, we celebrated with "pet day"...since the only pets we have are turtles and a goldfish, our friend "Tex" got to join Claire in class today. The kids seemed to like him, but no body volunteered to hold him except for Claire!

Day 139: It's the end of the Brownie year! Emma is officially a "Junior" girl scout now! It has been a fun year as the leader of this great group of girls! I'm sure they have many more adventures ahead of them as Juniors!

Day 140: It's the Cumberland Life Festival! This is a special day that the 8th grade students put on for the whole school. They research and present how life would have been in the Cumberland Valley in the 1800's. Emma loved learning about the Underground Railroad and square dancing!

Project 365: Week 19

Day 127: Is there a new electrician in the family? The Paci clan came down to help us with the office today...little David included! This is one talented family...we could never have pulled off this office renovation without them!

Day 128: The "vault" is taking shape! This will soon be the "safest"x-ray facility in Hagerstown :)

Day 129: This is a print from Palmer that my grandfather gave to Tio. He was also a Palmer grad back in the 40's. This will hang proudly in Tio's new office!

Day 130: Field Trip Day! Off to Lake Tobias with the 3rd grade class. Have fun!!!!

Day 131: Mikie's! We needed a little "fun" break after all of the work at the office...so it was off to Mikie's for dinner and games. A little Skee-Ball is good for the soul :)

Day 132: Our garden is taking off. It's amazing we found time to get this going with everything else going on!

Day 133: Field Trip to the Alpaca Farm! What a fun experience for the 1st grade class. Joey had a great time learning about this amazing animal!

Project 365: Week 18

Day 120: It's MIKIE'S season! Our first waffle cones of the summer. We love our local ice cream shop, and we try to frequent there as much as possible :) Cheers to the beginning of summer!

Day 121: The cabinets have been installed! The office is taking shape. This is the back office. This is the old drive-thru window from when the building used to be a bank. We've gotten lots of suggestions on how we should use this unique feature!

Day 122: It's May, so shouldn't the showers be over?!? We're ready for flowers, not showers...however, Claire loves any excuse to get out her pink umbrella!

Day 123: More cabinetry at the office! This will be the front desk eventually. Can't wait to see it all completed!

Day 124: Another view of the front desk. Tio did the stonework, and it took A LONG TIME...but I think it's worth it. This might be my favorite feature of the whole office!

Day 125: The countertops are in!!! It's all coming together!

Day 126: This might be my favorite day of the year...the Wilson College Book Sale!!! I put this on my calendar a year in advance! I always stock up on our summer reading. Here's a shot of only a few of the titles I picked up for the kids.

Project 365: Week 17

Day 113: It must be the upcoming Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, but for some reason Claire and I have been having a lot of TEA...parties, that is! Claire really loves a good tea party, which is made even more special when we use her special Alice in Wonderland tea set. Bring on the crumpets!

Day 114: It's Easter Sunday! Our neighbor snapped this cute family picture of us on our way home from church this morning. Easter was the perfect reason to take a day off from the office renovations and just relax! We chowed down on chocolate left by that crazy bunny and enjoyed the day together.

Day 115: A special Easter surprise from Mom & Dad were new roller blades for Emma & Joe(Claire got the super cool "kitty" helmet). They've been mastering their skills ever since!


Day 116: Guess who's in the 3rd grade spelling bee? That's right...Emma scored within the top 25 kids in her class on a written spelling test, so now she gets to compete in a live spelling bee on May 23rd! I think she's up for the challenge; c-h-a-l-l-e-n-g-e; challenge!

Day 117: So I mowed the grass today...I think this is the 3rd time I've mowed the grass since I married Tio 13 years ago. But it was a necessity. Look at how long it is! I just had to snap a picture. It's a jungle out there!

Day 118: Tio started the stonework on the new front desk...and I think it looks amazing! I can't wait to see how the whole reception room comes together!

Day 119: Here is our budding artist, pointing to her piece on display in the school's annual Art Show. This girl has talent!

Project 365: Week 16

Day 106: A cake fit for a princess!!! Claire's birthday party is tomorrow, so we spent today creating this magnificent cake! (It's a castle, in case you couldn't tell!) Get ready to celebrate! Tomorrow is going to be a good day!!!

Day 107: It's party time! Claire had her birthday party at Clarissa's School of Performing Arts...and what a party it was! Clarissa knows how to celebrate a birthday...dancing, games, cake, & prizes! What's not to love? This little girl smiled the whole time! Happy Birthday 5 year old girl!!!!

Day 108: Soccer pictures today! Emma is striking a pose in her soccer gear. (Hopefully she won't close her eyes for the actual photographer!)

Day 109: We had our Brownie meeting tonight at the horse barn! Emma's riding instructor, Kara, graciously offered to host a Brownie meeting for us at Trotwood Stables! The girls were thrilled...they each got to take a turn riding, plus they learned about grooming and horse terminology. What a fun memory for our troop. Thank you Kara!!!

Day 110: Another shot of the office. This will soon be the front desk. This is the view you'll have when you walk in the front door. More to come...

Day 111: Dying Easter eggs! We got creative this year...no ordinary Easter eggs for this house, nooooo... we are creating tie-dyed eggs and glitter eggs! Just wait to see how these eggs turn out...

Day 112: Here are the finished masterpieces! On the top are our tie-dye creations, the bottom holds the glitter eggs...they're almost too pretty to eat!

Project 365: Week 15

Day 99: Today is the big day...Claire is 5 today!!! She awoke to presents before breakfast! What a great way to start your special day!

Day 100: A quick trip to Monkey Joe's for the birthday girl! We figured, why not make it a whole birthday weekend? And a visit to the "new" bounce place in town seemed like a good idea. After all, when you are 5 years and 1 day old, you've got to celebrate with something special!

Day 101: Colors, colors, colors!!! I'm deciding what colors to paint the new office. And since Sherwin Williams is having a 40% off sale this weekend, I need to decide, and I need to decide NOW. I also have to guesstimate how MUCH paint of each color I'll need. Needless to say, I was sitting here quite a while...Claire must have thought we needed to commemorate this moment with a quick picture....

Day 102: Otherwise known as: "The Great Lunch Mix-Up" day. So, here's what happened...I packed both kids lunches, then put the wrong lunch in each backpack. When Emma got to school and discovered the mix-up, she put her teacher on the job of switching them back. This would be easy if the kids were in the same building, but they're not. Emma is in the Elementary building, while Joey is across the parking lot in the Primary building. As it turns out, Emma's teacher contacted the principal who was heading that direction, so he made the swap for us. I'm glad the administrators at our school go above and beyond the call of duty! Get it right next time, Mom!!!!

Day 103: Here we are...another shot of the office. Insulation is up...next step, drywall...

Day 104: Double head-lock! Daddy has been putting in massive hours at the new office, so we're thrilled when he's home in time for a little playing around!

Day 105: Look who's getting ready to play the piano! Claire isn't quite ready for lessons yet, but she will be soon! She gets a lot of creative practice in for now.

Project 365: Week 14

Day 92: Let's go to the movies! We went to see "Hop" today. And we sat in the first row. The very first row. According to the kids, we had the best seat in the house! It was a cute flick & a great way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon! Day 93: We spent this Sunday afternoon baking cookies. Not for any reason. Just because. Because icing cookies is FUN...and it's even more fun when mom stands back and lets the kids have at it! And look at how great they turned out! Unfortunately, they were so delicious they didn't last long...

Day 94: I just had to take a picture of our back door. Can you tell that some very talented artists live here? I smile every time I come home and see these masterpieces!

Day 95: Can it be? Is my baby REALLY going to kindergarten?!? Well, it appears that way since we spent today at kindergarten registration. She did great! She seems very ready for school...we'll just see if mom is ready when the time really comes!

Day 96: Joey belt tested today...he's now an orange belt! He did a great job with his kata. We were all there to see him show his stuff. We're VERY proud of our karate kid!

Day 97: Claire had to bring in her birthday treat to school today, so we decided to make these cute little nests. We used white chocolate chips mixed with peanut butter to coat Chinese noodles and voila-nests! Cadbury eggs complete the look. I wonder if the pre-schoolers will actually eat them.....

Day 98: Getting ready for the BIG day...Claire turns 5 tomorrow, so we need to decorate her cake! Rainbow M&M's and marshmallow clouds...the Paci girls have designed a good one!