It’s still Thursday, right? :) So much to be Thankful for this week!! Just got home from teaching at Ink About It in Westford… My core group of ladies in class tonight, a quick project, but they seemed to like it!! And, had plans to make more like it!! Yeah!! Plus, we picked the papers for the next book (Echo Park!! Can’t wait to get started on that one!!). Linda is so sweet, and lets me make whatever I want!! I’m excited to work with some really fun bright papers for this next book! They are so professional there, and I always have everything I need for class! Plus, they have a TON of new stuff in, I got some fun new things and lots of ideas of things I want to make… If only there were more hours for crafting!

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, and man, my hubby and kiddos really out-did themselves!! Mike took the kids out (I had crop on Saturday, that must be when he did it)… He had them each make me a Mother’s Day Mug, they are so cute!! And hand colored by the kids… and each also got me a gift card (in the mugs) one for Michaels and one for ITunes… And, the kids made me a card too…  So, when I got up Sunday morning, they gave me the beautiful mugs… then we went to Charlie’s Diner (in Lawrence) for breakfast (yummy)… Headed to Hampton State Park for the kids to fly their new kites (actually saw the “kite guy” that we bought the kites from at the beach flying kites!! Pretty funny!!)… Drove up through Hampton and on to Portsmouth where we walked around all the little shops and then had lunch at the Brewery… Headed north to Kittery to go to Yummies Candy Store… THEN drove down through Kittery Point and along the water with a stop at Fort Mc-Something (I have to look and update, I can’t remember the name)… UPDATE: Fort McClary That’s where we stopped on the way home :)

By the time we got home it was pretty late, but we had a WONDERFUL relaxing family day… We haven’t had time for a wandering day like that in a long time, there’s always something that we need to go to, or be at, or get from… So, it was a really great day of just meandering!! Best Mother’s Day Ever :) The only down-side was that we didn’t plan ahead and got home late, so we didn’t see either of our own Mothers on Mother’s Day, but I have a little something that I made for each of them… Just can’t post pictures of what I made ’til I get it to them :)

Oh, and a little Kathryn story for this week… Keep in mind, this was a CRAZY busy week… Card Club Tuesday night, Cub Scout Banquet Wednesday night, my Zutter class tonight… Something almost every night… In between, we still managed to go to the grocery store… Here’s how the conversation went on the way home from the grocery store beginning of the week…

Kathryn: “Mom, when I grow up, I’m going to live in New York and work at Happy Burger. But, I hate that place, I’m going to pack my lunch.”

(a little back story… 2 Christmas vacations ago, we went to NYC for a mini-vacation… and one evening, walked a couple of blocks to eat dinner at “Good Burger”… Apparently, she hates that place :) And, I didn’t have the heart to tell her, if she works at “Happy Burger” she won’t be able to afford to live in the city :) She’ll figure that one out on her own :)

Have a wonderful week!!!

Whew!!! It’s already Thursday of vacation week??? We took a little trip to Washington DC for the beginning of vacation, and had a blast!! Now, I need to buckle down for the next couple days and get things cleaned up around here :) So… I guess I’m thankful that Mike has a job where he “has” to go to Washington to pick up equipment :)  Here’s a couple of pictures…

The Jefferson Memorial… a pic from my phone…

The kiddos at the National Zoo

Mount Vernon (which we’ve never been too… Really had a great day there…)

Battle field of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) Also the first time we’d been here… I found it to be quite disconcerting… It was a lovely but overcast day… We went there after Mount Vernon, so it was later in the afternoon and very quiet… We did the shorter loop walk… birds singing, little butterflies around… and you look around and see the home (still standing) and the cannons where they were… Hard to imagine how awful it was on that day… Of course, the kids thought it was a fun walk through the fields, and who doesn’t love cannons?

A picture from my phone from Arlington National Cemetery… my facebook status from that day was:

Hates heeleys… And parents who buy their kids heeleys… And especially those parents who let their kids in heeleys treat Arlington National Cemetary like a skate park… Honestly, I think common sense should be placed on the endangered species list…

BUT I’m thankful that Mike actually spoke to the “cherub” in question, and he walked the rest of the way… The kid was between me and Mike walking down one of the sections of long stairs… skating almost into Mike at each section… then when we got to the open road, the kid was skating down and around til his parents called him to keep walking the next section of stairs… Mike turned to him finally and said, “Hey, this is a cemetery, you should show some respect and walk” and the kid did, he walked the rest of the way… where were his parents??? Oh, yes, right there… I’m sure they thought that Mike was being a bad guy… but honestly… there are signs all over Arlington that request quiet respect… How sad that they need signs to begin with, but even then…

That’s about it for today :) I need to go and get laundry switched over and the house picked up, we left kinda in a hurry Friday afternoon, and the house looks like a tornado went through it…

It’s still Thursday :) I just made it in… What a busy week… What I’m most thankful for at the moment is that we’re just 1 day away from vacation!!! Yippee!!! April vacation is a MUCH needed break…  Kiddos are sick of us, we’re sick of them… and spring has sprung, finally!!! Today was a glorious day…

This will probably be the last time I comment about being School-Committee-Free… ’cause I’m sure that everyone is tired of how excited I am to be a newly School-Committee-Free family… But, Mike got to take Sean to cub scouts last night (lucky him), which meant that Kathryn and I could go to the mall and pick up a couple of things we “needed” for vacation… Love a little Girls Night Out… and the “awesome” (said in a sing-songy voice) new Vera I got with my birthday $20 off coupon… If you’re going on vacation, you need a bag that’s a little bit bigger… Plus, I “needed” the little all in one wallet (to fit better in the smaller purse I bought a while ago) and the key chain, just for fun, really didn’t need the keychain… *sigh* I seriously love Folkloric and want to own everything they make in this pattern… Have I mentioned that orange is my favorite color?

Had my monthly Zutter class tonight at Ink About It in Westford… Wonderful group of ladies, as always… I’m so thankful that everyone liked the project (many now come to class, project unseen!) and it’s so much fun to get out for the evening and chat with other crafty adults. We were talking after class and realized that next month will be my 1 year anniversary of teaching at the store!! Next month’s book will feature Bo Bunny papers… I’ll have the sample done soon… Linda at Ink About It is going to help us out and sponsor our upcoming Cards for the Cure event… More details about that special event coming very soon.

My kiddos had their Academic Fair at their school tonight… Here’s pics that Mike took (with his phone)…

Kathryn and her project about Ethiopia (and the Timkat celebration, essentially, Epiphany… the baptism of Jesus by John) Those people along the bottom are in the water, waiting their turn to be baptized… They look kinda sad… According to Kathryn, they are sad ’cause Jesus cut them in line… but that’s ok, they all got baptized later, and it was Jesus, she’d let him cut in line  too… I don’t know where she gets these stories!! I’m pretty sure that’s not exactly how the events unfolded…

And Sean… His project on Ireland… 5 objects… His cap, lamb (wool, yarn and knitting), towel, my lire necklace (most brought back from Ireland by Nana and Pa)… Plus, some information about a haunted castle that’s now a hotel… Thankfully he had Ireland for his country, ’cause he waited til the last minute to tell me he needed “items” from his country… If HE had Ethiopia, we would have been in trouble :)

Happy Thursday… And Happy Almost Vacation!!!