Teacher Gifts 2011

This past Thursday was my kids' last day of school and I sent them off with little tokens of our appreciation for their great teachers. Seriously,we were really pushing it to the last day to get these to them. I guess because I could never really settle on something I really wanted to give them that was useful and cost effective. We're talkin' four teachers! I had some cute ideas, but I wanted to give something they would really use. So, hopefully they will use the acrylic tumblers I personalized using my Cricut.


I used pink vinyl and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge......again! I use that cartridge for so many things because I love the simplicity of it. I personalized the tumblers, which came from Wal-Mart, and then added black and pink polka dots. No, I'm not trying to spell a weird word called HARB. This is just my picture of all the tumblers together. Trent has three teachers and Laci has one. When you put them together you get this!


I put some Hershey's Hugs in a cello bag and tied them with a cute polka dot ribbon and put each bag down into the tumbler. The gift bags had cute tags that say, Thanks for teaching! --"Hugs" Trent & Laci. Trent said his teachers said,"ooooh" and "awwwww, it's so ca-ute, Trent." That's my son. Always giving the animated version. Both kids said their teachers gave them big hugs and big thank you's. : )

Laci's Baptism

I know these last few posts have been all about our little Laci, but she's had a lot going on lately. Sunday was a special day for her! She was baptized! It had actually been scheduled for the week before, but she got strep and we had to reschedule it. Everything worked out fine......but their was a little mishap with the water handle for the baptismal font. It broke off! The water kept running and running until our Bishop fixed it with a pair of scissors. Maybe she will remember that and tell her kids of the excitement on her baptism day! Once it was fixed, she was baptized by her dad and confirmed. We are thankful to all those who attended. For some, it was a bit of a drive and we appreciate you coming.

We are so proud of her decision to be baptized and follow the Savior's example, and thankful for the example that she is. She is striving to choose the right! We know that Heavenly Father has a special plan just for her.

She received a little packet of goodies from the primary which included a journal. When she got home she started writing down everything about her baptism, from the water handle mishap to the special song,"Walk Tall You're A Daughter Of God" that was sang for her, to the refreshments we had. She was so happy to be baptized and she'll have her account of it to always remember! Laci was also excited to get her very own brand new set of scriptures!
We love you sweet girl!



This is a picture I embellished with vinyl using my Cricut. It was on our refreshment table along with three vases of pretty daisies, but I never got a picture of it. Thought I would re-create it, somewhat, and share it with you. It was pretty on our yellow and white themed table.

A Time To Dance

Saturday evening we attended Laci's first ever dance recital. It was a great program titled "A Time to Dance." Laci danced her little heart out! Really, she knew her routines well! She did such a good job and I have to say she looked so cute in her dance outfit! Her class performed three dances; two tap and one ballet. All of the Leap of Faith dance students did a great job and it was really fun to watch. Toward the middle of the year for dance, she wasn't sure that she really like it,but she knew that she had to stick it out the rest of the year because she couldn't quit. She was glad she did because she ended up loving it! Laci received a dance medal for her efforts in dance and three bouquets of flowers from us, her nana and grandad, and her aunt and uncle! She was so happy!

Honors Day 2011

On Tuesday I attended Trent's sixth grade Honors Day. He received an award for A-B honor roll, which he has had the entire year, and the Accelerated Reader award for most points in the sixth grade . He is so proud of that award. He has gotten it every year since the fourth grade. This year he ended up with 301 points and 91% correct on the tests! We are so proud of him for working hard and being a good student! It was a great year!We are so thankful that he had good and caring teachers! Now it's on to seventh grade!

Trent with his buddies, who also received awards.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for Strawberries & Cream Pie that is simply delicious! This recipe has been in my file for a while now to try.......and I finally tried it. It's a keeper! I love the creaminess of it with the fresh strawberries. Oh---and the graham cracker crust. Always a favorite of mine with cream pies! The recipe says to brush melted strawberry jam over the fresh strawberries, but I didn't do that. I wanted to have that fresh strawberry flavor, so I left them "naked." Also, just a note about the chocolate in the bottom of the crust. Next time I make this, and their will be a next time, I will omit the chocolate. It was a bit too hard to cut through the chocolate when I was eating it, so I'm just gonna leave it out. By all means, leave it in if you've gotta have your chocolate, but I think it will taste great without it, too! Recipe is at the end of this post!

Check out Mandy's Recipe Box for Totally Tasty Tuesdays, where I'm sharing this yummy dessert today!

Strawberries & Cream Pie

From: Taste of Home

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips, divided

3 tsp. shortening, divided

1 graham cracker crust

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

½ c. sugar

½ c. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 c. fresh strawberries, halved

½ c. seedless strawberry jam

In a microwave, melt ¾ c. chocolate chips and 2 tsp. shortening; stir until smooth. Brush over crust. Refrigerate until firm. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Arrange strawberries over pie. In a microwave, heat jam until melted; brush over the top. Melt remaining chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate until chilled.

Paint and Party-Part 2

A couple days ago I shared the painting, now it's time for the partying! I kept everything pretty simple. The table was lined with Laci's favorite color, turquoise! I used cute napkins I found at Target that looked like brush strokes from a paint brush to go with the lime green plates. Great for an art party!

The food was simple, but yummy. We had french vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, foods that we could dip(like dipping paintbrushes)fresh fruit and fruit dip, mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce, ice cream, and paint water to drink(blue Hawaiian Punch).

The kids took home goodie bags with their own sketchbook and pencil, bubbles, and some candy.
They got to have some candies from our paint cans, too! These are so cute. I found them at Michael's and filled them with Jolly Ranchers and Skittles! Party on!

Paint and Party

On Saturday Laci celebrated her 8th birthday with an art party! All of her guests got to paint their own version of a picture my husband came up with based on things Laci wanted in it; a heart, peace sign, and a flower. We gave out watercolor sets with all the details on the back to invite her friends to her party!



The girls are ready to paint on their canvases. The backgrounds were already painted to save on time.


My husband cut out stencils of the heart, peace sign and flower. We just had the girls arrange them on the canvas however they liked them and then used a piece of chalk to trace around the stencils. Ready to paint!


They did have to put a couple coats on their images to cover up the background, but I think it turned out great! All the girls enjoyed painting and putting their own touches on their masterpieces. Thanks to my husband for taking care of this aspect of the party. They loved it!

The little artists with their creations. They all did a good job and made their paintings unique. Check out Ivy's on the end. I can't help but laugh. She put so much purple paint on that canvas, but she sure had fun with it ..........for a little while. Then she was onto other things. Come back tomorrow for party time!

Spring Piano Recital

Friday night our family got to enjoy Laci's spring piano recital. Laci played two duets with her teacher, Mrs. Little, which were Jesus Loves Me and Do Lord. Later in the program, she played Halloween Witch and Kartwheels. She did a great job on her pieces, as well as the other students. We enjoyed listening to all of them play.

Laci received certificates for Festival, Guild and a studio certificate. She got the bronze pin for Guild because she memorized and played two pieces. She received an excellent for her Festival pieces and superior for her theory. Sometimes she gets tired of practicing, but I can tell she does enjoy playing. I hope she will continue on her piano journey. She really does have a talent for music that we will continue to encourage. Great job Laci!

Playing a duet with Mrs. Little.

The students receiving their certificates.(My son,in the orange shirt, is helping to hand out the awards.)

Laci-A Look Back!

May 5, 2003

Our little Laci turned 8 yrs. old yesterday! Wow! It really does go by so fast. I still think she should be five. I don't know why five. I just still seem to think of her as that age sometimes, but she is getting older. I'm so happy to have been entrusted with this sweet little girl. I'm thankful to be her mom. My husband and I are thankful to be her parents. Here's a look back at Laci!

1st Birthday! Eating the smash cake!

1st Birthday!

Easter 2005

First day of Joy School 2005? 2006?

2007

2008

2011