Awesome weekend...!

Aren't these pretty roses?! Russ brought them home for me today, just because! I love it when he does stuff like that! ♥



This had to be one of the best weekends ever... no one was sick, we got a lot accomplished, had yummy meals & had FUN!

We did a whole bunch of yard work out front, enlarging the flower beds & edging with brick that matches our house. We dug out a bunch of old plants, trimmed up some & I planted a bunch of new flowers. Then Jake helped me mulch.
Russ helped with that project a ton then also began HIS big plan for cutting down this huge flowering bush on the side of the house by the patio. He ended up having to borrow John's truck to pull out the stump! LOL It was great entertainment! Ha ha!
So today it finally rained, after at least 2 weeks without. Very much needed though it put a damper on Russ' plans of building his shed today. He managed to work in the rain a bit though, leveling out the ground and laying some pavers. I'm sure it will all be finished this week.
If I think about it, I will take some pics of it all then add them back in here...

I do have some pics of Sam's party at the skating rink from Wed. (July 1st). I think all the kids had fun!










Layla did try skating with regular skates. We held her up and went around the perimeter before Russ took her out on the floor. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me at the time so no pics :-( By the time I went for my camera she wanted the skates off & went into the play zone for the rest of the time we were there.



Back at our house for cake...



Happy Birthday to you...! ♫♪♫♪



Afterwards, it was about 9pm & they all went outside & played flashlight tag until 10 or so. Fun stuff!

I also did some shopping for Jake & Layla at Land's End. I LOVE their backpacks & swimsuits! And they were having a sale so I figured it was as good a time as any, right?!
Anyway, Jake has carried the same LE backpack since kindergarten & since he'll be going to middle school I figured it was time for a new one- he chose a *Steeler*-looking one, lol.
Sam is still using his from LE that he got in kindergarten. His is still going strong so we'll probably wait till he goes to middle school for a new one for him. I'm getting them Steeler keychains to clip on, I think they'll like that.
--I should just call them their *elementary school* backpacks because they really do last that long, lol!--
And Layla's is for when she starts kindergarten (she has a Strawberry Shortcake one for pre-school), she picked it out herself too.
I also got her the cutest little charms to clip onto it from Etsy. Can't wait till they get here :-)



I also got her swimsuits for next year as well. They hold up so well & fit perfectly...



And I know this is random, sticking this in here but I edited another of Jake's pics from last week & I love this one so thought I'd share...:-)



and in b&w...


Our 4th of July was fun too. Besides the yard work we also went to the Salem Fair that evening. I haven't been to a Fair in ages! Layla never has so she was super-excited. We rode rides, ate food, played games (Sam won Layla a Spongebob playing the baseball toss game, knocking down 3 bottles- he got it on the 1st try, we were impressed!)
We came home around 9:30 & the kids did fireworks up in the road w/their friends. Layla doesn't like them (when they're loud) so her & I went into the basement and watched iCarly! LOL

For the 1st time, I have no pics of the 4th of July! Part of me feels bad but oh well... I was working 1/2 the day and the other 1/2 I just wanted to have fun & not lug around a camera! So it was a totally picture-free day but a very fun day that I fully enjoyed :-)


I'm waiting for Scrapbook Obsessions to put up the August kit picture and as soon as they do, I'll post a pic of it. It's Basic Grey Junebug and the papers are adorable! So fun looking, can't wait to see everything else too!

Well, I better sign off here... going to go relax with my book for awhile, I'm reading Michael Crighton's State of Fear and it's *ok*, nothing great. Just finished Jackie Collins Drop Dead Beautiful & it was great. I've also been reading Phillipa Gregory historical fiction books and I love them!! I have The Queen's Fool just waiting for me....ahh...LOL!

Have a good evening!