Week in Review: June 9-15

Today is the 6th day of summer break. And we are having a blast! I am having so much fun getting to hang out with my girls. I love being with them. They are such neat little people. 

Here's what we've been up to...

Two days before school was out, I hung out at school all afternoon with the girls for the annual Field Day. I embarrassed them by applying sunscreen whenever I could, & taking "selfies" with them. Zoey's 5th grade friends giggled to hear a mom say the word "selfie". Seriously? I must be uber hip & not even realize it. I love seeing my kids interact with their friends at school. And when my 11 year old comes over to give me the occasional hug, (not caring who sees her), I'm prouder than proud. 

I made treats for the-almost-birthday-girl Pazely to share with her classmates on the last day of school. Pazely's teacher & another student eat gluten-free, so it was my first time baking anything like that. I was gonna go all handmade-from-scratch, but when I saw the list of ingredients I'd need to buy, I decided to try a box mix instead. I found a Betty Crocker gluten-free devil's food cake mix. It uses rice flour. Topped with a homemade whipped chocolate ganache, the cupcakes were SUPER delicious! Pazely requested m&m's + I had leftover pinwheel cupcake toppers from my first days on Etsy. I love serving  cupcakes in those short, stubby, clear, plastic cups with a spoon. No mess in the classroom! The students sat around in a circle & ate their cupcakes while each shared one big accomplishment they've made this year. It was really sweet to hear what they had to say & also listen to the teacher encourage them & give them positive words of affirmation.  I'm really so grateful my girls had amazing teachers. Mrs. Batdorf & Mr. Ryder, you're the best!   

To celebrate the last day of school, a friend of mine planned a late-night hike. The girls & I grabbed our water bottles +  flashlights & headed out to the Badger Canyon Trail at 9pm. It was pretty windy, but so much fun. I've hiked this trail several times, but it was the girls' first time. We all wore glow stick accessories & enjoyed a splendid view of the city at the top. 

To celebrate the first day of summer, the Mr. prepared the firepit in the backyard---& the girls burned their homework! The girls have been stock-piling their papers/assignments/old tests/reports/etc. JUST for this occasion. We also had s'mores. I think this is a tradition we will continue.

The girls & I are currently giddy about finger-knitting. I taught the girls this super easy technique about 4 years ago. ago. But we recently attended a library event, where finger-knitting was being taught. We learned a slightly new way of doing it, which was fun. The girls & one of their friends are currently producing yards & yards & yards of this stuff. Zoey even knitted the finger-knitting into regular knitting with my size 50 knitting needles & made a scarflette, complete with vintage button. She & a friend (who is also named Zoey) are thinking of making these to sell. You may see them in my Etsy shop, come fall. For a tutorial on how to finger-knit, check out these video tutorials,  HERE and HERE which show two different ways.

I also learned how to arm-knit! Oh my gosh. So cool. 

The girls chalked it up at the Sidewalk Chalk Festival. Always so much fun. I sat & watched & knitted. It was Worldwide-Knit-in-Public Day after all. Later in the evening, we walked around & looked at all the artwork that had been drawn throughout the day. While eating treats from the bakery. 

I also...

...learned to do the fishtail braid. (The girls & I made a hair train.)

...ate foil dinners from the bbq.

...hung out at Barnes & Noble with the fam, surrounding myself with crafty books & yummy drinks.

...took Zoey to her first private cello lesson.

...watched my big girl get her 5th grade diploma. Middle school, here we come!

...filled the calendar with fun things to do.

♥