Five for Fraterday . . . and a Back To School FREEBIE!!!

 

Howdy folks!!

 

It feels SO good to be blogging with y'all this morning.  It has been a long time  . . . A long, long, LONG time.  You'll just have to trust me that the end of the school year was wonderful and fabulous and that I was too busy changing diapers and chasing after my own chitlens to share it with you . . .

 

But here I am.

 

So today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five For Friday Fraterday Linky Party . . .

 

 

 

1.  Summer  =  Family Fun

 

So far this summer we have made a lot of fun memories, taken a few quick trips and just had a blast being together . . .

 

First we took our annual "camping" trip.  Five years ago several couples from our church (along with Mr. Messyhair and I) went camping.  We had so much fun we decided to make it a yearly tradition.  The next year that we travelled we had a baby and THREE pregnant wives.  As the years went on the families grew, and this year we had NINE kiddos. 

 

Needless to say, the husbands revolted once the baby wave came . . . The sheer number of diapers, wipes, baby bottles, pacifiers, toys, carseats, pack 'n plays, stuffed animals, sippy cups, etc. was just too much. 

 

(That and the fact that apparently small children love to eat dirt. LOVE it I tell you!) 

 

So for now we rent a ginormous cabin and cram all five families under one roof.  I'm hopeful that SOMEDAY we will be able to actually bust out the tents again and go camping . . . but for now we are thankful for all the fun and craziness that comes with this special annual trip.

 

Here we are at Lake Arrowhead.  Our children didn't actually GO INTO the water.  But they sure looked cute anyway, right??

 

 

 

Another fun memory = Beatles cover band concert on the green. 



Next up: trip to Grandma's house in the desert.  It was 115 degrees!!  All we could do was play in the water . . .

 

 

 

 Oh, and play with the fun pets and Grandma's house too! ;)

 

 

 2.  Boot Camp

You heard me right . . . boot camp. 

I received a Groupon advertising SoCal Boot Camp a couple months back, and since one of my goals this summer was to focus on a more healthful me, I thought "Why not?" . . . (Famous last words, right?)

I am about three weeks into my 6 week trial and its very addicting!  The workouts are 40 minutes long, consisting of five stations.  Each station has two activities.  You are your partner take turns doing each activity at each station three times each.  And each activity is done for 50 seconds with just 10 seconds to get to the next activity.  Which means NO rest, NO water, NO getting your heart rate down.

The thing that I love is that everyone is so positive, encouraging and upbeat . . . While I am by NO means one of the most in shape people at the 5:30 a.m. class, it doesn't matter.  They are all about positivity and just BEING there. 

Will I have chiseled abs by the end of the summer?  Probably not.  Will I be super proud of my improved ability to do a Burpee - heck yeah!! 

(Sidenote: If you are like I was only a few weeks ago and you have NO idea what a Burpee is . . .trust me - they are rough!)

3.  Vegas baby!!

Kerri already mentioned it in an earlier post, but we had SO MUCH FUN at the TPT conference in Vegas a few weeks ago!

It was amazing to be surrounded by such wonderful, talented and SWEET teachers - all in one place! 

Here we are giving a standing ovation to Paul - the founder of Teachers Pay Teachers.  His story was quite inspiring.

 

 

 
And here are Kerri and I at The Venetian. What a fun trip - did I forget to mention that we road tripped out there together?? 

 

4.  My Favorite Pinterest DIY

 

Its no secret that I L-O-V-E Pinterest!  (In fact, I have been editing and updating many of my boards this summer to help make it more organized!)

 

Awhile back I found a pin for a DIY chalkboard project  HERE and I fell in love. 

 

 

 I had been wanting some sort of a chalkboard for awhile and the directions sounded so easy that I knew I could do it I could talk my husband into doing it for me! 

 

I love my husband.

 

So check it out . . . Our brand new, handmade (and super huge!) chalkboard on the wall next to the stairs.  I have BIG plans for this baby . . . Holiday displays . . . Birthday wishes . . . Perhaps some favorite Bible verses to display. 

 

 

And I thought this sentiment was perfect to start with: THIS is our happily ever after.  When I see that message amidst the crying (tantruming?) children and the piles (and piles and piles) of laundry that are waiting to be folded and the dirty dishes in the sink I am reminded how blessed I am to share this life with my husband and these crazy, lovely little people!

 



5.  A Back To School FREEBIE for you all!

 

Its hard to believe that school will be starting soon (VERY soon for some of you!) . . . so I wanted to share my Classroom Scavenger Hunt FREEBIE!

 

Amongst the many other things my kiddos do their very first day is finding all of the important items and places on our scavenger hunt sheet: bathroom (VERY important!), cubbies, desk, etc. . . .  The pictures on this scavenger hunt make it super easy peasy for my kidlets to find everything they are looking for  . . .

 

{Click the image below to download in my TPT store}

 

 

Of course their favorite item to discover is their special treat waiting for them in their cubby!

 



 
Last year my special treat was a SMARTIE for my lil smarties!

 

 

Well, that's it for now folks!  Hope you all have a great weekend!  We are off to the Orange County Fair tonight!!  Hooray for hot dogs and photo booths! :)

 

Lindsay