Cape May Zoo

 Before the kids started school we made a few fun day trips to make sure we sucked the marrow out of the last days of summer.

I had never been to the Cape May Zoo and what a treat!  It's free and it's fabulous.  We had a great day.

 The boys and Ella chose a train ride while Lilly chose a carousel ride.

 The exhibits were so nice and all of the animals were out.  I just can't get over the fact that they run on donations alone.

 The highlight of the day for the boys was seeing this police officer on a horse as we left.  Haha!

We had a great day and we'll definitely be returning again!

First Day of 2nd Grade!!

Yesterday was Lilly's first day of 2nd grade!  I can't believe she's in the grade I taught and in the same school; same hallway!  It blows my mind that I taught in that school with her in my belly and now she's a student right next to my old room. 

She wanted me to take a picture from each angle.  I bought her new tennis shoes the night before at 9:30 p.m. at Target since that's when I realized her foot grew a half size since June.

She picked out her new backpack at Justice.  It's full of sparkles and glam.

So exciting!!

 Posing with her other half...

On the first day we get to walk them to an outside line-up and wait until they go inside.  Lilly was totally fine and didn't need me there (sniff sniff) but I waited on the sidelines with the littles.  They were troopers because it was hot, crowded, and a long wait.

 "Hi Lilly!!!!  We love you!!!"

 I waited until she walked into class with her friends and new teacher Miss Vurgason.  Watch the video to see how she could hardly contain her excitement over me filming the occasion...

Yesterday was a half day so we picked Lilly up at 1:00.  The littles were eager to see her.  It was lonely at home without her.

 Here they come!

Hot but happy.

Today Lilly is in school a full day.  We ran errands, got hair cuts, and stopped to play at the preschool playground.  I thought this might help Gabe get in the spirit of preschool since they start next week!  The boys will be in school Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-11:30 a.m. and Ella will be in school Monday through Thursday from the same time.  Gabe is announcing he's not going.  I'm sure he'll be fine once he sees the toys.

Princess Ella leads the way to the playground at Trinity.

Luke is looking so grown up to me these days.  I can't believe my baby is old enough for preschool.

Peek-a-boo!

I'm enjoying the structure and routine that comes with school though I miss the lazy days of summer and having Lilly at home.  She's become such a little helper and I'm really feeling it without her!!

Cheering Camp

The girls went to cheering camp this summer.  It was fun and they enjoyed it.

Getting ready for their first night of camp!

Ella did not get into it much.  I was surprised.  She also acted very goofy most of the week and ended up sitting with me on the sidelines.

They had Lilly model the cheering uniform.  She was happy!

As you can see from the videos below, Ella was in rare form!  Very unusual for her but that week she was our little goofy girl.  Lilly enjoyed it but didn't show any interest to cheer in the fall which is why we tried the camp in the first place. 

If you can't see the following videos on your email, visit the blog at this link:

http://www.cliffordandgeorge.blogspot.com

Here is Lilly getting a ribbon for trying out a cheer on her own.  Yay Lilly!

Ella is in a white shirt, skirt, and striped pants in the middle.  She's the one doing everything but the cheer.

Lilly is on the end in a pink and white tank and black shorts/shoes.

The final cheer on the last night.  Lilly is in lime green tank in 2nd row and Ella is in pink tank in the first row:

New Space

I read a blog and got an itch to convert our dining room into a playroom.  We weren't utilizing the space so it was really begging to be used!  I was also very tired of the (pretty) plum/burgundy color we had for ten years.  Staying home with the kids makes me grow tired of things around the house and I must make changes!  Andy loves when he comes home from work and I have a new "plan."

I decided I'd try to do the room on a very small budget and use things we already had starting with the paint.  We had leftover yellow from our kitchen and family room but not a lot left.  We added white paint to make it a lighter yellow and to give us more paint.

First I had to prime since the red was so dark.  Fun.  Not.

 I then went to Ikea and bought and assembled shelves to turn into benches.  I bought MDF board and had it cut at Home Depot then bought 2 inch thick foam at JoAnne Fabrics.  We had one drape that Oliver tore when we were away at the beach so we used that for the fabric.  Andy wrapped it all together and stapled it to create our new playroom seating!

 New affordable Ikea curtains to bring all the colors together.

 We took down the chandelier and added a simple white light.

 I bought milk crates at JoAnne Fabrics and Andy cut them in half with a table saw for book baskets.

 The start to the reading corner!

 I love this sign I had at the top of our stairs.  I miss it up there but it works in the playroom.

 This was in Lilly's nursery.  Found it in Ella's closet.

 I bought these letters at Michaels and painted them blue.  They spell "CREATE" and that's exactly what the kids have been doing since the playroom was completed.

 I even repaired some holes and indentations myself!  I tried not to bother Andy with this project of mine as he has enough on his plate.

 I searched for the perfect cabinet doors at the Habitat For Humanity Restore and finally found them for $1 a piece.  I was sooo excited!  My poor kids.  I dragged them all over the place.

 I spray painted them white and then rolled blue on the center raised part.  I am not patient at all and didn't wait for the white to to dry.  We'll call them Shabby Chic...

 Screwed in magnetic clips to hold artwork and a metal plate to hold their name and age.  I'm not done putting up the metal placards but will get around to it this week.

Here's a video of the playroom in as it is today.  The kids love it and I find the girls in it daily drawing and creating.  I also love how the space brightened and encourages creative play.  Such a happy place now!