Vacation Day 2

This morning everyone got up and ready (minus our kiddos) and made their way to the fairgrounds to start setting up for the party.  My little ones must have been worn out from the previous night because it was close to 9 before they got out of bed!  While they were sleeping, Ma-maw and I finished ironing everyone's wedding clothes.  Once the kiddos were up and dressed, we made our way out to help with the decorating!

Julianne needed a higher seat in order to supervise appropriately.

The florist arrived with fresh flowers and small vases to be used on the tables

Little Miss was more than willing to jump in and help with the decorating.  Although, she was disappointed there were no streamers and balloons...

The head table - the bride's and bridesmaids bouquets will be added after the wedding.

Aunt Katie wanted to keep the decorating simple, and it turned out beautifully!

The finished cake - the topper was custom-done: it says Mr. {&} Mrs. Ricklefs with a snowflake.  The mugs were a gift the couple received early - one has Mrs. and the other has Mr.  I then added the ribbon for a little something extra.

Back in January when Ma-maw and I went to Iowa to help dress shop, Ma-maw had the idea to make a photo prop of a couple and a snowmobile.  We mentioned the idea to Aunt Katie, and she thought it would be fun as well, but was unsure what Brian would think.  Turns out, he thought it would be a fun idea too!  So, that became my big project.  I searched online for various pictures of couples on snowmobiles, and I sent them to Katie and Brian to decide what they wanted.  I was lucky enough to be able to use a projector at school to blow the image up and trace it on butcher block paper.  I brought it home and over the course of a week created the following master piece...

I think the groom and bride were happy with the way it turned out...

I even got Dallas to get his picture in it with me

We finished the decorating party with pizza and drinks, and then everyone went on their merry way to get cleaned up for the rehearsal.

Katie and Brian chose to do an outside wedding at the Historical Society on the edge of town.  There is a lovely flower garden there, and it made the perfect setting for the intimate wedding they wanted.

After rehearsal, Brian's parents treated us to dinner.  Pa-paw managed to get a hold of Julianne before the meal.

I then convinced the other kiddos to join them for a picture...

Dallas and Daddy waiting on the food to arrive

Little Miss doing her thang...

We ended the meal with cherry pie and ice cream for dessert...Sugar thought it was the best part!

One more picture of the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs.!!!

Until next time...

Custom Work

Doug enjoys painting and customizing his tractors during the winter months.  And since Daddy enjoys it, so does Dallas!  The little guy is becoming quite good at it too.

He received a 1206 with a bush hog for Christmas, and he wasn't happy with the wheel color on the bush hog...

nor was he happy with the wheel centers on the tractor.

Until next time...

Reba & Mommy Date

Tonight was Reba's turn for the canvas paint party.  She had picked the snowman for her project.

We were originally scheduled to go tomorrow night, but there were not enough people signed up, so we moved to night.  We started with dinner, again, her choice and she chose Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Reba had the same instructor as Dallas, but tonight she decided not to have the design pre-drawn on the canvas...there would be too many "corners" to try and paint around for the blue background.

After Reba painted the entire canvas blue, she added some white detail to show the blowing snow.  After we used the blow dryer to dry the background, the instructed traced the snowman and tree for Reba.

Reba then free handed the remaining parts (the tree trunk, the snow on the tree, the ornaments, the snowman's arms, scarf, and face, etc).

The instructed "finished" the painting by adding the black outlines, before we dried it one more time with the hair dryer and headed home!

Until next time...

Dallas' Date

I have been seeing some of my friends on Facebook "liking" a local art studio called SnickerDoodle Kids.  They hold paint parties for kids, as well as adults, to create their own canvases or wood shapes.  I thought it would be a nice special outing/one-on-one for Dallas and Reba for Christmas.  I had them each pick out a canvas design they liked, and scheduled them to be a part of a party.  

Dallas' party was tonight.  We started our evening by going out for supper - his choice, and he picked Wendy's.  He had picked the Gingerbread house design...

When we arrived at the studio, the instructor had already drawn the outline of the house and ground on the canvas

Dallas first filled in the background

Then, he painted the house

 He added the lollypops and clouds, and then filled in the door

The instructor "finished" the painting by adding the black detail lines, and Dallas gave it one last dry.

His finished painting!

The best part was as we were leaving, Dallas said, "Thanks Mom! I liked doing that with you."

Until next time...

Reba's Butterflies

The other day, I showed you Dallas working on his Christmas project...so it was only fair that Reba get a chance to work on her Christmas project too!  Reba received butterfly magnets.  Her and I worked on them a couple different days as well.  I forgot to take pictures of the first round, but I did remember the second time!

A blank canvas...

She worked oh so hard to cover every spot!

Patiently waiting for it to dry so she could add the glitter glue and the gems...

Our finished products

Until next time...

Dallas' Tractor

One Christmas present that Dallas received this year was a wooden tractor that he could build and paint.  We spent about three days on the project.  

The first day was building.  Dallas did a great job of applying the glue and holding the pieces while waiting on the glue to dry

He was pretty proud of his work

The next day was a nice snowy day - perfect for staying inside and painting!

After the first coat of paint

After naps, Dallas applied his second coat and touched up a few areas.  The next morning, Dallas didn't have school because of the snow, and Daddy's office opened late!  So...they finished the tractor by adding the decals!

Until next time...

Fun Friday Fotos

It is a very rare occasion when I iron clothes, but last weekend Dallas (yes, my 4 year old) had a couple shirts that needed to be pressed.  Reba thought ironing was the coolest thing she had ever seen, so she decided to press some of Lucy's clothes! (and yes, she does have on pants - shorts, actually)

Dallas went back to school on Monday after his two week Christmas vacation.  Do you think there is much change from the first day of Pre-K?

There has also been more painting this week

and a slumber party in the kitchen!

Lastly, Dallas had been asking Daddy for a new hat.  Not any old hat, but a DeKalb hat.  And wouldn't you know, Daddy came through...

Until next time...