Happy 4th of July!

S'mores on the 4th of July, what could be better?

Did you know...

1. There are 11 locations in the U.S. with the word "Independence" in their title. The largest is the city of Independence, Missouri.

2. There are 30 locations with the word "Liberty" in their names. Four of the towns are in the state of Iowa.

3. In 1889, an Adamstown, Pennsylvania flea market shopper purchased a $4 painting only to discover it hid an original 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence, which Sotheby's auctioned for $2,240,000 in 1991 and again for $8,100,000 in 2001. (Wow, now that is a flea market find!)

4. Calvin Coolige is the only U.S. President to be born on July 4th (1872).

5. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4th, 1826. James Monroe died on July 4th, 1831.

6. Independence Day commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. However July 4th was not declared a legal holiday until 1941.

Support the Troops & Get a Deal!

For the 2nd year in a row Old Navy has teamed up with an organization called Operation Care and Comfort to help collect comfort items to send to our troops who are currently serving overseas.

From July 1 - 5 all Old Navy stores will have collection boxes in their stores. Customers are encouraged to donate or purchase a comfort item to place in the box. For your generosity, Old Navy will give you 10% off your total purchase that day.

In addition, Old Navy is also offering a "Buy One, Send One" special on their famous 4th of July flag t-shirts. For every children's, women's, or men's flag t-shirt that you purchase this weekend, Old Navy will send one to our troops. And, if that isn't enough, Old Navy will also give you 10% off your total purchase just for purchasing a flag t-shirt.

Get flag t-shirts for your whole family and donate t-shirts to the troops!!!

How can you go wrong?

Get out and get yours today!

Wordless Wednesday

The Florida heat might be getting to them!

For more WW go to ~

5 Minutes for Mom

Our Family Ramblings

Seven Clown Circus

3 Birthday Parties

Birthday, Birthday, and one more Birthday. We had our share of birthday parties last weekend.

It started on Friday. Friday was CJ's birthday. Normally we spend the day playing mini-golf, eating lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, and hanging out at Downtown Disney. This year we decided to spend a night at Disney's Fort Wilderness campground.

We arrived at the campground on Friday afternoon, set up our tents and headed to the pool. Around dinner time we were joined at the pool by CJ's best buddy and a good friend of the family. After a little pool time we headed back to the campsite for dinner, cake, and birthday gifts.


CJ was excited to get some new NY Yankees gear, a new watch, and a bunch of money. After the presents we headed back to the pool for a couple more hours of swimming. The night was fun, but went by way too fast. We have already decided that next year we will make it a whole weekend and take in more of the fun stuff that Fort Wilderness has to offer. Not to worry though...the party is not over yet, CJ has a kids party coming up in a couple of weeks.

Saturday morning the girls were invited to a "Pony Party" to celebrate the birthday of one of their neighborhood friends. The girls were both really excited to ride a pony for the first time. This pony, named "Dancer," is the pony that the girls friend takes riding lessons on. Caley was a little worried about getting on the pony, but once she got on, she did great!

Caitlyn couldn't wait for her turn to ride Dancer. Caitlyn had a great time. She is definitely the animal lover of our two girls. After the pony ride the girls did a craft, ate pizza, attacked a pinata, and went for a swim in our neighbors pool. It was a very FULL day!

But wait...we were not done yet. Did I mention that our neighbors also have twins? Sunday was twin brother's turn to have his party. The boys in the neighborhood were all invited to play Lazer Tag.

The Lazer Tag place was perfect for a boys party. The kids got to play two games of Lazer tag, drive the bumper cars, play a few video games, eat pizza and cake, and run around yelling as loud as they could. Everyone had a great time and the sisters were happy that they got to join in on the party too.

It was a full weekend of parties, by Sunday afternoon all three of my kids were ready to take naps, and they did. Whew...

Happy Birthday CJ!!!

HaPpY 11th BiRtHdaY

to my

baseball playing, Yankee fan, Star Wars loving,

sports watching, Boy Scout camping,

growing up WAY Too Fast,

son!!!

I hope you have a great birthday!

Love, mom

5th Grade Graduation

Next up on my list of events that I just did not have time to blog about this Spring is CJ's 5th grade graduation.

5th grade graduation for Tildenville elementary took place on Tuesday, June 8th. The day consisted of a graduation ceremony and a lunch/celebration for the kids.

Before the big day came, CJ and dad took a trip to Kohl's to buy a new pair of dress pants, shirt, and tie. CJ has grown A LOT this year, so there was no way that any of his good clothes were going to fit anymore. I was a little bit worried when I sent the two of them out shopping together, but they did good. CJ's new outfit looked good, fit good, and made him look so grown up.

During the ceremony the kids sat with their classes while the principal, 5th grade teachers, and specials teachers handed out awards, medals, and promotion certificates. The principal, Dr. Balgobin, delivered a nice commencement address and the ceremony was complete. CJ looked so proud and handsome in his new clothes.

After the graduation ceremony the kids, parents, and teachers went out to "Tiger Park" to take pictures and socialize while the decorating committee transformed the cafeteria into a tropical cruise ship. CJ is wearing the "Founders" medal that he received during the graduation ceremony. "Founders" medals were given to every student who had attended Tildenville since Pre-K or Kindergarten.

Once the decorations were up and the transformation was complete the students were welcomed back into the cafeteria. Each student was given a lei as they entered the room. The room was full of tropical decorations and steel drum music was playing during the party. The students choose pizza, corn-on-the cob, and watermelon for lunch. Not the most tropical cruise ship meal I have ever heard of, but hey...it was their choice.

After lunch the kids took more pictures, talked and played together, ate cake and ice cream, and just had fun. It turned out to be a nice celebration and a fitting end to six long, hard years of elementary school.

In the end CJ walked away with a stack of certificates. He earned A/B Honor Roll for Reading, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. He received a Citizenship award and a Pioneer Award. And, last, but absolutely not least, he got his Promotion Certificate for finishing 5th grade.

I still cannot believe that he has already finished elementary school and will be heading off to middle school in just 8 or 9 weeks. Wow, where has the time gone? Sometimes I still see him as that sweet little 5 year-old who just started Kindergarten, but he is not. He is almost 11 and growing up fast! Too Fast!

Wordless Wednesday

4 of the cutest Cub Scout sisters you will ever find!

For more Wordless Wednesday go to

5 Minutes for Mom

Seven Clown Circus

Our Family Ramblings