Easter Party (posted in Mid-May of course!)

I know I haven't posted and it seems silly to post the Easter pics now but I thought I would share.

We usually have an egg dyeing party with our neighbors. We cookout, eat, dye eggs, and then hunt Easter Eggs in the dark!
I made easy cupcakes with Peep Bunnies and jelly beans!

I have to admit that I went a little "Peep" crazy this year. My family has always made a candy using cornflakes and marshmallows (ala rice crispy treats) so I modified the appearance and made nests for my little Peep birds!

My wonderful neighbors bring tasty and really cute treats to share! Check out Melissa's bunny lollipops!

We set up an egg-dyeing table outside and bought all kinds of fun kits and stickers to make our eggs. I even had glue, glitter, and sequins this year! Everyone brings eggs to decorate and lots of ideas!

We even had a surprise appearance by "Eggston" Bieber!

I put goodies in the eggs and add a little reflective tape. Everyone has to bring a flashlight to find the eggs after the dads hide them. Even the teenagers enjoy hunting eggs and really get competitive!

Lots of fun with friends and family! I've already got some new ideas for next Easter!

Hogwarts and Robots!

At Harry Potter Attraction at Universal Studios!

I've got a confession to make -- I'm a nerd, not only am I a nerd, my kids are nerds!

We just returned from a "whirlwind" trip to Orlando to compete in the BEST World Championship Competitions! Our team was 3rd in the nation last year. They came away this year with some awards and made it to the semi-finals but didn't place. They are not discouraged though -- they are already talking about next year!

BEST Robotics

This is a great program that our school promotes. It is an advanced science course. The teams have to build a robot to specs and it has to accomplish specified tasks. Every school in the world is given the specs on the same day and they start working immediately and competing in the fall.  They also have to create an engineering notebook, design marketing tools like t-shirts and a website, do presentatios, be interviewed and have LOTS of spirit. They get points for everything! Check out Wetumpka Robotics Website! Our team competed successfully in War Eagle BEST and South's BEST and qualified to go to the World Championship. We are very proud of them.

As a side trip, we went to Universal Studios and got to tour Hogwards and Hogsmeade! We rode broomsticks with Harry and Ron too! It was so much fun to see their interpretation of what we've been reading in the books all these years!

Needless to say, I haven't done much crafting this week. I did create some adorable Easter Labels. I printed them on white cardstock and used a scalloped circle in a pastel paper behind them. Since I layered them with other paper, I was able to use whatever colors I wanted and I was also able to get the size I needed for projects.

These fit nicely in the tops of mason jars. My friend took it a step further and used these in the top, glued a ribbon around the lid and filled the jars with Peeps and Easter Grass! It was adorable. She's using them as party favors.

We also painted Easter Eggs at the  Hometown Specialties Shop The moms got to paint the ceramic eggs and Miss Cindy handprinted the little ones. The kids got to paint an Easter ornament as well. They made bunnies out of fingerprints! All the eggs and ornaments turned out great. It was lots of fun too!

I've got some great Easter ideas for this coming weekend. We always paint eggs with our neighbors and cook out. I can't wait, it is so much fun to see the Easter eggs that these kids create.

I took a picture of my Pretzel Crusted Lime Bars. I will definitely be making them again. YUM!  

Pedestals and Birthday cakes!

Finally, I'm getting to sit down and catch up. Sort of ...

Last week I was getting ready for my 16 year old's birthday party. We started with a scavenger hunt around town. There were four team of 4-5 kids each with an adult driving. I know many of the kids have licenses, but I wanted the adults with them anyway so it worked out great. The list included the following:

___ A disposable coffee cup with a business logo signed by an employee.

___ A take-out menu.

___ A free promotional pen (must have company's info on it).

___ A newspaper clipping of a women's event.

___ A 1980 coin (any denomination).

___ A family recipe from a local resident.

___ A bank deposit slip/envelope

___ How many swings are at Goldstar Park?

___ Napkin with Restaurant name on it

___ A pizza coupon.

___ How many arches on the Bibb Grave Bridge?

___ A business card from a local business


Take Photos of the Following:

___ Team member standing beside sign for Yard Sale happening tomorrow

___ Someone walking their dog.

___ Team with an American flag in the background

___  An out-of-state license plate

___ The longest limo (or car) you can find.

___ The most colorful car you can find

___ The team playing air-guitar in front of a local business that’s open

___ a picture of a hunting related decal on someone’s vehicle

It was great! The took off like an episode of The Amazing Race! While they were gone for the hour and 15 minutes, I went to pick up the pizzas. When I got back, there was one team back and they ran down the driveway to meet me! The other teams came soon after and they all had a blast! They had all found different items around town. I especially liked the photos of the teams playing air guitar in front of an open business!

During the hunt, a DJ was setting up and surprized many of our guests! The kids started out in separate groups but ended up dancing before too long. Our DJ Kenny from K&S DJ services really got them moving!

My husband took over the workshop to finally install electricity and lights so I had to get creative without using many tools or the workshop. I have recently been frequenting the thrift stores in search of china -- any pattern and any color! I am having a great time glueing the pieces together to create cake plates and other kinds of pedestal dishes.

 I also made an Easter wreath out of an vine wreath that I had. I got the vines on a scouting expedition with my husband at our hunting club and brought them home, formed them and let them dry. I usually decoreate it with something for different holidays.

I had some plastice Easter eggs and some tulle so I wrapped the wreath and added the eggs. Turned out just like I imagined and added a touch of Easter. I have other decoration but I haven't put them up yet.



Easter Wreath