The Weekend Lens

Our weekend looked a little like this: 

Simon's classroom had a reunion picnic on Saturday morning. His placement is in a Comprehensive Learning Center at his middle school where he receives extra supports in social skills and academics. His main teacher has been at his school for the past 15 years and she is nothing short of exceptional. She's had a major impact on so many of the kids who have made their way through her program during their middle school years because of her tireless dedication and love for her students. It was fun to meet some of the kids that are now in high school and beyond and chat with their parents about that paths they've walked. 

Simon loved seeing his friends outside of normal school hours and they had fun playing catch with a beachball in the courtyard. I loved watching Anna play with all the kids and the other siblings. 

New stamps arrived in my mailbox that are now available in my shop. I was so excited for these to be made - they include two enlarged alphabets on 6x8 sheets (one a very classic sans serif and the other a fun mixed alphabet) and one set of 18 of my favorite sentiments. You can check them out here. You can see how I've used the digital set of some of these sentiments right on photos in a past Weekend Lens post. Digital sentiment sets available here: Glorious Moments and Glorious Travel Moments

On Saturday afternoon Anna and her friend Scout celebrated their 6th birthdays together. Anna's actual birthday was back in February but because of a bunch of different reasons we never scheduled a friend/kid party for her until now. 

It was super fun to have a double-party with 30 kindergartners at a local gymnastics place. We ended up over at Scout's house after the party and the girls opened their presents together which was even more fun. Good people. 

Anna is definitely a helper. She helped me stamp small manilla tags and pack up fun little paint cans for the goody-bags. We used my Thanks stamp set and Anna kept saying, "Mom, this looks like you wrote it!"

I ordered small little paint cans and sunglasses and some candy from Oriental Trading Company to use as the goody-bags. 

I asked Anna to write up a list of the five things she loves most right now. I'm planning to add it to a layout here in the next week or so. Her answers? Swimming, drawing, ABC's, jump on the trampoline, and counting

We spent Sunday late afternoon at the pool with Aaron and the kids and some other friends. It was in the high 60's (maybe low 70's) which isn't warm enough for me to get in but they enjoyed it. I've written before about how much I love being able to give my kids the gift of swimming outdoors in the summer. When we walked in today Anna said again, "It's so good to be back. This is a special place." 

It will likely rain in the first part of this week so we won't be back again until the sun comes out. 

And guess what? This will probably be the week that my peonies bloom. Definitely something to celebrate as we head into a new week. 

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13 thoughts

  1. happytoscrap says…
    05/18/2015

    Thanks for letting us into your lives. I was wondering about the temperature when you posted to instagram about getting back to your local pool. Looks like you answered it in this post. Kids just love to be in the water!

    Cute birthday giveaways.

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  2. mtercha says…
    05/18/2015

    Great goody bags (cans). That was brilliant, great idea. Cool photos, and your peonies are lovely, I remember how much you love them. :) Michelle t

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  3. maiaohe says…
    05/18/2015

    Love the photo of Anna stamping. Looks like a wonderful weekend.

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  4. Carolly says…
    05/18/2015

    So cute Anna's comment about your handwriting!!! Our weekend was filled lots of rain- today the sun is out and there is lots of fog! I'm totally dreaming of a swimming pool. Also, I cannot wait to get my new Story Stamps (insert celebratory emojis)

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  5. aleciaangell says…
    05/18/2015

    My peonies are going to bloom this week too! Yay!!! Mom wanted to get me a hanging basket for Mother's Day. I requested a new peony plant instead (only because all of the great places to hang baskets are in direct sunlight all day at our house). Peonies make me :-)! And so does your handwriting. It reminds me of the lists that used to sit on your desk in college. Glad Anna appreciates it too.

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  6. jeannine says…
    05/18/2015

    My roses are starting to bloom. I love this time of year. Thanks for all the work you do!!!

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  7. virginiegoujon says…
    05/18/2015

    What a fun weekend! Love the goody-bags. Love Anna's answers. Love the peonies. Love your new stamps. Have a great week.
    Virginieg

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  8. desilei says…
    05/18/2015

    So nice to see Anna feeling better. Looks like a great weekend! Thank you for sharing photos with us. So lovely. --Desiree

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  9. gina200 says…
    05/18/2015

    LOVE! Thanks for sharing. I love the new stamps and adore peonies. We have a lot of weeks to go yet before they bloom in the Northeast but I love when they do. Looking forward to taking your Hello Story class when I'm done with Type. Thanks for all you so - great stuff to help get our stories told.

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  10. Ekaterine says…
    05/18/2015

    This is beautiful. Thank you!

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  11. tinka323 says…
    06/01/2015

    I totally agree with Anna...the swimming pool is "a special place"! So many of my, and my siblings, memories of growing up are of the summers and all the time we spent at the pool...first taking lessons, then transitioning to age group helpers, then group leaders and swimming instructors, lifeguarding, and, of course, just hanging out having fun! There were special friends that we normally only saw during the summers. We also usually postponed our birthday parties till summer so we could have them at the pool. Summers just aren't the same anymore!!

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