{it's officially summer!}

I can't believe I have a 3rd grader in the house!!! Today was Gerard's last day of 2nd grade. Boy, does time fly! Here are some pictures of the end-of-year festivities.

ExCel Expo, where he showcased his invention:

Field Days:

Ice Cream Social:

Baseball playoffs. Gerard's team won their 2 playoff games. (Actually they won the first game and won the 2nd because the other team had to forfeit. Depending on another game tomorrow, they may have to play a tie-breaker, otherwise they are in the championship game on Friday!)

Soccer is over, but I wanted to post this picture to show some of the storm damage we had here. A terrible storm rolled through a couple weeks ago -- it wasn't a tornado, but left just as much damage. The area where Gerard plays soccer was hit pretty hard, as evidenced by the damage in this photo:

Last but not least, Morgan has been doing AWESOME at swimming. Just a few months ago she was afraid to get in the water, but now she gets in happily. She started by using a "cube" on her back and holding onto a noodle. Now she regularly swims without the noodle and this week she even swam ALL BY HERSELF (with the instructor right next to her). Way to go, Morgan!

That about catches us up. Today I worked on some pirate ship cookies that just may be my favorites yet. I should have pictures tomorrow! Have a great night!

{cookies galore}

Well, in addition to end-of-the-school-year activities like baseball playoffs, all star tryouts, ExCel Expo, 2nd grade Field Days, ice cream social, soccer games, etc, etc, I've also been baking a lot of cookies. I've had a pretty steady stream of orders lately and I'm happy to say I'm still enjoying it! Here are the latest....

Books for Ma and Dad's book club:

A mom of one of Gerard's friends works part time at the intermediate school here and she wanted thank you cookies for the office staff. She saw the cookies I did for Nadine's nurses and asked for those:

Baseball gloves and balls for Gerard's team. I have an order for baseball gloves and balls for a girls' tee-ball team and those will be the same but with pink stitching.

My current project is pirate ship cookies for a boy's 6th birthday. I will have those done in a few days.

I also promise to have some pictures of the kids soon, too. :)

{soccer and stuff}

Gerard has played baseball and hockey for years. He has played tennis for the last 3 summers and has expressed an interest in lacrosse and golf. He clearly chooses his sports based on the size of the stick he can carry. This year, however, he asked us if he could play soccer instead of spring hockey. Turns out he is really good at it and is really enjoying it. Here are a few shots from last weekend's game....

In other news, Gerard had to invent something for ExCel (his gifted and talented class). He had some grand ideas, but in the end it had to be something he could actually make HIMSELF. He had to plan the design, determine his target consumers, build it, develop a logo, a print ad and a radio/tv ad.

So..... I am proud to introduce you to Gerard's Glowing Gardening Tools. For the gardener who doesn't have time to garden during the day. Garden at night!

And last but not least, Nadine asked me to make some thank-you flower cookies for the nurses who cared for her after her appendectomy. It was my first real order that I shipped and I hope they get there in one piece!

{recital}

Morgan's recital was Friday night and she did a beautiful job! We were so proud of her and all the girls. It was quite a recital.... nearly 70 girls performed during the 2 hour show. Some had multiple dances (not Morgan -- the little girls only danced once) and I had the pleasure of being a backstage helper. Gerard and Gerard were in the audience and videotaped it all, so I hope to have that to share in the next day or two. Our friends Jayna, Nicole and Ashley came to watch Morgan, too, as did Morgan's teacher Mrs. H and many of the teachers and the principal from Gerard's school.











And of course, I made cookies....



Check back soon for video!