Disney World 2012

Lane switched jobs this year and doesn't get any vacation days for awhile, so this summer my mom and I decided to take a girl's trip. We talked about several different destinations, but the decision was pretty easy....Disney World!!!

I got a lot of strange looks when I told friends and co-workers that I was going to Disney World...with no kids!! The truth is, that is the BEST way to do it! This was somewhat of a luxury trip for us, as we stayed in one of the higher-end hotels and ate all our meals in the park. We stayed at the Fort Wilderness Lodge, which is so rustic and beautiful.

We spent 5 days in the parks. For seasoned pros (and super fast speed walkers!) like my mom and I, it was plenty of time. We got to do everything 2 or 3 times and never felt rushed. We even spent a day at Universal Studios and got to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! It was so amazing. Out of everything though, our favorite park would have to be the magic kingdom. The other parks just can't compare to the MK's rides and atmosphere.

It really was an amazing trip and I'm so glad I got the possibly once in a lifetime chance to go with just my mom!

Fighting off aliens on Space Ranger Spin.  I was REALLY into it, I guess!

The lobby of our hotel, Wilderness Lodge

At the gates to the Magic Kingdom

My FAVORITE ride, Space Mountain

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  (The Butterbeer was SOOO good.)

My mom insisted on wearing a poncho on the Jurassic Park water ride.

Another favorite, The Rockin' Roller Coaster

The castle on our first night in the park

We can't wait to go back again!

Let's try this again!

I really do like the idea of blogging so that I can remember all the little things that are going on in our lives. Now that I can do it from my iPhone, maybe I can actually keep up with this thing.

What's been going on with The Strouds lately:

                                                            Plenty of naps with the dogs.

Spending time with our new niece, Sloane.

Swimming with Brooke, Heather, and Jason

Visiting the in-laws

Playing with Taylor at the park in Little Rock

Date nights!

Hat Shopping....Yeah, he actually bought that.

First snow cone of the season!

Today is my last day at school, and I have a fun and relaxing summer planned.  Can't wait to get it started!

A Summer List

Emily Martinka and I started making summer lists about 8 years ago so we would always have ideas of things to do when we got bored. I love the idea of it, and have pretty much had some sort of summer to do list every year. Here is the 2011 version:

• Midnight glow chalk with Emilee
• Go to a Ranger's game
• Go swimming as much as possible
• Go biking around Sanibel Island
• Sew my dress (see previous post.)
• Make as many crafts as possible, including:
• Jewelry holders from old picture frames and screens
• Simple Summer Skirts
• Turn an old window shutter into an inspiration board.
• Finish my advent calendar
• Make more beach towel totes.
• Make more flower bows.
• Decorations for my music room.
• I'm sure I'll think of 500 more craft projects to do....
• Spend time playing with my nieces and nephew.
• Finally get to see Beth again.
• Lemonade Party!!! (Expect some awesome pictures.)
• 2 year anniversary trip with my amazing husband.
• Go to the library every week.
• Go fishing
• Make homemade ice cream.
• Cook several recipes from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook.
• Spend time with friends and family in Arkansas.
• Write letters to friends that live far away.
• Savor every second of summer.

It seemed like summer would last an eternity until I started looking at everything to do on this list. Better get started!

Adventures in Sewing

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm not very good at sewing. Yes, I've had a sewing machine for years and sew pretty frequently, but it's always very basic stuff that doesn't involve much more than sewing a straight line. And even that I'm not great at. So, I picked out a pattern:


Got some pretty fabric:


Turned our guest bedroom into a sewing station:


And...well, I haven't started yet. But when I do, I'll post more!

Also, I made some cute fabric flowers to attach to hair clips or brooches or just whatever. The first one I made for my niece turned out way too big, so I made the next few a lot smaller.

One Yard Wonders

I have already deemed this upcoming summer the "Summer of Crafts." I really enjoy making things, but get so distracted with other things going on in my life that I rarely get to do so. I saw a book at the store last night that got me really excited about sewing this summer. It's called "One Yard Wonders."



It wasn't the fact that every project can be made with one yard of fabric that made me want to get this book, but the CUTE projects it had in it. There are very detailed instructions for each project, as well as patterns for several of the projects that are pre-cut and placed in a little packet at the front of the book. I went a little crazy last night and ordered several Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics to start off with. My first project will be a beach towel tote. If it goes well, I'm going to make one for my sister-in-law and mother-in-law for our annual trip to Sanibel Island. I couldn't find a picture of it, but one side of the bag is a beach towel, and the other side is fabric. It has a zippered pocket inside, and part of the towel is sewed up inside the bag so that you can flip it out and put it over the top of your chair and have a towel/chair cover. Brilliant!

Also can't wait to make this adorable bird mobile...I need some friends to hurry up and have a baby so I can make it!

Can't wait to start on all these fun projects. Hurry up summer!

Finally!

This winter has been particularly hard on me for some reason. I've been counting down the days until Spring when I can finally get out in the yard and enjoy some sunshine. Gardening has kind of become a new hobby (no, wait...obsession) of mine. I can't drive around town without looking at every single plant/bush/tree I see and naming it or deciding if it's pruned properly. We've revamped a lot of things in our yard over the past few weeks, and I've really enjoyed doing it.

When we first planted things at our house almost two years ago, we didn't really know what we were doing. We planted a lot of things that don't thrive in this climate, and ended up having to dig a lot of things up. This time around, I've done some research and picked some plants that will hopefully thrive.

Our Mollie apple tree. It gets beautiful pink blooms every year, but so far no apples! There's a Gala apple next to it so they can cross breed. I doubt we'll ever get apples, but at least they look pretty.

We planted some yellow knockout roses in the front bed. I got them in the fall at a half off sale, and they survived the winter and have been doing great.

Our garden didn't work out too well since last year was so dry. Lane spent the morning tilling the bed and adding peat moss to enrich the soil. We're planting zucchini, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries (in a pot.) We're doing things on a lot smaller scale this year so that hopefully we can maintain it better.

This isn't a great photo (taken with my phone, and it was SO bright outside!) But outside our bedroom window, we've planted some pretty pink hydrangeas. They seem to like it out there. We've also planted inpatients again. Last year, that was about the only thing we didn't manage to kill. We have some hostas poking up from last year, too, but they've already gotten leaf damage from slugs or snails or grasshoppers...not really sure what!

We've also planted a japanese yew and some dwarf buford hollies in our front bed, and dug up some damaged gardenias and planted encore azaleas in their place in the other front bed. There's still more work to do, but it's looking good so far!

Giving it another shot...

I really like the idea of blogging...not so much so that other people can read it, just so that I can remember all the little things that happen in our lives. I never think I have anything interesting to post, but I know I'll look back on it later and be glad I did. It's been almost two years since I've blogged, and it's just flown by. What an amazing two years it's been. A summary in pictures: