Ha Ha Tonka

Today G. and I took C. and K. to Ha Ha Tonka.  It is a State Park here in MO.  Oh my goodness- it was a beautiful place.  I know my pics will not give it the justice it deserves.  But, the beauty of God's handiwork was simply breathtaking.  We walked trails and saw an old castle that had burned.  It was a beautiful Fall day and we took in every moment possible.

This was at the beginning of the day.  We were rested and ready for a lot of walking.  Notice the posture in this one- it won't be there later!  :) 

We are standing here in front of this old water tower.  It was amazing to learn how water was taken from the spring, through this water tower and then to the castle up the hill. 

Well, that's all for now.  We had a great time and took some fun pictures.  I look forward to visiting this park again!

As Promised- Pics of Girls Getaway Weekend

 These are two little gift bags that I bought at The Dollar Tree.  They come in a package of 12 in the wedding section.  I layered pink cardstock with black and white paper on the front and back of each of the gift bags.  The letters are alphabet brads.  In each bag was a small tube of lotion and a pink, black and white bracelet that I made for each of them. 

CHOCOLATE!   You can not have a  Girls Getaway Weekend without chocolate, and you must have these candy bars especially wrapped for your girls.  I took off the original wrapper and used it as a pattern to cut the paper I wanted to use.  Then I wrapped a piece of sheer ribbon around the candy bar.  Finally I added a stamped bird to a scalloped punched circle and attached it to the ribbon. 

As I was preparing for this special weekend, everywhere I went I had my eyes open for pink/black/white items.  I think it's safe to say that I know where almost every pink/black/white item is that exists in Wal-Mart.  I know the candy, cookies, lotions, soaps, drinks, etc. that might have fit my color theme.  I was starting to drive myself and son crazy- he accompanied me on a few shopping adventures.  I promised they would be quick but they rarely were!
You can see that this is a bottle of flavored water with a hanger on the front of it.  I started with a 4" x 11" piece of black cardstock.  I scored it at 2 1/2" and 3".  I turned up the 3" section and used mini brads to hold it in place.  I think the felt flower on the front was a nice addition.  Then of course, I found pink gum with black writing on the package.  I had no idea what flavor it was, but the colors were right!

Busy Week

I really love learning.  As a teacher, I love to learn about new ways to teach children.  Tonight I attended two different trainings.  One was a new system that will be used in our tutoring classes.  The second was for Preschool.  Lots of new things coming our way!  After 4 hours of these trainings I finally made it home!  Unfortunately, I was a bit too tired to be creative.  But, I am making some plans. 
This is what I came up with for my preschoolers for Christmas. These are small bags with M & M's in them. I stamped the snowman topper, colored it a little with colored pencils and added it to a scalloped punch. My sweet C. and K. helped me do these late one evening.

Girls Getaway Weekend

I wanted to treat my mom to a fun weekend in Branson!  My older sister was able to make the trip with us.  I planned and planned- food, activities, lodging and daily gifts.  Soon, I am going to add some photos of the things I made.  Then I will give more details about the items shown!

Here we are outside of Silver Dollar City!  It was a warm day but we had lots of fun!