Summer at the Cottage!

Summer around here has been pretty action-packed...from our new trampoline to bike rides and an afternoon swim... but nothing beats the fun times we have at the family cottage in Michigan! And now that our "baby" is four, she can do a lot more! So, this momma has had to let her baby stretch her wings. I have loved watching my girl do things on her own even though at times it's hard for me to avoid the "BE CAREFUL!" and yelling at my hubby "IS THAT SAFE???"

FIRST... time docking the boat in the middle of the lake and jumping in with Papa and Daddy!I thought she'd be so scared, but NO way! She loved it!

I was sweating bullets "Don't let her slide out of that life jacket!!!!" The guys thought I was crazy, but what mom wouldn't be nervous?

My girl ♥

FIRST ...time swimming out to the platform and jumping in!

SPLASH!

FIRST... time on the wave runner with Daddy!

Later, I was told she was saying "Faster Daddy, Faster!!!"

FIRST...time putting live bait on her fishing pole!

FIRST...catch!!!She reeled it in and everything!

FIRST...time touching her very own fish!

FIRST... summer that momma allowed her to play with sparklers!!!

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!!!

 

XOXO- MELISSA

FEATHER WRAP TUTORIAL

Tutorial time! This time , I took super trendy and mixed it with some old school! I loved hair wraps as a kid and now feathers are all the rage...and since God blessed me with a daughter with beautiful locks and the want to make her momma happy...I came up with the feather wrap!Actually, I'm sure I'm not the first to do this...I think I've seen a hundred of those old pictures of Native Americans with similar headpieces. Oh well...so here's to my Aleut and Aztec Heritage :)

Materials: embroidery thread, feathers,beads- all items were things I had hanging around the house..so don't be afraid to be resourceful and get creative! oh and please excuse the fingerprints all over the table!haha

Start by braiding a small section of hair..but not too small! I learned the hard way...my daughters hair is so slippery- I really should've made a larger braid

I used 5 different colors of thread. My daughter has long hair, so to be on the safe side I trimmed about 1 yd of thread

I used neon feathers that we usually use for craft projects.

Group the thread together and tie it into a knot around the braid at the root. To wrap the thread, I used the good old "friendship bracelet" method. Begin with whatever color you want and tie a knot around the braid and the other thread and repeat. You can use any pattern you'd like..personally, I think it'd look super cool to bunch a group of multicolored thread , and instead of making big chunk of color, just wrap each color once...

With a 4 yr old, it's pretty unrealistic to think you can add feathers permanently to the wrap.So.. when I was done wrapping the hair, I added a few beads and simply pushed the stem of the feather in between the beads!It stays easily BUT you can also remove for bedtime and swimming.

My girlie LOVES the "Feather Wrap" She was so stoked to show all of her friends at preschool...and I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a few girls rockin' the look in the next few weeks!

 Hope you enjoyed this fun idea!

xoxo-Melissa

Playing " catch -up"

The past several months have been so busy and I've neglected my poor little blog. So, before I dive back in... let's play catch-up!

The Hubs and I celebrated four years of wedded bliss ♥

"J" lost his two front teeth!

Daddy taught "J" how to ride on two wheels

We spent Easter in Virginia Beach with all of the cousins!

"P' had a successful first season of soccer! And...our dog, Bindi, has been shedding...apparently her hair got on this picture!lol

"J" had an awesome season in Baseball!

"P" has been indulging in all summer activities!

"P" turned 4 and had a "pinkalicious" themed party

My parents and nephew came to town over Fourth of July weekend!

Now you're up to speed! This week, I will be back to blogging as usual :)

-Melissa