Stitch fix box #1

I should start off by saying I am the pickiest, cheapest shopper.  I rarely buy clothes for myself because they are either too expensive or I don't like them.  So when Jessica tried Stitch fix, I was skeptical.  She loved it so I thought I would try too.  What could it hurt right?
For those of you that don't know what Stitch fix  is, keep reading.  If you do know, you can skip this paragraph :)!  It is a company that you sign up with online and they have stylists that choose clothing for you based on a short survey you fill out about your likes/dislikes, sizes, anything specific you're looking for, etc.  I also linked a pinterest board of things I like.  There is a $20 styling fee, but if you keep anything,  it is applied to your items like a $20 discount.
I must say I was thrilled with what my stylist picked out for me.  Everything fit and the only thing I wasn't crazy about was the tank.  Below are pictures and a more detailed description of each item.
Each order comes with a style card that gives ideas for what to wear the item with and a personalized note from your stylist.

 Pixley Jakobe Chevron Print Maxi Dress
$78
Keep
Super cute and very comfortable.  It's a little long, but not bad with heels.  I wore it to church and got a lot of compliments on it.

 Renee C Gabe Maxi Skirt
$48
Keep
Kut from the Kloth Callie Denim Jacket
$74
Keep
I loved this skirt, it was something I had pinned on my pinterest board, and when I tried it on, I knew it was a keeper.  It is really comfortable and will go with so many things.  I wore this already too and really liked it.  The only bad thing is the tag says dry clean only.  I don't dry clean, so I washed it on the delicate cycle and laid it flat to dry....so far so good! :)
I was pretty sure I was NOT going to keep this jacket since I already have one.  I almost didn't even try it on, but it is so soft and SO much better than the other one, so I had to keep it.

 Bancroft Tillman Enamel Circle Necklace
$34
Keep
This necklace is really cute too.  It's neutral so I'll be able to wear it a lot and it's gold, which I don't have much of.  I wore this with my skirt.

 41Hawthorn McAdams Beaded Neckline Blouse
$58
Keeping for now
This tank I'm not a big fan of.  It's really flowy and I don't really like the beading/stitching around the neck.  I put it up for sale, but no takers yet.  So I'll keep it for now.

The reason I decided to keep the tank instead of returning it, is that if you keep all 5 items, there is a 25% discount on the total.  So it was actually cheaper for me to keep it than send it back.
Necklace -$25.50
Dress-$58.50
Skirt-$36
Jacket-$55.50
Tank-$43.50
So, yes, for this Kohl's/Old Navy girl, the total of about $200 is still a little out of my comfort zone, but I really like the clothes and I am hoping they last longer since the quality is better.  Can't wait to see what comes in my next box!

June Fun

We've had a busy June so far (and it's not over yet).  Kristina had her first baby shower up here organized by her wonderful friends.  She got lots of great things for little Caleb.

 We also got to attend a wedding.  Matt was gone so I took the kids.  It was a great time. The kids loved dancing and staying up late.  Kinda weird though going to a wedding without Matt (he was in Canada fishing for the week).

dance partners

 We got a new slip and slide, since we couldn't find the old one (apparently Matt stored it up in the attic :))  That's ok though because they don't last long and the  kids love them!  This one came with 3 racing lanes and blow up boogie boards.  FUN!

 The kids have been practicing on their bikes without training wheels.  Landon took off after a couple of tries.  Emmy had to fall down several times before she got it (see next picture of her knees...ouch!).  But they both are pretty good now and can even ride on their bigger bikes.  We also got helmets for the kids.  Em picked out a sparkly one and Landon has a Ninja Turtles one...I really should get a picture of it.  It's super cute!

 We also had Vacation Bible School.  The theme this year was SonSpark Labs and it was all science related. God's Plan for You=Jesus! I was the director, along with 2 other great ladies from the church.  We had to put in a ton of extra time and organization into getting everything ready, but the kids LOVED it!  I think I'll take a break next year from helping, but it is so much fun to see the smiles on the kids' faces and hear the joy in their songs!

 When Matt got home from his trip, I put him to work as a scientist for VBS.  He had some extra dry ice so he did some experiments with the kids at home too!

 They loved the exploding bottle!

Here's to hoping that summer s.l.o.w.s. down! :)

Summer To Do List

We are always SO excited for summer break!  We get to spend some great family time together and I also make a to do list so we use our time well! :)  This year I wanted to deep clean the kids' bedrooms because (as most of you parents can relate) they were DISASTERS!  Here are some before pictures and after.  The kids did a great job and each helped for several hours.  And I'm glad to report that at about a week and a half later, the rooms are both still really clean!  YEAH!

Apparently a lot of toys can fit under a bed!

We found a lot of Landon's missing clothes under his bed!

 There are still a LOT of items on my to do list and they don't usually all get done, but it feels good to make some progress!

Emerson's Dance Recital

Emerson had her first dance recital at the beginning of June.  She took ballet and tap this year.  She LOVED being in the recital, but I don't think she was much of a fan of dance class.  She told me she didn't like practicing the same songs over and over.  I tried to explain to her that was how she got good at something, but I don't think I convinced her.  :)

The week of her dance recital was crazy busy.  She had a technical rehearsal on Tuesday which took about 3o minutes, dress rehearsal on Thursday (we didn't get home until 10 pm that night), I volunteered to hand out programs on Saturday, and then her recital was Sunday.  So, we had a lot of driving to Warsaw to do, but it was a fun week.

She danced in two numbers:  First for ballet was "A Little Yelp from My Friends", where the girls wore dog ears, and second was tap "I am a Rock and Roll Kid."  She did great in both and it was so neat to see her up there on the big stage.

ready for tap

ready for ballet

Emmy and her buddy Vivi

Showing off some new "dance moves"??

 After the recital everyone wanted their picture with the dancing star (who was super excited about all the make up she got to wear!!).

Landon was feeling a little left out so he got a picture with his cousin, Caleb!

Afterwards we went out to eat at El Arrerio in Warsaw for some yummy Mexican food!  Thanks to Gma, Papa H, Memaw, Papa B, and Aunt Kristina for coming to support Em! :)