June Happenings

Seems like a while ago , however, I thought I'd share the end of the year gifts I gave to out the last day of school.  Each bag had a wax warmer nightlight along with some Burt Bee Wax......which is why the card says: Wishing you a SCENT sational Summer!  I made notepads for some of the teacher who have purchased things from my TeachersPayTeachers store as a thank you.

One of the teachers was having a baby near the end of the school year - This is the adorable gift box for little Ellie. There was a chalkboard sign to label how old the baby is when taking monthly pictures along with an adorable headband and hat.

Bill's second surgery is behind us.  This time he had the lateral meniscus repaired.  Another summer home with me! He's still in physical therapy and will have an appointment at the end of July to determine when he'll return to work!

For Father's Day, I was able to use some of my new "craft tools"!  I used my new Alphabet Punch, Banner Maker and Pom Pom Maker and made a banner for the occasion. 

We hung the banner on the back of Dave's garage door.  We ordered Russell's BBQ and had a Root Beer (Dr. Pepper/Coke) Float bar! YUM!

I also got to use my Lightbox and changed the wording throughout the night!

(Enjoy Russell's BBQ - Rootbeer Floats)

I used my free teacher pass to Six Flags Great America to tag along with my brother, Dave, his girlfriend, Erica and Ryan.  Got some fun action pictures!

When I started trimming the bushes in front of our house it was apparent they were dying - they started disintegrating and the branches were becoming brittle and hollow.  I trimmed it but then couldn't get through the thicker branches - Bill and David worked and worked and worked - we finally put a chain from David's truck to the roots and pulled it out! 

Instead of planting more bushes - I put a log bench, solar three post light, some concrete stepping stones and some flowers................

much better!

Our flowers in full bloom!

We added a fence/gate to the side of the house where people seem to think they can walk through to get to the back trail - We're hoping this will keep people from doing so!

Of course, no blog post wouldn't be complete without pictures of my latest Skecher gym shoe purchases!

My latest project is book folding.  I saw one on Etsy/Pinterest and wanted to create a special gift for a friend who LOVES dogs.  So, I watched a couple YouTube videos and went for it.......

Two dogs (because I wasn't familiar with how many pages I needed and had 1/2 of book left once one dog was completed.....so why not make two!

This is a little hedgehog from a paperback book.

He's so cute!

Then I decided to give the bird cage a try - I LOVE how it turned out!

So I've been folding away - making Christmas Gifts (yes, it's July) Can't wait to see what other projects I can come up with from re-purposed books!

Ryan had to work on the fourth, so Bill and I headed to the neighborhood parade - I went shopping (to my favorite stores Michael's and JoAnn's) and spent the evening listening to the fireworks!

Lastly, I opened a new store on the Teacher's Notebook website:

stop by some time!

https://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/Lisa+Sadler

and don't forget my primary store on the Teachers Pay Teachers website:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lisa-Sadler-9956

Thanks for checking in!

Is Summer Really Half Over?

WOW! ~ The summer is sure flying by! Hard to believe it's half over. Here's what has been happening so far.....

 I'm so happy to report that Ryan's surgery went well and we received the best news possible - everything looked normal! No signs of anything bad.  What a HUGE relief!  After coming out of anesthesia he asked the nurse..."Am I on Life Support?"!!!  He doesn't remember most of the recovery - As you can see, he was pretty out of it!

The Brookdale Staff was invited to participate in the neighborhood parade this year! In the 110 degree heat!  It was so hot!!! Ryan tagged along and after an hour of walking in the heat, we were happy to come home to the air conditioning!

We went to the fireworks in Naperville - but parked several miles away to watch.....Someone hit my car when trying to park - leaving a large black scrape along the rear quarter panel! Thankfully there was a witness, as she tried to leave without saying she did it.  We are just getting the insurance situated.  It's been quite an ordeal.  Fortunately, most of the damage can be buffed out.

Ryan went to Ohio for a mini vacation with my brother, David.

They went to watch the NHRA races.

Ryan had a great time meeting some of the racers, swimming in Lake Erie and the hotel pool, and going to Cedar Point Amusement Park.

This is the time of the year, when Seniors have to have their "senior picture" taken.  In order to be in the yearbook, they must go to a professional photographer.  The prices are unbelievably over-priced! I had some parents ask if I'd take their child's senior picture.  So I practiced with Ryan, prior to his appointment at the studio and was happy with how they turned out! So he only had a yearbook picture taken at the studio so he can appear in the yearbook and I had these printed at a professional picture printing company!

I was EXTREMELY disappointed at the quality of the "studio" picture.  Here's the proof:

Two teachers from school had babies in the past couple weeks - One had a 31 weeker! So, while visiting my friend Carolyn at Edward Hospital, I popped into the NICU to take some pictures of Baby Bradley!

Here are the "announcements" I sent out to the staff.

Here is Baby Daniel's

(Sure has been a long time since I've held a baby!)

This year we have A LOT of new staff - including the principal.....She phoned me a few weeks back and offered me a stipend position of "Communication Liaison"! I've been spending time updating the school website and getting ready for the upcoming school year!

It's a nice stipend and I look forward to keeping the community updated on the latest happenings at Brookdale!

Off to enjoy the rest of summer!