Summer Vacation

This summer we had a wonderful family vacation in Florida. All the kids & granddaughters got to come except for one granddaughter. We missed her & her husband.

Although, it was a happy time, it was also a sad time. As I posted in my “About Me” when I first started this blog, I lost my husband in January of this year & I’m still trying to navigate through life without him. It still doesn’t seem real to me & there’s times the grief hits me so hard, I can’t shake it. Mainly when I’m alone. I still can’t listen to sad music or I just break down.

About a week before he passed, we had talked about a family vacation this summer with all kids & grandkids. We had went on several vacations with them & their families separately but never all of us. He was really looking forward to doing that. But, God had other plans, and it was not to be. My heart was broken. 💔

After a few weeks had went by, we all got together & decided we would take that family vacation to honor him. Everyone was looking forward to doing that.

I decided to make us all matching shirts for beach photos & they turned out great. Below are a few of the photos. I love all these photos & will cherish them always. The shirts say “Couch Family Vacation 2019” on the front. The back says “Loved beyond Words” “Missed beyond Measure” & then Dad on the kids, Papa on granddaughters & DIL, Jim on our newest SIL, & My ❤️ Heart on mine.

As we were getting ready for these photos, nothing prepared me for the overwhelming grief that would hit me. I cried for over an hour while trying to get ready & kept having to re-apply my make up. As you can see in the photos, my eyes are very swollen. Nothing could hide that. But, with the strength & support of my kids & grandkids, I made it thru. I’m so very glad we did this. ❤️

I miss my husband so very badly, but, I have a very strong support system with my amazing kids, granddaughters, family, & friends. Nothing prepares you for the loss of your best friend, your rock, your heart, but you must keep going & learn a new normal life for you. I know God will carry me through. ❤️💔 I am stronger than I think.

Thank you for visiting my blog & God Bless

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Theater Camp

Hey friends, I know it’s been awhile. Busy, busy, busy summer. This post is from June of this year.

So, one of my granddaughters’ school put on a theater camp. It was a 2 week summer camp where they got to help create the Broadway production of the “The Lion King Kids”. It was amazing & the cutest show I’ve seen in a long time.

During the camp, the kids got to learn about all aspects of a production of this size. They learned about program production, set design, costume design, along with all the songs & dances.

They also got to paint backgrounds & help decorate some of the costumes. My granddaughter had a blast. She was chosen to be Zazu from the movie & did an amazing job. She was a perfect “ZAZU”.

Jaycie as “ZAZU”, the uptight, red-billed hornbill that served as King Mufasa’s majordomo, and the begrudged caretaker of SIMBA. Soooo cute!! ❤️The whole group & some of the costumes. Some of the backgrounds they helped with. Family with Jaycie after the performance. ❤️

We were sooo very proud of her!

Thank you for stopping by & if you get a chance to watch kids do the Lion King, be sure to go & see it. You won’t be disappointed.

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Dance: A Family Affair

Hey friends!! It’s been a minute. June was a very busy month for our family. Summer is always filled with family functions, holidays, & vacations.

I just want to share some of our family events in my next few posts.

Starting with June 1. Our little Adlyee, my granddaughter, who is 6 had her dance recital. This was the 2nd one she’s been a part of & she did so good. She absolutely loves it.

Dance has always been a part of our family. My daughter took dance til she was in junior high school & then went into cheer. And in high school, she was on the dance team. And now, both of her daughters have been in dance. The oldest has moved on to gymnastics & trying out for a cheer team.

I’m a firm believer in keeping your kids busy in some kind of sport or activity that they enjoy.

Adlyee’s 1st dance was “Surfin’ USA” by the The Beach Boys. It was so dang cute. And the outfit was adorable.

Her 2nd dance was The Wizard of Oz Ballet. I think the whole dance studio was in this one. Her class were little mice. Another adorable outfit. I always get as many pics as possible.

And lastly, she was in a Barbie Song, Get Your Sparkle On. She did amazing in all 3. Precious Sisters!! 💖

And their little cousin who was mesmerized by the whole program. It won’t be long til she’ll be dancing. I love watching them enjoy what they love! ❤️

Thank you for stopping by. Any feedback welcome.

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Creative Memories Scrapbooking

Several years ago, or should I say a lot of years ago, I was very much into scrapbooking. So much so, that I became a www.creativememories.com consultant. I did this for many years, but got so busy that I quit doing it for a few years.

I made many albums for myself, my kids, and a few for my granddaughters.

I was kind of overwhelmed because I had so many pictures of family & had to order a certain amount of product every 3 months, that I just couldn’t keep up.

Anyway, a few years ago, they revamped the company with new criteria, so I joined again and am slowly getting back into it. And instead of doing an album for every person in the family, I am condensing down to maybe one family album that they may all share. And possibly, special occasion albums for each person.

In my opinion, their albums and supplies are the best on the market. The albums have a lifetime guarantee. Papers are acid-free, lignon-free so they won’t damage your pictures or memorabilia over time. Their albums & supplies are put thru rigorous testing to make sure they last thru normal use, and the tools are phenomenal.

Photo from Creative Memories website.

If you are interested in learning more, feel free to visit my website http://www.creativememories.com/user/scouch7

You can order from the site & have directly shipped to your home. Also, visit the Creative Memories blog pages for all kinds of ideas & helpful hints. You can connect to the blog on the site also. You’ll love it. ❤️

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask.

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Disney On Ice

Family functions have always been my favorite thing. Spending time with my sweet granddaughters is my MOST favorite.

A few weeks ago, we went to see Disney on Ice Moana (Dare to Dream). It was my 4th performance to go to in the past several years & they have all been amazing. They are soooo magical & I love them as much as the kids do.

The stories included were Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Tangled, Frozen, and lastly Moana. They were all so amazing, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But I think if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Moana. The girl portraying her looked so much like her it was crazy.

Watching the girl’s reactions to the whole performance was priceless, especially our youngest. I don’t think she took her eyes off the performance the whole time they were performing. Their ages range from 2-9.

I recommend Disney On Ice for any age. It’s wonderful entertainment for the whole family. That kinda sounds like an advertisement, but it truly is. 😍www.disneyonice.com

I didn’t take any pics during performance but I did get some of the family & girls before it started.

They were so excited!!Our beautiful little MoanaOur perfect little Princess ElsaAnd our sassy little Ariel

These girls have my heart.

Thank you for joining. Be sure to go see the next Disney on Ice performance nearest you. You won’t be disappointed.

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Personalized Pony O Cheer Streamers

Hey friends, just wanted to share my craft from last weekend. I am always trying new things, so when my sister messaged me & asked me if I could make some personalized cheer bow streamers for her granddaughter’s cheer team, I told her I would give it a try.

I watched a couple of instructional videos on YouTube & chose the one that worked best for me. They turned out super cute! 💙🖤

Below is step by step instructions of how I made them. They are super easy but a little time consuming. ☺️

What you will need: Assorted ribbons, needle, upholstery thread, glue gun, lighter, vinyl, elastic ponytail holders, scissors, heat press or iron, your choice of cutting machine. First, I went to Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite stores), and picked out the ribbon I wanted to use. I picked out 10 different widths and styles (3/8″ to 1 1/2″ widths), most of it being grosgrain ribbon, but ended up using only 9 of them. You can use as many or as few ribbons as you want & whatever widths you want. www.hobbylobby.com

I cut my ribbon in 15″ strips. You can cut it shorter or longer if you want. It’s your preference. I thought 15″ was a good length. I cut the ends in either a slant or V-shape just for some variety, then heat-sealed the ends of the grosgrain ribbon with a lighter. I then stacked them in the order I wanted them with the thicker width starting on the bottom & layering up with the narrower ribbon ending on the top. I then cut out the names in vinyl using my Cricut Explore Air 2 and Siser heat transfer vinyl (HTV). The font I used is Ravie. I love it. ❤️ I used my heat press to put them on the widest ribbon. www.cricut.com www.siser.com Next, I folded each ribbon in 1/2 and threaded the needle through the middle of the crease layering them. The thread I used is heavy duty upholstery thread that I got at Hobby Lobby. Once threaded, do an accordion fold & wrap the thread around all ribbons 3-4 times and make a couple stitches on the underneath side. Leave needle and thread attached. Next, I attached the elastic ponytail holder to the underneath side with a dab of hot glue just for a little extra support. Then take needle and thread & wrap around ribbons and ponytail holder 2-3 times & add a few stitches thru the ponytail holder & cut. I cut about a 5″ strip of 5/8″ ribbon and made a knot for my streamer middle. I hot-glued it to the streamer with the knot on top wrapping the ends through the ponytail holder, securing with hot glue, & making sure to heat seal the ribbon ends when done. I did 9 of these & my sister and all the girls loved them, especially with their names on them. I think they’re adorable. I can’t wait to make more.

Thank you for joining & feel free to comment. I’m open to suggestions.

❤️ Sherrie 😍

Easter Sunday

This year, instead of buying baskets for all the girls, I decorated plastic tubs for the little ones to match their bedroom decor. Traditional baskets just aren’t big enough for the toys & things on their wish list. I think they turned out super cute.

For the older girls, I bought some small galvanized buckets to decorate with their initials. Just big enough for a little candy & gift cards. They loved them. I always try to be a little creative on the holidays. Continue reading “Easter Sunday” →

Easter is coming!!!!

Soooo, as I said in my previous post, Easter week was super busy. Now that things have slowed down a bit, I wanted to share some of our family activities we did for Easter.

Holidays with my family are very important to me. I love all of us being together as often as possible. Not just on holidays.

Continue reading “Easter is coming!!!!” →

Crafting

Hey guys, it’s been a very busy week for me with all our Easter activities going on. I started last Saturday by baking the cutest bunny butt cupcakes in ice cream cone cups that I had seen on Michael‘s stores Instagram site. @michaelsstores

I used Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix and vanilla frosting. I baked them in the ice cream cone cups just like regular cupcakes & decorated them like the pic on their site.

I think they turned out sooo cute. The bunny feet I got at Walmart. ❤️. I love Easter.

Also, a couple weeks ago I started some craft projects for my work Easter Basket auction to raise money for the American Cancer Society. All the different departments in the hospital participate by getting donations from businesses around town to help make tons of baskets and then they are bid on by employees or even people from outside the hospital. It’s a lot of fun for everyone. At the end of the day, highest bidder wins whatever basket or baskets they had highest bid on. This is the 17th year for our hospital to do this & all proceeds go to ACS.

This year I started by staining, painting, then sanding a little tool tote box that me & my husband had put together a couple years ago, for my basket. First, I stained it with Rustoleum ebony wood stain and then spray painted it with Rustoleum chalked linen white spray paint, sanded it, and sprayed it with minwax polycrylic water based protective finish.

Turned our super cute. ❤️

I made a little girls unicorn t-shirt with my Cricut machine & Siser vinyl, a unicorn hairbow with RABOM grosgrain ribbon, & a bubblegum beaded necklace to match. Bought a little pair of sunglasses, a unicorn bracelet, some candy, & my friend made a unicorn cup to go with it & we had a cute little basket.

It was such a fun project & for a great cause!! 💖💜

Thank you for joining! Happy Crafting!

❤️ Sherrie 😘

Bench Craft

Hey guys, my 1st craft post is up. I’m no expert by no means but I love doing different crafts & I’m definitely not perfect at it. Lol. I just see things that I like to try and go for it, especially if I already have the supplies.