You're FIRED. .the Project!

I find it hard to believe that May will be half way over in just a few short days!!

We finished another super busy week here. .

but a FUN one. .

With LOTS of partying!!

Grant made the cake in his nutrition class at school. .Cami made the plate at daycare. .Devin fixed the wind chimes at school. .and Tristan and his friend Cassidy got together Saturday in my kitchen and baked lemon meringue pies for their mom's!! And my hubby?? He came through too with a GREAT basket containing a couple of massage certificates, chocolates, bath salts, a candle and a me sized bottle of champagne!! I'm spoiled and I know it. .but I thank God for them all regularly!! Oh, how HE has blessed me!!

Mother's Day was a highlight for this spoiled mama!!

And the gift of a super cute Mother's Day plate given to me on Thursday. .

Hand painted by Miss Thing herself. .

provoked a birthday celebration of great magnitude for Grandma Pat on Friday!!

Grandma celebrated another birthday on Saturday. .

And after Cami's plate gift on Thursday. .

I knew JUST how we should celebrate her big day!!

 I was excited that everyone could make it at the last minute. .

and we all got together Friday afternoon to try our hands at painting ceramic!

My friend Tiffany (or Tif. .as Cami calls her) just opened a ceramic shop called. .

You're Fired (clever name, huh!). .

And we had a GREAT time. .

chatting. .

and painting. .

and indulging in red velvet cupcakes!!

These three kids were SOOO involved in their work. .

and QUIET. .

we hardly knew they were there!!

This girl. .

on the other hand. .

was BUSY. .

Checking out the playroom in the loft. .

Checking in on Tif's tiny puppy. .

Checking out all the other possible creations and making her to-do list. .

And just plain. .

Checking in on TIF!!

She shamelessly allowed Grandma to help her paint up her little mermaid piece. .

since she had a hard time staying still enough to paint it herself!!

 Despite that little problem. .

of staying still, that is. .

 she has already decided that the NEXT time we go back she will paint an egg!!

Even Granny quietly painted up a little lady bug box to put her earrings in!!

Aunt Amy (in the far corner) was down to celebrate Granddad's birthday on Thursday (our first party of the week). .

When I asked her to come along, she gave me a really funny look. .

and I still think the only reason she came was because she didn't have a good excuse NOT to come ;-)

BUT. .

She is already planning her next visit to come back and do it again!! She made a super cool square plate!

We lovingly teased my sister in law Lisa. .

about her plain colored flower vase with NO added pizazz. .

And I tried to pay Tiffany extra to jazz it up a little after we left. .

But I noticed in Tiffany's photo of the finished projects. .

That her vase is still one color. .

AND. .

 it will be a very sleek, simple vase to display all of her garden's glory this summer!

Here's Cami's mermaid. .

Very fancy. .

And last I knew, she and "Tif" were plotting to put some sparkle product on her after the firing process took place!!

Devin painted a car (surprised??)

Emma painted a fairy. .

and she will have to go back to finish painting her. .

because there were so many parts to paint!!

Keith painted a football helmet!

And when Grandma wasn't working on Cami's mermaid. .

She fixed a cute little cupcake box. .

Pink. .

with a silver wrapper!

And I painted too. .

I created a bowl. .

that I could put summer goodies into. .

It's bigger than it looks. .

and will be colorful and perfect for veggie dips or salsa!

The studio was certainly a buzz of noise as we worked and chatted for about 2 1/2 hours. .

Which, went REALLY fast!! Here we are with our creations before they went into the kiln. . 

                                

And here are our creations AFTER the firing took place!!

I am still amazed at how different the colors are BEFORE the firing process. .

I suspect that there will be a lot of happy painters in our group when we pick up the projects!

The rest of the weekend was spent crafting, gardening, and relaxing!! My idea of a PERFECT weekend!! I was even served breakfast in bed by my 10 year old who was banging around (quietly) in the kitchen by 6:30 Sunday morning. .

And by 6:50, he brought in a SHEET cake pan. .

full of a egg, sausage and cheese sandwich that he made himself on an English muffin. .

a banana, a bowl of watermelon, and a glass of orange juice that he and Cami made Saturday afternoon and put in the spare fridge. .

informing me NOT to open the fridge and spoil the surprise!

I hope the rest of you mama's had some spoiling too!!

I'll be back soon to share our weekend garden experiences!!