i dig you!

I have had a FEW moments of mom genius.
Not a lot.
Today may have been one of my few moments.
Pinterest inspired homemade valentine's for Abi's class.

Unfortunately, my moment of genius didn't strike until Friday. 

If I had planned ahead (which I never do!), I could have ordered the shovels online at a much better price.

Unfortunately, I had to buy 26 buckets AND shovels since we couldn't find anyone locally who sells shovels only.

Now I need to find a project for 26 plastic buckets :)

Abi and I had so much fun together making these fun little valentines.
(On a side note, I think valentine is Abi's last "baby word".  She still calls them valentimes and I love it!  If anyone corrects her, I might lose my salvation over it.  Just sayin.)

My other moment of mothering genius.

Ok, if you're a seamstress, please don't look at this photo.  My seams aren't completely straight but I'm totally cool with it.  I think there's lots of character :)
Abi chose the fabric and the ribbon.
I made up the pattern and Abi loves it!

A HUGE thank you to my mommy for traipsing all around Wichita with us Saturday looking for shovels and fabric.  Then, she bailed me out when my "new to me" sewing machine wouldn't work.  So funny how we never outgrow the need for our mommies.  She's my forever valentine.

driving...finally!

My sweet Hannah turned 14 in January. 
In Kansas, that means you're eligible to get your learner's permit - the first step in the driver's license journey.
Hannah has been studying her handbook for MONTHS.
She found an online sample test and has taken it over...and over...and over.
Do you realize what an exciting read the driver's license handbook is?
Things like merging traffic, turning lanes, slow moving farm equipment signs.
Blah, blah, blah.

She finally decided she was ready to take her exam on Friday afternoon.
The kids all got out of school at 1:00 so Mitch braved the driver's license bureau with Hannah, Abi and Sophie.  Every 14 year old driver needs a cheering squad.
Two 9 year old girls weren't quite as excited waiting an hour and a half for this experience to finally conclude :)

Any who, Hannah passed her exam on the first try!
She is now a licensed (sort of!) driver.

She begs to drive everywhere we go.
It has improved our prayer life tremendously.
It has made me laugh and laugh and laugh.
Honestly, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard when we got to dinner last night.
It took her four blocks to get the van up to the speed for the automatic locks to kick in (20 mph).

I have quickly realized that there's lots to driving that is instinct if you're a seasoned driver.
Not so much instinct for a beginning driver.
My favorite line last night - as we pulled diagonally into the 2 1/2 straight parking stalls, Hannah exclaimed "I'm not sure which one I'm aiming for!"  Well, she made it into 3 different stalls with that one effort.

My other favorite driving moment from the weekend - there's a big dip as you pull into our church parking lot.  We scrape the front end of the van every time we pull into the lot.  But not Hannah!  She found out that if you pull through the grass instead of the driveway, there's no scraping.  That's good information for all of us drivers :)