Summer of YES!

At the beginning of the season I favorited a tweet from Mama Knows It All, a fellow Mom Blogger, who wrote a post entitled, Summer of Yes:  Family Bucket List.  A Summer of Yes, as she described it, is a summer filled with fun and family, no excuses, no matter how busy you are.  After reading her post I decided to accept the challenge.  Sure, I’m busy working full time in addition to managing a business and being a single mom, but there were so many things that I wanted to do and the fear of scarce resources (mainly time and money) were limiting me. In the midst of my full time work schedule, mommy commitments, and multiple t-shirt and Crafty Kreations orders, I decided to decrease the fear and increase the faith, be a little creative and crafty, and embark on a #SummerOfYes! Here’s a quick recap of my most memorable and crafty moments:  

Free Outdoor Concerts and Events

One of my favorite things about summer is all of the outdoor concerts, festivals and events.  This summer I made the time and saved money by attending local events.  I would bring my lawn chair or picnic blanket, a book, some snacks and crafts, and simply enjoyed the entertainment and overall atmosphere.  At one event I made a tote bag out of an old, oversized t-shirt.  

To make the tote bag, you cut off the sleeves of the shirt, and cut down the neckline of the shirt as deep as you want the opening.

Next, you cut 1 1/2 inch wide strips at the bottom of the shirt all the way across. Cut up as deep as you want the tote bag to be.  Grab the strip from the front and double knot it to the strip directly behind it.  Repeat this for all of the strips.

 I also made a floral crown in 3 minutes by pinning $1 floral pins to a plain black stretch headband. 

Momcation 

My parents decided to plan a "GRAND" vacation with just them and the Grandkids in sunny Florida.  So my sister and I took our free time away from our kids to have a "Momcation."  I started planning for us to spend 4th of July weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  We were going to attend a cousin's birthday dinner and decided to extend the trip and the fun.  The itinerary I lined up included yoga on the beach, spa treatments, water sports, fireworks and outlet shopping.  This was the first vacation my sister and I shared, with just us, in over 10 years.   

The floral crown was a staple for the #SummerOfYes.  #FlowerChild

4th of July hair bows out of Dollar Store scarfs.

New York State of Mind:  Wendy Williams Show

My co-worker grabbed tickets to the Wendy Williams show and asked if I wanted to join.  Without hesitation, or thinking about finding a sitter, securing the money, etc...I said yes!  Well it is the #SummerOfYes right?!  All things worked in my favor (thank you sweet Jesus) and I caught the Megabus up to NYC just for a day to go to the Wendy Williams show.  Now, I've experience the Wendy Williams show before as an audience member, but this time was a little different.  When the producers asked if anyone had an Ask Wendy question, of course I said yes (again this is the #SummerOfYes).  My question was selected to be answered by Wendy, which meant my face and voice was going to be on live TV!  Behind the scenes the Ask Wendy segment is rehearsed over and over again.  They even tweak your question/story line to make it more interesting.  The show has since aired at least 3 times and I still get text and FB messages asking, "Kelli, did I just see you on Wendy Williams?"  My answer...."Yes!"

 

#MiniAdventures with Mother Nature

I was a Girl Scout up until around the 6th grade, and as an adult I was a Troop Leader of Daisy Troop 3212 for 5 years.  So the urge to go camping didn't seem out of the norm for me.  But instead of basic camping, I had to step it up just a bit for my little diva and plan a week of glamping and outdoor fun with Mother Nature.  My sister's family joined us in our adventure.  We kicked it off with white water rafting.  It was a first for all of us.  River Riders is just an hour away from Baltimore and offers all types of outdoor excursions including zip lining, rafting, kayaking, etc.  I was a little nervous at first because there are dangers involved in white water rafting and my Mini isn't a strong swimmer; she's just learning, but we survived, and I got a good upper body work out.

The following day we set up camp in a cabin in the woods at Fort Whaley Campgrounds in Ocean City, Maryland.  We had a barebones cabin, meaning there was nothing in it besides a place to sleep in the form of bunk beds and one full size bed.  It was a cute little hut in the woods that we would call home for 3 days.  We cooked outside & made s'mores, had to use a bath house a couple of feet away to use the bathroom and shower; but thank God for the electricity and air conditioning in the cabin because it was hot!  Our camp stay included admission to a waterpark at Frontier Town which was a few miles away, and shuttle access to the Ocean City Boardwalk.  This was definitely a memorable experience that I will do again in the future.

My T-shirt tote bag came in handy during our camping trip. 

Fun on the Home Front

Sometimes I looked no further than my own front yard for fun.  I spotted some cute and easy summer activities on Pinterest to keep my little "TurnUp" Princess occupied like these water balloon pinatas.

We're 2 weeks away from the start of the school year and I"m glad to say we made the most out of summer with one or two adventures left ....but why let it end here?  Let the adventures continue....