Shoes, School and a Swap

The only thing better than new red shoes for me?


New red shoes for Maren! Jen posted about Salt-Water sandals the other day and that reminded me that I wanted a red pair for Maren. Thanks to the wonders of eBay and quick shipping, I had them just a few days later, right in time to wear with her cute Fourth of July dresses.

Our Fourth holiday was good--quiet, but still nice. We grilled hot dogs and ate outside on the patio, then headed to a neighboring town for the fireworks show. We'd actually never been to watch fireworks here in Denver--for two of the previous three years we were in Utah and the one year we stayed here it rained so we stayed home. We've been a bit unsure of the best place to go to see fireworks so took a gamble and drove a few miles south. We ended up with prime seats and with a big bag of fresh kettle corn for Mommy & Daddy (really, they should call that stuff kettle crack) and a brand new tube of glow bracelets for Maren, we sat back and enjoyed what turned out to be a really great show.

This morning Maren and I walked down to the school where she will be attending preschool to meet her new teachers and see her classroom. The school is on a year-round schedule so while three of the tracks begin tomorrow, Maren doesn't start until the end of July. That gives us just enough time to fit in a couple of weeks of swimming lessons, which will start next week. Maren will only go to school two days a week for about three hours in the morning, but that will be enough for her to have some fun and learn new things and for me to have a little break (yay!).

I received the most amazing package from my Parasols, Pink Lemonade and Polka Dots swap partner, the fabulous ArtsyMama! I can tell that Kari took much time in selecting items that I would love--and she was right!

Among the treasures she sent were a lovely blown glass bottle in my favorite turquoise color, a darling vintage hankie and apron, a fun bag with an ice cream cone on the front (perfect for the pool!)

a trio of vintage paper parasols--so perfect for the theme!--a gorgeous vintage hat and a bunch of neat old millinery flowers, the cutest little ice-cream patterned pennant banner, a little pink wagon for Maren, and one of Kari's pieces of original collage artwork, which I have happily displayed in my craft room.

There were lots of other goodies as well, and it was such a treat to pull out treasure after treasure. Kari was a fantastic swap partner! As usual, I forgot to photograph the package I sent to her before I got it all in the box (WHEN will I learn? Sheesh.) so you'll have to check out her blog in a few days when she returns from vacation. Also, if you're a fellow swapper and haven't yet uploaded your photos to the Flickr group, please head over there and do so! I love checking out all the ways that people interpreted the theme. I'm heading over to upload my photos right now!