Swedish Fish Gift Idea + {Free Printable}

Kate & Claire were on a little swim team this year for our neighborhood swim team.

Kate did it last year & this year Claire was old enough as well!
Both of them can swim now. It is such a relief!
They can both jump off the diving board in the deep end & swim to the edge of the pool.
(If you told me at the beginning of the summer that they would be able to do that, I would not have believed you!)

Being a teacher & a former soccer coach, I know how nice it is to get end of the year gifts from students/players, so I always try and do something for their teachers/coaches at the end of the season, even if it is something small.

{Click HERE to see what I made them last year}

They had 10 coaches & all their swim coaches are in either high school or college, so I needed to do something that wasn't too costly.
What do most high school & college kids like? Candy!

I saw a similar idea on Pinterest, but knew I wanted to tweak the idea & make my own design.
Here is what I came up with:

Last week their "swim team" ended, so we gave the coaches their gift on the last day.
They had a mini swim meet where each swimmer got to swim across the pool & then they got a medal.
If you need a super easy & inexpensive end of year coach or teacher gift, here is what you need:

Swedish Fish Candy
Washi Tape
Printable Tag (I used cardstock, but normal paper is fine)

Here is a close up of the tag that I made:

Cheesy? Yes. But, I think it's cute (and so did the coaches!)
This was a SUPER easy end of the season gift.
And, cheap!
The bags of candy were only $.79 each
(They were the small bags, but you can get bigger bags for less than $2 each)
The washi tape I also got at Target for a few dollars.
And, then I just printed out the printable & stuck it to the candy.
It took me 5 minutes to put this together.

And, because I love you guys, I made some printables for you!
There are 3 versions, one for a swim coach, one for a coach (any sport) & one for teacher (so you can use this for teacher appreciation, etc.

You are o-fish-ally a great swim coach:

You are o-fish-ally a great coach:

You are o-fish-ally a great teacher:

{Click to download. Right click & then Save.}

Print them out, cut them, fill in your kids name(s), and tape it a bag of Swedish Fish.

Enjoy!
Linking up HERE

Maternity Photoshoot for Baby #3

Since this is our last baby, I knew I wanted to have maternity photos taken.

At 34 weeks, I had a little maternity photo shoot with a friend from high school.
{All photos taken by Marcie Lynn Photography}

Will baby be a boy or a girl?!?!?!

Can't believe baby #3 will be here in less than 2 weeks!

This picture sums up how we feel about having another baby in couple weeks.....Ahhhh!!!!!

Thank you Marcie for capturing us for the final time as a family of 4!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these photos & will cherish them forever!

My dress: Old Navy Maternity
Shoes: Target
Bracelet: NY & Co
Earrings: Happy Days by WifeySinger

The girls dresses: Lil Blue Boo

Summer Salad Swap: Shrimp Orzo Salad

Welcome to the 2012 Summer Salad Swap!

I am sharing one of my favorite salad recipes that we make all the time!
We even served it at my sister's Baby Shower last weekend!
It is easy, healthy & delicious!
Here is what you need for:
Shrimp Orzo Salad

• 1 box Orzo
• 1 lb shrimp
  
• 3-4 stalks celery
• 3-4 green onions
• Champagne Dressing ( I always use Girards Light Champange)

Directions:
Cook Orzo according to package directions.

While orzo is cooking, slice your green onions:

And, dice your celery:

For the shrimp, I buy a 1 lb. bag of frozen shrimp, with the tail off.
**Make sure you buy the bag with the tail off!***
You can also buy fresh from the seafood counter, but the frozen bag is less expensive.
You can thaw the frozen bag in your fridge overnight or you can thaw the shrimp while your orzo is cooking in a bowl of cold water.
Once your orzo is done cooking, drain it.
Add the orzo to a salad bowl & then add the celery, green onions & shrimp:

Toss the salad with about 1/2 the bottle of salad dressing.

Cover the salad & refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours.
Once you are ready to serve, add a little bit more salad dressing.
Viola! Super easy salad that is healthy & delicious!
It is a refreshing salad & the light version of the dressing doesn't skimp on flavor at all!

This is the perfect salad to have on hot summer nights because it doesn't require using the oven.
I usually serve this as the main part of dinner & sometimes I will make a fruit salad to go along with it. It is really filling.
If you don't like shrimp, you could use diced chicken or avocado (or both!)

If you have a great Summer Salad Recipe, Grab a Button and add your recipe to the linky below.
You can add your recipe anytime from now until next Friday!
And, be sure and check out the other recipes that are linked up!

<a border="0" href="http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%20salad%20swap" target="_blank"><img src="http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n191/mlarson17/SummerSaladSwap2.png" /></a><br>

A Day at the Beach

One of the perks about living in California is that if you drive 1-2 hours in any direction, you can end up at the beach, the mountains, wine country, farm land or desert.
We have quite the scenic variety here in the Golden State.

Even though we live just a short car ride to the beach, we rarely go.
I know, I know.

The girls put on their Summer list that they wanted to go to the beach & since we aren't going to Tahoe this summer (for the first time EVER...can't travel far because baby is on the way) I decided that we would do a day trip to the beach.
We went during the week thinking it would be less crowded, but we just so happened to go the day of a Junior Lifeguard Competition. The beach was PACKED with junior lifeguards & the competitions that they had going on. It made for good people watching. I think there should be a new reality TV show called "Lifeguard Moms". These moms were intense, just like Dance Moms. It was quite entertaining to watch.

The girls had fun playing in the water & sand with Kevin and I was quite content people watching & reading.

This bird kept trying to eat my Cheez-its. Rude bird. And, is it just me or do Cheez-Its taste so much better at the beach?

After several hours on the beach, it was time for an ice cream break.
One of my favorite things about going to the beach is walking around the beach towns.

Beach towns have so much character & I love the quaintness.

I loved these Victorian Beach houses that were right across the street from the beach. I think they would be so fun to stay in next summer (hint, hint)

Isn't this pink cruiser awesome? It is EXACTLY what I have been looking for.
Wouldn't it be a great push present? (hint, hint)

Despite the crowd, we had a great day at the beach & I hope to make beach trips more of an occurrence since we live so close!

And, don't forget tomorrow is The Summer Salad Swap Link up!
I have a yummy salad to share with you!

Little Man Baby Shower

As soon as my sister Rebecca found out she was having a boy, I went into major Baby Shower planning mode. All I know is girl parties, so it was very fun to figure out a Boy theme.

I was going to do a Vintage Cowboy party (because I have so much stuff I could re-use from Claire's Cowgirl Party) but, since that party was less than a year ago, I went a different direction and decided on a Little Man Shower (since her baby is the first little man in our family...that we know of!)
I decided to go with a navy blue/lime green color scheme because Rebecca isn't a fan of baby blue. I knew I wanted to incorporate ties & not just mustaches (like I have seen with other Little Man Parties)

I made 2 invites for her to chose from:
Ties & Polka Dot:

Mustache & Argyle:

(We used the Ties/Polka Dot one, but both invites are available in my Etsy Shop)

The shower was on Saturday & it was a blast. When we picked the date for the shower months ago, I realized I was going to be 37 weeks pregnant, but I made it to 40 weeks with both girls, so I was just praying this baby would stay put until after her shower! And, it did! Good job, baby :)
Here are some pictures from the shower:

Drink Station:

I got the straws here & just added mustaches to them.
I used mason jars for cups & wrote names on tags for each person:

Appetizers:

It was a luncheon, so we decided on a variety of salads for lunch.
My mom, aunt & older sister helped make/prep the salads.

Because there were going to be about 30 people at the shower, I planned on having everyone eat outside in our backyard. Of course, the day of the shower, it was almost 100 degrees, but thankfully we were able to borrow umbrellas from our neighbor, so it helped shade the tables.

I ordered some fabric online & used fabric as table cloths.

Mason jars with flowers were the center pieces. Simple & easy.

Other decorations I had inside my house:

I made a onesie clothesline & one the onesies I sewed on ties (with the fabric I had for the tablecloths)
Close up of some of the tie onesies:

And, an initial oneise for Baby J:

The onesie bunting was a backdrop to my dessert table. You know me...I love a dessert table!

Fruit Cup Puffs!

Blue Velvet Cupcakes:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes:

Close up of the 4 types of cupcake toppers I made:

More Bunting:
Rebecca with some of her friends from childhood:

Jason's sister is due a few weeks after Rebecca (also with a boy) & they both had on basically the same dress! It was awesome.

My sisters & I with one of our family friends:

Favors:
I am all about the cookie favors. It is my go-t0 party favor. Aren't these onesies with ties adorable?
I had fun making the little signs to go along with the theme:
My mom, Aunt, sisters & I at the end of the shower:

It was such a fun shower & Baby Boy Baker got hooked up with all sorts of fun new things.
Can't wait for Rebecca & Jason's Little Man to make his appearance this September!

And, don't forget to link up your favorite Summer Salads this Friday!


Linking up HERE & HERE