Hannah's Sweet Sixteen

 My sweet little Hannah-Banana is getting so grown up!! She turned sixteen over the weekend.  It was such a perfect day - it was all so very.......Hannah. I'm so glad her 16th fell on a Saturday so we could spend every moment celebrating.  We started off the morning with her presents - big sister Punkin was Skyping with us from college - I forgot to get a picture of that. 

 Her most special gift was this album I made for her just FULL of letters from family and friends.  There are so many wonderful words filling that album that she hasn't even had time to read them all!  We did this for Punkin when she turned 16 so it will be a great family tradition.  What a treasure to be able to keep the rest of their lives and always be able to look back at the words of love and encouragement from those they love most.  Every grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, cousin, friend and relative wrote such meaningful things for Hannah to treasure up in her heart. Thank you so much everyone for filling Hannah-Banana with never ending love! The beautiful art work on the cover was made by one of her grandmothers. 

 The next part of our day was filled with planting a tree in our front yard in honor of Hannah's sweet sixteen birthday.  She has always, always wanted a cherry blossom tree - it was the perfect way for my nature loving gardening girl to spend her day and have such a special way to commemorate the occasion. 

She was even able to use one of her birthday gifts - a fun umbrella she has wanted for a long time! 

This picture just reminds me so much of the little girl that was always outside digging in the dirt, planting and growing things, and collecting any living creature she could find. 

 Birthday calls from Nana while she plants her tree.

 This sad little wagon cracks me up.  The girls refuse to let me get rid of it and it is way beyond repair.  They say it's a part of their childhood and they want to keep it forever.  It's already over 20 years old!   Even with only two wheels Dad managed to make it work - you should have seen him pushing it! 

Of course Baby had to join us for a while all cozy in Hannah's overalls.  Only Hannah can make overalls look awesome!  

 I just love how all the buds on the tree represent the beginning of new life - a promise of what is to come, just like my sweet girl and the path before her. 

 All Hannah wanted for her birthday was a fun dinner out with just a few of her most special friends.

 Our whole table full of strangers sang Happy Birthday to her - she was sufficiently embarrassed. :) 

 Back at home we celebrated with gifts and cake.  What do teenage girls do with a birthday cake full of candles?? Take pictures of it first - of course!! haha! 

 Present time!! This has got to be one of the sweetest gifts Hannah has ever received from a friend - it's a framed collage of pictures of Hannah and her oldest dearest friend ever since they were little toddlers together.  I got teary looking at how sweet it was - a treasure for sure! 

 Her friends know her so well and gave her just the perfect gifts!! So many wonderful art supplies, sketch books, mugs for her endless hot tea addiction, her favorite fresh hot tea leaves, mugs from her favorite shows and t-shirts from her favorite band. Her favorite gift was tour tickets to see her favorite guys - Dan and Phil with her BFF this summer! They also have a Twenty-One Pilots concert to look forward to. 

 Then the real fun began - all it takes is a phone with silly apps that takes crazy pictures - the laughs and giggles lasted for hours and hours. 

 We will save these pictures for their wedding days :)

Seriously - CANT STOP LAUGHING over this one. 

 When you have several dancers together - crazy things will happen. 

At the end of her very special day - she so sweetly thanked us for making her day so special.  She said it was the best birthday ever.  She was filled to the brim with so much love from everyone in her life - a sweet sixteen has never been sweeter!! 

Daddy Daughter Dance 2016

Timberdoodle Product Review - History Over Time USA Puzzle

 I am so honored for my blog to have been chosen as a 2016 Timberdoodle Official reviewer and blogger for Timberdoodle Homeschool Curriculum!! If you have never shopped at Timberdoodle for your homeschool needs, you are in for a treat.  They have the best of the best products and make learning so much fun. 

The first product we were able to review is this 4D Cityscape USA History Over Time puzzle.  This is part of their sixth-grade Timberdoodle curriculum kit.   Of course - you don't have to be a sixth grader to enjoy it! 

 But having a cute puppy to enjoy it with you sure helps! 

 Boo was so excited when it arrived in the mail that she quickly dumped it on the floor ready to put it all together.  It only took a moment to realize this was going to be quite a project.   I think even Bentley the dog felt a bit overwhelmed. 

 The website states this puzzle is for ages 8+ but the box states 14+.  We definitely agreed with the suggested age on the box. 

 We called dad in for reinforcements...

 We quickly realized this needed to be moved to the table because it might take a while and also because Bentley decided the puzzle pieces made nice chew toys. 

 What makes this puzzle so fun and unique is that it has so many layers.  While dad was working on the 806 piece (!) base layer which represented the original 13 colonies, Boo got to work on the floor with the second layer which is a nice 65 piece foam puzzle with much larger pieces.  This layer represented the USA as it looks today. It was a quick and fun layer to put together which a 10-year-old could easily do on her own.  Bentley provided moral support. :)

 The puzzle is very detailed and shows the simulated elevation of the Rocky Mountains. 

 The base layer became a family project that took about a week to complete, mostly being worked on by Boo during read-aloud times and by dad in the evenings.    This was what he looked like many evenings during the week! The teenager in the house would occasionally give it some attention as well. Mom has zero patience for puzzles so she was just the photographer.  I know when our college girl comes home, she will be in love with this one.   Most of our family loves a good puzzle and this one was quite a challenge.  Each piece is shaped very similar to the next which made it extra challenging. 

Throughout the week, it slowly began to take shape.

 The day dad placed the last piece into the base layer was quite a celebration! 

Then it was time to move on to the third layer - the Historical Buildings and Monuments.  The puzzle came with a time line diagram that showed the historical chronological order that the important buildings and monuments were built.  You could actually build them in order to replicate history. 

After punching out each monument, we looked for the number printed on the bottom of each one and found the corresponding place in the foam second layer of the puzzle which had a small insert to punch out and place the monument into. 

 What a fun way to learn about our nations buildings and monuments! 

We were SOO excited when that very last piece was placed! We did it! It wasn't easy, but what a fun family activity that was very educational.  We learned not only about our country, but that  persistence and perseverance really does pay off, no matter what you are doing!  Now I'm not sure we will ever want to take it apart again. 

Go check out Timberdoodle's really fun educational items as well as complete curriculum kits for all your homeschooling needs! 

I was sent this product to review as a member of Timberdoodle's blog team.  All opinions are strictly my own.