Please, Be Yourself

     I saw two things on Facebook this week that I really liked. I thought I would take the two things and turn it into a craft for myself.

     The first thing I saw was a little craft idea for kids. It was done on the brick wall in someone's backyard. They took tape and made a big square and then made shapes inside. The kids colored in the spaces and when it was done, they took the tape off and hand a neat design on their wall.

     The second thing I saw was a cross stitch one of my cousins did. It said "Welcome Feel free to be yourself." This struck a cord with me. 

     I try to have our house be a judgement free zone. I'm a firm believer that there is good in everyone. 

     Everyone has a different background, different struggles, different beliefs. No one fits perfectly inside of a box. We are all just one piece of a giant puzzle. I believe our differences are what makes us special, what makes us shine.

     No one should have to hide their shine.

     "Why fit in when you were born to stand out!" Dr. Seuss

Funkle BenCon

     This past October, Ben came down for Funkle BenCon. This is the third year we have gotten together for days and nights filled with playing board games, catching up and just enjoying each other's company. Funkle BenCon has become something that we all look forward to every summer. We don't tell the boys when it is so it's a surprise. Now that they are older, it's getting a bit harder to keep it from them. They know it's going to most likely happen so they watch for any changes in our routines.

     We decided this year we would make surprise swag bags. Hubby came up with a little logo and then we ran with it.

     I made us all matching shirts. 

     Complete with the logo and names.

     I added a cute little saying on the back.

     We thought it would be fun to make silly name badges. I had the boys think of a silly picture to take. Hubby and I just picked one we had saved on our camera. I used one I took of Ben last year since it was a surprise.

     The last thing we made was some can koozies. I used my Cricut to design and cut out some vinyl. Then I used my shirt press to attach the vinyl.

     I think they turned out really well!

     I wasn't very good at taking pictures this year, but we all had a good time. 

     We played some board games 

     The guys all played with an RC car

     Made some videos for Ben's YouTube channel SnowBoardGamer 

     Got a little milk shake

     And just had an over all fun time hanging out and catching up. Chewy even made a new best friend.