best buddies

R has been best buddies with C since the beginning of JK {since 'forever' if you are 7 years old}.

These two immediately hit it off in their first year of school together, right after we moved here, and all of R's stories from school have always included C. They have always had so much in common, and they got along so well. They were in JK and SK together and then this past year, in Grade 1 they were in different classrooms, but that did not stop them from playing together at every recess. They were on the same hockey team this year, so there were many play dates after the Saturday and Sunday games.

Sadly at the end of this school year C moved to a new city {his dad's company transferred him} and R will miss his buddy...

smash book

smash: the act of sticking your cool stuff into this awesome book.

I recently picked up a Smash book from The Scrapbox, right after they came in, which was very lucky of me, as they are selling out crazy fast everywhere. If you haven't heard of Smash, then you have most likely been living under a rock, then check out them out on the K&Company website or watch this video...

After I brought mine home, I was thinking that this is a book that R would love, because he is a bit of a hoarder he likes to 'save' all the random 'stuff' that we accumulate in life, and he likes to document his days in his school agenda.

So I made him his own Smash book using materials I already had on hand...

like some cardboard and 7Gypsies tape for the cover. And fun bits of paper that I had in my scraps basket...

and sheets of Kraft paper that I used fun border punches on...
I stuck in some Kraft envelopes to hold his secret treasures...

and used plenty of lined paper so he can work on his writing skills over the summer.

I just kept adding pages and adding pages until it had that fun, random feeling that the Smash books have. I bound his book using three big binder rings so his book is actually more practical, as he can add pages {or brochures, clippings, or maps, etc} to it, as he goes along.

R loves it! He started using it right away - he journaled what he has been up to so far on his summer break, and he glued in a movie stub he brought home after we saw Cars 2... He and I are sharing all the Smash embellishments that I bought, since each pack came with plenty. He has been using the journaling prompts and tucking things in the little envelopes...

I think it is a great way to document our summer fun, and it's a great 'project' for us to work on together.

{I got into BIG TROUBLE when: I threw a water balloon at my Mom

Best ADVICE I've received: Always wear clean underwear}

{Because really, before I know it he will think he is too cool to scrapbook with Mom}!