SUMMERTIME!  I love SUMMER!  I mean, like I REALLY love SUMMER!  I love it so much, I start getting depressed around the end of June cause I know the days are starting to get shorter!  SUMMER NEVER lasts long enough for me! 

Here's a little this and that I have to share with you about SUMMERTIME!

First, the more often your write SUMMER the wierder it looks.

Second, SCHOOLS OUT!  Which sometimes I love, and sometimes I don't love.  Right now, I love.  Just today I had a blast picking out little Thank You gifts for the kids' teachers.  I was ready to go for the ole' gift card idea (which is always a great choice) but then I saw these new JUMBO marshmallows... LIGHT BULB (in best Gru imitation)!

So I gathered up everything you'd need for s'mores (which happens to all be on sale at Meijer this week), grabbed red and blue gift bags, some tissue paper and American flags instead of bows and TA DA!  So, I had to share this idea with you for any of those SUMMERTIME gift bags you need to throw together at the last minute. 

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When my kids get home, I'm asking them to write a Thank You card for their teacher - especially noting their favorite memories from the school year, and wishing them a SUMMER full of happy memories.

Another idea for all those SUMMERTIME birthdays (especially for adults trying to stay healthy) is to use a watermelon for the cake.  We did that last year for my mom and she was thrilled!  I thought it was a win-win - God made it and my kids ate it!  All I had to do was cut it up - plus we weren't trying to muscle down leftover birthday cake for the next week and a half.

[Image]  Is that not the cutest watermelon?  Wish I could say I did that, but I didn't!  I was kinda going for the... ummm.. well... more of a triangle theme with my mom's cake.  Oval, really... at first.  Then triangle - with the tips broke off... sometimes.   But THIS one!  THIS one is my goal!

Last thing - if you're not wanting to wait to win the Notebook and accessories in this weeks GIVEAWAY, Staples is having a shin-dig you might wanna check out.  Here are the details I got from a couponing email I got this afternoon:

"There’s a great Staples printable coupon available this week on their website. You’ll find a number of office supplies at 50% off this week, so now is a great chance to stock up on school or office supplies.
Visit Staples.com Click on “weekly ad,” then look for the SPECIAL OFFER box (example shown above) next to the front page of the ad. Click on the offer box to print your coupon. The Fine Print:
Valid through June 11, 2011 Limit 1 coupon per customer per day. Excludes HP ink and toner, postage stamps, gift cards or phone cards. Minimum purchase of $3 must be met to which no other coupon or instant savings offer applies" So, what are your favorite SUMMER traditions or memories?  And how do you plan to make this a SUMMER to remember?