It's a Blue Ribbon Life - VBS 2013 (Day 1)

Wow!  What an interesting theme our VBS is this year!  It's called "It's a Blue Ribbon Life" with stories about Jesus and also using the Fruits of the Spirit.  We're only doing three days of the VBS, so using the stories about the temptation of Jesus, Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and then His death on the cross.

It was difficult for me to get my 'mind' wrapped around the county fair theme, but as it always does, it worked out and it's always my 'favorite' ever.  Each year :).  Thanks to my husband and kiddos for helping out each year.

The sign about above the people says, "Life County Fair".  I just decided to call the count 'Life'.  Not sure anyone will know why except me.

 The 'concession stand' on the wall also served for attendance charts.  The popcorn containers get a cardstock 'popcorn' piece added each day.

My daughter and I have laughed about the real cotton candy we had on the walls.

It looks so pretty on there at first, but then......

....within a few hours, it looks like this!!!  Dripping cotton candy!  Not sure why, but it's sure funny looking!  Another option that we've got available, but haven't done is painting the polyfill stuff a pretty pastel color.  Not sure we'll do that, since we have plenty of bags of the real stuff.

The "Fruit of the Spirit' wall turned out really cute.  I got a kick out of my almost-17-year-old son who asked, "Mom, you know fruit doesn't really have faces, don't you?"  His humor is dry sometimes, so I wondered if he was teasing or really asking! (Haha!!)

Trying to think of the perfect look for the room, I remembered some string lights I had found at Target. I wanted to get some for one of  my boys' rooms, but they weren't interested. My husband volunteered to go get a few strands of the lights for me.....about an hour and 15 minutes away.

As he and I were hanging them that night, though, I let one hit the back of a chair and it busted the light, causing the whole strand to blow.  I was so disappointed!  But, guess what?  My husband got back in the car and drove back to Target right then and got me a lot more sets! Isn't that sweet?  He's a keeper!

All I knew I wanted in the room when I started was a barn.  I just thought it would be really cute.  The little animals on the sides and in the barn window opening all have on big 1st place or winner ribbons, completing the 'Blue Ribbon Life' theme.

My husband isn't artistic in some ways and we laugh about the one thing he can draw - this bird that he put on top of the weather vane!  It's always the same bird....no variation.  What a great tiny addition to the room!!

Today there were 12 students in my 1st and 2nd grade classroom.  They enjoyed hearing the Bible lesson and doing the activities.

The auditorium was decorated, as well.  It looked really cute!  My brother-in-law had to take it down today, then put it up again because for the first time ever during VBS week, we had a funeral today.

A sweet 99 year old sister in Christ!  We laughed that she would have been fine with leaving up the decor! She was a funny and fun lady, who amazing still lived alone and in great health until the last few weeks of her lie.

I'll share more about VBS this week: Pictures of other rooms, plus activities in my own class.