Christmas

Christmas came early at my house due to our going away for a couple of weeks and I was not going to carry all our gifts down and back. So we had our family unwrapping two weeks early. Boy, was it fun!!! We opened everything in the evening after dinner, (no early mornings) and played until dinner. It was so nice and now we can sit back and really enjoy the next several weeks and not have all that hanging over us. We may just do this every year. (the early unwrapping, not going away for two weeks) I'll let you know how our trip was. Oh, I also got done the most beautiful Christmas dresses for all the girls and tie to match for Doug. I was so proud walking into church last Sunday with my family all beautiful. I will put up pix as soon as I get them taken. (We came home and changed too fast and I forgot to take them then....

P.S. This is "Doug Jr." She admitted it to get her gift.

Old pix and holidays

Here are the Halloween pix I said I would put up, just a little late, but oh well. I was a princess (as was Clara, of course) and Erica was a cute little pea (get it???) We dressed up on two nights. the first one Amber was a duck, (I was quite pleased with myself with how her feet and beak turned out!) then the next night she was a devil. And of course, Doug was Joe the plumber. = > We also went out with friends for dinner on Halloween night. (It is becoming a tradition, I like it!)




Notice the cute little cookie monster that doesn't want his pix taken.

Winter FUN!

Here is the view from my upstairs window last week when we woke up to snow. Amber and Clara got to go out in brand new snow and make their tracks!!! Here is Clara wondering the back yard.




Here is Amber and Clara making a fine snowman in the side yard, all by themselves!!
They were very intent and hard at work. I took the pix through another window. It was too cold to go outside!!



Here is the finished product. Great job!!! Unfortunately it didn't last too long and became several lumps in the yard when it got warmer. But now that we have lots of snow they are lumps covered in snow.



But boy did they have fun while it lasted!!!!

Catching up

Boy, how time flys and gets away from you. We really haven't been doing to much more than just life. But it has kept us busy. Sara and Tessa have a dance/gymnastics class and Amber and Clara take a gymnastics class and I have scouts, so that accounts for 3 nites a week. By the way, Amber is doing amazing in her gymnastics class!!! She can almost do a cartwheel perfectly. She loves the class and Clara just loves the new guy instructor. = >
I am gearing up for the Christmas season and most all my projects lined up and will be starting up in full steam tomorrow. As we are going to open all our gifts a week before Christmas my time is short so here I go...
I also want to include a few shots we took yesterday at Doug's Grandma Grace's 85th Birthday party. We got to go to Oakley for that. It was actually a fun day. We went and got to know some distantly, sort of related, relatives. Let me tell you how that works. It is truely one of those, my sister's neighbor's aunt's dog's vet's brother's uncle, kind of things. So we spent the day with my husband's dad's father's 3rd wife's kids' from her previous marriage. Fun huh. They are all sealed together, but still, these people didn't' even meet until they were all grown up (my father-in-law and the children that held the party.)(I guess they are short of Doug's uncles and aunts.) I don't know, you tell me. But anywho, it was still fun and we got to see Grandma Grace and meet some new friends.

Pix of my baby...

Is this enough for you Jan??????? Now show me yours!!!!!!!!!!!

i am a winner!!!

Yeah me!!! I put a comment on a business blog and they selected a winner from them and they chose me!! So some where in the mail I am now the winner of the newest "Sesame Street" music CD. I can't wait. It is always so fun to win something, especially when there is no strings attached like them coming to your home and demoing a product for 2 hours that is too expensive in the first place. Just thought I would add that last remark and savor my prize that is coming in the mail with no strings attached!! Yeah me!!!!

I hate playing tag...

• I am: tired .
  
• I want: 10 solid hours of sleep!!!!
  
• I have: an urge to go sew something, anything.
  
• I dislike: politics, our pres.-elect, and cold feet.
• I miss: my mind .
  
• I fear: my girls will one day realize I am not as talented as they think I am.
  
• I feel: fuzzy
  
• I hear: my 6 year old trying to reason with my 4 year old.
  
• I crave: CHOCOLATE!!! and a pepsie
  
• I cry: when I think of never having another baby.
  
• I usually:can be found in my sewing room.
  
• I search:for my sanity
  
• I wonder: when my girls got so big
  
• I regret: every time I yell.
  
• I love: Doug, chocolate, my girls, naps in the sunshine and my sewing machines.
  
• I care: about all little kids.
  
• I always: put my cold feet on my hubby's warm feet at night.
  
• I worry: about getting the seams to lay just right, puckers, and running out of material.(it could happen!!)
  
• I am not: a great speller.
  
• I remember: when each of my girls were just babies and holding them and wanting them to stay little forever!!
  
• I believe:I am going to be the best grandma!!!!!!
  
• I dance:when I cook
  
• I sing: to my girls in the morning and when they are mad.
  
• I don't always: remember what I went into the next room for.
  
• I argue: about who's turn it is to go get the treat at night.
  
• I write: when I can, but not as much as I want to.
  
• I win: every time Erica smiles at me.
  
• I lose: every time I try to get Clara to do something she doesn't want to do.
  
• I wish:I had a whole day to myself.
  
• I listen: to my baby's laughs and babbles
  
• I don't understand: why I can't have everything
  
• I can usually be found: in my sewing room
  
• I need: a maid, a hair cut, and white boots (not snow boots) and ten more babies.
  
• I forget: pretty much everything....
  
• I am happy: when I am sewing, hugging my baby, or spending time with my family
  
• I tag : Laurie, Tessa, and Becci
  

Done!!!

Okay, so before I get to the purpose of this post can I just ask if it is too soon to panic??? (today was election day)


Now on topic: remember this post and this one? Well, today I sat down and finished both quilts. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. Sara and Tessa's activity days group tied them to give to two girls who lost everything in the fire that came through this area in Sept. It has taken me a while to finish them but I did. Yeah, me!!! I really like the black on the red quilt. =>












On another note, Erica is all over the place. I found her pushing up on all fours in the stink bug position. It is a little sad to see how fast she is growing up. She is also sitting herself up from laying down. I took a couple of pix of her pushing up on her feet. They are a little fuzzy because I am still learning how to work my camera and she is moving too fast.

I don't like candycorn.

I saw this on another blog and I knew I had to put it on mine. Don't hate me, but I DON'T LIKE CANDYCORN!!! Love Halloween, just not candycorn. Thank you. I also really liked this clip.

Gold!!!

New Friends are silver,
Old Friends are gold.

I have had a golden month!!! It has been so much fun to see all my old friends!!! First Mrs. Rothwell came. She teaches with my mom and I use to baby-sit for her. And we had many late night talks out in her car when she would drop me back off at home. She never failed to encourage me and was someone I knew I could always talk to. She was here visiting her daughter (who was my "baby") and came to see me for a while. (Kellyn is now a sophmore in college. How time flies!!!)
Then I had an old roommate from Provo stop by with her family. She is married and has two little boys. Emily and I were living together when I met Doug. So she is an old friend of his, too. The girls had fun with her little boys. They were also in town visiting family and stopped by for a few hours on Sat. for a nice visit.
And just last night I had a friend from my Logan days come by with her family for the night. They were here just to see me!!! Marianne is the first friend I made that I hadn't grown up with or knew all my life. We were on the institute councle together and have written to each other off and on since. It was really fun to see them as I have never met her husband or saw her new baby boy. He is so cute and a red-head to boot! It was great to catch up with her and to see how happy she is!!!
It has been such a great month!! Who will be next?? How about you??? We have room and you are always welcome!!!




These are my friend Marianne and her hubby and their little boy Hunter. Isn't he so cute!! And a red-head to boot.

Quiet is not good!

This afternoon I was busy working away, emailing and such to organize Amber's kindergarten class Halloween party, and told Clara that if she went upstairs and watched a movie I would bring her up a treat as soon as I was done. So she went upstairs and was all quiet while I was working. As soon as I was done I got a treat and took it up to her, I did promise, after all. Well, when I got upstairs she wasn't on the computer or watching a movie. When I found her she was in her room with her back to me and when I asked her what she was doing she said "nothing" and hid her hands behind her back, (which was toward me) (funny, I know), and I saw she had a pair of scissors in her hand. I went over there, trying not to yell and scream, and took the scissors and saw bits of blue fabric all over. She had cut up a little doll dress while it was on the doll. Then as we were cleaning it up I found blond hair all over. She had cut the sides of her hair so she could "see". UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I then took her downstairs and trimmed the rest of her hair so it was even. Granted it wasn't as bad as when Amber cut her's, but still, I wanted to cry. I took a good 5 inches off. The whole time Clara was saying that she wanted short hair, like Amber's, but then as I was finishing up and making sure it was even she started saying, "okay mom, you can stop now, it is short enough. I am done, mom, quit cutting." It was a little funny. I will post pictures soon, when I get over it all.

F.H.E.

For family home evening last night we went out the the Linder Farms pumpkin patch.
The weather was perfect and we suggest to anyone close enough they should go. They have a great little petting zoo. ( with camels, zebras, goats, sheep, bulls, ponys, and a couple of free range geese that try to eat everything.) The girls had fun with that. They drive you out around the pumpkin patch to different stops and you can walk around until you find the "perfect" one. They also have lots of strange gourds. (notice the warty one with Sara and Clara) (no we didn't get that one, but I did get one that was a bit smaller and warty) We road back to parking lot on a trailer with hay on it. Then the girls got to run around a hay maze. You can tell how fast they were moving. I also got a really cute shot of the girls with a scarecrow but I am still figuring out my camera and it is blurry, darn it! It was so much fun!! We have done this for the past 4 years and enjoyed it every time. There is also a corn maze and jump houses and food to buy, but we only bought the pumpkins and did all the free stuff. Cheep, I know, but we still had fun and that is what counts.

playing tag

My sister tagged me so now I have to tell everyone 7 things about me they don't know. Let me think,

1. I always wanted to be an architect.

2. I love to watch cartoons!! (not the animi ones like pokemon)

3. I dream of running away from everything, but then I also take my family with me, so is that really running away???

4.I really like being the center of attention, the good kind, like at a party or something like that.

5. I love that my girls love my sewing and that they tell everyone that they do!!!!

6. I like shopping, not so much buying but I could go and look all day. (sorry Doug)

7. I really share too much because I can't think of anything else.

I tag Amy, Becci, Warren, Susy, Amy M., Kristin (because she writes the blog), and Julie.

Ga -ga!!

I am so in love!!!!! I am absolutely ga-ga!!! Have you ever felt that way??!!! I am so giddy!!!





In keeping with this being National Sewing Month, I checked out a book on quilting from the library. It is Liberated Quiltmaking by Gwen Marston. I can not put it down!!! I have been all excited and smiley from the first and the more I read the better it gets. I can hardly control myself, I am so excited!!!! This is such a perfect match for me!!! This is such a dream come true and exactly what I have been searching for!!!! This book just tells you to step away from the templates and squared corners and go with the flow!!! What a great idea!!!! If you do any kind of quilting you have got to read this book, even if you don't you have got to at least look at the pictures of her quilts. I love them they are so great!!! I love the concept behind them and I can't wait to try it. (although I think I may already have, just unknowingly) How great is that!! I just had to share that. Thank you!

The Sky IS the limit!!

This weekend we got to go to the Mountain Home Air Force Base airshow!!! I have never been to one and so I told Doug we needed to do this in the name of family togetherness. => It was AWESOME!!!!!!
We got to walk through several huge airplanes, get our picture taken with men who are here to serve and protect and see some incredible acrobatic tricks in the sky!!! (Yes, we did wear our ear protection, look closely at Erica's ears) It was incredible!!! These guys were flying so close to the ground and each other. You can see in a couple of my pix the plane going straight up and then stalling out and just falling until the engine started back up. It was so neat!! Unfortuneatly, the batteries in my camera died before the show was over so I only got a few pix of the Thunderbirds flying around. That was SOOO COOL!!!! The noise was a bit loud for Amber and Clara, but it didn't seem to bother Erica a bit. All in all it was so worth it and everything I had ever imagined!!! I can't wait to go to the next show!!

National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month!! Finally, a "national" month I can support and as a cause near and dear to my heart, I urge all of you out there to give your all for this cause. On my side bar is a link, go there and find out what you can do. I plan on spending all my extra time and just generally all my time sewing up a storm this month in support of this great cause!! Up coming projects include binding two quilts tied by Sara and Tessa's activity days group, (they are giving them to two other girls whose home burned down in a recent fire here in town.), making a few zippered shopping totes, (way cool!!!), a couple of tops for me (I hope), several other bags I have ideas for, pants for the willow twins, (they are about as tall and skinny as willows) something special for Amber's birthday, and a few special items for the National Sewing Month project.

They are making Anti-Ouch bags (see the site for info) to give to women who are breast cancer patients. It is a great idea and a simple project so I hope that if you can, please support it!


But other all my lofty goals and aspirations, I am getting back into the swing of school schedules, running kids all over the place, and just general bedlam. Fun huh. But I am excited to have an extra excuse, reason, push to sew. I know it doesn't take much, but still, I'll take it. I hope you will too!!

SEW MUCH, SEW MORE, SEW HAPPY!!!

Toot! Toot!!

This past week we were at my in-laws cabin, (which they are getting some work done on) and they just happened to have this space available to paint on. So, with a little help from eleven little girls, I managed to create this masterpiece! I must say we did good work. So toot! toot!

projects

Now that I have a camera I can take pix of what I have been sewing. This first is a quilt I started for Sara and Tessa about 3 years ago, but never got done, until now. There is another that is in pink tones, that is almost done also. I am quite pleases with the red quilt top. Now I just have to figure out how I am going to quilt it.





This is a new diaper bag I made. I meant to have it done before Erica came, but we all know how that works. = > Anywho, it is done now and I LOVE it!!! All those colors. It is soooo ME!!!