A Yummy Breakfast Treat

So i was cruising the blogosphere this morning when i came across a blog called, Little House by the Big woods. Great blog, you should check it out. Well, She had this fast simple, no recipe necessary treat, perfect for a hot morning with a broken AC. It is just frozen blueberries, that i happened to have on hand, milk, always have it and a dollop of honey, always have that too!! I was not wrong in assuming the kids would love it. I did too! Avery downed hers fast.I am also really enjoying the color of my blender with the lovely purple milkshake. Perhaps a little color inspiration for another time!!

Man Doll Down

Chris titled this one! i am often left laughing at the little vignette's that you find around the house when you have children. This poor GI Joe looks like he had a rough time. I found him just this way, lying at the bottom of the stairs.

To Make you Smile

If you have not seen this already, you have to watch the whole thing. Every time i see it i laugh, I can not help smiling and i get goosebumps every time the bride comes out. I hope you smile too!!

Mommy, what is this?

Avery comes downstairs with this "strange" thing in her hand, "Mommy what is this? It would not fit in either of the CD players!?". Mitchell takes one look at it and wants to know, "the CD... why is it so big?". Chris and i take one look at it and immediately groan and then start laughing....modern technology has sure changed since we were kids. They had no clue. Maybe i could say modern technology has sure changed our kids. Ugh, talk about feeling old.

Finished, already?

So i had to take a minute to think about this one...usually it takes me ages to get from start to finish on a quilt. I have about 10 pieced tops in my fabric closet to prove it. however, this one took me under one week. What?!?

i think the reason was it was an experiment...not designated for anyone or anything. Usually they, my quilts, have a purpose and i want to be sure they turn out great. Not so this time. I saw the pattern, thought it looked like fun and ran with it. I refused to let analysis paralysis get in my way when it cam time to quilt. I just threw it on the machine under the walking foot and got to quilting.

And those other projects on my quilt table...well they are still crying out for attention. poor things. Anyone else do this with projects?

Success!!

Every day since Mitch went fishing for the first time he has asked to go again. well, yesterday Mitch got a surprise afternoon with Daddy. Chris felt like leaving early...so he met us at home and surprised Mitch with a fishing trip for the afternoon. The boy bounced and screamed! Just saying he was excited was a understatement.

This time the boys rented a row boat and headed out to the middle of the pond, got real worms to fish with this time and had a great afternoon. Chris said that as soon as the line hit the water they were biting....immediately. This shot above is the first fish Mitchell caught, a bluegill.

I am told he was not that thrilled about touching or holding them. Mitch said they were slimy. I guess at one point the fish was flopping around in the bottom of the boat and then jumped up onto Mitchell seat, and Mitchell promptly jumped right off it, he was a little scared. But he soon got used to these "feisty", that is his word, fish.

When he got home and told me all about how cool it was, i swear that the kid had gained a swagger. He was so pumped full of testosterone and excitement. What a super daddy!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Mitchell has recently expressed some interest in fishing...one of his new little friends does it often and i think told mitch about it who(M) then thought this sounded like a good idea. Chris used to fish all the time as a kid with his dad and alone, and he took this as a opportunity to share that experience with Mitch.

They bought all that they needed and then went out to a local pond to get their fishing licenses. Mitch could not wait to get started. Chris had him practice casting a few times in the parking lot before he set him loose on the fish, and after two practice casts Chris' words were this, "He is a natural". The kid is very coordinated when it comes to sporty things.

For a little boy that can usually not hold still or be quiet he did this calmly for hours, literally. Once they finished at one pond they headed to a nearby reservoir. And fished some more. Maybe this is going to teach him a little patience. NO, they did not catch anything. Maybe next time. The first thing Mitch asked me this morning was could we go fishing again.

Even Avery got in on things. She patiently waited for her turn, got a lesson from dad on casting and off she went. What was i doing all this time? Well, I found a nice shady spot nearby so that i could watch, took out a magazine and read my lazy afternoon away.

The Super Foam-erator!!!

When i found the instructions to the super foam-erator on Betz White's blog i knew that this was going to be wildly fun for my kiddo's. Right away i began rooting around in our recycling bin for some bottles to use. Lucky me, i found some.

Then i had to dig up a old towel that could be sacrificed for fun. I cut a pieces of towel, rubber banded it to the bottom of the cut off bottle, as the instructions said, and then we headed outside. Each got a dish with a little kitchen dish soap in it and we had a water table set up and ready to go. You just get it a little wet then dip it in the soap and blow. Out comes a giant tube of bubbles. I love that in the picture you can see that Mitch was starting to inhale his bubbles...he was sucking in air too hard and got a mouthful.

Soon the towel pieces came off and they began washing themselves and anything else they could get their hands on. Not the original intention of the project but it kept them busy none the less.

Sabotage

Cutting a new project really is not what i should have been working on today...yet, i just could not help myself. Anyone else have this problem? :o) I keep making new tops and sabotaging myself...because if i keep making new ones i am never going to get any of the others done. What a vicious cycle!! See that pile in the back there, that is what i should be doing, my 9 patch quilt a long. All is made i just have to get to the sashing. I don't like sashing.

I had one of my handy quilt holders help me out...you can see her shadow back there. She was very obliging. I found this pattern through Use the Loot blog. It goes very fast. I started around noon and had the whole top made by 2:30. It is called the Quick Strippie pattern by Mary Quilts.

This is a Darlene Zimmerman feed sack print that i have been hanging on to for a very long time. I love a vintage looking print. I never knew what i wanted to use it for, until today. I think I bought it way back when i lived in Washington, several years ago. In this last picture you can see the color a little better....it is pretty overcast out today so the colors are not very true. The small strip is a soft spring green on green.

Now i am going to add this to my downstairs pile of quilts to finish, which is now 4 deep. Yikes!

Babies and Backyard Fun!

When we were not paying attention our first batch of bluebird babies flew the nest....one day we did not hear their cute little chirps anymore. We were sad to see that they were gone but so excited that they had come and made a home and a family in our yard to begin with. Well very recently we noticed a lot more activity than usual around the birdhouse. Suspecting that something was up Chris peeked in a few days ago and found 5 perfect little blue eggs.

Just last night when he checked on them again he found these two sweet little babies. They are so fuzzy and cute. Like little old bald men. We have been oohing and aahing over the pictures all night. Last time my sister asked for me to give her a little size perspective, so we measured the nest. It is only about 4 inches wide, and these little guys are barely two inches, and those eggs are really truly the size of a easter cadbury egg, the little tiny ones.

and these two...they made themselves a little fort and then discovered the lid/roof also made a good boat....you can bet that they were singing row row row your boat the whole time.

Picnic Dinner

The other night we went to a outdoor jazz concert. Our community has one every Sunday night. I used to go all the time and forgot how fun they are. We thought a picnic dinner would be fun...so i made some summer risotto, brought bread and salad and had dinner on the blanket.

Avery was all about just hanging out. She thought to bring a book along so she got some good reading time in. I am so glad that she likes to read.

Eventually sitting and listening, and reading were not exciting enough so she started doing somersaults around us....we got to spend some time with new friends also, so that raised the energy level of the kids just a little bit! I love that in the picture Mitch is clear and still and totally in focus and you can see that she is on the move.

My First Quilt

As usual, i am behind on posting in time to be included in the official Parade of Quilts, hosted by Camille and Carrie. I have been thinking a lot lately about posting my first quilt, even before i saw this parade coming. It has been a long time since i finished it and if i look too close i cringe a little....because there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to quilting.

I have a wonderful friend who taught me all she knew about quilting. She had a beautiful crib size rail fence quilt like this one in her living room(even in the same colors) and i always admired it. One day she offered to help me learn. We went to the fabric store and begin choosing fabric. It was that day that i knew fabric was going to be my favorite part...i love putting them together. I did not foresee what this little quilt and a love for fabric would become.

It lives in my living room still. i love it even with all its imperfection. I pieced the whole thing by machine and then hand quilted it. In the future i hope i learn to take more risks with fabric and piecing...and along the way i have learned how valuable precise cutting is as well as a consistent 1/4 inch seam.

These are my last finished projects, one of the things the official parade asked for us to show....a quilt for a friends new baby and a bonnet for my girl.

Better Than Candy

Run, not walk, to your nearest grocery store and get some Rainier Cherries....they are amazing! Firm and sweet, juicy and everything you think they should be.

Our little family has a particular weakness for these sweet little gems. I ordinarily try to buy things that have not traveled too far, trying to keep it local, but these i just can not resist. Not even the price can deter me! I am known to put them on the register and avert my eyes when they are being rung up!

Today we happened upon some in our tiny little commissary(aka military grocery store). Avery and i loaded 3 bags into our cart, all the while she was giggling because these are her favorite summer fruit too.

We were not in the house 10 minutes before we broke out the first bag and devoured it on the spot and with much excitement. They were even better than we remembered from last summer. I think we might be going back for more before they are all gone.