Crafting

I have caught the crafting bug.  Well, actually it hit before Christmas with knitting scarves and then discovering a knitting loom.  A friend has started quilting.  She inspired me to learn to machine quilt.  I pieced together two small doll bed quilts to give it a try last weekend, but when I pulled out my sewing machine, I discovered that I don't have the quilting foot I need.  I ordered it on Monday and it just shipped yesterday.  I can't wait to get it.  In the meantime, I've been helping Jaelyn sew an American Girl doll dress.  I bought her a very simple kit for Christmas.  She's sewn the top, just has to finish the skirt.  Jae's first project was the big girl bag to match.

Next up was tie dying.  Jaelyn has been working hard on her science fair project.  The title is Dyeing to Know, Which Dyes Better:  Natural or Synthetic Fabrics.  I tie dyed a couple of shirts for her to choose from to wear to the science fair.

 

Last night, I had nothing to do; so I picked up a kid's craft book we'd checked out from the library and retaught myself how to crochet.  It's been about 30 years give or take a few ;).  I had to pull it out about 4 times before I figured out what I was doing.  It was just like riding a bike.  I guess that muscle memory lasts a long time :).  I made Jaelyn this little pouch that'll probably fall apart quickly.  I wove some of the ends, but just tied off and cut some others.  It was late and I was tired and definitely not thinking about what would happen with the ends that weren't woven in.  Oh well.

 

Today, I crocheted Allie a flower for her hair.  She wasn't around so Gracie modeled it for you.  Cuteness!

 

 

 

And With a Roundoff

Look What Jae Did on Her Own Tonight

Finally...Snow

We came home from Florida on the 30th...just in time for snow.  I did not enjoy it, but the kids and the dog sure did!

 

She was crushing her snow man...if I photoshopped a board under her feet, she would look like the Green Goblin from SpiderMan.

 

Allie got Caden so good and I caught it all with the camera.

 

Paybacks are bad!

 

The Last of the Christmas Photos

The kids love to spend time with my dad carving in the garage.  He keeps a supply of plastic knives and ivory soap on hand at all times (well, it's probably my mom that actually stocks them, but we can give him credit).

 

I have already put in my Christmas present request for next year.  After seeing my Dad's little men and a Nativity book he was looking at, I have requested a hand-made, one-of-a-kind, to be cherished forever Nativity from my Dad.  I told mom she won't have to buy me anything, but he'll probably need a few new chisels and knives and whatever else he uses to carve :).  Get busy Dad!

 

This is the beginning of Mary!

 

I meant to put this picture with the Exploreum, but I missed it.  Zoom in and look at Jen's face as her tower crumbles.  I laugh every time I see it.  It's so her and that's why she's my best friend!

 

Happy 8th Birthday, Cade-Man

I can't believe Caden is 8.  He's going to be 18 in the blink of an eye.  He and Mom made cupcakes for his party when I was off somewhere. 

 

She said he was very specific about how he wanted them iced:  half chocolate, white with sprinkles for the kids only.  Maybe Caden has some of my OCD in him after all :).  He even places his candles where he wanted them.

 

We had a party for him the Saturday before we went home.  The Beatles, Uncle Nathan and Caleb came for hamburgers, hot dogs and of course, cupcakes.

 

Caden got a jar full of dollar.  Uncle Nathan had fun trading dollars for bigger bills with him.

 

Encase you are wondering, don't bother spending time picking out the perfect card for the girls.  Caden on the other hand, reads every word of his cards.  Cute.

 

 

There are still pictures on my camera from his birthday dinner on his actual birthday....

The Mobile Exploreum

The girls missed a field trip to the St. Louis Science Center when we came home early for Nana's funeral; so when Jen suggested the Mobile Exploreum for our family day out, we were ready to go.

 

We started off with the Wild Wind Tornado Tube.  For two minutes, anyone who dared to get in got blown by 78 mph winds.  It was crazy!

 

They had a whole section on the body with all sorts of tests where you could test things like grip strength, reaction time and flexibility.

 

This bike was kind of cool.  The skeleton moved with you on the bike so you could see the bones and ligaments as they moved.

 

Upstairs was all hands on discovery type stuff.  Jae and I had fun building this marble maze.

 

Birds have to work hard to fly as I learned in the wind tunnel.

 

My highlight of the day was Tonks, a 600 lb 7 year old grizzly bear.  All that separated us from him was a little chicken wire and aluminum poles.  Jaelyn kept saying as long as she could run faster than the smaller kids around her, she'd be okay.  The trainer raised Tonks from a 6 week old cub and had him performing tricks just like I do with Gracie only his favorite treat was a marshmallow on a stick.  For $5 we could have fed Tonks a marshmallow ourselves, but I had to draw the line somewhere.  Tonks also guzzled a 3 liter mountain dew like nothing I've ever seen.

 

The rest of the stuff was stuff we'd seen in other science museums, but that didn't stop us from having playing.

 

 

A summary of our day!

 

Christmas Pictures

After much consternation with google and my picasa account that was bursting at the 5 gb seams, I deleted some old pictures (don't panic!  flowers and food and such), and then set up a new google account which I made an administator on my blog so I can once again add pictures without the concern of using more than my free space and paying each month for the overflow.  Anyway, probably more than you cared to read, huh?  Here are my favorite Christmas pictures.

 

The Whole Clan on Christmas Morning! One year, I don't know when, BUT one year, we WILL wake up in our own beds for Christmas!



I am always teasing Dan about the Crocs he wears to church.  My parents bought him dress Crocs...with leather. (insert eye roll here)  He loved them!  He watched my brother open up a pair a few days early and apparently had been coveting them.

 

Allie got a styling chair for her American Girl dolls. It came with scissors ~ that thankfully don't work.

 

Jae got a couple puzzles for Christmas.  Since this one is a Christmas puzzle, we decided to start a new tradition. 

 

We all wrote the year, our initials and one special thing about our Christmas.  In 5-6 years, it'll be neat to flip the pieces over and read what everyone has written.  Gracie snuck a piece and left her mark on the puzzle as well.

 

The highlight of Caden's Christmas was by far his new radio controlled helicopter.  We've bought and returned him two before that didn't work.  After reading many reviews, Grandmother chose this military chopper.

 

 

It was such a hit that Jaelyn spent her Christmas money on one.

BTW - halfway through this post, blogger got mean again and wouldn't let me make anymore pictures bigger.  Sorry...you'll have to squint or double click on the picture to get the slideshow.