Happy Birthday, Ron!

Our family had a celebration last night - Ron's 64th birthday. Forgot to take pictures of the cake but managed to get a short video of Kenna playing in the box from Camden's visit.


In the photo Kenna has a smug look on her face - she had just taken a potty break and took the box with her so the boys wouldn't get it. It's hard to believe Kenna could fold up those long legs and fit them inside that little bitty box! Oh to be so flexible!

Trying something new.....

This was my first attempt at shooting a video with my new cell phone. Maybe I need classes??? Or I could try reading the manual??? Enjoy our astronaut/alien - Camden.

It must be Friday - Camden was here!

Camden kept us busy - I told him he had too much work for us to do! Here are a few of our activities: Gymnastics with Papa, sewing by Nana & the usual woodworking project by Papa:

We hope Elizabeth (his friend) will love the box Papa made and some of the thingies from Nana. The red pillow was our interpretation of an idea from a family magazine article - a monster pillow. Sewing on buttons is very labor intensive - but Camden needed all those buttons. And they each have a purpose - one is a laser, one will turn you green, one will turn you muddy and one will hypnotize you. Where does he come up with his ideas? We love your creativity, Camden, and hope you had fun with Nana & Papa!

Cullen's time with Nana & Papa

Cullen is the sharpest kid on the block when it comes to playing Monopoly. He quickly bought all of the railroads and really raked in the money. He also had monopolies on most of the properties. Papa was toast first and Nana wasn't far behind. I wonder if he's good at Scrabble......

Papa usually builds something for the grands when they come to visit and this time was no exception. Cullen designed a small airplane with a propeller so they enjoyed some time in the workshop, sawing wood and creating. I can see such a change in Cullen as he gets older. His attention span is much longer now. Or maybe our attention span is just getting shorter!

After a few good sleeps we'll be ready for Camden - now what will he come up with for Papa to build?

Another flimsy finished!

I made this top last week but wanted to think about the borders for a few days. Decided today I liked the red & brown borders, so it's done! This top is called Blackford's Beauty and it's from Pat Speth's book, "More Nickle Quilts". It went together easily and used up quite a few scraps from my stash. This year's goal is to make a dent in the scrap stash and I'm finally seeing some progress. I'll quilt this myself since it's intended to be a user.

A quilt for ASAP

Here's how I spent my Sunday afternoon this week - making a donation quilt for ASAP (Assistance for School Aged Parents). This is a group my local quilt guild supports by donating shower items in the spring, school supplies in the fall and baby gifts at Christmas. Paula Burda issued a challenge to our guild to make some pretty baby quilts for students to receive at the Christmas party. Here's one of my quilts - a trip around the world. The prints don't really show well in this pic (from my phone) but there are several polka dots and geometric prints included. It's ready for the quilter (Paula)!

Amy & Robert's Anniversary weekend

Kenna, Cullen & Camden came to visit for a couple days so Amy & Robert could have a short, stay - cation to celebrate their 15 years together. We started the visit with our usual trip to McDonald's. Kenna is contemplating her dessert while the boys play. Kenna & I lovvve our ice cream!

Kenna & Camden enjoyed crafting with lots of junk I've saved for them. Cullen doesn't care for the crafts as much as they do and usually finds something else for entertainment. Such as a BOX! With a roll of duct tape and Papa to give him rides around the room, Cullen got lots of mileage out of this box.

Not much time left this summer for mini-visits like this as school will be starting soon. Camden will be in kindergarten, Cullen in second grade and Kenna in fifth. The years are flying by so we're enjoying the kids while we can - all too soon they will want to be with their friends more than with Nana & Papa. Hopefully, they'll have good memories of silly times with us - I know I will - and I'll have lots of pictures to remind me!