Modified Bento box

Some chicks on a website I go to found this great pattern on this great blog, so I decided to try it out. This is what I got. I messed up and started grabbing 2 in strips when I was supposed to be using 2.25 in strips, so I had to quit with the little 1.5 inchers, but I'm happy with it. The whole thing is done with scraps out of my scrap boxes. So, every piece of fabric has been in another quilt. So, basically, this was a FREE quilt! wahoo. :)

SO.MUCH.CATCHING.UP!

Wow. Yep, that's all I can say about how long it's been since I've blogged. Most of you expect some lacking in my blogging so I guess I'm ok. The bad thing is that SO MUCH has been happening. I have to TRY to remember what, when and how... and all this remembering without a brain! Skills, it takes skills! Ok, so lets see...I'll try to remember and start from where I left off.....

I got the EXTREME pleasure to see one of our old friends from Kodiak. Yeah, I hadn't seen him since we left Kodiak.....over 21 years ago! This is Dewey and me. We only had enough time to hug, click a couple of pics then off he went again. But, he lives in NC, so we'll get to see him again. I hope to make it out to see him next time, since I wanna see the southern states! You can tell this has been a while ago. I'm still in shorts! I miss my shorts.


















We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.....just the 3 of us. Anisa hadn't returned from Italy so it was Travis, Sara and me. We did the whole meal..turkey, taters, rolls, salad, apple pie, green beans, corn, stuffing...you know, the usual. It was really yummy. Then, we had company! My Aunt Joann and cousin April came down from NY. Joann was out visiting April from CA. When we asked her what she REALLY wanted to see in DC, she said the Lincoln Memorial and a museum. Well, we showed her a good time. Got her to the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Library of Congress, the Capital, the National Cathedral and Ben's Chili Bowl. All in 3 days! Here are some highlights....



































The WSHS Dance Team has entered 2 competitions with their new Nationals (in the works) routine. They were in the American University competition and the George Mason U competition. Both times they places first in their division AND got best choreography. At American, we had several dancers do solos. Sara was one of them and (unfortunately) came in 11th place. She was disappointed, but happy that she did so well and that her friends, and family loved her routine. There were a couple of 2nd places and a 1st place in the solos on our team and even one of our guys got best choreo! :) Here is Sara, but I can't post pics of the team....YET! :)














For my birthday, I got to spend it with some very dear friends who happen to share the same day and weekend. This is Vernon who turned 60 (we share the same birthday) and Jan who turned 29 again.... Actually, I hope she doesn't mind that I say she's 50 now. She looks great and has been a really great pal for a long time. She happens to be Travis' BFF's wife (you all know Larry). :) Anyway, we had a super great time, eating, drinking some good home brew and enjoying a bonfire and friends. And, since I posted Jan's age, I'll post mine....I turned 44 this year! :)














On the 16th of Dec. it snowed for the first time this winter. We got a couple of inches. Not a lot, definitely not enough to close town for weeks (like last year), but enough to be pretty and make me shovel. Here is my precious little Baby and my Traily out in the snow. So, some of you were shocked to see on FB that Baby is outside. Unfortunately, since Traily is in the driveway, we can only fit one car into the garage. Chuck happens to be the lucky one since we really use the Van and Foxy girl. This was also a VERY SAD day. Our little Hammy hamster girl went to Heaven this night. We took her out to run and she could barely walk. We knew it wasn't looking good. The good thing is that we think she just basically went into her little igloo and fell asleep and never woke up. The bad thing was that it was just days before Anisa got home. She was pretty devastated to find out (we didn't tell her until we got her home) but is ok now. Still sad, but recovered.















The dance team had their annual Christmas Party. This was on the day that Anisa actually came home. I was excited to have something to keep my busy all day. I made my famous (in my own mind) rainbow tater salad (I use baby reds, baby yukon golds and baby purple potatoes from Trader Joes). Unfortunately for me, I put the batch into my old faithful HUGE tupperware bowl that I've had since we got married. Somehow during the evening it got pushed too close to a candle and it caught on fire. dang. But that added some excitement to the evening.















We were a little worried about the snow with Anisa's pending trip home coming up. But, she made it home and is now talking about going back to Italy. EVERY SINGLE DAY we hear about Italy and how they have this or that in Italy. "in Italy, we do it this way". "in Italy, the people drive better". "in Italy, the food is better"....ugh! Oh well. I hope she does get to go back since I know she loved it SO MUCH. And it's such a great experience to live in a different culture. We were very happy to have our baby back on this side of the pond. She's still getting settled in, and I threw here into the settling in part real quick...














A good friend of mine (a fellow dance mom) has a basket making business. Talk of the Town Gifts. She is also a single mom with ANOTHER full-time job. She is crazy, but that's how I like my friends. She asked if I could help for the Christmas rush. Heck yes! Help a friend out AND get paid...I am SO.THERE! And, Anisa even worked the day after she got back! Anyway, for the most part, I delivered, but they did teach me to wrap and make the gift baskets, and make bows, too. Here are us chicks after we had finished making, wrapping and bow-ing about 50 of the 155 baskets.













Then we had to deliver these things...so, we loaded up Baby and Foxy with all the silver baskets along with 4 card tables (DO NOT TRY THIS WITH ANY OTHER VEHICLE...ONLY AEROSTARS CAN DO THIS! :) heehee) and off we went into DC, Alexandria, Arlington and even Georgetown. I enjoyed the delivery part because you get to see the reactions of the people who ordered. It's no wonder Tammy has a successful business. :) She hires GREAT people (heehee) with awesome vans (figured I'd throw that in again). :)




















CHRISTMAS! This year it kinda snuck up on us with all the excitement from Anisa's return. We STILL haven't taken a Christmas picture and since we have no picture, there are no Christmas cards....but we will get SOMETHING out soon. We got our tree one cold blustery night at Home Depot! ha Actually, we got it on the 20th. I got lights on it the next day and Sara and I put a few ornaments on it. But, it looks good. We even hit a friend's Christmas open house on Christmas Eve. Here are the girls eating Spray Whipping Cream with Sara's friend, Jordan.















The stinky thing is that Travis has been sick for the last week or so (and as I type today, is still hacking up a lung). It was nice to have a holiday for him to be home and chilll. :) Anisa got her Kitchen-aid and Sara got her boots and candles. They both got ipod speakers plus a few little items. The family got Wii fit and we actually spent most of the day playing as a family. It was GREAT!! and hilarious. We laughed so much. :)

Yesterday, the girls and I went shopping for the deals for After Christmas. Not a lot of good sales, but the girls did manage to spend a little of their Christmas money and we got to see my friend, Rhonda, for a bit. And a lunch at Olive Garden topped it off. Oh, and a celebrity sighting! Here's Sara with Justin Bieber. hahahahaha



















That has been my past few weeks. CRAZY, but good. Today we're hoping the house doesn't blow away. We're in the middle of that crazy storm you all can see on the news. We got a bit of snow yesterday, but it was so little and dry, that today with all the wind, it's blown away. We're planning to hit Ben's Chili Bowl with Sammi (a friend from the UK), Kayley (his girlfriend and a good friend of Anisa's from Sturgeon Bay) and Anand (Sammi's best friend and a friend of Anisa's from here). Oh, and Kayley has requested a trip to Georgetown cupcakes...the place they film DC Cupcakes. Then, for New Years, the girls and I are heading to TIMES SQUARE! Yes, we're going to make thousands of new friends in the freezing cold, but it's gonna be so cool. I want to do it at least once while we live on the east coast. I'll update next week with pics from that trip. For now, I'll leave you with some Italy and Paris pics that I stole from Anisa and her friends. :)

Anisa at the Eiffel Tower. A few of her friends went to Paris for a long weekend. They had a BLAST. Of course, Anisa wants to go back there, too. She loved everything about Europe. I told her, come home, finish school (she'll have her AA in March) and get a job over there and GO! We'll see what happens....













Anisa on Thanksgiving in Orvieto. They made a feast at Zeppelin. Everyone had a great time. Anisa made sweet rolls and was HAPPY they turned out yummy. :)
I'm happy that my girl has turned into such a beautiful young woman...inside and out! :) Ok, Sara too, but she's still in her dumb teenage years. I'm sure it will be better soon! :)

Some photo enjoyment

I just got done playing on Facebook and downloaded some pics from some of Anisa's teammates and a couple of Anisa's pics that she finally got up from Venice. The picture of the town on the hill is Civita. It's a little town similar to Orvieto since it's built on a volcanic plateau. The little town is in danger of crumbling down because of natural erosion. I read that they are talking about reinforcing the cliffs. That would be good. :)

The picture of the 3 adorable girls is in Dublin at the Guiness Storehouse. Those are Anisa's roommates. Talar and Sonya. Talar is from CA and Sonya is from WA. Luckily, they all like each other! :) The one of just Anisa is pretty much self-explanatory. :) Isn't she just so adorable??

The pigeon pic...that's in Venice. So is the one with Gabe on the gondola. :) Their time there was such a blur to them since they were all exhausted, but she said it was a blast. And the gondola ride was a highlight and something that we had talked about for a long time. I hope she didn't get pooped on by the pigeon, tho.

Venice

Anisa and 5 of her friends decided at the last minute to catch the train to Venice Friday night. They rushed down the hill and caught the train at 11:15 p.m. They TRIED to sleep before they had to change trains in Bologna, then a little more train travel arriving in Venice at 5 a.m. She said it's the best place she's been so far in Italy. It was beautiful. She bought a gift for her sis (you will all have to wait to see what it is until after Dec. 19). :) They walked around looking at shops, having pigeons land on them and of course, they took a gondola ride. I only got to talk to her for a little bit this weekend because she got back late on Sat and was exhausted (they decided to come back home that night the crazies!). Yesterday she had to do homework and of course, she slept in until about 3 in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll get to talk to her today or the rest of the week. The whole group is going to Barcelona for 5 days. I don't have pics, yet, because her internet just can't handle too many pics at once, so as soon as she can get some pics downloaded, I'll post. I'm looking forward to hearing all about her Spain trip next week! :)

Meanwhile, here at home, not much happening. It's getting colder. The mornings are in the 30s and days are in the 50s and 60s. I love it. I HAVE worn my jeans a couple of times, but I'm still sporting shorts til I can't handle it anymore. Sara is working on a solo that she will compete with in a few weeks. Music has been an issue. WHY DO ALL THE RAP SONGS HAVE CUSS WORDS IN THEM? Geepers! Anyway, she found a song that I approve of and continues to dance around the house instead of walking. :) Travis and I have gone on a few runs, getting back to our normal mileage, but he announced that we would not make his goal of 600 miles this year. Summer just killed us. Oh well. Maybe next year, since I plan to do the MCMarathon for sure next year...even if I have to walk some of it....I'm doing it! :)

Well, speaking of Sara, I must run. She has an eye dr. appt today, then Travis needs to make a Home Depot run, then I still have to figure out what I'm doing for dinner...probably brats (not Sara and Anisa, the MEAT kind! ) ;). I hope you all are having a super day!

It's been DAYS

I am sorry I haven't updated lately. I haven't been THAT busy, just lazy. Over the past few days I've done a few things, tho. And the little Italian travelers are staying busy too.

From the homefront, my friend Rhonda and I have done some work on a quilt. Not just any quilt. This is a quilt that she started with her mom over 7 years ago. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but they wanted to make a quilt together. Sadly, her mom got very sick and then died. The fabric and their work went into a box and sat. Well, the happy ending to this story is that Rhonda just moved to VA this summer (she's a Coastie wife, too, that I knew in Santa Barbara) and she asked if I would help her finish it. HECK YES! :) So, we pulled it all out and had to take a lot of it apart because her seams weren't all big enough, some of the blocks were different sizes, and such. I figured we'd better start as close to the very beginning as we could, so we spent a whole day ripping seams and ironing. The second time she came down, we spent cutting and sewing. We now have most of the rows done and she can actually see what the quilt is gonna look like and LOVES IT! :) The next time she comes down, we'll probably be able to finish the top, and maybe even get the backing on. It's so exciting seeing her enjoy sewing, ironing, cutting and getting anxious about the finished project. She's turning into a quilter!! :) Our world can always use one more crazy quilting lady. :) Plus, now I have a fabric shopping partner.
Yesterday Sara and I went shopping and to lunch. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. The first time for both of us to eat there. It was SCRUMPTIOUS. We sat and adored the inside of the restaurant. It's so beautiful and we both would like our house to look like it with all the pretty paintings and high ceilings and big columns and pretty lights. Ahhhh. After filling our bellies and having enough shopping energy we went to the mall and got Sara some long sleeve tops and a really cute coat. Then we ran into Teavana. My friend, Renee, started drinking tea instead of coffee. It's healthier...still caffeinated, but when you see the loose leaf tea, it's a bunch of fruits and seeds/branches/natural stuff. And it SMELLS HEAVENLY. :) Anyway, we came out of there with a pound of tea, 3 pounds of German Rock sugar, a Perfect Tea steeper and a couple of little samples of other teas. Sara picked out a Raspberry Lemon blend and it is delicious. We made some last night, but she wanted it cold, so it's in the fridge waiting to be enjoyed. Anyway, we had a fabulous day out. We were supposed to go to NY this weekend to see my cousin, April, but Sara had a late practice Friday night, so we couldn't go then. And has a practice today (Sunday), so it was going to be a pretty short/rushed trip, and it's a 4 hour drive each way, so we decided not to go this weekend. Besides, Sara wasn't all that into going this weekend. She wanted to sleep in because of her homework/dance schedule she doesn't get a lot of sleep during the week. It all worked out ok, but I wanted to see my cute little cousin..and NY> :) We'll get up there soon, tho.
Let's See. What else have we been doing. Oh, the dance team performed at their last game on the 29th. They always dress up and perform Thriller. Here is Sara dressed up and ready to go as Lady Gaga. She looks adorable, but I'm sure LG would have worn different shoes and possibly less clothing. :) The next day we went to Markoff's Haunted Forest with the team. That was a blast. Sara didn't want to go through the forest, so she sat out, but I ended up going with another mommy and the coaches and the 2 dads that went. It was so fun. Diana kept a firm grip on my arm through the whole thing and about took me down the hills a couple of times. Our jaws and stomachs were so sore afterward from laughing all the way!






Off to Italia... Travis and Anisa are staying pretty busy. Anisa still has classes and work to do, so in that time, Travis usually finds something to do in Orvieto. He has taken a couple of underground tours and has gotten to hang out with Chef S a bit. They went on a field trip to Civita. I don't know much about their day other than they had a good time. Travis will have to write on here when he gets back on Wed. Yesterday they went to Pisa. They had good weather and a good time. They wanted to go to Venice this weekend, but it's raining now, so they decided to take the trip yesterday and chill today. A bunch of people went into Rome today, but not sure what my 2 are gonna do. Here are some pics from their trip to Pisa.














































































Today I think Sara and I will just chill. We have church this morning, her friend Dori spent the night, so we have her. I think they're planning Chipotle for lunch, then practice tonight. Full day, then normal routine tomorrow. :)

Baby's Birthday

Every Halloween I post the same thing, I think. Halloween is second as to the importance of this day. 10-31 is BABY'S BIRTHDAY. My little Blue girl is 17 today. I remember it like it was yesterday...We went to LOOK AT new vans. Travis had seen an ad for Ford Aerostars on sale in Portland. I didn't WANT an Aerostar. I wanted a Dodge Caravan. But, I told him I would look. We drove down in our little Silver Skate (Ford Festiva) to Coliseum Ford in Portland, OR. We looked at the vans on the lot. They had a red one. Oops. sold. Then I saw a dark green one that I really liked. Sold, too. Then we spotted the most beautiful blue van. There she was. Sitting there all surrounded by the likes of Mustangs and Tauruses. We got the salesguy to get us out on a test drive. When I drove her, I KNEW 150% sure that this was MY VAN! We got back to the dealership and signed the paperwork to trade-in our sweet little Festiva (that had served us so well, but with a new baby on the way, she was just too small) for this wonderful 7-seater van. We had to rush home because we were meeting friends at our house to go trick-or-treating with all the littles. What a Homecoming for Baby. She got to meet some of our closest friends on her first day home. :)
Ever since that day, she has lived in 7 garages, traveled through 17 states, she's been peed in, spilled in, wrecked, driven up on several curbs, driven on the sand, snow, lots and lots of rain. Most of her guts are new since things have had to be replaced. She has 216,000 miles on her. She just got new Tiger Paw tires and is ready for another 75,000 miles.

Travis in Italy

Sounds like a good title to a novel, right? Well, after his adventures, he could probably write a novel, or at least tell me and I can write it on my blog! :) So, I just got off Skype with him and this is what I know....

I took him to the airport yesterday. We arrived the "mandatory" 2 hours early, got his bag checked in and walked around the airport til it was time for him to go through security. About 45 minutes before he was supposed to take off, we said our see ya laters and off he went. I left the airport and needed to stop at a store on my way home. In that time, the skies opened up and it POURED!! I kept thinking, oh, I should have stayed at the airport...there might be a delay.

After the unsuccessful shopping stop, I got home and quickly logged on to Skype and aa.com to check the status of his flight. In BIG RED LETTERS it told me that the flight had been CANCELLED! OMG! My poor husband! I tried calling AA, no answer. I rechecked his itinerary with his Mileage number and luckily it told me the new story. He was going to be going to Chicago, then to Rome. I knew he was probably NOT HAPPY at all. We had picked his flights so he wouldn't have to go west, to come back east. *this next part is from Travis* apparently, they got his baggage, he collected it, went BACK through the ticketing process (and oh, btw, they booked him on the chicago flight without telling him), BACK through security and got him on the plane. That flight was delayed about 20 minutes, but then they got off the ground.

Because of weather, and such, they had to make a HUGE circle over Ohio to delay their landing in Chicago. Instead of a pleasant 2 hour flight, it became a 3 hour flight. Not horrible, but considering he was only supposed to have a 1 hour flight to New York, that kinda stunk. Anyway, they got to Chicago and he boarded his next plane that was luckily taking off from the same terminal he landed at. That plane was delayed *this info is from Travis too* because some idiot luggage carrier ran into the side of the plane - the luggage door - and they had to make sure the door would close. After that debacle (like my big word?), they got off the ground and made the 9 hour and some minutes trip to Rome.

They landed (according the website) at 9:35 a.m. which is 3:35 a.m. here. I woke up at 4:30 and started Skype on the now "asleep" laptop. Nothin'. At about 6, I got a text from Anisa. She had gotten off of work, and had run home to take a quick nap before her Daddy got there. She got online and we talked for a bit. It was about noon there and she hadn't heard from him yet. She said she was going to get up, shower and go look for him. After about an hour, I texted her again. She still hadn't heard anything and I sent her directions to the place he is staying. That was 7:30(VA)/1:30(Italy) time. I could picture him lost, wandering around Italy, dragging his big ol' duffle bag around the cobblestone roads yelling for his baby. Possibly even crying a little, and he didn't take a pack of Kleenex, so he would have had to wipe his nose on his sleeve.

Still no word. I played on Facebook and my friend Mary Jo and I made up some of the novel I would write about his adventures (the lost, cobblestone and kleenex parts are from that).

FINALLY at about 9 (va)/3(Italy), I got a text from him. He had made it to Anisa's apartment. Safe and Sound and tired and grimey. He logged onto Skype and we talked for a little bit (that's how I got some of the adventure info). He was sitting out on her little patio outside. He said it's nice there, but different temperature. Things are shaded there, so even tho it's almost the same temp as here, it feels colder. Actually, right now, we're having a heat wave, so it IS colder there, but anyway....

Now, they are at Zeppelin, the restaurant where the team eats/works/schools. Travis is talking to the chefs, probably filling them in on every detail of his adventure so far. After the visiting, they're gonna go find the Bed & Breakfast (without the Breakfast) that he's gonna be staying at for the next couple of days, then I'm guessing he'll take a shower and a nap, maybe not in that order, but both will take place. THEN, they can go play. They eat dinner about 8, so that doesn't leave much time for too, too much, but definitely the shower and nap. :)

That's mostly what I know...most of it is what I can gather from the website info. A little bit of it was provided by Travis.

The Princess lives here

Sara has been wanting this bed FOREVER! Yesterday after school, I surprised her and we went to Ikea and FINALLY got it. We brought it home and hauled it upstairs. The boxes - there were 2 of them - weighed a TON...or at least a couple hundred pounds. We put in screws, plastic hookie things, and lacy curtains for 3 hours! At last, her princess bed was ready for the Princess to sleep in. I think she got a really great night's sleep. I just wish it had magical powers to make her want to keep her room clean! oh well. :)

Pictures this time

I just talked to Anisa! She just got back to her little Italian Home from IRELAND!!! :) She said it is SO BEAUTIFUL there. Now she wants to study abroad in Ireland. I sure hope she gets a job when she gets home so she can start saving up her money for that move! :) hahahaha Actually, I'd kinda like it if she moved to Italy or Ireland. Then we could stay with her on vacations! :)

But anyway, she had a great time. Of course, they went to the Guinness Storehouse. The taps were right there at their table, so as soon as you finish one, you can just pour another, delicious AUTHENTIC Guinness. I hope this link will work, but this was in the email she sent us from the Storehouse....click here.. They stayed in Dublin the whole time, but made it to a little place called Howth. There is a little lighthouse there, that is her on the cliff with the lighthouse in the background. She said she literally cried because it was so gorgeous. She said stuff there didn't even look real, it was THAT beautiful. They managed to find a restaurant that turned out to be REALLY expensive. She said her dinner there was 40Euros, which is about $55.00. She said it made her sick to spend that much money, but they didn't know until it was too late. And, while in Ireland, you must eat FishNChips. She is anxious to go back and take us to the places they explored. Now, she's back to normal life...school and work. But, she's happy to be back "home" for now.
My other preciousness is getting ready to dress up for their Halloween/last football game performance. Traditionally they perform Thriller and they dress up. We went shopping on Saturday and got her costume. She's gonna be Lady Gaga. Here is my baby beauty....

no pictures, just words. :)

I have only talked to my Nisa in little bits lately. She's been so busy with classes and working. Most of the time I talk to her, she's getting ready for bed and can barely keep her eyes open. She told me the other day that she's come to the sad realization that she is there for school, not a vacation. But, she's still enjoying it.

Tomorrow, her and some of her new chick friends fly to Dublin. They are spending 4 days in Ireland. Well, probably closer to 3 days, since some of that time will be traveling time. Travis leaves next Wed to see the baby girl and they will try to get some Italy exploration in. Some of their goals are Venice, Pisa, Milan and Rome. She also just booked her tickets to France in Dec. She's going with a big group of people that are in the same program. It should be totally fun.

She is truly having a trip of a lifetime, even tho she is busy, I think it's so cool that she gets these experiences to make her into the person that God wants her to be.

On another note, we got little dogwood trees to replace the big bradford pears that were taken out of the side and front yards. They are pretty cute right now, and I hope they love it in our yard and grow and bloom in the spring. The process of getting them into the ground was not so nice. I hoped that we had hit a diamond mine, but it was only a boulder mine underground. We dug up so many huge rocks, and roots from the pear tree. My shoulders, arms and back are just now recovering. It took us 2 days to dig holes that were worthy of our little trees, but now they're snug in the ground ready to let their roots spread. :)

Today is an errand day. Travis has some things to pick up for work. Not sure what else today will bring but it started out terrific, and I have high hopes for a super great day. :) Oh, and btw, if you're reading this, you are probably one of my friends or a family member and I just wanted to tell you...I LOVE YOU! :) Ok, off to cut my cute husband's hair so we can get ready for our trip out. :)

Italian update

Well, I talked to my girl yesterday for 2 hours. We said a whole lotta nothin', but it was fun. She showed me her scarf and leather bracelet she bought, we talked about her upcoming trip to Ireland with 4 other chicks, and how much she loves it there. We may have lost our Anisa to Italy. The good thing about that would be we would have a great place to stay! :) hahaha, nah, I'm not sure she could ever LEAVE America, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

She's been having a blast. She said most everyone on the team (25) gets along. There is always a little drama, but she pretty much stays out of it. They went to Parma and Tuscany this past weekend and went wine-tasting, cheese tasting and of course, all the eating. She said they were all homesick for their little pads in Orvieto, tho. The one thing that makes it so great there, is that it is so tiny and feels very safe. I told her, "it sounds like Cannon Beach"! :) She's been staying super busy with school and working. She doesn't like the lack of time, but has been enjoying the total experience so far. I stole some pictures from one of the guys on Facebook who has been posting lots of REALLY GREAT shots. These are some of my favorites.....































































Here in VA, things are going great. Today is GORGEOUS. A high of 60 degrees and rainy! My kind of weather. I have some errands to run (fish food and coffee creamer are high on my shopping list!), then I hope to get home and quilt. I just finished the quilt below for our newest niece who is now 6 months old and I'm a loser for not doing this sooner! Oh well. :) At least I'm sending it before she graduates! I got fabrics to start another quilt for our friends' new grandson. Fabrics are all washed and ready to iron and cut and create...I just need to figure out what pattern I will do. We booked Travis' tickets to Italy the other day..he'll be there for 2 weeks. I really hope they have a great time together. This is gonna be some VALUABLE Daddy/Girl time. I'm thinking of doing something fun with Sara while he's gone...maybe a trip to NY to see my cousin! :) Dance team takes up most of her time, so we can't go far, but DT is fun, so I don't mind. :)













Speaking of Sara, I'm so proud of her. She's really putting in an effort at school this year. I thought I was gonna kill that child last year. She drove us nuts, but this year she's doing SO MUCH BETTER. She's growing up....(tear) She's been so cute while Anisa's been gone. We've gotten lots of mommy/baby talks in. Drama at school/DT, boys, shopping. I love that my baby is starting to come out of her brainless 13yr-16yr stage. :) We are having another Dance Team Lock In tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to spending the night at the school with the kids...honestly, I love it. The Dance Team is full of awesomely cool kids. :)

What Happens in Intercourse......

OMG, Renee, Sara Beth, Eva and I had THE.BEST.TIME.EVER!! I mean, what is a better time than 4 chicks in Amish Country stalking the ADORABLE Amish people, eating, shopping and exploring????!!! We went to little towns called Intercourse, Bird In Hand, and Paradise. Our main goal....see the Amish people and how they live. Oh, and lots and lots of fun! :)

We arrived in Lancaster County on a Sunday which we originally thought was a bad idea because everything is closed, but it ended up being a great thing. We actually found some antique shops, ice cream shop and a GOOD restraunt open. Plus, we went driving around and exploring and found a couple of covered bridges and a huge group of Amish kids playing volleyball.

We made reservations at Kitchen Kettle Village Inn in Intercourse, PA (that's just fun to say) and when we got to our room, we were SO HAPPY. It was a super, cute room with iron beds and quilts. Cute country wallpaper and just a warm room. But we were all anxious to get to sleep so we could wake up and shop and explore some more.

On Monday morning, we woke up way too early and talked, laughed, talked and laughed some more. We finally rolled out of bed to get ready for our yummy country breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, toast and potatoes. That sounds yummy, right? Well, the eggs were swimming in BUTTER, the toast had fresh homemade berry jam and the potatoes were cooked in BACON GREASE! It was fabulous!!! After we were all fueled up for the day's activities, we explored the village shops. We found our little treasures (magnets, fudge, jams, apple and pumpkin butter, whoopie pies and gifts for the kids) and headed out to see what else we could find in the County.

We stopped at a farm to try some of their homemade Root beer. We were SO THRILLED to see the precious Amish girls inside. I almost hyperventilated at the thought of actually talking to Amish people! :) Ok, I'm exaggerating, but I WAS really excited. The two girls were probably around 7 or 8 and were absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful silky blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes. They were such young ladies and great sales girls. They gave us a sample of their yummy ice cold root beer and I had to buy 4 pints along with the homemade BBQ chips. Their mom came in to help and she was the sweetest lady. We hopped into the van very happy with our find. On our way down the road, we saw a sign for Cider Donuts. Of course, we stopped and got hot donuts. Sara Beth and Renee ate theirs, but I saved mine for home.

We had to go back to the ice cream shop that we had found on Sunday to get some pretty colored popcorn, and on the way we saw a cute farm stand that we decided to stop at on the way back to the restaurant where we were planning to eat. What a treasure! We got some fresh veggies, pumpkins and gourds. The Amish lady there was so sweet and I found out about their horses (they use either Standard bred or Saddle bred horses to pull their buggies, and big draft horses for pulling carts). We left there with our little squashes and went to lunch. After that, sadly, we left Lancaster County to come back to our normal, every day lives. It was good to see our families, but a slumber party with your friends is so much FUN! :) Here are the pics.....