Another Thank You Card

Still working on getting some Thank You cards done. :)

The only stamp used was the vase and flowers and that was one of the dollar spot stamps from Michael's. I then paper pieced the vase and of course used Stickles for the flowers and around the border. In real life the Stickles really pop on this card.

SU ribbon; Basic Grey paper; Dollar spot stamp from Michael's; Stickles - Yellow and Stardust

Geocaching

Welcome to our newest interest - geocaching! We got to looking at the things we enjoy doing and noticed that almost every single one of them included sitting - not good. I'd seen geocaching mentioned all around blogland and since it involves hiking and electronic gadgets we figured it might be right up our alley.

Our GPS was delivered last week and we played around with it so we'd know how to use it on the hunt. We pretty much geocached all the way home from Monaville, though not all of them were successful.

One thing I found ironic was that I had started out emphatically saying that I would not geocache in a cemetery and where did we have our first find? Um, yeah. We were in Huntsville and were led to Oakwood Cemetery where Sam Houston is buried, which appealed to our love of history as well. This cemetery is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. So very serene and such a feeling of peace. I do want to add that the hunting was NOT done around any of the gravesites, so there was no disrespect. We did spend some time walking around as part of this is a Civil War era cemetery and they have pamphlets at the entrance for guests to take a walking tour. So interesting.

We did encounter TONS of spiders there, which was rather creepy. August seems to be a banner month this year for spiders and I think quite a few of them made their homes here. We were looking at a headstone and reading about it when I quietly told Keith not to move. His head was just inches away from a large web! After this incident our new plan was to walk slowly and look out for webs. It almost started feeling like a scene from Mission Impossible or something - walk slow, tell the other person to slowly move right, duck, etc. I'm happy to report we didn't bring any hitchhikers home.

We went for more finds today and Lynne' joined us. Sometimes it's easier to show somebody instead of trying to explain it. Joe joined us as well and he had a grand time. I think Lynne' is a convert too and we decided she truly is our good luck charm.

I'm not able to post most of the pictures I took because it might give away hiding places or identifying marks to somebody. This is truly a game of stealth and we are having a blast with it.

Let's Go To Monaville, TX!

Keith and I just got back from a little weekend getaway. The town of Monaville, Texas hosted a Big Bird (Scale) Fly-In and since this happens to be one of Keith's hobbies we headed south. We went as spectators this trip, so no airplanes accompanied us.


The setting was beautiful and quiet and the weather couldn't have been better. I really enjoy watching these planes fly and we were quite impressed with just how big these were. Keith's planes are not nearly this size - note that it took 4 adult men to carry this plane.



Of course, not all flights end as planned. Luckily this was the only victim while we were there. (please note, no pilots were harmed in this crash...)




This plane was quite a crowd pleaser and happened to be one of my favorites - Snoopy and his Red Baron! It looked so funny flying through the air and when it landed the crowd clapped in glee. I think this was the favorite of the children in the crowd.

Pancakes for Breakfast

It hit me last night just how much we've been eating out again, so I told Keith that for one week we will eat at home (really went out on a limb there didn't I!), unless an emergency came up (you know those "must eat at a restaurant" type of emergencies!).

This morning I decided to try a pancake recipe that I had printed out a while ago. These were really quite good and since you make a mix first this will be my new favorite pancake recipe. I've really been quite wary lately of all the preservatives and things in store mixes, so this fits quite well. And yes I see the irony of worrying about preservatives in cooking mixes vs. fast food. :)

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And now for the rest of the story. I hated to leave anybody with the idea that everything here is always rainbows and unicorns. Here's what happened when I first made the recipe this morning: The way the recipe works is that first you stir dry ingredients together to make a mix so that you can keep it in the cabinet for use. Then I scooped out what I needed for today's batch in the brown bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together and add to the dry and whisk together just until the lumps disappear. As I was whisking I kept thinking that these lumps were never going to go away and that my poor whisk was in danger of snapping! Then it hit me - I had added the wet ingredients to the bowl with ALL THE REST OF THE DRY MIX!!! DOH! After a quick trip to the store for more buttermilk we were back in business. :rolling my eyes:

Fabric for Brooklyn

Apparently as soon as you become a grandma your sewing gene is reactivated. I've been in the mood to sew for several weeks and as luck would have it a dear friend just went through her patterns and gave me quite a few baby girl patterns. I deemed it to be fate and headed out to Joann's on Sunday, 40% off coupon clutched in my hand. I bought the fabric and lining fabric for a darling little sundress and matching pants for Brooklyn. I realize that this time of year a sundress might not get a lot of use, but I figure she can wear a little onesie under it.

Unfortunately my math skills still aren't something to brag about and I ended up with 1/8th of a yard short. I figured surely I could skootch the pieces around and make it work, but no luck. Off to Joann's I went again on Monday and luckily they still had the fabric. Let me tell you that store is a madhouse on Labor Day weekend!!! The cutting table has a "take a number" system and when a number was called you'd hear a girly voice shout out with glee and see somebody run to the table. It really was almost as fun as winning the lottery!

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Last night was knit night at Starbucks. Some people herald the changing of the seasons by looking at the trees, but I think my favorite signal that a new season is upon us can be found in the new drinks at Starbucks! Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino - really it doesn't get much better than that. I continued working on the baby blanket and love seeing what others are working on - it's always very inspiring. Very pleased to hear last night that this group has decided to meet every week now. :)

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In Seattle you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running. ~ Jeff Bezos

Brooklyn's First Sleepover

Finally the big day arrived - Brooklyn got to spend the night at grandma's house Saturday night!

But first we had such nice family time. We all went to eat and had such a good time. Brooklyn slept through the whole meal, but I know that someday she'll be right there having fun with the rest of us. Maybe that's why she's sleeping so much....saving up her energy???

But as soon as we got back to the house and put her on her play mat she was wide awake and SO cute! She's starting to verbalize more and it makes me laugh every time.

Keith and James set up a webcam and we called mom and put her on speaker phone so she could talk to us and see Brooklyn play. The picture shows Aunt Lynne' holding Brooklyn and even Joe was trying to get in on the fun! I love technology. :)

After Brooklyn had a bottle and was ready for a nap, Keith pulled out the old Super 8 movies and that was so much fun. I kept getting tears seeing my kids as babies and toddlers. Where does the time go???

James and Loni left and poor Loni had big crocodile tears in her eyes at the thought of leaving Brooklyn. It really was so sweet. :)

Lynne', Keith and I played with Brooklyn for the longest time. It's fun when babies start getting just a little older and you can interact with them. And Aunt Lynne' was so good at getting Brooklyn into her jammies. There is something about little footed sleepers that we all just adore.

The picture of Brooklyn and I was taken Sunday morning. She is just such a doll and makes the cutest faces! She would make me laugh, then that would make her grin real big.


Have I mentioned just how much I love this little girl??? :)