Catch up

As usual, I've let Facebook get in the way and haven't kept my journal up to date.

Grammy and Pop came to visit for my birthday. It was so much fun.

Braden has started soccer.

Avery starts gymnastics today.

Kenny has had two football games, and won both!

We are settling in to town now. It's fun that you can see people you know and wave now. We're not outsiders anymore.

Last night was our first small group meeting with a new group of friends. I look forward to building stronger relationships with each of them.

Jon and Stacy and the kids are coming this weekend for their last hurrah before moving to Honduras.

Mirror Redo

After Braden's room switcheroo, I moved his changing table to the entryway and took the top off so it doesn't look like a changing table. (I have yet to change out the knobs yet, but that will come in time.) Anyway, I've been looking for a mirror to put above it. My friend Amy found a treasure today at a garage sale for $5! It's hard to find big mirrors for so cheap, so I asked her to grab it up.

She warned me about the fruit, but it still took me a little off guard when I saw it. I'm not a fruit kind of gal...some people are, and I'm not dissing them, but it's just not me..especially in an entryway.

So...I started my wheels turning and paint a mixing. I had some aqua leftover from my dining room table and some yellow from my kitchen walls, so I mixed them together to make a softer aqua with a greenish tint. Then, I added some damaskish stencils to the corners in the light yellow, and finished it off with a light stain so it wouldn't look like it was freshly painted.

(Pre-Stain)

I am going to have to figure out how to reconfigure the entryway now because the accessories need to be changed out to fit the more contemporary feel. But for the time being...I'm pleased with the replacements of the fruit! (Who knows why this picture came out so teeny...)

Beach Trip 2010

Kenny and I have been planning to take the kids to the beach for a while now. We just never picked a time. Last week, Kenny had his last day of school, and a week off before his summer schedule started. We figured it was the perfect time for a mini vacation. We normally stay in hotels when we go places, but we started looking into renting a condo this time around. It wasn't much more expensive, and the convenience of it was worth the little bit of extra we paid.

We left early Tuesday morning. The kids did fantastic on the trip, and the weather was great for 2 hours and 45 minutes. When we pulled into Gulf Shores, a gigantic black cloud rolled in, and for the last 15 minutes of our trip, it poured. Kenny and I just looked at each other.

Once we got settled into the condo, it was still raining, so we were glad for the indoor pool at the condo. Avery is a fish, so she jumped right in. Braden has become a little more cautious this summer, so he stayed around the edges.

Finally the rain stopped, so we headed out to the beach. Braden's words once we hit the sand were, "oh! It's yucky on my feet!" He must get that from his dad. I was glad he quickly changed his mind. He never did get used to the sand on his hands though. Avery ran up to the water and started jumping over waves. Braden screamed everytime we tried to get close. I finally talked him into sitting in my lap and letting the water run over our legs. Later on that day, he let me carry him into the water deeper. The waves were fun to jump over and through. Avery and Kenny had a ball in the bigger ones.

By then it was close to suppertime, and since it was Daddy and Avery's night to pick, they chose Pizza Hut. What a thrill..at the beach, and pizza, but it was good, and the company was great. After dinner, we went to the grocery store to get lunch for the next day. By the time we were finished there, the kids were falling asleep while walking so they went to bed when we got home. They spent the night in the same room, and they thought that was pretty neat. Until the next morning...

Avery is my sleep in girl, and Braden is my awake early boy. For some reason, he decided he needed to wake up even earlier than normal, and that in turn woke Avery up super early. We started the day at 5:50. Avery said, "Momma; I didn't sleep well because Braden talked all night long..."

We spent the morning at the beach, then came back to the condo for lunch. The kids were super ready for naps by then, and they slept for a good three hours. When they got up, we went to the outside pool, but the water was too cold, so we ended up at the beach again. We played there for a while then got cleaned up for supper. It was Braden's and my turn to choose that night. We went to the Gulf Island Grill. Much more coastal feel...very good food. We took the kids to the souvenier shops and then for ice cream before heading back to the condo for the night.

After another early wake up, we spent the next morning at the beach again. We met some really nice couples, whose kids and our kids had a ball playing with. They had little nets, and spent the day catching fish and hermit crabs.

Around lunchtime, we headed up to the condo, cleaned up, then packed up the car to leave. We stopped for lunch, then stopped again at the outlet mall for some shopping at Old Navy. I was excited to find a Stride Rite outlet and some extra extra wide shoes for Braden, at a very affordable price! We loaded up again, and the kids were asleep before we knew it. They slept for about two hours of the three that it took to get home.

We topped the trip off by meeting Nonna and Big Daddy for dinner, then headed back to their place for some swimming. The kids fell into bed and slept very soundly until this morning.

Then I laughed because Avery woke up before Braden this morning. What a great trip! Can't wait until we can go again!

Getting My Sew On

I've been having the best time EVER, making outfits for Avery. I started out wanting to make a few pairs of shorts that were comfortable to play in. Then I threw in a few tops that we could mix and match.

Then I hit a minor bump when my machine died mid-stitch. I was lucky enough to inherit my grandmother's Bernina, and have loved learning and using it over the past years. Well, apparently the main board decided to go out, and since it's a computerized machine, that means it's dead until I want to pour over $500 into getting it fixed. Of course that got pushed to the back burner for now, so I am blessed to have a friend who is letting me borrow hers until I can make some other sort of arrangement for a new machine.

I have several other ideas floating around in my head for different designs, and can't wait to tackle them! These are what we have so far. (There are also a few other pairs of shorts that I haven't taken pictures of...solid colors to go with the different shirts...)

To Do's...

I forget how much I enjoy sewing until I begin a new project. Of course there can be frustrations; like when the bobbin runs out at the most inopportune time, or if a needle breaks...but for the most part, sewing is relaxing for me.

The other day I was inspired by Paige and Brooke. They are so talented, and I love how they share their ideas and how to accomplish them through tutorials. I have always enjoyed appliqueing (sp?) things, and Paige and Brooke's tutorial kicked me into gear to make Avery a valentine shirt. While Avery was at school, Braden and I ventured to Hobby Lobby to find some fun fabric. That evening, Avery sat in my lap and helped me complete the project. It was so much fun letting her learn to thread the machine, choose the stitch, and adjust knobs. I love the fact that she is interested in sewing. I shouldn't be surprised because she loves to learn. Braden also sat up in the chair next to us, so if felt like both of them helped so much. I think that's why this one feels extra special.
Once I finished Avery's shirt, I felt like I should make something for Braden. Since I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't look too girlie for valentine's attire, I revisited a pillow I started for him a long time ago. We're talking, probably over a year ago! When Avery was about two, I found some fun fabric, and I made a pillow for her. (Solid pink on the back with a zipper for easy cleaning.) She has always loved to prop up on it and watch movies, or use it in her room to hold her door. It has served many uses.

One day about a year ago, I found matching fabric, but in boy colors! I was super excited, so I came home that day, cut everything out, had the zipper pinned on to sew in, but had to put the project away before I finished it because I had company coming. (My dining room table serves as my sewing table.) So, a year later, I found that it was pretty silly that everything was ready to be finished, it just wasn't stitched up! (His is blue on the back with a zipper.) When Braden woke up from his nap to see his "couch" (he gets that and pillow confused apparently), he ran over, and fell onto it saying, "my couch! my own couch!" Now they get to prop up on matching pillows to watch their shows.Since I finished Avery's valentine's shirt, I've been wanting to make her another. So, when I found this turtle neck at Target for $.94, there was just no excuse to wait any longer. We went today to pick out fabric. She chose this one...not quite what I would have picked, but it has sparkles, so there was no contest in her book. I wanted to put a fun 'A' on it, but she wants a butterfly. I have strict instructions not to work on it while she's napping because she wants to help.
While we were out and about, I remembered two pairs of Avery's pants that still fit her great, but she has worn holes in the knees. So, we ventured over to the patches section and Avery made her picks. When we got home, I barely had my bag down before Avery was begging to fix her pants. I stitched up the holes; don't know if that's necessary, but I thought it might hold better, then Avery applied the patches. I did the ironing of course, and I might tack them on as well to reinforce them. At any rate, Avery is ecstatic!
Now I'm trying to decide if I should try to get the house in order or start on another project! (I'm so tempted to start the butterfly....)

Sun Spot Day

I have hit a point in my life where I am super happy. Nothing in particular can be pin pointed, but it's just been nice to enjoy my kids, my husband, and realize that I've got it pretty good!

The kids obviously have their ups and downs with each other and with me, but for the most part they are so great and pleasant to be around. We have been enjoying our time at home together, and I believe I will probably ache when I don't have Avery with me each day when the time comes for her to go to school.

Our family (with the exception of Kenny) enjoys being outdoors. I don't know if it's the smell, the sun, or the pure freedom of it all; regardless, it's one of the kids and my favorite places to be. Of course since it is winter right now, time spent outside is few and far between. So, on sunny days, we pretend it's nice out, and open our blinds as high as they will go. The other day in particular, the sun not only warmed our bodies, but my heart and mind as well.

Picture the rare occasion where the house is clean from hosting small group the night before. Remember that we have three large windows on one wall in our living room. The rays were beaming in, leaving sun spots on the floor. In one sun spot sat Avery, building a little tower with her legos. In another sat Braden, building his tower of legos. And in the final spot, lay the dog, Barlow, basking in the warmth.

There was no chit chat, no arguing, no screaming; just the hint of music playing in the background and the thumping of my proud heart.

Such a pleasant day. I will recall it always as Sun Spot Day.

I Can FLY!

This past weekend was the State track meet in Gulf Shores. We took the team down Thursday so they would be rested from traveling for the meet that started Friday. Thursday night, we went out to dinner and then to "The Track" that had putt putt, go carts, an arcade, and the infamous SkyCoaster. The week leading up to the trip, different kids asked me if I would go on the SkyCoaster with them. In passing I would say, "sure, why not?!"

Luckily they did not all hold me to it, or else we would not have had any money for the rest of the weekend, but I did go with two of our girls. Even though I looked like a scaredy cat, I absolutely loved it, and wanted to go more. When we got to the top and Bridgett pulled the chord to drop us, our heads turned completely upside down toward the ground! We didn't "coast" until after it looked like we were going to hit the ground! What a rush!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.