The Beast

Shelly will be here in a couple hours (drove all the way from Maryland) so we can start out on our way to our family reunion tomorrow in ID. She paid and picked out all the fabric and I used a Denyse Schmidt pattern to put the whole thing together. I hope she is surprised (in a good way) when she sees its finally done!

First off, no, I will not be doing a king size quilt again anytime soon. It was a monster to peice, a mosnster to quilt, a monster to baste and by since I had a deadline, I didn't even hand stitch the binding. Its huge.

I do love how it turned out though. I had my doubts at first, I didn't love the fabric (Moda- Lamour, Sandy Gervais), but it really came together and I like how it turned out. I just quilted loops across vertically as I knew that was the only way I could fit it on my machine.

A few things I have learned:

1. I am going to pre-wash everything now as this shrank WAY more than I expected and or I need to measure a 100 times. I was short over 10 inches and I still can't fathom if it was a shrinkage or a calculation error.

2. Cut the edges after quilting but before sewing on the top binding. I got into trouble which I don't care to expound on.

3. I really need a machine that had a 'needle stops down' feature, and also one that tells me when the bobbin runs out, so I don't keep on my merry way for a long time and not realizing I am not even sewing.

4. When you go through 5 bobbins in one sitting, its time to take a break.

Rockets and Robots

I finished SM's quilt a while ago but I finally ordered a new charger for the camera battery that got here this week. So here it is:

I love it! I used a striped border on the top and a blue border on the stripes. He loves it too! I did a big stipple all over and love this David Walker fabric.

Has it been that long?

I swear I had another post in there since the last birthday, but blogger ate it when I changed my format. Its been a fun summer, I am so thankful for not too much humidity! We still have one big reunion left in Idaho and I can't wait. Here are some shots of what we have been up to.

Our first trophy. He was more than thrilled.

We were so IMPROVED! I had a great experience coaching and am glad to sit this next season out. Sawyer scored a 3 times, but needs more aggression!

If they could, they would eat watermelon all day, everyday. It makes everything so sticky and I (yes, even me) have had to mop so often. I love watermelon, but I am tired of the cleanup. Here GJ decided to get really crazy and had it all over his hair. All I could do was laugh.

While at Tad's reunion (these are totally out of order) we went to Minnetonka caves and it was cool, but so cold (40 degrees) and SM just had a tshirt and shorts. Way to be prepared, parents. Luckily, GJ stayed back with Grandma and Grandpa.

Plantarium visiting Mars. They saw their first 3D move and no, they are not ready for 3D glasses. We'll wait a few more years.

When its too hot, we go to the Discovery Gateway children's museum. GJ spent about 45 minutes feeding this little baby.

We love hiking! We went with some friends to Lake Solitude, and the kids did 3.5 miles total, they were amazing! And tired, but I was so proud of them. It helps to have other kids they can play with and follow, much less complaining. I only carried GJ about half a mile if that on the way back.

GJ started swimming lessons and potty training. I wouldn't say he is successful at either yet.

We all hiked up Donut Falls which no longer seems to be a donut.

But it was fun to get out and glad the kids can walk by themselves :)

We try to go to the zoo at least once a week.

I think SM likes this fake elephant better than the real ones. GJ does not agree.

Spanish Fork Fair frozen banana!

Surprisingly, GJ LOVED this fast little roller coaster. Cousin Linc is not so sure!

We have worked a little on a community farm.

SM loves jumping off the diving board and runs all the way down! He is such an improved swimmer! Now lets hope he doesn't forget it by next summer.