Play Ball!! 2012

The 2012 baseball and softball season is in full swing.  It doesn't matter if the temperature was 20 degrees last night....the games go on!!  (and the fans freeze!)

Mark-12, is in his last year of little league, the majors.  Next year he moves up to play Babe Ruth ball.

It's amazing to see how far he has come over the last few years.

 Grace-10

This is Grace's first year playing on the major league softball team...she tried out and made the majors.

She will have 2 more years at this level.

Today, she got her first ever major league hit and drove in an RBI. 

 We do have a little work to do on Grace's swing, but she did get a hit!

Mark went 2-4 today with an RBI and a stolen base.  His defense on third  base was great.

Here's to a great season...may the snow stop soon and may the fans thaw out!

needle and thREAD

Elizabeth started needle and thREAD a few weeks ago, and I have to say, I am very thankful!

On the first week of this linky party, Elizabeth wrote:

"I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much."

Head on over to Elizabeth's blog and join the party.

This week I whipped up this sleeveless, button up summer top for Kimberly. I used the Simplicity 7616 pattern.  I made the top three inches longer than the pattern...it is meant to be a crop top, but I like the extra length.  The top was an exact fit-6x.  I proceeded to make a red pair of shorts using the same pattern and size, they came out gigantic...I tried to "fix" them, but they ended up in the trash.  I was so upset about wasting the fabric, but they were just unwearable.  I have now written in big letters on the pattern, "don't make these shorts"!

I finished up An Invisble Thread. It was a true story about an 11 year old panhandler and a sales executive.

This inspirational story shows how a brief encounter between two people from different worlds can turn into a lasting relationship that changes lives.

Next up to read: a Nicholas Sparks love story--The Best of Me.  It's just what the doctor ordered!

Going Formal

 It is semi-formal night for my junior and senior tonight.

Laura and Amy

Becky came with me to the photo session....I had to get a picture of my three grown-up girls.

Laura and friend Sadie..."smouldering" LOL

I ask Laura to look at the camera...this is what I got!

Needle and thREAD

I really need to thank Elizabeth for starting this weekly "linky party"! I haven't sewed in a while and her posts of the past few weeks have gotten me inspired. So, this past week, while the temperatures reached 90 degrees, I realized that the little girls needed some summer clothes, and I became excited and headed off to the fabric store. I had looked through my patterns before heading to the store. I decided to start with the outfitting of Kimberly. I had a few suitable patterns, but became super excited when I saw that the McCall's patterns were on sale for $.99 at Joann's Fabrics...JACKPOT!
I bought fabric for tops, capris, shorts and pajamas.

I started with this very cute and easy top and lightweight denim capris. The pattern for the top is McCall's M6313. It sewed up very quickly, and I love the elastic on the neck and sleeves.

The capris are McCall's pattern 4006. I added white pregathered eyelet to the bottoms.
I like the fit of these...I plan on making a couple more pairs of these.
The book I am enjoying right now is Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are You Now?


I did have a little bit of a hard time getting into this book. There are so many characters, I was having to look back to figure out who was who, but now, 3/4 of the way done, I have been pulled into the story. The kids think it is really funny that when I read Mary Higgins Clark I tend to get quite nervous, I only read them when other are still awake...I have read a few when I was alone and scared myself. LOL!


I'm looking forward to my next book, The Invisible Thread. It was highly recommended to me and sounds very interesting...I will let you know what I think of it next week.


The trampoline test!! The test where you see how well the new clothes stand up to the trampoline.
These new clothes pass the test.

Woven Hearts Craft

Some of the kids are fighting springtime colds...(having just gotten over pneumonia), so I didn't want to send kids out into the cool weather, so I suggested to Amy that she find a craft that the 3 littles would enjoy. She came through with a great art lesson for us all.

At first Amy had the kids experiment and practice with different paintbrush strokes and color mixing.
It took alot of concentration to get the brushstrokes just right.

We used cardboard from the backs of cereal boxes.

Working of swirls.

Four pieces of cardboard were painted and then two were cut into hearts and the other two were cut into thin strips.

Amy used an sharp knife to cut slits in the hearts, being careful to leave an edge around the heart.

Begin weaving strips into the heart.

A job well done on a slow Saturday afternoon.

My view from the kitchen window

Exploring Oneida Creek

For full disclosure: If you are heading out with the kids on a new hiking path and there is a big sign stating "trail washed out"....don't pick this trail to head down, no matter how nice it looks because after walking a half mile you will come to a 30 foot drop off, into the creek where the trail was indeed..."washed out". But, for the children's pleasure, instead of walking back, you can challenge the kids to get to the bottom of the 20 foot ravine on their behinds. They will make it easily, but this momma will give them quite a laugh as she makes her way down the slope.
The trout lilies are in bloom along the creek.

Gracie-10

Yes, it is still winter coat weather in the evenings.

Beautiful violets.

mouse-eared hawkweed

It took all Luke's courage to balance his way along this giant fallen tree.

Kimmy wasn't brave enough to make it across.

This is Kimmy's cougar face.

The Oneida Creek is running quite low for springtime ( our lack of snow and rain is beginnign to show) ...but it is perfect (and safe) for exploring.

Gracie out on a limb.

It was cold and the water is pretty deep beneath this log...I didn't want to have anyone fall in on this cold evening, so I made Amy and Grace sit and scootch along the log. I think this may have been a little more dangerous than just letting them walk across the creek.

My beautiful Gracie-10 and Amy-17

A Picture Perfect Day