GAME NIGHT

I grew up playing a German game called: Mensch argere Dich nicht.....or in English translation: AGGRAVATION!! It's definitely a game for ALL ages.....although when you are playing only with adults it can get UGLY......in the funnest way!!!

plotting your next move of who you can KNOCK OUT

racing around the board as quickly as possible to your "home"

opponents hot on your trail

sometimes yelping out a "YES" as you've successfully kept yourself ahead in the game

until you've victoriously have all 4 of your peeps "home"

and yep that glorious yellow was ME......I WON!!!

and I'm certain I didn't scream and holler in excitement as the other 3 people sitting around our table are pretty competitive!!

it was a fun Saturday night with good friends......board games can be fun for adults too!!! what are your favorite's??

Hand-me-down

This blogging world has birthed some craftiness that I KNEW was inside of me but needed just a little nudge to come out! That nudge was then followed with a need.....a sewing machine. But it was gonna have to go on the "want list" which could be YEARS before being fulfilled.......we have little mouths to feed and clothe and that's JUST FINE with me!!! I could dream about having one for the time being! I was then given one of the best hand-me-downs an aspiring sewing girl could want. A sewing machine......AND A BERNINA AT THAT. This was graciously given to me by Jon's grandmother who was a WONDERFUL seamstress and ran a small business out of her home for years and years. So along with this machine I also was given a serger (I KNOW!!!), lots and lots of thread, bobbins.......oh the list is endless but I AM BLESSED to have everything AND MORE to get my beginners sewing skills going!

insert angelic singing here

it seems there is ALWAYS a birthday party to attend and so one of the things I've been making are colored pencil rolls (this was another item that Karah got me started on)

which really are perfect for boy or girls

(and i must say that fabric shopping is quite satisfying......i love this michael miller fabric i found for SOOOOOO CHEAP)

they can be paired with coloring books, drawing paper, "learning books".....oh the choices but have made PERFECT GIFTS!!

and can be made for young and older kids

i made this crayon roll for a 2 y/o....used the same concept as the pencil rolls just on a smaller/longer scale. these are pretty simple to whip up!

a quick satisfying project which is perfect for a beginner sewer like myself!!

i'm loving the ENDLESS sewing possibilities and look forward to learning more and more.........cause BOY do i have a LOT to learn. thank goodness for seam rippers!!!

SHE wants to be the best guitar player and sings a convincing song while strumming the same cord.

HE wanted fried rice....SHE wanted vegetarian beef and broccoli. both were made. WE shared.

SHE was begging for another bowl of ice cream. before the other bowl arrived SHE had enough......it was only 6:10.

SHE decided it was time....SHE was right.

this is what WE did during parts of OUR day.

Bike Baskets

I never posted any details of the sewing I did while on my blogging date in Birmingham back in December (Christmas presents for the girls) with my very talented friend Karah. Spring is S-P-R-I-N-G-I-N-G around here and yesterday was one of those MUST GO TO THE PARK DAYS! Which meant bikes which then tapped in to my horrible memory of "oh i never showed off these EXTRA CUTE bike baskets"!!

the girls LOVE them and I'm hoping that maybe.....just maybe Karah will post a tutorial in the near future because they are SOOOOO worth sharing!!

they are perfect for holding ALL kinds of girly/naturey treasures

while biking we made some stops for skipping rocks

swinging on a tree swing

listening to a bagpiper (we heard him before we finally found him and when we did emery was OVERJOYED and sprinted out for a CLOSE UP view)

and finally she spotted "our flag" (state) all on her own......maybe jon taught her that? i was shocked she actually knew but i'm certain this has NOTHING to do with my teachings!!!

in the wilderness....ish

we hit the road friday morning and headed for the "wilderness"

but not the wilderness we had intended our body's to be in. we had planned a camping trip which had to be cancelled last minute due to evening temps of 20's....a bit TOO cold for tent camping...at least for us.

our plan b turned into an overnight trip here:

so instead of sleeping bags we got this:

instead of stacking up nature "findings"......piling up starbursts as high as they could go until they tumbled over was 2nd runner up

instead of relaxing in camping chairs by the fire it was poolside like this:

instead of exploring near by creeks and waterfalls there was water dumping fun to be had like this:

and trying new things like this:

by THE bravest 6 year old

who loved every second of it

BUT we did get to venture out into the outdoor "hot tub" which felt "natural springs like...ish"

we SPLASHED 36 hours away

and came home feeling like we had a "get away" which is always a good feeling......even if it was PLAN B!!!

today she asked to text her daddy "booty".....love emery. and laughed hysterically at herself for coming up with such humor.

SPRING BREAK 2010!!!

those 2 words with the added year somehow immediately make me think of panama city beach (no i never experienced that life!!!)...girls in bikini's with fake tans and work-out-so-hard-don't-eat-for-a-whole-month-before-you-hit-the beach-body's.....MTV....dancing. WHY???

rather this has been our week so far......snuggling on the couch finishing up the winter olympics

breaking ALL rules of sleeping in mommy and daddy's room

30 toes and 6 feet piled on top of each other to watch a movie in bed (UNHEARD OF!!)

AND EMPTY LUNCH BOX FOR 5 WHOLE DAYS!!!! do you even understand how exciting this is for THIS mother???

yep we're lovin' spring break 2010 period.