1953

Here is a little treasure from 1953. My wonderful friend Marianne let look through her collection of vintage patterns. This beauty was just meant to be. The measurements fit Marley perfectly right now. (Marley was quite concerned that I wouldn't finish before she grew) We had just enough of this fabric in my fabric stash. And it goes perfectly with the coat I made her last winter.

I love all things vintage. How wonderful that my powers of persuasion are rubbing off on my girl. She too loves all things old fashioned. A girl after my own heart. Aislyn still just loves all things pink. I'm working on her though.

Look at this beauty! I can't believe she will be twelve in just a few months. She is a girl of many talents and a kind heart. I can't imagine life without her and all she does. If you haven't already, you should check out her blog. It often makes me giggle and is very sweet. It's on my list of blogs- upside down and right side up.

I finally broke down

Yes, I finally broke down and turned on the furnace yesterday. Most people think I'm crazy to have waited so long. I probably am. But really, who wants to pay that extra bill through the winter months? Anyway, in preparation for a nice toasty warm house I replaced the furnace filters and decided to vacuum out the vents downstairs. Who knew I would be in for such a surprise.
Let me list the treasures I found in just one vent:
-A rock measuring about 4 inches in diameter.
-5-6 smaller rocks.
-2 jolly ranchers.
-A plastic muscle man action figure.
-3 pens.
-2 pencils.
-A rubber band.
-And a very stale dinner roll.

Apparently this has been someone's special summer time hiding spot although no one has any idea who would do such a thing:)

It's Been Awhile

What has happened the past few weeks? Well, not picture taking that's for sure. So here's a list.

-Jairus celebrated his fourth birthday with cookies and a Hot Wheels car ramp complete with a skull that you drive your cars into. Strange that my sensitive, tender boy is all about skeletons right now, or "skimitoos" as he pronounces it.
-Thomas and I got to go to the temple with his cousin Holly and her husband Joe for their first time. Very sweet experience.
-Our computer crashed, then miraculously started again, then died again, and is now hopefully really and truly fixed, thanks to John. What a roller coaster.
-I started a hornet's nest so to speak of political debate, kind of a weird position for me to be in.
-Ephraim wrote on the wall with red pencil and then cracked the plaster and started picking at it and now we have a three inch hole in our hallway. Awesome.
-We set up the crib for the baby, always fun for me. I can't wait for her to get here. Only ten more weeks to go.
-Marley turned into a teenager overnight and is now very concerned about privacy and all the injustices of having brothers and sisters.
-Townsend went to Grandma Carroll's house for a week and had a lovely time. We're glad to have him back though.

Up next....Halloween which I have not prepared for at all and then Aislyn's sixth birthday party which she has been inviting people to for the last six months.

Happy Birthday Ephraim!

Our little guy is now a big two years old. A little something about Ephraim. He likes to eat. He holds the family record for eating pancakes. Seven! He prefers to communicate by answering all questions with a nod or shake of his head. He's very tough and has no trouble holding his own with all these big kids around him. He loves to hug his brother Jairus and play horsey with his sister Marley. He is an escape artist and has given his mother a near heart attack a few times now. Most of all he is the most lovable two year old I know.

Westport and Grandpa!

Last Monday was just about as perfect as a day can be. We all piled into the Pilot and headed for the beach. School started for everyone else last week so we had the beach to ourselves. We were all happy to have Grandpa Done here for a visit. Grandpa=Fun. We made sand castles, found jellyfish and shells, buried our legs in the sand, thought we were being killed by a wave that knocked us down(OK that one was Jairus but he recovered quickly), threw a lot of sand, drove on the beach and scared innocent seagulls, saw cranberry bogs, ate at a wonderful little restaraunt called Bennett's, broke a glass, ate an "adult meal" and had generally had a beautiful day. Thank you grandpa!

Canning Week!

Canning week. In a strange and twisted way I look forward to it all year long. I never work quite so hard, or stay up quite so late as I do this week. I'm never quite so tired or frazzled as I am this week. But I never feel quite the sense of fulfillment as I do this week. And even though the kids complain here and there I think they feel the same way. Hard work makes you feel good, it gives you confidence. Both Marley and Townsend made comments about how fun it was and how they loved it. Even Ephraim got in on the green snapping and corn husking action.
This year Sarah and I drove to Yakima on Monday, loaded up her van with probably 1,000 pounds of produce and then got to work on Tuesday. Thanks to Sister Moore we got 400 pounds of corn for free from the WSU fields in Puyallup. This year our family did 40 quarts of peaches, 15 quarts of pears, 65 quarts of green beans, 85 quarts of tomatoes and we froze 25 quarts of fresh corn. It all tastes so much better than the store bought stuff.

Here's our pile of corn husks.

Pretty tomatoes.

Corn huskin' tickle fight.

Fruits of our labors.

Utah

We had a lovely time in Utah. Sadly I almost always forgot to bring the camera with me so we're lacking in photographic evidence. Thanks to Lucinda for welcoming our brood into her home and being so cool about the extra messes in her house. Thomas and I went to Education Week Tuesday through Friday. I LOVE Education Week. It's so uplifting, motivating, and spirit filled. In the evening we did fun things with the kids. We got to go on a walk at Silver Lake with Thomas' mission buddy Mark and his beautiful family. We took the kids and walked around the BYU campus. We thought we'd start brainwashing them early as to what school they want to attend. We went to a little water park on Monday where I got the sunburn of the century. I'm still peeling. So gross. The kids had a blast and even Jairus summed up the courage to go down water slides with his dad and loved it. We also took an afternoon and walked around Temple Square. I hadn't been there since I was very little. Such an amazing place. Utah was sunny and wonderful. We always feel so loved there. Everyone was sad to leave, especially Aislyn and Jairus who were spoiled rotten by their sweet cousins Jenica and Elise. Thank you girls!

It was a wonderful time but I was glad to be home in my own bed.