St. George

Isn't it funny how, just when you think life is going to settle down and start getting normal, it sends you a few curve balls. Lately, Mike has been working on our cars. The Hyundai is currently engine-less and receiving a new clutch. The motorcycle looks like it has silly-string spraying out its front while it awaits Mike to figure out why the head light isn't working. And the wheel bearing in the Chevy is going out, along with the breaks. (When it rains it pours, right?)
As well as having car trouble, we got a call this weekend that Mike's Grandma was doing really bad and was not likely to be around for very long. It had been over a year since we had seen her and she had never seen Penny at all. So on our way to pick up Mom's car from the airport we made a spur of the moment decision to go down to St. George.
For the most part, the kids were really good during all the driving, but they were pretty pilly while we were down there. (It was miserable hot, and they were in a strange place).

 I am extremely happy we were able to go. She is a wonderful woman and I am so very glad we were able to see her again. Like I said, the kids were a bit antsy and I didn't want them stressing people out any more than they already were, so I tried to keep them outside, but the heat just killed me. We were able to find air conditioned refuge in the McDonald's Play Place and the hotel room.

I eventually was able to adjust a tiny bit to the heat and could spend a bit more time (about 2 min.) away from the AC. We drove out to see Aunt Judy and Uncle Steve's new house they are building, and on the way we visited a couple of the historic homes while we were passing through (I have a slight obsession with old homes).
So, our reasons for going down were a little sad, but I am so very glad we did. Ironically, going down to see Grandma and letting her know how much we love (and will always love) her made all of that other stress seem to just fade into the background for a while. When you think about it, cars and life are important, but love and family are so much more so that everything else seems like cold wisps of smoke.

Family Reunion

So we are finally home from our fun and family filled weekend. This last week end was my mother's family reunion up at Bear Lake. Getting ready to go was a bit of a nightmare, but we really brought it on ourselves. We hadn't done anything ahead of time to get ready before the day we had to leave (lesson learned). When we finally did get on the road and made it up to the camp site, things went pretty smoothly. Mike really wanted to cook some sort of dutch oven dish for dinner (he gets so few opportunities I couldn't say no).

 So we had spicy BBQ pork ribs, pasta salad, melon, and peach cobbler.
The ribs were very messy but very tasty. Per usual, we had more food than we could eat ourselves. Thankfully my cousins were willing to help us finish off our dinner.

The cobbler didn't finish until about 10:30pm and still had a dry crust on top, but it tasted really yummy all the same.

The food was good, but I think the best part was my happy Mike. He got to cook outside, and everybody liked how it tasted.

The best part of family reunions, to me, is seeing family that you hadn't seen in a while-catching up. I loved seeing all my cousins and their families. I may be a little extreme, but I am really into family.

Abram loved having other little kids his age and size to play with, but I think his favorite part was getting filthy from head to foot. (Sticky fingers and dirt are deadly combinations). He also really liked the rocks. We got after him every time he threw them so he decided to stick them in the bumper of the car instead.

Penny was, of course, her usual adorable self. Until...

we drove to the lake. Apparently Abram had given her a piece of chocolate behind our backs. In the 60 seconds it took to drive to the beach she got this dirty. I didn't think it was possible but apparently it is.
After the lake, we broke camp and headed to the caves. Unfortunately we were not able to get into the caves, but Mike and I needed to head to Idaho Falls anyway. We spent the rest of the weekend with Mike's parents, something we had been going through withdrawals from. We got to relax and and give the grandparents a chance to hang with the little grand-babies. All in all it was a wonderful family weekend.

Apron Quilt

I went to the Utah county fair today to help judge their 4-H. My sister Luella and I did photography and arts and crafts. From what I could tell, the entries were, over all, very good. Last time we had judged this fair there weren't enough judges and it took literally all day. This time it went much faster. After we finished judging, Luella and I took a gander at the other entries we hadn't judged. There were some really stupendous items. My favorite was this applique quilt.

I would have unfolded it all the way and taken a better picture of it, but I technically shouldn't have been touching it at all. But you get the idea. Aren't those aprons adorable?! I nearly squealed out loud I thought it was so cute.

Her fabrics were all just as cute as her concept. I am a sucker for retro and vintage prints. I just wanted to cry over the toaster. So CUTE! This quilt is definitely lending some inspiration my way. I don't know who sewed this beauty, but who ever you are, thank you for your genius.

The County Fair

I apologize for taking so long to make this posting. I did say I was heading into the crazy part of my summer. Here's the update. We went to a lovely ceremony in Manti for my cousin and his new wife. The wedding was lovely (I'll be making a post about it soon). Mike has officially finished school. He turned in the last of his assignments and his internship hours, so he is done with school. Until he decides to go back for his paramedic's license. I my self have been going nuts at the fair (completing and turning in projects, helping with the 4-H judging, judging different counties' fairs, etc.) We did get to go down and enjoy it a little bit on Saturday though.

The best part of the day was the parade. This is the first year Abram actually was big enough to understand what was going on. And let me tell you, he is a pro at picking up candy off the street. I was glad Mike was so willing to help keep him from running in front of the floats and horses.

Abram had a huge grin on his face the whole time. He just couldn't believe candy would just be thrown at him from the streets.

Penny was a little less enthused. She had a totally confused look on her face the whole time.
As for my entries in the fair, I didn't to too bad. I got three reds (one on a crocheted doll I made, one the pillowcase nightgown, and on my french bread) I felt really bad about the bread. After I turned it in I went home and tasted the extra loaf I had.... My flour was bad. They shouldn't have even given me a red.

Each of my knitted items got blues. I think the gloves probably deserved a red though.

My little child figurine got blue to. It was actually really fun. I think this might be a project I will try again.

The entry that really surprised me was my tea set. I totally just made up the design and free-hand the whole thing, and it got a judges choice. It totally made up for the reds I got.

I also got a blue on my table setting. (I did a Secret Garden theme). I unfortunately forgot to take a pic of it. Over all, I did pretty good. I still have a few more big events on my agenda before my summer can come to a close, but so far it has gone well.

Knitting Beginings

A little over a year ago I read a book called The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.

I actually enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and relatively entertaining. What I liked best about it was the that it made me want to learn to knit. My mother had tried to teach me back when I was about eight, but for some reason I just didn't get it. I satisfied myself with crocheting, but there was just so much more I wanted to do and the book gave me the push I needed to learn. So over to my mom's house I went. She lent me a pair of needles and gave me a ball of cotton yarn to make, what my mother called the perfect beginner project; a dishcloth.

I am embarrassed to admit it now, but this tiny thing took me about a week to make. I think I took it apart about 30 times because I kept messing up. I have come quite a ways since then. I have made hats, sweaters, scarfs, gloves, dresses, and other things. Although the washcloth was a great beginner project I really have come to feel that a beginner would find more satisfaction out of a hat. They are fast, simple, functional, and they look more complicated than they are.

Here are a few of my most recent ones. They are all made out of the same kind of yarn. (I was trying to get rid of the yarn). Most of them, unfortunately will not be modeled by the kids. Penny was way to squirmy and both really wanted to go to bed. (That's what I get for trying to take pics at bed time).

Here is one of Abram's (the only one in the house who seems to appreciate my knitting skills - He loves hats-). The pattern for this one was totally wrong so I had to just look at the picture and figure it out (amazing how often that happens).

Sorry, I just have to sneak in his "Blue Steel" pose.

I loved making this barre. It looks even better on Penny. I am going to have to change the pattern on this one if I do it again.

Sorry I know this pic is blurry, but I wanted to show the flower. It is knitted with a button center and placed on a very basic roll brimmed beanie. Super basic. None of these hats are of my own creation. I got the ideas from Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys. So if you are wanting to learn to knit, and want to make something cooler than a washcloth, I would definitely suggest a beanie.