A Weekend with Nanny: Part 1- Burgaw & Berries

This past weekend we had one of those marathon weekends where we went to visit Nanny & had so much we wanted to cram into less than 48 hours. We got in late on Friday night because there was a traffic jam on I40. So all that we were able to fit into that evening was dinner (at Jackson's Barbeque though- so SCORE!), a quick errand, & then a pit stop at Kohl's for a bathing suit for Jackson.

We also knew we were going to have to leave early on Sunday in time to be back home for Emma's piano recital. So we laid out all we wanted to do & found a way to put it all in on Saturday.

Here is our Marathon Day:
First stop of the morning: The Spring Fest in good 'ole Burgaw, NC!

We met up with Peto there first thing in the morning. This was so sweet how Jackson just took off & ran to give her a hug when he saw her.

We had two purposes for hitting the Spring Fest. 1) Uncle Jeff had a woodworking booth set up there.....

Nanny actually ended up winning the drawing for a pine chest! Go Nanny!

and the second reason for going to the Spring Fest was because Hannah & Abby were clogging out there. We always like to watch clogging. Fun!

After leaving Spring Fest, we headed back towards Nanny's to the strawberry patch. We hadn't had a chance to pick strawberries this season so we made sure to do it while we were with Nanny because she lives just a few miles from one. Eli especially had been eager to pick strawberries so he asked non stop until we arrived!

After picking strawberries, we had a decently long wait for someone to unlock my mom's truck. We accidentally locked her keys (& both our cell phones) inside just before picking berries. Fortunately, they also serve fresh ice cream at this Strawberry Farm, so we made the best of the time :)

Nanny kept good spirits despite the locked keys!!

After we got back home, the kids played in the pool for a bit while Nanny got dinner ready & baked (Lasagna- my favorite!!). Then off to the beach we went for some kite flying before dark! Since this is a marathon post, I will save those two adventures for another post! Up, Next! I promise!!

Hooah! Kid Style!

Uncle Todd went out of town for the Army for 3 weeks & when he happened to get home- we were over to Aunt Becca's house for dinner. He dropped his bags, ate dinner with us all & then after dinner began to tend to the bags. Well... We looked over & we saw this:

He looked really cute & was super excited that Uncle Todd let him play with his gear. Although like my mom said, "Yeah, it's all cute now, but wait til he turns 18 & it won't be so cute." True. Very True & I have to say it kind of turned my stomach at the thought. I sometimes wonder about our young newly enlisted military. I wonder what it is that makes them join. What calling they have in them to say they know at such a young age that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of this country. I think often about their families they are leaving behind & how it must be so painful for those parents to watch their boys go off to war. I know it's a cop out- but I can't let myself think about it too much. Especially since I have boys. And I know most boys on some level are drawn to the idea of guns, tankers, convoy, & all that gear that they see... So instead I will get back to the "cute for now" pictures!

The rest of the kids wanted to join in the fun, so Todd took them all upstairs & fitted them all in different gear! They thought this was so funny!

There never was a cute head of curls coming out from behind Soyars' hat!
Who is that hiding behind that mask??
And I don't think soldiers are allowed to be so sweet...Everyone lined all up....
And i love how Jackson's bag is about 4 times as wide as him!
Another cute head of hair behind an army hat...Thanks Uncle Todd for letting the kids have a little fun with your gear! And thanks for all you to do for our country!

Quilt 2: A baseball Quilt for Jackson

After saying it would be a long while before I ventured into making another quilt, I have done it again! I bought the fabric for what I envisioned as a strip quilt- made up of rows & rows of alternating fabric. However, like the amateur that I am, I didn't get the amount of fabric that I needed initially, which meant that if I continued with the rows then I would have weird seam lines in the center where I was going to have to sew long strips together to fit across the width of the quilt. That looked terrible with solid fabric, so I nixed the idea all together.

I went through 3 other variations in my head & cutting the fabric yet again into smaller rectangles before just tossing the fabric aside in frustration. The fabric set there in neat little piles in my craft room for about a month (or more, really!). I came across this tutorial of sorts on a Monday night & decided that I could do this! I got my fabric together in a bag & headed over to my friend, Theresa's house. I knew she would be able to help me decide how to cut the fabric one LAST time so I could lay this thing out. It was amazing! In about half an hour, she had helped me decide how to cut the pieces I had, laid the thing out in her floor & then stacked the rows so it was ready for sewing when I got home! Whew! Isn't she amazing? I think sometimes I just need some moral support, but she helps on that end as well as just gets in there & helps me when I need it!

That night I peiced together the entire top! I spent the next night after that peicing the back & basting it all together. Then Thursday & Friday I quilted the top. I decided to only quilt across each row in the ditch rather than a bazillion times in rows across like the tutorial. I did this for many reasons, but one was that I couldn't see how to sew a straight line without the seams as my guide (with all that fabric up there, you can't tell what's up & what's down!) And also the time factor. It would have taken me about another week just to quilt the top with all those rows. I do think I would like the quilt better if I had done that, but it is very soft & more like a comforter & less like an official quilt this way. Since it was going on his bed & he liked how it felt, I figured it was fine!

Here is the finished project!

the back...

Mother's Day with Nanny (A week late!)

Well, Mother's Day was celebrated for 2 weekends around here! It was kind of nice, actually!

My mom, aka Nanny, was out of town over Mother's Day weekend so she came up for the weekend following. It was nice to just hang out & visit for a couple of days. I took some pictures while she was here of course & managed to get a few cute ones on Rebecca's front porch swing with the kids!

More Bubble Fun

Are you ever too old for bubbles? I don't think so! One afternoon, the boys went out back with the bubbles & I followed- camera in tow! Here are a few favorites from the fun....

Look closely... you might just see the photographer in there somewhere! (you can click on the photo to see larger size image!)
Jackson called this one his "snowman"... It took me a minute to see it, but it does look like a snowman floating sideways!
Another shot where I was playing around with my focus. I was trying to focus on the bubble, rather than Jackson & what ended up happening was getting him through a focused bubble! Fun!
And here is Eli making one of his favorite types of bubbles: He calls these "Mickey Mouse" of course!!
...Kinda makes me want to visit Mickey Mouse... just sayin'!

Team Work!

This weekend was Randy's weekend on the roster to mow the church yard. This was his first time on the roster & he had an idea. He suggested that I come with him & he would let me ride the riding mower while he trimmed. Then he would use the push mower to help me finish up the yard. I thought this was a great way to knock it out in no time flat. However, I was a little concerned about how to keep the kids entertained....

No worries, though.... we came up with a plan...

The kids got to have the entire church parking lot to themselves to ride like the wind! And let me tell you- Jackson especially rode like the wind! There is a slight hill in the lot & he was loving it! He would fly down the hill & coast up the walkway to the front door & then come back.

It took a little more enticing for Eli... he isn't a fan of the helmet. We don't make him wear it in our own driveway - only when he is out in the neighborhood, etc. So immediately we got Grumpy Gus...

After a pep talk (& promises of lunch afterwards...) we got a happier face!

Right before we were finishing up, Randy was blowing the grass off the parking lot & sidewalk. He yelled for me as he went around the back of the building. When I came around he said, "A surprise for the kids... show them this!" I was so glad I brought my camera along (for another stop today) because Randy had found this adorable little turtle!!

Eli wanted to hold him, but if you can believe it- Jackson wouldn't!


However, they both immediately wanted to know if we could keep him. My husband was no help because he was all for it! Um, NO! I have enough mouths to feed & bodies to care for. I don't need a turtle! I asked Eli what we would do with a turtle? And his response: "Put him in the crate with Zack!" Well, that would fix my dilemma because we wouldn't have a turtle anymore! ha! He was really cute though & we held him & took tons of pictures of him before setting him loose in the woods again...



I have to admit that if I didn't already have a cat and a dog, I might would have considered keeping him. He was just so cute!