Finally Some Sewing News to Report

 I have about come to the conclusion that this is just not a season in my life in which I can spend much time sewing.  I hate that, but I love what I am doing - spending invaluable time with my babies (though I'm sure the eight year old would cringe if he heard me say that.)  But slowly, I am making progress on my daughter's kaleidoscope quilt.  I have all the pieces cut that needed to be cut with the template. 

 That's a big plastic shoebox full - pieces cut from 17 fat quarters.

Now I just need to cut 220+ triangles from this green fabric.  I'm a little worried that this is not going to be a big enough quilt.  I think I'm definitely going to need more fabric.  I'll know better once I get the green cut out and can lay it all out.  Hope I can still find some of this fabric...

Somebody should have told my daughter this isn't the season for me to be sewing.  She has decided that all the fabric she has ever bought for clothes ought to be made into clothes before she leaves for college in August.  I told her she would have to cut everything out and I would sew it for her.  We'll see how much she gets cut out.  But she has a crate full of fabric with plans to make into clothes... I guess we'll see how that goes.

What a Difference a Day Makes

 Sunday afternoon I took the boys on a walk to the park. 

On the way we have to cross a footbridge over Pine Creek.  The ice is off for the most part.  It's been really warm here for the last couple of weeks.

 I really need to get a double stroller.  I have this umbrella stroller I had the eight year old push.

And then there's this off road stroller.  I wish I had a double off road stroller.  I have a 6-seat stroller too that I use for the daycare, but that's a little much when it's just our kids.

 The baby really loved the outing.  He loves being outside, even if it is a little chilly.

 When the three year old saw that the fishing pond was free of ice, he told me, "Go get my fishing pole!"  We're going to have to do that soon. :)

 We really do have a very pretty park.

 It was nice enough that the eight year old took off his jacket and his shoes.

 There were big puddles everywhere.

 It worked better when we switched strollers for the way home.  The eight year old was making me nervous pushing the baby in the umbrella stroller.

 Of course we had to throw a few rocks in the water before we could head home.  We actually took a detour through the walking path and picked up a few bits of nature to draw at home.  Nature study is a big part of our homeschool. (We use the Charlotte Mason method for those of you in the know.)  I was getting frustrated with the daycare keeping us from being able to go for hikes and explore nature.  During our outing Sunday I realized we just need to make a point of doing that on the weekends.  Next week, I'll be prepared with a backpack of supplies - sketchbooks, pencils, colored pencils, a container to use to collect small things to draw during the week, and something waterproof to sit on.  But since that didn't occur to me until we were on the walk, we just picked up a few simple items to sketch at home - a piece of a pine branch, a couple different kinds of pinecones, and a seed head from a very tall grass of some sort.

 This wall of art sits at the end of the walking path.

 Here's a closer look.  The tiles around the outside edges were done by some of the area's senior citizens several years ago.

This wagon was made by my husband's great grandmother.  She traveled to the west in a sheepherder's wagon.  She lived to be something like 104 years old or so, so we got to know her pretty well.

 Anyway, I mentioned in the title that a lot can change in a day.  The weather in Wyoming is a prime example of that.  Around 2:30, it started snowing.

 By five, it looked more like this.  I would guess we had 2-3 inches, but it's hard to tell because it was melting too.  It was a very wet, heavy Spring snow.  I went out for some errands around noon, and it was windy and really chilly, but the thermometer in our vehicle said it was 49*.  Then it started blowing like crazy, and a few small flakes began to fall - all with the temperature staying the same.  It was an unusual storm.  I don't know when Spring will get here for real, but it's pretty common for us to have snow through the end of June (not steady, but off and on) so I'm not getting my sandals out yet.  It's strange to see all the blogs with everyone having such an early Spring all over the rest of the country. 

Jackson Hole Hillclimb

 Yesterday my husband and I and the baby went to Jackson Hole for the annual Hillclimb.  This is a snowmobile race to the top of the lift line at Snow King Ski Resort.  (If you want to ski in Jackson Hole, I recommend Teton Village rather than Snow King.  Snow King is basically straight up, with not nearly as many runs as Teton Village.

It's much steeper than it looks. 

 We took our binoculars along and watched from the bottom of the hill, just next to the area you have to pay to get into.  I can't see paying to sit at the bottom of the hill when you can sit right next to it and still see their big screen tv, have a great view of the hill, and have a playground where the kids can run and play.  In the picture above you can see that we were right behind one of the lifts. The brown bar on the left edge of the picture was the side of the swingset.  It was a good spot. 

 It was really nice weather - a lot of the skiers were in shorts and without coats. 

 At first we sat under a tree in the shade, it was so nice.  The baby stared right up at the limbs.  I had to chuckle.  We use the Charlotte Mason method of homeschool, which has a big emphasis on what they call Nature Study - which amounts to being out in nature and observing, keeping a nature notebook, etc.  I laughed at the fact that the baby was already studying nature.  I love living where we can be outdoors so much and wander around the mountains and lakes.  It's a lot different than when we lived in North Carolina for a short time, where there was hardly any public land where you could go out and enjoy nature.

 Most of the time the baby kicked back in the stroller.  There was a bit of a breeze part of the time, and he liked to be in the stroller where he was sheltered from it.  He played with his toys, ate lunch, and did everything other than nap.

 He did enjoy getting out to visit too.  We left his hat on all day just for sun protection.

 He was really good the whole time.

 After he got tired of the stroller, we took him over to swing.  He loves the swing.

 If you don't push him high enough, he kicks and bobs his head trying to make himself go higher.

 There was a beautiful sunset last evening too.

You just can't beat living in the West :)

 Aren't these plates and bowls pretty?

 I love the brown on the edges.  I bought 16 plates and 8 bowls.  I would have bought more bowls, but that was all they had left.  So the grand total?  $24!  Where?  Would you believe the Dollar Store?!?  Can't beat that.  I sure hope they get more bowls in.  I'd love to have a full set, and these bowls are the perfect shape and size.

 The three year old cracked me up the other day.  He insisted on wearing this particular coat.  He said, "Get my man coat!" 

 Can you see it?  There is a kid embroidered on the fleece side of the coat (it's reversible, but we only wear it with the green side out.)  So since there is a "man" on the inside, this is a "man coat" :)

 Then later he brought me this magnet.  He told me, "Mama, it's a Wilbur!"  We recently watched Charlotte's Web for the first time as a reward for the eight year old reading the entire book on his own.  If you've never read the book, you ought to.  The writing is excellent.

 Book time.  My kids all love books.  I love that.  It was one of my biggest goals from the day my first one was born - to help them love to read.  And that was before I had ever heard of homeschooling.

Well, I've gotta wrap this up.  We're headed to Jackson Hole to watch the Hillclimb. (It's a snowmobile thing for those of you in the south!)

The Nursery is Finally Done!

 I don't know exactly how long I've been working on the church nursery, but here it is... finished.  Well, it still needs to have everything put back in it, but another lady in the church offered to shampoo the carpet first.  It should be put back together and ready for kids by Sunday!

Here is the mural I painted.  Remember it has magnetic primer under the lower half of the wall - as high as the dark blue on the side walls.  The little animals, vehicles, etc, are all magnets - 60 of them.

 I hand painted a verse on the wall too.  Psalm 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

 I went old-school for this one and used this overhead projector, tracing around the letters with a pencil.

 I had to put two coats of paint on it to get it to look good.

My three year old tested out the magnetic wall while I painted the verse.  This section he's playing with is a gravel pit and has construction vehicle magnets.  

 Below the construction site is a zoo area. 

 The far left side is a mountain scene with a lake and a painted on campsite, complete with tent and fire ring.  I need to find some magnetic western animals or boats or something for this area.

 The center is intended for a farm, and has magnets for a farm.  I debated over painting a barn in this area, but there was a magnet that was a barn, and I figured not putting a barn there permanently would allow this area to be used for other things too.  I think wooden puzzle pieces could easily be turned into magnets, so I'll have to keep my eyes open at the thrift store for other options.  Maybe even some fish for the lake area would be fun.  I finished the room on Saturday.

 Saturday was a very full day.  I also switched out the bulletin board.  I really wish our background paper had been less busy.  But the paper I had intended to use for it wasn't large enough, so we're stuck with this for now.  It's quite a process to hang this paper, so we'll just deal with it for now.

Our pastor's wife is out of town this month.  She normally does the bulletin, so the first week she was gone we didn't have one.  I offered to do one for the rest of the time she is gone, and this is what I came up with.  It was fun to put together, and it sounds like I might have acquired a permanent job.  Now I'm going to have to look for more quotes and poems to include.  I love the motivation to study more!

Sunday afternoon we decided at the last minute to go to Walmart (100 miles away).  We didn't get out of town until 3:30, and it was 40+ degrees - probably more like 50.  I took my light jacket.  When we headed home at 9:00, we drove into a bad blizzard with high wind - snowing sideways so bad we could hardly make out the next reflector post.  It was like that 60 miles of the drive home.  We got home around 11, and then I had all my weekend cleaning to do.  I had been at the church all day Saturday and intended to do it Sunday afternoon.  I was up until 12:30 am, then couldn't go to sleep.  I tossed and turned until nearly 2 am, then woke again at 4 and 4:30.  The baby got up at 5:30 to nurse, and I had to be up at 6:30.  I doubt I slept a full four hours.  Then I had a root canal this morning at 9.  It was the most painful thing I've ever been through - including child birth.  I've had root canals before that weren't too bad, but this one was infected and was a top front tooth.  Anyway, I'll spare you the horrid details.  They say I will be in a good deal of pain for 4-5 days.  I'm so sore today that I called my husband to see if he could come home a little early when my daughter has to go to work this afternoon.  I'm going to try to rest until then.