Grandma's Quilt and my Wall Hanging Oct. 2016

My grandma (Meta) Blackham was an avid quilter.  She always made blankets and quilts for family members.  Grandma created the most beautiful quilts and always sewed by hand.  She watched a lot of M*A*S*H and Murder She Wrote as she worked on the individual quilting blocks.  As a little girl, I would ask her to put her quilts on display in the Mormon Handi-craft windows.  But she said her quilts were not good enough and she would rather give them to family.

As I got older, my grandma taught me about sewing.  One day she showed me a pattern of a Sun Bonnet Sue.  I was intrigued and she encouraged me to make one.  So I started with the green Sun Bonnet Sue and then I got an idea to make one for each of the young women’s values to fulfill one of my YW requirements.  Twenty-four years ago there were only 7 values because virtue had not been added yet.

Seven years later, in 1999, my grandma surprised me with a beautiful Sun Bonnet Sue quilt for a wedding gift.  My grandma spent more time on this quilt than on any other.  It is an honor to have this quilt and I cherish it so much.  I lost my grandma in 2004, but a little piece of her still resides in my home with this beautiful quilt. 

Sunday, October 2, 2016

     Teagan is becoming quite a good swimmer.  We went to the rec. center this past week and he jumped of the high and low diving boards for the first time and also did the wibbit obstacle course. I am pleased that he is able to do that by himself but it worries me that he might think that he now does not need mom or dad to watch him swim.  Oh the joys of kids growing.

      We got to go to a Bee's game for Tim's work.  While getting our tickets we saw Ronald McDonald.  We could not pass up getting a picture with him.  When Ronald saw Tim/Waldo he said, "hey we shop at the same shirt store."  Tim was a big hit at the game.  So many people kept saying, "there's Waldo."  It was fun to see how many people smiled as Tim walked by them.  I think I married a pretty great guy.

       School has started and the kids are loving it.  Jacinda is in 6th grade and has Mrs. Wiedman.  McCabe is in 4th grade and has Mrs. Peterson.  Xadia is in 1st grade and has Mrs. Buttars.  Teagan is in Pre-school and has Mrs. Chris and Ms. Amy.  The weather has been beautiful and as a result the kids get to walk to school.  I am pleased at how well they are doing in their classes.  Xadia is reading and Jacinda is doing so well at spelling.  McCabe is also excelling in math.  I get to do 1st grade again for the 4th time.  

      McCabe has been taking an interest in cooking.  In this picture he is making fudge.  He is learning that some treats take time and patience.  We had to use the candy thermometer to make sure it reaches the right temperature before we could add the chocolate and the butter.  The batch turned out fantastic and for the next week he kept begging me for a piece of fudge each day he got home from school. 

      Here we are at the annual Tech Trek to raise money for the kid's school.  They got to run laps.  Xadia ran 27 laps, McCabe 32, and Jacinda 13.  I am so proud at how well they did.  Jacinda also worked at the snow cone station with her friend Brooklyn Thompson.  I also did some laps and got to enter my name into a drawing.  I won one of the prizes, a free massage.  I will be using that gift certificate some time in the very near future.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

     Teagan is becoming quite a good swimmer.  We went to the rec. center this past week and he jumped of the high and low diving boards for the first time and also did the wibbit obstacle course. I am pleased that he is able to do that by himself but it worries me that he might think that he now does not need mom or dad to watch him swim.  Oh the joys of kids growing.

      We got to go to a Bee's game for Tim's work.  While getting our tickets we saw Ronald McDonald.  We could not pass up getting a picture with him.  When Ronald saw Tim/Waldo he said, "hey we shop at the same shirt store."  Tim was a big hit at the game.  So many people kept saying, "there's Waldo."  It was fun to see how many people smiled as Tim walked by them.  I think I married a pretty great guy.

       School has started and the kids are loving it.  Jacinda is in 6th grade and has Mrs. Wiedman.  McCabe is in 4th grade and has Mrs. Peterson.  Xadia is in 1st grade and has Mrs. Buttars.  Teagan is in Pre-school and has Mrs. Chris and Ms. Amy.  The weather has been beautiful and as a result the kids get to walk to school.  I am pleased at how well they are doing in their classes.  Xadia is reading and Jacinda is doing so well at spelling.  McCabe is also excelling in math.  I get to do 1st grade again for the 4th time.  

      McCabe has been taking an interest in cooking.  In this picture he is making fudge.  He is learning that some treats take time and patience.  We had to use the candy thermometer to make sure it reaches the right temperature before we could add the chocolate and the butter.  The batch turned out fantastic and for the next week he kept begging me for a piece of fudge each day he got home from school. 

      Here we are at the annual Tech Trek to raise money for the kid's school.  They got to run laps.  Xadia ran 27 laps, McCabe 32, and Jacinda 13.  I am so proud at how well they did.  Jacinda also worked at the snow cone station with her friend Brooklyn Thompson.  I also did some laps and got to enter my name into a drawing.  I won one of the prizes, a free massage.  I will be using that gift certificate some time in the very near future.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

     We had a blast on our family vacation.  The weather was so hot.  We stopped in Calico Ghost Town and walked through the shops.  It was fun to see the old furniture and clothing from long ago.  On our way to California, there was an accident on the freeway so we stopped in Baker to visit an alien tourist attraction.  It was 118 degrees in Baker.  I thought I was going to melt on the asphalt just walking into the store.  Disneyland was only 92 degrees and we did not complain one bit about it being hot.  Not after being in Baker and practically melting after getting out of the car. It was Teagan's first time to Disneyland and he loved Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mountain.  Below is a video of our fun at Disneyland and California Adventure.

     After Disneyland, we then camped at Doheny State Beach with the cousins.  I was diligent to keep the sunblock on the kids and re-applied it many times, however, Jacinda and McCabe still got burned.  We had a great time boogie boarding and swimming in the surf.  There was so much seaweed in the ocean.  Every time you get out of the water, you look like some sort of seaweed creature. I made a video of our vacation.  It sums up what we did at the beach.

     School has started and it is going great.  McCabe came home the first day with a headache from everything that is expected of a 4th grader.  A few days later, he has adapted well.  Xadia is loving her first grade class.  She thinks it is so cool that her teacher has the same name as her mom.  Jacinda cracks me up.  She complained a few days before school that none of her friends were in her class.  That soon changed after the first day.  She was so happy to see Harry and Aiden and other fellow friends in her class.  Teagan is ready to start school like his older siblings, unfortunately he has to wait until Sept. 7th.  For the time being, he likes to watch Clarence, Steven's Universe, or minecraft videos.  I will miss my babies when they are all in school.  Thank goodness I get to volunteer in the classroom so I can still get my fill.  I love how big my babies are getting.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

              I love being a mom.  My kids say the funniest things.  Xadia lost one of her canine teeth.  The tooth fairy left her a dollar.  When I asked what she got from the tooth fairy she said, “a dollar and that is not very much.”  I laughed and asked her what she thought she should have got for losing a tooth?  She did not respond.  

                Xadia has become quite the little swimmer.  She is taking swimming lessons with kids a whole head taller than her.  She keeps up with them.  Her form is great and sometimes she is first to swim across the pool.  I took a little movie of her swimming.  You can view it below.  This makes me so happy to see Xadia able to swim.  I always think back to July of 2012 when she almost drowned and we had to revive her and then take her to the hospital.  I am so thankful that she can swim now with confidence.

                Teagan is also taking swimming lessons.  He is having a great time.  He so badly wants to swim on his own and he can for about 3 strokes and then he needs help.  He is itching to jump off the diving board at the rec. center.  Unfortunately he has to be able to swim to the side of the pool by himself.  He is not there yet.  The outfit he is wearing in the picture is what he wears everyday for a week straight.  He is so funny.  He loves his swim trunks and shirt.

                Teagan has also discovered scissors and hair.  He decided to cut his hair.  There are patches of hair on the bathroom floor and little patches on Teagan’s head.  He will get a haircut very soon. 

                McCabe loves to do lemonade stands with Caden and Teagan.  They make some good money so he buy fishing gear.  McCabe is big into fishing.  Every chance he gets he wants to go fishing.  Tim took him and Teagan on an overnight camping trip and they had a great time.  They caught fish and ate doritos and top ramen.  On the way home they stopped and slurpees.  Life was so good for these boys.

                Jacinda, myself, and Xadia had a girls night out.  We went to the library, had our nails done, and then ate at Texas Roadhouse.  Xadia found a huge peanut.  I though for sure there were 3 nuts inside.  Turns out there were only 2 fat ones.  It was a fun night.  I love being with my girls.  They are so special to me.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

      Happy Father's day to all those great fathers.  We kicked off the day with Tim's favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy, sausage, hashbrowns, eggs, and orange juice.  Then we gave him the cards we made and showed him a movie stating reasons why we love him.  We went to church and Tim shared his mindy mint chocolate gift with me.  After church, we came home and had dinner with grandma Margaret Osmond.  We had chicken enchilada casserole, strawberry pretzel jello, cantaloupe, salad, and Spanish rice.  It was really yummy.
       On this special day, we are also celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary. We jumped on the tramp with the kids and then walked around the temple and ate orange cream popsicles.  To end the day, we laid on the tramp listening to scripture stories and spiritual music.  Teagan and Xadia fell asleep.  Tim and I carried them in the house.  Now we get to retire to our bed.  It has been a wonderful day.  Below is the movie dedicated to Tim.

Sunday, June 6, 2016

     The last week of school was very busy filled with award ceremonies, presentations, and field trips.  Xadia, Teagan, and I went on the kindergarten field trip to Rocket Park.  The kids played for an hour or two and then walked back to the school and had a snow cone.  It was the best day ever.

     McCabe had a field trip to Lagoon's Pioneer Village.  I was able to join him and some of his friends.  All I can say is that 9-year-old boys are silly and busy.  They kept calling the peacocks, "super pigeons."  They also wanted to play on every piece of grass.  It was a beautiful day.  I always enjoy going to Pioneer Village because it is so fascinating how technology and inventions have evolved.

      Jacinda presented the decade of 1900-1909 at decade days.  She and her group did a great job.  They had to present about people, inventions, and life during that time.  They also had to dress from that time period.  Jacinda looked awesome.  We had a good time making her hat.

     It is official, school is out.  We celebrated with an outdoor movie night with about 60 children.  We had popcorn, candy, and the Peanut's Movie.  The movie was really cute.  I love how it stayed true to the original antics of the Peanut's characters.  It was very enjoyable.
     Last week we took a get away for Memorial Day.  Of all the places, we went to Wendover.  It was my first time being there and probably my last.  There is not a lot happening there.  We had a great time though.  We stayed at a hotel, went swimming in the murky pool, ate a ton of curly fries, and stood in 2 states at once.  We also enjoyed some fishing and swimming at Blue Lake.  I think the part the kids loved the most was stopping at gas stations and getting a soda and a snack.  It was a jammed pack weekend that was a lot of fun.

Xadia graduating from Kindergarten.