Another Hodgepodge Post

Emily and Grace have been getting in some good outside time this summer.  I liked the lighting in this shot that Emily took of Grace!

Emily picked out this sweater a few weeks ago at a yard sale. I would never ever ever have picked it out for her, but she really likes it (and the colors are pretty.)  Well, fast forward to last week, I was putting something away in the big girls' closet, and the sweater was on Alice's rack!!!  I thought maybe Emily had tried it on, and thought it was too large, so had given it to Alice. But no! It was Alice who liked the sweater so much she stole it from Emily!  To me, this sweater looks sooooo old and dated and I wouldn't ever wear it, but both of my teens (well, teen & tween) love it.  Who knew*?

William, Grace, and Juliet had swim camp last week!  It was 5 hours a day, for 4 days (M-Th) for only $60!!  They loved it, and came home so tired.  

Monday, after drop off, I spent my 'childfree' time hanging out with Zoey's mom!  We spent 3 hours chatting and digging through the bins at the 'cheap' Goodwill, then enjoyed some coffee, and even had time for a dollar tree run, before it was time to collect our dear ones!

On day 3, Grace passed the deep water test for the first time ever!!!!! She is excellent at setting goals and making it happen! = ) I was so proud.

I love filling the 'party tray' with fruits and veggies, for the kids to snack on throughout the day.  It also looks really pretty. = )

We went to the library to redeem summer reading prizes, and since the 'meet up and eat up' was only an hour away, stayed on for lunch!  A few days later, I got a call that Emily had won one of the grand prizes (a Target gift card!) 

I wanted a basket for collecting veggies from the garden.  At Goodwill I found this basket, with a collapsible handle, for $2.50.  I agonized over it the duration of the trip, but ultimately decided to buy it.  I've been loving it, and it does a fantastic job carrying all the produce inside from the garden.  I love it so much, I tried to repurpose it and use it for shopping at the farmers market.  Sadly, the bottom felt vulnerable with the purchase of potatoes and honey (and then a side trip to Carl's for coconut milk and vegetable stock.) = (

So, I went into the next few days in the market for a studier basket.  I found a larger one, with reinforced sides and collapsible handles for $2!!!! Then, since Avia wasn't able to go with us in the morning, we went back for a second look in the afternoon, and I got another one (to help me carry all of my purchases) and then one more, because it was adorable, and only 50 cents and I'm on a kick.

Well, then I got home, and suddenly had 3 baskets without a home, and one that was slightly in the way.  So, I brainstormed a home for my collection: the mudroom wall!  Upon observation, I found that I would only have to make a single hole in the wall, since there were existing holes for the other three. = )

We had corndogs for dinner last night, and I thought everyone might like 'fancy' stadium containers.  I think they did make them taste better!  (Admittedly, I didn't have one, since I had just made a German Salad, and I'm the only one who eats on it.)

3 of my summer chores involved painting outside, so last night I pulled out all my supplies, and this morning (after a rocky start of driving the big girls to camp because their bus broke down.) Grace came out and helped me pain the shed ramp and step!  Sadly, just those items took the rest of the paint.  So, we needed to go to Menards and get another round, which of course meant loading up WGJ.  To make it more exciting, I promised donuts, but then Grace reminded me that her ear was still hurting, and so I called the doctor and got her a late morning appointment. (Turns out she has swimmers' ear.)  

But after the appointment we went to Menards, but by then the big girls were home, and my mom was over for birthday cake and presents!!!  Once we celebrated Avia to the fullest, and she went on with her day, I went back out to finish the side porch and basement entrance.  I kept running into branches between the two, and so broke out the branch cutters, and trimmed the offending bushes (which needed to be done, but felt like just one more delay.)  As I was finishing up the brush work on the basement door, Emily and Grace came out wanting to help with the roller.  They did a pretty good job, but got bored and came in before the job was finished. = /

I did finally get done, and cleaned up.  Tomorrow (or soon) I hope to go seal, at the very least, the back porch. But I have sewing that needs tending, so we'll see.  Sadly, this was the last week that I'll be getting up early to get the big girls ready for camp, and then having the rest of the morning to knock out a 'summer chore' since EGJ start at nature camp next week!

I mentioned celebrating Avia's birthday, and I took a picture too!

We got to celebrate with my mom this year, it's a toss-up where she'll be each summer, so we only get to celebrate with her sometimes.  This year she got 5 cards from my crew and a shadow box for her grandfather's arrowhead collection from us as a group.  Emily and Grace helped her put together the display, then EGJ helped her sort some coins.  Emily also made her a German chocolate cake, but since AE had summer camp in the morning, we didn't get to have it for breakfast, as is tradition.  I think she enjoyed her time here, hopefully she had a great day!

There's this meme floating around:

And I am feeling it!  August is coming so, so fast!  We have tons of fun things left to do this summer, but August is just so close!  I'm not ready for summer to end!!!

later days

 *So, I actually posted the picture on FB and asked for opinions and they were overwhelmingly positive toward this sweater, so I guess I'm the odd man out.  

A Couple of Crafts

This year, we enjoyed our murder mystery event so much in March, that I decided to throw a second murder mystery party at home!!  We opted for a fall date, with a 'monster' theme.  It's finally time to send out the invitations, and 'blood' splatter (food coloring) seemed to be in order. = )

Billy wanted to start bringing bagels for breakfast, and did not want to be responsible for bringing anything home.  So, I repurposed some bread/bagel/bun bags and my mom found some condiment cups in the recycling at church (and I found some more at a rummage sale later that week.)  So now he can throw out the bag and cup, and we are not adding any extra waste into the world!

One of the things Alice requested for her birthday was a country human (Russia) plush.  When I saw that on her list, I was excited, because I figured I could sew one for her!  I found a decent looking throw at a thrift store, and when I got it home, found out that it was leather!  The material was a dream to work with. 

I kept the edging, so that I wouldn't have to figure out what to make the trim from.

by using a corner piece, I was able to just add a single side strip and it looked 'finished.'

Emily cut the star out of an eyeglasses case that we purchased for the at purpose.  It came out super cute, and all of the kids (sans birthday girl) wanted me to make them one that would fit their head.  That may be easier, but the tight space of this one made it tricky to sew the earflaps in.

Got the flag stripes cut and connected!

Getting the proportions correct, and getting the ball to be round was trickier than anticipated.

The final step was to cut out some eyes.  We couldn't decide which expression he should have, so we went with interchangeable!

Sus...

Shocked!

Her birthday is still a month away, but I hope she really loves it!

later days

School Adjacent

So, all of these pictures and stories are from school events or during school or maybe just gifts for teachers but I've just lumped them all together here. = )

Grace was way proud of her perfect spelling test!

I was working with a student in Grance and Juliet's class one day, and Juliet was called up to the front to share her work, so I was able to snap a picture of her in her element (without neglecting my charge)!

Emily wanted some Cinco de Mayo accessories for a student council sponsored dance, and I did my best to deliver!

I was delighted find two sombreros at a church rummage sale, and she was delighted to find them waiting for her when she got home from school.  She wore them for days until the event.

Hmm, something seems strange here...

We added some colorful ribbon to a skirt she already had in her closet, and Avia found an ideal blouse seconds after I described it to her!

She was a happy girl!  This particular dance was only for 7th & 8th graders, but since Emily was on student council she was also invited, which made her feel even more special!

Alice also helped student council set up, and I didn't get any pictures of her, but she did send me a selfie in her sombrero!  = )

Also on student council this year were Grace and Juliet.  One of their opportunities to serve was during teacher appreciation week.  The students took shifts serving up ice cream to the teachers.  Since I was subbing that day, I went in for some ice cream, served by my two favorite 3rd graders!

They each served my an ice cream, and were more than happy to eat my leftovers, when their shift ended. = )

Teacher gifts for Middle School teachers is a little more daunting than for the elementary teachers, just because of the sheer number of them!  I customized some tumblers for any teachers that both of the girls had, and then let them each pick a couple more.  There were a few teachers that got McDonalds gift cards instead, because Emily wanted to give them something, but we didn't have the cups, since it was a last minute decision.

I was really surprised that one thank you card came home, and it was from their English teacher; he would not have been the one I pegged as a thank you note guy!

On the last day of school, the big girls came home with packets of awards!  They both did awesome, especially in a brand new school, district and environment!

William's teacher is easy to shop for, as long as I can find MSU items!! = )

The twins' teacher was a little trickier, but they helped me find some fun things!  The bag for her was two sided (one for each Grace & Juliet,) because I don't even know if she needs a single zipper pouch, let alone two. = )

Now that we are enjoying sweet summertime, it's nice to look back at all of the things we accomplished this spring!

later days

Gizzardfest

Since the big girls are out in PV, Gizzardfest is something that many of their friends visit.  So, this year, we had pressure from them to attend.

Despite the short trip, I packed a full lunch for all of us (except for Billy who was holding out for fair food.)

We stopped at an ATM, at a gas station, and they were out of service = (  So, we found another one that was in service!

We parked at the school, and then found a shady spot to set up our camp chairs.  The kids were able to go in pairs or groups to ride the rides.  There weren't as many rides as Laingsburg, which meant Alice was hanging out with us for the most part.  William, Grace and Juliet spent a good portion of their time on the playground near our chairs.  Emily found her friends and we didn't see her for a while. = )  

Not long before we left, William caught up with one of his friends too!

I think we all had a pleasant enough time, but I don't know if we'll make it an annual event.  We'll see how Emily is feeling about it next year. ; )

later days

Memorial Day Parade

In the days leading up to the Memorial Day holiday, I was anticipating the big girls having a 5 day weekend, the little ones having a 4 day weekend and Billy having a 3 day weekend!  

However, on Wednesday, Emily was like "Mutti, I think we have school tomorrow.  None of the teachers said anything about it being a holiday."  So, I break out the school calendar and it has 'graduation' marked the same color as a holiday, so that's how I added it to my phone last August.  = /  So, the big girls had one extra day until their break, but we made it.

Monday morning, Alice got up early and made patriotic blueberry muffins for breakfast!

We dug out our red, white and blue to walk down to the parade!

Grace was a big fan of her red, white and blue outfit!

It was a nice day for a parade, and we found one of the twins' friends, who is also our neighbor, so they were walking home together!  It's awesome, because everyone on our street walks down (since there is nowhere to park) so we get to see all of our neighbors!

When we came home, Billy cooked up a weeks' worth of meat, first time this year, and grilled food is just so good!!

It was hard to go back to school after such a wonderful weekend, because it felt 100% like summer!  We survived though, since the following weeks were filled with fun, and now it's summer for real!

later days

edit: written 6-16-23 backdated for continuity.           

Laingsburg, Year 2

Last year, we ventured up to Laingsburg for their Lion's Club festival, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we did it again this year!

We arrived early, 11am, because the noon start time was not published online, and found an ideal spot to set up our chairs and refreshments in the shade.   

Since we still had 20 minutes until the rides opened, Emily, Grace, Juliet and I walked down to a church rummage sale (my favorite!) and got some key deals, before making our way back with all of our goodies!

The older three can ride almost* all the rides without an accomplice, so they tend to stick together.

The twins can't ride many of the tall rides yet, but at least they're stuck on the little rides together. = )

Bringing our chairs was for sure the way to go!  Our family rule is that once 3 are ready to go or we are out of water, it's time to leave.  This year, we ran out of water first.

later days

*Alice can ride all of the rides. = )

edit: written 6-16-23 backdated for continuity.