When The Cousins Were Here

Jay's sister, Rita, and five of her six children came and visited us during Spring Break. We had a lot of fun catching up with one another. And of course, we made sure to take them to some of Sacramento's hot spots. Like the pioneer school. :)

I love seeing them all lined up in a row. We're just missing Steven!

We also got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol, and we're able to get on both the Senate and Assembly floors, thanks to Jay's "connections." :) We even peeked inside some of the Senators' desks. Some of those people are messy! Their desks rivaled mine in 3rd grade!

Most of the gang also took a trip to the top of the Capitol building cupola with Jay. Betsy, Dexter, Calvin, and I stayed behind. I've done it before and I thought the boys were too young, but when Dexter figured out what was going on, he was *not* pleased to be left behind. (We made it up to him about a week later, though. On his 5th birthday, Jay woke him up early and surprised him with a Daddy/Son outing to the Capitol, where Dex bravely made the ascent.)

You get really good reception up that high, right Rita?

The descent down can be even scarier than the climb, but everyone made it back safe and sound.

Thanks for visiting us (and putting up with us, too), you guys! You are wonderful!

Perks of Being a Mom

Several times a day, during good weather, grubby little hands reach out to me and say...

"Mom, I picked this for you."

And at the end of the day, as I look at the little pile of dried flowers and weeds (mostly weeds) that have accumulated on my counter, I am reminded how lucky I am to be a mom. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go break up a lightsaber fight gone wrong. 

Mission Time

It's been a long time since I was in 4th grade, but all the memories came flooding back when it was time for Natalie's mission project!

She chose Mission San Jose de Guadalupe, in memory of her former hometown (which she has kept on a pedestal since we moved). Turned out pretty cute, if you ask me!

Finally Five

This is how it feels to turn 5:

Dexter was a pill for about a week leading up to his birthday, but it was just because he was so darn excited. On his actual birthday and the few days since, he's been an absolute angel. He is taking a lot of pride in being 5, and is excited to finally start school in the Fall. He's been waiting a long time.

We had a small "Star Wars" party for him and 5 of his little friends from church, and he had a blast. It was pretty low-key, but I did manage to stress myself out making lightsabers out of grapes. Don't ask.

A few pictures from his big day...

Some of the gang, and the grape lightsabers

Dexter's friend Lily, whom he talks about non-stop

I thought he would be most excited about the Star Wars blanket I made him, but nope! The paintable cars were a huge hit. He had been asking for them everytime we went to Joann's (which is once a week, if not more!)

And, of course, a shot of the cake

Happy Birthday, D-Man! We love you!

America's Favorite Pastime

I have loved living here almost since the instant we moved in, and that love has only increased as time has passed. Part of the reason for the love is the small-town feel of the community. Between church, school, our neighborhood, and now baseball, we really feel like we belong here. I guess that's why we've lived here the longest of all our residences.

Speaking of baseball (kind of) ... here are a few pictures from Opening Day and recent games. There are not many things cuter than a kid in uniform!

Getting ready for opening day

Opening Day parade

Dexter's first hit. It didn't go far, as you can tell, but in t-ball that's all it takes sometimes!

Natalie behind the plate

Bea ready to run home

Our evenings and weekends are pretty full for the next few months, but we are having a great time and the kids are really enjoying it, so I guess that means it's worth it ... even when it's my turn to be "bench mom." Now I know what the phrase "herding cats" means!

More Things That Have Been Happening

Hello out there in Internet-land! I have emerged from my sewing room long enough to ensure you all that I have not died under a pile of fabric remnants and thread. Here's what's been going on:

1) Nat, Bea, and Dex have all started baseball for the first time. It is quite an adventure for all of us, especially Jay who somehow got roped into coaching the girls' team. (As in "our girls", not as in "girls only.") Opening day is right around the corner and everyone is pretty excited.

2) Speaking of baseball, I learned a lot about my children as I watched them go door-to-door selling their fundraiser candy bars. Bea took to it like a fish to water ... sometimes even people that turned her down couldn't resist her charm and called her back to purchase one after all. Natalie did well, too, but does not enjoy the process. Dexter ... well, let's just say he wasn't ready for the responsibility.

3) My sister recently celebrated her 40th (!) birthday and I was able to surprise her with a book of her geneology. It was so much fun to see the excitement on her face. You know what else is fun? Finding an entry about your ancestor on Wikipedia. This is our 8th-great-grandfather on my mom's side, Philippe D'Entremont.

This is Philippe's statue in Pubnico, Nova Scotia. Would love to go there one day.

4) We got a "new" refrigerator back in December, and it's awesome. It is a mid-60's GE Combination fridge/freezer, and we found it at a local antique mall that specializes in amazing mid-century furniture. We just adore this fridge. The shelves swing out and it has a butter softener! And it looks great with our avocado green pyrex!

5) The kids are doing well and are all healthy (though we all spent about a week battling a stomach thing). Natalie is still in violin, Beatrice is getting excited for her baptism in June, Dexter is obsessed with the Wii, and Calvin's speech is improving every week, thanks to the speech therapy we started over a year ago.

6) It is raining hard today, and I am feeling unproductive. That's why, instead of folding laundry and mopping the floor, I am reading Hunger Games fan sites and updating the blog.

7) This is me making faces at Jay:

8) This is me trying to be serious:

9) This is me failing at being serious:

Ok, I think that's all I have to report for now. When I start posting pictures of myself, I know it's time to end.... Guess I better start folding that laundry after all.

Revamped

So, as you probably already know (because I talk about it all the time), last year I opened an Etsy store to sell doll clothes for American Girl and other 18 inch dolls. It has been a lot of fun, and I've really enjoyed the creative outlet and of course, making sales! After a busy Christmas season, I put my shop on vacation for a while. I took that opportunity to do more sewing and revamp the store as well. On Friday, I reopened with a new name and new logo:

It was a successful grand reopening, and I already need to do some restocking!

My favorite item that I listed was something I have wanted to make since last Fall: A Katniss (Hunger Games) costume! It already sold, but I will be making a few more over the next few months leading up to the release of the movie. I think I will also be making a Hermione costume soon. If you have any other ideas on costumes to make, I'd love to hear them!

For those of you who may be interested in making a purchase, enter code "friends" for 10% off your order of all non-limited edition items. (Please keep that code between us) :) Also, if you live local and don't require shipping, enter code "local" at checkout.

I appreciate everyone's support! I want you all to know that I don't write about my sewing adventures because I expect you to buy something, I write about them because it is a big part of my life right now, and it makes me happy. So please never feel obligated to buy something... but of course feel free to pass on my store name to any one you know who might be interested. :)

Before I Move On ...

Ok, even I was getting sick of seeing the Christmas post on the top of my blog, so I guess it's time to move on. It is January 13th, after all. The Christmas decorations are down (except a small pile still hanging out in the corner of my living room), the candy and other holiday goodies are depleted (though evidence of their existence remains with me), and the new toys have all found a place. Still, I thought I'd share just a few funny pictures from Christmas, because they made me smile. I hope they make you smile, too.

My nephew Chris and his girlfriend were not pleased with their White Elephant gift. (the grossest candy Jay could find at the Dollar Store)

The kids have been teasing each other about liking Dora the Explorer, so the girls gave Dexter a gag gift of a Dora coloring book. He took it pretty well, and we all had a good laugh. The look on his face cracks me up.

The kids loved their animal hats from their awesome cousin Danica!

All Bea wanted for Christmas was a guitar. She had been asking and asking for many months, so of course we tortured her and pretended like the last gift had been opened, before pulling out the *real* last gift. She is such a sweet girl, she was so happy even before she knew there was another gift for her, so when she got the guitar she was genuinely surprised and happy. The look in her eyes says it all.

Here she is, ready to rock. She has already written her first song... now we just need to get her guitar lessons. :)

It was a wonderful Christmas. I think the best part was that Jay had the day off (thanks to a very generous coworker who offered - without ever being asked - to trade days with Jay), and that Christmas was on a Sunday. We opened our gifts (besides stockings) on Christmas Eve so that our actual Christmas day was very simple. It was stockings, church, and a yummy dinner with family. What more could you ask for?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We actually stayed up this year. We watched Superman with the girls and made it (barely) to midnight. I don't think we'll be doing that for many more years. :)