'a camping we will go

The hubs and I wanted a little getaway for a few days, but when we started looking at hotel room prices, we were less than enthused.  Seriously, even at $150 a night the bill would be offensive!  Well, luckily, Memaw and PawPaw have a travel trailer, and were not only willing to watch the kids, but let us borrow the trailer!  We found a great RV park north of Columbus, and set off Thursday morning for some relaxing time.

Memaw shared the kids' antics with us with photos and texts, which we would randomly get because the campsite had no cell phone service.  Or wi-fi.  Or cable.  But apart from our resistance to entertain ourselves without a screen, we would go out to Easton Town Center or Polaris for some shopping, and get caught right back up!  Britton is loving those Trix...

Barrett looks awfully devilish....like he knows he has Memaw under his spell....

Sure, the hubs and I thought we'd be doing the camping thing, but the weather had other plans.  Yes, it's been raining for over two weeks straight (seriously, 16 consecutive days), and there was a TORNADO not a 1/2 mile from our house while we were gone, so outdoor activities were far and few between.  It just allowed us to take advantage of tons of good restaurants!

Oh, Pei Wei, how I have missed you so...

But, I'm not going camping without a s'more.  Rain be damned.  I regularly make s'mores in the microwave (yes, please cringe with me), so when the hubs got a fire to stay lit for a while, I grabbed my marshmallows and skewers and got down to making a s'more.

Remember how I said we had no cell phones, no computers, no tablets, no cable, no nothing?  You know what we did instead?  One night we rented "American Sniper" from a local RedBox, and the rest of the time we read.  Here's the hubs with his RV magazine; I finished "Etta and Otto and Russell and James" (I'd like to rave about this book, but I can't, just can't).  We read and dodged rain and went on walks and hunted down Jeni's and Graeters ice cream and tried to start camp fires.  And relaxed, and napped, and slept in.  Heaven!

We made some hot dogs, hamburgers, and beans on this stove.  The stove is older than the hubs!

father's day weekend

 We started our Father's Day celebration early last weekend, when the hubs took his dad out to the racetrack for an exotic car racing experience.  The hubs selected the GTR, and PawPaw got to drive his dream car, a Porsche.  They both had a fantastic time, and were grinning all weekend!

This weekend, the hubs and I went to see the Rolling Stones!  Neither one of us is a die-hard fan, but seriously, when do you get an opportunity to see the Rolling Stones in Pittsburgh on Heinz Field?  Those guys aren't getting any younger (the oldest is 74, the youngest is 68), and we figured that seeing the Rolling Stones live should be on the bucket list.

Unfortunately, it's been raining for what seems like weeks.  Saturday night was no exception, and Heinz Field didn't follow Jerry Jones's architectural design of adding a roof to the stadium.  We sat in our seats, covered by ponchos, and not 7 minutes before the Rolling Stones were set to come out, the rain stopped.  And a rainbow came out (right side of the picture below).  It didn't rain again the entire night!

I didn't know what to expect, but I'd heard that these guys put on a fantastic show.  Rumors proved true!  Mick Jagger was hilariously sashaying his skinny butt all over the stage, and Keith Richards looked like Jack Sparrow's dad (Johnny Depp has admitted to using Keith Richards as his inspiration for Jack Sparrow, but seriously. Johnny Depp is actually doing a complete impersonation of the guy!),  We were pretty close to the stage, and the music was louder than any concert I've been to (or am I just getting old?  Ugh), and I recognized more songs than I knew I would.

The hubs and I don't bounce back from a late night quite like we used to, and we eased into the morning with gifts for the hubs for Father's Day.  We got him a shirt and hat (hat still not delivered - seriously, Zazzle, it's been almost 3 weeks now) with the farm logo and a Mickey Mouse notebook for fun.  Britton was so proud of the card because she picked it out for him. 

The hubs spent the day not getting to do what he wanted (which was probably nap and watch his own shows on television), and instead leveled our new trampoline in horrific humidity and went to Costco.  Then we all wanted out of the house this afternoon and went to Joanns so I could make Britton a strapless dress, as requested.  

Isn't that fabric beautiful?  It's that smocked fabric, but from the adult section so it would "go to Britton's toes" as requested.  It doesn't want to stay up, so I'm adding shoulder straps tonight.

Our weekend went by ridiculously fast and we had a great time, and got to celebrate Father's Day!  

barrett's birthday quilt

I finished Barrett's birthday quilt right after his birthday, but I forgot to share it!  I was thinking about what style to do, which colors, when it dawned on me that I'm probably not going to be able to keep up this "quilt for every birthday" thing.  So, I decided to make Barrett a quilt for his first nine birthdays!  I gathered all my solid blues and greens, then appliqued some numbers (in a Denyse Schmidt plaid).  I bordered the quilt in random scrappy flying geese, dipping into my stash of random fabrics.  I then added four-squares of solids to the corners and halfway down each side to break up all the triangles.

I covered Barrett's hand and foot in fabric paint and got the prints on the square for "2."  The "1" square was going to be much more difficult, seeing as we can't time travel.  Yet.  

I got some fabric transfer paper from my second home, Joanns, and copied Barrett's handprint and footprints from his baby book.  Yes, technically, he's not even a year old when those were imprinted, but they were really all I had to go with!

Britton wanted to help the hubs hold the quilt, because it was windy and that quilt wouldn't stay down!

I backed the quilt in the same Denyse Schmidt blue and green flowers print I used on Ben's baby quilt.  I then finished the quilt with a scrappy binding of all the solids I had used for the squares.

I love the idea of a memory quilt, and every year I can see how much Barrett has grown!

barrett: 25 months old

One month into being two years old!  I'm constantly surprised that Barrett is two - how did that happen so quickly?  Maybe because I know that the "terrible twos" are nothing compared to the "terrible threes" and this kid is so easy-going that two isn't turning out to be terrible!

Barrett is growing like a weed.  He's up to 38 inches and 36 pounds, and wears size 3T clothes.  Barrett is wearing 8.5 shoes and size 6 diapers.  When he feels like it, he'll eat well.  Lately he's wavering between being very hungry and not interested in his dinner at all!  His favorite foods are yogurt (apple pie flavor is his favorite), mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and his constant companion - cheese.  He doesn't really like sweets, but he likes the idea of them, so I still offer up a small piece of cake or some ice cream I know he won't eat.

Barrett loves being outdoors.  Yesterday he went on our neighbor's trampoline (his first time on one), and at first was not a fan.  Then once Britton and our neighbor Ben got off and he had it all to himself he started bouncing, then full-on jumping and loved it.  Let him try something at his own pace, and he's game.  

Likes:  anything outdoors, playing with the radio on his tractor, singing songs in the car, reading books together

Dislikes:  being rushed, pickles

conGRAD to Britton!

Britton had her last day of kindergarten today!  The months between her first day (check it out) and now seem to have flown by.  I was able to get through the day without being a weepy mess, mostly because I just pushed those feelings way down deep.  Not healthy, I admit, and no doubt those tears will make their way out, because my little girl is growing up and I cannot do a thing to stop it.

Their graduation celebration began at 3:00 pm, and these kids were riled up and ready!

Barrett came over from his class to watch, and Memaw and PawPaw came too!

The class performed a couple of songs in Spanish, then some songs with sign language, and also a song that had every state in America!  I was really impressed with Britton's performance, and she just had a blast showing us the songs they learned this year.

Each child received a "diploma," but Britton grabbed hers and ran off so quickly we didn't get a picture!

Britton's teacher, Ms. Michelle, was awarded "Employee of the Month" today, and I agree that she's great.  She's quiet and reserved, so at first I wondered if she could put up with a very loud, very energetic class.  But that quiet and reserved nature has proven to be a real asset in the classroom, because she's also very patient and calm.  Britton has learned a ton this year - she can read and write!  And I know that is a result of having Ms. Michelle as her teacher.

Congratulations, my beautiful Britton!  Your love of learning makes me smile - I can't wait to see how much you learn and grow in your life.

70 months old

What a big week of "endings" this week for Britton!  Thursday is our last Daisy meeting, and we're having an "End of the Year" party that night with the troop.  These eight girls, especially Britton, have worked really hard this year to earn all their petals - the party will be a well-deserved celebration.  Also on Thursday we have both Britton's and Barrett's "End of the Year" class parties this Thursday.  We will be stuffed with cake on Thursday, no doubt!

Then, sniff sniff, on Friday is Britton's kindergarten graduation.  Oh, I can't handle that.  No way.  Because, honestly, that means comes August 26th, it all gets real.  Britton will start her school journey, not getting off the train until she's all grown up.  It's unfair, and I want a few more years of play, no homework, no grades, no stress, no attendance requirements.  Maybe it's really me who doesn't want to grow up, you know?

We've got a great summer laid out before us.  Britton is in swim lessons and starting gymnastics this month.  I like for her to have regular activities, and swimming and gymnastics were her picks for the summer.  In between classes, we're sure to spend a lot of time camping with Memaw and PawPaw, chasing fireflies, taking care of the garden, swimming at the pool, and getting those training wheels off the bike!

Likes:  nectarines (case in point above), spelling words, playing tag and hide-and-go-seek, spontaneous ice cream shop trips

Dislikes: wearing shorts (only skirts and dresses for this kid)