Oh sew fun!!!

Thank you Lori Steinbrink for road tripping with me to your family quilt shop! I am SO excited about all the new projects I am now supplied for! Here's a sneak peak at what's to come!!!

I see a sweet, soft, snuggly receiving blanket...

So many possibilities in here...the two fat quarters on the lid will be pin cushions, and the rest inside will be a combination of burp clothes for baby gifts and owl heating pads for Josiah and a few other special friends.

Future throw pillows to coordinate with Josiah's newly finished quilt.

My big splurge...the softest, most beautiful ivory minky I've seen with a contrasting flannel back. Josiah is clearly the most spoiled child, unless I decide to keep this one for myself. :)

This last stash didn't come from the quilt shop. Modern Textiles is a local fabric company, currently without a shop. I picked these up a few weeks ago at The Studio in downtown Fargo, but they also have fabric available at Eco Chic and Unglued. The teal will back another baby gift, the yellow/grey and yellow chevron will be pouches or bags to hold my sewing supplies or other goodies, the blue chevron will be a drawstring top bag for toy storage, and the blue bicycle pattern has yet to be determined. 

Would love to start right now, but folding laundry, grading a few papers, and whipping up a pot of Southwest Chicken Soup for dinner are first on my list! 

Lake Belle Taine, August 2012

Oh, how we love the lake! Three years ago when our beloved Sunset Lodge on Potato Lake was sold to developers we weren't quite sure how'd we'd ever replace it, but my parents have definitely found us a new sweet spot. The greatest thing about them having a cabin is definitely being able to visit throughout the year, and not just one week each summer. I know we all feel instantly relaxed when we arrive, walk through to the porch, and savor that first deep breath as we take in the lake.

Last week was no exception to this. The weather was cooler, so we didn't live in the lake like we did over the 4th of July. Instead, we spent a lot of time at the golf course, fishing, or playing games. Since my entire family was there, we had non-stop entertainment from Josiah, Zoe, and Claire. It's so much fun to see how the three of them already love to be around one another, even though they're so young.

Highlights of the week for our family:

• having my whole family there, and especially getting to love on our nieces Zoe & Claire
• family range session at Headwaters (yes, I golfed too!)
• using our new goggles to dive for golf balls in the middle of the lake (ok, so I floated out on my floatie while Jim dove, but someone had to supervise Josiah out there!)
• breakfast at the Great Northern with just the mommies and kidlets while the daddies golfed
• having my grandparents and aunt and uncle from Burnsville join us for a few days
• multiple coffees at Bella Cafe
• celebrating Zoe's 2nd birthday
• flea market excursion, which produced a bag of marbles, Ziggy the Zebra beanie baby, & 3 painted rocks (2 penguins and 1 turtle)
• Josiah outfishing Jim 24 to 4 off the dock

Favorite quotes from Josiah:

• (As we're devouring breakfast at the Great Northern) "Mom, when you swallow your food does God get squished?" (We've been visiting a lot about how God lives inside us lately.)
• "When I grow up I'm going to be a police officer so I can help chase the mean guys. Yeah, and then I can get a sword, and poke 'em in the butt!" (Jim started calling people who do bad things "mean guys.")

Favorite pictures! Enjoy!!!

In front of our favorite breakfast place...if you haven't been there you NEED to go. Order the french toast!!! 

All 3 kids love books...what a surprise with 2 librarians and an elementary teacher in the fam!

Getting ready to spot for my brother as he attempts water skiing for the first time in several years. Got up on the first try too!

Eating Uncle Gary's stir fry on the porch. My two adorable boys!!!

Who needs to swim when you can fish!?

Surprisingly, we haven't eaten at Compeneros in Dorset yet this year, but we did stop for ice cream and a quick picture on the infamous burro on our way back home.

My favorite way to enjoy the lake! Best floatie ever!!!

What a stud!

Terrariums

The last thing I want to admit is that summer break is flying by and the beginning of another school year is rapidly approaching. Where, oh where, did the time go?! We have less than 3 weeks to go, and I'm determined to spend as much quality time with Josiah as I can. Today's activity = terrariums!!! Here's a peek...

Our supplies...

...start with big rocks on the bottom...

...then fill with cactus soil...

...add plants...

...and the rocks Mom and Dad handpicked on their honeymoon...

...and voila! Josiah's terrarium!

We can enjoy this together for many years to come (or until a ball knocks it off the shelf)!!!

Favorite Summer Pictures (so far)!!!

I would love nothing more than to sit down and do these pictures justice by creating separate posts and narrating each event, but...alas...it's 12:38 am. This is normally not a cause of alarm, however I've just realized that there are only 3 weeks remaining until school begins. Considering that I haven't gotten out of bed before 8:00 all summer presents a problem. So for now, here are just a few of our favorites. I'll tell the stories later!!!

A Sleepover...3 Year Old Style

Oh how I love watching my sweetheart grow and experience things I remember from childhood. Last night we had an impromptu sleepover with our neighbor, and they lived it up big time. Full bath with lots of splashing and a squirter (the ceiling was a little wet), wearing their matching pajamas, and squishing side by side on the bed with Jim to read Oh the Places you Go (Dr. Seuss is Jim and Josiah's favorite, besides Waldo)...then wrapping up the evening by giggling and whispering instead of going right to sleep. Listening to them from the next room made my heart smile. :)

So I am also, admittedly, on a mission to be one of Josiah's friends' favorite moms and known for cooking all things yummy, and I stayed up late to bake a special breakfast just for the boys. We have 5 lbs of "to die for" blueberries, and I found a super scrumptious recipe on Pinterest. Here it is! http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/ I stayed up until after 1:00 waiting for that puppy to finish baking! Not only that, but trying to double a new recipe that late at night usually takes me twice as long because I'm paranoid about doing everything correctly and doubling ALL the ingredients. AND this one required butter and eggs at room temperature, which I managed to NOT realize at the same time. Oops! Anyway, after staying up extra late neither of them ate more than two bites...turkeys!!! Oh well, more for me, right?

The sweetest part of the sleepover was this morning, when both kiddos came and snuggled with me in bed. How much longer until Josiah grows out of his snuggling phase? I'm afraid it can't be too much longer since he's already three and a half, so I'm going to cherish every minute until it's gone. Anyway...we spent the remainder of the morning playing T-ball in the backyard, retrieving golf balls out of the pool (using the golf ball retriever since it's a whole foot deep), jumping off a toy tote into the pool over and over...here's a few action shots!!!