October 2010

Oh my, once again I am so far behind. I always say that I won't let it happen again and, of course, it always does. Well, when I left off we were going to Iowa. Which we did twice. First we went for my Mom's birthday. My grandmother, my great aunt, my aunt and uncle, and the normal Anamosa crew were all there to celebrate. It was a really nice time and I always cherish the opportunity, not only for me but especially my kids, to spend time with my extended family. I made some homemade ice cream and sorbet for Mom, which she loved and was awesome. Everyone ate a lot of food and dessert and had a good time visiting. Aidan had to visit the tractors probably about four times during our stay, sitting in each one. And Olivia actually slept through the night somewhere other than our house. Amazing!! The next weekend we were back in Iowa for the Des Moines Half marathon. This was Julien's first half marathon. We woke up early and got down to Greys Lake and waited for him to run by. As he went by, we all cheered him on and took pictures. Even the kids got into it. He ended up finishing in 1:53, which is great.

Then came time to get ready for Halloween. My neighbor and I had decided that our kids needed to be Pebbles and Bam Bam. With fabric being on sale, it ended up being about a $5 costume. This was the first time I'd touched a sewing machine since the 7th grade. The experience was a little harry but my neighbor Jen and I were able to get it together. The outfit was a little tight but it looked very cute. Pebbles and Bam Bam were a big hit. Now on to my next project. Or should I say projects? Of which I have 3. First, I have a new furniture project. I inherited a china cabinet from a neighbor. While I am excited to have one, this one is from the 70s and not quite up to style. So, I have some plans for it. This will be my winter project. Next, I'm already thinking about teacher presents for Christmas. I bought some canvas tote bags for half off and have some ideas on how to spruce them up. Although this involves touching a sewing machine, so we'll see how this goes. (At this point I'm thinking I may need to invest in a machine.) But my big project right now isn't a crafty one. Every time I go to see my folks we always end up going through old pictures. And every time I say that all us kids need copies of these pictures. Being part of our family history, I think it's important. So I've taken it upon myself to scan all these old pictures and catalogue them, eventually putting them on cds for everyone. If you are a brother or sister of mine, Merry Christmas! This is what you are getting! I've done probably 200 pictures, although I really have no idea, and I'm several hours into this project. Right now I have one of 3 albums left to do, then more pictures that my mom has accumulated since her birthday party. It's a lot of work and repetition but, it's been a lot of fun too. I'll be glad when it's done though.