Passing the time away on the farm (month long vacation in OR)

Visiting mom and dad on the farm in Oregon. There is just too much fun happening here: the kids are having a blast playing, getting FILTHY, being independent, having fun with cousins, being spoiled from grandma, etc! So here is a photo essay, which is better than words.

for those of my friends who are not farmers, here is a pic of the pivot that runs right behind the house.

grandma reading stories to howie

Livy's ULTIMATE favorite thing to do at grandma's: SWING. She asks all the time to go swing. Now her favorite is to swing with me so we can go higher. All the kids love underdogs!

crazy hair before her bath

Abigail, Mo, and Livy in the hammock

making designs with beads, then melting them with the iron (not sure what they are called)

grandma's invention: enjoying swinging with the babies sitting down using bailing twinepoor tessa, so tired, fell asleep while swinging

Treehouse Renovation: Country Style

K, our family might be lumped in that category of rednecks. We do things a little un-traditionally. However, the grand kids at this house have the best grandma that watches out for them and creates awesome places for them to play and explore. We have played many a hours in this tree house. It needs some help and we are working on updating it. However, this trip home I was surprised to see what additions were made. Onion boxes? Creative, yes. Sturdy, now it is since it was banded. Hog Heaven for the kids, ABSOLUTELY. They love it. After being banded together, the insides were hollowed out so they can climb around in the boxes to get to the top. Check out the little catwalk between the old and the new additions. I went it in once and I think that it all I will ever need to go in it. Not as limber as I used to be.

Busy Building (month long vacation in OR)

****note: I have been trying to post this blog entry five times now. The internet connection in the country is spotty. I will be going closer to town to my sil house to post from now on. Thanks for being patient.****



We are spending a month in OR on the farm. The first week here was very very busy. I helped my sister build some much needed furniture before she moves to the east coast for two years. With that said, here are the photos of what we accomplished in five days: A puzzle bookshelf for all of becky's books (you know she has tons of them and we love her for it!), a captain bedframe minus a headboard (for now they can just push the bed up against the wall), and a small kitchen table. Whew! Seriously, this was an intense five days.

The Bookshelf:

some oh so helpful little friends

looking sharp! it is four separate pieces, so moving it will be a snap and you can also move it around to fit in a corner if you wanted

a little coat of pain, courtesy of mo's color choice, and....

There you have it! The finished bookshelf.

how can you resist cute faces? yes, you can help build.

The Captain Bed Frame:

becky and mo hard at work

I think I have too much fun with my new tool, automatic nail gun, watch out! actually I am getting pretty good at it, with minimal blowouts!

a rough draft

give her a nice stain, golden pecan to be exact, doesn't she look pretty?

love this stain, so so pretty!

stunning, just stunning I must say. make me want to make one for myself! I will when I get back home! Love it. Oh, open underneath so they can put baskets under there to organize whatever their heart desires

I didn't get lots of photos of this because we built it too fast! They recycled their coffee table top (which used to be green) for the top of this kitchen table. We ran out of time and so they get to paint or stain and finish this piece in after they move.

Lots and lots of building, but pretty fun too!

18 months

Better late than never. Olivia is 20 months, but at least we got photos taken. Thanks SOOOOOO much Subrina for taking them. I curled Olivia's hair for the first time and dressed her in a dress I have been waiting 18 months to put her in. We managed a few nice ones of Howie too. While we are taking them, I am always so frustrated and it seems like none of them are going to turn out. However, there are a few:

Like riding a bike, you never really forget how...

to do it after you've learned. That is how I am feeling about sewing. I learned how to sew and took classes in middle and high school but then stopped when I went to college. I have puttered around with a project here and there with years between them and not really doing any of them well. It has been ten years since graduation! Yikes! Well, I have picked up this old trade again and am loving it. I scored an old 70's sewing machine FREE at a yard sale, had it tuned up and works like a beauty. I have recently made a car seat cover and burp clothes for Marci's baby, decided to finish an old quit I started seven years ago (hope to have it quilted this month----by someone else, not me. The quilt is work enough!), been working on home projects, apron for Sheree's birthday and now this:

a selfish project just for me. Thanks so much to my bud Julie who had the pattern and patients (thanks mom) patience to help me make one. I discovered a little fabric boutique shop that has terribly over priced fabrics that are to die for. I could window shop in there for hours and that is mostly what I do since I don't have loads of money. However, I am now saving up to make Olivia a new bedspread with a cute line of fabrics I found at that store.

The kids insisted on being in the photo, but I made some curtains to cover the untidy items in the bottom of the bookshelves.

Sheree's Apron

Just like riding a bike, you never really forget how to do it.