Triple Play

We spent the day with these three little munchkins yesterday, visiting the Marbles Kids Museum in the morning. This is the only photo snapped of all three of them in the same place, where they're relatively still, at the same time; this was taken before we entered the play spaces, which would be the reason why!

Marbles is amazing, there are benches strategically placed for sitting and observing your children, (or parking your coat/bag while you chase, in my case) they should sell those five-hour energy shots there... for grandparents; they could fund themselves another museum in no time! 

I believe there's potential for future scientists, or chefs, or hockey players, 

or veterinarians, or EMT's or broadcasters or builders in the family!

Time will tell...

Life is Good Grand!

One Word Wednesday

Cousins~
Life is Good!

Sew Much Fun!

Here's a fashion show of creations sewed for this little cutie over the weekend; it was girls' time together, as she and our daughter came to stay while Mason and Daddy had their boys weekend,  fishing! What a fun weekend we had! The little pillowcase style dress on the right displays her Mommy's favorite colors~ War Eagle! (No, those aren't mouse ears or pigtails on her head, just a poorly chosen photography background... she doesn't seem to care one little bit!)

Gregory came to visit, with his parents, for dinner on Saturday night. These two cousins were right at home in front of the sewing machine. "Hi, Nana; we're not touching... okay, one of us is touching!" 

Our daughter did some creating of her own, using her Cricut and her God-given creativity.

Lucy Ann is adaptable; she's equally at home playing with a dollhouse in the fabric shop...

...or on PawPaw's lawn tractor in the garage!

And one more, priceless, photo from Saturday night. How does Gregory know to use my touch-screen stylus (machine is OFF) as though it's a screwdriver? Too funny! Lucy Ann isn't having any part of these shenanigans! We didn't finish all of our sewing for Lucy Ann before it was time for the girls to go, stay tuned for our sewing weekend report... part deux; they're coming back for a few days so that this Nana can help with one more cute outfit and get in some playtime with big brother Mason too!

Gregory needed some items just for himself too... I finished up some sewing yesterday after the children left to go home; some initials on his backpack, a pickle T-shirt and a fun play T-shirt.
Life is Good!

Free Photo Fun

I've been hanging out with my youngest grandson the last couple of days, we've had a LOT of fun. He can now tell Nana what a baby monkey and what a kitten says; he will be 15 months old tomorrow and is just too cute! During his ever-diminishing (vanishing?) naptimes I have been working on the Chubby Chicks, giving them legs to stand on. That, and playing with Picnik photo editing, I have used the free version through Picasa for the last year or so. Picnik is going away, for good, on April 19; they are now offering all of their editing effects, even the premium version, at no charge, until that time! Give it a try, you'll be amazed at what you can create.

"Be like a postage stamp.  Stick to one thing until you get there.”Josh Billings


...and have a little creative fun along the way...

Life is Good!

Pop!

I heard on the radio this morning that today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Are you celebrating? The simple act of popping bubble wrap is a known stress reliever; with that in mind, click here and get started! (C'mon, you know you want to!) Do it for your health.

Have a peaceful day~

Life is Good!

Gingie, Gingie!

What a wonderful (and busy!) weekend we had with our favorite two-year old. After his nap yesterday Mason and Nana made gingerbread houses. The houses were already assembled (from graham crackers) and had "set up" while he slept, so it was on to the FUN part as our joint project... the decorating! We made one for his baby sister and one for his baby cousin, and one just for Mason! He was very proud and called them "gingie, gingie". I hope whenever he sees his he will remember what fun he and Nana had together. I don't need a "gingie, gingie" to remember, my heart recalls. The only thing better, to top off the weekend, was the snow; and to experience it through the eyes of a child.

Life is Good!

Dots and Boxes

This was Mason's Christmas present from Nana, his very own Picture Play quilt. The pattern from Ami Simm's book of the same name is "Dots and Boxes", I dubbed it "Dots and Boxes, Frogs and Foxes" while I was working on it but now that it's Mason's quilt it could just as easily be titled: "Looky, A Cookie!", he delights in finding all of the cookies pictured, his new favorite word (and, most likely, his favorite food)! I had hoped that he would enjoy exploring the quilt's surface and discovering hidden objects contained; my daughter reports that he LOVES doing just that. Nothing could have made my heart happier than learning that he attempted to drag his quilt to the table with him for snack time yesterday! "Maybe you need to make him another one, Mom; a smaller, carry-around, version" she laughed. I'll see what I can do. This one is good sized, 66" X 86", too big for a toddler to pull throughout the house; but just perfect for playing on and snuggling under. Incorporated into the layout are a few photo transfers and some fun and furry fringe animals stitched on the embroidery machine. I quilted the inner border with my favorite NiteLite glow-in-the-dark thread and added some red piping alongside the binding to finish it off with pizazz. Enjoy, little one, Nana loves you! Looky, A "COOKIE"!

Life is Good!

Alaska, A Quick Recap

It's taken a while to upload the adventure and make sense of the photos from our trip. This collage is a random sampling of places visited and sights seen. I'd go back again in the blink of an eye, it was truly the trip of a lifetime; but it's so good to be home again, too. If you choose to click on the photo collage you can see that I found a few quilts shops along the way; oh, yes I did!
Top row, l-r: Alaska RR- McKinley to Whittier, totem pole in Ketchikan, Chulitna River (McKinley), Chena River (Fairbanks), a moose and me (Fairbanks)
Row 2: Mt. McKinley, quilt shop in Skagway, Chena River (Fairbanks), quilt shop (Juneau), ship view leaving Glacier Bay
Row 3: PO at Chena Indian Reservation, Ketchikan, quilt shop in Talkeetna (small town where opening shots for "Northern Exposure" were shot), Chena River (again), Mt. Mckinley
Row 4: Glacier Bay, our stateroom on the ship, Seattle WA, Mt. McKinley (view from Denali Nat'l Park), Alaska sign (reentering AK from Canada)
Row 5: Humpback whale's tail (outside Glacier Bay), Ketchikan, riverboat on the Chena River, Mt. McKinley, Glacier Bay
Row 6: Mt McKinley, waterfall in Skagway, glacier ice, Seattle sunset, Coast Guard boat escort into port
Row 7: Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, our ship, Mt. McKinley from the Chulitna River, Glacier Bay
Row 8: Moose in Denali N.P., Mt. McKinley in all it's majesty, quilt shop in Talkeetna, Creek. St. (Ketchikan), raft trip on the Chulitna into Talkeetna.

We traveled a week on land before we boarded the ship. Our land portion took us from Fairbanks to Whittier with stops along the way in Denali and Mt. McKinley. The weather cooperated and we had crystal clear views of the mountain. Mt. McKinley is also known as Denali (Athabaskan Indian for "The Great One"). While traveling in shuttle buses, motor coaches and river rafting we saw bear, moose, bald eagles, salmon, river otters, beavers and a few caribou, too. Our week on the ship began with two sea days in College Fjord and Glacier Bay; there we spotted humpback whales, more eagles and a few seals hanging out on an piece of floating ice. We ported in three cities: Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Our last day was a sea day and we concluded our journey in Vancouver, BC. We flew home from Seattle, (also where we began our adventure) it was a perfect vacation in every way. And yes, the food was incredible on the ship, most meals (lunch and dinner!!) ended on a sweet note! Now, I ask you, what could be better than this? Oh, by the way, did I mention the BAKED Alaska? ;)

Life is Good!
... I keep tellin' ya...

Guess Who?

Guess who's coming to Nana and Gramps' house for lunch today?
The food is all prepared, and so is his festive new T-shirt!

Life is Good!

Yearbook Yourself!

No, this didn't happen in Las Vegas! This is me, circa 1966, using the Yearbook Yourself tool. Never underestimate the power of some serious back-combing and a can or two of hairspray! To be honest, this isn't very far off the mark; back some forty years ago! Try it, it's fun; how would YOU look?

Life is Good!