Pumpkin's Finished Quilt

I had the patchwork side all finished and pinned to the fleece side in time for Pumpkin's birthday.  Here is my previous post about the quilt.

With all my other sewing I had hoped Hubby would finish his yarn knots to attach the two sides so I could finally put the binding around the edges.

After running out of thread for my first vests we headed back to JoAnn's and let Pumpkin choose his blanket binding.  Over the Christmas weekend I paused on finishing the vests and attached the binding to Pumpkin's quilt.  I then finished the yarn knots.  To be fair Hubby did about 1/4 of the quilt, he later told me he was impressed with my time saving technique that I had learned at a previous Relief Society meeting.

On Christmas evening the family was playing a game of Qwirkle; in between my turns I worked on the knots.  I did not hand sew the binding, I machine stitched it.  If you look closely you can see the area where the sewing machine and I did not get along.

I really wanted Pumpkin's blanket done so he could enjoy it.  With pins still on it he was hesitant to do much with it, so it just sat and was forgotten about. [Maybe this was part of Hubby's delay?

 

 

The Big 30

My birthday was low key this year.  We went to church in the morning and had family time in the afternoon.  I got lots and lots of hugs, kisses, and I Love Yous from my children.

Hubby made some casserole for dinner at my request.  We had raspberry flavored purple colored frosting on a yellow cake and ice cream for dessert.  Pumpkin and I shared our non-dairy coconut milk "ice cream".

  To finish out the day my family gave me a new rotary trimmer for scrap booking.

Thank you everyone.

Belated Birthday Gifts

From the post about Pumpkin's birthday you can read that his quilt wasn't ready.  In the mean time we weren't sure if we should just find something else or keep trying to get the blanket done or what.  Then there is the small gift from siblings; that was accidentally over looked in the days before Hubby's and Pumpkin's birthdays.  Mainly due to the fact that they just got home from their long cross-country trip read more here and here.

Today we stumbled across this [at Michael's].  Hubby and I thought it was cute and sturdy.  Pumpkin tried rocking, riding, carrying, and dragging it around the store.  At the check out counter we asked about the price, as it was the only one and there was no price sticker on or near it on the shelves.  It was a no brainer.  After the kids were home from school we showed them the rocking horse and they also thought it was a great idea. 

Pumpkin, I'm sorry it was six and half weeks overdue.  I am glad you really enjoy your rocking horse and I will finish your quilt.

Second Birthday

 Happy Birthday, Pumpkin!

For the birthday dinner we had homemade enchiladas, corn, Spanish rice, and refried beans for dinner.  Pumpkin really likes corn and everyone enjoys the enchiladas.  We made a funfetti cake with frosting and sprinkles for the birthday cake.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the blanket in time.  I should have it done by the end of the week and will take pictures when we give it to Pumpkin.  I'll post pics showing his birthday presents then.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Happy birthday sweetheart.  I love you.

We had burgers for dinner and these red velvet cupcakes to celebrate with.  Afterwards we watched Fantastic Four 2 - Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Happy Birthday to this Guy...

 

For Munchkin's birthday we stayed in town.  We went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center during the day; there were some neat exhibits. Here is the gear cube:

  

Then, we came home and made chicken noodle soup from scratch per birthday boy's request for dinner and cherry crisp for dessert; he wanted this instead of the traditional cake this year.  That was some good food :)

Finally, Munchkin got to open his presents.  All in all, it was a good birthday.

[Note: I will be adding more pictures/videos in the next few days.]

Happy Birthday, Little Miss!

My birthday girl lost her first tooth today.  Her permanent one grew in behind in the primary one, so it took longer to finish loosening up to come out.

We had homemade chicken nuggets with stonies [fried bread], green been, and lemonade for dinner and dessert was her rainbow cake.

 She liked her presents and is excited to see her extended family for Spring Break.

 Happy Birthday, Little Miss!

P.S. inspiration for the cake found here and here.  Be sure to add extra sugar to the fruit before adding it to the cake batter.  I didn't do this, as it was not in the recipe.  The flavors are rather bold and the citrus layers had a bitter aftertaste from the zest/rind.  I think 1/4 cup sugar for the citrus and 2 Tbs for the berries should be fine.  Everyone that could eat the ice cream said it helped the flavor.  At least my frosting was yummy and the berry flavors were fine without the extra sugar.

Birthday Adventures

When I got orders back in February we knew I when I would be transferring to the ship.  I was in training from August until November.  My original plan was to check in early and take the week of Thanksgiving off for leave.  Shortly before graduation (from my class/training), plans changed.  In order to have Thanksgiving off, I'd have to take the full allotted time in my orders.

You see, our children's school district changed their calender days a couple years ago, scheduling the full week with Thanksgiving off.  This helps cut down on absenteeism and allows families like ours to actually travel to visit family for the holiday.  We wanted to visit Hubby's brother in Wyoming.

Originally, we planned to leave on Friday afternoon.  My birthday was Saturday.  The closer it got the more I realized that I did not want to be stuck in our van all day on my birthday.  I haven't had a birthday off in five years and I have no idea when I'll get another.  Why waste it driving?  When we got the weather report a few days prior to leaving, we learned that a nasty snowstorm was crossing the majority of our drive on Saturday and Sunday morning.


Naturally, we made other plans.  One thing that fit nicely was visiting Knott's Berry Farm.  We didn't go last year, but everyone enjoyed our visit two years ago, minus the smoke from the wildfire.  I really like their Veteran's tribute.  Veterans and Active Duty get in free, along with one free guest, and up to five additional guests at $15 each.  Children under 3 are always free.  One of our good friends and her son carpooled with us.  Her little man is a few months older than Pumpkin.

On Friday night we had a family from our ward come over for dinner and a game night.  It was great fun.  We at the yummy grilled chicken Hubby prepared.  We played Clue FX.  Then Hubby surprised me with cake.  After our friends left the kids gave me their present.

 Munchkin again rode the Jaguar (twice!), and tried a new roller coaster, the Pony Express (though he didn't like that one).  Little Miss was able to ride more rides this time (more were open) and thoroughly enjoyed herself.  The toddlers were able to ride several of the Camp Snoopy rides.  Hubby braved the same two coasters that Munchkin did, and he agreed with Munchkin's opinion.  My friend and I rode the Jaguar, the Silver Bullet, the Xcelerator, the GhostRider (three times before we went home!), and the Pony Express.

We stopped at Panda Express to pick up a late dinner on the way home.   After getting some sleep we packed up the van and left mid-day Sunday.  We completely missed the storm.  We had a few light rain showers while in California, otherwise the roads were clear the entire trip.  Once in Wyoming, it began to snow about fifteen minutes after arriving at my brother-in-law's.  It snowed until Wednesday morning.

Munchkin's Birthday Dinner

Munchkin and J shared their birthday celebration on Sunday, July 4th.

All of the family in the area come over to Hubby's parents farm for dinner.

Munchkin turned 8 and J turned 3.

We had spaghetti with homemade pasta sauce, fresh green salad, fresh picked strawberries, pink lemonade, and birthday cake.  Munchkin had lemon cake (dairy and egg free - it was actually really good) and J had strawberry cupcakes.

Afterward the uncles and older cousins lit off fireworks.  It was a fun evening.