A kids post or a post about kids!

We have always been so proud of our children and our grand children...this year it's a lot of pride for the grand kids!

Kayla & Nate's wedding is only 8 days away and everyone is excited about this milestone in all of our lives!  Kayla is the 1st of the grand kids to be married and with the wedding planning taking over a year, we're all really excited for this event!  I can only imagine how excited Kayla and Nate are!

Earlier this week, Amber received her Varsity letter for Lacrosse!  Hard to believe she's going to be a junior next year!!!

And I  finally got to see Amber play a varsity game last weekend!!  They were in the playoffs ....they didn't win but the girls never gave up!











And two nights ago, Nick was awarded Silver Honors!  He'll be going into the 9th grade next year and attending the high school!  OMG~~~

I feel really old now!!!!

Fishin' Time

Well, what else do you do on a cool, windy morning!  FISH!  At least that's what Nick and Amber wanted to do this past Tuesday!  Actually, it's fun watching the two of them fishing...although, I still feel bad for both the worm(s) and fish!  It is catch 'n release and so far no fish were killed in the making of these films or pictures!

Amber did catch one finally!  It was a biggee too!

Nick caught at least 5 or 6 fish...the hard part was trying to grab them to toss back in the water.  At least we fed quite a few fish on Tuesday (or should I say Amber did!).  At one point, Amber was just throwing the worms in the water!  Fine with me!  I'd rather feed the fish!!




Tomorrow's post will have pics from the opening the the Art Quilt exhibit that was at the Saginaw museum.  Very nice evening!

Mid week!

Can't believe it's middle of the week...or should I say the week almost over!  Yikes!
Making progress on my beaded cuff....I'd say it's half done...or close to that.  The colors don't show up as nice as they are in person.  I'm using Delica's in Cinnamon Rainbow for darker area, Copper Lined Crystal for background and Lt Peach lined crystal for the 'X' areas and diagonals.  

I also finished another Kumi bracelet, this one in narrow yarns.  I have another one started so I can wear them as a pair.  It's in shades of brown and beige.  This one has a really pretty yellow in it.

 So yesterday was my day with Amber & Nick.  We were quite busy as they helped clean out the garage for their mom and dad.  They each did a great job cleaning.  Next off to grocery store to return bottles - kids split the money!  Then we had a good lunch at Subway then home to help Nick paint a wooden box with his air brush gun and Amber to make a bracelet.
They each did a great job.  Amber finished her braiding (Kumi) but my glue wasn't working so I'll put the closure on it today and take back to her this weekend (she's having her BD party for family on Sunday).  Amber's bracelet turned out nice!  And it didn't take her as long as she thought it would!  Surprise!!!  I gave Amber some yarns, as she and another friend want to make bracelets.  She found some YouTubes  for braided bracelets (not Kumi) which look quite interesting and very easy.  I'll be anxious to see what they come up with.

Amber didn't want her picture taken....oh well!

Her braid is in pinks and purples.  Really nice!

This was a wooden box Nick painted

and put stencils on!

Nick learned a lot about 'masking' off areas when you want to paint.  He made sure to remove all the screws and hooks too.  I think he did a great job as well!


We just had a fun day!  Well, grandma did anyway...just more memories!!!

Whew! What a week!

Gracie almost looks as frazzled as I've felt this week!  Whew!  Tuesday started out with getting Amber and Nick for an overnighter & a surprise field trip for Wed.!  

We gave Gracie a bath to kill some time and the kids love seeing her wet!    Kids were so much fun to have around and were really a big help cleaning up after dinner (Nick cleaned off the entire table and helped me gather and take out the trash).  Amber is always the 'cook' and as usual did a great job.  Of course, we played lots of card game...Monopoly being the best one and Wig Out!  

We love this game!!!  Quick game to play and doesn't go on and on like the Monopoly board game!  Makes a great stocking stuffer too!   So back to our night of cooking hot dogs on the grill for dinner...along with other favorite kids foods!  More game playing then even grandpa got in the act with he and Nick playing a Jeopardy like game on grandpa's phone.   Nick even solved a phrase before I had a turn!  

Onto Wed. the kids kept bugging me as to where we were going.  So finally we took off around noon too our destination!  Which was Go-Kart racing!  Kids were really excited and surprised!  First, I let it slip that we were going to the library!  That didn't thrill them at all!  I thought it was kinda funny!  But that's my sense of humor!

It was just as much fun watching them race around the track as it was for the kids!  They loved it!!!  So much so, that they drove 3 different times!!  The track is really nice with lots of curves!  Amber loved those curves!!!  I think she might be the next Dana Kilpatrick!  Sure was fun but over quickly!!!  Then it was a stop for an ice cream cone then home. 

That's when I noticed Kalee didn't seem quite right.  I called the vet and made an appt. for her after I met Darrin to drop off kids.  Talk about nerve wracking!  Kalee never had any symptom other than pain in her belly...no fever, diarrhea, etc.  I was a nervous wreck...she was so sick..just laying, no food, water...she did get dehydrated so they gave her a water injection.  Long story short, we went back to vets again on Thursday with me just a stressful dog owner!  Kalee didn't have as much pain at all (no cries when vet palpated her belly) so that was a good sign.  She didn't perk up until around 6:00 p.m. Thursday night!  She finally ate chicken and rice and her tail was up!!!  

She is all better now...eating, drinking and playing with Cody, who is with us for two weeks.  

I'll be posting pics on Kalee's blog and daily reports for Cody's mom and dad!  You can check those out too if you are interested on her blog.  

Today I met up with my friend, Mary, for coffee and breakfast @ Panera's!  Did some grocery shopping then on to home with dogs!  I hope to be in for the next few days!  I'm ready to stay at home!  

More GeoCaching!

Yep, this past Wed. was another GeoCaching day!  I printed out two maps, one for Amber and one for Nick.  The geocache we were looking for actually were hidden downtown Oxford.  So each of them had to give grandma directions to the site for us to look for the treasure!  Kids are learning but don't even know it! 

This was our beautiful Amber giving grandma directions to the first cache!  Which, we couldn't find...this turned out to be a grandma error!  When I was getting the map set up to print, I must have dragged the 'end point' without realizing it.  We weren't on the right trail!  But now we know...so guess where we're going this Wed.! 

On to our 2nd cache with Nick giving grandma directions and YIPPEE we found it!  I know it doesn't look like much but when you've been hunting for something for two weeks, we settled for a medicine bottle wrapped in duct tape! 

This is the log we had to sign!  Very small but lots of signatures on it!!  Hard to write on!  We did put in a ring we made from Shrinky Dink for the next person.  You don't have to leave a trinket but we thought we would!
So off to the bead store and lunch, then to our 3rd cache for the day!  We headed to Seymour Lake Park where an "easy, children's cache" was hidden.  Well, guess who couldn't find the "easy, children's cache"!  You guessed it!  Grandma!  So, we thought we'll just look up the map/coordinates when we get home and head to the 1st Geocache we tried to find last week.  We just knew where it was! 

We even dragged Kalee with us this time...it was an easy walk on the Polly Ann Trail and since we just "knew" where the cache was we thought she'd enjoy the ride. 
Well, we never found it either!  I guess one cache out of four was good!! 

 So after a mini blizzard treat and water for Kalee, we headed home to look up the caches on the computer (again!).

NOW, we really know where they are!!!  So this Wed. we're heading out again!!  I just know we'll find them.  How hard can it be!

What a weekend!

My last overnight 'date night' with the kids this weekend. We had a great time and it was Kalee's first 'sleepover' (you can read about her weekend here on her blog). The kids were great! Auntie and I split the time as Darrin and Kris went up north for a few days to get away. I have to say the kids were just great and I had so much fun! So now our countdown to leaving for the winter!! It's always bittersweet as I love going to Florida but I do hate leaving the kids. Thank goodness for SKYPE!! Makes the time away and missing everyone not quite so bad.

Eye Candy!

The first 'eye candy' shot is our grandson, Ian, leading the pack during his first high school cross country win. CONGRATS, Ian! A job well done for sure!! Ian's been running this summer, even in the heat so I'm sure he's in top shape!! Hard to believe he's in 10th grade already!! Grandpa sure is getting older! Not me! Just you and grandpa, Ian!


Here's some more 'eye candy'!

Elsie is one of the ladies in our fiber group who does a little of everything! I'm always in awe of her artwork regardless of the medium. This is a beaded piece Elsie did a while back on her bead loom. Isn't it spectacular!!

Here's a closeup of the detail! I think it's an amazing piece! I asked if i could post a picture of her work and she kindly agreed. I just wanted to share this with some of my bead followers. check out the beaded fringe let alone the detail in this piece!
I had a busy weekend...actually I've been busy since Friday. Doing some beading, making fiber cards, put the sleeve on my AAQI donation quilt - although that took two times! I put the sleeve on upside down along with the label! Yep, had to remove both and resew! Kids are still up north on vaca and Amber called me today to say they just finished horse back riding! She said she even passed her 'evaluation' on trotting on the horse! What memories they are creating! I told her she would have to write that in her journal, but she said she didn't have a journal! Of course, I told her she needs to get one! Can't believe me of all people haven't given her a journal yet! I'm sure I have somewhere along the line! We'll have to look for it the next 'grandma day'!

What a day!

Before I post about our day...have to mention "out of the mouth of babes". As we were driving to the park, I don't remember why, but I aksed if the kids had heard of the saying "there but the grace of God, go I"...Amber said, "no, grandma" she hadn't heard of this and guess what our Nick said! "Grandma, you go to church too much!"! I almost had to pull off the road I was laughing so hard. Just another little 'saying' to put in his BD letter for this year!

Today the grand kids and I did the paddle boat 'thing'! And what a hoot it was!!! I took this picture just as 'grandma' was getting ready to unhook the tie rope and jump on the boat! It was great! Kids and I were laughing and screaming the entire time!! It did take us a little to adjust to steering the boat but did manage to get out of the dock and not hit anything!

It was a beautiful day and you can see some of the lake and docks above. We had a blast on the boat then decided to eat our picnic lunch we packed.

And then! Grandma surprised the kids by packing their fishing rods and tackle boxes in the car! I stopped and pretended I need gasoline so I could stop and pick up worms!

So here the kids are fishing and they had a ball! Who knew..Amber said "I'm not a girlie girl, grandma, when it comes to fishing! Duh!

She certainly isn't! Man, she was cutting those worms right beside Nick with no hesitation at all. She finally told me to "chill out, grandma and sit down". "This is what you do when you fish".

This was one of many fish Amber caught!

And this was one of many Nick caught! Yes, we put them all back, very gently! And we even fed some of the fish just pieces of worms! How gross, but sweet!

We had so much fun on the paddle boat that after the kids fished we went back out for another 1/2 hour!! For $5 (each half hour) you can't beat it! Just a fun, fun day..then back to the house to play 'hot potato' with an old balloon the kids had! By the time my son got home, I was dripping from sweating! He even checked the thermostat thinking his air must be off!
So tonight, I'm pooped but it was all well worth it!! Just another memory to put in my head and I hope the kids!
The video's are a hoot..the paddle boat was is mainly of my fingers!! The sun was shining and I was taking the pics with my Ipod! I forgot where the little camera was so I ended up covering it up!

My 13 hour day

Yes, this is a post about my Wed. with the kids. I arrived at 6:45 a.m. and left after 8 p.m. which gave us lots of time together to be busy!
Amber did make a pot holder so there is some fiber work to show! She got a kit to make these woven pot holders but the fabric in them these days is made of polyester which stretched like crazy. Remember the good old days when the material was just cotton! Anyway, I told Amber I can still use this one to set my water glass on.


Amber working hard on her pot holder.






Nick had a snap-it car to put together.

He was quite fascinated with the chrome looking wheels he had to put together. And being the fussy builder he is (reminds me of Ian! Must be a boy thing!), he had to put the tires back together after he saw the tread was going in different directions on the back tires. Who knew tread had directions!

We moved inside to finish up Nick's car and Amber's pot holder. Nick and I were at the stage of putting on decals on the model car. As I was trying to put this tiny, tiny, tiny! light decal on, it flipped and we couldn't find it. Nick said "maybe it fell in one of your wrinkles, grandma". Hmmmm Out of the mouth of babes!
OK, this is the part where mom and dad stop reading. Do we need a perk-me-up, grandma?

Amber poured some of my coffee into a cup for Nick to taste...

And she tried some herself....not to worry...neither of them will be coffee drinkers...I made them sip it black, which I knew would be too strong for them. It was a funny episode. And no coffee was really consumed by them (just me!).

We did have a full day even after having dinner at our local Italian Restaurant enjoying our 35 cent pasta day! Can't beat that!!

Amber and I made a meal of the salad which is fantastic. She eats the salad with no dressing on it!

Isn't this how everyone eats spaghetti?

After our great dinner, we headed home to go on a bike ride. Amber wasn't too excited about this but I really wanted to move after the bread and salad (yes, I put dressing on mine!). Bike ride was quite nice but Amber's choice of activity was to play baseball. So, after the bike ride, we got all the bases, bat and ball and headed to the front yard. I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed the show of grandma pitching and of Nick running into me on first base! We played until after 7:30 when we had to stop after Amber made a great hit but ran into Nick on 3rd base and slid onto the sidewalk! Just a little skinned knee, but she recovered quickly after her shower. Kids had just finished their baths and deciding what to have for dessert when mom and dad came home.

I'm not sure who was more tired, Mandy or me but we had a great day and memories (yes, the wrinkle comment will go in Nick's BD letter this year!).

Today, grandma will get back to some fiber work! I have a workshop to teach at our local quilt guild next week so I want to get all my notes and supplies together. I have to find all my samples too.

Our weather is turning cooler which is such a relief not to have the air on and windows open! My kind of weather!

Just another Wednesday

I have been beading on my 3rd cuff so here's the progress so far. I worked on this last night watching the Tigers (yes, they won! Whew!). Since I wear a lot of orange/pastel colors, I think I'll get a lot of use from this cuff. My next one is going to be in black and white.

I might get some more beading on this tonight as the Tigers are on again but it might be the last night for awhile. In TWO days my sister will be here!!!! I'm so excited!! I'll be heading off to grocery store and market on Thursday and Friday (I already bought Tequila!) and preparing for dinner with all the family on Sat.

Yesterday I received back my little quilt from Lynn Krawczyk who was/is curator of the Breaking Traditions Exhibitions. In 2009, Lynn put together the exhibit called 'Home', which raised $795 for A Place to Bark. This was my little contribution to the exhibit.
Yes, that is our little Mandy peaking out the front door, which was made of metal. It was fun to work on and nice to see again! I forgot what the little piece looked like!

This saying sure fit what Mandy has done for Bob and I. She's been so special in our life since we adopted her in 2001! You can tell she's as happy with us as we are with her!!

Today with the kids was fun as usual. I just love having conversations with them. Amber was SO excited since she got a cell phone for her birthday (no texting, just phone). She kept looking at her phone saying "no one has called me, grandma". I told her that her parents were working, as was her aunt and I was with her! Well, her Auntie did call and was Amber's FIRST phone call she received. She was so excited that she got a call. I thought she almost jumped to the ceiling when her phone rang! So cute!!! Thank you Auntie for making Amber's day!

Nick had a Neon sand kit that he wanted to work on. It was kinda fun and kept him busy for at least 30 min.
He had to mix the sand with an activator really well, then pour into the molds. You had to do it in a darken room so we had all the lights out which made it difficult to read the instructions!
But we did it! Results are what the sculptures looked like in the bathroom with the lights out and door closed. It was pitch black in the room but you can see the neon vases! Pretty cool!

And here are Amber's fingernails with her decorative manicure. She didn't think it felt much like a manicure but we did get through it. Another 30 mins. on this project.

We finished out the day by playing Monopoly! Amber and I started out playing then Nick and his friend decided they wanted to play. I was happy when Kris got home as the wheeling and dealing was getting pretty heavy! I just played banker when the 3 kids played.

So off to finish up my planning and menu for the weekend!! Did I mention how excited I am to see my sister again!!! And to have everyone here on Sat. - all my family will be the highlight of this year for sure!