Holiday Dragon....

Doesn't everyone have a Holiday Dragon?

Joe made this in 3D art class. He has been

hanging around here for awhile - but when the kids put the hat on him

I knew right where he should go.

This guy is papermache and his tail is just as long as his body but it

is hidden under the tree.

Merry Christmas!

I Can't Blieve I've Made 2 of These....

Sometime last year I made Brooke here first "Jayne" hat.

(If you are a Firefly fan you understand this.)

And she wore it a lot - was easy to spot in a crowd.

But the yarn was cheap & not quite the right colors.

The a month ago or so she lost it at school - can you believe someone

didn't turn it into lost and found?

So I promised here a better one.

Much better yarn, colors and thickness.
She feels much happier sporting her nice new hat.

Now to make matching fingerless gloves for her.
Ahhh what a Mom won't do for her child!

Happy December

Sorry to not blog at all last month.

One thing I was doing was getting these 3 gifts done

for the holidays.

Can't wait to introduce these 3 to their new owners.

Are you prepared for the holidays?
I have mailed my cards. And I even wrapped a handful
of gifts today.
We still need to decorate inside and out.

Things That Keep Me From My Knitting

WHS Marching Band made it to Semi-State.

First time ever!

See they move so quickly I can't even get a good picture.

So we have been watching them March the last few weekends.

Then the youngest made it through to the championship game

of the fall soccer season for the U14 league.
Maroon looked great! Yes it is coed.

And WOOHOO they won! Here is M(with glasses) and the gang.

So all these things keep me away from my knitting and I am feeling
the Christmas crunch - so much to make so little time.
But here is a lovely gift coming along nicely.

Two Down One To Go.....

So the 2nd 16 year old in the house got her drivers license too!

Here she is getting ready to drive herself to band practice.

Sadly the van for the 2 of them to share died.

So now we have 4 drivers and just 2 cars.

The boys are looking for something but that is going slowly.

Here is my latest knitting on a reluctant model...

Yes a Harry Potter scarf ~ and I think my first finished Christmas gift!

Oh and luckily we have just about 3 years rest til this one starts driving!

Busy Time of Year

We are just finishing Cross country season, still in the middle of Marching Band season and Soccer season. I dream of the Saturday that we no one in the family has to be somewhere.

But our big news of the week is that Joe was interviewed by a friend for a magazine article and it came out yesterday.

Here is an online like to the magazine - scroll down to the bottom of the home page. There is my son's smiling face - the article is about service oriented kids. We are quite proud -- of course we were even before the article.
Check it out here.

Girls Getaway Weekend

National Book Festival

On the Mall in DC

Went for a long weekend with 2 friends

We had a blast. Saw lots of authors

Here is Judy Bloom - she had a big line for her signing!

Here we are Lisa, Me and Laurie
enjoying dinner.

And there was even a bit of time for knitting.

Weekends away with friends are a must.

We will begin planning for next year soon!

Milestones

It seems that when the kids are really little they

reach milestones all the time. First smile, first word, first steps - you get the idea.

Then as they get older the milestones are fewer and farther between.

Well yesterday a BIG Milestone was reached at our house.

Joe drove away - Alone!

Oh and remember driving a minivan is Cool.

He got his license the day before and took off for cross country practice today.

Do you see the smile on that boys face?!

He couldn't wait - although he did have to listen to a

"mandatory mom lecture" before he could go.

I told him they would kick me out of the club if I didn't give him the talk.

I am proud - and I am gonna secretly (okay maybe not so secretly) worry.

Also last night Brooke had a Milestone of her own - she (okay the whole WHS Marching Band)

was on TV. They were the band of the week.

Click here to see them.

They looked great and sounded wonderful.

She is there in the middle (her hair is pinned up) with the big smile.


Here you can see her blowing her cool Mellophone!

I'm quite the proud Mom.

Where has the time gone?

Finally I am blogging again -- I have missed it and I

can't really say why I haven't been around.

Here is a left over vacation photo from

Sausalito, CA visiting Mike and Mickey!

See the little girl with curly hair (3rd from left).

She is covered by the blanket I made for my

brother and his wife.

So that is one knitted project, and here is another....

can you guess what it is going to be??

Come on just guess.

It is for my niece for Christmas - she will be thrilled.

I will post another photo of a major family milestone tomorrow!!

More Vacation Fun

We went to Arches National Monument in Moab, Utah.

It was our 2nd time there. I really love this place.

We also saw the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

The are very different and therefore kind of cool.

This is the place that the cars and rocket cars race fast.

Spent some time on a Saturday morning at the Market in San Francisco.

Here are Mike and Mara and Tucker relaxing while the shoppers shop.


There was so much yummy produce here.

Didn't Everybody....

Drive way out west for summer vacation this year?

And visit their cousins at the Grand Canyon....
Check out the Hoover Dam....

Raft down the Merced River in Yosemite.....

Get a behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz...

If not you really missed out.

That is just some of what we did this summer.

It was great fun. Saw cousins, and Aunts and Uncles.

I will share more soon.

Oh there was only a touch of knitting.

Happy Birthday America

Hope you are relaxing and enjoying the holiday with friends!

Maybe a little patriotic music to make the day even better.

We really enjoyed the Carmel Brass.
Or perhaps you'll attend a parade.
(and maybe see someone you know marching with her
mellophone!)
Happy 4th of July one and all.

Yeah I finished my secret summer project.

I will deliver it soon and

then post a photo!

Activities

Lizzy at her baptism today.

She is as sweet as she looks.

Last week the big kids and I took my mom downtown - just to see a few thing

we rarely do.

Here is a view from the Library - down to the War Memorial.

We had the best day of the week.

We stopped in the County Library - it was just remodeled just a bit ago - it is very

very cool! Here are the kids in the "old" part.


Are we nerds that we checked out the Library?

We are trying to do fun things -- we went in the War Memorial museum.

It was free, the Library was free - we at lunch at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

Nice day.

Miss my dedicated knitting time with my girlfriends!

Still here.... but having fun

Here is the family celebrating Mara being 13!!

Then the following week Joe and Brooke turned 16!
Here is Mara on the run during the soccer tournament.
They placed 2nd!

Today we made it to Conner Prairie - where Joe volunteers.

They have this cool new balloon ride. Here is the

balloon. It was great fun!

I am knitting - I am 2/3rds done with a cotton sleeveless sweater for me.

And about 2 weeks away from finishing a gift for some special people.

Summer Has Begun

We went to a pool party to celebrate Sophia's

1st birthday.

She is my 2nd cousin's daughter.

Isn't she cute.

Luckily it was a beautiful day.

Here is Mara enjoying the pool.

The boys (Joe & Andy) went and got squirt guns!

Today is Race day here in Indiana.

Everyone have a nice day!

Last Week

Here are 4 of us that participated in the

American Cancer Society

Walk (or Knit) for Life!

Yes it is May -- Yes it was cold enough for blankets --

it was really windy.
Here are Jill and Katie Spinning in the wind.
We had a nice time and we raised money for
the American Cancer Society

What's going on...

At the end of April Brooke and I got a chance to walk the dog

around the IMS!

It was a fund raiser for the the local humane society.

We were blessed with a nice day and I think Auggie

enjoyed it the most.

Sorry the blog is slow.

I am knitting (I think I have 3 things on the needles -- none of them very

far along.)

Life is busy around here - with all the year end busyness.

Yesterday I got to see little Lizzie --

she is precious. She already loves her blankie & I can't

wait to see her in her little sweater.

So I have babies on my mind. Thought I would share this cute little baby photo I found.

The other fun thing going on is the

American Cancer Society Relay for Life

our local Knit shop is sponsoring a team.

And we will be knitting for 24 hours during the walk.

A group of us are knitting for 3 hours Saturday and I think

I may come back and knit in the early am on Sunday.

I think it is really cool that we are doing this.

I am going to knit a pink breast cancer scarf.

So that is just some of what is going on here.