My Latest Project

Sometimes it takes having my hubby out of town for a 

few weeks to motivate me to get started on a new project. 

Especially something as time consuming as a new quilt.

So, with quiet evenings, minimal meal prep, and clean up, 

I got to work on Lynden's new big boy bed quilt.

From cutting and piecing to assembling - it went pretty quickly.

Especially thanks to my beautiful new Bernina sewing machine.

Happy birthday to me from my sweet in-laws!

Now all that's left is the actual quilting.

But first I need to decide on a fabric for the back. 

I'll be sure to show off the finished product once it's complete.

But with my honey back home and family coming into town this weekend, 

I think it'll take a back seat.

How else do we entertain ourselves on these sunny summer days?

Daily walks.

See?

There's my baby bump!

We're always keeping an eye out for lizards, rabbits, and 

any other fun desert creatures we might encounter.

Here's a little lizard friend. 

You could see exactly where his tail had come off and was regrowing.

How's that for a natural science lesson?

 And these two cuties just can't get enough playtime with each other.

So thankful for brothers who are best buds. 

It always helps to cool off with popsicles too!

Pie Time

On Saturday I was at Costco and in a hurry.

Never a good combination!

Anyway, when I got home and put all of my groceries away, I found that the 2lbs of strawberries I picked up were a little more ripe than overripe.

Enter - 

My most recent Food Network Magazine and it's strawberry recipes.

Strawberry Crumble Pie

First the crust.

I substituted cold butter for the vegetable shortening.

 The crust recipe was nice and generous, so I didn't have the usual struggle of trying to stretch just a little bit more out of the pastry dough.

Then the crumble topping.

All together.

And baked!

The biggest struggle was waiting the prescribed 4 hours for it to cool completely.

But it paid off, because the strawberry juice didn't run all over the place.

I had an eager first taste tester.

And then after he was in bed, we warmed it up again with vanilla ice cream.

It's a good thing too, 

because I needed a little pick me up after my littlest monkey decided to pull my 

KitchenAid mixer down and break my beautiful glass mixing bowl.

But that's everyday life. 

It's not all tasty pies. :)

Finishing Up Home Projects

It's 81degrees outside and I'm sitting in the backyard soaking up this beautiful Nevada sunshine. 

The boys are both napping after an active morning at the gym and I'm taking advantage of the peacefulness to catch up on a few things. 

On my to do list:

Keeping up with you, friends and family - through this post

Writing a love note to my man - he works so hard!

Researching a new vacuum 

(Yes! The budget says we're ready to go ahead and pull the trigger)

And, if I get to them, 

A Better Homes and Gardens & Martha Stewart Living magazines. 

Catching up on magazines is truly a sign that I have too much time on my hands. 

Well, except for my Food Network Magazine. That's my current favourite and I classify browsing it's pages of scrumptious recipes as 'work' since I'm always looking for dishes to feed my family. :)

But first, 

let me catch you up on a few small projects around the house that we've finally finished. 

1. The Stool

Braden picked up the wood for it about a few months ago and then during some time off recently, designed and made it. 

Not only is it beautiful, it has changed our lives.

Now Ryder can reach all of his drawers and dress himself in the morning. 

He can take care of going potty and washing his hands on his own. 

And, I don't have to lift him all the way up onto the counter when he helps me in the kitchen daily. 

I'm sure I'll appreciate this even more as Baby #3 continues to grow!

Ryder affectionately calls it his 'stood'.

Here he is playing in the oatmeal (making toad in the hole) while I prepare dinner.

2. The Measuring Ruler

The vision for this project dates back a little further. 

We used Christmas money from grandparents to get this wood and it truly was a labour of love. 

Braden made the ruler to replicate a real ruler as accurately as possible and even burned in the numbers in the right font by hand. 

Next we just need to decide how to record the boys' height.

3. The Book Wagon

Being married to a woodworker is awesome. 

Being married to an unemployed woodworker would be awesome too.

Too many projects and not enough time is always the quandary.  

The problem is that we all love books. 

As our family grows and our children develop, we just collect more and more awesome books.

But, you can't buy bookshelves when you're married to a woodworker. 

So, in an effort to organize the books our boys have in their room, I turned to Pinterest.

And, thanks to some birthday money for the boys 

and a local antique store, we were able to solve the problem. 

They love their book wagon!

And that's what's new here.

The Never Ending Project

About 6 months ago I started thinking about what to do for Lynden's first birthday. 

I wanted it to be special and one of a kind.

Many hours on Pinterest later I settled on making him a quiet book.

I found tons of ideas and templates, 

I found a local small business to buy my supplies from, 

and then I got started. 

And now, over 100 hours later (and nearly two months after Lynden's birthday) I'm still at work.

My first two pages took the longest. 

Everything is sewn by hand.

This barn houses 5 different finger puppet farm animals.

The accompanying page gives a space for them to play and have a story told. 

Next was the rainbow.

The colours can be unsnapped and reattached and the cloud is a pocket to hold 

everything when not in use. 

My most recent page has these shoes. 

Everything needs to be sewn down still, then

I need to run out and grab a pair of laces for them.

 And now that I've put all this work into it (with only 4 pages to show), I've come to the conclusion that it's really more Ryder's level than Lynden's. 

 Ah well, I guess that will buy me a little more time to finish a few more pages. 

This truly is a labour of love.

 I'm not sure why all of my projects seem to have this unending quality - but already I'm thinking ahead to the next one:

a new quilt for Lynden once he's promoted out of the crib. 

I'm thinking the next 3 months are going to keep me pretty busy!

Biking Sacramento

 We spent an amazing weekend in Sacramento with our bikes. 

It's something I've been wanting to do for a while and finally we found a time when we thought the weather might hold up.

 For those of you waiting for a baby belly picture, here it is!

 These boys were great sports. 

They loved biking along the river, over beautiful bridges, seeing trains, and 

this beautiful old roundhouse in Old Town Sacramento.

We made our way downtown and toured the capital grounds.

Found some pretty incredible food at The Rind.

Our afternoon included old neighbourhoods where be admired beautiful Tudor and Craftsman houses.

I couldn't help but be thankful that I have a partner who enjoys so many things I do. :)

McKinley Park had beautiful rose gardens 

and a great playground for the boys to expend a little energy.

 Ryder even bravely tried a few new toys.

This little guy has no desire to walk yet, 

but he sure makes up for it in personality.

Discovery Park inspired tree climbing and races. 

Ryder loves to run and jump - Oma would be proud. <3

Our last day greeted us with rain. 

Honestly, I think we were a little saddle sore and ready for a break anyway. 

So, off to one last Farm to Table restaurant for breakfast

We rounded out our trip with a little (or a lot, depending on who you ask) shopping.

I'd call it one of my best birthday gifts ever.

Thanks love!