I know...

it seems like my blog might be turning into my craft blog instead of being about my family, but I make the crafts for my family.
also I'm very proud of myself because not only did I make this particular project, I wrote the pattern for it.

see, it's cute

Timothy's Spring Concert

tonight was Timothy's concert. at his last concert it was so crowded that almost half of the people who attended were not able to sit. This time they held the 5th and 6th grade concert at the high school so there would be more room for everyone.

Since they held it there they had the school tuxedos and dress shirts for the boys to dress up.

He's looking pretty grown up.

Timothy and my nephew, Matthew.
(love how their ties are crooked in opposite directions)


the concert was definitely elementary school quality (for lack of a better description) but the 5th grade was certainly better than the 6th grade.

the Summer project

it is a project that is about 4 years late. We are going to paint the house.

I've started chipping away at the old paint that is already flaking away. I'll be getting some of the paint in a couple of weeks.
I'm thinking brown but I'm not sure about the trim color yet.

there will be pictures to come as the project is underway.

the sale went as well as could be expected

considering the cold and wind we struggled and suffered with on Saturday morning, we did pretty well. after the sale was done we cleaned up and counted the grand total. we had made nearly $300 (the girls were shooting for $500). if it had been warmer and calmer out we most certainly would have made much more.
but with a few post garage sale purchases of a patio set and an 'auction' for some "Token" BBQ meals for 6 and 25 people, the young women met their goal and then some. now we do not have to worry about coming up with any money at all for camp fees! Hooray!


I actually sold a few of my crocheted toys.


I did sell a couple of more than are pictured here (an apple and two more little owls), but I didn't take a picture of those.
I sold 14 items and two plates of bars. Erica sold a plate of cookies that she loves to bake (they are good).
we feel very successful.

my poor Timmer

ugh, allergies are miserable.
He was doing very well until he went to play with Emma... underneath her bed. ~ go figure ~

not only is Timothy allergic to dogs and cats, but he apparently is allergic to bunnies of the dust variety.time to vacuum under the bed.

Concert Night

concert night was last night, but as I don't have enough pictures of Erica posted I HAD to share a few of her all dolled up for the Spring concert at school.

she doesn't usually curl her hair, mainly because of the time it takes to roll it and then keep the curlers in. sometimes it turns out perfect as soon as the curlers are out, other times are much like this and her hair requires a bit of work before she no longer looks like the cowardly lion. but at least it's a good laugh.

now the hair is done and she's all fancy. Look how beautiful she is.

that's some mighty long hair, even with the curls!

She played wonderfully. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the band.
but at least she is great so Tim and I get to gloat a bit that she's ours.


(she makes me miss my long hair)

what we did for Mother's Day

with limited funds we find ways to have a good time once in a while for free. with the park sticker I got from my wonderful husband for my birthday we have gone for long walks in the state park a couple of times and yesterday we had a picnic. I whipped up a picnic with a bit of help from the kids. my present for mother's day was that no kids were to argue at all and they were all to pick our picnic area.
they (Tim) took me to Flandrau State Park. We hadn't been there for a couple of years. As soon as we drove in the gate we saw two white tail deer grazing right up by the road.
We went for a bit of a walk and all the way Connor was pestering me about going back to eat food. he only wanted to eat the pretzels we brought.


after we ate the kids played around on the jungle gym they have there.





the sun finally came out and it warmed up a little bit so the kids played here for quite a while, and they played very well together - which is a nice switch. it seems that when we are out of the house they like each other much more.

as we were leaving town, we made a spontaneous stop at the Schell's Brewery. Yeah, I know... mormons at a brewery on a Sunday... but we just walked around the gardens. I have some vague memories of walking around there when I was little. it had been over 20 years since I have been there but the little gnomes are still there. I didn't take any pictures of them because, honestly, they're kind of creepy little things.

all the plants infront of the kids in this picture are lilly of the valley. it smelled so nice with all those little flowers. I really should plant some at my house.

Emma's creative juices are flowing

a couple of months ago we went to parent teacher conferences and then hit the book sale.
Emma just finished writing her book and it really is sweet. I didn't help her with any spelling, mainly because I wanted to see how well she would do without me doing it for her.
the concept is all hers and the art work is a mix of markers, ribbons, foam sticker shapes, and scrapbook paper.

some of the words are hard to see and the phonetic spelling makes it a bit tricky to read in some places. I will translate.

The I Love Book

by Emma McGinnis

I love my house. Mom loves the house, too.


I love birds and Dad.


I love my teacher, too, and all the dogs, too.
I love cats, too.

I love to camp at someone's home.

I love my friends. My friends are Sophie, and Emily, and Kelsey.

I love walks and I love to see the rock shapes of circles and (rocks) that looks like a tail and stars.

I love drawing pictures.
and I love pentagons and putting shapes together.


I love my sister, Erica.


I love that I am gonna be seven on my birthday!
(in red box) Sometimes I love you.


I love to go to sleep in a tent.


I love the stars and I love the moon and I love the end.

I know I am biased but I love it.

song birds and psalms 100 : 1

early morning with the window open, what could be happier?
as I sit and listen to the beautiful birds outside I think what a "joyful noise". I suppose that's why God made them to sound so happy and relaxing.

I'm so proud of myself

only a few months ago I could not crochet anything more than a squarish shape. but I set my mind to learning a little more and now I'm getting pretty good, for a beginner.
mainly I've been making little animals just to see if I could do it. the patterns were simple enough and a good start to learning how to read a crochet pattern. but I also have been working on them for the fund raiser. I have found so many things that I want to make.



they didn't turn out exactly to the directions, but they were still so cute. I gave one of them to my sister for her birthday. I will make a few more for the sale. and then on to slightly more complex projects.