The Whole Ball of Yarn

Teddy Bears

2012-01-30T07:25:00.000-08:00

In the past year or so I have made several teddy bears. The pattern for the bear itself is not mine. I got it out of this book. I did, however, freehand all accessories for each bear. They took anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks each, and I loved all the different themes I was able to create.

Here are some photos of my favorites!

This is "Country Bear". I made her for one of my co-workers to give to his neice. It is hard to see in this picture, but there is a hair clip attached to the hat that comes off to put in your own hair. I created this vest specifically for this bear, and unfortunately never wrote down the pattern.

This is "Turqua Bear". She is named that because the color of yarn I used was called Turqua. I made this bear for a friend to give to her daughter for Easter. While you can't see it in this photo, Turqua is wearing a pink backpack that has several sets of hair clips in it for you to wear in your own hair. Also, the clips she is wearing by her ears, as well as the flower on her dress come off to wear in your hair. I had so much fun making her, and Michelle's daughter LOVED her! :)

This is "Captain Jack Bear-O" and "Summer". I made them for a friend to give to her God children. I LOVE how Jack Bear-O turned out! He is my favorite of all the teddy bears. It took me a long time to figure out how to make the hat with his ear going through it, but I think it really adds to the whole package. Summer is the same style as Turqua, but with different colors and clips that fit with her theme.

Teddy bears filled most of the last year, so I am taking a break from them for awhile (with the exception of one I have half done for a pregnant friend). I still have so many projects in the works to fill a lifetime, so I am sure I will have more to post soon!

Crutch Covers, Revisited

2012-01-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I posted about some crutch covers I made for some of my co-workers (see Crutch-Along Cashiers). Since then, I have made many more sets for various friends, and came up with an easy pattern for handle grip covers as well. I have had several people ask me for the pattern, so I have decided to post it here for everyone to use.

This is my original pattern. Please do not claim it as your own. Feel free to make and even sell the finished product, but please give me credit for this pattern.

Unfortunately, I do not have any updated photos of the finished product. The handle grip covers will be about the size of an empty toilet paper roll. Please keep in mind that I tend to crochet a bit larger than most people, so your hook size may vary from mine.

Happy crocheting!

Crochet Crutch Covers

Materials needed:

Small amount of worsted weight yarn, any color

G hook

Chain 23.

Rnd 1: DC in 4^th chain from hook. (first 3 chains count as 1^st DC) DC in next 18 chains. Work 7 DC in last chain. Working around the other side of the chain, work DC in next 19 chains. Work 6 DC in last chain. Slip stitch to top of first DC. 52 DC

Rnd 2: Chain 3. DC in next 21 stitches. 2 DC in each of the next 3 stitches. Dc in next 23 stitches. 2 DC in each of the next 3 stitches. DC in last stitch. Slip stitch to top of chain 3. 58 DC

Rnd 3: Chain 3. DC in next 20 stitches. (Decrease over next two stitches) Repeat ( to ) 3 times. DC in next 21 stitches. (Decrease over next two stitches) Repeat ( to ) 3 times. Slip stitch to top of chain 3. 50 Stitches

Rnd 4: Chain 1. SC in same stitch. SC in next 5 stitches. Skip next stitch. SC in next 6 stitches. Skip next stitch. SC in next 6 stitches. Skip next stitch. (Decrease over next 2 stitches) Repeat from ( to ) one more time. SC in next 6 stitches. Skip next stitch. SC in next 6 stitches. Skip next stitch. SC in next 6 stitches. Skip next stitch. (Decrease over next 2 stitches) Repeat from ( to ) one more time. Join to first SC. 40 stitches.

Rnd 5: Chain 3. DC in next stitch and in each stitch around. 40 stitches.

Rnd 6: Chain 1. SC in same stitch, and in next 7 stitches. Skip the next stitch. SC in next 8 stitches. Skip next stitch. Decrease over next 2 stitches. SC in next 8 stitches. Skip next stitch. SC in next 8 stitches. Skip next stitch. Decrease over next 2 stitches. Join to first SC. 34 stitches. Finish off.

Crutch Handle Grip Covers

Materials needed:

Small amount of worsted weight yarn, any color

G hook

Chain 18, join to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1. Sc in same chain and in each chain around. (18 sc.)

Rnd 2 – 14: Ch 1. Sc in same stitch and in each stitch around. (18 sc). Finish off.

Please let me know if you have any problems with this pattern! :)

Baby Season

2010-06-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ever since my friend, Rachael had baby Jack, I have been crocheting non-stop. Three (yes, I said three!) of my co-workers (Ashley, Jessica and Breann) found out they were pregnant around the same time, and both Aimee and Amy are now expecting.

Because of the baby boom, I had my Grandma teach me how to use my sewing machine. :) I made Ashley a couple of receiving blankets, a bib and a burp cloth in purple checks. She loved them so much she used one of the blankets for baby Aubrey's homecoming! For Jessica I crocheted the same pattern as baby Jack's blanket, only in pink. I made her a receiving blanket/bib set as well. Baby Abby was born the day before Baby Aubrey, and both girls are beautiful!

Breann isn't due until September, but I already have her gift finished for Baby Landon. I crocheted her a granny square blanket in white, blue, green and yellow. I also made her a receiving blanket/bib set with a cute neutral nursery theme. Her baby shower is in less than a month, and I can't wait to give them to her!

As for Aimee and Amy, I have already started a new blanket for Aimee's baby boy due at the end of September, and I want to pick out some new material to make receiving blanket/bib sets for both of them.

I am so happy for all of my friends, and can't wait to see the rest of the babies!

Baby Jack's Blanket

2010-03-10T07:22:00.001-08:00

I found out my friend, Rachael was pregnant when she was already starting her third trimester. We hadn't seen each other since August, and since each of our lives had been pretty crazy this past year, we hadn't been able to keep in touch. So when I learned she was pregnant and already in the middle of her 6th month, I was disappointed that I wouldn't have enough time to make her a blanket. Or so I thought!

I was going through an old pattern book that my Grandma sent me, and came across a pattern for a "Carriage Cover". Basically, it's a small blanket that has a lot of lacy holes in it, and is used to cover a stroller during sunny days. The baby doesn't get sun in it's eyes, but there are enough holes in the blanket for air to get through easily. I still wasn't sure I would have enough time to finish it, but I thought I may as well try.

This blanket ended up taking me less than a month to complete! Someone who was able to work on it every day would be able to finish it in only a couple of weeks. Wow! What a quick pattern!

Rachael is a week and a half from her due date now, and I was able to drop the blanket off last night. Let me know what you think!

Breann's Hat and Scarf

2010-03-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

So my friend, Breann, decided to move to New York a few months ago. Since it was winter, I decided to make her a hat and scarf to take with her. Her favorite color is orange, so when I went shopping I hunted for any yarn that had orange in it. I finally found the perfect color! I found a quick pattern online and finished them an hour or so before her going away party. :)

P.S.- After about two months, Breann missed her family so much that she moved back to Arizona. LOL

Baby Dodson is Here!

2009-09-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

Olivia Victoria Dodson has arrived! I am so excited for my friends, Bret and Sarah. They are totally in love with their little bundle of joy, and what a cutie she is!

After I finished the baby blanket I was making for her, I decided to make a photo quilt. Originally, it was going to be made with baby photos of all the people invited to the shower, but as I didn't get enough interest in it, I decided to use photos TAKEN at the shower instead. It worked out a lot better.

My grandma was nice enough to make me the green squares I used, and my mom was nice enough to help me tie it all together. I was really happy to make it, and I thought it was really nice that three generations were able to work on it together. It makes the gift that much more special. At least to me. :)

Let me know what you think!

I ironed on patches in the corner squares. Bret and Sarah decorated Olivia's room with a jungle theme, so I wanted it to sort of match.

I had so much fun making this gift. It took me forever to figure out how to change the settings on my printer to make the pictures print in reverse on the transfer paper. But now I know. :)

In the end it turned out cute, and I am so excited for them!

Baby Dodson's Blanket

2009-08-02T08:10:00.001-07:00

My friend, Sarah and her husband, Bret are expecting their first baby in September. They don't know what they are having (they want to be surprised), so I searched and searched for just the right neutral pattern for their baby. I finally found this one at www.crochetkim.com. I thought it was perfect!
This blanket is a little different than all the others I have done. I had to make the entire outside heart border first and leave a big hole in the middle.

Then I did the middle section that has the wording on it. I could have picked any number of patterns for the middle, but I chose this one because it's nice and neutral. :)

Then I stitched both sections together and added a white border. I think it turned out really cute. Sarah's baby shower was yesterday, and she loved it!

This pattern is now one of my favorites. It actually worked up really fast, and is easier than it looks. :)

First Day of School-2009

2009-07-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Today was Aubyn's first day of 3rd grade. He was so excited last night that he couldn't sleep. As tired as I am sure he was this morning, I barely had to whisper his name before he popped up and started getting dressed! I took this right before we left for school. This was before he was surrounded by all of his peers, so he didn't mind smiling for me. :)

This was the shot I took in front of his classroom. His teacher was standing about 10 feet away and all of his friends were walking around, so he was embarrassed. I could just hear him saying in his head, "Moooooooom, why do I have to take another picture?!" LOL

Maddie misses the cutoff for Kindergarten this year, so she is still in preschool. Her school doesn't actually start until August 10th, but that didn't stop her from wanting HER picture taken! Isn't Pico the dog cute? :)

Is anyone else impressed that I was up, showered, dressed, fed and back and forth to the school twice (Aubyn forgot his medical consent form on the counter) before 8:30am?

Craziness

2009-07-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't had any updates in awhile. Those of you that know me know how crazy my life has been the last few months. Hopefully it will calm down soon!

Check back in the next week or two, as I will have some new pics to post soon. :)

Christine's Blanket

2009-04-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

On New Year's Eve I was at the Olive Garden with my hubby and our kids eating dinner. My hubby and I were chatting about his work and he was telling me about a co-worker of his (Christine) that was pregnant. This is her first child and she and her husband are so excited! She had just found out that she was having a girl and after having a stressful week at work (she works in the HR department) my hubby was feeling bad that she was feeling bad. So in the middle of eating my fettucine alfredo I decided, of course, I was going to make her a blanket. :) As soon as the bill was paid we were off to buy yarn and I had the pattern I was going to make already in my head by the time we got to the store. This may be a familiar pattern to some of you, as it is the same as the one my friend, Sarah, made for her friend, Jennifer, when she was pregnant.

Originally, this blanket was going to be a secret, but in his excitement, my hubby spilled the beans at work, and pretty soon the entire office new I was making it. :)

Due to craziness in my household this blanket took almost 4 months to complete (and every week someone from my husband's office asked me when I was going to be done!). At long last it is done! Yay! So here are the photos.

This is one of my favorite patterns to use. It has every color that a traditional baby blanket needs to make it neutral. I don't often like to do just pink or just blue in case the baby feels like surprising everyone. :)
I love this criss-cross pattern. I often have trouble making the patterns stand out in my photos, but this one turned out so well!

I did a very simple border on this blanket, but it turned out cute.

After taking the photos and washing it (as is tradition, so as not to jinx myself) I was FINALLY able to take it up to Christine yesterday at lunch. She loved it, and her doctor said this week that she's probably got only two or three weeks left until the baby comes. I got it done just in time! :)

As for my next project, I've already started a baby blanket for my friend, Sarah. She's due in September, so I have until then to get it done. Piece of cake!

Crutch-Along Cashiers

2009-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

So 7 or so weeks ago, one of my co-workers (Tami) injured her foot and needed surgery. She had to take 5 weeks off of work, and even after being back at work for two weeks, she will need to use crutches for another 5 weeks, if not more. We have all been watching her struggle to get from the registers to the time clock and then to her car, and I know it's been horrible. If that weren't bad enough, another one of my co-workers(Sara) had to have foot surgery last week to help correct an arch problem, so now she's on crutches for a few months as well. And while Sara will not be back at work for several weeks, she did come in on Saturday to visit us all and show off her boot and crutches. Well, we all got to talking, and I heard Tami and Sara both say several times how much the crutches were hurting the insides of their arms and chest areas.

And that's how I came up with the idea to make them some crutch covers. I assumed that the uncomfortable crutches were a big problem with anyone who had to use them, so after I got home that night, I searched the internet to try to find patterns that I could use. I was absolutely shocked that I couldn't find a single one. I did find a few sites that I could order some covers on, but nothing with a pattern.

So I came up with the brilliant idea to try to crochet some crutch covers on my own. I went through my scrap yarn box and found some yarn and then sat on the couch and thought about how I could make the shape I wanted. After thinking for awhile I decided to try to wing it and I ended up making some crutch covers that I was hoping were the right shape and size. I finished the first set up Sunday afternoon and was worried all evening that they wouldn't fit. I knew Tami was working Monday, so Maddie and I went up to visit. To my amazement, they not only fit on the crutches, but they fit PERFECTLY! I was soooooo excited. Tami was so happy with them, she wants me to make a few more sets for her in different colors. :)

Unfortunately, I never took photos of the first set, because I wanted to make sure they fit before I committed to the pattern. So you'll all have to settle with photos of the second set that I just finished. I think the purple I used in the first set was so much prettier, but this pinata varigated yarn is nice too. Let me know what you think!

Please excuse the ripped up bar stool that these are sitting on. :)

That's all for now! Later!

A Day With Lisa and Sydney

2008-12-30T07:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of days after Christmas, my sister-in-law(Lisa)and her daughter(Sydney) came out for a short visit. We haven't seen Lisa and Sydney in two years, so we were very excited they were able to come. We decided to make a day of it, and we went out to lunch, to see the movie "Bolt" and then went to Zoolights in the evening.

Here are Maddie and Sydney in the parking lot of the movie theatre. Sydney is 11 months older than Maddie, and they were inseperable for the entire day. It was really cute!

While we were waiting for Scott and Lisa to get the movie tickets, I took the kids aside and snapped a few photos. Aubyn, once again, refused to pose for me. But here's a good one of the girls. LOL

We took the kids to see the movie "Bolt". It was a cute movie, and the kids had a great time. Popcorn was had by all. :)

In the evening we went to see Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. We hadn't been in a couple of years, and it was really fun. COLD, but fun! The kids just loved the foot massagers. LOL

We had a great time with Lisa and Sydney, and we wished they had been able to stay longer. I hope we get to see them again soon.

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Day started out around 7am with the kids trying to be sneaky and peak at all their presents before we got up. We had put a baby gate up in the halway the night before, so the kids wouldn't come out of their rooms while we were wrapping presents. I awoke from my sleep at the sound of Aubyn climbing over the gate, and loudly whispering to Maddie what presents he saw under the tree. I poked Scott and told him the kids were up, and he got up and started getting dressed. By the time Scott got into the living room, Aubyn was back over the gate, and both the kids were pretending to come down the hall for the first time rubbing their eyes as if they just woke up. They didn't realize they had left the kitchen light on. LOL

Here are the kids with their favorite new toys. Aubyn got a new skateboard, and Maddie got a new bike!

We can't forget to look in our stockings! :-)

And we can't forget the dogs! Jax loved all the toys and treats in his stocking.

Chewey liked hers too.

After we got dressed, we went over to my mother-in-law's house for the morning. The kids got a little practice in with their new toys before the rain started. :)

Here is Aubyn with his cousins, Amber and Ashley.

In the evening we went over to my parents house for dinner. All the girls made up a dance for us to the song Winter Wonderland. It was pretty funny.

Sawyer looked really cute in his Christmas outfit. I just had to post of picture of him!

Here's all the kids with Santa at my mom and dad's!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Charlston Dance

2008-12-01T18:05:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year, Scott and I took the kids to his mom's house for dinner, and then to my parents house for dessert. And like every year, we stuffed ourselves silly with turkey, stuffing and yummy pies!

Here's a picture of Scott and I in his mom's(Susan) backyard. Our 11 year old neice, Ashley took this photo for us.

Here's Maddie modeling the turkey shirt she made at preschool. She's so proud of it! She did a wonderful job.

Here is the family photo we took in Susan's backyard. I was wanting to get a good shot for the Christmas card photo this year, but the kids were not cooperative. We did end up getting a better shot later in the day, but I'm keeping that one a secret until the Christmas cards are sent out. :)

Here is my nephew, Sawyer, enjoying his green jello with whipped cream. Mmmm.

Here is my 13 year old nephew, Austin. He is a BIG New York Giants fan. (In case you couldn't tell from his shirt) He spent dinner and dessert with my family and then his dad picked him up for the weekend.

Sawyer was apparently still hungry after his jello. He is so excited to be walking. Now he can get into EVERYTHING! :-)

After dessert we all sat down and played some dominoes. You can't go to my parents house without playing a game of dominoes. It just wouldn't be right!

All in all we had a wonderful day, and I am glad we were able to see everybody.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I wish everyone luck on their holiday shopping. LOL

Puppy Class

2008-11-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Jax started puppy training a few weeks ago, and so far it's going pretty well. He's learned how to sit and lay down, and we've learned how to teach him not to pull while we are walking him (although that one seems to be a slow process for us!), as well as how to teach him not to take things without permission (that one will be an even slower process..LOL).

At his first class, he barked for the first 5 or 10 minutes at all the other dogs, but after a bigger dog showed up to class, he shut right up. :) Our trainer had us face him away from the other dogs so he couldn't see them, and that seemed to help as well. He barked a little less at the second class, and then this past week, he hardly barked at all.

He is starting to get the hang of loose leash walking. He used to pull all the time, but now when he catches himself pulling he will immediately stop and sit down until I tell him it's ok to go. He still pulls a lot, but he seems to realize as soon as the leash is tight that he's pulling and stops. Yay! Hopefully with some more practice he will stop pulling altogether.

A few weeks after we got Jax we realized he could jump the 24 inch tall baby gate we were using to pen him in our bathroom while we were gone. So we bought a 32 inch baby gate and that worked...for about another two weeks. Then he figured out how to jump that one too. So we stacked them on top of each other to make a gate that was almost 5 feet tall....and this weekend he figured out how to climb it. He's apparently very smart and persistent. But he doesn't get out all of the time. It seems he only climbs the fence when he needs to potty, and then he'll pee by the back door. I am glad he at least knows where he's supposed to go. I feel bad when we are not there to let him out. I would like to install a dog door, but we don't have a sliding glass door, so we'd have to get a wall door. Scott is not sure he wants to cut a hole in the wall, so for now we'll just keep working on the potty training and try to let him out often.

All in all, the class is going well. We have about 5 more weeks to go, and so far it's been a lot of fun!

Ghetto Pool

2008-10-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here in Arizona the weather stays warm (hot!) most of the year. It's the end of October and we're still getting days of 90 degree heat. So a few weeks ago I came home from work and the kids were out in the backyard with Scott playing in the water. Now right now, we're on a pretty tight budget, and playing in the water at our house usually means squirting each other with the hose or playing in the sprinklers. My children, however, have come up with what I like to call "The Ghetto Pool".

These bins are usually used to store all the outside toys. We keep them on the porch and for some reason the kids just love dumping everything out and filling them with water.

Aubyn and Maddie took turns with the hose.

I don't know what Aubyn needs the goggles for, since the water is only a foot and a half deep. LOL

I think we'll have to find a new water activity next year. The kids are definitely outgrowing their ghetto pools. :-)

Jax Can Jump!

2008-10-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

So we've had Jax for a little more than two weeks now. We've all pretty much adjusted to our new routines (even Chewey, who I was worried would be overly aggressive with him!). We keep Jax in our bathroom at night and we have a fence in the doorway so he can still see out and we can see him. For the most part, this has worked great (more about that later!). He has gotten used to sleeping on his bed in there and we've gotten used to taking him out about once a night.

During the day, this is Jax's favorite place to sleep. I don't know what he'll do when he gets too big to fit in there, but for now, it's really cute!

As a normal, mischievous puppy, Jax is constantly looking for new things to get into and loves to jump on the furniture (and children!). He is quickly learning the words, "Good potty!" and "Off!" We are going on 3 days without an accident! Yay!

Don't let this innocent face fool you! His favorite activity is stealing shoes and hiding them under my bed. Since he is only 15 pounds, he can still fit under there. And it's quite entertaining when he tries to lick Chewey in the face. She hates it and starts barking at him immediately. He then goes tearing around the living room and into our bedroom and shoots under our bed. Chewey follows him, but as she's too big to get under the bed, she shoves her head under there and barks at him until he runs out the other side and back out the door. Both tails are wagging the whole time. Very funny!

I'm not quite sure how he got under Maddie's princess chair, but he did. The places this dog can squeeze into!

Jax decided today he needed something off of the counter. I don't officially approve of this behavior, but I do think it is funny. But he will be trained! :)

This is Jax's "area". We have his bed in here and we keep his food, water and toys in here at night. We put him in here everytime we leave the house, and until today this has worked out great. I came home today from picking up Aubyn and Jax was waiting at the garage door when we came in. He managed to JUMP the fence! Scott and I are trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Any suggestions?

Maddie's Birthday Bash!

2008-10-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night we celebrated Maddie's birthday at Peter Piper Pizza. It ended up being a HUGE party, as we had 19 children show up. Everyone played some games, ate some pizza and had a blast!

Here's a picture of Maddie's cake and balloons. Maddie loves Dora the Explorer, and this is the second time she has had a Dora themed birthday. I tried to get her to choose someting else, but she wanted Dora, and in the end it was her party, so we let her do what she wanted.

While we were singing "Happy Birthday" Maddie just smiled and smiled. I think she was a little embarassed by all the attention, but she loved it too!

Every year I try to get a shot of the kids blowing out their candles. I have no idea why I love that shot so much, but I do. So here it is. LOL

Here is Maddie with a couple of her cousins and Aubyn. Amazingly enough, my sister arrived at the party BEFORE we did. Shocking, I know!

Maddie had so much fun opening her presents. Her friends and family spoiled her rotten and she ended up with some really nice things. She had so much fun at her party, and she can't wait for the next one!

Maddie in her party dress

2008-10-04T14:50:00.001-07:00

I just had to give a little update of Maddie in her party dress. We are getting ready to leave for Peter Piper, and I think she looks soooo cute in her party dress. What do you think?

Maddie's Birthday Party!

2008-10-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

Madisen turned 4 on September 29th, and we are celebrating tonight with a party at Peter Piper Pizza. Only a couple of people that we invited haven't RSVP'd yet, so we are expecting a crowd! I'm sure it'll be crazy, but tons of fun! I'll be posting photos from the party in the next few days, so be sure to check back!

Our New Baby!

2008-09-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

Scott and I have been wanting another dog for many months now, but we weren't sure how our older dog, Chewey would do if we got one. We went back and forth about it for a long time, and we still hadn't decided for sure what to do when we found the cutest puppy at Petsmart. He's 9 weeks old, and we're not sure what he's a mixture of, but he's really cute and we just had to have him!

The shelter that comes to our Petsmart is called Valley Dogs, and the way dog adoptions work with them, is you have to foster your dog for two weeks before you can adopt them. They want to make sure each dog is going to fit in with the rest of the family, so it won't be abandoned later. We signed the foster papers yesterday and brought him home. The shelter had already named him Jax, and since he responds to it already, we decided not to change it.

So meet our new baby Jax!

Isn't he a cutie?

Here he is hanging out in the yard.

Rest time!

I didn't realize how much he looked like Chewey when she was a puppy !

So far, so good with Chewey. Jax wants to play with her all the time, and she doesn't like it. They've had a few barking matches, but she hasn't tried to bite him yet. I am sure in time they'll both figure out their new routines and all will be well.

Now onto potty training! :)

My Family Weekend

2008-09-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my Grandma, Aunt Susan and cousin Megan came to town for a visit. I always love it when we see them, which is not often enough! We had a lot of things planned and only a couple of days to do it all. It was a crazy weekend!

The day they arrived here was my Grandma's 83rd birthday. My family and my sister's family went over to my mom and dad's to help celebrate.

Here is my cousin, Megan with all the kids. From left to right: Aubyn, Maddie, Megan, Tatum, Sawyer and Austin. Five kids in one house made for a crazy time, but it was a lot of fun.

We couldn't let the weekend go by without getting a photo of my sister and I with our cousin, Megan. We are the only three grandchildren on my dad's side of the family.

On Saturday we went out to lunch at Serranos. We met my 3rd cousin, Camille there as well. Front row: Camille, Tatum, Austin, Megan, Aubyn and Maddie. Back row: Aunt Susan, Grandma, Philip, Kim, Sawyer, Scott, me, Mom and Dad.

On Sunday all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren went to have professional photos taken for my Grandma for Christmas. It certainly wasn't easy getting five children to look all in the same direction! Somehow we managed to get a few good shots. I think my Grandma will like them.

On Monday evening my mom and dad hosted us all for a BBQ. We ate too much and played a few games. It was tons of fun! My Grandma, Aunt Susan and Megan went home this morning, and I can hardly wait until we can all get together again. :-)

Family Fun Night

2008-09-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

Scott and I had been thinking for awhile that we needed to have a family day with just us and the kids. So yesterday we took the kids to a late lunch at Oregano's. It was yummy! We had pizza and garlic bread and a dessert cookie. The kids loved it! Afterwards we had a big surprise!

Here are Scott and the kids in the parking lot at Oregano's. Scott has just revealed that we are taking them to the Arizona Diamondbacks game. They don't look very excited, do they?

Here's Aubyn after he discovered that I did NOT forget to bring his D-backs foam finger for the game. Now he's excited! :-)

Here are the kids and I at the ballpark right before the game started. Maddie held her Beat L.A. sign throughout most of the game and cheered right along with Scott. After some Dodger fans started bantering with Scott I threatened to go downstairs and sit with Bret and Sarah. (You would have to know how my husband is at sporting events!) LOL

Here are Scott and the kids. Aubyn was excited that the free giveaway of the day was a new Diamondbacks T-shirt. And look, he's supporting Scott by wearing his Five Digits hat. How sweet!

Here's a picture of the field during the 4th inning. I don't know if you can see it, but the red banner going around the field says Wilson Electric. That is the company that Scott works for. Cool, huh? LOL

All in all, it was a fun evening. We ate too much, our team was crushed, and Scott lost his voice taunting the Dodger fans, but we had a wonderful famiy fun night. We hope to do it again soon!

I Finished Another One!

2008-08-31T11:45:00.001-07:00

I finished another blanket this morning! I made this one to give to Project Linus. I used mostly scrap yarn from other projects. The only yarn I had to buy was the white yarn, which I used for bordering each square, joining the squares and for the border on the blanket. I am planning on finishing up one or two more blankets before I donate this one, so I can take them all at the same time. It has been over a year since I have been able to finish a blanket for Project Linus, and I am so excited!

Swimming Fun!

2008-08-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to a BBQ at our friend's house. Scott and Andy took all the kids swimming and we managed to get some FUNNY photos!

Here's Maddie mugging for the camera.

Here are Andy, Brendan and Aubyn looking like they are having a relaxing time in the pool.....

And here is 30 seconds later when Andy flipped Brendan and Aubyn off of the raft they were lounging on. :-)

Here's Brendan doing his Incredible Hulk impression and he leaps off of the diving board!

Here's Andy doing some sort of flip off of the diving board.

And here's Aubyn doing a flying leap off the diving board. He sort of looks like he's going to kick Andy in the head, but Andy is a lot farther back in the pool than where Aubyn landed.

It was a really fun day, and I want to thank Andy and Aimee for hosting us. We had a blast!

Baby Max

2008-08-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I went to visit with Dennis, Idalia, Alex and baby Max. Idalia looks wonderful! For someone who had major surgery a few days ago, she's up around a lot more than I'd want to be!

I had to steal Max away from Idalia for a little while. :-)

Isn't he adorable? He slept the whole time I was over there, even with Aubyn, Maddie and Alex playing loudly in the same room.

Here's a photo of the blanket I made for Max. I finished it last week, but I had to hold off posting photos, because Idalia didn't know I was making it. LOL

I managed to get all the rowdy children to sit still for a few minutes to take some photos. ;-)

Ok, that's all for now. See you all soon!

First Day of School!

2008-08-12T14:20:00.001-07:00

Aubyn started 2nd grade two weeks ago, and once again when I tried to take photos to commemorate the wonderful day, he didn't want to have anything to do with it. However, after school I had to walk in and pick up some volunteer work from his teacher, so while we were waiting for her to finish up with bus duty, I managed to get this photo of him by the door to his classroom. Apparently, being persistent sometimes works! :-)

I just can't believe my baby is going to preschool! Today was Maddie's very first day of preschool. She has been so excited all day! She kept asking me when it was going to be time to go. LOL

Here she is in front of her school. Doesn't she look so grown up?

Ok, that's it for now. I am going over to visit Dennis, Idalia and baby Max tonight, so hopefully I'll have some new photos to show off tomorrow! ;-)

Baby Max is Here!

2008-08-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Baby Max was born yesterday at 1:56pm. He weighed in at 8 pounds 5 ounces, and is 21 inches long. Both Max and Idalia are doing well. I hope to see them soon!

Here is a family photo taken by our friend Amy. Stay tuned for new photos!

Tomorrow

2008-08-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow my friend, Idalia is having a scheduled C-section to deliver a new baby boy named Max. Idalia and her husband, Dennis already have a 2 year old boy named Alex, and we are all so excited that their family is growing.

Let's all think happy thoughts that the surgery will go well and that baby Max will be nice and healthy!

Animals, bubbles and birthdays

2008-07-25T07:29:00.001-07:00

Almost every year we get to feed the burros, and feed the ducks at a nearby pond. This year was no exception.

I finally got the kids to come out and watch Scott feed the burros some leftover corn husks and potato skins.

Mmmmm. Doesn't that look yummy? LOL The burros liked it.

Here's Maddie with my grandma feeding the ducks at the pond. There were some seagulls there too, which I thought was weird, since there's not an ocean anywhere near there.

Here's Aubyn feeding the ducks.

Aubyn took this picture of Scott and I. I think he did a wonderful job. I may have to get him into photography. LOL

Here are the kids with my grandma. I figured it was about time I got a photo of them together.

Aubyn took this group photo.

My Aunt Susan bought the kids some bubbles one day at the store. Aubyn didn't seem interested in going outside to blow them with us, so we only have pictures of Maddie. I was amazed at how clear the bubbles looked in the pictures.

Maddie's having a blast!

My grandma has a picture of my sister when she was around Maddie's age blowing bubbles with her eyes crossed. It's a really cute picture, and I was trying to get a similar shot of Maddie, but she never did look up enough to catch her eyes.

Our last day in Utah was my cousin, Megan's 22nd birthday. We all went out to eat at a restaurant called the Brick Oven, and then came back to the house to have ice cream cake and cookies. Yummy!

Okay, that's the end of the trip. We took over 300 photos in all, but there were a few things we didn't get pictures of. We went up to the cemetery to visit my grandpa's grave one day, and we also went to visit some family and friends of the family one day. The trip was a lot of fun, and the perfect way to end the summer. Aubyn will be starting school Monday. :-)

Day Three-Going to The Gateway

2008-07-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we drove up to Sandy, Utah and took the UTA Trax train into Salt Lake to go to the huge outdoor Gateway mall. In addition to having over 140 shops, it also housed the Clark Planetarium. Although it was hot, everybody had a good time, and the Aubyn and Maddie loved the planetarium exhibits and the Build-A-Bear store. :-)

As we rode the Trax train we passed a lot of cool buildings. This building is Energy Solutions Arena, which is where the Utah Jazz play.

While we didn't end up seeing one of the planetarium shows, the exhibits were pretty cool. We even found out how much we weighed on several different planets.

Here is a family photo in front of the Earth.

Here are Aubyn and Maddie on the train back to Sandy with their new stuffed animals from Build-A-Bear. Aubyn made a monkey that he named Jake, and Maddie made a pink leopard (which she calls a cat) that she named Chloe. I didn't help her name it, Sarah. I promise she thought of it all by herself! LOL

After we got back from the mall all the women were in the kitchen fixing dinner and I realized I hadn't seen Maddie in awhile. So I looked out the window and this is what I saw. Aren't they cute? I call it: "Maddie with her new best friend; my Uncle Russ."

Tired of the Utah trip yet? Well we only have one more day...I promise!

Day Two-Four Wheeling

2008-07-24T18:11:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went up into the mountains to go four-wheeling. It was soooo pretty up there, and everybody had a wonderful time.

We've packed up the quads and we're ready to roll!

On the way up the mountain we were stopped due to a car accident up ahead. We were the first cars in line, and we saw the helicopter land and take off. My cousin, Megan took this photo for me. It appeared that one car was either trying to pass another going around a curve and lost control, or one car was just going too fast and lost control. Either way, two cars ended up rolling off the road. Amazingly, we couldn't find even a tiny mention of the accident in the newspaper the next day.

This is the little creek that was running through our campsite. The kids had fun throwing rocks and sticks into it.

Here, my Uncle Russ is showing Aubyn how to aim the gun to shoot at a can. Don't worry, this isn't a real rifle, it's a pellet gun. And we only shot at plastic cups and cans. And we cleaned them all up when we were done. :-) Everybody got a turn to shoot, but for some reason when my turn came, I managed to push my stomach out to make myself look pregnant, so you won't be seeing those photos.

This year Maddie decided she wanted to ride on one of the quads. She had so much fun! She went once with my uncle and once with Scott and she didn't want to get off.
Look how much fun she's having! :-)

We had to drag her away. LOL

Here's my cousin, Megan. Doesn't she look relaxed?

Having fun yet?

My hubby and I.

Here's Aubyn and Scott. Don't worry, Aubyn had a helmet on while the quad was moving. He whined and whined the whole time we were there that he didn't want to ride this year, and then once we got him on, he didn't want to get off. That's a 7 year old for you.

Wanna go again?

Here's Megan with the kids. I loved this little creek. It seemed so perfect with the log right in front of it. I had to take some photos. Aubyn whined that he got mud on his shoes. LOL

Here we all are on the log. All in all it was a great day. We took at least 100 photos of this day alone!

Stay tuned for tomorrow for some more fun!

Aunt Susan's house

2008-07-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah we stayed in my Grandma's apartment off the back of my Aunt Susan and Uncle Russ' house. I have always loved their house! They have a lot of land, and they have three burros in a pen in the backyard. The views from their house are amazing!

This is the front yard of my Aunt's house. The kids had a lot of fun running in the grass.

If you stand in the front yard and look across the street, this is what you see. I don't know if you can tell, but there's actually someone in that tractor working his field.

My aunt and uncle have a couple of benches in their yard, and every year I have to take pictures of everyone on them. LOL

Aubyn actually took this one of Scott and I. He did a good job, huh?

Here's my uncle's tractor. I'm not sure what he does with it, but it looks important!

Here are my aunt and uncle's burros. Last year the kids loved feeding them sour apples, but this year they didn't want to have anything to do with them! I kept asking if they wanted to feed them, and they kept saying no. Oh well!

Utah-Day One

2008-07-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

It takes about 12 hours to drive from our house to my Aunt Susan's in Mapleton, Utah. We make this drive almost every year, and I love all the scenery between here and there. The mountains are beautiful, and the small towns have such charm.

I took this picture in Kanab, Utah. Kanab is a little more than halfway into the drive and I took this picture when we stopped for gas.

Here's another view from the gas station in Kanab.

We've finally made it to my aunt and uncle's house, and Maddie is so happy to be out of the car! LOL I took this picture in their yard.

My grandma surprised the kids with a small bucket of toys for each of them. They each had sidewalk chalk in their buckets, and Maddie also received a little tea set, while Aubyn got this light up top in his. He played with it for several hours that night!

Here is my cousin, Megan playing with Aubyn and Maddie. They drew chalk pictures on all available cement around the house. Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of their drawings, but they were pretty cute.

That's all for today's post! Tomorrow's will have pictures from our four-wheeling trip in the mountains.

Vacation

2008-07-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

My hubby, kids and I went to Utah for our family vacation to visit my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin. We left last Friday, and just got back tonight. We had a TON of fun! We went four-wheeling up in the mountains, we went to a big outdoor mall in Salt Lake City, we visited the Planetarium in Salt Lake City, we lit off a few fireworks, and we celebrated my cousin's birthday. All in 4 days! I thought it would be fun to post photos a day at a time, so tomorrow we'll start with day 1. See you then!

Babysitting...

2008-07-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in an earlier post, my sister fell and hurt her knee. X-rays had shown that nothing was broken, but after a couple of weeks it wasn't getting any better, so an MRI was done. It turns out that she has tore something with a technical name that I do not remember, and she'll be having surgery on the 14th. So anyway, she had another appointment with her doctor today to see if the swelling had gone down enough to go ahead with the surgery, so I had the pleasure of watching my neices and nephews. Needless to say, with 6 children in my house there was tons of fun and craziness!

Austin and Aubyn played a little bit of Guitar Hero. It's quite an addicting game, and at the ages of 13 and 7 they are both better at it than I'll ever be!

Tatum, Paris and Maddie had fun destroying Maddie's room, and playing a game called Elefun, where you catch pretend butterflies that shoot out of an elephants trunk. Where do they think up these games?

Sawyer played with some toys on the floor in the living room until he decided he was hungry and had a bottle. Poor boy didn't have anything manly to play with, since all the blankets and younger toys we have are Maddie's and therefore pink. :-)

From left to right: Maddie, Paris, Tatum, Aubyn, Austin and Sawyer. This was the best group shot I could get. I had to shoot down all the bunny ears and make sure Aubyn kept his action figure away from his face to get this shot, so I'd say I am pretty lucky they were looking anywhere near the camera.

All in all, it was a fun day. I hadn't seen Austin in what seems like forever, and he had to have grown at least a foot. I can hardly believe he's a teenager now! They grow up so fast!

Utah

2008-07-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

In just a few weeks my husband, kids and I are going to Utah for a family vacation, so I thought I'd post some pictures of last years trip. We are staying with my Grandma, my Aunt Susan and my Uncle Russ. I love going to Utah! For one, my dad's family is there, but the mountains are so beautiful and while it does get hot in the summer, it's not quite the heat that we have here in Arizona.

This is the view from my Aunt Susan's front yard. Isn't it beautiful? I could take pictures of the mountains all day!

My aunt and uncle have several burros, and Maddie had so much fun feeding them sour apples. Everytime they saw her come out into the yard they would come to the fence hoping she'd give them more.

One day we went a few miles down the road to this pond and fed the ducks. I really love black and white photos and I love catching Aubyn and Scott from behind. Classic father and son shot.

For as long as I can remember my family has taken us to the duck pond to feed these ducks. I love the trees and mountain in the background, and the reflection they create on the water.

My Uncle Russ is an outdoorsman, and he took the whole family up into the mountains to go four-wheeling. We had a picnic right by this little creek, and Maddie and Aubyn had so much fun throwing sticks into the water to see how fast they would float downstream.

Scott and Aubyn went four-wheeling with my uncle and my cousin, Megan while we were up in the mountains. Aubyn LOVED it, and we are going again this year. Don't worry, he wasn't actually driving! We had someone else with him whenever the quad was moving. :-)

On our last night before we came home we bought some fireworks and lit them off. In Utah you can buy fireworks on almost every corner for most of the summer. July 24th is a state holiday, so you are allowed to shoot them off until then. The kids liked the sparklers the best. We had a lot of fun!

This year we are planning on taking the kids to the Planetarium in Salt Lake City, as well as a trip up the mountain to go four-wheeling. Also, my cousin Megan will be celebrating her 22nd birthday while we are there, so we are definitely going to take her out to dinner! I think it will be a fun way to end the summer. Aubyn has his meet-the-teacher night the evening after we get back, and then school starts the next week! The summer is going by so fast!

Haircuts

2008-06-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I looked at my children and decided it had been way too long since I had their hair cut. So while we were out running errands I took them in to get haircuts. Let me know what you think!

For some reason, when I finally persuade Aubyn to come and let me take his photo, he always makes this face! I think he's trying too hard to smile. LOL

Maddie's hair was getting so long and the ends were so damaged that I could hardly brush her hair every morning. We decided to get a few inches cut off. I think it turned out cute.

Yippee!

2008-06-24T17:01:00.001-07:00

As some of you may know, my mom has been battling breast cancer since last year. She had surgery, chemotherapy and she has been in radiation therapy as well. I am happy to report that today was her very last day of radiation. Yay! We were all so excited for her that my dad took the day off of work and took her to lunch, and the kids and I bought her flowers and a big cookie-cake to celebrate.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has given my family support through this hard time. I really appreciate it, and I know my mom and dad do as well!

When my mom was first starting her treatment for breast cancer, the girls and I took her out to dinner for a girls night. It was a lot of fun!

From left to right: My mom, me, Aimee, Sarah, Kim(my sister), and baby Sawyer.

The Many Sides of Moo Moo!

2008-06-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

If we had known when Madisen was born that one of her nicknames would end up being Moo Moo, we may have named her differently. I know, how did Moo Moo come from Madisen? Long story....her main nickname is Maddie, and one day we said Maddie Moo, and then that evolved into Moo Moo. We're crazy, I know!

As a child, I was the biggest tomboy around. I loved to be outside digging in the mud. I hated dolls, and loved cars and transformers. I loved overalls, and hated dresses(still do!). So I think it was a blessing that I had a boy first. I knew how to play with a boy. I knew how to dress a boy and comb a boy's hair. And then came Maddie.

I swore I'd never put her in pink, because I hated pink. So what did I do after she was born....I bought EVERYTHING pink! I took a lot of abuse over that one. But she looks so good in pink! But clothing aside, I was terrified! I was sure Maddie would be a tomboy, since I was. And then came her love of dolls and hair bows and nail polish! I had no idea what to do with a girl! I am still working on that one. She's hard to figure out. She's a girly girl, a tomboy, and sometimes a hormonal wreck all rolled into one! And I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

Here is Maddie being "one of the boys" during a soccer game. I don't remember what she was celebrating in this shot, but I just love it!

I guess Maddie is being a professional wrestler in this shot. Scott got this mask in Mexico.

And here is my girly girl Maddie. I made her this hat a couple of months ago and she wore it non-stop for several days. She still wears it around everytime she finds it in her dress-up pile.

Watching the kids

2008-06-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm in a blogging mood today...so many things to talk about this week apparently!

Yesterday my sister fell and hurt her knee, so my mom and I rushed over to her house to help her. I ended up bringing all the kids back to my house for the afternoon while my mom took my sister to urgent care to have her knee looked at. She ended up with no broken bones (thank goodness!), but she'll have to wear a brace and be on crutches for a little while. Anyways....while I had the kids over at my house, I broke out the camera and took some new shots of my baby nephew, my neice, and Maddie. I tried to convince Aubyn to get in the photos too, but he refused. Will he not humor me even once?

This is my baby nephew, Sawyer. He is the one I made the BABY blanket for in an earlier post. He's just learned how to sit up all by himself. What a big boy!

Here I am experimenting with the black and white setting on my camera. I don't know, there's just something about black and white photos that I like. I wish my own kids would pose so nicely for me! :-)

My daughter, Maddie is on the left, and my neice, Tatum is on the right. I can hardly believe Tatum is almost 9! Wasn't she just born yesterday?

Wedding Photo Fiasco!

2008-06-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

The other night I was talking to my friend, Allison online. It was very late at night and we ended up talking about everything from the time we were 12 up until now. Long story short, I realized that the silly woman I am, I didn't have a wedding photo of Scott and I hanging up in our house. I have the album in our bedroom, and I wallet print in my wallet, but nothing framed. I have no idea how that managed to happen, but I vowed to fix it! The photographer that took our wedding photos was a family friend, and she gave me all the negatives so we could make whatever prints we wanted. Now right after the wedding I went through the negatives and made enlargements for family and friends that wanted them. On Wednesday I went to get them out to see which poses I wanted to print, and I discovered....half of the negatives are GONE! Apparently when I went to print enlargements the last time, I didn't put the negatives back in the box. I tossed my house looking for them...couldn't find them. I tore apart the garage looking for them, but I found nothing. I panicked! I took out the album and scanned in a few photos, but they are 4 by 6's so I can't enlarge them. I even went so far as to take photos of the photos, but they came out blurry. I called Scott at work and had a panic attack on the phone. Finally, I did manage to find a couple of 5 by 7's in an envelope with other photos. I calmed down a little bit.....I called my mom and she said I could take all her 8 by 10's and make copies. I calmed down a little bit more. I realized my mother-in-law and my grandmother also had 8 by 10's I could copy, so I managed to get my heart rate back into the normal zone. And now I have decided that I can't do anything about it, so I may as well let it go. I feel much better today. And while ransacking the house I found tons of other photos I had forgotten about. :-)

Part Time at Petsmart!

2008-06-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

In March I went out and got a part-time job as a cashier at the new Petsmart that opened up right by my house. We needed some extra money, I love animals, and it was so close to my house that I thought it would be a good fit. When they called me the very day after I submitted my application, I knew it was meant to be! Now, I have never really worked with animals before (aside from dog and cat-sitting), and I know next to nothing about them, so I wasn't sure how it would all work out. We had two weeks of training that ended with a huge training weekend. We watched videos, we filled out worksheets, we separated into groups and went all around the store learning about the various different kinds of animals and products we sell. And we played a game or two. The trainers were wonderful. I was dreading the whole process (because I am the biggest worrywart around!), but by the end of the weekend I had a lot of fun.

Grand Opening was a lot of fun! Just about the entire staff worked that weekend, and there were TONS of managers from other stores helping us out. A little girl named Riley got to cut the ribbon to officially open the store. She received a gift card for helping us out. There were clowns making balloon animals and face painting, there were different posts around the store with free giveaways, and there were people running around with clipboards registering "pet parents" to win prizes. We also had a photo booth for people to take pictures of their pets and make them into buttons. For the first half of my shift I got to blow up balloons and hand them out. One of our employees even dressed up in a dog suit and walked around. It was a great weekend.

Our store is lucky enough to have a Banfield vet inside of it, as well as a grooming salon, dog training classes and a Petshotel. The Petshotel provides not only boarding for dogs and cats while their parents are out of town, but Doggie Day Camp (which is like daycare for dogs! Seriously.) as well. The Petshotel just had their grand opening last weekend, and I was lucky enough to be sent over there to help out the whole weekend. The hotel was giving tours to pet parents, and I was picked to be a dog-sitter while the tours were running. I literally got to play with dogs all day for two days! It was great!

This coming week we are having a pet bikini contest! My dog would never let me get pet clothes on her, but it's going to be fun to see some dogs that will! We are going to take photos of them all. It's going to be great. Cheesy, but great.

So all in all, my new job at Petsmart is going really well. I've made tons of mistakes, but I am learning. It has been hard to be away from the kids and my hubby, but at least it's only for 2 or 3 shifts a week. Aubyn and Maddie love going in to see all the animals. They would stay there all day if I let them!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for....

2008-06-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's finished! At long last, it's done! I was lucky enough to find a new skein of yarn at the very first store I went to. I was happy, and the kids were happy we didn't have to go all over town in the car. It was a good outing. Yay!

So when I started this blanket, I asked what colors Paris liked, and was told that she liked the color pink. I didn't want to make a plain pink blanket, so I went to the store looking for a varigated yarn that had a nice pink in it. After I found the varigated, the pink was obvious, because I had to get a pink that matched. The green, however, was very hard to match, and it actually isn't the same color of green as in the varigated, but it's in the same family, and it was the closest I could find, so we'll all have to live with it!

I chose to make this blanket using the "BABY" pattern I created for my baby nephew because I really liked the heart square pattern. It is my favorite square to make, although I think I am ready to put it away for awhile and learn something new!

For this blanket, I tried out a new border that I found in a pattern book. I really like how the ruffle turned out. I think it's really girly, and I hope Paris likes it!

Ok, so that's the new blanket! I think it turned out great. On to the next one! :-)

The Never Ending Blanket!

2008-06-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I have been working on a blanket for my neice, Paris for quite some time. I have set deadlines and goals and blew them all. Everytime I thought I was getting close, I ended up losing momentum due to work or the kids or a million of other things. Well this morning I am ready to pull my hair out! Paris will be coming on Friday night, and I NEED to have this blanket done before she gets here. For the last week or so I have been working on the border. This is the last step before it's done. Before the photos...before I wash it....before I see if washing it will totally unravel it, or if I've done a good job weaving in all the yarn ends. So I thought for sure I was nearing the end. As of this morning I was almost done with the last side of the last round of the border. I actually got within three feet of finishing, when the skein of yarn I was using was gone. I went into my room to get another skein of pink yarn and realized....I had no more pink yarn! I looked again with the same result. Aargh! So my choices at this point are to go on a yarn hunt at Walmart, Michael's and JoAnn's to see if they have one stupid skein of light raspberry colored yarn, or I could pull out the entire last round of the border and redo it with the varigated or the green I used in the blanket. Since either choice would take probably the same time, and I hate ripping out my work, I'm going yarn hunting! I'll let you know how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed!

Summer is here!

2008-05-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, now I know I promised that the next post would be about the blanket I am making for my neice (which is ALMOST finished, by the way!), but I just had to write about my baby boy finishing the 1st grade! We went out last night and bought his teacher a present for being such a wonderful teacher. Aubyn said he wanted to get her some candles, and I found this really cute wall hanger that said "A journey that has a thousand steps still starts with just one." Or something like that....I can't remember it exactly. But I thought it was pretty. So we ended up with both. :-) Anyway, I wanted to go into the school with him this morning, because the silly person I am, I wanted to take a picture of him and his teacher on the last day of school. So after Aubyn was dressed and ready to go I asked him if he wanted me to walk in with him to take a picture of him and his teacher and do you know what the little rat said???? He said "I would rather you didn't." Exactly like that. When did my 7 year old start talking like an adult? Now I know I probably would have embarrassed him. I am a photo hog, and everytime I convince him to pose for a picture, I end up saying "Just one more? No really, just one more, please?" So I can understand him not wanting me to come. But I really wanted that picture! I can't wait for the day when my children will be old enough to just humor me. :-)

Birthday Boy

2008-05-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I tried and tried, but my camera just wouldn't take a good picture inside the cafeteria at my son's music program, so instead I am posting photos from Aubyn's 7th Birthday.

Here's Aubyn and Maddie on the way out the door to take Aubyn to school. Notice the container of brownie bites that Aubyn is taking to his class to celebrate his birthday. Also, the clothes he is wearing were a birthday present from my mom and dad.

Here's Aubyn waiting to open his pile of presents from my husband and I.
Notice the big smile on his face after seeing the Nintendo DS he has been asking us for since about a year and a half ago!

Here are all of Aubyn's friends enjoying some pizza at Peter Piper.

Here's Aubyn sitting in the middle of a large pile of presents from all of his friends. :-)

Aubyn's theme this year was soccer. He picked out his own invitations and insisted that I order a soccer cake.

Now, the candles on this cake were really cheap, and they weren't intended to be trick candles....but he had to blow and blow and blow to get them to go out! It was quite entertaining.

On a side note, the blanket I am making my step-neice (well, I consider her my neice, but I say step-neice just to clarify which neice she is) is almost finished. I have 4 out of the 7 rows joined, and I expect to finish it up in the next few days. It's looking really cute!

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

2008-05-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Out here in Arizona we rarely see rain, let alone hail, so it was big news today when it hailed up a storm...HAHA, I know that was lame!

I'm not sure you can see it, but that's actually hail falling like rain. You can see it piled up against the wall like snow.

Well, my son, Aubyn has a music program in a little bit, so I need to get Maddie's shoes on and get ready to go. I plan on taking my camera, so if I get some good pics, I'll post some later! :-)

The End of the (Blanket) Line

2008-05-20T07:08:00.001-07:00

Ok everyone, this is the last post with my old blankets in it. Enjoy!

I made this blanket for charity. It is one big granny square made out of scrap yarn. This was the first time I had tried making a blanket out of a big granny square, and I think it turned out ok. It ended up being the size of a lap blanket.

I made this blanket out of leftover yarn from a blanket I was making for my son. (If you saw in an earlier post, I made a pink and purple blanket for a little girl having heart surgery; well, I made my son one just like it in red.) This one was also dontaed to Project Linus. In case you didn't figure it out, I LOVE Project Linus. LOL

This blanket was also for Project Linus, and was also made with leftover yarn from another blanket. You can't really tell, but there is a stripe pattern going down each column.

This blanket was made for my friends, Josh and Rachael. Now, this blanket was originally intended to be a wedding present, but I was in the middle of another wedding blanket at the time and could not make this one. So then I thought I would give it to them for their 1st anniversary, and again ended up having another project going when this one was due, so poor Josh and Rachael ended up getting this around 18 months or so after their wedding. I'm sorry you guys! Also, you can't really see it in this picture, but there is a grape vine pattern in each pattern row. The picture does not do this one justice! I think it is so much prettier in person!

Ok, that's all the old blankets I am going to post. Not a bad collection for 5 years or so, huh? The only problem with having this hobbie, is my grandma sends me yarn ALL THE TIME, so I have TONS of it. I have three blankets other than my step-neice's blanket that have been started and not finished yet. I suppose I should get them done after I am done with Paris' blanket....but my friend is pregnant, so I am going to start one for her instead. LOL

Sarah, anytime you are ready for a craft night, let me know!

Yarnhog has left the blog!

Blanket Mania

2008-05-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am back again with even more blanket photos! Have you had enough yet?

I made these two blankets in 2005 for my friend, Idalia when she was pregnant with her first child. (And there's my Maddie sneaking in to another photo!)

This is my first attempt at making baby hats. It ended up looking really cute, but I don't think baby Alex wore it more than once because it was so small!

This is another blanket I made for Project Linus using scrap yarn. And again, my Maddie had to be on the blanket while I was taking the photos. LOL

Let me just say that I LOVE this pattern. I found this heart pattern online at a free pattern site.

I made this blanket in 2006 for two of my friends that were getting married. These were their wedding colors. I had so much leftover yarn that I made a smaller version of the same blanket for my daughter. It's still one of her favorites!

My grandma sent me a bunch of scrap yarn when she cleaned out her closets and this blanket is the result. I found this pattern on a

free pattern site and this blanket was donated to Project Linus.

Ok all, I know you're all sick of blankets now, but I promise there are only a few more left for the next post! I swear!

More Blanket Photos!

2008-05-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Upon request, I am posting a few more photos of blankets I have made. These are from the early years, so they might not be the greatest looking! Just warning you! LOL

I made this blanket in 2003 for my nephew, Austin. I figured that since I made his sister one, I should probably make him one. Since he was older, I let him go through patterns with me and he picked all the colors out himself. It was a lot of fun!

I made this blanket in 2004 for my daughter. I loved the ripple pattern, but my gauge was WAY off. It was supposed to be a baby blanket, and it ended up fitting a twin size bed. LOL

I made this granny square blanket out of scrap yarn that I had laying around. I donated it to Project Linus in 2004. With all the scrap yarn I have right now, I could probably make 3 or 4 more!

I made this blanket in 2005 for a friend. I love how the ruffled edge turned out! It was my first time experimenting with borders, and I think it turned out nicely. :-)

I made this blanket in 2005 for the daughter of some friends. She was getting ready to have heart surgery. Her parents said she took this blanket to the hospital with her and had it on as soon as possible after surgery!

My own daughter is in the photo. Maddie loves to sit on the blankets when I'm trying to take photos. :-)

Ok, that's enough for this post. I'll post the rest in the next few days! Hopefully I'll have a new one finished by next week!

Blanket Stress

2008-05-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been working on a blanket for my step-neice for the past couple of months. It was supposed to be done for her birthday, which was May 9th, but with all the craziness lately it didn't get done. I got a one week extension on it, because she ended up being at her mom's the weekend of her birthday, so I was excited! And then I found out that she has a dance recital this weekend, so I actually won't see her until the weekend of May 31st! Yay me! The only problem is I want to make something to auction off at the golf invitational (read below!). I found a crochet pattern that I like and started to work on it, but after a couple of days of working on it, I think it's impossible to get it done in that amount of time. So I think my mom and I are going to tie a quilt or two instead. Either way, it's looking like my step-neice's blanket still may not get done by the new deadline, so wish me luck!

DCR Invitational

2008-05-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

A few months ago a man my husband used to work with named Don Racine had a stroke and is now in a full time care facility. He is not married and has no family to speak of, so some friends of his are organizing a golf invitational to raise money for his care and recovery. It is being held on June 1, 2008 and will start at 7:00am. The cost is $75 to play, and includes lunch, practice balls, and green fees. Please let me know if you are interested in playing and I will email you the forms. An auction is also being held, so if anyone has any items they would like to donate, please let me know!

For more information, please contact Cal Nelson at:
P.O. Box 623
Cave Creek, AZ 85237
602-526-5065
joncal@hughes.net

Blankets - cont'd

2008-05-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

Almost two years after I learned how to crochet I finally made my oldest child a blanket. I was pregnant with my daughter and had already begun her blanket, when I realized I had never made my son one. Well I couldn't have that! I worked my behind off to finish his blanket by his birthday. He was really into Mickey Mouse that year. He had a stuffed Mickey that he took EVERYWHERE, so I thought it was fitting that I make him this blanket. He loved it!

I made this blanket last year when my sister was pregnant. The heart pattern I got off of the internet, but I made the rattle and the letter patterns myself. This blanket may look familiar to some of you...I taught Sarah this pattern when she wanted to make one for her friend at work who was pregnant.

The teddy bear blanket was quite a challenge! I promised my Grandma this blanket would be ready for our family reunion in June of 2007. We have a family auction and use the money to help fund the next year's reunion. Anyway, the very day before I was set to leave I was at my mom's enlisting her help sewing the bows on! It turned out great, and my Grandma couldn't bear to let it go to anyone else, so she bid on it herself. :-)

I started this blanket in 2007 for my friends, Sarah and Bret. I actually had Sarah look at the patterns I had and pick a few she liked. I was soooo hoping she would include this one on her list, because I had been dying to try it! I was very excited it was one of her favorites! I finished it in March 2008, and Sarah and Bret's wedding was on April 25th. So I got one done on time, for once!

Okay people, that's it for this post! I am currently working on another blanket, and if it turns out well, I may share it with you later! TTFN

Blankets

2008-05-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

I have only been crocheting for about 5 years. I fell in love with it the very first day. I remember being at my mother-in-law's house and watching her make a blanket. I asked her if it was hard to do and she said "Come over tomorrow and I'll show you." That was all it took. She taught me the basic stitches and I made samples of them all. But I really wanted to make a blanket. So I went out and bought some books and stitch guides and finally settled on a flower pattern for my neice, Tatum. I finished it right before her birthday in September of 2003.

Not bad for my first blanket!

I made this blanket for my hubby. I finished it in January of 2004. Being one of my first blankets, some of the stars have sadly started to unravel, and we keep this blanket up high in a closet! I have since learned how to tie off my ends better! :-)

There are more blanket photos to come!

Birthday Mania

2008-05-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hey all you blog fans! I am sure the few people reading this are friends of Sarah or Aimee, since I don't know ANYONE else on here at the moment. I am new at this blogging thing, so all you professionals need to take it easy on me!

It's been a crazy month or so. My family and friends have a TON of birthdays in April and May and between all the birthdays and Sarah's wedding, I have been a little out of sorts. But in a good way! ;-)

I know it's only the first week of May, so you may be wondering how I could've celebrated that many birthdays already....you don't even want to go there!

I'll see if I can break it down for you a little: My friend, Allison's birthday was April 5th, and my hubby's was April 8th. My brother-in-law's birthday was April 21st, and we left for New York on the 22nd. Sarah's wedding was on the 25th, my sister's birthday was April 29th. My own birthday was May 3rd, my mom's birthday AND my nephew's birthday were on May 5th, and my son's birthday was yesterday, May 6th.

If that weren't enough, my sister recently married a man who has a daughter from a previous relationship. HER birthday is on May 9th. Plus, Sarah's birthday is May 12th and my friend Aimee's birthday is May 13th. (For those of you linking here from Aimee's site, I know her birthday was yesterday as well. I know another Aimee that spells her name the same way!)

Birthday Mania has been keeping me pretty busy. I am looking forward to Summer!

Please stay tuned for my next post. As soon as my hubby brings me home the photo CD's he has in his car I will be posting some pictures of blankets I have crocheted.