Everyone needs one of these

I am well on my way to supplying half of the people I know with I Spy quilts or the fabric to make one. I decided it is my mission in life to see that everyone I know has an I Spy quilt of their own. After making one for myself and kits for all who wanted one at church I had skinny scraps that I couldn't throw away. I thought it would be great for Emma's 1st grade class to play with on indoor recess days of which they have a lot of. I made it in record time and gave it to Emma's class after I read them the story of "The Quiltmaker's Gift". It is one of my favorite stories. The quilt was a hit. A little girl said, "Next time you come, I'll have a gift for you!" So sweet. Well, I would be content in life to make quilts and give them away. I'm determined to find a way to get a quilting machine. You know, I am hoping for a demo model from the Houston quilt show...

The Great Outdoors...With the Comforts of Home

With the beautiful fall weather we've had Steve and I decided to take the girls camping since the boys didn't have a football game. Steve got away late from work (of course) and even though I had paid for camping reservations at Erwin Park in McKinney, when we got there (8:00), there were no camps with fire pits. We finally decided to go home and grill the hot dogs because we were so hungry and Steve went to Home Depot and bought a fire pit and brought it home so we could roast marshmellows over a fire. We set up the tent with a few instructions, but not help, from Zach and Emma was asleep quickly. Steve opted to sleep in his soft comfortable bed. It got into the 4o's during the night and even with extra blankets Sophie and I still got cold. Dixie slept on her pillow at Sophie's feet but she clearly was not too excited to be in this strange new environment. At least Steve got up early and fixed us breakfast on the grill. Now all we have to do is put away all the camping equipment!

Our little Texas Queen

Emma has been learning about Texas this year in first grade. This week her teacher asked the class what the different symbols of Texas were; like the state bird, flower, tree, large mammal, small mammal, etc. Emma kept answering the questions right and the teacher said she would give the class 3 seconds to answer and if nobody else knew then Emma could give the answer. Emma said she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't blurt out the answer too early. The only one she didn't know was the state song. When she was leaving school her teacher said, "Good-bye, Texas Queen!" Emma thought that was great. It's a good thing her teacher didn't ask what the state symbols were for the other 49 states because they would have been there a while. Emma knows most of those too. She and Sophie quizzed Steve all the way driving home from Utah last summer to keep him awake. He would usually guess Mockingbird or Cardinal and he was right 25% of the time. Sometimes trivia comes in handy.

A Little Crazy

This is my crazy patch tote bag that I recently finished. I went to a class to learn how to make the bugs and spider web. The fabrics came from my stash. Many were from Steve's and Zach's ties, Kayla's skirts, living room curtains, and doll clothes scraps. I had a lot of fun doing it. I'm just not sure when I'll use it!

Another musician

Sophie took a violin class over the summer and she decided to continue with private lessons. Her teacher makes all the difference because she is so fun. Sophie got her picture in the McKinney newspaper while she was at her summer class. The picture on the bottom is the one from the newspaper.

Zach's first date dance

Zach went to Homecoming this last weekend for his first date dance. I have to admit that I was worried about all the last minute planning. I guess boys are like that. The other moms in the group concurred. There was some drama about a boy who wouldn't give his date a corsage and so his mom told him he couldn't go. (He didn't want it to look like he liked her.) It took some phone calls from Zach and another friend to convince him it was the right thing to do and it all worked out OK. They dinner at one of the boys houses with a group of 16. I made apple crisp and it was a hit.

...And the BAND plays on

Zach and Tyler are very busy this fall with band. They put in long, long hours every day and many Saturdays. Zach is one of the Saxophone section leaders and Tyler is one of the few freshmen on drumline playing tenors. No, Tyler doesn't have a growth on his back. It is his drum harness that holds his drums.