Trying...

... to get back into blogging is so hard! I always take a break in the summer and then it takes forever before I get back into the swing of things. Maybe a post a week (or even a month) would be beneficial to keep the momentum going.

Anyway, summer was busy - as usual - and I'm so glad school is back in session. Things aren't really less hectic, but at least I have some uninterrupted time to myself to get a few things done.

 You may remember the last time I posted, I had adorable baby chicks. Well, they are still adorable (I think anyway), but now they are actual chickens. I love them. I go them just for eggs, but they are so fun to watch and I love the noises they make. They are pretty entertaining creatures.

 She wasn't sure about the camera here and wanted a closer look. She also wanted to see what it tasted like, apparently, since she pecked at it several times trying to get a bite.

 Summer looked a lot like this for me. We got a boat last year (Craigslist, ftw!) and we have spent some great time together as a family as a result. I'll never admit it to my husband, but it's one of the best things we've ever purchased. The seats are torn, the paint is faded, but it floats. We are able to get away from phones, computers, and television and just play in water and build sand castles.

 We also took the to Silverwood. I thought it was in Coeur d'Alene, ID but it turns out it's actually in a town called Athol. Say it slow and laugh with me. C'mon. That's funny right there.

 I threw a camping party in my backyard this summer too. About 6 of my closest high school girlfriends got together and decided this would be a lot of fun. And it was. We floated the river too.

Of course we had adult beverages at this camping party. What party is complete without that? I wanted to make some cute party favors but I wanted them to be something the girls would keep and be able to use in the future. So I came up with some mason jar cozies. Everyone loved them and we had some delicious cocktails. The best part was that no one had trouble remembering which glass was theirs.

 I also made a couple dresses. I used the Staple Dress pattern by April Rhodes. I love them both, but...

This one is my favorite! I have plans to make a few more, but I need to figure out how to make a few minor adjustments so that it's fits my body a bit better.

And lastly, I made the decision to take on a new business adventure over the summer. I have been looking for a job that was part time and super flexible. Nothing was really panning out for me and we were falling quickly into money woes (isn't everyone these days?). Well, I have always loved Pampered Chef and I have a lot of their products, but I never really thought about it as a career choice. I was invited to a party, and although I couldn't really shop, I decided to go. Then I signed up to have a party of my own... The idea of starting a business wasn't really on my list of things to do, but nothing else was working out so I said to heck with it and went for it! I'm hoping it works out so I can continue to stay home with my kids and continue to have time to do things I love - like sewing!!!!

Here's my website if you're interested in checking it out :) Selina's Pampered Chef Website

Summer Fun!

For our family, summer is a time of relaxing and spending time with loved ones. When the kids are teenagers I'm sure they won't enjoy family time quite as much so I have to take it while I can! This summer we have had MANY adventures (which is why my blog has been so quiet lately). My kids have been to Idaho, Oregon - twice, and to the lake many times. Also... BBQ's and parties galore!

Camping trip to Soda Springs

Sara and I at a barn party/Alice's birthday

Canoeing at Moses Lake

Me in my "mothership"

Playing at the campgrounds

And a really cool trick for making omlettes that I learned from my sister-in-law! These are great for camping. Slice up your veggies and meat (I used mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and ham). Write your name on a quart sized freezer ziploc bag using a sharpie. Put all your omlette ingredients in the bag, then crack desired amount of eggs in to bag. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Squish all the ingredients together and then set your bag in a pot of boiling water. The more eggs you use, the more time it takes to cook, but ours took about 15 minutes. Omlettes for everyone, just the way they like them! We also set out toppings like cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Yum!

I could have shared a ton more photos with you, but you get the idea. We've been keeping busy and having fun. The summer comes to an end with the start of school on August 28th so we are trying to cram as much in as possible.  I have actually had some time to begin sewing again a bit - and I have pictures to prove it! Come back tomorrow and I'll share what I've been working on.

For The Love Of...

TRADITIONS

We don't really have many traditions here except one. Every summer our family takes a week long camping trip to Moses Lake, WA. My husband grew up with his parents having a small place on the lake and he spent a lot of time there as a kid. Naturally, after having children of his own, he wanted that tradition to continue. It is hot there. It isn't the prettiest lake and I think it has gotten worse over the years. There have been many times we have gone and it seems people use the beaches as their personal dumping ground. Most of the time I am really upset by how people treat things, but there it seems especially bad.

Someday we may need to find a new place to take the kids. But for now, this is our tradition.

Our family always has a really great time just unplugging from the world and being together. The kids love swimming and building castles in the sand. It makes me sad that people don't take care of places like this and help to keep it beautiful for everyone to enjoy.

If you have a tradition, holiday or otherwise, please link up to Sharon's blog and tell us about it. 

A Little R & R

It seems like I am constantly busy. Cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, cooking, cleaning, going to work, breaking up kids squabbles, cleaning... (I totally meant to say cleaning 3 times, because, well, I clean an awful lot). Every summer I get a much needed break from all of that and I really look forward to it. We load up the camper and head over the mountains and into the sun and water at Moses Lake.

A few months ago, my husband told me we probably wouldn't be able to go. We, like many other people right now, are on a pretty tight budget. It upset me greatly. It's my one week to relax and not have a care in the world. And it was the only week my kids would have any kind of summer at all.

We ended up pinching some pennies to make it work, and I'm so glad we did.

Here's a picture of the wind farm that's on the way to the lake. I love it. I kinda want a turbine of my own, actually.

Bijou was even relaxing in the car on the way

This is what I woke up to see every morning. It was perfect.

Talk about procrastination! I am the master. I was binding the camping quilt while camping. Oy. But I got it finished, and there it is on our bed in the camper.

On one of our vacation days, we decided to drive a couple of hours to see the Grand Coulee Dam. On the way we made a few stops. Soap Lake was the first stop. It's a tiny little town where it seemed that everyone spoke Russian. The lake there is full of all kinds of minerals that are supposed to be really great for your skin. We got in the water and immediately noticed millions of tiny reddish orange things floating in it. I assumed it was just minerals, but we came to find out they were tiny little shrimp. Ew. People were coming down to the lake and going into the water with buckets. Then they would dig down and pull out this tar looking stuff from the floor below. They brought their tar-filled buckets up to shore and started rubbing it all over their bodies. It was a very strange place, and the kids and I are not fans. I don't think we'll be going there again.

Our second stop was Dry Falls. Now, that was something I liked. I think geology is incredibly cool.

We also stopped and saw Banks Lake, which is crazy huge. 27 miles long!

Here is a picture of me with the lake in the background (such a nerdy tourist):

Then, past that, we saw Steamboat Rock (please excuse the cracked windshield!)

Then we finally made it to Grand Coulee Dam

At night, when the water runs over the face of the dam, they put on a laser light show that tells the story of how and why the dam was built. It was really awesome. 

Here's a few more gratuitous lake fun photos. 

I hope you enjoyed going on vacation with me. Washington State is amazing. There really is so much to see and do here. If you've never visited, you should make the time at least once. It's breathtakingly beautiful. But I am a bit biased I suppose. I am a Washingtonian, through and through!

Road Trip!

A couple years ago we had a few family members pack up and move to Meridian, Idaho. As much as I miss getting to spend lots of time with them, I now have a reason to visit a gorgeous state every summer! They moved to a huge home on 10 acres. There are chickens, goats, and a swimming pool with a diving board (that's the kids favorite thing). The big red barn with the rope swing is a pretty big deal too.

Meridian is a small town just outside of Boise. It's a beautiful little town. Not only did we hang out next to the pool while listening to the animals making all their cute animal-ly noises, but we also went to a great outdoor urban market, and my most favorite frozen yogurt shop, Yoyo's.

The balloon lady at the urban market made really awesome balloon animals for all the kids, but she really went all out for Ben. He got a sword, belt, and a hat! He was pretty excited about that.

This was my frozen yogurt from Yoyo's. So good. Coconut frozen yogurt, with graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut, and sliced almonds. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

While we were there, we also had a birthday party. They have a Boxer named Ella and she happened to turn 3 years old while we were there. We decided to celebrate and the kids made some of the most awesome cupcakes I have ever seen.

Bijou got to wear a birthday party hat too. Her and Ella became the best of friends during our visit.

I brought my hexagons to sew while I was there, but we were so busy having fun, that I didn't get any done.

I haven't been to any other town in Idaho, but I have heard that it is all just as beautiful. I would love to have the chance to explore more of it someday. If it wasn't such a long drive, I'd visit so much more often. There's also a pretty big bridge to cross from Washington into Oregon and that freaks me out a lot. But seeing sunsets like this make the drive totally worth it.

Mini Vacation

I'm finishing up the last bit of packing tonight before I hit the open road tomorrow morning. The kids and I (and the dog) are headed to Boise, ID for several days. I am not looking forward to 8 hours and 1 minute - according to map quest - in the car with all those munchkins. They get downright crabby! We have iPods, a Nintendo DS, and several books to try to keep them from being bored to death for as long as possible. One thing I can't wait for though? Sunshine. I dug out my shorts and tank tops, shook the dust off of them, and packed them in my super cutsie suitcase.

I have not seen the sun in, oh, 9 months or something ridiculous like that. I know everyone in the rest of the country says they'd love to trade weather with Seattle right now because they are all having a heat wave. Well, I'm sure that grey skies, rain, and 60 degrees sounds lovely when it is a sweltering 104. However, when all you ever see are grey skies and rain? Not so lovely. I'm looking forward to finally soaking up some rays (responsibly, of course. Lots of sunblock) and splashing around in the pool with all my kiddos.

These are pictures from our trip last year. I'll have a ton more to share when we get back. Happy summer!

Selina

Tech Free Summer

My kids, ages 11, 10, 8, and 5, have challenged themselves to go 10 days without the television or the computer. In my house, that's a big deal. I am trying to encourage them by doing the same. I do have the computer on for this blog post though and I can still tweet since my kids all agreed that that is for "work".

It really is amazing all of things you can do without all the distractions from technology.

Yesterday was day #1. We drove around to some quilt shops for the western WA shop hop and the kids and I got our free quilt blocks. We packed a picnic lunch and went to Flaming Geyser State Park. The Green River runs through it and the kids played in the water, throwing rocks, and watching people fish for hours.

They have been making up games and fun things to do. And believe it or not, a lot less fighting is going on! Last night was spent outside chatting with the neighbors while all the kids on the street played together. We even discussed having a block party.

Today the kids played outside all day. Right now there is a baseball game going on in my front yard.

I have been quietly sewing hexies and pin basting the camping quilt

On Friday I made my Farmer's Wife quilt block #8. I think it turned out really nice.

And on Saturday we went to a wedding where I gave a set of placemats and a small cross-stitch as a gift to the bride and groom.

I have been very busy, but it feels like a lazy summer without the buzz of television in my ears or a computer screen shining in my face. I think we could do this for much longer than 10 days. I could get used to this.

Selina