Monster Trucks!

This past Friday, my dad surprised us with a trip to the Monster X Show at Rabobank.  Ryan and Jack were surprised because they didn't know they were going.  I was surprised because, well, I thought just the boys would go with their grandpa.  It was a first for Jack and me, but Ryan and Phil had been before.  

I thought Jack was a little young and would be too scared.  After all, he still won't ride on a tractor at the farm because he says, "It tooooo scah-wee."  Apparently monster trucks are not too scary.  There was a lot of Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor type grunting and growling about all the trucks.  

 This is the monster truck that gives rides at intermission

I was also worried that Jack would be scared when the Monster trucks started their engines.  We had earplugs for everyone and protective headphones for Jack.  Again, the boys proved me wrong and they demanded to hear the engines at full power.  I was a little scared of how loud it was.

I also noticed the black tarps in front of our seats and realized that there could be some mud slinging going on.  I was not a fan of getting dirt on my outfit.  I began to be the one to get a little nervous as the start of the show grew closer.

The show began with motorcyclists doing tricks off ramps.  I wanted to cover the boys' eyes so they didn't get any ideas about riding motorcycles when they got older.  I clapped every time a cyclist landed, not because of their tricks being awesome (which they were, but in a nail biting way), but because they were still alive and didn't crash.  Their poor mothers!

Next, the monster trucks fired up their engines and took turns crushing the cars.  One of the first trucks to begin crushing ended up flipping over when it popped a wheelie.  The boys loved it.  In fact I think it was a highlight of their evening.  Jack said, “the monster sat down and the cars said, ‘ow,  ow, ow!’” 

At intermission, Phil took Ryan to get in the line for a monster truck ride.  I took Jack to the restroom line.  I was already feeling out of place but it was then that I realized that my anthro-chic outfit was not really monster truck couture.  I was surrounded by black and bling-y jeans and everyone looked a little tough or edgy.  I started to think that I would spend Saturday painting my nails and possibly crafting.  Something that would place me back into my element.

Jack and I headed back to our seats.  Phil came back carrying a deflated and sobbing Ryan.  They had sadly not made the cut for the monster truck ride. 

We started watching the second half of the show, but Ryan’s spirits did not improve.  It was an hour after his bedtime and he was a little too tired to cheer up. 

About 5 minutes into our drive home, I turned around and saw Ryan asleep in the car.  Ryan very rarely falls asleep in the car, even when it is late at night.  Good thing we headed home.

The boys have been playing with their monster trucks ever since.  Every time Jack does something he likes with his trucks he yells, “Take a pickure, take a pickure!” 

And then Ryan wants in on the action.  What can I say?  The boys love their cars and trucks.

Thanks dad for a great night!

Zig Zag Quilt Finished

I finished my quilt!  

I really do love it, but unlike the Amish, I did not have to piece something wrong to show that only God is perfect.  There are many imperfections in this quilt, mostly just in the quilting.  

I tried spray basting my quilt this time.  I had read how it is such a time saver and how much easier it is to quilt with and how there are no puckers in the back when its finished.  I thought it deserved a try.  I had a hard time getting it smooth and had to pull it apart and try again three times until it was right.  I think it had a lot to do with the method that I was using.  On my third try, I did it the way that made sense to me and got it smooth.  At that point, I didn't trust that the spray baste would hold since I had already pulled it apart so I also pinned basted.  All of that work did result in a pucker free quilt back.  I should also mention that the backing fabric is from Joann's from the Denyse Schmidt line, which I LOVE!  The line was on sale and there were a lot of new prints I hadn't seen before.  It's worth checking out.

The method that I had used to make the half square triangles also resulted in each square having a bias edge all the way around.  I had a lot of stretching in the pieced panel because of this.  The spray baste really helped me to get that area square and straight.  Even though this method made piecing fast and easy, I don't know if I would use it again because of the bias edge of each square.  I might use this method or this method next time.

Lastly, my sewing machine has sat on top of my Singer sewing machine cabinet since I got it since the hole in the table was cut to fit the Singer inside.  I quilted half of my quilt this way and was experiencing terrible drag and had uneven stitches because of it.  Finally, I called Phil and said it was time to retrofit my table.  He cut a hole to fit my machine and I put a board inside so that my machine would sit at the proper depth.

It's not pretty and looks a little "rustic", but my quilting went much better afterward.  I think a little paint might spruce the table up a bit , but it surely functions better now.

I really did love making this quilt and would recommend making a zig zag quilt as it was really fun.  I think finishing a quilt is like finishing a good book.  I'm always so excited to see how it turns out, but sad when its over.  The only cure is a new project.  

Zig Zag Quilt

A while back, I was looking on pinterest and saw that my friend Lorie had pinned this quilt.

I was instantly smitten and wanted to make one for myself.  I loved the colors and the simple, yet bold pattern.  I had been wanting to make a throw for my living room for a long time.  I followed the pin to a blog called Empty Bobbin Sewing and read up on how this quilt was made.  I then sat down and did some math so I could make it the size I wanted.  Here's the pattern that I came up with.  I think my quilt will be about 57" x 70" when finished

Fabric:

• 1/2 yard of five fabrics for zig zags
• 3 yards of a solid for zig zags and background
• 4 yards for the back
• 1/2 yard for binding

Cut:

• six 8" blocks of each of the five fabrics
• twelve 8" inch blocks of the solid fabric

I followed this video for making my half square triangles.  Each row of my quilt has twelve half square triangles. The half square triangles measure 5.25" and when the twelve are sewn together, they make 58".  

And here is my layout after making all my half square triangles.  Only the half squares were sewn together.  I used the back side of a vinyl tablecloth to layout my pieces like a flannel graph board.

The fabrics I used were:

• Kona Cotton in slate for my main solid
• Kona Cotton in navy (?) for my dark zig zag
• Denise Schmidt Diamond Dandy (green print)
• Modern Muddle by Karen Comos (orange print)
• Robert Kaufman Metro living in gray (gray circles)
• Robert Kaufman Carolina Chambray in Jungle (?) (green at bottom)

I bought all my fabrics at Cool Cottons when we were in Portland.  If you are in Portland, I would highly recommend that you stop by.  The lady that owns it was super nice and she had a really great selection of fabrics.  

After I sew together the zig zag panel, I will use my remaining solid to make a large panel and a narrow panel at either end of the zig zag panel to look like my inspiration photo.  I'm having so much fun sewing again!  If only Christmas vacation were longer so I could work on more projects.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  We've had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas.  Here are the highlights from the last night.  

Last night, we quickly snapped a photo on our way out the door to church for the Christmas Eve service.    This little stop caused me to leave my phone and video camera on the kitchen table, and only remember my purse and camera.  I guess the good news is at least I got pictures, but the bad news is, I didn't get Jack's antics on video.  

 This was the first year Ryan finally participated and seemed happy to be on stage.  He also made a bee line to the nearest microphone, which is probably why he is really smiling.  He is Phil's son after all.

Jack on the other hand, did not want to leave me and since I was making him go on stage, he took his blanket.  He was a little upset that he wasn't near a mic.

These three cuties were a delight to watch in the show.  They are singing about the "Good News" in this shot.

Ryan was actually singing here!  I was so happy.  He never sings along.

Jack at this point, decided to split from the group and travel down the stage to a lone mic.   I think he was channeling Steven Tyler and was using his blanket like a scarf.

Here's when he really let loose when he was supposed to "baaaa" like a sheep in the song.  He's my little rock star.

After the service, we went to my grandma's for our annual Christmas Eve celebration.  The little boys got foam swords in their stockings.  A sword fight quickly ensued.  They loved it!  We enjoyed watching them.

Here's Ryan opening his first present of the evening.  They boys were wild and a handful, but they also brought a lot of laughs and entertainment.  We had a great time list night.

The Drive Home

And a few pictures from the drive up.  I had these pictures of the snow in Yreka on my regular camera and couldn't blog them till we got home.  Our boys had never seen snow before so this was very exciting.  As soon as we arrived at our hotel in Yreka, the snow started falling.  The ground was too warm for it to stick, but the boys got to run around and let it fall on them.  

The next morning, we could still see some snow on the top of our car, so we took a picture.  I think you can see it a little bit.  

As we drove through Grants Pass, there was quite a bit of snow.  We really couldn't find a safe place to pull over so the boys could play, so that was a little disappointing, but it was really beautiful.

We hoped there would still be snow on our way back home, but it had all melted when we passed back through.  We drove as far as Red Bluff the first day of our return trip and everyone did well.  The next day, we made a stop in Sacramento.  The boys were really fidgety and wanted out of the car.  Who could blame them?  We needed some fun so we stopped at the train museum.  The boys LOVED it.  

The coolest part was that all of Old Town had been decorated for the holidays, including the museum.  All the trains looked like the Polar express.

Here's Jack yelling, "CHEESE," by a train car he desperately wanted to go inside.  They had decorated the inside of the passenger car for Christmas, including a tree.  Alas, all he could do was look in the window.

The boys with Daddy and a freight car.  

This train car was really cool.  It was a passenger/sleeper car from the 1940's (I think?  The boys were keeping me too busy to listen to the guide).  When we walked through it, it moved and swayed just like we were really moving down the tracks.

I loved the look of this steam locomotive so we asked a tour guide to take a picture of us with it.  I can't believe all four of us were looking the right direction for this one.

Phil took some cool pictures of a mail car 

Our last stop at the museum was the Thomas the train play area.  The museum had four large tables with Thomas the train toys.  The boys couldn't contain themselves.

They played here for quite some time, until we had to break their hearts and continue on the road.  We grabbed a bite to eat, and jumped in the car for the remainder of our trip.

We hit some major traffic on the way home that set us back quite a bit.  We were wondering if we would ever make it home.  As soon as we saw the Kern County sign, we cheered (which I never thought I would). After that many hours in a car, our home felt grand.  When Ryan got into his bed after sharing a bed with Jack for nine days, he just giggled.  We had a wonderful vacation, but it's so good to be home.

Portland Thanksgiving '11

This Thanksgiving, we decided to travel to Portland to visit Doug, Vanessa, and to meet baby Carolina for the first time. Normally, we have flown with our flier miles. This time, due to lack of miles, kids being too old to go on laps, and Thanksgiving prices, we had to drive. We geared up with toys, iPod games, movies on the iPad, and a headrest mount for the iPad. Money well spent. These items have saved our sanity.



We doubted we would make it after Ryan declared, prior to even getting on the freeway, "How much longer?" Jack also said, "I need Aunt Ness" at about the same time. Once again, Pixar and the iPad came to the rescue and the kids settled in.


Phil did the majority of the driving while I tended to the kids and navigated as necessary. I also got a lot of crocheting done for Christmas as seen here....


And here.


We stopped in Eugene on our way up and had lunch with friends, which also gave the boys time to run, which was MUCH needed.


Then it was Portland or bust!


After arriving, we went straight to Doug and Vanessa's and met Carolina. She's a cutie and a sweetheart.


She's so cute in this picture and the girl has a wardrobe to die for.

Doug and Vanessa took us to a really great restaurant called Slappy Cakes (which is where that photo was taken) where you get to make you own pancakes on a griddle at the table. It was super fun, delicious, and the kids were entertained with the process while they waited for their food. Happy kids=happy parents=restaurant that warrants another visit.


The biggest thing for us Californians to get used to was the rain and the lack of outside time. Jack did not have a winter coat that fit so that was the first order of business when we got here. He also needed a hat because of the rain and no hood on the new coat. We found this fabulous shark hat. We also discovered a wonderful indoor play place called Playdate PDX. It is like Bakersfield's The Wild times 10. The boys loved it (Well, Jack was sort of miserable since he was dealing with an ear infection. Poor guy). We also ate at Hopworks Brewery, which has a kids play corner. That is a beautiful thing for kids in a restaurant. I don't know why more places don't do that. They also have terrific food.


Lastly, I'm planning on making the above quilt in a similar color pallette so I stopped by Cool Cottons and had a great time picking fabric. It was a very quaint and cute store with some wonderful fabrics. I could've spent a lot of money there. If you're in the area, it merits a visit.

Today is our last day before the drive home. I feel like we just got here, but I'm also missing home, our friends and family and the much drier climate. I hope our return trip goes as smoothly as our drive up. Wish us luck!