Xmas 2007: Ava's Christmas Dress

Ava falls down in her Christmas dress

Xmas 2007: Ava's New Bike

Ava loses her shoe while riding her new bike.

The Flower Girl Dress, before and after...

Thank you for the wonderful comments about the picture of me and my baby! She was just the happiest child that day.

I promised pictures of the flower girl dress alterations and here they are. Here is the end result. Her dress was to be the opposite of mine. I *could* have added some embroidery, but I did like the simplicity of it the way it turned out and so did the bride.

Here is what it looked like before:

And the back of the dress after. This was before my second set of alterations where I made the sash about an inch narrower, because it was flattening the poof of the skirted bottom, but you can see the idea of the end result. The two ends of the sash on one side fit through a loop on the other (which was the same design as the bridesmaids).

What else is going on? Well I spent the whole week stitch free once again. But I did sneak over to a LNS near my new job on lunch today and purchased some goodies to get going on Heather's farm themed RR. I am really struggling with a design choice. In the end I have picked a design that really is a reflection of what kind of farm I would have or visit if I had my choice. And since it was my first payday, I also picked up the 2007 JCS Ornie issue which was very exciting to me. :) In fact, finding a LNS so close to my work was exciting by itself, although it does specialize in quilting and knitting and not so much in the cross stitch.

Thank you all also for the concern over my house. Today, sadly, they ripped out the tiles in the bathroom to allow under the tub to dry out. I can't help but laugh at the whole situation, really. It's very funny the amount of damage done. And there is a silver lining of sorts in that I will be getting rid of the HORRIBLE pale peachy pink tile that the previous owners installed in that bathroom.

LeAnda's Wedding Sept. 8, 2007

LeAnda and Anthony got married September 8, 2007!

Bridesmaids (L to R): Melissa, me, Jackie and Andrea.

Blessing of the Rings

The wedding party and extended family.

Amanda the flower girl.

Mommy and Amanda

LeAnda is ready for her close up.

Mr and Mrs. Garrison after the ceremony.

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony McClees

Camping at Cape Hatteras August 4-10, 2007

Wow! What an amazing trip we had. :) On Saturday 8/4 we packed up early and rolled out for Hatteras Island, NC. It was supposed to be a 6 hour trip, but of course it took 10 because of traffic. We set up what was to be our home for the week when we arrived.

We had a really busy week. It turned out to be one of the hottest weeks ever at the Outer Banks and it averaged at 103 for the week--- a few days it hit 106! Very hot sticky camping, but we found lots to do to beat the heat. We went bowling one evening, had some lunches in the A/C, visited the campground pool, went to the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island, visited the lighthouses, went shopping, and of course we hit the beach. In the evenings, we had dinner at the campsite, flew kites and played cards at sunset. We had a great breeze at night and the weather was hot, but not stormy at all.

Camping in the RV park was definitely a different experience for me--- but it was great! Everyone was so friendly. People came and stopped by the tent in the evenings as we were cooking and playing cards. The girls made friends at the pool. We loved the place we stayed at :)

Our home away from home was bigger than I thought it would be. It had three divided rooms and was plenty big for the 5 of us. Here's a picture of our compound decked out midweek.

You can see the path to the beach behind our van, but here is a better shot.

On the first day we spent the whole day at the beach, the second day we had to visit the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

We walked inside, but we didn't hike to the top.

The girls loved every bit of the vacation. They hated leaving the beach and pool when it was time to go.

We also visited the Bodie Lighthouse which is south of Nagshead.

The girls had way too much fun on the beach. The beach we were at was not crowded at all. The campground was very small compared to others we passed and there was plenty of room on the beach.
Here they are on the last evening. They are wearing the shirts we had made at one of the beach shops--- they each picked the design they wanted.




We planned on leaving Friday morning but ended up leaving late Thursday evening because bad weather was moving in that evening and we didn't like the idea of packing up either in the middle of a storm or packing up a bunch of wet stuff.

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the fourth at Mamma's house for a family cookout. Here's a picture of the girls decked out in their patriotic clothing :)

Happy Birthday Time: Amanda 2007

It's the beginning of birthday season here at our house with June, July and August birthdays all within about a month and a half of each other.

The First Birthday Girl! Amanda turns 5.

She wanted a Build A Bear Party. Here are the kids gathered at the front of the store, unstuffed bears in hand.

They make a lot of noise singing and then march to the stuffing machine.

Then they each pick two hearts from the heart box...

... and they make a wish with the hearts. Each guest put one heart in Amanda's bear with a special wish for the birthday girl and then they put one in their own bears.

After their bears are closed up they go to the fluff and brush station for proper grooming.

And then they pick out clothing and dress their bears.

They even had boy bears! Devin made this cool Army dog.

Then we came back to our house for cake and presents.

Audrey's Awards 6/13/07

Audrey had her end of the year awards ceremony yesterday and here she is with all of her second semester achievements. She had more awards than anyone in her class: Principal's Honor Roll, Honor Roll, Rising Star, Perfect Attendance, Personal Best (French Award) and the PE award for 4 out of 4 categories. We're so proud!

I added a link in the sidebar to Amanda's Birthday Wishlist. Amanda's favorite toys are My Little Pony's and she loves to play outside. She wears a size 5 in clothes and a size 9 in shoes. If the sidebar link doesn't work click here:

Jamestown Field Trip 5/10/2007

Yesterday I went on the big 4th grade field trip with Audrey to Jamestown. What a fun day! I had never been to Jamestown and this year everything is decked out for the big 400th Anniversary Celebration. They were getting ready for the big anniversary party weekend (May 11-13) and had so much going on.

We boarded the tour buses at the school at 7am and arrived at Jamestown at 10:30. Then we had a guided tour until 1, lunch and then we had free time to see all the things we didn't get to on the tour. There was a lot to see! They had just opened a new museum with lots of interactive exhibits, there was the indian villiage, the ships and all of Jamestown fort. There were authentically dressed guides all over to tell you about the different boats and exhibits.

Audrey and I both had a great time and it was a nice break from my schedule of child care. Jeff took the day off from work to handle Daddy duty while I was gone. :)

The Jamestown Tower, dedicated at the 350th anniversary.

The giant map--- one of the first things we saw.

The path to the boat dock, Jamestown fort on the left.

The Susan Constant, the largest of the three boats.

Me and Audrey in front of the James River.

Jamestown Fort

Inside Jamestown Fort, in front of the church.

A display on gunmanship (Audrey and I were lucky we got a private showing!)

Also at the park is a replica of a Powhatan Indian villiage. Here is Audrey in front of an indian long house.
In front of the museum (no photos allowed in the museum) was this fountain and flags from all 50 states.


Audrey on the bus next to her friend Sarah.