A day in Des Moines

So first off, I need to figure out a better storage method for the pics off my new camera because they are space hogs on my hard drive!  It's amazing how a new camera can increase your interest in taking pics, especially of the kids.  

On to the post... We took a day trip to Des Moines on Friday.  The boys got to go hear Mitt Romney speak (Robby is loving living where all the presidential candidates come to speak).  Then we checked out the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden.  I would love to have a yard like that!  Sometime I want to take the tour, but on this day I don't think I would have gotten much out of it since I spent much of my time chasing two little girls and repeating, "Don't touch the flowers!" and  "Don't step off the path!"  

After the BHG Test Garden, we walked across the street to check out the sculpture garden -- really it was so the kids could roll down the hill.  One of those childhood joys!

I have more really cute pics from the day, but they all have Baby in them.  I wish I could share them!  

Summer's Here!

I am so glad that school is officially out!  No more early morning rush for the bus!  Whew.  Only one more year and then we get to add seminary to the morning routine.  Yikes!  How did Robby get that old?

Here's our quick tribute to the last day of school this year...

Nutella for breakfast!  Yum!  Yum!

A pic on the doorstep before catching the bus.  Those are the kids at their bus stop in the background.

After school -- so here's our new 8th grader!

And here's our new 1st grader!

They're growing up!

The new camera and a fishing trip

We got a new camera!  Hooray!  It's a Canon T2i.  On Saturday my first lens arrived from Abbie in NY.  I was so excited because it came just in time to capture some fun moments of my kids fishing at the lake north of our neighborhood.  Okay, so don't critique too much.  This was using the camera pretty much straight out of the box and I am still learning how to get it to do what I want.  But even so I had caught some pics that I really like.  As you scroll down you will see different levels of exposure; I had been fiddling with different settings on the camera to see what they did. 

Better watch out for this one at the archery range -- see that fierce look!

Something about saying "smile" and my kids automatically scrunch their faces.

My handsome man!

So what was I doing in April?

I was developing my talents...

Back when Olivia was a baby I bought an ERGO baby carrier.  I loved it, and still do, but after a few years, I was disappointed because the organic dye in the fabric faded and the carrier didn't look so great.  I didn't want to shell out another $100+ to buy a new one, but I really wanted something new to wear in public.  I scoured the internet for ideas and happened upon a sewing pattern for the SweetPod.  Seeing how cute these carriers could be, I was determined to make one for myself.  Pretty much a few weeks in April I was dedicated to making my very own SweetPod carrier and matching saddle bag.  I still use my ERGO, but only at home.  The SweetPod now resides in my van and I use it at the park or out shopping.  Baby loves it, and so do I!

Yes, this is Baby.  I wish I could show all of her adorableness, but you will just have to be satisfied with shots from behind.

Carrier and matching saddle bag.

You can see the tab on the left of the picture.  That tab snaps on to the carrier so you can attach the bag...

to the back, like so.

I will admit openly, I am pretty proud of myself.  It was a fun project!  While I have sewed before, this project was new territory to me and I learned a lot.  The pattern was great and made assembling it very clear.   

And here's a look at my other recent project...

Earlier this month I was talking to my neighbor across the street, and she offered to give me a Burley bike trailer for FREE!  I was so excited I did a little dance right there on the spot.  I had been shopping for a used Burley trailer for the last few months, and every one I saw was $200 to $250.  Free is the best price, isn't it!  The only catch was that it had a torn window and a tear in the canvas cover.  I did some research and learned how to replace the window for under $20.  

If you look closely you can see the big tear in the window.

A few hours and some very sore fingers later I stitched in a new piece of vinyl and now...

the trailer has a new window!  The cover was repaired with a zig-zag stitch across the tear.

Not bad for $20 and a few hours of labor.  The girls are anxious to take it out for a spin!  Oh wait, I have to buy a bike now.  (I already have it picked out.)

Highlights of our recent lives

Where does all my time go?  I used to be so much better at blogging, but now I can't seem to find the time to sit down.  And then when I do, catching everything up feels overwhelming.  Well, here is a quick review of the last several months...

Beginning with February --

Ahh, snow.  (Nope, I don't miss it at all.)

And then March --

More snow.  But, I will admit that their snow man is pretty cute!

I'm glad the kids enjoy the snow.

Spring Break to Minneapolis --

We stopped at the Cherry.  Didn't know, Minneapolis had a Cherry, did you?

And of course, Mall of America!

Rides galore!

Jenna even got to ride on one of the more exciting roller coasters.  I wish I had a picture of how big her eyes got during the ride!

We'll skip April (snow melted)

On to May --

Jenna turned 6!

J and O helped make the Jenna's PINK birthday cake.  Does every little girl ask for pink cake?

Oh, and notice something different?  Jenna had about 7 or 8 inches cut off her hair in April.  She was SO excited!  She'd been asking to have it cut short for months.

Happy Birthday!

Oh, and we can't forget Mother's Day.  At church the brothers were asked to bring cookies for the sisters in bags of three.   Here's what I got -- yum.  Cookie Crunch cereal.  I feel so appreciated.  (Of course they were a joke, and I did get three real cookies right after that.)

Fortunately my family gave me a good Mother's Day celebration with breakfast in bed and a beautiful fruit salad with dinner.