Abby's Last Tooth

Celebrating firsts comes easily, but lasts, lasts are a little harder to capture because you don't always know when it'll be the "last" time something happens.  Firsts are easier to recognize.  But, we knew that Abby just had one baby tooth left to loose and just a little bit again, it finally fell out and we can officially call this blog post a "last".

For a kiddo that's been so scared of the dentist and anything tooth related, this was a big milestone for us.  Braces, and losing the last baby teeth, age 11 has brought a lot of change and a lot of growth and I'm really really proud of this little lady for navigating it all with so well.  We've come a long way in the last year or two and I'm just wanting to celebrate some little successes!

Memorial Day 2024

 

Memorial Day 2024 - the weekend we gained a fisher in the family.  Well, that's not true!  Abby fell for fishing last summer when we were at Voyagers and she caught her first Northern, but, since then, she's been ready to pick up a pole whenever someone will help her.  And, Memorial Day weekend she caught a handful of fish right off the pier in the middle of the day.  Nick's girlfriend Jess was so sweet when she came down with a pole and nightcrawlers to see if any of the kids wanted to fish.  Abby immediately got on the train, grabbing her pole from the camper and the rest was history.

As you can imagine the kids flocked when the first fish came out of the lake and I'm sure there was a lot of pole and hook management happening down there with all the little swarming.  But, they all had a great time and Abby's got some good memories to go with it.

Lake weekends are always fun with all the family there.  Each weekend brings a slightly different collection of family, with the big holiday weekends drawing the biggest crowds.  I think this year we had around 15 people staying between the two houses and then Jenny and family rented one down the street bringing us to 20 total.  Actually one of the lighter weekends we've had in recent years.

The weather was cooler, and it rained at least for a few hours each day, but it didn't stop us from getting out on the pontoon or the pier when the sun was out and taking advantage of the sun and blue sky when we could get it!

This year we tried something a little different!  A ladies trip to two wineries about 45 minutes away to celebrate Meg's 40th.  We got a good little group together, rented a little mini bus to drive us around and spent a lovely afternoon together just laughing and chatting and catching up.  

We really had a great day!  The bus was a little hard on me with my motion sickness and it turns out Meg might have the same "itis"  - but we made it home and out of the van without anyone getting sick.  

We won't be back to the lake until Labor Day, but we've got lots of summer to live between then and now and I'm looking foward to everything in between!

Spring Crafts

(March 22)

It's time to move from my spring post to summer, so I'm doing a quick round up of the projects I've been working on for the past few months.  I started a lot of things that I'm ALMOST finished with - so I expect my summer round up to have a lot of finishes and starts.

(March 23)

Last Christmas I found the most perfect pattern for a homemade Christmas tree skirt.  Pattern first, then fabric!  Admittedly the fabric is looking a little chaotic, but I think once it's all together and under the tree with presents it'll be alright.

(March 24)

This project is the first time I've tried a few things - round sewing (it's hard!), cutting with a pattern (thanks, Ry for the wooden template, it helped a TON!), and the first time I've tried to quilt the three layers together in a long long time.  This project wouldn't fit on a longarm machine, and it's small enough that I feel like I can manage it in my own sewing machine.  Oh!  I am also going to try and hand quilt this as well.  Mostly for added effect and less for the actual assembly.  

(March 24)

Knitting while I wait to board a plane to who knows where!?!

This knitted blanket is coming along nicely.  I'm making it out yarn Purl Soho sent me for free when I asked about discounts for knitters who work on behalf of charities.  This blanket will be going to Project Linus in McHenry County.  

(March 31)

(April 9)

Knitting while we wait for the Eclipse!

(April 17)

Knitting on the back porch because it was finally starting to get nice out and you just have to sit outside when it's like that in April!

(April 21)

These quilts I've posted before sending them to the quilter, but I finally got them bound and labeled and ready to gift.  This one went to Dave and Erin for their wedding shower (it was quite the hit!) and the other one that looked nearly exactly the same with to Liam, Liz and Bobby's second baby.  I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a photo of that one before I gifted it, because the quilting was super cute!  We did it in a pattern that included dump trucks and cement trucks.  It was adorable for a baby boy!  Sometimes I shy away from the quilting that looks "kiddy" because I want the blankets to grow with the kids - but this one turned out super cute.

I've posted this one before too, but it's back from the quilter, bound and labeled.  This one is going to my friend Lindsay's new baby, Jane.  We'll be seeing them in August on our way home from Acadia and I can't wait to gift this to her in person!

(April 28)

I'm getting closer on this knitted blanket.  I've traveled a lot in the first 5 months of the year and that's given me lots and lots of knitting time!

(April 30)

(May 5)

Finally on the fourth triangle!  It's getting too big to travel with (takes up too much space in my carry on) so on my last trip I switched to working on the last two Acadia hats.  These National Park hats are super easy and quick!  I can make on from start to finish in about a week.

(May 20)

I've got 4 of these finished, labeled, and waiting on pom poms.  I'm going to try and finish these up this week so they are ready to go!

Belt Testing - Orange

 

We're graduated to Orange belts!  I feel like the kids moved quickly from yellow to orange - without too many classes between.  I'm guessing it'll get harder the higher they get.

Maquoketa Camping

 

Maquoketa quickly became a favorite spot for us.  We visited here for the first time last year with Lauren and Brian and Betsy and Pat and the kids LOVED the caves.  The park is really quite small so if you're interested in checking it out, reserve early!  And the trail system here is great.  There's lots of "caves" to explore along the trail, but there is one really cool cave system where the kids get to explore around and play in the water.  Andy even took them spelunking a little which they all loved.

The kids did GREAT together!  There were hardly any fights and everyone played together so nicely.  It was amazing.

Saturday morning Andy took Lincoln to his last soccer game of the year and Linc scored a goal.  If I remember right, they won and that's why he got his cool medal.  He was really excited about it.

We're so excited for the camping season ahead!

1 Family x 12 (May)

 

I keep thinking this was our first camping trip of the year, but I we already had our first trip for the eclipse!  So, our second trip of the season took us back to Maquoketa with Joey and Andy and Mom and Dad.  So, we grabbed our May family photo - only would have been better if Copper had actually been looking.