Randolph ORV Park

Fun times at Randolph ORV Park! We went out with friends D&N, their kids Au&Ad, and new friend R. Thankfully, we found some mud, some steep climbs, and of course, a reason to get the winch out!




Fun mud! Soon after this puddle, Au and Ad wanted to ride in the "fun" Jeep that went through really deep mud holes. Their dad's Jeep just wasn't cool enough. But it did have all of the food!




So, C drove into this puddle. Slowly. And buried the front of the Jeep about up to the doors (which is saying something as it is a climb to get into the Jeep AND it's 2-3 inches higher until the new springs settle). Au was in the backseat and I was watching muddy water slop against my door.




C had to crawl out the door, onto the hood and then the bumper (custom made Fat Kid Bumper - now taking orders!) to grab the hook on the spool to toss to R on the opposite shore. Yes, we all expected C to slip off the muddy hood into the abyss in very comic fashion, but he disappointed us.




C waiting for R to attach the hook to the red Jeep (yes, we hang with far too many red Jeeps - if you'd like to hang with us, we're only taking applications for purple, black, bright green, and orange Jeep owners). It all worked out, but we did have an audience and a bunch of people laughing. Fun times.




Priceless. We were in the lead and came back to find this. R is kinda young and impetuous (from what I know) and he said that he saw the mud puddle (and the tree growing out of it) and thought to himself "What would C do?" Oh, yeah - get buried! Or, not attempt the too deep mud hole at all.




No worries, Au pulled him out in a wonderful exhibition of girl power.

We stopped at Vista for the high class appetizer of corndogs on the way back to C's folks' house. Where we had an awesome dinner, crawled over a wannabe beaver dam, and poked the skin off of a dead, water logged possum (okay, that last one was Au and Ad). Played with some kittens, shot some guns, and Boris did not eat anyone.

That's what I call a successful weekend.

*Posted from my mobile phone

Boris's Fight

So, Boris when with C over to a friend's house. This friend has a huge chow/golden retriever looking dog named Ranger. Ranger has a new friend - a black and white little female pit bull puppy. Boris is friendly. Ranger is friendly. The puppy has always been friendly. Boris and Ranger have met before and played together, but, when you throw a girl in the mix . . . there's bound to be trouble. Boris LOVES playing with anybody and began playing with the puppy. Ranger didn't care for this and tried to bite Boris's head off. [Let's all be thankful for one moment that I wasn't there to scream and cry when this all happened]. It's an animal/boy thing for sure, so no one is upset about it.

Boris wants to know why I'm bugging him when he really wants to be in the back room with C and Bailey and Bella.


Well, I just wanted a picture of his wound. He's got these nice gouges and some scratches to the back of his neck. This picture was taken after C shaved the area, treated it with iodine, and put some antibiotic ointment on it (C's a great medic in a pinch!).


Poor Boris thought he'd done something wrong and he definitely didn't, so he's been getting lots of love and peanut butter and gravy on his food. Poor baby.

C's Quilt

Little C is an amazing tiny girl. I met her when my dear friend M came to visit her family in early January. I was lucky enough to spend half a day with M & C (husband S was back home in Maryland), M's parents, grandparents, and aunt & uncle. My C was able to join us for dinner in Lawrence (M's grandma made the best cheesy potato casserole I've ever had!).

C is a little over six months actual age and almost four months adjusted age. Did you catch that? Little C was born to her parents eleven weeks early at 29 weeks gestation. So, M & S were expecting a baby in early September, and C was born one day before their fifth wedding anniversary in late June. It was a shock to say the least. Little C was born healthy and spent eight weeks in the NICU putting on weight and learning how to regulate her temperature. She is a darling fighter and I am so glad this segment of the story has a happy ending.

As M is one of my dearest (& oldest) friends, I knew I wanted to make something for Little C. Since she was so early and unexpected in June, I began to work on an "unexpected" and crazily-put-together baby quilt. This quilt was made with all the remainders and scraps I could find in my stash with pink/orange/blush coloring.

Crumpled in the sun on the front porch. This quilt came with orders TO BE USED.



Some of the aqua backing and quilt lines - still in the sun.



Shot of the back. I had the best laid plans for a completely aqua back with aqua binding, but of course, did not purchase enough aqua fabric. I do love the hodge-podge look though. My second issue was underestimating the amount of time it would take me to handstitch the binding to the back of the quilt. It looks so polished and finished, but handstitching alone took at least eight hours.


The front in all of it's strip quilting glory. I LOVE the colors and expect any little girl will love them as well. So many of these fabrics are tied to another quilt, clothing, or project I (or AM) have made, and I can only hope that Little C will love this quilt as much as I do!

THE Grille Guard/Bumper Combo

Like I noted, C has been working on stuff too. In the garage, like always. His truck needed a new bumper and grille guard, so he picked up his welder and some left over steel pipe laying around and created, yet another, deer killer. This frontal piece is not something I would mess with. In fact, I think the name brand version of the thing my husband just made (yes, that was pride you detected in my tone) retails for over $1500. So, who wants a new bumper and grille guard?

In profile:

The front shot:

Wow. I am always impressed by what C can create in his medium.
I can understand that we each just work in ENTIRELY different mediums, but that we both create in our own way.

Still at the Quilt Thing

Assembled top of little C's quilt:




I need to figure out the backing (a lovely shade of aqua), quilt the quilt, and figure out how to really bind a quilt (especially those pesky corners). The due date on this one is January 4th.

Fabric chosen for the next quilt:




This is for a recently born little boy. His daddy loves bright colors - especially orange, so I think it will be a hit. I already have the pattern for the top in my head, so I'm hoping assembly goes smoothly. Tentative due date on this, my first baby boy quilt, is December 23rd.

I have the fabric for one more baby boy quilt that is super overdue. I finally sketched out a design for the top that I like, so on to cutting and assembly. I would love to have this one done by New Year's Eve, but these are all A LOT of work for me. We'll see.

Part of the joy I get out of making these quilts is the joy and wonderment and gratitude I see on the parents' faces. I enjoy the colors of the fabrics and the designs I create for the tops. The assembly and quilting processes are labors of love, as the sewing itself is not my favorite part. That could be why I'm averaging one quilt per year - it takes me a long while to convince myself the entire process is worth it again. Which means, if you don't get a baby quilt from me, please don't be offended. I'm still not sure that quilting is my niche, we've had an abundance of babies born in the last eighteen months, and sometimes, I just hate to look at my sewing machine (over 30 years old, something is wrong with it, and to properly complete these quilts, I need a much more advanced/expensive machine). Excuses, I know. But I appreciate all of the compliments and encouragement on what I have managed to get done! Hope you all keep following along!

- Posted from my mobile phone

Will it be Here in Time for Christmas?

AnneR,

Your order for 1 Test Tube Baby on 12/06/2010 has been recently shipped via SMARTPOST.

Your tracking number is: 0000

Your tracking number may not show in the online tracking system for a couple of days, so don't panic.

Your order may contain multiple packages that arrive on different days. If you don't receive your entire order at the same time, please wait a couple of days after you receive your first package before contacting us at X.

For future reference, your order number is: 0000.

[This was the email in my inbox about a week and a half ago. C thought it was so funny that I should "post it to your blog where people know about us." I'm sure he wanted you all to see the humor as well. He especially couldn't contain his laughter regarding "Your order may contain multiple packages." This email actually refers to a tee shirt I couldn't resist ordering from Woot.com called Test Tube Baby. Go figure.]

- Posted from my mobile phone

Family Photos/Christmas Card Non-Contenders

We are spending the weekend with C's parents. Sort of. I'm spending the weekend with C's parents and he's sleeping here when he is not hunting deer. And my parents are headed over in a bit for dinner. So really, we're one big happy family. Minus the percievably dead deer.

Which means now is the perfect moment to post SOME pictures that Kami @ OrangePeel Photography took of my cute little family.

These are the ones that C wants on our Christmas cards. These are the ones that will not be on our Christmas cards:

Boris strikes again. During a photo session, nonetheless.
Which, of course, cracks C up to no end.