Derby Days

Tonight was the Big Night.....The Pinewood Derby!!!

Eric and Ethan worked very hard on their car. Ethan was quite meticulous about how he wanted his car to look, and Eric went out and bought a bandsaw to make sure he did it right...Ha ha!

Eric had a really good feeling about this car....it was fast!! Of course, it didn't hurt that it was practically swimming in graphite powder!!

There were ten boys who competed. In every race that he ran, Ethan took first! He was ecstatic!This is the final winning heat. His car was a full car's-length ahead!

This is the proud racer showing his creation! He was first place overall.

Now in a couple weeks Ethan will take his car to the district competition. We can't wait!

On a Day Like This....

....I had set for myself two things that I wanted to accomplish today.

1. To make a batch of strawberry freezer jam.
2. To cut out the pieces to my dress project.


Granted, I know they were lofty goals, squeezed in the middle of my life's daily chores. But I seriously thought I could do it!

Here is what has gone wrong with my progress at completing those goals so far:

1. The Jam
I went to Costco last night and saw these luscious, beautiful strawberries for sale. Since I just enjoyed a bunch of my mom's delicious strawberry jam at home, I couldn't resist the impulse to get two packages of them, with the intention of making some of my own. Why not, I thought! It should only take an hour or so, the recipe is so easy!!

So this morning I get everything out, ready to make the jam, and dug out the recipe my mom gave me. Wouldn't you know it, I was missing a key ingredient, and had the wrong kind of another! So I would need to get to the store first before I could start any jam.


2. The Dress
After my disappointment with the jam, I started on the dress project. I read over the entire instructions first, then carefully laid out the pattern and started cutting all the little pieces apart. You have to do this before you can lay out the pattern pieces onto the actual fabric. The paper is very thin and delicate, and very easy to mess up. So I took my time.

My next step was to fit the pattern pieces to myself, in case I needed to make some adjustments before I cut out the fabric. I was having a hard time getting it to work, and then I realized: I got the wrong size of pattern!!!

Now if I was really experienced and talented as a seamstress, I could figure a way to make the pattern work, just adjusting it as needed. Well, I am neither very experienced or all that talented as a seamstress, so I will need to get another pattern! Which requires another trip to the store.



I haven't made it to the store yet.

Anyone who knows me, knows I avoid taking Erica and Elise with me to the store at all cost. I can handle one of them at a time, but together they are just too much.

So now I will wait until Heidi gets home from school to babysit. (I know, I'm so lucky I have that option!)

Who knows, the day isn't over yet. Perhaps I will complete my assignments for the day....

Project Runway

So, this is my new project....

For my birthday this year, Eric is taking me to a black-tie event for his work. It is a fund-raising gala for Swedish Hospital in Seattle. He knew that I go crazy for these things, so he accepted the invitation.

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The gala will be at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle. They will serve dinner, with dancing and a silent auction. What makes the night even more fun is, that we will get to stay the night at the Sheraton as well. A real night away!!

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That all sounded like a fabulous idea, with only one hitch: I have got to find something to wear!!

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I decided to take the plunge and try to make a dress. I started with the fabric. It is a gorgeous paisley brocade that I have had my eye on at JoAnn's Fabrics for a while now, but couldn't think of anything to do with it. It is a chocolate brown with a turquoise irridescence, so it looks like two different colors depending on the angle you're at. I love it! The pattern I picked out will follow the shorter, turquoise dress depicted in the picture. I haven't decided about the bow yet, though....

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So now you know what I will be doing in all my spare time over the next two weeks. I never seem to take on these major projects unless there is an imminent deadline looming on the horizon. That way, I can stress and torture myself as much as humanly possible, creating disorder and dysfunction in my household until the D-day.

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Wish me (and my house) good luck!!!

Farewell to Elder Stevens!

This weekend I flew home to go to my youngest brother Mike's mission farewell. He reports to the Brazilian MTC on May 5th.
There was a lot of family home to see him off! These are some of my favorite pictures.

My brothers: Mike and Richard.

Some of my favorite memories from the visit:

*Dad gave me a new lens for my camera that I got to play around with the whole trip, with his help!

*Seeing so many of my family together! We had a fun barbeque one night, and a nice dinner on Sunday. Mom had to feed a whole crew!

*Playing "Ticket to Ride" with my brothers and cousins, good times!

*My chats with my aunts Tina and Linda, and cousins Shanell and Abby. I love these ladies!!

*Seeing all the cute second cousins (my cousins' kiddos).

*Going to lunch with Mom and Dad to their new favorite place, trying out empanadas. Yumm!!!

*Listening to Mike give his talk at his farewell. I'm so proud of him!

*Hugging my Grandma Stevens....I love you!!!

*Visiting with Eric's aunt Patty, and checking out her new 'do!

*Quiet conversation with Mom and Dad....I just don't see them often enough!

*Sharing family prayer with my family.

Mom and Grandma

Dad

Good luck, Michael!

We will miss you, but can't wait to hear about this exciting new adventure!

Birthday Girl

We had a fun time celebrating Elise's birthday yesterday....She got excited seeing all the wrapped packages. She was a little cautious about tearing the paper open, however. Perhaps I've told her "NO" a few too many times for her to think she could do it!
She loved discovering the bright and noisy toys inside. She got a great haul of toys, books, clothes, and a swing seat that we plan on hanging outside.

Her cake was a simple one this year. It was a pineapple upside-down cake (except that it was right-side up!) covered in whipped topping. I was immediately reminded of Elise when I saw this figurine because of a new "trick" she's recently discovered....

.....We think it means she wants a hug when she does this. She throws her arms out in a very dramatic manner-- it's pretty cute! I was also inspired from the figurine because she is standing....YAY!

I can't believe it has been six years....

My little girl is growing up!

Happy Birthday, Elise!

It's hard to believe, but six years ago today we welcomed one of the world's sweetest little spirits into our home. And what a blessing she has been!!

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From the very beginning, her start into this world was unusual. She arrived after an intense, but brief, 90 minutes of labor, barely giving us enough time to make it to the hospital. She then made it a miraculous three months before she showed signs of her condition, when normally she should have started having seizures from the very beginning.

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She has responded in miraculous ways to the medications and therapy offered her, and has far exceeded what was originally predicted to be her developmental potential. Whereas before I thought I would never see her stand on her own, I am now certain that in time she will walk. We simply can't keep that girl down!

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She has bonded in very special and specific ways with everyone who comes in contact with her. Every babysitter, therapist, doctor, Primary teacher, and bus driver she has ever had is absolutely in love with her. She is impossible to resist! Her laugh and her smile warm me heart and soul.

She is a very vital part of our family and we are so blessed to have her in our home!

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Happy Birthday, Elise!!!

We Love You!!!

Heaven on Earth

I think that there are three important reasons to take your family on a true vacation:

1. It can be a source of renewal and relaxation.

2. It can fill your need for an adventure or two.

3. It builds lasting memories together as a family.

For Spring Break, we took the kids to San Juan Island last weekend. What an amazing trip! To me, it truly met my vital needs as listed above. Check, check, and check!

Here is the house we rented. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, tucked away into the trees, with a beautiful view of the water.

This is the view from the house, complete with wildlife galore! In case anyone is interested, we noticed the property is currently for sale.....only $750K, a mere trifle, really.



We explored all over the island. This is me and Erica at Roche Harbor. Erica really loved the water, and was quite annoyed with my reluctance to let her jump right in. The weather was beautiful, but not that warm!

We found a playground and let the kids play a bit. The swings faced the water, with a beautiful view.

We found this Mausoleum a short hike from Roche Harbor. It was cool, and a bit strange. We walked through a very old cemetary to get there. I ran ahead for a few minutes, to see where the path was leading. As I was running through the trees, with this haunting feeling surrounding me I felt a bit like I was on Twilight. Eric rolled his eyes at this fanciful description. Ha ha

The West Coast had a wonderful view of the Sound, with a picturesque lighthouse. We got there as the sun was setting. You can see Ethan hoping to catch site of a whale.

Ethan didn't find a whale, but he did discover a sea lion catching the last of the warm sunrays.

There was plenty of wildlife on the island. We saw this red fox several times, as well as her black companion. They both came right up to the car.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting an Alpaca farm. This group of young males were particularly interested in the kids. They kept investigating them at the fence, making a strange meowing sound. Erica got pretty good at imitating them. She was, of course, in pure ecstasy being so close to these big furry friends!

In the little gift shop were some beautiful hats, scarves, and sweaters hand crafted from Alpaca wool. I would have loved to purchase a few of them, until I saw the price tag! Erica, unfortunately, found a tiny stuffed Alpaca (made with probably about 50 cents worth of wool) that she loved enough to give a slimy, boogery kiss to, requiring me to purchase the $16 souvenir.

The South Beach is very different from the other parts of the island. It is a wind-swept and rugged area, with rocky cliffs and some great pebbly beaches.

Erica couldn't resist all the smooth pebbles, and had to throw as many back into the water as she could find. The driftwood was also a wonder of jungle-gymns to climb.

What a wonderful place.....

The more I see of the world (not that I have seen that much, but I fully intend to see as much as possible!), the more I am amazed at it's wonder and beauty. It fills my soul with such peace and contemplation as I marvel at God's creations. He truly made a glorious place for us to live, and I love that I can feel nearer to Him when I detach myself from my own little world, and look at this earth around me.

It really is Heaven on Earth.

Tulip Festival

This week was Spring Break for the kids, so I wanted to do some fun things. One thing we did was go to the Tulip Festival on Wednesday. It was a very cold, windy day, but the tulips were gorgeous!! After trekking through all the mud and water puddles, we finally made it out to the fields.

More from our Spring Break adventures coming soon....