Making popsicles

One of the kids' favorite things to do is make popsicles. I bought these nifty makers from IKEA for like $2. A great investment. Normally, I just either take the juice from some canned peaches/pears and put them in the "trays". Lately, I've been pureeing up pears and putting them in. The kids LOVE them. Well, Justin was all set to make them today, as evidenced by the picture below. When that kid wants to do something, he's just efficient. He gets everything out, all I have to do is "show up". This is the sight I walked into when I came in from outside this morning. Justin was a bit anxious, wouldn't you say??

WARNING----

Multiple Posts below. Read at your own risk.

Mackinac Island—Michigan

This is the island from the movie “Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. It is on the Lake Huron side of the Mackinac Bridge. The cool things is, there are no cars on this island, except an ambulance (which I had the privilege of riding in)and a DNR truck. I used to work on the island, right after Ricks College, with 3 of my best friends. It was quite the experience. So, 13 years later, we returned. Not much had changed. It was still beautiful, smelled of horse urine in the street, bikes everywhere and just a gorgeous scene on the lake. I loved it. My kids loved the water and the bike ride around the island.
  
I lived in the room, 2nd window from the left. Our wake up call was the caramel corn cooking and the washing of the horse urine off of the streets.
  
trying on military clothing at the fort.
 
Lake Huron
        
This is a picture of the ferry we took to get back and forth to the island.
 

Pond life—Michigan

Another evening, while we were in Michigan, my mom ordered up some super yummy pizza, my new favorite. We all went out to a pond and had dinner with 2 of my brothers/families and cousin, aunt/uncle. Now, you have to understand my brother, Jared’s, kids. They have extensive knowledge on the subject of amphibians and bugs. Apparently, my niece,Hannah, when she was about 6, corrected her mother on a type of bug. Her mom is the bug expert and was told she was wrong.

While out here at the pond, the kids were enthralled with playing with a turtle in the water. They tried to collect some frogs, tried to feed the turtle and just had a good time together. I love how all the kids are laying on the dock together. Luckily, no one fell in. Kyle would have preferred to go swimming though.

 

Jackson enjoying his food

Micali, Kate, Justin

    

Hannah feeding the turtle

  

Micali was so hot. It was a BIT humid that night.

Spray Park—Michigan

I love these things. They are FREE! Micali, Elijah (cousins), Justin and Kyle had an absolute blast. Kyle would just kick and scream when we had to leave. Did I mention

 

I love how Micali sits in a bucket of water and her feet in another. Aahh…Life.

       

 

  

can you tell Kyle loved the park? I so wish they had these around here. We need more free things! Water is a child’s best friend.

Sanford Lake in Michigan

From the ages of 8-12 I used to live across the street from this lake. We used to live at the water. My dad had/has his favorite fishing spot on this lake and we have lost a few lures/hooks at that spot. It is so fun to go back home and play at the lake. The kids loved it. We went quite a few times while we were at home (thank you Mom for the free pass!) The boys loved being on the boat as well. We love Michigan.

     

Pete's Dragon

This is Kyle's new favorite movie. He LOVES it. It's about the only one he'll sit on the couch and is enthralled with. He loves the songs, and I find him trying to sing along. I do love this movie too. I love the library! He totally picked it out and I think it's one we need to add to our library. His favorite song is the "I love you, too" song. He giggles every time I sing it to him. He loves to sing along to that song, especially. What a good movie!!

I wanna..I wanna…

There are some things I want to be able to do in this life.

1. I want to be a runner. I do. Am I good at it? No, but I try and I am quite enjoying it now.

2. I have always admired people who can quilt, who can pick out just the right fabric and make it look amazing. I want to learn to be a good quilter, like this blog I love. I can look at it for hours. She is amazing. She is my inspiration. No, I don’t plan on making 34 quilts in one year, .like she did last year, however, I’d like to make at least my kids and myself a quilt! My sister in law, Aimee and my cousin, Claire do a great job of doing crafts. My aunt Nellie is the supreme of quilters, in my book. She does all of her quilts BY HAND! Another aunt and uncle made me a GORGEOUS, again hand stitched, quilt for my wedding. I was able to pick it up in Michigan this summer. It is white satin with the temple we were married in handstitched on the front, about 3 feet high with our names, temple and marriage date. It so beautiful I don’t want to take it out of the bag! So, I’m starting small. Very small. I made Kyle a quilt a few months ago for his bed, well for a toddler bed, but he’s in a twin now. It’s embarassing. The top was fine, but the quilting was a sight. I realized..I didn’t have a walking foot for my machine. I remedied that with some babysitting money. I LOVE IT!! I made these two projects below. Now, don’t look too closely. The first is Justin’s blanket for his animals. It matches his blanket I am almost done with for his bed. The other is a table centerpiece for fall. I just quilted around everything. The Big deal is the Binding!! My sis in law, Aimee, gave me a verbal tutorial. It is so easy! Why was I so afraid. Oh, because of mitered corners. I’m getting better. 3 out of 8 isn’t bad, right?! I love doing the binding now. I love the hand sewing part, probably because I do love to cross-stitch. I have 3 that need framed right now. Enjoy!