The rest of the story

IF YOU CLICKED ON THIS ONE FIRST, GO TO THE SECOND POST FOR TODAY IF YOU WANT TO START AT THE BEGINNING.  

THIS IS PART TWO

Sunday we went for a walk around a nearby lake.  It was about a 2 mile walk so it really was a good time to try and walk off some of those extra calories that we had consumed while visiting family.  

 Isn't she beautiful!!  A real movie star.

 Mom and Dad, they look pretty good for being the parents of three lovely and beautiful girls.

 Another beauty.

 Finally, the baby isn't such a baby anymore.

Dad has captured this one for a while anyway.

We had a great time with our two different families.  We have been doing this trip for MANY years and are always thankful that they let us come back.  It is a great way to keep in touch with both families and spend time together.

Travel pictures

My last entry was in N. Carolina.  I got a little busy and didn't post any more pictures so you will get a LOT of them on this posting.  Family, what can I say, they are the best.  

 On our last evening in N. Carolina Joseph fixed us dinner.  He planned it all, cooked it all and it was all terrific and a surprise to everyone except Lisa who helped him buy the groceries.  The BIG surprise was our dessert which was s'mores.  It was a great way to end our visit.

 The guys loved the fire and playing with the flames, not to mention the great s'mores.  Maybe I should send some roasting sticks though.  We had to use some old hangers to roast our marshmallows.

 The evening was rounded off with a couple of games.  Paul and Bud played a game of checkers on the board that Grandpa Warren made for the family.  I'm not sure who won this game.

 Joseph and I also played a couple of games.  I know that Joseph won every time.  We are not as competitive as Bud and Paul so it was a relaxing game for both of us.

 Wednesday we drove over to Nashville to spend a couple of nights.  Neither Bud nor I had ever spent any time in Nashville so we took a day and a half to explore.

 They have an exact replica of the Parathion which we thought was interesting since we saw the real one in Athens a few years ago.  This one was all restored.

 Thursday we went out to the Grand Ole Opry just to walk around.   There wasn't a show going on that afternoon but it was interesting to walk around.

 Everyone must get their picture taken in front of a giant guitar.

 Friday afternoon we drove on over to Lebanon  to see Matt, Diana and the girls.

 That evening we went out to a GREAT Mexican place to eat.  Bud said this was the best Mexican food he ever ate.

 Saturday we drove down to where Diana's father is pastor and joined in the Easter Egg Hunt.  Well, the kids did, us adults just stood around and watched and posed for pictures.

 Ready to go?????

 Peeps are the best.  She even shared them with me.

 Too much candy????

 I ate the ears!!!!!

 After the Easter Egg Hunt we went to lunch and then to the movies.  Everyone wanted to see the new movie, "Mirror, Mirror".  It was a great movie to see with kids.  The adults loved it too.
Then we used Bud's iPhone to find the best place to buy cheesecake so that we could have an early birthday   celebration for Diana.  This bakery was a great find for everyone.  We left with a great cheesecake and some fantastic cookies for Easter.

 At home we decided to make a Birthday Banner for the evening's celebration.  Diana was inside working on dinner (she had to make her own birthday dinner) so the girls and I were busy on the banner.

A little later a great game of volleyball used up a little energy.  Anything to wear out those kids.  They have a lot of energy.

 The birthday banner turned out great.

 Mom and her girls.  Momma is pretty happy, surrounded by such wonderful girls.

 AND, of course the cheesecake.  It was terrific.  We will need to remember this bakery for future use.

Sunday we went for a walk,  We needed to walk off that cheesecake.
I have run out of room on this posting so go on to the next one for the rest of the story.

North Carolina

We arrived in N. Carolina Sunday evening.  We are now enjoying the company of Bud's brother and his family.  The weather has been terrific.  Monday we went out on the kayaks  for a brief little paddle.  Considering my previous misfortune with cameras and water, I decided not to risk it so you will need to trust me that it was a nice morning paddle.  

 Paul has really grown a lot since our last visit but he still is a very studious student.  He is working on his calculus here at the kitchen counter.

 Joseph continues to enjoy the out of doors.  It was his idea to go out for the paddle in the morning.  He did leave his b b gun behind though.

 We spent the afternoon in Winston Salem.  We picked Paul up from piano class, spent  little time together at a great used bookstore where I bought a whole pile of books and then dropped him off at orchestra practice before heading over to see Olivia at college.

 Her  boyfriend joined us for a great dinner and lively conversation about Olivia's life as a new student this year and plans for the future.  We were thankful that Olivia was able to take time from her busy student life to visit with us.

 Here is the whole crowd at dinner, Mike the boyfriend, Olivia, David, me and Bud.

 After dinner we went back to pick Paul up from practice.  My camera doesn't take very good distance pictures in a dark setting but I still thought I would include this one.He is doing very well in the orchestra and really enjoys his time with the group.

 Today (Tuesday) was hiking day for the boys.  Paul is really interested in hiking lately. I decided to stay behind and Joseph isn't as interested in hiking as Paul.  He went on a hike with a friend this past week and decided one hike a week was enough.

 The two brothers are ready.  The had to paddle across the lake a ways and then were going to hike in the hills behind the lake.

Off they go, ready for an adventure.

traveling

Why is it that I can take ONE carry-on and a purse for a week long trip to Paris and it takes the whole car to travel for a week to N. Carolina and Tenn?????  Slowly we are trying to leave TC this morning.  Spring came this last week and my bulbs are coming up.  I hope they wait for me to bloom.

projects finished

My sewing room has been busy these past few weeks.  I love my time there.  It is so relaxing.  I just finished a couple of projects for gifts.  After we get back from our trip, I will go back to a project for myself.

 I made these curtains for the nursery of little Sophia.  You can see the smaller teddy bear that I made for her when she was born.  I also made a quilt for her.  I volunteered to make curtains for the nursery.  It was a new and learning experience.  I hadn't ever made lined curtains but the owner of my favorite fabric store gave me some pointers and they turned out very nice.  They cast a pink hew over the room.  Mommy and Sophia were happy.

 I also just finished another gift.  I bought this "Poky Little Puppy" fabric a couple of years ago and really didn't have a project in mind.  However the daughter of one of my friends had a baby recently and I decided this would make a nice quilt.  I also had this daughter as a  first grade student so that is a nice little 'touch'.  She learned to read while I was her teacher and now I am giving her a story quilt.  The bear is also out of the companion fabric from the Little Golden Book Company.  It turns out there is a whole set of fabrics that go with the book.  I got a little crazy and ordered some more of the fabric.  I like how everything turned out.

 This is the front side of the quilt with the pictures from the book.

This is the back side of the quilt with some of the companion fabrics.  I think it looks great.  I will post a picture of the baby and mommy when I deliver it.  They have been waiting for a long time to have this baby so they feel very blessed.  I am looking forward to seeing the baby and mommy and grandmother.  I will make arrangements for the delivery after we return.

Yes, we will be on the road the next week.  We leave on Saturday and drive to N. Carolina to see Bud's brother and his family.  We will stay a few days and then take off for Tennessee. We have a couple of days in between our visits so we will explore the Nashville area on Thursday and part of Friday before meeting up with Matt and Diana and the girls when they get out of school on Friday.  We will stay there until some time Sunday afternoon and then head north, spend the night on the road somewhere and be home on Monday.  It is a little 'get away' after a long winter.  We have been taking this trip for many years, back when Sara and Leo lived in D.C. and Matt and Diana lived in KY going to school.  It is a great tradition and a wonderful time to see family.

I will take a computer and post on the road so see you on the Web.

Charlotte and Eva

Friday night we attended a fund raiser that Charlotte has been involved with.  This is a mission initiative that Charlotte began, with her youth church group.  They are raising money to provide 1,000 pairs of shoes for children of the City of Refuge Children's Mission  in Jamaica.  They plan to go on this mission trip this June and deliver the shoes.  I am impressed with the commitment and the mission.  

 Sunday we attended a concert at the United Methodist church which was a way to showcase the vocal group that Charlotte is a part of.  They are planning to sing at Lincoln Center in NYC in a couple of weeks.  It is really quite an honor to perform as part of a program.  The music we heard was terrific.  We have some very talented young students at the Traverse City Central High School.

 Charlotte had her own solo and she did a wonderful job.  I am sorry for the quality of the photo, my camera decided the batteries needed to be recharged right at this time so this is a photo from Bud's phone.

Finally, Eva came up to visit today.  She was attending a leadership conference here in TC with other church leaders.  She came early and we had lunch with Bud, spent some time together downtown shopping and walking around in the 80 degree temps.

YES, we are experiencing a great warm spell here in N. Michigan.  I think all of Michigan is in warm trend.  I talked to Glen in N. Dakota and they are having unseasonably warm weather there too.  I'm not totally convinced that winter isn't just in 'remission' for a few days but only time will tell.

I hope your weekend was blessed with a little inspiration to give, some great music and a visit from family along with the great weather.

Out with the old and in with the new

Spring is trying to come to N. Michigan and Eva is coming for a visit next week so I decided today was the day to put away the snowmen and do a little cleaning before she arrives.  

 The snowmen are packed away now.

 I am a little ADD so I decided to show you my latest project in the middle of this post.  I made this small quilt out of scraps this past winter.  I got tired of making those little strips so I added a big black middle.  You can't see the quilting but my quilter did a terrific job of putting a feather design in the middle of the black part.  It really classed it up.  I don't have a home for this one yet.  It is a small twin size or a good size to use to snuggle up on the sofa in the winter.  It is about 55"x75". I used all scraps for this piece.  I was attempting to use up my unwanted fabric or small pieces of fabric leftover from previous projects.

 I also REALLY wanted to use up the scraps so this is the reverse side of the quilt.  I have been putting leftover fabric on the backs of quilts more and more lately.  It is a good way to use up fabric.  This one is totally reversible unlike some quilts that I just put a 'splash' of leftover fabric on the back.

 Well, back to the cleaning.  I had to get the bunnies and Easter things out before the holiday comes and goes.  Sometimes that happens to me because I really am not the type of person that enjoys redecorating on a regular basis.

Part of the reason I don't like to redecorate has to do with my limited storage space.  I have this one very little storage space down under the steps.  You must bend over to get in and I usually hit my head when I am backing out with a tub.  You must go in forward and then back out with a tub in your arms because you can't turn around in there.  It is too small of a space and it is full of LOTS of stuff.

Well, back to my cleaning and spiffing up the house before Eva comes to visit.  I hope you have something more exciting on your agenda on this nice spring day.