Memorial Week-End

The last few weeks we have felt a little like Noah. It has done nothing but rain, rain, and rain. It wasn't even the sort of rain that we could play out in. In fact, a few of the days we turned on the pellet stove.. in MAY!

 

Stomper was getting a little stir crazy so during a break in the storm we took a walk in the woods. It is nice being able to get him out from beyond the daycare fence and let him run wild for a little while. He found sticks to pick up, trees to shake, slugs to poke at, and of course space to run. And run and run and run. Seems like its his only speed these days, it makes it very hard to take his photo! 

 

Memorial Week-end we went up to the family camp in the woods. It rained, of course, and was so bitter cold. I was wearing a hat, a cowl, fingerless mittens, and several layers of clothes. We were wishing for a wood stove, but we managed none the less to stay warm.

 

Then finally, on Sunday, the sun came out!

 

 

Easter

Easter afternoon we went to Mimi and Bumpa's house for a New England Boiled Dinner and an Egg Hunt. The challenge is to locate as many eggs as we can with out Bumpa helping us. Everyone helps hunt: Great Great Grammie, Great Grammie, Auntie, Uncle Z, a family friend, Papa, and Mommmy. We found all but 4 of the 200 eggs Mimi filled and Bumpa hid. Once all the eggs were found we emptied them and divided the candy. This year we came home with about 2 quarts of candy!

We feel very blessed to have such a warm and loving family. Not only did Stomper get to have a family Egg Hunt, but Auntie, Great Grammie, and Mimi gave him Easter Baskets and presents. The loot he came home with was almost as much as Christmas!

Easter morning is a little too crazy for us so we don't have a family picture, if you want to see how handsome Stomper was in his Easter vest I knit him check out this post.

Here are some photos of us egg hunting for the 200 eggs that Mimi and Bumpa filled and hid for us.

DIY Felt Notebook and Crayon Roll

I wanted to give my son a new toy for Christmas Morning to play with at church. It needed to be quiet and hold his attention for more than two seconds. I know he enjoys it when I make him coloring books from images I find on-line so I thought I should buy him a little notebook. Of course, when you have a notebook you need crayons, and if you give a Stomper crayons he will need some place to put them away. If you give a Stomper a container of crayons he will dump them out and step on them or be forever asking you to open and close the container.

Oak Leaf and K for sister Kat

 What to do?

During this time I was looking through DIY projects on pintrest for ideas I ran across a pencil roll that you make and design yourself. Spurned on by a false sense of confidence I started a Cloth Notebook w/Pencil Roll for Stomper and a plain pencil roll for my sister. For my sisters I followed the plans from Soule Mama's book The Creative Family. I finished my sisters up lickety-split with time to spare but my sons languished in the basket. Two days before Christmas it became abundantly clear to me that I would never be finished in time. Naturally things would have gone a lot quicker if I knew how to use a sewing machine, yes, I don't sew, not yet anyway (we'll save that discussion for another post).

Kat's Pencil Roll

February rolled around and still the Notebook waited. I decided that I would finish it for Easter. I found a cute owl template and cut out a little owl for the front and attached it. I finished all the little details and realzied that it was too thick for my needle to poke through with comfort. If only I could sew! Thankfully I live with my Mom and she has graciously agreed to sew the two pieces of felt together in time for Easter.

An Owl for Stomper

I have put together a DIY pdf if you are interested in making one for any little ones in your life. All the measurements are adjustable and if you know how to sew it will go a lot quicker for you.

Click the here for the PDF

Make sure you tell me how it work for you!

Happy Thanksgiving

I have posts to write. Lots of ideas.

Sadly they are all locked in my brain.

Right now my hands are busy cooking and knitting.

I hope to post something on Friday!

Egg Hunt 2012

There it is, the first egg.

Carefully he picks it up,

And drops it in his bucket.

One down 227 to go!

Luckily at Mimi and Bumpa's house everyone hunts eggs.

Great Grandmas, Great Great Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, Great Aunts, Mama and Papa too!

Tuckered out boy snuggling with his Bumpa.

Hope your Easter was full of family too!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Papa Bear, Stomper, and I!

I hope you have a great time getting together with family

and hunting for those pesky eggs!