IMHO I have some of the cutest and best grandchildren EVER!

Car craziness

Garrett droops pretty much like clockwork between 10 and 11 a.m. Here he has every indication of falling asleep in his car seat. We don't like when he does this because even if he gets only 5 minutes of sleep he thinks he's done with napping for the day. So I enlisted Krystle and Courtney to keep him awake until we got home.

Krystle tried the manually keep his eyes open routine. Courtney and I were loudly trying to play peek-a-boo. We successfully got home and he did get a real nap. Boy the tricks we have to pull out sometimes!

New projects and their inspirations

Don't let the perfectly angelic photo fool you. This little girl is a rough and tumble cutie. The caped ducky fabric was purchased for Katie many months ago. But it was just recently that I realized I had the perfect complementary fabric. She will soon get a new blanket that very well could be used as a cape in her adventures as she turns 2 years old next month.

The other little Virginia Miss

I'm so thankful for my sister and her camera for keeping me supplied with photos of these kidlets. Evie is 2 months old already. I'm sure she hasn't worn out her blankets yet but I think she could use some more to coordinate with different outfits.

These are both going to be double sided flannels. The white with blue bows fabric is the softest flannel I've ever felt. I think it will go great with her new blue and green outfit pictured below. The block and dot blanket is just going to be fun and colorful.

She's a bright eyed little one.

Speaking of Bright Eyes...

Anabelle is 7 months old! Cherise sent this after bath picture to my phone last night. She's got the most adorable face! Look at those eye lashes. I'm envious of those but totally in love with this little pixie! I made her a Gramma blanket for her to use here but wanted one for her to use at home too. So I picked out some pretty girly patterns and hope to get to sewing soon.

Our boy Henry

This is another cell phone picture from Cherise. I sent the kids a fizzy heart thing for their tub water. That's why it is pink. Henry (almost 2 1/2) is such a busy, smart boy. He loves his books and his arts and crafts and he knows how to use the potty when he has the motivation. He also loves animals. So I got a dog print and a frog print for his new blanket. The entire back will be done with the bug fabric. He (like most of the boys) is a bit camera shy. But I adore this blonde haired brown eyed boy just the way he is. Perfect!

A bit of whimsy

I found Sgt Gum, here, inspecting these toothbrush recruits in the bathroom the other day. They are doing a fine job. Keep up the good work!

Danika has a dentist appointment coming up and I need to make one for each of the other two big kids. They haven't visited there yet but I think they'll enjoy the Hollywood themed office. I love it. Sure wish Dr. Badger took patients over 21.

It was Supah!

Superbowl Sunday + sunshine and smiles

Poor Danika had trouble looking toward me with the sun shining so bright. Garrett got some good squinting going. Genevieve angled her face so the sun didn't shine directly at her. It was a pleasant trip to Target for supplies.

The woodwright and his apprentice

Charles is more of a cobbler than a woodwright here. He is oiling his new boots for Job Corp. Garrett was interested in what he was doing briefly but was more excited to sit on the steps. Since we had company we had the door to the family room open and the little guy was free to wander up and down the steps at will. He mostly was fascinated by just sittin'.

The spread

I couldn't find my small crockpot to keep the cheese dip warm. But apart from that little problem, we had a nice buffet spread out.

The maestro

Harlan is pretty much a master of providing an excellent atmosphere to watch the game. He and Hayden spent a few hours down in the family room rearranging furniture for the best viewing for the most number of people. We could seat 11 adults comfortably and any number of kids tucked in here and there.

Harlan has researched and put together an amazing room for our viewing pleasure. Most recently he repainted the wall that we project on. It is now a grey color. It makes all colors so much richer looking. The dark colors are especially noticeably darker. You can barely make out the outline of Garrett's head in the very bottom of the above picture. But you can see what a nice bright and vivid picture we got to watch.

The kids don't care about the game

all they want is the soda pop

Chips, crackers, cheese, carrots, fruit and POP. A kids' kind of buffet. They skipped the the salads, wings, meatballs, and the vast array of other veggies. But they did each get a whole can of pop.

Genevieve and Danika, both, have been asking what they can do to help prepare meals or get ready for mealtime. G'vieve has lived in this apron for the past couple of days. So sweet girls!

She and Garrett shared a seat at the start of the game.

Vinny was in the house!

Little Vinny Z was a bit shy in the beginning. It didn't take too long for him to warm up to Danika. He sat and put his head on her shoulder and held her hand. He's a charmer!

And a ham!

Courtney and her Friends

I made Courtney pose with her friends near the wall hanging that their mother gave me many years ago. The nicest photos turned out blurry but I'm posting them anyway. Katelin and Courts in the first picture. And Molly and Courtney in the second.

The saying on this quilt has never been truer than this past year.

Thanks friends for sharing your day with us.

Only 3 weeks until DAYTONA!!!

Don't feed them spaghetti before a photo shoot

You learn something new every day

Did you know there is the equivalent of 22 packets of sugar in a 16oz flavored coffee drink? Each of the 4 mirrors in the ladies restroom at the food court level at the mall had a sugar consumption fact. Wow, you seriously do learn something new every day if you are reading the signs.

I am safe to assume this is the Chinese word or symbol for water.

For health and fitness I need to start Woking smart and walking smart. Panda is educating me on the benefits of broccoli and mushrooms on their soda cups! Perhaps people only use them for water.

"Cheese" with spaghetti faces

The editing feature on my iPhoto program makes this photo look pretty good. I was trying to take some pictures to print out for Joylynn. This turned out so much better than the last time I tried this pose. That time none of them wanted to do it and we had two of them having meltdowns.

Spaghetti smiles

Hayden was on hand to make them crack up for the camera. A fun photo shoot for a change.

Fading the color seemed to help as well. They're such good kids. Happy and healthy and busy, busy, busy! I just need more energy to keep up with them.

Gorgeous February weather

Can't complain one bit about our weather. It's been sunshiney and fairly warm. Don't know if that groundhog knew what he was talking about, predicting 6 more weeks of winter. We have spring flowers coming up already. Perhaps they should hide for a bit longer just in case Winter decides to show up.

Toddler Adventures

Climbing on Tables

is a NO!

Coloring is GREAT

Putting crayons in your ears, mouth or nose is a NO!

Boy! Looking at these pictures from two mornings this week, it looks like Garrett only wears pajamas. It's simply because I have had the luxury of leaving him home when I ran the kids to school a couple of days this week. So his clothes were put on a bit later in the day.

Sunny school run

The sun was shining this morning. Hayden and Courtney joined Gar and I in our taxi-ing the kids. Then we were off to get groceries for tonights dinner which according to the menu was "Courtney's surprise"!

Breakfast al fresco

It was sunny but a little breezy as we had our breakfast at the outdoor tables of the Hollywood West Starbucks. Not too cold to keep us from enjoying our first picnic of the year.

Hayden has Carhartt envy

Hayden tried on the matching jacket to Garrett's Carhartt. They look pretty dapper. Wish I had the c-note on me to be able to buy it for him. He'll have to wait for a bit longer to get his practically indestructible outer wear.

Progress on the rebuild

While I was in the check out Garrett went out and checked out the progress on the new garden center build. It's coming along. The only complaint I have is that they have temporarily closed "my" parking spot. I'm trying out others to see it they work as well for me :P

What will February bring?

A couple of our nieces have birthdays this month. Happy 24th Birthday today to Tiffany Jensen and Happy 18th Birthday tomorrow to Lindsey Kangas! Our own Courtney turns 20 on Valentine's Day. She might possibly head out for Job Corp sometime before the end of the month. I'm excited for both her and Charlie getting job training this way. Courtney's employer said they'd take her back after she's done with her job training if she doesn't get something in her field right away. That will be awesome.

It's LEAP Year so have a wonderful Feb. 29th.

Before we get to celebrating that, I'm looking forward to giving and getting some hearts and flowers.

So welcome to February!