Beach and bluegrass

Had a couple fun excursions this weekend. I went on a wild adventure to the beach with my friend Angela, her son, and Maggie. It was a little overcast and windy, but we braved it. Highlights of the day included watching a seagull sneak some of Angela's sandwich, discovering that Hank didn't want to step on the sand, scoring some deals at an organic cotton outlet, and getting lost but finding our way back to civilization and seeing what we think was a leprachaun hitchhiking on the side of a country road.
We also went to a friend's un-birthday, meaning it was 6 months until his real birthday, but he's always wanted a backyard party in the summer with music, watermelon, kids, and friends. Looks like he got his wish because it was the scene of quintessential summer. Happy un-birthday Mike!

Little camper

1st camping trip of the season and 1st time for little Mags. She LOVED it. And we're pretty happy about that because what would we do if she didn't?
She cooed and talked while on walks around the campground, in her playpen looking up at the trees, and in the tent when we'd put her down for a nap. Two other families near us brought their little ones too. Lots of people were suprised we were taking her at 4 months old but on the contrary, it was really easy since she doesn't crawl or walk yet. We just weren't as mobile as we once were. I consider this trip a trial-run since we have a few more planned this summer and I came home with a list of things to pack next time to make it more fun/easier. Michael is thrilled about that. He already thinks I'm packing up the house :-)

Next time we head up to the mountains I think we're going to shoot for a site along the river that doesn't cost anything. We scoped out a few of these spots, including the one I camped at for years as a kid with my family, and had a good chat with a couple forest service employees about primitive camping. As we talked, they couldn't believe how much of a happy girl Maggie was. One of them commented that he loved her "bracelets" (a.k.a. chubby wrists) and that she was "ridiculously cute". A mom and dad always love hearing this stuff!

Blueberries and cream

Spent the morning recently at a u-pick farm in Apple Hill. Sis, Eden, Maggie, and I went blueberry picking and had lots of fun. The great thing about blueberries is you don't have to deal with any prickly bushes or stains on your clothes. We ate as we went and each ended up with big buckets full. Eden went exploring from the moment we got there, pet their friendly cat Pumpkin, and learned how to tell the ripe blueberries from the not-so-ripe ones. Did I mention how big they were? Tasty too.

Oof-ta!

My sister and I recently discovered that we have different words for picking up our little ones and she said her friend does too. Turns out she and her friend picked up these words from their mother-in-laws without evening noticing where they got it from. Me, not sure where mine's from...

Me: "oof-ta!"

Shay: "opi-day!"

Vanessa: "op-ala!"

Goofy, goofy. What's yours?

Little getaways

Just got back from visiting my grandpa and two aunts with my mom and Maggie. While Michael was riding the death ride in the mountains, we headed to Nevada. It was Maggie's first time out of state and meeting her great grandpa. We had a great time. We ate good, healthy food and his backyard looks amazing. I'd never been up there in the summer and it really comes to life with a little sun and water. I had no idea the "desert" could look like this :-)

Next stop...Maggie's first camping trip this coming weekend. We're really excited to go. Maggie just starting using her pack n' play so that will come in handy and she just starting rolling over last weekend. It's really cute watching her go through these changes. Once she's on her belly, she holds her head up and looks around with a smile and determination on her face.

The 4th

Fun swim day with family. Wish I'd gotten more pics, but we were in the pool most of the day!

Life is good

What a happy week. Maggie has been such fun to be with. She's talking more, crying less, and smiling for anyone that smiles at her. Her nana and lita just bought her lots of summer clothes so she is really stylin' these days. This morning we caught a cute moment.I cooked a ton. Some of the things I made were pork enchiladas, chili, cornbread, bbq chicken, morrocan veggi stew over rice, and peanut butter m&m cookie bars. Everything turned out really yummy. We took some of the chili and cornbread over to Ken's sister house. Ken was discharged from the hospital this week and looks so much better.

More swimming...once at a knitting friend's house and today on the 4th of July. Totally looking forward to it.

I also picked up some fun finds, mostly for Maggie and Eden. A Hello Kitty fairytales video, Mr. Potato Head, and jumper.I was offered informal quilting lessons from a new/old friend (an older woman who I took my wedding dress to for alterations a few years ago and then rediscovered her this year and now I live down the street from her). She had the cutest 9-patch baby quilt out for Maggie to lay on and as we talked, I found out that she also knits, spins, quilts, sews, gardens, bakes, etc. - all the stuff I love! I'm starting with a little applique, then moving on to hand quilting my own 9-patch baby quilt. Didn't think I would take this up but after seeing Regina's quilts and being offered this help, I'm gonna try it.

I just got my spinning wheel back after lending it to a friend, so I went to spin nite recently and I think my mojo is back. Feels good. I'm almost done with some purple mohair/merino (then I need to learn how to ply-eek!). This fiber was the only stuff I kept, aside from some silk bats, after destashing before Maggie was born. After this, I can move on to some new fiber. Either some natural wool that a friend just gave me or some beautiful hand-dyed wool that my friend Angela just gifted to me (wish I could say I helped, but I just watched her dye it :-)

Have a nice 4th of July!