New York

Just back from a family vacation to New York to visit my sister. We had tons of fun playing with our cousins, visiting local attractions, and eating. Oh and we ate. Dunkin Donuts (usually twice a day), Rockland Bakery (you can pick your own bagels, fresh and hot as they come out of the oven), Friendly's (reses peanut butter sundae's), pizza, and pretzels. It rained only one day and the rest of the time the weather was amazing. We went to Bear Mountain Park, Bergen County Zoo, Central Park, Museum Village. We spent most of our time in upstate New York but spent one day in Manhattan. My favorite event was shopping at the Christmas Tree Store. I had heard about this place but they don't have any on the west coast. I spotted one near my sister's house and got everyone to go with me. It was amazing. I seriously had to restrain myself. Just in case you have never heard of this it has nothing to do with Christmas. It is sort of like a cross between a Big Lots and the home decor section of TJ Max/Marshall's. I bought as much as I could squeeze into my suit case. Despite the three hours we spent on the tarmac in Texas, a little rain, and a fair amount of arguing with the GPS, we had a very nice time. I really hope to get back to quilting and my other projects. But with soccer, piano, and Kindergarten starting this month I am not sure how much progress I will make.

Flare Up

I am having a major flare up of my tendinitis. I can barely type. Hopefully I will be back soon. Stay tuned.

Laurie's Quilt

I made this quilt for my best friend Laurie. I used Moda charm squares that I bought at Esty. The pattern was my traditional charm square quilt pattern. And I used a loopy stitch to stipple it.

I also got to use my new fence to take a photo. I always wanted to photograph my quilts on a fence.

Summer Fun

It has been a busy summer. We have been camping, swimming, playing, and having lots of fun. So much fun I forgot to blog for a while. On our first camping trip we went to McGrath State Beach. On one night we made banana boats. We stuffed bananas with min marshmellows and choclate chips and roasted them over the fire. Yummy. We were very dirty but had a lot of fun.

On our second trip we went to Lake Casitas and spent the day at the water park. This is a photo of the the lazy river. The camping part was not so good and we ended up leaving early but it was still good family fun.

Here is a photo of the pirate village that has taken up residence on the bedroom wall of my boys room. I believe it got a special summer rate and has been a source or many hours of fun and entertainment.