Montana Time - No Rest - Day Two

Amanda and her boys arrived late last night and are staying at Rhiana's house for the party fest.  We are on our way over there to spend the day helping get everything ready for Elena and Malea's parties and suggest to Becca that she drop off Hyrum and Zyra for the morning so that they can have cousin time as well.

First up -- shopping.  Rhiana has to work and so Amanda and I are armed with lists and set out to accomplish as much as possible during the 2 hours that Mister has graciously offered to help Brittany (Rhiana's nanny) watch 7 kids.  Oh my, we must dash.  First up: Michaels for tea party decorations, cake decorating supplies, and activities.  Then we are off to The Home Depot for plants for the yard and finish up with a stop at the grocery store for cake baking ingredients and lunch.  Now it is time to rescue Grandpa.  What do you suppose he has been up to?

It seems that he played photographer while we were gone and managed to get some fun shots.  I had located sets of the "Go Fish" cards I had at the beach last summer and shipped them up here ahead of my trip so that each family could take a set home.  They were an instant hit and if watching these little ones sit down and play a card game unsupervised isn't extra special -- I am not sure what is.

The only one missing is Malea.  Where do you suppose she is?  Ah -- food.

Caleb finds the pink tent --- this is a pretty girly house.  Too funny.

Grandpa soon herds everyone outside and then just sits back and watches what happens.  Free entertainment and so many dynamics all working together always makes for interesting interactions.  Sit back and enjoy with me while we peek in on their moments.

Deep in thought.  Elena

Hyrum, Zyra, and Elena - Way too cute.  Major decisions being made I am sure.

Best cousin friends.  Hyrum and Elena

Caleb the Ghost heading back into the house.

How much longer do we have to stay out here Grandpa?  We're getting tired.  Raef, Zyra, and Elena.

Now we're talking -- at least food is being given out but it really needs to be eaten indoors don't ya think?  Caleb

Group jump - five cousins together at once.  Raef, Ryan, Hyrym, Elena, and Zyra

Where is Grandpa?  Elena has found him and decides that he needs taking care of so sets about tying his shoes and making his hair pretty.  Sorry, no picture of the hair, but the shoes are killer.

After we return from shopping and start the lunch process, we discover that Elena is not willing to give Grandpa up.  She can almost always be found in his lap snuggling away.  While the kids are eating, Mister sets about getting the yard ready for tomorrow's "Garden Tea Party" and puts all the plants in that we picked up while shopping.  I am pretty sure that he is not minding the solitude in this task.  After all, seven bodies is a lot of busyness while we were gone.

He fills all the flower boxes and hanging baskets on the porch, the large pots on on the ground, and some smaller pots to place on the steps.  The previous pictures showed bits and pieces of the landscaping that Rhiana had already accomplished before we arrived.  She has certainly been busy lately.

Oh my, where is the day going?  Time for Gammy to get started on cakes.  After making 7 layer cakes and 2 dozen cupcakes, it is time to start frosting so that tomorrow I will not have quite so much to do.  Elena popped in to help with the decorating and had so much fun placing roses and sprinkling pink sugar.  Great moments - no pics though -- it is soooo hard to be everywhere at once.

Once the work is at a stopping point for the day, we get Malea and Caleb settled in for the night and Mister and I take everyone else out for dinner.  I absolutely love these moments with my family.  The kids are so well behaved and the grands do excellent as well.  Ha ha -- Gammy made a funny.  It is a great end to the day -- and we don't have to do dishes.

Montana Time -- 3 Birthdays!! - Day One

It is that time of year again --- we are off to  Montana for the pack of birthdays that take place during this time each year.  We have Caleb on April 26, Zyra on April 27, Malea on May 4 (me too), and Elena on May 7.  Wow.  It was determined a few weeks ago to try and combine things into one weekend in Billings and we are sure it will be a jam-packed few days.

Mister and I are fortunate and our flights go perfect into Billings along with my handheld tea set for Miss Elena (see Tea Time for Miss Elena).  We arrive around 1 p.m. and after picking up our car are soon on the way to Matt's house. 

Becca makes us a wonderful spinach salad for lunch and we are starving so dig right in.  It doesn't take long and Miss Zyra climbs up into my lap wanting to share my lunch.  I watch in amazement as she literlly finishes every piece of spinach that is left in the bowl.  Is there anything more heartwarming than children who eat vegetables?  Especially fresh ones?  

We spend the afternoon with two very excited grands who greet us with smiling faces peering out from the front room curtains.

It doesn't take long and we are soon wrapped up in games and trampoline fun.  It is hard to believe we haven't seen these treasures since August.  Oh my, the time is flying by.

What fun Hyrum, Zyra, and I are having!  His face is so cute and this trip is the first time we don't have any shyness at all -- he is just so excited to have us there.  We plan to spend lots of time hugging, playing with, and listening to him and his sister this weekend.

We are the new toy in town and not a  moment goes by that someone is asking us to play something.  We simply spend the day enjoying each and every moment with these two.  I do manage to get in a visit with Becca while Hyrum and Zyra give Grandpa the "Mario" lesson.  That lesson turned out to be quite long as Zyra fell asleep on Grandpa and he just held her until she woke up.  Now THAT is devotion.

Once awake, it is Gammy's turn to play and so I get schooled in a game of Memory.  I have a hunch that will happen a lot this week --- their memories are so good and this old lady's is starting to fail now and then.  Where on earth is that red bird?  Oh --- and Zyra looking for the elephant will make me giggle for months to come.

I peek into Zyra's room and see her doll in the stroller -- have to laugh as I cannot even comprehend how much time and effort has gone into making her look this beautiful.  Future cosmetologist at work!

This is truly our only day of rest as we will certainly be up and running the rest of the weekend.  We zip over to Rhiana's after dinner to say hi to her and the girls.  After getting an idea of her plans for parties and what is needed tomorrow, we help her finish some yard work while playing with Elena.  After dark, it is time to return to Matt's and when we arrive -- they are all in bed and the house is dead quiet.  It is 9 p.m. and so off to bed we go as well for some much needed sleep.

Sewing For the Girls

There have been multiple projects going on around the house the past month.  It seems as though they have all come together this past week.  Mister finished the quilt frame, we both finished the tea set, and I finished the matching outfits for Elena, Zyra, and Malea.  Whew.  We have certainly spent a great deal of time in the studio lately.  This doesn't mean that there aren't still a ton of things we are in the middle of, BUT ---- we did finish a few.

Tea Time for Miss Elena

*****Rhiana - if you see this before Elena's birthday, please don't let her see it*******

Many years ago (oh, let's say 20) a ceramic shop in Billings was going out of business and I bought quite a bit of the greenware.  I boxed it up and put it away for a time when my children were grown and had families and homes of their own.  Then, about 5 years ago, many changes happened in my life and I had to go through my stash and purge.  I was able to keep a few of the pieces of greenware and put them away hoping for a chance to put them to use still.  Finally, one of my chances arrived.  My granddaughter, Elena, is all girl and loves to have tea parties with her dolls.  She is turning 4 this year and so I decided it was time to give her something special - a handmade tea set.  So, I dug out the greenware and started in on it.



First step was to clean it, smoothing out all the raw edges and mold marks.  Then, off to Trinity Ceramic Supply, a local shop that makes their own glazes.  With underglazes in tow, I set to work putting the color directly onto the greenware.

This was a new technique to me but I loved working with the product and was excited to see my project come to life.   I loved how they turned out -- next step was off to the kiln for the first firing.  At this point, Rhiana let me know that the party was an "Alice in Wonderland Tea Party" and I could not believe my luck.  I have the perfect gift.

Yay!  First firing went well!  No cracks and the glaze worked just as I had hoped.  Now to clear glaze for the final firing.  Again, I was nervous as I had been an abundant glazer in the past and did not want a repeat of past experiences.  No runs please!  Back to the kiln and wait the 4 days to pick it up.  I was so scared -- please let it all have worked.  When I walked into BPERS to collect my project, it was all sitting out on display.  It was perfect!  The owner said she searched for problems and couldn't find a single one.  Oh my -- I was doing the happy dance.

Now I had the dilemma of how to get it to Montana for the party and at the same time provide a storage place for the tea set so that it didn't have as great a chance as breaking once Miss Elena owns it.  It just so happens that there is a Tuesday Morning within walking distance from the house.  A quick trip down and I had found the perfect box.  Another YAY!  During a recent cleaning of the studio, I had come across 4 foam seat cushions that were almost a perfect fit for the box and now it was Mister's turn on the project.

He had to make the foam fit just right by slicing off one end of the square on all four cushions.  Next, cut out all the shapes so that the pieces locked in place and yet were protected.
After 4 hours, he had a finished project.  Hopefully the next time we tackle something like this, it will go a little quicker since we have a small idea of how to go about it.

Here is our finished product -- all boxed and ready to be hand carried by me onto the plane.  Isn't it oh so cool?

And just so you can see the box -- isn't it pretty?  I love how the colors went so well -- it was a lucky shopping day.

OH - in case you didn't notice --- the studio cleaning took place during this project.  LOL -- that is why the room looks different.  Upper picture is also pre spilt glaze -- in the lower picture you can see where it stained the rug.  Yep, not everything went perfectly.

An Afternoon at the Opera w/Mister's Fam

As part of our season tickets to the Dallas Opera, we were given 5 tickets to a family performance of "Doctor Miracle".  We invited Mister's brother, sister, and nephew along.  When the opera was over, we walked over to Klyde Warren Park to enjoy the beautiful day in downtown Dallas.  We finished up with lunch at The Greek.  What a lovely day.

My New Quilt Frame -- Thanks Mister!!

We are both moving into quilt mode around here.  We have books, magazines, new sewing machines, and fabric everywhere!  Mister has been building my new quilt frame this week and as I was sewing in the studio, he was working away in the yard.  I did hear a few words that I won't print here, but he kept after it and the finished project is awesome.

Next, we had to completely rearrange the den to fit the frame in the house -- yep, that bugger is long.  Once we had it in the house, it was time to learn how to put a quilt on.  Fortunately, I had finished a top and it was ready to go on the frame.  After many tries and a small temper flare-up by me, we got it.  Once again, it will go much quicker the next time.  Now to start poking holes in my fingers.

A Cheese Tray Worthy of a Photo

The title says it all.  It is movie night in our house and as we settle in to watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower we need something to snack on.  This fit the bill perfectly.