Justins String Quilt

i received these blocks in a giveaway on Kates blog exactly 4 years ago...wow...has it really been 4 years?!?  Justin is always complaining that i give away all my quilts and we never keep any!  He also wanted a quilt we could all cuddle up under together, so I decided to make a larger quilt, and sewed 18 more blocks to increase what i already had.  I was originally planning on tying this quilt, but after having two other quilts professionally quilted by someone else, i thought i would have this one done too.  It was much too heavy and large to try on my own!  For another 22 bucks they did the binding for me as well....TOTALLY worth it!

So here they are...modeling the new quilt!  Justin joked, "after 15 years of hanging out with this quilting chick, i finally get a quilt!"  Well, i hope you like it babe!
Meanwhile, it was bedtime and Jordyn was in her room with the lights out, but somehow managed to make this little note for me and then snuck downstairs to present it to me.  (these are the moments of parenthood i treasure)   i love you too sweetheart!

Cookie Time!!!

 Cookies...cookies....and more cookies!!!  You can never have too many cases of Thin Mints!!!  :)

Thats right folks...its cookie season...and this is our troops first time selling cookies!  We are soooo excited!  With the money we raise, we hope to go on a wonderful camping adventure this summer! 

 Our pick-up time was at 11am this morning, and these great guys were ready to load up our cars with Samoas, Do-si-dos, Tagalongs, Savanah Smiles, Trefoils and of course Thin Mints.

 Once my car was filled to the brim, they started loading Sharons car.  Thanks so much for coming down to help me today Sharon...and thanks for being such a wonderful troop co-leader!  You help make girl scouts fun!

 Once our cars were loaded, we headed back up the mountain...and yes, i took this photo as i was cruising up highway 287!  :) 

So...who wants to buy some cookies!?!  Only $3.50 a box....or $42.00 for a case  :)

More Jordynisms ~

More Jordynisms that make me smile...

Jordyn just asked daddy if he would play with her, to which he replied..."sorry jordyn, i have to work"...then she asked me, "mommy, can you play with me", to which i replied, "sorry kiddo im working too". She replied, "your job is to cook, and im starving!"

 
Listening to the radio, on the way home from school, Jordyn says, "a lot of songs are about love...i wonder why that is?"

 
Jordyn is saying goodbye to grandpa on the phone, and they decide to hang up on the count of three...then i hear from her end..."he did that faster than i did...that old man is pretty smart!"

After Fuzzy got home from surgery, i was explaining to Jordyn how she needs to be careful around the cat, and that she has to make sure she closes the door behind her, to not let the cat out, etc...and then i say, but you wont have to worry about that tomorrow, cause you'll be at grandma and grandpas, to which she replied..."i sure hope daddy doesnt get in trouble."  :)

Becoming Van Gogh ~

 We went to Denver this weekend...we had tickets to see Becoming Van Gogh at the Denver Art Museum for Sunday, the very last day of this fabulous exhibit!  I used to volunteer at the DAM, however, since moving to the mountains and having Jordyn, i had not been there in over 10 years, so it was a long time overdue!

 Besides the new addition of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building (which i had never seen in person), there were also several new sculptures, including this Claus Oldenburg piece, The Big Sweep, which i had seen a miniature of back in my volunteering days....so it was exciting to see all these wonderful new creations!

 The entire show was completely sold out, so, at the last minute, to accommodate the demands, the museum opened up the show for 24 hours the last two days, which we thought would make it crazy crowded, but it wasnt bad at all.We got there early, so we wouldn't have any trouble parking, but with the new parking garage, we were good to go. 

 As i walked into the exhibit with my headseat on, anticipating the first piece,  the entrance took my breath away, and i actually got a little choked up!  There in front of me, were two studies of old shoes.  It was at this moment that i realized how much i had been looking forward to this show.  As i walked through the exhibit, mesmerized by the glowing canvases, i was completely inspired and filled with joy!  Jordyn thoroughly enjoyed herself too, and it made my heart happy to watch her walk through the gallery, excitedly punching in the codes on her headset to learn about each painting.  We all walked away completely enchanted, and i was once again reminded of why i love Van Gogh!

 While i was soaking up a few more minutes of Van Gogh happiness, Christy and Jordyn went into the paint studio...another new addition that allows people to go in and put their inspiration to work by grabbing a canvas and painting away.  Christy made a painting of flowers, while jordyn created two pieces, one of our cabin, and one of a flower and a yellow hat.  Then it was time to check out the rest of the museum...

 They have a lot of interactive displays for kids on every floor, which Jordyn liked, but naturally she liked climbing on the outdoor sculptures!

 After 5 hours of being on our feet we were hungry and ready to sit down for a bit...so we headed over to Pints Pub, a favorite place of ours when we were volunteers.

 They have more single malt than you can possibly imagine, but i opted for a simple gin and tonic :)

Jordyn had the Beddar Wimpy and i ordered the Wimpy Bleu...both super tasty!

After lunch, Christy gave us a quick tour of downtown to show us the sites...as i said, its been a while since i was down here, so it was fun riding around Denver!

Heres the oldest church in Denver, built in 1887...and of course the big blue bear outside the Colorado Convention Center, erected in 2005.

And finally...i finished Christy's Christmas quilt, a little late, but i dont think she minded much!  Thanks again for a terrific weekend Christy...it was just what we needed to shake off the winter blahs!  :)

Coyote Vs Cat ~

Brought our cat home from the vets today...she had a nasty abscess. The wound was much too big to be from another cat, so it was most likely caused by the ginormous coyote thats been hanging around here. Poor Kitty! But she seems to be feeling much better already...Vets Rule!  oh, and my kitty is badass!  :)

New Ice Skates!!!

 Our new ice skates arrived in the mail today, and we cant wait to try them out on the pond!  Jordyns are adjustable, so hopefully she'll get a few years use out of them.  They velcro and snap on like ski boots, so im hoping they will be easier for her to get on and off.  As for me, im pretty excited...this is my first pair of new ice skates...the pair i used before were picked up at a thrift store, so im hoping skates suited to me will keep me from going down so often (yeah, its all in the skates :)

 They had an awards assembly at school today, and Jordyn received another award for perfect attendance....way to go sweetie!  We both put a little pink in our hair this week to brighten the winter blahs!  She designed her whole outfit around her hair today i think!

Oh, and some exciting news...i had my first sale on Etsy today!  HURRAH!  I was a little nervous at first...dont want to screw up my first sale...but the item is packaged and ready to ship first thing in the morning!  I guess i better get some more stuff made soon, now that i have one fan :)  Happy Days!

Winter Playground ~

This is our winter playground!  As you can see, our house remains in the shade for most of winter, so after the solstice, we get excited about the extra 5 minutes of sunlight each week!  To rid us of the winter blues, we play in the snow (no matter how cold it gets)  :)  This is a giant sled run that Justin built that goes down onto our pond and across the ice to the other side.  If you look closely, you can even see a little tunnel built in the snow for Jordyn...here is a close up shot of it...

We like to sled across the ice as well as ice skate, however, Jordyns ice skates are too small, so we ordered her a new pair, and i got myself a new pair too.  We look forward to trying those out when they arrive.  Justin also just purchased some new fiberglass sleds,  which we look forward to getting in the mail soon too.  We are pretty tough on our sleds, and these claim to be virtually indestructible, so we look forward to putting them to the test!

We try to involve the cats in our winter sports, but they dont really care much for the sledding!  Fuzzy bailed out of Jordyns arms before she was even down the hill!  But we all had a good laugh at her expense...poor kitty :)

Ive received all of my blocks from the birthday block swap on about. com.  The only two missing are the ones i didnt make yet...naturally!  But i plan to make several blocks to make this quilt bigger...the pattern looks really cool with more blocks, so ill post more when i get around to that.

And finally...here is a new recipe i tried today...its  called Fiesta Bubble Bread, and it was quite tasty.  Im including the recipe in case you'd like to try it...

Fiesta Bubble Bread

1/2 cup melted butter,

1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese blend,

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese,

10 oz jar sliced jalapenos (drained),

1 Tblsp of parsley,

2 - 12 oz tubes of refridgerated biscuits.

Stir together the first 5 ingredients.  Then cut the biscuits into quarter size pieces and stir into the cheese and butter mixture.  Transfer to an ungreased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden.  I only had one tube of biscuits, so i cut the recipe in half, and it was just the right size for us.  I also substituted bacon pieces and green onions for the jalapenos, since Jordyn doesnt like spicy, and it was delicious!  I will definitely be making this again! 

Winter Fun ~

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

Several of us decided to meet at the Museum of Discover yesterday, its a brand new facility and we were excited to check it out!  With all this super cold weather we were having, we all had cabin fever, so getting out of the house sounded like a great idea!  Jordyn and i almost didnt make it though, as it was so cold the night before, that neither of our cars would start!  Justin to the rescue!  I am happy to say, we made it in time to meet up with everyone else at the doors, and the adventure began!

The tornado chamber was a big hit with the kids...who wouldnt want to be blasted by a bunch of air while everyone watches you....in this picture the wind is blowing at 78.9 miles per hour.   :)

Then you could build your own parachutes and flyers to put in this wind tube...the kids really enjoyed this!

There were two piles of dino dung molds in the fossil exhibit, and you had to determine which one was from a herbivore and which one was from a carnivore.  Naturally, Jordyn loved this part of the museum...not only for its toilet humor, but because of all the cool dinosaur stuff!

There was a "build your own horn" section, which was fun...

lifting the piano, by moving closer or farther away from the piano...Jordyn gets a little help from her friend, Hope...

a music room, that we only saw half of...so we'll have to go back, besides, we need more COWBELL!!!  :)

a blue foam construction room, that caused a few meltdowns as well as laughs...no matter how many blocks there are, there are always a few kids that dont want to share! 

and of course, the Dome Theatre, where we saw the Sea Monsters movie!  Watching a movie on a giant dome ceiling is a great way to view a movie, especially one with a bunch of giant prehistoric sea creatures swimming around...just dont sit in the front row if you can help it!  :)  It was a great day in town, with 15 of her friends there to run around with!  So glad we were able to make it...thanks for getting the car charged for us Justin, this was an adventure not to be missed!