Mickey Mouse Park

Last Sunday we packed up the kids and flew to Orlando where we met two of my siblings, Alison and Steve, and their families. Before we left I knew it would be a great vacation but also very difficult. Tristan is still taking two naps a day and is not used to "sleeping on the go". Nevertheless, we love to travel and we haven't traveled much since Tristan was born 14 months ago so we gave it a shot.

We visited Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but the best part was being there with family. Little Kennedy adores her cousins. Since we got back we she can't stop talking about Tamsyn, Megyn and Mandy-forget Mickey Mouse!

Some of the highlights from our trip were:

1. Being with family (of course)
2. Kennedy's face when she got to hug Alice in Wonderland



3. The Philharmagic show at Magic Kingdom
4. Baby giraffes at Animal Kingdom
5. Swimming with the kids
6. Free hot breakfast at the hotel!
7. Finding Nemo the Musical
8. Watching Kennedy entertain everyone

The Flavor of Memorial Day

Did you know Memorial Day has a flavor? It is pancakes with strawberries and whip cream--not the store-bought in a can or container kind but the freshly whipped kind that's made from heavy cream and sugar.
Our family had a Memorial Day tradition. Each year Uncle John and Aunt Ann hosted a breakfast. It started out as just family, then a few friends, then half the town! I think the last one we had served almost 100 people.
Uncle John's pancakes weren't the usual 3-4 inch pancake. They were the size of the whole plate and if you could eat more than one you were either some kind of hero or really sick! The pancake batter was made from a sour dough start that was over 100 years old. The dough is set out the night before. It grows and grows then in the morning some of the start is taken out, put in the refrigerator and saved for then next time. More ingredients are then added to the remaining dough to make it the batter consistency we all are familiar with.
Along with the pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream each person was served a couple of eggs--sunny side up--and a slab of ham. There was a choice of milk or OJ to drink.
After our large breakfast we would all head up to the cemetery to put flowers on our loved-ones' graves. It was a happy day that our family shared.
I can't help but think of Uncle John and his pancakes on Memorial Day. I know that pancakes with such toppings could be had any time of the year but for some reason we saved it for that special day. I have since made that meal but it just doesn't have that same tickling of the taste buds. Oh, it's good, and we'll have it again, but I sure miss Uncle John and his pancakes.
Happy Memorial Day!

Cabin Creek: The Sign of an Eleven-Year Marriage

Eleven years ago April Chris and I were married. There were many things I didn't know about Chris but I did know that he enjoyed camping, hiking and some hunting. When he was in high school he used to go on long camping trips with his friends. After he graduated he and his friends headed off for a three-week camping trip in the mountains. I can only imagine what goes on when three boys get together with no supervision, no rules and no showers! Chris did bring home a souvenir from his trip, however, an old sign which said "Cabin Creek". The story goes that he paid one of his siblings to sand it down and paint it for him.
Over the course of our eleven-year marriage Chris has toted that sign around claiming that "some day" he would hang it in our home. Our first few apartments were small, very temporary or not concussive for hanging things on the wall (BYU Married Housing--cinder block walls). When we moved the North Carolina he thought the time had come. He had a nice office which was eventually decorated with his diplomas and some nice fly fishing decor. It could have gone in there but the sign was kind of big and bulky and would have looked funny.
Now, I always went along with Chris and told him that "yes, someday", he could have the sign up. When it came right down to it I just couldn't allow him to hang that thing in our home.
Now that we are all settled into our new home we have found a perfect place for the Cabin Creek sign. I am actually quite surprised at how nice it looks and Chris was quite surprised that I agreed so quickly. We have an eight-foot-wide porch that looks out to a rustic wooded front yard. The sign now hangs from the porch and adds a personal touch to our home that says it's ours.
Welcome home to Cabin Creek!

Singin' in the Rain

Saturday is always busy for us. Chris works all week and has one day for his yard chores. I wish I could say that I am organized enough to have all my shopping done so that I could stay home and be helpful. However, for some reason I have been programed to do my shopping on Saturday. I usually leave the kids with Chris so I can go myself but this time I took Kennedy with me and left only Tristan.
When we left the house the rain had subsided. I thought we would be ok without our umbrellas. I'm still getting used to a new grocery store so it took me a little longer than I expected. I was in a hurry though because our babysitter was going to be at our house at 5:00. I knew that time was approaching.
I rushed through the checkout and turned toward the door to leave. Sheets of rain were pouring down from the sky! We had no umbrellas, no jackets with hoods (not that they would have helped in this kind of rain storm!), nothing. I stood there with everyone else and waited. After awhile Kennedy looked up at me, tugged on the grocery cart and said, "Come on, Mommy. Let's GO!" I explained that it was raining and we would have to wait a little bit. A few minutes later she became impatient. She tugged on the cart again, "Come on Mommy! We're going to miss it!" I waited a minute more thinking of how I actually liked how my hair turned out that day and thinking I wanted to look nice for my date with Chris later that night. I looked at Kennedy again with her cute little eyes looking longingly out at the rain. I told her to jump on the cart and we made a run for it. We ran out into the river of rain, unprotected from the elements. When we got to the car I unlocked it and told her to get into her car seat while I put the groceries in the trunk. Expecting her to do so I hurriedly removed the bags from the cart. I looked up a moment later to find Kennedy splashing in puddles and twirling in the rain.
I couldn't help but think about how I look at life's storms. Do I hide from the rain or dance and sing and make the most of it? When it comes down to it, life's not all rainstorms anyway, we do have those sunny days to look forward to!

Quilting Comfort

When my mom was younger she associated with a group of girls who called themselves "The Ten Old Maids". Throughout the years they have remained friends although they all married and went their ways. A few weeks ago one of the "Old Maids" passed away. One of the other old maids asked my mom to make a quilt in her honor. My mom cranked out a beautiful quilt in about two days. I didn't see it but she told me that in the quilting she had quilted an angel and the words, "Friends are Forever". Knowing my mom and the artistic talent she has I'm sure the quilt was beautiful. The old maids who were able to come to the funeral took part in the services and placed the quilt in the coffin before she was buried.
On Wednesday I had a phone call from a gal I go to church with. She called asking for my help with a quilt. Another gal in our ward recently lost a baby that was only about 18 weeks along. It was conceived by IVF and was the couple's first child. My friend wanted to present her with a quilt that she and those who came to visit could tie. That sounded like something I could do. The only problem was that she wanted it the following day. I looked around my sewing room and found some beautiful fabric and said "yes", thinking I could get some of my quilting friends to help me put it together.
I already had a busy morning ahead. I had agreed to babysit my friend's two kids all morning and they would arrive soon. I took my fabric and cutting supplies downstairs and called my first quilting friend. She offered to send out an e-mail to the rest. I thought that would save some time and agreed. I cut as many squares as I could while watching the kids play. By mid-afternoon there were no replies and I worried that my quilting friends would not be able to come on such short notice so I started piecing the quilt. By early evening it was evident that I would be putting this quilt together myself.
I worked on the quilt until about 10 p.m. and picked it back up the next morning. By 11 a.m. it was finished! I just had to run to JoAnn's to buy fabric for the back and also the batting and yarn.
I was amazed at how much I liked the quilt. When I first started laying out the blocks I wasn't sure if it was a good combination. I had just enough fabric for the border. In fact, I miscalculated and didn't have enough strips. I looked back through my stash and found another strip that was already cut to the size I needed! It was a miracle. This quilt was surely meant for this wonderful lady.
This is one of the reasons I love quilting so much. It is a service than not everyone can give and it shows love in a unique way. When I get the quilt back to bind I will take a picture and post it.

My Garden

Growing up we always had a garden. I vaguely remember coming home after school and helping siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles plant the seeds into the tilled earth. Next memory is enjoying the scrumptious bounty in late summer. There was always plenty of squash, corn, carrots, cucumbers and many other vegetables. Why don't I remember anything in between? Probably because I didn't do any of the watering, weeding, harvesting, etc. You know, all the hard stuff.
I have lived all these years with a very romantic idea of becoming a gardener. I always said that when I have a house with a yard I want to grow a garden. I mentioned this to a friend and she told me of square-foot gardening. I thought it sounded interesting and looked it up on the Internet. It claims to be a full garden with as much produce but the space and work load are reduced 80%. I told my idea to Chris and the deal was that I could do it but that I had to do it--he was willing to help and but he didn't want to spend his precious Saturdays pulling weeds.
I did all the research and came to Chris with a list of materials I needed. We went to Home Depot on Saturday and bought all the supplies. He helped me (or I helped him rather) make a 4-foot square box to put my garden in. We took it to our "spot" and it was not level. It was my job to make it right. I started digging some trenches just the width of the board--I don't know! I have never done work like this before! When Chris saw what I was doing he chuckled and I handed him the shovel. He pulled out his level tool, turned up the dirt and made my garden square nice and level.
I filled the box with peat moss, compost and top soil. Then I sectioned off my garden into 16 1-foot sections with string. That wasn't too difficult but I still needed a little help from Chris. Kennedy helped me plant some seeds and then we watered.
My 4-foot square garden looks nice and tidy but we will see if it produces anything. I am beginning to wonder if I will be able to manage this. What was I thinking? I guess this is how it starts when you learn something new, right? Maybe it's a good thing I started with a 4-foot square! Stay tuned. . . .

I'm Back!

Ahhh! I'm back. With all the craziness of moving behind me I can finally sit down and write about it. We did have a few hiccups the first few days but we are all settled now. We had a few plumbing problems including a dishwasher that wouldn't drain and a toilet that kept clogging. The dishwasher had a pinched pipe so all the water couldn't get out. After calling the plumber 4 times he finally figured out the problem--a plastic tampon applicator stuck in the bottom. . . it wasn't mine--just weaned Tristan this weekend!
Today the fireplace company came and started up our propane fireplace. It has to be on for six hours--did I mention it's the hottest day so far this year? It's an inferno.
I must say, I love my house. Here is a list of things I love most:

1. Screened-in porch
2. Oak floors
3. The view out my window--or any window
4. The peace and tranquility of being out in the country
5. Flagstone walkway
6. The kitchen
7. Garden bathtub and separate shower
8. Skylights
9. Being closer to Duke so Chris has a little bit shorter commute
10. Screened-in porch!