Sewing Mania

 

We had a fun week, switching gears to add more fun activities during the long days. We all went to the gym several times this week, once with Oliver and Carson to swim for a couple hours. It felt great to be back in the gym after several weeks of interruption. Carson was bored after 15 minutes so he stood beside me watching the show I had on, he finally realized he could watch his own show on a separate machine. Amelia went to a Physical Therapy appointment on Monday to see if she could work on her balance, strength, and mobility. Structurally she is at the her best but she still deals with pain often enough. We're not sure exactly the reasons but hoping some strengthening exercises and stretching will help. The PT we saw was a bit strange, he mentioned several times to not give up if she felt depressed about her progress. He must work with a depressed population of clients. Beau advised Amelia skip Trek or greatly modify the experience because of her hip pain. I think we will just bring her crutches and let her ride in the wagon. 

Wednesday thru Friday was a flurry of fabric and thread. Wednesday morning the Flakes and I cut and sewed up 4 skirts. In the afternoon I cut and sewed two skirts and an apron for Amelia. Thursday was the day to cut and sew up my skirts and aprons. Josie and Evelyn wanted in on the action so I whipped up two cute skirts with leftover fabric. My "new" serger is still amazing. It is slicker than butter even when confronted with thick fabrics. Sara wanted an apron more Ambree's size so we worked on one for her. Evelyn and Josie were in and out all day working on a raft with Lincoln and Lily. The kids spent an afternoon making a raft then floating it in the overflow ditch water. Their creation actually floated with all the balloons, bubble wrap, and plastic bags! Phillip and Everett played a crazy game with Darrell, Benson, and Kyran involving dumb names with attached powers, creatively called dumb wars. For example, turd flushie man, imagine HIS powers?! 

Thursday evening I met the Van Genderen family at the botanical gardens for a newborn session. Their oldest girl Cambrie, was in Evelyn's class last year. Evelyn came along to play with Cambrie while I photographed the baby alone. Oh my gracious, the light was magical! The baby cooperated for a moment, long enough to get some darling captures of her. The combined living spaces were quite the disaster zone, it took a while to tidy up my sewing mess. 

Everett finally had his birthday outing almost a month later! We enjoyed Freak Alley, the artwork changes all the time! Everett was thrilled to wear his Harry Potter robe, complete with a mom-modified wand pocket. I got carsick on the way to Boise, Justin was whipping around the turns like a maniac...while I was repairing Everett's robe and sewing up his favorite otter stuffy. Everett decided to take our advice and try Indian food at Taj Mahal, hands down the best chutney and naan ever. Everett was not impressed with his entree of Tika Masala, but the mango lassi....mmmm. The meal took over 90 minutes per staff shortages. We were content to sit, chat, and listen to the busy downtown aura. Everett rode the escalator a few times just for kicks and giggles. We walked over the the Jump! building so Everett could climb the rope pyramid. He is one funny boy!

Saturday we had a lot of family work outside to accomplish. Amelia and Evelyn helped in the garden area while the boys worked on the lawn. I staked up the tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkin plants. Amelia helped me make a trellis out of fencing material and some poles from last year's garden. After lunch we worked on the garage. It was gross (again). I made a trip to the DI for donations collected from the garage and closets. We are very sad the Palmers are moving soon. Their property offer was accepted this week, their home on the market already, and stones rolling to move. Amelia will really miss Clare. 

Today the Primary kids sang The Family is of God. I was surprised lots of people commented about the kid's clear and concise singing! They really did an amazing job. We are so grateful for Justin. Happy Father's day to him. He got himself new motorcycle boots for the occasion. He is a very hard worker. We love him very much.   

Grandma Jean turned 90 years old on the 13th of June. She had quite a family gathering on Sunday for her stellar achievement. She is ever chipper and positive in spite of the depravities of old age. She is a model of lifelong learning and love.