I Miss Jess!!!!!

My Visit With Jess

I absolutely LOVE these cute dolls Jess designed. She said she'll be selling the pattern soon, so we can all have these fun, whimsical dolls.

Jess's sewing room is so cute!

Jess embroidered this cute little pillow using an old transfer design she bought at the antique store- SOOO darling! My favorite color palette!

Lizzy and Lexi's room. I love how she used the pillow case on the table. And the banner of course I love. This space is just perfect!

Big Sky Country (Road Trip Day 5 and 6)

It was so great to spend all day Tuesday and most of the day Wednesday with our friends in Montana. Jess and I took the kids to Lake Elmo to swim and play on the beach. Jake helped Liam shoot his bow. And the kids all had a great time playing together. I still can't believe Jess totally surprised me and cleaned out my car for me while I was in the shower (you can't even imagine what a mess it was after all our traveling)! She's the best! It was great to eat good food too, after so much junky road food. Wednesday, we went to Softees for ice cream, then the kids and I headed out for Utah at about 3 in the afternoon. We drove through Montana, Idaho, then finally arrived in Utah at 2 in the morning. That seems to be our favorite arrival time!

(I drove, while the kids ran all the way to Idaho.)

 

(Liam got tired, and tried to hitch a ride.)

Packing It All In (Road Trip Day 4)

Day four was a long day. 20 hours on the road but only 10 hours of it driving. We stopped and spent time in The Bad Lands, Wall Drug, Crazy Horse, and Mt. Rushmore. We all had a really great time. I wish we could have spent more time at each place but it was a lot to pack in to one day! We arrived at Jess's house in Billings, MT at 2:00 in the morning, exhausted, but excited to be there.

A Place Between (road trip day 3)

Day three of our  I-90 driving tour finds us in Oacoma, South Dakota. The name of this small  town actually means 'a place between'. I thought this was very fitting, considering we are right in the middle of the country and right in the middle of our road trip. A place between home and our destination. 

Today we spent much less time driving. After our bad night, it seemed like waiting until things had settled a little was a good plan. So we didn't leave our hotel until 11:30 this morning. Today we drove through Minnesota and South Dakota, two states I've never been to. Minnesota was so beautiful! I loved it! The kids were great, no one threw up.

As we got in to South Dakota, signs reading, "The World's Only Corn Palace" popped up every few miles. Our interest was peeked.  When the exit to the Corn Palace approached, I made a hasty decision to stop and see what all the fuss was about. It is so cool. We visited The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and watched a short film about it's history. It was actually quite fascinating. The first Palace was built in 1892. And the one currently in use was built in 1919. What a unique form of Folk Art! The building has murals inside and out made completely of corn. The murals on the exterior change annually but the interior always stays the same. Then, the very friendly, and helpful tour guide shared with us my favorite quote of the day. He said "...and here we have three men shooting our state bird, the pheasant. Our state is one of only 3 states, that actually lets you shoot their State Bird. In fact, we encourage it! There are plenty of them to go around!" It was a pretty great day! I love seeing this country of ours! It really is America the Beautiful!

****notice the kids finally changed out of their cow shirts!****

Curse the Open Road! (Road Trip Day 2)

Starting Location: Lakewood, NY
Ending Location: LaCrosse, WI
Driving time:14 hours

The Good: The kids were great. No major arguments. No complaining. I finally figured out my driving route-it was about time! My route will now include a visit with my friend, Jess, in Billings, MT (I'm so excited to see her!) Finding a small bottle of Bath & Body Works spray in my backpack (needed at 4:30a.m.).

The Bad: One hour to get through Chicago, on a Saturday afternoon, go figure. Hard time getting a hotel on Price-line. Arrived in LaCrosse at 10:15pm (Central Time), exhausted. Hotel completely booked-one room with only ONE bed (four weary travelers). Took 20 minuted to figure out how to turn on air conditioning in room.

The Ugly: Insomnia. My body said "SLEEP!" My mind said "NO WAY!" Four a.m., Liza woke up crying, then VOMITING. 15 minutes Later Aidan followed suite. I'm experiencing deja vu. Same nocturnal experience in Santa Rosa, NM two summers ago. Why do I do this to myself???????????

  

Heading Out of Town With my Little Calves (cows that is)

So, we're headed out for a long road trip across country today. My three youngest kids and I are just about ready to hit the open road. But first a couple of stops at Chick-fil-A for Customer Appreciation Day. If your not familiar with this annual event, it goes something like this; dress like a cow, get free food. My kids look forward to this every year. So yesterday when I should have been packing, I sewed up a few cow shirts for us all to wear today. Then, Liam got up this morning and made some really cute signs for the kids to wear to breakfast. Now we're off  for an oil change and tire rotation. After that, we'll traipse through the mall like a heard of cattle for lunch, then back home to load up the car and get on our way! Happy Cow day!

Saturday is a Special Day (But so is Friday)

When I was little we used to sing a song called, Saturday is a Special Day. Saturday  was special because it’s the day to get ready for Sunday. The song talked about doing all kinds of chores on Saturday so that Sunday could be a day of rest. If you are like me you think Saturdays are special days for another reason too. It’s the day of sales. Pick your pleasure; estate sales, garage sales, church rummage sales, tag sales, flea markets, yard sales. It’s the day of the week that one man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure. But let’s not forget about Friday. It may not be quite as spectacular as Saturday but it’s certainly an important day in the world of resale. If you are itching to get out the door, check your local paper. There are always a few garage sales that start Friday morning and some rummage sales too. If you get really lucky you might even find a family run estate sale. If you like flea markets, about an hour from Pittsburgh you’ll find Rogers, Ohio. They hold a giant flea market every Friday, all year long. I’m talking HUGE! It can take all day to walk the whole thing. 

Here are a few pics from the last estate sale I attended. 

  

The best find that day was this really cute enamel top table from the 1940’s. I was so excited when I spotted it. It was completely covered in tupperware and old coolers. No one seemed to notice it because of the huge heaps of junk surrounding it. I stayed close and kept an eye on it then bought it at 1:00, when it went half price. I loved it when I heard the comments of people  after I unearthed it and dragged it out to the check out. “Where was that?! I didn’t see that inside.” “What a cool table, why didn’t I see it??” “Ooohhh, I wish I would have seen that!” So just remember, sometimes you have to dig around a little to get to the good stuff!