The sewing venture for the fair

Several of the grandmunchkins wanted to enter the fair this year as they have seen their Mom and I do for the past several years.  The entries were online this year and two weeks earlier than normal...yikes!  With VBS the second week after school and the fair entry the very next week we had to jump on it.  Jump we did.  Three entered sewing projects and one, having tried sewing in the spring, wanted to do a bird house in wood.  We convinced him a bird feeder would get more use.  So away we went.....

                                          cutting.....

                                         serging....

                                         sewing.............

                                         measuring...........

                                         more sewing.........

                                         hammering........

                                         more sewing.........

 TA DA!  A finished bird feeder.  Despite Graypa being very sick, he sucked it up to help get the project done.

 And when the sewing machine wasn't humming, the garden was getting some tlc.  I must admit it one pretty garden.  And the first zucchini found it's way to my lunch plate today.

The kids weren't the only ones sewing.  I dedicated an entire weekend to the sewing room to get the traditional 4th of July shirts and dresses done.
Now off to try and finish my knitting project for the fair.  Wish me luck!

Home of the free and the brave!

I almost forgot the yearly tradition of new red, white, and blue shirts and dresses for the 4th of July.  Luckily my daughter remembered and showed up at my door on Wednesday afternoon with a bag of fabric and a request for 3 new shirts and a dress for Sunday for church.  Hmmm, 2 evenings and Saturday.  Could I do it?  And then the 5pm phone call on Saturday night that one more granddaughter needed a dress for church.

 I made it!  10:30pm Saturday night they were all done!  And I must say they look sparkly and patriotic.

 This was an add on.  I had the fabric, I had a grandson needing another shirt.  And what is one more shirt if you're already making three?

 Race into the 4th.  Literally.  Our 4th started at 7am with the kids' dash.  Then into the 5k C.A.T. walk.  But after all that, there were some 2 hours to sit and enjoy our town's parade.  It's been a tradition for many years.  Then a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a BBQ and some croquet.  I love our 4th of July celebration and traditions.  And having grandchildren enjoy it right along with you makes the day even better!

Hope your 4th of July was full of smiles.

Ours certainly was!

I didn't make new 4th of July shirts, outfits this year but the ones I made even 3 years ago still fit.  Whew!  And the littlest one was sporting the dress I made 3 years ago for her older cousin.  So, despite not sewing anything this year 5 of them were wearing something I had made for the 4th.  Nice to know it lasts awhile.  Other than that, it was a traditional 4th of July:  started out with the CAT walk, then the parade, and then to my parents for traditional summer food and croquet.  And then home to the front porch to watch all the neighbors set off their fireworks.  Their illegal fireworks.  Apparently they didn't get the memo that shooting fireworks into the air over 6 feet are illegal ;)  It was a good day.

Just how much can you fit into one weekend?

The Fourth was on a weekend again! It's one of my favorite holidays so that combined with it being on a weekend means a LOT crammed in.

First up on Saturday the 3rd: the CAT (cancer awareness and treatment) walk through downtown Hillsboro. I'm not sure who I'm talking to here but I really did walk the whole 3.1 miles and pushed the baby limo about half of that. (baby limo is the name dubbed for the triplet stroller my daughter has for her 3 little ones who are not so little in combined weight!) I Know what I'm doing here! I'm signing to my husband that we're going to Starbucks! Funny thing, Starbucks is right by the finish line. Wonder who planned that one?

Then there was the raising of the flag and the playing of the Star Spangled Banner which also signals the start of the parade!

There were bands. Two pipe bands this year.

There were really, I mean really, cute kids.

There was a crowd of family and friends.

There were famous, um, characters. The famous one in this photo for us is the almost 20 year old with her thumbs up. (our niece and quite a character herself)

There were more seriously cute kids in cute 4th of July shirts...and treats. The blueberries were a bigger hit than the candy!

There were lots of flags flying by seriously cute kids.

There were candidates worthy of shaking hands with. And some not so worthy.


More flag flying by a seriously cute young lady who just happens to be a naturlized citizen and loves her new country. I think next to her birthday and Christmas, the 4th is her favorite!

After the parade there was a traditional BBQ at the Grandparents.

Move ahead to Sunday the 4th. The first part of the day was spent in church which is the best place to start the 4th. In prayer for this country. And then Sunday night? FIREWORKS! I love fireworks: the smell, the pop, the color, the oohs and aaahs. It's been a few years but it won't be a few more before we do this again. Especially since we found a relatively easy to get in and out of spot with a lawn for the kids to play on until it's time.
Monday was still part of the holiday weekend and the weather was beautiful. Not too hot, a little cloudy but dry. So....off to Silver Falls we went. It's a state park about 1.5 hours from home up in the hills and it has the most beautiful hiking trail called the Trail of Ten Falls. Because there are 10 waterfalls along the trail. If you go all 8 miles. We elected to do the 5 mile portion of the trail and by moving vehicles cut off the last 1.6 miles. We saw 7 of the 10 waterfalls. The trail starts by traversing down into a canyon and following the canyon until the 7th waterfall, at which point you hike out.

There were wild flowers in bloom everywhere.

It was quite a finale to a wonderful weekend. So thankful to God for such beauty at our doorstep.

It was a Fabulous Fourth!

And the reason it was a fabulous Fourth? Seeing it through these eyes.... And these eyes....And these eyes....And these too!It was a great day to wave a flag! Albeit a little warm! As in HOT!

We started the day early, bright and early, with team of 9 entitled "Grandma's Gang" to do the 5k CAT (cancer awareness and treatment) walk. We had so much fun and it is such a great cause we've decided to make it a yearly tradition.
Still smiling after a 5k walk in the sun. We actually had a great time!

And then the annual Happy Days parade. My Dad has used his old John Deere to pull many a float in the parade and this year he pulled our church float in the their first ever entry in the parade.

Our sweet, beautiful, wonderful, adorable (enough adjectives yet?) was part of the float crew. She has the parade wave down pat and a smile that I'm sure charmed more than a few. She was one tired girl after 2.5 miles in the hot sun on this float.

Still smiling though!

And after the parade there was the traditional BBQ with strawberries and ice cream for dessert!

I am so thankful to live in this country and though there are wrongs that need to be righted it is still a great country worthy of my patriotism and more importantly, my prayers. I am thankful for those that served to give me this freedom and those that are serving. I have 4 nephews currently in the military. One is headed to Iraq this week and one to Afghanistan in January. They are in my prayers. I am proud and thankful for all of them.