...groundbreaking...

Yesterday was the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Connell Elementary!

It was an exciting day! The new CE will be built across the street from OJH where all this sagebrush is!

I wonder what was so funny?! :) Cute picture Bonnie!

My mom thought these purple shovels were pretty cool. She told me about them twice!

Vincent Meraz was chosen to be the student representative to get to dig...it looks like he was excited! Too bad he won't go to the new school!

...today...

Today...I got this table runner all washed and dried and sent off to the Dream With Me Preschool Taco Feed Silent Auction (whew! what a title!).

{Taco Feed - tomorrow night - Wednesday 4/28 - 5:30-7:30 @ CUMC}

I found this fabric when we were in Bothell over Spring Break and LOVED it!

Hopefully it will raise some money for the preschool!

Fabric: Sweet by Urban Chiks for Moda

Pattern: Poppy Day by Pieces from My Heart (Sandy Gervais)

Quited & Appliqued by: Marcie!

Today...Kamryn came to visit! We had Beta at our house tonight and Kate & Kamryn came! Can't get much better than that!

Melissa and Kamryn

Dad & Kamryn - their first meeting!

...countdown...

I realized today that the two month countdown is *ON*

for the end of school and

this:

My last day of work is June 21st and that night, I'll be in Las Vegas with my family!

It's a great thing to look forward to!!!

...I have a lot to catch up on...

This last week flew by and was filled to the top with all kinds of activities.

Last week was cheer tryouts for 2010-2011. We had 21 girls tryout and have full squads for next year! YAY! The girls started a candy bar fundraiser right after tryouts.

You should've seen the looks Melissa & I got when we were in Costco buying $1000 in candy bars. Try it sometime. :)

Here they are hanging out in my office until I could take them to the cheer closet:

This past weekend, Melissa, Mom, Amy, & I went to a Scrappers Getaway at the Palouse Divide Lodge outside of Potlatch, Idaho. Melissa & I had gone two years ago - she, Mom, and I had planned to go last year, but couldn't after Mom's surgery, so we were all excited and ready for this year! I hadn't scrapbooked in over a year since I started quilting - I didn't even know where to start!

I figured it out quickly and ended up getting 19 double page spreads done. Whoop whoop!

Here's the lodge - thanks for the picture Debbie!

The view from the lodge - beautiful North Idaho!

We made these ribbons for the new cheerleaders, then Melissa painted their names and graduation years on them. So cute!

Tonight, Mom & I went to visit Nick, Kate, and Kamryn. She's almost two weeks old and has changed so much since I saw her last week.

So - nothing too exciting. I'm working on a birthday present quilt this week, Preschool Taco Feed on Wednesday, plus getting ready for AP testing at school next week. Gotta catch up on sleep sometime!

...kamryn...

I've shamelessly "borrowed" pictures from Kamryn's grandma, grandpa, and aunt...

but seriously...how could you resist the sweetness?!

I had to share....

And, is she the cutest little Coug mascot you've ever seen?!

I think her Whitworth alumni family better step it up! :)

I got in a little snuggle time last night. She's so precious and smells so yummy! She just snuggles in so close and it's hard to think of being anywhere else than there.

Her Mama & Daddy are doing great and are the best new parents ever.

You two are awesome parents and I know you'll fall into a rhythm with Kamryn soon. Love you much!

...Snickerdoodle Muffins...

I saw this recipe on another blog a few weeks ago and finally got to try them out this morning. I think they turned out pretty good - not as flavorful as I'd hoped and they were kinda messy to make. Oh yeah - and I had to run to the grocery store at 7:45am this morning to get sour cream, which I thought we had two tubs of in the refrigerator before I started. Oh well. :)

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

¾ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp cream of tarter

¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 and ¼ cup sour cream

2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.

2.In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.

3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.. Place muffin into a greased muffin tin.. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

...whew! caught up!...

I came home after school and got to work on these....

It feels good to be caught up in time for the last block to be posted tomorrow!

...almost there...

I got block #6 done tonight!

This design is one of my favorites - especially that orange and teal one on the left!

...Kamryn Baumann Johnson...

Welcome to the world

Kamryn Baumann Johnson

Tuesday, April13, 2010

8lbs, 2oz, 20 in

11:19am

{Thanks for the picture Grandma Karen!}

Mom, Melissa, and I went to meet her on Tuesday after school. She is precious and perfect! Kate is a champ and Nick couldn't be more proud.

I had a dentist appointment this morning, so convienently got to stop by again.

It's great to see them together as a family.

While I was there, Nick and Kate asked me to be Kamryn's godmother.

I was so surprised to be asked, but incredibly honored as well.

I feel so blessed to be able to be part of this new life and can't wait to see how she'll change the world.

I heard this song on the radio today on the way to the Tri-Cities and just about started crying listening to it while thinking of sweet Kamryn. It's one of my favorites right now - it's even my ringtone!

This is the chorus:

Be strong in the Lord

and never give up hope.

You're going to do great things,

I already know.

God's got His hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear.

Forgive and forget,

but don't forget why you're here.

Take your time and pray,

Thank God for each day.

...pinwheel block #5...

I'm trying to get caught up with my pinwheel blocks...I'm a little behind right now. To be honest, I got a little bored only doing pinwheels when I had some time to spend in the craft room.

Here they are:

I'm excited to get these all put together!!

...one year....

I missed getting to reflect on this on the actual on year anniversary, so this will have to do.

April 8/9 is the anniversary of Mom's...what do you call it? Incident? Stay in Seattle?

We took her to the emergency room around 10pm on April 8, but nothing happened until April 9 - thus, the April 8/9 date.

For a few days, we were not sure what life would look like a year down the road, even a week down the road.

A year later, Mom has made an amazing recovery. If you didn't know about her surgery, you'd never know by looking at her. It's incredible to me. She has defied the odds.

Last week, Mom, Melissa, and I went to Seattle for a mini-vacay. It was a great way to celebrate her recovery. So thankful for everyone's prayers and support. I can't explain how much it means and what a difference it's made.

...bag lover...

I'm loving making these coloring book bags! This is my second one and it went a little quicker than the first, so about 1 1/2 hours start to finish. I also used stabilizer to make this one a little thicker. Gonna do that again.

This bag is for a little guy who's going to have a new baby sister in a few weeks. I think I'll make him a crayon roll up today to go with it and fill the bag with some preschool activity books.

When I brought it upstairs to show off to the family, Melissa said she'd like a school bag out of this fabric. That would be pretty cute. :) Gotta find a good pattern. I could alter this one, but I'm not as good at altering patterns as my good friend Kate. :) :) :)

...Frances' First Easter...

I can't resist sharing these pictures of Miss Frances that my cousin Lisa sent today. She's so dang cute!!!

Look at her new teeth!!

I'll let Lisa's email explain the next few pictures.

We won tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll this year. There were 9 extra that the Secret Service gave away to 3 winners. Jon had his friends put their name on the drawing list, and luckily, one of them won. So Jon made him hand over the tickets ;)

 

Frances was obviously way too young to understand any of it, but at least we got some good pictures!

Lisa's husband Jon is a Secret Service Agent stationed at the White House. Pretty cool!

What a great experience - and great pictures!

...april fools...

I can't let April Fools Day go by without blogging about my Grandma.... :)

My Grandma LOVES - L.O.V.E.S - April Fools Day! Growing up, she'd always call us before school and try to joke us. She'd think for weeks ahead for just the right joke for each of us. More than the joke itself, SHE cracked us up by how into April Fools Day she was!

This year, Mom, Melissa, and I thought that'd we'd play a joke on her! We were on our way to Kennewick for my LASIK surgery on Thursday morning about 7:45am. We thought of a good one, but Melissa & I weren't sure if we should call Grandma that early. She's a Jimmy Kimmel watching night owl. :) Mom said go ahead and call and maybe we can catch her off guard. Here's how it went down:

Background: The night before, Melissa had boughten a plane ticket for Grandma for Vegas online.

(Mom, Melissa, Grandma, my cousin Lisa, and I are all going in June - YAY!!)

Melissa: Good Morning, Grandma. I just got an email from Allegiant Air that there was a mistake with your ticket and they undercharged you by $300. I was just wondering if you still wanted to go....or if you wanted to put it on your credit card....??

Grandma: Let's see....today is...Thursday....APRIL FOOLS!

Man! We thought we'd really get her this year.

Grandma then went on to tell Melissa how she could've made the story more believeable:

"When you said $300, I knew that couldn't be right...that was too much. You should've said my credit card didn't go through!"

We tried to outsmart the April Fools Queen, but fell short. She's that good.:)

...birthday girl....

This sweet little girl (who has a brand new wardrobe lately thanks to her creative repurposing momma) is about to turn 2 years old on April 28th!

I've had the idea for what to make for her birthday present for a while now and finally got to do it last weekend! I know it's a little early for her birthday, but I'm excited about it and had to share. I'm pretty sure her Mom will keep the secret for a few more weeks. :)

I made a coloring book tote for the girl that loves to "color color." I think those might have been her first words?! :)

and to go with it - a crayon roll-up.

I realize this may be the only time that all 16 crayons with sharp tips are neatly put in their slots...it's not a real practical gift for a two year old. :) Plus, she has a thing for biting off the tips of her crayons.

I hope she loves it. If she doesn't - I know a 25 1/2 year old that *really really* wants it.

:)

...Grandma Jean's Sewing Machine...

Around my birthday, my Aunt Kim passed on my Grandma Jean's sewing machine to me. She couldn't quite remember how she gained possession of it, but she and her friend Donna had tried to figure out how to thread it because there was no manual with it. Back in December, I found the manual online and it got sent to my email. I researched online about it at that time and found out it was a top of the line Kenmore from Sears (at it's time), which doesn't surprise me, knowing my Grandma.

I haven't tried it out until now because whenever I have some free moments to go to the craft room, I want to maximize my time and actually do something!

Well, Kate borrowed my machine last weekend while we were in Seattle and she's still using it - which is great - I'm very happy to share and it gave me an opportunity to finally get out Grandma's machine.

I explored around the machine....read the manual....and got it threaded! Success!

I even figured out how to wind the bobbin. Look how many stitches it has!

It has NO accessories with it though - that could make things difficult to use it for anything besides straight line stitching.

I figured out where to place the needle to get a 1/4" stitch. Whoo hoo!

and I started on a new table runner - a pattern that I picked up at the quilt store in Bothell.

I think it's pretty cool to get to use my Grandma's machine. I remember watching her sew when I was younger and helping her cut out patterns - she sewed clothes, not quilted.

...LASIK....

Yesterday, I had LASIK! I've been wanting to do it since I heard about it, especially since contacts don't work for me. I don't mind wearing glasses, but no glasses sounded so appealing!

And, I got these cute new sunglasses!! :)

Mom & Melissa took me to Kennewick yesterday for my 8:15am appointment. Melissa wasn't going to go, but when she remembered that she could watch the procedure, she decided to go!

After paying, I was quickly taken back to the waiting area, sat down in a recliner, and was given the instructions for post-care to read again and went over the bag of goodies that they give you with one of the nurses. I opted for the Valium (yes, please!) and then had to wait for about an hour for it to fully kick in. I felt like if I'd been taken for surgery 20-30 minutes earlier, I would've been more "calm".

When the nurse came to take me to the surgery room, I saw Melissa through the glass windows, which made me nervous. I know she meant to be reassuring, but I thought about her watching me and it made me laugh. :) Weird, I know... :)

I felt the most discomfort and pressure when they cut the corneal flap and it smelt HORRIBLE when the laser was working. Other than those two things, it was easy peasy!

They took me back out to the waiting area - reminded me of a few precautions and sent me on my way! My vision was a little blurry at that point, but it began clearing up and by the time we got home, everything was pretty clear! It's amazing!

Melissa stayed with me yesterday afternoon and gave me my eye drops every 30 minutes. I told her I really appreciated her doing that - I can put eye drops in my own eye, but she's so quick!

Melissa took me back to Kennewick this morning for my post-op. They took the bandage contacts off and said everything looked great!

I'm very happy with the results so far and I know it's only going to get better! I can't wait to wear eye makeup again though - shallow? probably - but my eyes look red and puffy without eyeliner and mascara!