Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice!

When my children were children, I made most of their clothing. I love to sew, but in those days, fabric and patterns were much cheaper (HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE COST OF A PATTERN LATELY? $13 AND CHANGE FOR TISSUE PAPER?!) and I sewed out of neccessity because we were sorta poor. Nowadays, I sew because I can. It is a joy for me to cut up fabric, sew it back together, and create something unique. My talent-pool is a shallow one, but I can sew and I love having little girls to sew for. (I will say that doing a set-in sleeve on a size two dress was just as tedious as I remembered!) Sew, sew, soooooo, Grammie got busy and made some summer dresses for the girls.

Summer Fun

We spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer. We have a covered patio that functions as our outdoor living/dining room. Since the most of the grandkids live right next door, we see them daily. Here are a few of precious moments from my first week out of school.

Roasted corn-on-the-cob for dinner (thanks to Reed!).

Grandpa DoJo gives Drew his second buzz cut of the summer. Check out that farmer's tan!

When the folks at church complimented Andrew on his haircut, he rubbed his head and said "Grandpa cut my hair."

He's handsome, no matter what haircut he has.

Here you see Drew contemplating whether he should get into the backyard pool. I fill the kiddie pools with our well water, which is icy-cold even on the hottest summer days.

The girls don't seem to mind. Check out those swim goggles and Kourtney's "princess pose." These kids are goofy, but I love 'em!

HONESTLY? What's not to love about this?

There are lots of things I like about summer, BESIDES not being at work. Lots of free time in the backyard is number one on my list!

Mr. Good Idea

This is my son-in-law, Reed, otherwise known as Mr. Good Idea. (Yeah, he's the one who thought putting an engagement ring in a Frosty was a good idea.) Reed's family gave him the nickname. It's well-earned. His wheels are constantly turning.

This is Jared. Jared has lots of ideas, but I'm not sure they are all good ideas. His idea was to use my new garden cart as a carnival ride for the grandchildren. For a "big" boy, Jared can run pretty fast!

This is Rudy. He thinks he is one of the grandkids. He is one year old, which makes him seven in dog years. He acts like a seven-year-old boy. He's our only granddog, so we love him a lot.

Reed noticed that Jared was tired from running around the yard with the garden cart. That's when he came up with the good idea to hook Rudy up and have him do all the running.

Rudy loved it. The kiddos loved it. Everyone was happy.

Rudy runs faster than Jared...

...and he will lay on the grass with all the cousins.
*No animals or children were injured as a result of Reed's good idea. Whew!

World's Greatest Band Teacher

Pictured here with DoJo is Janet Isham, the World's Greatest Band Teacher. Janet retired this year after 36 years of teaching. DoJo is actually one of her oldest students, since she was doing her student teaching at Kirtland Central High School when he was a senior in 1975. (Yeah, he's THAT OLD, but he doesn't act his age!) Apparently, listening to DoJo on the trumpet was not enough to deter Mrs. Isham from having a great career as a band teacher.
Janet Isham helped me (and countless others in our community) raise my children. Each of my five children started off with Janet in Beginning Band at Grace B. Wilson Elementary School in 5th grade. Apparently, even THAT didn't make her give up. I must admit that I haven't always blessed Janet's name. She insisted on having her students practice every night AT HOME. Let's just say that I felt her pain every night for years!

We LOVE Janet Isham and she will be sorely missed in our schools. Here she is with the Whipple girls. Megan played the tuba, Amanda played the French horn, and Kaitlin played the trumpet. Not pictured are Jared, who played the trombone, and Wesley, another trumpet player. When I told Janet how much I appreciated her helping me raise my kids and thanked her for putting up with Jared (She nagged him about his grades, taking some of the burden from me!), she chimed in that she was happy to put up with each of them, but that it was a blessing that I had spaced my family so that she never had to have two Whipples in the same band at the same time. Then she revealed the secret to her success...Jared actually PREPARED her to deal with Wesley! Thank you again Janet. I couldn't have done it without you! Happy retirement.

I've been busy, okay?!

How embarrassing! I just looked at my blog and saw that my last post was in April. Sorry to all my readers (all three of you!), but I've been sorta busy. When I start sewing, it is hard for me to do anything else. Yes, I sorta get obsessed. I know, it IS hard to imagine me being obsessed. Most people just think I'm possessed. Really, they are almost the same thing, just a few letters difference. But honestly, I have been busy.

First, I finished Amanda's mini-quilt for her April 14th birthday.

Then, I finished Desi's mini-quilt for her April 25th birthday. I asked Desi to pick out her own colors and block patterns. I wanted to surprise her, but when I asked Jared about her favorite colors, I realized that he didn't know what he was talking about. Some things never change!

And last but not least, Megan's mini-quilt received its finishing touches. Her birthday isn't until July 17th, but she has already seen the quilt. Once Megan got wind of the mini-quilt project, she put in her special order. She wanted a long rectangle to go over the headboard of her bed.

Besides these little treasures, I've finished a full-size quilt and a baby quilt. In addition to sewing a lot, I also have this incredible family I enjoy spending time with. Here you see my three oldest children. This picture was taken in early April, just a week or so before Megan (far left) delivered our precious little Clara Jane Stewart on Desi's birthday, April 25th. Amanda is due in early July. She is having another girl, bringing the granddaughter count to 5 and the grandson count stays at 4, for now. As for Jared, well, we are not sure what he is "due-ing" in this pic! Just being Jared, I guess. Gotta love him!

Here's big sister, Olivia, holding her new baby sister Clara.

And a little more recent pic of the little darling. She was full-term and weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. She is just a Little Bit! I could hold her and rock her and gaze into that sweet angle face all day.

Grandchildren are the Lord's way of rewarding you for not killing your children. I've been especially blessed.