Scavenger Hunt

I am so in love with photography. Since I got my new camera last April, I have been obsessed with taking pictures.
Of everything. My kids, my chaotic life, random things that interest me.
Nothing is off limits.

So, I was thrilled to find Ashley over at

Ramblings and Photos
http://www.ashleysisk.com/

I will be joining her each week for Scavenger Hunt Sundays.
It's a project where she gives you a list of things to take pictures of during the week. You can use your imagination with these lists. The sky is the limit.

I am delighted to join her this week.


Here are my interpretations:


Crossed

A Glimpse

This is my daughter's dirty room before chore time on Saturday. Trust me, it doesn't always look like this.


Handwritten

Bliss

Gray

Come on over and join us. I am sure we will have a great time together.

Good Times

This past weekend, Jerry took the boys to White Sands National Park with the Boy Scouts for a day of fun in the sun. They were going to be there all day and I had absolutely no desire to go.
So, I sent the camera with Jerry with strict instructions to get me a lot of pictures.
I think he did a pretty good job.

The boys starting out rolling down the hills with no sleds. Doesn't look like fun to me, but what do I know? I'm old.

Then, Josh found this little baby...

At first, Jamie was a little apprehensive

Then, he decided it was worth it and off he went.

After this went on for several hours, it was time for Josh to participate in his sled race. That was after all, the reason for the trip.


Josh helped build the sled last week.

His team didn't win, but they worked really hard and did their best. And that is what counts.

By the end of the day, both boys were exhausted. As soon as they started home, they were gone. Out like a light.

While the boys were away, Katrina was participating in her 30 Hour Famine lock in at the church. Over the past few weeks, the youth have raised money to feed starving children in Haiti through World Vision. This event was the climax of their efforts. They spent 24 hours at the church, learning about famine and doing some service projects.
I am very proud of Katrina for her efforts. I know she learned a lot.

Since it looks like she has learned to paint, I am sure I can find some projects for her to do around here.

These great pictures are courtesy of Evy Perez over at
http://learningtosurvive-evy.blogspot.com/
Please go check out her blog, she has a lot of good insight when you are going though a rough time. With a little bit of humor thrown in.



Since I had a Saturday all to myself I got quite a few things done.

Laundry

Sorting and organizing for Katrina's yard sale

Planting basil

And trying out a new recipe for coffee cake muffins

These may or may not have lasted until the family got home Saturday evening.

My Garden

Last week I went to the store to see if the plants had come in yet

The stores usually start stocking up on seeds and cool weather plants in February, and I am chomping at the bit to start growing stuff again.

I ended up getting a few packets of herb seeds and a few plants and flowers that were ready to go into the ground.

I got one of my favorites, the Hyacinth. They are so pretty and smell amazing.
This is what it looked like last week.

Then, a couple of days later...

And today...

I also got some Orange Mint, which I cannot wait to try in some iced tea.

I planted strawberries, cilantro, and pansies in my favorite color.

I also planted some Narcissus bulbs last month. They are finally blooming. I don't know how long they will last, but I sure hope it will be a while.
They are simply gorgeous. And they smell divine!

Later, I will update you on the Community Garden drama from last year and you can help me decide if I want to give it a try again this year.

But, today, just enjoy the sunshine and new life blooming all around.

Sewing 101

My sewing class at church started a couple of weeks ago and on the first day I was so excited, ready to learn how to be a master seamstress.


I set my station all up nice and neat, primed and expectant.
I was ready to create masterpieces.

But what I learned first is that there is a lot of prep work before you get to actually use the machine.
Measuring, pinning, cutting, ironing...

After what seemed like hours and hours of prep, I was ready to use the machine. I was a little intimidated at first, and I went really slow, but once I got started, I was more comfortable. Plus, it didn't hurt to have the teacher right there to help if I messed up.
Which I did, several times.

At first, I was only working on the project Thursdays during our class. But this week, I got an unexpected gift. Someone from the church donated a lot of stuff for my daughter's yard sale and this little beauty was among the treasures. I quickly liberated it from its fate of being sold to someone who just wouldn't love it like I could.

After Jerry tweaked a couple of things and we got new needles for it, I was thrilled to find out that it worked. It is an old model, from the 1960's but it works like a dream.
They just don't make things like they used to.


Of course, finding out that it worked prompted me to go to the store for sewing supplies.
To Wal Mart.
At 9 o'clock at night.
At least the store wasn't too crowded.

As I was perusing the craft aisles, I found this cool box full of sewing supplies for next to nothing.
It has everything I need for my newest hobby, at least for now.
Plus, look at those gorgeous colors.
Now, I suppose I will be scouring the thrift stores for pretty fabrics to make lots of new things.

I suppose I need to finish my current project first.

So, here is a sneak peek of one of the aprons that is almost complete.

Later this week, I will show off both my masterpieces for you. But, right now, it is too early in the morning for a modeling show.


Have a great Monday!

Pinterest Humor

Sometimes Pinterest makes me feel old.
Here are some of the things I found this week that cracked me up.

The "kids" won't get it, but I thought they were hilarious!

And my very first hero, MacGyver. Man, I loved that guy!

I hope the rest of your week is filled with laughter and good memories!

Family Sunday

A few weeks ago, Jerry and I decided to make Sunday family day.
No electronics, no computer, just family time together.
Sometimes we play board games, sometimes we head out to a park, whatever sounds good for the day.

This weekend, we took the kids to Bobo's after church. It's kind of like Chuck E Cheese with outdoor activities and laser tag.
That's what we went for, to play laser tag. We were going to go play paintball this weekend, but the boys weren't old enough for it, so we picked laser tag instead.



It was hard to get good pictures inside the arena, since it was so dark and standing still long enough to take one inevitably gets you shot.
Repeatedly.
But I did manage to get a couple.

Jerry and I were on the same team for the first round. We totally slaughered the kids! Well, I guess Jerry did, since I kept getting shot. But, I claim victory, since we are married. And marriage makes us one.

All the kids wanted to be on our team for he second round, so we teamed up as a family and beat another family who joined in with us.

That's right, the Lantz family rocks!

And just do you know, I got the highest score. For the second game, that is. You know, when I finally put the camera down and started playing properly.
They didn't stand a chance!



After laser tag, we let the kids play in the arcade for a while to see how many tickets they could rack up.

They got 405 all together and wanted to get a big prize. The boys decided on a Nerf bow and arrow and Trina got punch balloons for all three of them. I was surprised she got something for the boys with her share. Sometimes, she can be nice and generous to her brothers.


After blowing up the balloons for them, we had a balloon war with the kids.

Jerry claims to have won, but I know better!



After Bobo's, we went to Toys R Us to see what we could find.
The kids were super excited, because I never take them to Toys R Us. You know, cause I have a self preservation instinct. That and I don't want to have to kill them after the 5 millionth time of hearing "Mom, can I have this?"


You know the saying, "Like a kid in a candy store?"
Well, it's wrong. It really ought to be, "A kid in a toy store"
Their eyes were huge and they couldn't decide where to go. It was very funny.

And Jerry is the biggest kid of them all.