Fire Hydrant Party

Before the meeting convened, a big, black garbage bag in front of the podium hid it. SUPRISE! The city was so thankful for his work of cleaning/repainting 67 hydrants that they gave him a decommissioned, gutless, trophy!

Family @Dewey Beach

Roxie was ecstatic to get these...
So she could play here! Crowded day, but we had perfect traffic on the way down. The van's air conditioning conked out, and the wheel needed air by the time we got down to the Ocean and noticed. But we made it there and back, with no fire!



All the kids went to the midnight showing of Harry. Today Suzu was avidly reading it all again.
Sam is wearing the UV protection shirt and swim trunks Max wore last summer. Little loose, but not by much.

While we were there we watched an extended family: obvious grandma (the adult daughters were calling her "Mom" and the little kids, "Grandma!") four sisters, two brothers, a sister in-law, brothers in-law. It took us awhile of watching to figure out how the couples were linked together (kisses give it away!) Lots of little kids. One of sisters very pregnant. MODEST swimsuits. No tattoos. No beach beer. No swearing. Clean-cut haircuts (one weekend bearded young daddy). Happy. Kind to each other. Full of light. Cousins playing together. Accidentally calling an aunt mom, because she looked like their mom.

I love seeing big families, the physical resemblances, the way sisters/mom will stand next to each other and you can see they obviously belong to each other--leg shape, posture, coloring.

But our big question, "Do you think they are Mormons?" Do we stand out like that? This is with a crowded beach full of bikini beach bunnies, wild groups of people having fun...

What would you have thought?

Right before we left, I went and asked the grandma. I complimented her on her beautiful family, said we had enjoyed watching her grandchildren play kindly together, and figuring out how the families were related. Paige was flattered, explained why her husband wasn't there (I was glad Grandpa was still alive!), and quizzed me on which were her children, which were "out-laws" and married in. And then I asked it, "Are you Mormons?" "No, just irresistible!" She said they have been asked that before, but this was the first time another Mormon had asked her. I listed the things I had noticed, the reasons I knew they were a good Christian family. While growing up they lived next door to a Mormon family that had moved away, and they really missed them.

Good talk. Her pregnant daughter came and talked with us for awhile. I told her how beautiful she looks and one of my favorite quotes from my mom: "The best gift you can give your children is siblings!"

Paige asked about my children. I told her about Elder Landbeck serving, where we are from, why Church is important to our family and why living a Christian life matters.

She said I had made her day. She made mine!

Wish You Were Here!

Do you notice? Can you tell?
John has thinned down, lost 25+ pounds recently. Looking handsome!
Here we are at a pancake dinner fundraiser. Grandpa bought the tickets. We show up, stay until all the grandparents are done eating. John's 90 year old grandma was there, getting kisses from nearly everyone who passed our table. I think we were strategically sitting near the exit. This is what it is like living in the same town for generations--five generations for us. Everyone knows you, recognizes your family. You have to be careful.
Lots of people asked about our children--and our missing two in college (not shown).

Max is photo bombing us here...

Shared Interests

I am thankful for interests/hobbies/causes in common.

Thanksgiving almost wouldn't be complete without a quick trip to Cranberry. What a great named town!

David & Julie were there all week. Getting 13 cousins together to have crazy fun play was a priority, and being with siblings was a sweet bonus.

I am thankful for the fabric/quilting/architectural salvage collecting/parenting/crocheting/antiques with patina/thrift store shopping/art appreciation tastes we have in common.



Quick cranberry discussion: I got this cranberry sauce from listening to NPR. Just 3 ingredients, and it looks like Pepto Dismal (BRIGHT pink!) and very sour without sugar, so I added Spend-a-lot in honor of my in-laws.

Back to the real Cranberry
Thanks to Lu and family for hosting a fun gathering!

"Serious Face," I Said

I've been making baby bitty booties for gifts from Heather Bailey's free pattern. They are sitting on a quilt going in our quilt show Oct 16-17th. I'll show you here after the show is hung.
I said, "Make a serious old-fashioned face, to show off my sparkly green POWER FINGERNAILS that got the Primary kids' attention as we practiced standing and sitting in unity!"
And he was silly.

And so was I.

Near Pittsburgh

BEST soft-serve ice cream in Cranberry Township. That would be Max's hand photo-bombing us!

I tried creme brulee, John=coconut, Roxie=tangerine, Sam=chocolate twist, Suzanna=German chocolate cake, Max=(I can't remember. I don't think I got a taste of his!)

He was still hungry and ordered lemon lime slush puppy and thought it tasted "off."

Eyes Only For You (Happy B-Day DAVID!)

Our kids know by now that we are trying to take a daily couple photo. This was a week ago, Saturday. John is holding the camera, pointing it towards us, then looking at me at the last minute. The last few seconds before John pressed the button, Stewart, who was sitting in the row in front of us, leaned sligtly to his left and inserted himself into our couple shot. This picture makes Maxwell laugh to no end.

And we were oblivious parents until downloading the photos.

Making Memories, Part 2

She noticed after she took this picture that she was in it, too. I like the contrast, takes the seriousness out of the pose. 8<)

We Need Wednesdays

Not only is Suzu giving us bunny ears, Sam is leaping into this couple shot.

An Astronomer and his Vampiric Girlfriend

...with car keys in her hand because she just got back from RS mtg. THIS IS FRIDAY'S POST STOP WE ARE ALIVE AND WELL STOP


The stars were bright. Night air brisk. I couldn't resist. I was hungry. It had been a long 12-hours. I was ready for blood. Frustrated, stressed from un-realistic demands. Time for just one kiss...(he was holding the camera and thought "we" were looking at the stars-bright, beautiful, clear night! This is how to photo bomb your own couple picture-or how to pretend to be a mosquito, which were also biting!) BEWARE!

Journey Back in Time

Came home late from 4-seminary combined activity.
We should have gotten a picture with all four of us--Lehi is missing and me=craft/textile woman (we macramed twisting half-square knot bracelets-so middle school 70's- with a second option of authentic Nephite wire-beaded bracelets. Wire makes it so no needle needed.)

My tree of life and sign contributions to the decor (yeah for upholstery samples! And notice the way it is hung! I was looking for a ladder and found pvc pipes in closet and braced them on handles of overflow doors and used a little tape to secure. I WILL TRY THIS AGAIN as a good way to hang banners!)

Three Teenagers in the House

Emma is out of her teen years, but we still have three behind her, plus two pre-teens. Lots of emotions, passions, happenings.

I can't remember what Max was grouching about, irritated that John wasn't ready to take him to rehearsal? And we were being silly taking parent pictures. Ahh, parents in love!

My Lunch Date with Big Boy and Batman

This artifact is at the Maryland House art exhibit upstairs.
John said this picture was important to show how old this 25 cent ride is!

He brought a loaf of good whole wheat bread, thinly sliced roast beef, my favorite honey mustard from Wegman's, yougurt, candy bars, soda pop. Sweet date on the picnic benches on the south side of MD House, in the shade at noon!

Suzu Photobombed Us!

We are expert at embarrassing our teenagers. Sometimes they get us back! See Suzanna's hands?


She is taller than I am. Darker brown eyes. And she gets her blond hair from her grandma!

Playful Partners

I gave in after a dozen of John's attempts at taking a couple photo without my cooperation. He makes it really hard to concentrate, sometimes.

This is me really trying to concentrate and work and studiously ignoring my husband. John says there is a meme (no, I didn't just mis-spell name. Meme. Google it.) for these kinds of photos, "photo bomb", with the bridesmaids all posed and the janitor sticking his goofy grin in the photo frame. Uninvited posing? Must research such silliness. We were photo-bombed by Tiffany back in early December at the ward Christmas party: we are posing and she inserted herself into the picture--that is the idea. Bunny ears optional.

With a Little Help

...from our friends. Last night, spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Scouts.
Permission to play!

The silent auction did well. I gave a t-shirt make-over: turn a guy's t-shirt into a feminine, modest, and flattering version.