she's alive

and she sews!

so, folks,

guess what i did tonight?

that's right,

i dusted off the old machine

and gave it a go...

i mended two pairs of underwear

 and a t-shirt hem,

took in a pair of shorts,

converted a pair of tights 

into hemmed footless tights

and...

< wait for it >

i finally made myself a clothespin bag!!!!

i more or less used this tutorial.

and i am SO pleased with how it turned out.

take a gander..

before 

(a pillowcase i found a while back at value village for $.99)

after

(happy dance, happy dance)

when it was all said and done it only took me an hour!

(okay, like three months and an hour...go procrastination)

note to self:

i love sewing and must do it more often.

that is all.

new camera

we got a new camera.

it's super cute.

looks like this:

(only bigger)

it's a canon powershot elph 100

and it takes amazing pictures!

like this one

happy sunday!

what neills do part 5

with the kiddos safely off 

to their grandparents' house,

hubs and i had 24 glorious hours of 

peace and quiet 

to celebrate our 9th anniversary!

dinner at the cheesecake factory

sleeping in (!)

homemade waffles for breakfast

(with strawberries and whipped cream)

the local farmer's market

raspberries and flowers

and then our camera gave up the ghost...

ah, well...new camera for our anniversary :-D

what neills do pt 4

after family camp

i got a taste of what the fall will bring

when the girly-girl and the boy-boy

attended a week of summer bible camp.

moo-moo and i spent five 

lovely, quiet mornings together.

the boy-boy finally decided that he could

 ride a bike without training wheels,

albeit a tiny bike.

the girly-girl cut her own bangs 

(then mommy trimmed them up).

cutie patootie.

grateful list

61. the trees outside my window

62. kid snuggles first thing in the morning

63. change

64. comfortable silence

65. gleeful noise

image credit

what neills do pt 3

and now my favorite thing

FAMILY CAMP!

so many wonderful memories,

so little time!

a whole gaggle of kids

some frisbee golf

canoeing

a bluegrass band

face painting

a western hoe-down

horseback riding

covered wagons

craft time

swimming

besties

and family!

we're already looking forward to next year!

what neills do pt 2

the next week was even more packed

and not quite so conflict-filled (yay).

we celebrated independence day with some friends.

and the next morning...

the kids slept in until 9:30am!

hallelujah!

the end of the week was the best yet...

FAMILY CAMP!

what neills do pt 1

since there has been radio silence for awhile

(you know what i mean)

i thought you might like an update on 

what's been happening at our house.

so, this week will be update week.

the first week after school got out

was filled with all kinds of fun.

playdates and pigs, gymnastics and swimming.

and, mostly, sibling conflict.

it's not easy adjusting to a new routine.

we started using a great website:

www.goalforit.com

check it out.

and that weekend we had a visit

 from my dad and stepmom.

we had a wonderful time,

despite learning that i do, indeed, 

still become carsick in the back seat.

(don't worry, it was just nausea, folks)

and so week 1 of summer 2011 flew by!

silence

hello.

you may have noticed that it has 

been rather quiet around here.

with all the kiddos home for the summer

my life has been rather full

and somehow blogging just hasn't happened.

we've all been a bit off routine

and quiet moments have been few and far between.

image credit

that makes for a fun, but also tiring time.

this moment is a time of relaxing.

the munchkins have been whisked 

off to their grandparents' house.

and we are in the middle of 24 hours of silence.

we went out to dinner,

watched a video,

slept all night without interruption.

and today...who knows!?!

 but at this moment i fully intend to

image credit

what will you do today?

9 years

the wonder of it fills my heart

 with gratitude to overflowing,

fills my eyes with happy tears,

fills my life with joy.

happy anniversary to

my sweetheart,

my best friend,

my confidante,

my partner,

my love,

the best man i know.