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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A Day At The Aquarium

It has been several years since my children went to the Aquarium. We used to have a membership at the one in Baltimore, but then we started going to the Science Center more before we moved. So, my children were expecting a dolphin show and a different experience than the one we got, but we found the one in Denver to be plenty interesting and lots of fun too.  We invited my parents and our neighbor to go with us. We started the morning with some shopping along the way and met my brother downtown for lunch. Then it was off to the Aquarium. These photos aren't in the order that we saw them, but they show most of the great things we were able to see and do.

A highlight was getting to pet some of the animals. Here LittleBuddy was holding a small fish between the knuckles of his second and third fingers and waiting for. . . 

 a sting ray to come eat it out of his hand. (I only had my slower cell phone, instead of my dSLR, . . . felt lucky to have the ones I did turn out.) He LOVED it and when the person next to him walked away from the fish they had bought, my guy didn't want those little fishies to go to waste, so he fed some more.
 There was a large shark tank where we also saw a swordfish that must have been about 12 feet long.
 The jelly fish are always so creepy and interesting at the same time.
 Little clown fish among the anemones - Nemo has made clown fish be among my children's favorites, as old as they are.

 So many beautiful fish swimming among the coral.


 So many large fish here too. The tanks were full and fascinating to watch.
 In one part of the shark tank there were mermaids doing tricks.

 I tried hard to get good photos of the many large turtles we saw. I love watching them. . . old souls swimming around in peace. . . they are among my favorites.
 One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing MyGirl enjoy her time there so much. It was her idea that we go and it was a great idea!
 We all got to pet a small tiger shark. Even I did it. . . slightly rough and rubbery. Fortunately, the guy laid still. . . pretty sure I would have freaked if he'd turned and opened his mouth.
 Outside there was a line that formed getting inside, with it being Spring Break and all, but we were entertained with, I believe, a golden Eagle and its trainer.
 Inside, one of the things that I really enjoyed was having things swim over our heads. However, this shark just liked to sit on the glass archway, and gave us a pretty cool view of the side of him we don't usually see.
 I love lobster - eating them and watching them. Eating them more, however. Those were some fine food memories of our trip to Massachusetts.
 Here's an interesting turtle. I enjoyed his coloring. LittleBuddy is so good to pose for all my pictures still.
 We loved the otters. They were swimming and flipping and diving all over their exhibit. It was hard to get a good photo of them unless they rose to the surface.
Look at the scales on this guy. . . many fish here were over a foot long. It was fun to see them all so close.

 Last, but not least, I was surprised they had tigers here. They were part of the rainforest exhibit and the water the tigers could play in was also filled with plenty of fish of all sizes.
 There were two in the exhibit and they gave us quite a show, walking all over the place, climbing on the rocks and several times coming right down to the windows and getting up close and personal.
I felt lucky to get this photo as he was walking right in front of me. He was hungry. He was shaking his food boxes that were out of steak and on the hunt looking for something good to eat. So glad there was glass there! So cool too, to watch them. Fun day. Fun memory.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Bunnies Everywhere

Can't believe next week its Spring Break and then Easter. I created this cards to send/give out. Only the first one shows that I used chalk to color in this darling gift-giving bunny. These photos are a little washed out, sorry. All the papers are from the Chantilly paper packet. Used a little yellow twine to tie it all together.



 Around the house there are plenty of bunnies to be found. . . each one has its own personality. This is my oldest bunny, given by Mike's grandmother when BigBuddy was a baby. It is a small snow globe in the egg carried in the basket. Its very sweet. When the kids were little they loved to shake it. Now he rests in his old age unless I occasionally feel the whim to shake it again.
 He's nestled among the candlesticks in the dining room.
 Beneath the poppies is the joyous greeting with bunnies climbing all over. Love the colors and cheerfulness they bring.
 This little wooden bunny is new this year.
 He's nestled down by the hydrangeas in the front entry.
 This ceramic bunny is near the back door on the butler's pantry counter. He's keeping an eye on everyone who walks in.
 This big bunny keeps the big candle company.
 These were my Pier One bargains - found the wreath on a super sale and loved how the welcome bunny sign just seemed to fit there easily.
 Last but not least, the Donald Bunny sent by my uncle several years ago. He makes noises when you squeeze him and sits on the counter by the kitchen where he gets lots of attention from everyone who sees him, especially Neighbor who comes to snack.
These are the decorations for Easter which help remind us the holiday is coming, but the best part of celebrating Easter hasn't happened yet. I'm saving that for next week. Can't wait to show you! 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Patience

Thanks for your patience with this blog of mine! I've been working on quilting my latest quilt. . . I showed you the almost finished quilt a couple of months ago. . . well I've finally been free-motion quilting at my mom's this week and last. . . hopefully tomorrow that part is done, then just the binding. . . Pictures coming when its all done.

On the homefront, Littlebuddy and I performed in church yesterday with a viola/piano duet of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." It was his first time up front, almost like soloing, and he really did a great job in spite of how nervous he told me he felt. . . so  prepared he was.

MyGirl sent in her last math test last week. That is HUGE!  We've been working on this class for a good eighteen months, but she did it! She stuck it out and finally finished. We had to go out to celebrate on Friday.

It was Littlebuddy's last YMCA basketball game on Saturday and they won! LittleBuddy made some great rebounds which were key and scored too. Every member of the team scored, so that was nice for all of them. Then that same night our high school, where LittleBuddy will go next year, won the state basketball championship for the second year in a row!  

BigBuddy's latest medicine has been working well for the past six weeks - Big Blessings! He loves the college life, and we're glad he's so happy there.

My good friend from high school lost both his parents last week when his nephew killed them after these grandparents threw him a party upon being released from jail and let him stay with them . . . maybe you read about it. . . it made national news. . . so very tragic. I hadn't seen his parents since I was nineteen years old. It caused me to think a lot ever since hearing the news about my high school years, and how grateful I was to spend time with their family regularly, and have so many good memories with them. They were good people. Their son was one of my best friends and was my prom date and good buddy through college too. The only real consolation is that they went together. It still just hurts my heart to think about this family that is truly in mourning.

Cowgirl is on a month long business trip all by herself. . .  Her company knows how capable she is as a trainer but I just wish she was there with a group, not on her own. She just finished another 5K and is continuing to exercise and eat herself thin. . . so proud of her continuous efforts. . . this is real determination and perseverance.

MyMike is dealing with a lot at work. Last week he was on travel. Over the weekend he enjoyed some more composing.  We still enjoy working with the Webelos on Wednesdays and I'm still doing Compassionate Service.

Hopefully the quilt will be finished by the end of the week and I'll have some pics to post.





Saturday, March 9, 2013

Latest Happenings

Just over a week ago we had our Blue and Gold dinner for Webelos. The theme was Outer Space, and our Cubmaster made it fabulous! All the boys painted rockets which the Bear leaders made and then they got to "fly" them on the wire course. These rockets had a straw on the backsides. You can see, Mike, above, taking a rocket, then he'll put the end wire through the straw and at the word "Go," send it down the wire. . . 


 ...You can see it better down this direction. One is already at the finish line and the others are coming. The boys all loved it! It was a very nice dinner, a fun activity and our Webelos earned lots of awards, so we were happy!
I finally finished my Reunion chevron baby quilt. Karla Eisenach, the owner and designer, with her two daughters, of Sweetwater fabrics, was our guest speaker at quilt guild on Thursday, so I was motivated to get it done in time to share that night. It was interesting to learn how she began, with just $50 and four pattern ideas, to becoming a major designer for Moda. I put a red binding on the quilt and love the bright pop of color against the blue and white back.


 I learned that all of Sweetwater fabrics have one fabric with lots of words on them.  This fabric I chose, however, has years, not words. Lots of them, and its been fun for my children and I to look and see if our birth years are included. So far we've found everyone in the family except for mine and MyGirl's. . . oh well. . . this will probably be for Cowgirl"s or Bigbuddy's baby someday.


 Last week I also made another banner. This one says Easter. From a distance, the chipboard lettering I used is a little small, but when you're sitting in my living room, it shows up just fine. 

 Here's a close up of the details. I used all Close To My Heart products here, some brand new, and others very much retired. I love that they sell fabric this year. The yellow polka dot fabric just seemed to go perfectly here. I also felt the need to add a little glitter around the edge of the pink paper. It all shows up better in real life.  I realized that on my shopping site - sumscrapbook.ctmh.com, these chipboard banners are on sale for $2.75 While Supplies Last. . . Check it out if you're interested. They come with 8 chipboard pieces per package and are nice and sturdy to cover and embellish.
 We're having a blizzard again today.  It finally feels like we really live in Colorado now. This is the third big storm in the past three weeks. Fortunately, the last two days were in the 50's and 60's so its melted quickly. I like that it doesn't feel like we've been hammered with cold all winter either. Quite the opposite really. We enjoy the variety, we get lots of sunshine, and chances to just stay home and cancel all the appointments of life and relax together are always appreciated.