Firsts...

This Christmas Bill got me my first sewing machine. It is awesome to say the least. Yesterday I was making Ethan's bed and there was a hole in his sheets so I sewed it up and then made his bed. That is the first time I have ever been able to do that.
Last week I decided I wanted to try making a rag quilt for the lil' little guy, I picked up the fabric at Walmart on Monday. Actually I got a pack of receiving blankets that had 4 different designs and then got some plain fleece in colors to match. Off and on since Tuesday I have been working on it excited to see the final outcome. I pulled it out of the dryer about an hour again and I love it!! My first rag quilt, sewn on my first sewing machine. I think this is also my first quilt I have made completely on my own. I have so many things I want to make now, we will see how much actually gets done before the lil' little guy is here.

Here are my progressive pictures!

Laying out the pattern...

Sewing all the squares into strips...

Sewing all the strips together...

Everything sewn together...

After all the snipping and washing...



The back...

Christmas 2009

It was a very different Christmas for us this year. We decided to stay home and have Christmas as our little family. We missed having all the celebrations with our wonderful families but at the same time it was nice to just relax and enjoy the time together. We had a great time giving the presents to each other and watching as they were opened. It was a great Christmas.

Making Cookies

Last night we made sugar cookies. Normally the big thing is frosting and decorating the cookies but since I'm the only one that likes the cookies with frosting that is a little hard. So instead Ethan helped me roll the dough out with his roller. Lets just say all the dough he was rolling went in his mouth before it was properly rolled out. He loves helping and eating any dough.

Ward Christmas Party

This past Saturday was our ward Christmas party. Instead of doing the traditional dinner and program they decided to have a breakfast and activities. The breakfast was awesome, Ethan was in heaven with his 6 banana pieces and a pancake. They had a casserole that was great (Alison I will be asking for the recipe!), ham, all kinds of fruit, muffins and yogurt. Needless to say it was wonderful.
After breakfast everyone went over to Bagley's elk ranch for a visit with Santa and a sleigh ride to see the elk. No, we didn't get Ethan on Santa's lap but he gave him a high 5 and talked to him so we are making progress. If you want to know how big the elk were call Bill. I'm sure he would love to tell you. They were really pretty though. Ethan loved being pulled by the big horses.
After the sleigh ride we pulled the tubes out and went sledding in "Bagley's Pitt". Luckily it snowed the 6 inches we needed the night before. There were a ton of kids and parents having a great time. However I think Isaac and Ethan got the best deal of all. All they had to do was sit in the sled or on the tub and go down with everyone else. Bill and Bryan were the pack mules hiking everyone and the sleds back up each time. They got quite the work out. Everyone had a blast. Ethan didn't want to go so Bill pushed him in the tube the whole way to the car and then the melt down started.



Thank you to Alison for the picture!






Thank you to Becky for the additional pictures!

Christmas in the air

We got our tree up last week and finally finished getting all the other decorations up through out the main rooms. Apparently last year I had the thought to put it away still lit. That made this year a cinch to put up. All I had to do was fix a couple branches it was great! Bill and Ethan helped put the ornaments on the tree. It always makes me smile to see a tree with the lights on.


It isn't a very good picture. I will try to get a better one tonight.

Fun in the snow

Since it has finally started snowing, Ethan loves to go out and help Bill snow blow the driveway. This year he is loving the snow, every time it snows he asks if he can go out and play.

Christmas Cards

Bill and I bot decided we did not want to be in our Christmas cards this year and thought it would be fun to have the (soon to be) two kids. Here are some of the attempts:




And finally the one we chose: