Living, Loving, Learning

 The Moms just came for a visit.  Of course, we had an amazing weekend that was over much to quickly!!!  We fit in a trip to the pumpkin patch and we met up with the Adlers there.  MYBLES!!!!  It was a gorgeous day and the kids had a blast hanging with Granny and MorMor and enjoying all the activities. Lucy got to have a her first pony ride...so fun!  Griffin loves horseback riding and was happy too, even if it was just a short stroll.  Yeah, at the end the guy does comment on Griffin's "paparazzi"...funny.  Makes me think, what is the effect of living in a time when every moment of your life is recorded?  hmmmmm

Nothing like a good quilt action shot. Had to share these photos that the Moms sent me.

The Moms' both have a super big birthdays this week....ends in an 0, if you know what I mean. With so much love and honor and respect we wanted to show them, Jessica and I decided to collaborate on making this throw quilt for them. I pieced the front of the quilt. I used a pattern called " Tokyo Subway Map ". I started working on it in August. It was hard not to talk about it at the time, it was so consuming. It has 986 2" squares in it. I finished the top by November and and shipped it to Jessica in the beginning of December. Jessica then worked her magic, hand quilting THE WHOLE THING. Each subway line is quilted in the same color, making the back super interesting against the dark fabric. She also embroidered a message and bound the whole thing. I really love the way it turned out!! This quilt has so much meaning for me. Not only as a gift, but it was such a cool project to work with my sister on! I can totally see us doing more things like this in the future......

Isn't that a cool purse my Mom has?! It's totally vegan!

We had a truly wonderful peaceful Christmas. We spent 3 days not leaving the house (well mostly, there were some walks and Bruce was on-call) and just enjoyed each other. The kids could not have been a better ages for this and they marinated in the magic of the season. They loved having Granny and MorMor (who am I kidding, we all did) there! Many hours spend talking, eating, playing games, reading books, opening presents. Just how it should be. (No one tell Bruce I put this picture of him with crazy bed head on the Internet!!) Bruce loved his mug, painted by Lucy! I hope your Christmas was filled with love and just as good as you imagined it could be!

One of the most incredible times we had on vacation was the night of the full moon when we went down to the beach to watch the sun set, moon rise and have a bonfire. The kids had a great time and were perfect until 10:30!! We were amazed. The beach offers them seemingly endless amusement. Lottie also loved the beach! She loves to dig and relished the ability to do it anytime, anywhere. She also made several pals on the dog-friendly beach. Here she is playing with a puppy very similar in look and size with her. This was such a great week to socialize her with so many new people, animals and circumstances. She is growing up to be a fantastic dog! Granny, Alethia and Lucy Sara and Anthony The tribe Still in love....

One of the most fun things we did in Michigan is spend an afternoon with my Mom at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. We were lucky enough to be there during the six weeks of the year that they load up their conservatory with an incredible array of gorgeous amazon butterflies. They have a couple greenhouses there including this one. The whole time I was in there I was dreaming of being able to spend an hour in there alone, meditating. It was one of those rare places that was just so PEACEFUL...minus the rowdy children, agitated adults and occasional employee reminding us to not touch the plants. ;) I guess after all the years I have spent learning and working in greenhouses they feel like home to me. I, unfortunately don't have any pictures of the Amazon house that was hosting the butterflies. We had barely entered the place when a gorgeous blue morpho swooped over our heads and Lucy collapsed onto the floor in terror, screaming, crying and shaking. She spent the rest of our t...

Arrrggghhhhh!! I just had a few more photos from the Christmas holiday that I wanted to post. Griffin is REALLY into dressing up (always pirate, ninja or knight) and he had Gran and MorMor sailing the high seas with him. And I had to post pictures of the hats the Amors made for the kids. I just LOVE handmade gifts....hmmmm wonder why! ;) And I had to put one last photo of Lucy and what probably was her favorite part of the holidays....cookies (you have to read that in the Cookie Monster voice!)

I LOVE fall! I love the chill in the air, the bright leaves, steamy bowls of homemade soup, cozy sweaters and scarves and most importantly, a trip out to the orchards. We went to Cider Mills in MI last weekend with the Moms. As soon as Lucy saw these ponies (donkeys?) she started her "uh, uh, uhs " and pointing. No doubt about it, she wanted a ride. So a the ripe ol ' age of 18 mos. Lucy gets her first pony ride and she loved it. Griffin is an old pro at such experiences, I almost think it is about time to get him out on a real horse back ride. This is not a great picture of either of them, but I just had to show you how much they look alike. No mistaking them as siblings! It is like totally impossible to get a good picture of the four of us - time to call in a professional!! The first of about six apples for Lulu. She had to taste test every varietal, of course!! She has been eating apples whole like this since she got her two front teeth at well under a y...

One of the coolest things we saw on the Cape was this community playground. It is located in the town of Truro and friends, Joyce and Georgia, actually helped in the construction of it. It is right next to the senior center which I think is so cool. It is evident that this is an artsy place from all the cool artwork and design evident. The kids had an absolutely wonderful time playing here. And of course, you can't make a trip to the east coast without checking out a lighthouse. This is a very pretty one, located right by the cliffs and surrounded by a golf course. What a view!! Ahhhh, I already miss this scene alot. I always forget how soothing the water is until I've been away from it for a while.