Thursday: quilt

My quilt is hanging up at QuiltCon!  QuiltCon is a large quilt show for the Modern Quilt Guild.  It is one of the biggest ones in the US.  Now, to be fair, my quilt is hanging in a special exhibit to which all the applicants got in.

Wednesday: projects and outside

We started the day with a project.  The goal of the project was to come up with an automatically closing door for the basement.  Flurry likes to come in to say hi, but she doesn't close the door very well and all of our nice warm air quickly escapes.  Ben and I have been mulling this over for a while, since we didn't want to harm the door.  I finally figured out a solution.

Command Hooks.  Seriously, why didn't I think of them sooner?  There is a string that goes from the doorknob over the command hook on the door then over the command hook on the wall and down to the mug.  I was hoping to have a light rope instead of string, but we didn't have enough on hand.  If the string stretches too much I'll replace it at that time.  I also covered the mug with some left over batting to help stop scraping against the wall.

After the first try, the system works very well!  The door also stays open if you open it all the way, which is a nice bonus.  However, Flurry hasn't tried it yet so it still needs to pass its final test.

(Update: Flurry got in!)

We went to the Nature Center with some friends after rest time.  It was a beautiful day, so it was nice to get out.

Joshua has his hat on because "sometimes I'm cold."

Tuesday: cold

I teach in a cold classroom.  Usually after three hours in it I'm close to being an icicle.  Today I spent an extra hour in it.  I was cold until I got home and could change into something warmer.

Monday: haircut, three wheeled things

I gave Isaac a haircut today with the buzz cutter for the first time.  We did it outside so it was easier to clean up.  I think it came out pretty well, although I'll probably make a few changes next time.

This afternoon we went for a walk around the lake.  Isaac biked...it is probably the first time that he's actually biked around the whole lake.  Usually we watered the plants half way through and then turned around.  Anyway, he did a great job.  I pushed the stroller with Joshua; he was very excited about the stroller.  I also pushed a scooter, although the scooter was put in the stroller.  Isaac rode it for a short time, but it was a lot more work.  Joshua declined the scooter.

Sunday: half birthday

Today is my half birthday.  The kids, especially Joshua, have been so excited about birthdays that we've been celebrating the half birthdays too.  On our way home from church I mentioned that it was my half birthday and we'd probably do something in the evening.

Well, it was also our turn to host Bible Study.  We finished lunch and I started talking to Isaac about the dessert.  He wondered if it would have candles on it.  I said we'd do that later, but someone else heard and said we should do them now!  So while we talked about the book chapter that we had read, Isaac put candles on the dessert.  A lot of them.  But it was fun.

Saturday: doings

This morning I started working on the food for Life Group tomorrow.  Joshua helped with strawberries for the first time.  I didn't give him many to do, but he did a good job with what he had.

Later in the morning some of Ben's cousins came and took a bunch of our baby stuff.  There was a lot.  I'm very glad to have it gone and to know that it will be used again...the exersaucer that Jacob, now 16 years old, used is still going strong.

This afternoon we went to Riley trails.  Isaac has a love for pine cones, but I told him we couldn't take any out.  So here he saved a few from the trail and put them all together in a pine cone family.

Friday: playing

This morning we went to the indoor playground.  This is the spot that Isaac always asks to go whenever I ask him what he wants to do today.  I kept it a surprise until we were at the door; he thought we were getting ice cream and apparently stopped thinking about where we actually were.  We were there with a bunch of friends and it was nice to see them again.  We stayed for about four hours...and the boys probably would have stayed longer.

After nap time we went outside for a little bit.  Isaac rode his bike and Joshua did the scooter.  At home they rode little riding toys down the drive way.  There is a bit of a hill, and after watching them make sudden stops at the end of the driveway I had them put their helmets back on.  I'm also not sure it's a good long term activity, as Isaac's shoes will get ruined...he's too big for the toy and the tops of his shoe kept dragging on the ground.  Or he needs to wear some old shoes or something.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem in February, but the forecast is looking rather warm, with highs in the 50s to low 60s.

I also worked with Joshua a little bit on the balance bike, but it didn't go all that well.