Yard Sale prep, Outdoor Adventures and a little weaving too!!

Yesterday was a long day of cleaning out the garage with Mom and unloading a trailer load of trash for my sister (with my brother's help).  It wasn't a very exciting day, but we were finally able to get the second peg board hung and some shelves rearranged!  I am very happy with the progress and I am confident that we will have made a big dent before our yard sale on Friday and Saturday! 

Tomorrow we are going to be finishing up the garage, moving some animals around and finishing sorting through the basement. Then Friday and Saturday we will be having a huge yard sale with 4-6 families all at the Homestead!

With such a busy weekend coming up the kids and I took a little time to explore Radford this afternoon.  We were hunting for honeysuckle... which sadly we did not find... but we still had a good time and found some prospective fishing spots too!

This gem of a spot is below the Demon Center at Radford University.  There is a nice walking path that goes along the river behind the practice soccer fields with easy access to the river.

We walked all the way down to the railroad bridge and stopped to draw in the sand on the way back to the car. 

My bug magnet of a son found an inch worm hanging down from a tree that became our friend for the afternoon!  He was a fast little bugger and I love the way they bend when they crawl!

I am intrigued by the island in the middle of the river and one day maybe I will get the chance to explore it... until then I will settle for exploring the river banks and playgrounds in the area! :0) ...and of course weaving when I can squeeze in a few minutes!

This is the beginning of my latest piece. I am working on a Windsor blue and Forest green plaid pattern this time that I am totally excited about.  When I saw these colors I just had to have them and I think the finished product is going to be amazing.  So far I am only about half way done, but I hope to have enough yarn for a fringed border!  For now I have to put a pin in this project until I can get past the yard sale and whatever 4th of July festivities we find to get into... but hopefully I will be able to finish it up before our family vacation in July!    

Haircuts for the Kiddos!

Last fall I looked into going back to school in the cosmetology field.... I don't know if we'll ever be able to afford it, but maybe one day... Until then I am doing the best I can with the experience I have and sticking to friends and family. I started cutting hair for people when I was a teenager and since I have become a mother I have given my children most of their haircuts as well.

The kids have been needing a trim for awhile and I just haven't had the time so today after I got everything else done I made the time...Now I don't have any formal training, but I think they look pretty good and they seem happy with their new do's too!

Emma's before and after photos!

Isabella's before and after photos!

I forgot to take before pictures of Aiden, but at least I got a decent picture of his face afterwards...lol... The girls were too excited about their haircuts to stand very still for the after pictures!  I will try to get more new pictures of all of them tomorrow!

Reading and Weaving!!! #Triloom #Divergent

This weekend I took a little time to relax and I got some reading and weaving done... 

When I moved the Triangle Loom to Christiansburg we had limited space to set it up, but it found a home in a corner of the bedroom.  This shawl is the second part of an order that was placed at the Lavender Festival and I am pleased to say that it is over halfway completed!

The yarn has a fancy name, but we are calling it charcoal for the sake of argument... lol... The lighting is always off no matter what camera I use, but it is a dark grey almost black color.  When the shawl is finished it will have a simple crocheted edge added to the top!  I hope to have this order filled by the end of the week and have a new shawl started next weekend!

As far as reading goes I know I am getting a late start reading these books, but better late than never right?... I read Divergent this week and absolutely loved it!  Veronica Roth in an amazing writer and spins an awesome tale in the Divergent series... The movie Divergent is decent in comparison to the book... we watched it again last night once I finished reading the book... I do think some of the original story was lost in translation, but I am still interested to see how both the books and movies turn out!  Since DH is so excited about the release of the third movie "Allegiant" and it completes our collection we got it while it was on sale... Though I rarely do this I am going to keep watching the movies with him before I finish reading the series and I will hope that it doesn't ruin the books for me... and I now we are off to watch Insurgent... tomorrow starts another long week...((Mom and I will be sorting for the yard sale and cleaning the garage in addition to the everyday Homestead responsibilities))...so I am off to relax while I can and I can't think of any better way to do that than watching a movie with my hubby!  Goodnight all!

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are the best! #SpecialBreakfastForTheGirls

One of the best things about growing up in Roanoke Va  is that I learned what a "Hot and Ready" doughnut was all about at an early age!   Though we didn't get the treat often I always loved to get a melt-in-your-mouth fresh doughnut anytime I could!

One of the greatest things about a Krispy Kreme Doughnut store is that you can actually see the doughnuts being made and boxed for sale! This week I got to take my girls to a Krispy Kreme store and they got to enjoy the magic too.  They especially liked the paddles that flipped the doughnuts before they floated to the conveyor belt that carried them to the next machine.

Since the Cub Scouts sell Doughnut vouchers my girls have gotten to eat fresh doughnuts so this time I let them choose their own.  Emma got a strawberry iced doughnut with sprinkles and Isabella got a icing filled baseball!  Both were gone in minutes and the girls were very impressed with their special breakfast!  My favorite is a chocolate iced creme filled doughnut and I enjoyed one of those for my breakfast while wearing my new hat! ... lol... 

CSI Cub Scout Style! #CubScoutRule

For the past week Aiden has been attending Cub Scout Day Camp in Salem, VA.   The staff was awesome and helped the boys complete several rank requirements as well as the Shooting Sports patch and pins!  Above are pictures of the pocket patch the Scouts received for attending camp and the den flag for Aiden's Den!

Archery was Aiden's favorite shooting sport and he was sooo excited to get his prize of a compound bow from earlier in the year while he was at camp! Here he is shooting a long bow and wishing he had his bow at camp again! 

Even better than archery was SWIMMING!!!!  Aiden was so proud to have passed the swimming test at camp and have the choice of swimming in the deep end.  His friend TJ gave him goggles and a snorkel that he used everyday and he even learned some new swimming techniques.  It was great to see that he was becoming a stronger and more confident swimmer every time he hits the water!

At the end of camp we all gathered at the picnic shelter and enjoyed skits from the different dens at camp.

Aiden's den did the invisible bench skit for the campfire program and had lots of fun with it!

**On a side note -- we learned that Aiden, the child that will pick up any bug, lizard, frog or turtle...is afraid of snakes...smh... when the children were offered a ball python to hold Aiden eagerly walked up and held his hands out... then it spooked him and he dropped it! (I am so sorry about that Woody...I totally would not have seen that one coming) Aiden was excited about the lizards and turtles Mr. Woody brought... but he will think twice about volunteering to hold a snake in the future I think!

I am very excited to see the list of requirements fulfilled at camp this year so that I can update Aiden's handbook!  I have figured out a few of them, but there was so much going on at camp it was hard for Aiden to remember it all at the end of each day!  The Camp Director said he would send out a list in the next week or two and that we should also be able to pick up the "Shooting Sports" patch and pins then! 

   

Summer Fun! #LongwoodPark #CubScoutCamp

This week while Aiden has been at Cub Scout camp we took the opportunity to stop by a park nearby that has been one of my favorites since I was little.  Though the playground equipment has changed over the years, Longwood Park has never failed to entertain!

...of course stopping the fun for a photo cost me a silly photo too...lol...

...for the kids there are two playgrounds...the one on the left is for ages 2-6 and the one on the right is for those 6 and up... Though my girls are five they enjoy both sets of playground equipment and of course the swings too!

...IDK what happened to the rest of the pieces from the old playground equipment, but the developers were creative with a few pieces of the old tubes and used them as stand alone features... still looks fun to me!

Today we checked out some of the exercises on the fitness trail and boy that was a work-out...lol...we did the stretches, push-ups, chin-ups, monkey bars, rope climb, balance beam and more... all three of us were ready for a break by the time we got done and it was time to pick Aiden up from camp for the day!

Tomorrow the girls are going to hand out with their Grandma for a few hours in the morning so that I can go to camp with Aiden and enjoy some of his fun with him!  I can't wait to share all sorts of photos and all of Aiden's achievements from the past week!

Weaving up a storm! #TriloomWeaving

For the past year I have been learning the skill of weaving.  I have worked with Mom on her floor looms throughout the years...mostly with threading them and getting them ready to weave, but I did make a set of place mats on the medium one and that was neat....my favorite loom so far is the tri-loom!  It is great for making triangular shawls and I have completed several of them!  Below I have pictures of some of my most recent projects labeled with the loom setting and the color of the yarn used.  They do shrink up a little bit when washed, but they also get softer...we do pre-wash all of our shawls unless otherwise requested.  The 5-foot setting comes out to be about 56 inches and the 7-foot setting comes out to be about 76 inches across the top edge.

5' Fiesta - This shawl was a special order.  Most of my shawls are woven with the loom set to the seven foot setting.  Occasionally I switch it up though and go for a smaller setting as seen here!

7' Parfait

7' Petunia Stripe

7' Feista

Isabella really wanted to help...so I let her do a little weaving too... She really likes weaving and is very careful... I do check behind her of course, but I don't find too many mistakes for a beginner 5-year-old either!  The five foot shawls take about three to four hours to complete if they are simple and the seven foot shawls can take eight to ten hours or more to complete!  Most of the time they are on the loom for anywhere from a day up to two weeks as I find the time to work on shawls in between other projects.  The edging can be a simple crochet edge across the top to fringe or a crocheted ruffle.  Most of them are a plaid of some sort, but some are solid and some are hombre... the possibilities are truly endless and they are all one of a kind!

  I swear some days I am on my feet from 7 am to 11 pm with very few breaks...I accomplish a lot and I enjoy it when I get to work on my shawls even if it's only for a few minutes!

Summer Fun! #RiverviewPark #NewRiver #ChasingFireflies

To some people a playground is a playground, but to kids if it's not new and different it is boring...so instead of always going to the same park we switch things up to keep the kids interested.  This gem is Riverview Park.  It's on the west end of Radford and features a boat launch, a basketball court, a playground with swings, a climbing wall and a few good fishing spots.

This visit was timed just right and we were still at the park at dusk when the fireflies came out.

We love to catch fireflies and watch them light up , but we had a hard time keeping them alive until the next morning so even though I hated the disappointment I never used to let my kids capture and contain them past bedtime.  I read several articles on fireflies that said scientists aren't sure if or what fireflies eat...and no one else seemed to know how to keep them alive in captivity either...then a few years ago my BFF Christy told me that they like white clover flowers...so now when we catch fireflies we make sure to give them plenty of white clover flowers in their jar and some air holes...I am pleased to say that they have lasted up to three days with fresh clover flowers each day!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! (And the single Mom's that have to be "Dad" too!!!)

This is the 3rd Father's Day that my Daddy has been looking down on me from Heaven instead of being here by my side...  I miss him dearly and wish he were here to hug one more time... to pick on me one more time... to tell him I love him one more time.  Happy Father's Day Daddy!  I love you and miss you and I hope you're having fun up there!

Even though I don't have my Daddy to celebrate with anymore, I do still have a pretty amazing husband that is a pretty amazing Father!  He loves to take the kids on the lawn mower with him...

...takes the chance to have fun on the playground...

...He's there for the special moments...

...and is a big kid at heart...

Thanks for being a fantastic Father for our kids!

Happy Father's Day Sweetheart!