new scraps

Decided to really be on vacation today and made some time to scrap & sew. Feels good to get these photos and memories down on paper. I can see Ali's influence on all these pages. Love her simple style and that she uses multiple photos on her pages.
Worked on another birthday garland that my friend Helen commissioned for her family. I'd like to make a couple to put up in our Etsy shop, but I'm not sure if I could make the price worth the time I spend to make them.
Have a good weekend!

Hi!

Hi there! Not much blogging lately... we've been busy! And I've been doing mini-updates of our adventures on Twitter.

Last weekend we took a trip to Des Moines for a visit. On Friday, Lachlan took his first trip to the zoo. He was definitely interested in some of the animals, especially the goats and llamas that you can get so close to in the petting zoo. I think his favorite part was being able to walk and walk and walk on all the paths. We bought a family memebership, so I'm looking forward to many more visits. More zoo photos are on Flickr.

We also went to a concert in the East Village. It was a blues band out on the street and Lachlan was not interested in sitting back with the rest of the audience to listen. Nope, he walked right up to the stage, danced and clapped - even tried to get onto the stage. Luckily the lead singer thought it was pretty cute and she even gave him a tambourine to play!

We had a BBQ, visited with L's aunt Bethany & uncle Zach. Went shopping, took naps, and met Uncle Thor's new Sheltie puppies. We almost adopted a pair of 3 yr. old labradors in need of a home! Luckily, they had already found a new home. We staked out on the back porch to get a sighting of the mysterious creature that lives behind my parents' house. On Sunday, we stopped by a high school graduation party for my cousin, Joel. It was one of those weekends that you have to rest and recover afterwards.

This week we're still working on sorting and getting things ready for the garage sale next weekend - Friday & Saturday the 19th & 20th - stop by if you're around. Also trying to take advantage of the rain-free days to work in the garden and transplant plants around the yard. We're having a big landscaping project in our front yard this month, so there's a little prep work for that. Lachlan is finally getting comfortable with walking in the grass, so it is easier to have him outside with me.

I have several sewing projects that I am itching to work on, but between yardwork and housework, it just isn't happening. I'll have to make some time soon so I have more crafty photos to share. Ok, blah blah blah! Be back soon :)

So I've been trying to be diligent about watering and weeding and taking care of the garden. But I must admit, some days I need a little motivation to get out there. I decided I need a little "garden journal" to make notes about when I planted things, how long they should grow, and little tips I pick up along my gardening adventure. Maybe even a few sketches, if I can make time for that.

I love that I can go to Etsy, type in "garden journal" and come up with such lovely things as

this

this

this

these

and this! (I snatched up this one)

Love you forever, Etsy!

Anyway, I should have researched what I was planting a little more (duh) but Wendy filled me in on the fact that watermelons like sandy soil. We have wonderful rich, black soil, but not sandy. Sure enough, nothing is happening in that little section of the garden. So tonight after Lachlan went to bed (very nice that it is still light out after that!) I went out and dug up that section of the garden, separated it into two sections, and planted onions and beets. Did I research either of those before I planted them? Um, no. I guess this is "trial and error" gardening. Why beets? I really have no idea. Not sure I've even ever eaten beets. But there are a few recipes I'd like to try in Deceptively Delicious that use them, so why not!


This is a shot of a nest in a tree behind our house - I climbed up on a ladder to get it and everything! Not sure what kind of birds, but soon enough there will be little noisy birdies! Hope you all have a great weekend. We're looking forward to adventures in Des Moines!

vacation time!

I'm off work for a couple weeks, so I'm enjoying hanging out full time with my little dude. We have just been hanging out around the house, doing laundry, cleaning, reading books, and playing outside.
His new thing is climbing on anything and everything. He's been climbing up to hang out on dada's chair. So cute. He's also practicing eating with a spoon. Check out videos here and here if you want to see him in action. :)
I also found a spot for a new piece of artwork. Bill's parents got this neat angel sculpture for us in Sante Fe. I think she looks perfect here!

Looking forward to a couple more days around the house, maybe a little scrapbooking and definitely some sorting & purging to get ready for our upcoming neighborhood garage sale (June 19 & 20, please stop by if you're in the area!). This weekend we're going to be visiting grammie and papa in Des Moines and next week it's off to northern Wisconsin for a rustic lake adventure! Hope you're all welcoming June with some fun plans, too!

Another garden update

So, I'll try not to make this blog too garden-centric, but I'm excited that things are starting to grow already! I did some weeding this weekend, and cleaned of the dead vines from the wall (remember what that looked like Sunday morning, mom?) Also, Wendy brought me some coneflowers from her yard to fill in the empty window boxes. Notice the flying cow guarding the plants - I couldn't pass him up at the garden store!

No sign of bunnies in the garden yet. I completed bunny deterrent phase 1: chicken wire fence and phase 2: marigolds around the perimeter. Considering phase 3: onions, at the advice of my brother. Hopefully they don't hop in and get stuck because then the feasting will begin!
Sunflower sprouts
Pole bean sprouts
Squash sprouts
Lachlan also had his first run-in with a worm! He only tried to eat it a couple times :)

joy

joy
Originally uploaded by Kirsten W

Finished a layout with one of my new favorite photos by Shelley. The paper is from the May Studio Calico kit.

Garden Update

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice! I wish we could get a dog
to handle the bunnies, but I think a toddler, a garden, and a husband
are enough for me to take care of this summer! I went with a chicken
wire fence and marigolds to plant along the fence. I even found a couple plants called "Bunnies Be Gone " at Menard's, so I thought I'd plant one on each end of the fence. Maybe that will discourage them from making the jump over the stone walls on the side? Who knows. All I do know is I have invested enough time and money now that I am committed to making it work this summer!