HOW long has it been?

Wow, I can't believe that I'd missed the entire 2010 year. It's been so long that I forgot how to do this whole bloggy thing. Yes, I even watched the help videos, lol, it's a good thing they have them now.

Anyway, lots have happened in 2010.

Some of the more memorables....

... DS graduated from high school ...
currently attending ITT.

... DD#2 promoted to middle school...

... finished 7th and will enter 8th grade in a couple weeks. How time flies!

... celebrated my dad's 80th birthday. Here he is with some of the grandkids, grandnephews, and grandnieces who were able to attended. Funny thing is that I took lots of pictures during this time, but this is the best pic that I can show you. It was hard to get all the kids to stand still and look at the camera. lol

As far as quilting goes, not a whole lot was done during the first half of 2010 because after the passing of my BIL in 10/2009, my own hubby had some health issues so all of my energies were focused on him. I'm happy to report that he's recovered and doing well now.

Of course, I jumped back into quilting again... but more on that later.

I hope some of you are still with me and that I'm not talking to myself. :-D

Also, I apologized for not answering the emails coming from this blog. I do thank you for all your concerns. For now, I'm coming back slowly and will share with you some of my projects soon.

Take care,
Rhonda

Rest In Peace

No more pain.

No more suffering.

Only peace.

With our Heavenly Father.

My BIL passed away last week

at the age of 45.

Survived by his wife

and

four little boys

and

two older girls from

previous marriage.

Thank you for your thoughts

and prayers

at this sad time.

Class and Sadness

I'm back in teaching mode. :o)

Last Friday I taught another Cathedral Window class. This time around there were 3 students: Cindy, Ann, and Linda. They did a wonderful job with their class projects. We worked on making a pillow top and a pincushion.

The first photo is Cindy who just started quilting about 2 months ago. She said that she's been sewing all her life starting with making Barbie doll clothes, and her first quilt was a king sized quilt. Awesome! The second photo is Ann who is a seasoned quilter. I love the colors in the Layer Cake collection that she used.

This is Linda; she the last one to pack up for the day but did got her pillow top done. Both Linda and Cindy used soft pastel colors Layer Cake. Their projects turned out very pretty.

On a sad note....

Last week, my BIL, hubby's brother, was hospitalized because he's been really sick. After many tests all week, it is determined that his illness is terminal. Everyone is devasted! Please said a prayer for us as my family heading down this difficult time. Thank you.

Vacation photos....

....of our RVing trip....

After stopping in at Eugene, OR, we continued to head north toward Washington State and stopped in for the night with my brother and SIL, Susan, who live in Vancouver, WA. They prepared a big and delicious dinner for us. Yummy!

Later on the night, Sue got out her sewing machine and a baby quilt top that she was working on for a co-worker. She wanted to learn the next step of making a quilt which is to layer, baste, and quilt it. Sue is a quick learner and did a great job quilting her first quilt. I can't wait to see the finish product!

The next morning .... onward to our next destination (top photo) ... Mt. Ranier. We were to meet with my other brother and sister and their families and friends for a little family reunion at La Wis Wis campground.



I love camping and being outdoor! There were so much to do..

It's nice to take a mid-afternoon nap in a hammock....

...or just chill in a hammock or two...


or a nice stroll around the campground.....

...or a bike ride if walking is not your thing....
then how about a game of horseshoe after dinner or before dinner or anytime you please....

there's always the river to play in.... toss in a few rocks....
... a game of catch and retrieve the stick...... or just get your feet wet...or just hang out by the edge of the river...or keep watch on the younger ones....... what ever you do during the day....




... the best part was by night fall, the kiddos were fast asleep.... lol

This group photo was taken on the last morning. We're missing a few people who had to leave early.
Well, this is it for now... will post again soon. :-)

Mother's Day Weekend

Well, here it is.... the first day of June ... and according to the title of this post, I am wayyyy behind with my postings. I thought I should make a post of our trip to the river before I forget all about it.

We had another fun-filled Mother's Day weekend at the Colorado River. The weather was about 10 degrees warmer (about 107degrees) this year than last year, so we spent a lot of time on the water. Hence, not a whole lot of pics were taken. Some of the photos I got from my friend.

This year, Buddy's friend, Drew, came along. The boys had lots of fun jet skiing all day long.....

... then hung out at camp in the evening....
.... boating with our friends....

It was especially HOT at mid-day that all the dogs wanted to swim too. These are our friends' dogs. See that black and white Corgi? His name is Panda... omg... what a perfect name for this dog. He's absolutely adorable!

We brought two cameras this time, and somehow I didn't get shots of my little ones in this batch of photos. :(

I did got one of my adventurous girls....
On Sunday, Mother's Day, I woke up early and had a quiet stroll along the beach and were greeted by this group of morning ducks out looking for their breakfast.

Then all the moms got ready for the annual ride up to the dam. Here we are in our life vests....
... and all set to go....
While we were out, all the guys prepared breakfast for us. They even had mimosa ready for us when we arrived back at the camp. It was simply wonderful!

Dressed up and field trip

Is it Halloween already??

No.... it's Biography Day for the 5th and 6th graders. :)

For Social Studies this month, the kids have to pick someone in history to do their research, write a report, and give an oral presentation in character.

So last Thursday was the day for their presentations, and they had to dress in character for the whole day. Sweetie Pie was Jane Addams, one of the first women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pam's (my friend) kids were Laura Ingalls Wilder and Lawrence of Arabia. Technically, Lawrence of Arabia is a movie in 1960s, but it's based on the life of T.E. Lawrence.

Don't they look so cute in characters?

Then on Thursday this week was field trip day to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen. It's a working apple orchard and living history farm where visitors get to experience 18th century America History. This trip was the best educational field trip that I've attended as a chaperone. Take a look....

When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by this British soldier or "Red Coat". The groups were organized into townships. Sweetie Pie's class was the "Concord".

Then they marched onto the Heritage Homestead and were given instructions by the Red Coats.

I didn't get a picture of Master Riley (the owner of the farm), but Master Riley himself welcomed the groups, told them about the rules, where to find the restrooms, and entertained us with his flute.

While the students were still gathered on the field, a demonstration of how loud the muskets sounded.












... and what will happen should any one misbehave... they will be put into stockade for punishment.

Throughout the day, they were shown what life was like during the colonial days....

...... type of games that children played with....

..... weaving....











.... were shown how to march, load, fire, re-load a musket quickly....

of course, the muskets were just only sticks...













... black-smith....

... a mock trial to show how unfair the court system was under the British ruling ....




Unfortunately, my camera battery died after this. :(

Also, hands-on demonstrations of butter churning, writing with ink and quill, biscuit making.

For lunch, we were given the "ration" of dried beef, corn bread, cheese, apple, and lemonade. However, the adults were able to place their lunch at the "homestead". I ordered their chicken pot pie.... yummy!

The best part of the day was at the end. The groups were divided into Brits and Americans. They did a re-enactment of the battle of the colonials defending their homestead with muskets. Overall, the whole thing was well organized and well done. Every character we encountered stay in characters, spoke the Queens' English, and the costumes dead on.




Of course, I couldn't leave there without their 5lbs. apple pie! YUMMMMMYYY!!