2nd Day

        Today was a blast....can I leave it at that? No, not really. I'm gonna share. Today a  bunch of us went swimming and in between things to do we ate cookies, and fudge, and brownies. Too much for me sometimes. I chose not to go swimming and I went with my mom to "The Gathering Place" quilt shop. Can I just say I was in heaven and we swept through the whole store with our jaws dropped. I didn't see anything I didn't like. Mom bought 2 fat quarters to make some hexigons and I just wanted to buy the store. We also went to a thrift store and I found some "I Love Lucy" videos. I also made another score by finding a hair dryer. Not just your run of the mill hair dryer either. Don't be thinking, boy she is a nut, she gets excited over the smallest things. This is the type of hair dryer you sit under. I have ALWAYS been jealous of the stereotype women at the salon reading their magazines. I am bummed that I can't upload the picture of it that I took because I'm not on my own computer. But after the trip I will. Today we also took a trip to D.I. and that too was fun. I found a pattern for a vintage style dress I want to make next year for the fair. I'll also share a picture of the pattern later. Today our items are being judged and we will be seeing them tomorrow. I can't wait!

1st day of the Idaho fair

        Well right now I am up at the fair again this year. I really can't believe it's been a whole year. Today we baked a lot of cookies. You can't see any of the counters and you look left and right and there is dough everywhere. We put our last minute touches on our other projects. I finally get to place my cowboy quilt in and I am thrilled beyond belief. This year I entered a scrapbook, cookies and of course my quilt. Our cousins joined us today. (We showed up last night) We are having a blast and the hot topic of today was playing multiple games of Phase 10 and Pit.

A lot of time

           A lot of time has passed, I understand....some things I felt that I really didn't want to share when the times came. Let me just sum it up, about 3 weeks after my brother got home my grandma passed away. She was the sweetest person you could ever meet and she gave us a ton of memories we'll NEVER forget. I just loved her so much. It was hard at first but things are now better.
          Then a plus side came...my birthday! It was a blast because I got a ton of fabric, one print which had Elvis Presley! (love him to death) and another one from the collection that Moda Bakeshop has out called "Little Rascals" which I have been dying to have.
          Now it's the 24th of July and we have had a fun day. Dad took us out to Breakfast at "Ruth's Diner" and then we went to Rockport Reservoir. We took up 4 canoes and we played in the water and fished. Steven invited a date to come with us and it was fun tipping the canoes. We had planned on bringing a lunch to eat up there but our plans quickly changed. Thunder rolled in and the wind was blowing pretty hard. It started to rain VERY hard. So we got in our canoes and started to paddle back to our spot, but the waves and the wind were so strong that it acctually knocked my little sister and I, with the canoe in the water. One small problem...actually 2. #1 my sister wasn't wearing her boat shoes and they sunk in the water....Go Figure...water shoes that sink!...#2 we saw lighting. Which made the situation 100x scarier. Thankfully we made it back safely or I wouldn't be here to tell the tale.
          Later on this evening our neighbor invited us to her house for our 3rd annual Car Port Party. She made us S'mores and we watched fireworks go off in her driveway. It was fun. It's something we'll definatly be doing again next year.
         As we were sitting in her driveway my Mom and I both agree that since we were blog searching today and just looking at other people's sewing projects, it  just made us want to sew some of our own projects, so that's probably what I'll be doing tomorrow.
        

HE'S HOME!!!

        Well the day is over..... wow it's been a great one. Before we left for the airport we hung these signs up in the front yard.

We got emotional of course when we saw him for the first time. We had relatives from both sides come to support. Words cannot describe what we all thought and felt. It was amazing. 

Mom's Turn

                                     One of my favorite pictures

          Even Grandma Butcher was able to make it. Isn't she cute...


         The car ride was full of questions and a lot of  OOHH!!'s and AAHH!!'s.Then we got home and he unloaded his suitcase and we got to see all his exotic items. He has truly had "The Best Two Years". I am so relieved that my hug didn't have to wait for to much longer. He gives the best hugs. It's just been a really great day! I am so thankful to the Lord for making him a part of our family and I love him so much. 
         This experience reminds me of when we will return home from our earthly missions. The Lord will hold us tight with his hug and we will finally be home. Just standing in the airport waiting for him I was having a nervous breakdown just wondering when he would be there. I don't think I have ever been this excited in my whole life. But how much more happiness will we have when we will be with all our loved ones and our Heavenly Father. It's just amazes me to think that there is more joy in the journey to come. 

ONE LAST DAY!

    This week my older sister and I have gotten to go to EFY (especially for youth) it's a place for LDS youth to learn more about the gospel. It's been a really great week and I have learned a ton. But I couldn't keep my mind from wandering to this weekend. Tomorrow at 10:30 AM my brother will be coming home from his mission! He has been serving in Asuncion, Paraguay. I am so excited. These two years have been the longest   years of my life. I have written him every week (except for 3 times) and it was so exciting to say "Wow this is the last letter ever being sent to Paraguay!" Well tomorrow since he's coming home we aren't going to the last day of EFY and some of our family will be at the airport with us. It's odd to think that right at this moment of writing this he is up in the air in a plane somewhere. I love him to death and  I am so thrilled. Definitley an emotional day tomorrow. I'll update again tomorrow.

One UFO down.....

(above: this is what the back looks like)

I finally finished my cowboy quilt. I worked on it all summer. It is done! Now this bad boy's going to the fair this year. I really love Adam the show "Bonanza". So I found a pattern for a picture quilt and I printed out pictures of the actors in Bonanza from the internet. I printed the pictures on photo transfer paper and I ironed them on white material. When it was time mom helped with quilting it in a squiggly pattern and then I bound it. I added a label and it's done! Now I can enjoy it on my bed and hug it without jabbing needles.

Great Grandma L

This past week had been pretty crazy. Last week my great grandma L died. She was a wonderful women and even that's not enough words to express how we felt about her. She will be GREATLY missed. My dad got to work on her after she past away and it was such a blessing. She looked so good. On the weekend we went to Idaho and went to the funeral. I met family that I never met but only heard about. I know everyone now. She had 4 sons, 13 grandkids and 31 greatgrandkids. The service was held at the baptist church that she went to. It was very nice. My mom read things that we will always remember her by. Here are a few things I will never forget....Almost everytime I saw her she had her cane. She had a quick mind and even told us stories of when our mother's were little little. She taught me and my sister how to crochet. She made everyone feel important. Whenever we would leave her house before we left we would get a kiss, a hug and a "Grandma loves you". She loved the Lord and always had faith in prayer. She did a lot of prayer chains. I also remember coming into her kitchen and she would show us her latest Angel Food Cake she made and would show us the pan she made it in and how it worked. I loved it. I am so thankful that I had her in my life.