Camping in July

We just got back from a great camping trip in Ohiopyle State Park http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/STATEPARKS/parks/ohiopyle.aspx in Pennsylvania. We were not sure what to expect for July camping, as we normally go in the spring or fall, but the weather up there was absolutely gorgeous! We actually had to turn on the heat in the camper each night it got so cold! There was lots to do, and we didn't get to do it all, so we plan on going there again.

We did enjoy quite a bit of bike riding. There is a great trail that follows the Yaughigheny River that is fairly flat and easy riding. We rode 12 scenic miles one day to a little town called Confluence, PA to have some ice-cream, and then rode the 12 miles back. Views of the river, rapids and even rafters going down, beautiful mountains, rock formations, and old pioneering homesteads were along the trail. Eric was amazing...he pedaled the whole time without complaining. Of course the promise of ice-cream at the end may have helped :)

There were many sites to see along the river as well..the falls at Ohiopyle were amazing, and since we have had so much rain, the water levels were extremely high. We actaully forgot to take a picture of the falls, so here's a link to someone else's pictures. http://www.fay-west.com/ohiopyle/waterfalls/

On the way home we stopped at Dennis' Aunt Jeanne's house for a great lunch and also saw his cousin, Linda and her husband, Ray. The kids loved seeing their great Aunt, and it was a nice break from the long ride home.

Enjoy looking through the pictures in our webshots album!

She's Walking!!!....

on her 15 month birthday...
yes, it's true, our little Leah is finally walking! She just started on Wednesday. She puts her arms out in front of her like Frankenstein for balance, and thinks she is really great! I even got it on the video camera with the help of Eric and Bay.

and then she fell and broke her arm.

yes, it's true, on that same day, when daddy came home she was showing off and fell forward and fell in just the right way so as to break her little arm! We took her to get x-rays the next morning, and then to the orthopedist to get a cast on it this afternoon. She has been a real trooper. Although it didn't cause her too much pain, whenever she would put any weight on it, she would cry in pain and it would buckle under her, so we knew something was wrong. Now she has a bright pink cast that can't get wet (no more swimming for a while) and something to defend herself from her brothers :) J/K As you can see from this picture, she is doing just fine, and was enjoying a little bit of cartoons before bed with her daddy.

Sewing Projects

Heather has been doing a few sewing projects around the house lately. It all started with a foyer shoe bench that Dennis made out of our local black walnut. I made a cushion and slip-covered it, put in a zipper, and put on a few buttons. Not perfect, but it will do, and was really a test run for my next big project, slip-covering the couch!

Next I took some old pajama bottoms of mine and decided to turn them into pajama bottoms for Leah. The first pair turned out beautifully, only one problem, they were too small! Since it was my first time not using a pattern and making something without a pattern, I am not surprised. So, I increased the size, and made another pair, this time I sewed the fronts and backs together wrong and ended up with one skinny leg, and one fat leg, so I didn't include that silly picture! Nevertheless, Leah likes them since they are so soft and silky.

Well, now I was determined to prove to myself that I could make a pair of pants correctly, so I tried once again, and came up with the pink striped stretchy pair with ruffles.

Now that the pants issue was resolved, I went on to finish the curtains for Leah's play closet I have been working on for quite awhile. I got some really nice grossgrain ribbon on ebay for a great deal, lined the edges of some eyelet sheets I had with it, and put in a rod pocket at the top. Ouilah! Curtains! I always love making curtains because they are so straightforward, fun and easy.

Next upcoming project once I find some fabric I like is to make valances in the sunroom.

Click on the webshots link to "sewing projects" to see pictures if you'd like.

BLUEBERRIES and SUMMER FUN!!!

We went blueberry picking last night at a place on our road. The kids had so much fun, even Leah picked and ate when I parked her next to a bush! We made blueberry pie today and are looking forward to blueberry pancakes tomorrow. Want the blueberry pie recipe? I made it up myself, it turned out great! I'll share it at the end of the blog.

We had a swim meet this past week...Eric did a great job. It is a whole family operation...with Eric swimming, Mom and Dad helping out with concessions, Granni judging stroke and turn, and Gramps helping out with starting! Leah's favorite part is all the snacks and Bay just loves to get to play on the playground for hours!

Here is Eric before a race. He took 5 seconds off of his butterfly time and actually did it without being disqualified (he often gets the wrong kick)!! We are very proud of how well he is doing. As you can tell, he loves it.

Our last big bit of news is that Bay is fully potty-trained! YEAAAAAA! Day, naps, night, pee, poop...the whole nine yards. He really thinks he is something. He got all of the stickers on his chart on the first day we did it. I did the potty training in a day method, and as you can see, between all of the drinking, he probably went 20 or so times in one day. He got to call his favorite superhero, Spiderman (aka Daddy) on the phone, and really thought he was talking to Spiderman. It is so nice to have only one in diapers now, and so much cheaper too!!!

Well, our summer is shaping up to be lots of fun. We'll keep the blog updated as more fun happens around here. The garden is keeping Heather busy, weed, weed, weed. Some freezing of peas, and now the challenge is how to get rid of that pesky groundhog! He keeps eating the tops off the green beans and all the tomatoes!

Here is the blueberry pie recipe:

This makes a nice big 10" pie. If you want a regular 9" pie, just cut everything in half, except for the topping.

8 cups blueberries

6T. cornstarch

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cup water

pie crust for 10" pie

Mix water, cornstarch & sugar. Heat till boiling, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 1 minute till thick. Remove from heat. Stir in blueberries. Pour into pie crust.

Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix together and spread evenly over pie.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, keeping edges of crust covered with foil, and a drip pan under the pie in the oven for boiling over. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes until bubbly and browned.

YUMMMY!

KITTENS!

Eric holding Lucy, Bay holding Luke




Yes, it really is true, the MacQuilliam family has welcomed into their home some animals! Well, not into our home, but into our family! We just adopted 2 kittens from a neighbor and right now they are living in the garage. They are about 7 weeks old, the boys named them Lucy & Luke (although we have no idea on their gender), and are quite cute. Luke has white paws, and is quite the adventurous one. Lucy is all orange and is more reserved and shy, although she likes to be held more than Luke.

Eventually they will live outside all the time and hopefully hunt all the mice, squirrels and other varmits around here. For now, though, they are making their home in the garage, specifically underneath the ramp leading up to our door where it is nice and cool. The boys spend most of their free time out there playing with them, and Eric is learning to feed and take care of them.

Eric with Lucy

Big Girl!

We are so thrilled, and I think Leah is too, that she just learned how to get herself to a standing position today and has been doing it over and over again. She is so pleased with herself everytime, and then she falls down, and gets up and does it again! I guess walking will come pretty soon now!

Warm Weather at Last!

The weather has finally warmed up a bit, and the kids are happy to be outside most of the time. We have just about wrapped up school for Eric (except for Math, which we continue through the summer). Eric and Bay got their summer haircuts...it's all gone!!! Leah's new favorite is pushing her walker all over the driveway and the yard. She feels so independent. Here she is pictured with a clover flower crown mommy made for her. Later it turned into a necklace :)

.

.

Heather just froze a bunch of collard greens and spinach from the garden. We are getting ready to harvest the peas, and have had a continuous supply of lettuce for 2 months now. So far, so good! We now have corn, green beans, tomatoes, squash, and eggplant planted.

.

.