Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Well, maybe not Carmen Sandiego ... more like Tracy and Torrey?! Florida. Wahoo! It so seemed like the responsible thing to do since I have to be back to work on Tuesday morning at o'dark thirty.

Actually, it really seemed like a good idea to head out with the chickens this morning ... especially seeing how Torrey had been up all night at a youth group thing at church. She was asleep before we hit the highway this morning ... and then fell asleep while we waited to board the plane and fell asleep again for the entire flight. And, that would be the last sleep her little body saw for the rest of the day. Do I really need to say she was exhausted by the time she got in bed?

I will head home on Monday morning and Torrey will stay with my parents until the following week. She is looking forward to some Grammy and Papoo fun, a visit with Gretchen, swimming with Ben and Carly, and I think she is mostly looking forward to 10 days of tormenting Uncle Steve. He doesn't stand a chance ... she has the reflexes of a cat, you know!

I'm sure there will be lots of pictures of Torrey's adventures to come. And, with that summer will officially be over. Where did it go?!

Hundreds Have Been Wondering ...

Ok, well, perhaps not hundreds. More like two. Which could be why I didn't get back to this. At least that is my excuse.

To tell the back story for what those things became ... I was tooling around on etsy and saw so my cutesy patootsy things ... but the prices ... oh my word! So, I somehow got it in my head that perhaps I could pull some of them off for much cheaper than I could get them on etsy.

That being said, I set off to complete a few projects. I was really happy with the way they came out ... and, then I got out the sewing machine to zig-zag around the applique to make sure it didn't fray in the wash. Let's just say my zig didn't always zag. I will have to practice before I earn a spot on the zig-zag Olympic team!

So, here is what I made ... and for much cheaper than I could have bought on etsy. Which would have been $40. All together now ... Oh My Word!Tada! Evidently someone is turning one soon ... as in the end of this month. And, I don't want to say anything, but these are still in Houston ... and I am in Florida!
Can you guess yet who they are for? Someone who's name begins with an "L" ... and, here's a hint. It is not Laverne. Which is a good thing ... because if I had to zig-zag around a fancy "L", I would have really gone over the edge!
Here's your last hint ... it's for a little pumpkin who is now a Southern Belle ... which means she needed something that is totally Southern. I have one more thing I am going to whip up and then send these off this week ... just in time for a certain someone's birthday!

Kowabunga!

We trekked up to Pinehurst after church today because Paul Andrew was in town and he didn't come alone. He brought along these cuties ...
Lane (age 8)

Brendan (age 6)

Andrew (age 3)

Brendan instantly became Dean's favorite when he announced "Uncle Dean tells the funniest jokes." Oh, Brendan, you don't know what you've done!

We had a nice time visiting. The kiddos spent almost the entire time in the pool ... they didn't even come out to eat! All of the kids enjoyed sharing with us their swimming and jumping in skills.

When Andrew jumped, he would yell "Kowabunga!". The first time he did it, he made me a little nervous ... but, he soon proved to have mad swimming skills.
Lanie was a bit more tentative and graceful. She just took a step off the bridge and went into the water.
Dean enjoyed swimming with the kids ... although, it must be told that he is holding a squirt gun, so maybe I should say he enjoyed squirting the kids!
Torrey and Andrew became instant buds. He floated around the pool with her for quite awhile. Actually, Torrey was getting him closer to his targets ... along with his swimming skills he has a pretty good aim! Torrey has said repeatedly tonight how cute Andrew is ... I must agree.
Torrey and her "posse" ... on the way to get their next target. There was no staying dry around them ... everyone was fair game. It didn't matter if you weren't wearing a bathing suit!
And, the biggest kid of all? Paul. Linda claims to get the squirt guns for the kids. I am not fooled.

And, if one picture sums up the day, this is it. Almost makes you want to give it a try ... maybe I would if I were a little younger! Kowabunga!

Can You Guess?

Can you guess what I did with these two items? Tune in tomorrow to find out!