Staycation with Our Frenchies - Part 1

House fix-ups continued this week, but the main event was a visit from my best friend from France. They arrived Thursday night and we tried to pack as much fun as possible into Friday and Saturday.

First we went to see George Washington's Estate, Mount Vernon.

We have been there before, but it was winter and I'd heard the gardens were spectacular in Summer. We braved the tourist crowds and were glad we went.

The gardens were gorgeous. I aspire to have some like these some day. I asked the gardener some questions about gravel walks and weeding.

They don't like you to take pictures inside the house and refer you to their website instead.  I am always surprised by how bright the paint colors were back then.

The house is very grand for the time period, but most of the rooms are pretty small.This room, the "new" room is was the biggest and most impressive. The ceilings are 16 feet tall. I love the back porch.

We saw the slave quarters and the various property managers buildings.

 We lost baby L's hat and had to get her a Martha Washington one en route. Everyone we passed by said how cute and appropriate for the time period it was.

We visited the blacksmith shop and remembered how we saw Elder Grandpa at Nauvoo doing that not too long ago.

Then we went to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles and saw the new Space exhibit with the Discovery shuttle. It was immense!

The kids were absorbed watching the launch video of the shuttle's 39th (final) space flight before it came to rest at the museum.

We also learned about meteorites. Most of them are small (the size of a large marble) and it is hard for scientists to find them after they fall through the atmosphere. Unless it falls in a desert or on hard pack snow - somewhere it stands out against the background. We handled one that came from beyond Mars!  I also like seeing the ones that had been sliced up and showed they were mostly metal inside. In one the metal had cooled so slowly that it had formed crystals.

On Saturday we went to the County Fair. It is huge! We thought it would be a good "American" experience for our guests.

The kids loved seeing the animals. It was another event during which we started a lot of sentences, "when we get our farm..."

 Here is baby S saying "Please can I get a piggie like this when we get our farm?"

The boys watching the honey bees working away:

A huge combine was rigged up like a slide so that the kiddos could play on it:

We took our annual tractor photos.

It was super hot, but we made the best of it with cold drinks, shows, and treats.  Here is my bestie with her first funnel cake:

We watched a comedy magic show while we ate our lunch.  Big sister A was chosen from the audience and won a magic kit that she has been playing with ever since.

Then we took them downtown for our night tour.  It was beautiful and nicely cooled off by then.

Come back again soon!

Sew Special: Primary Devotional Chair Covers

The primary president at church asked me if I'd be able to make some chair covers a couple weeks ago.  It's been tricky making time for any sewing projects in my schedule. Fixing up the house is first priority... after childcare, cooking, and cleaning... Well, maybe not cleaning. Cleaning is last priority, as usual!

 I used double stick interfacing and white fabric to make the letters and attach them. The font is called "Luckiest Guy" in Google Draw.  I had to use the "Word Art" feature to flip everything backwards. The hardest part was stitching around each letter to reinforce the edges. I ended up using my embroidery foot and doing it free-motion. That way I did not have to pivot the presser foot a zillion times.

Now the kids who have an assignment will also get to sit in a specially marked chair! And it will be easier for the presidency to see who has assignments too.

House Progress: New Driveway

We signed up with the driveway company and paid our deposit way back in early June.  The weather has been so rainy this summer though that they just paved our driveway this week. I am so glad it is done.

The kids finally have a safe place to ride their scooters and do chalk drawings. We are trying to enjoy it while we have it.

House Progress: Curb Appeal

When we moved into our house almost 6 years ago, I drew a picture of what I wanted to do to the exterior.  I am so glad that I actually got to help make it happen. Aaron did most of the hard work though. He built the new shutters and window boxes. And yesterday he hung our new awning. It was made by Design Your Awning in Louisiana and shipped to us. I love it! It is aluminum, painted black. (That ended up being much cheaper than a copper awning, and our old one was also aluminum, so it is still in keeping with the era the house was built.)

Let's recap.  Here is what the house looked like when we bought it in 2009:

Yay! Our first house has come a long way.

House Progress: 200 yards of Frog Tape

I think I could do a commercial for Frog Tape (painters tape).  I have easily used 10 rolls of it on all my house painting projects so far.  The upstairs holds the record for most taping required -- lots of corners and moldings etc. I used 2 and a half rolls of Frog Tape (delicate surface version) -- About 200 yards of tape.

I am repainting this with Benjamin Moore's Linen White 912.  It's been great - making everything look clean again. It is a little creamier than the old color, but not much.  These pics were both taken after the first coat.

I also painted the kids' room and the hallway with this color. I washed the walls with dirtex before I started, but they still looked brown with lots of kid handprints, especially on the way up the stairs.  The paint seems to have covered all that and the coloring with the first coat. But I am still doing 2 coats everywhere, just to be safe. 

July Books

Lots of great reading aloud happened this month with the kiddos. Brother M liked The Magic Finger the best. And big sister A says that she can't decide. She liked them all. I liked The Boy the best, since it was based on Roald Dahl's own childhood and he had a lot of funny adventures. 

I read a few more of Sandra Dallas's books from the library. I enjoyed them all, but I have to admit that I am getting tired of this genre now. True Sisters is about the Martin Handcart company's journey west. Sandra Dallas is not LDS, but she gives a faithful account of the events. It was sort of jarring to hear the story told without the perspective of priesthood, revelation, and leaving out all the miracles that we believe helped them on their way. The Quilt Walk is told from the perspective of a young girl and would be a great read for any girl age 10 or more. Fallen Women is a mystery and though I am not quite finished with it, my interest is already lagging. Whiter Than Snow reads like a series of short stories of the separate lives of people who are brought together by tragic circumstances and is very interesting.

I also read the first two books of Janet Oke's Canadian West Series: When Calls the Heart and When Comes the Spring.  I always enjoy Janet Oke's books and I liked the first season of the Hallmark Channel version of the story. But then they changed the story and now it has shifted toward soap opera instead of following the original storyline in book two. I am disappointed by that. I recommend the books and the first season of the show.

One more great read.  This was in the "giveaway" pile outside the library at church. I I love to read about the prophet's wives. They are such incredible examples. 

Here is my favorite quote from the book:

A woman, to be well rounded in her personality, needs many experiences in and out of the home. She needs to be concerned with church, school, and community. If she buries herself inside four walls, she does not reach her potential. She needs to keep growing, to keep aware of the world in which her children are growing. In order to do this, she should be interested in educational advancement and worthwhile endeavors in her community. 

What a great lady! She led an awesome life, balancing home, church, and community.