Quick Update

It has occurred to me that I am way overdue for a quick family update.

I will do my best to make it quick and entertaining.

First of all, to finish the raccoon story, we thought that there was still one "guest" up in the attic.

As time went on, we heard nothing. This meant one of two things:

1. Both raccoons had gotten out prior to Hottie Hubby sealing up the hole
   Or
   
2. The other raccoon was trapped up in the attic, remaining quiet and must have slowly died silently
   

We were hoping for #1 and since we have not picked up any foul smells, I am going with that option.

HOWEVER, two nights ago I awoke to the sound of metal being torn, followed by the sound of feet over my head.

Once again…lovely…

So I got up and grabbed a flash light. I shined the light right out our bathroom window up at the eave and

…sure enough…

The metal covering right next to Hottie Hubby's previous patch had been torn and pulled back.

Hottie Hubby proceeded to try and scare it out with the help of The Older Brother.

Thinking the raccoon gone, Hottie Hubby sealed up the NEW hole.

Later that night, we were woken by the sound of a very fat sounding raccoon desperately trying to break through the board which patched the hole.

Hottie Hubby finally went out and removed the board.

A little later he went out and replaced the board, hoping the desperate raccoon had fled.

We have not heard any noise since, so we are hoping the raccoon decided our attic was NOT a good place to make a nest for its babies.

I will keep you updated if anything else transpires.

For the rest of the update, I will give you a visual…once I figure out my new blogging technique. J

Raccoon Guests

Well, Hottie Hubby got up in the attic

and cleaned up the "mess" he found.

No "guests" were seen.

So he put a board over where they were getting in.

Problem solved pretty easily.

Yeah right!

One night after putting the board up,

Hottie Hubby says to me,

"Here comes the storm."

Then we both laid in bed

and listened

as the heavens opened up.

Then came an intense scratching sound.

Hottie Hubby lept from bed

to run to our bathroom window

where the recently installed board

can be seen.

Much to his demented...

I mean manly...

delight,

he found the expelled

raccoon

hanging

from all four claws,

completely upside down

from the installed board,

pulling desperately,

but to no avail.

Hottie Hubby was...

well...

giddy as he came back to bed

exclaiming,

"I got him! I got him!"

I was unsure Hottie Hubby would be able

to fall back asleep.

He was like

a child,

on Christmas Eve.

Much amused at my

precious Hottie Hubby,

I found my way back to sleepland,

thankful that the hunt,

had been so easy.

Of course,

I would only relish

this thought

for about

a day.

2011

Well...here it is...2011

Four days into it actually.

The decorations are all put away.

The house looks like it is fresh and new...just moved into (but not really).

All the guests are gone.

Memories are made and tucked away in our hearts.

Wait...

I said, "all the guests are GONE."

What is that noise we hear?

Oh, yes...

the uninvited guests.

You know,

the ones who find your home so comfy

that they make themselves at home,

move right in,

so to say.

Now, I am all for having guests.

I say it time and time again,

this home is God's home.

Who am I to turn others away?

But sometimes...

sometimes...

when your guests insist

on making themselves known

late at night

in your attic

while you sleep...

you just have to draw a line...

and start googling

HOW to get your unwelcomed

raccoon guests

gone.

Hello 2011...

what memories do you have in store for me?

Aprons

Here is my first crafty post.

I found these cute little aprons at a local everything store.

One for me, one for The Girl, and one for The Girl's American Girl, Nikki.

Here is what the fabric looks like unfolded.

All the pattern and the instructions are printed right there on the fabric.

All you have to do is cut it out...

Attach the flounce by lining up the markings on the patterns and pin.

Then you sew the two together, which is the only hard part with these aprons due to the circular pattern on the flounce.

Once the flounce is attached, then you zig-zag around the edges,

fold under the edges,

and run a seam around the apron.

Once that is completed, it is time to make the neck and waist straps.

Once the straps are completed (following the directions on the fabric),

attached the straps to the neck and waist,

then your apron is completed.

Super easy!

Here is the adult apron on The Girl.

This size fits her perfectly.

So I knew the child one would be too small.

We ended up giving the set to my sister who has a two year old daughter.

Although we were tempted to keep the one for Nikki (The Girls American Girl).

We decided to try some other patterns from scratch.

Here is what the set looked like completed.

It made a great gift!

Camping

Well...the computer is still speaking Spanish to me. Not sure what I did...guess it is a new way to expand my Spanish?

Also, I have been very busy working on many crafts around here. I just have to remember to stop and take pictures every now and then so that I can share them with y'all.

BUT...the reason for this post...

We rarely watch TV around here.

Really, there is WAY too much to do to let the tube suck our time away.

Yet every now and again, we find a good, family friendly show to watch.

One of the recent ones, is....Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Yes, we love nature and you know what, we even like Palin.

Hottie Hubby made the comment that he hoped she did not decide to pursue another bid at the presidency because he thought she was doing quite well there in Alaska.

We like her.

We really like how she is spotlighting Alaska.

We may never have gotten another chance to see it otherwise.

So, when we saw that Kate and her crew were going to be on the show, we decided it would be too interesting to miss.

We were right.

Hottie Hubby and I have raised our children camping.

True temperatures do not get as low as they do up in Alaska, but we have seen some pretty cold evenings...and rain too.

I am not even sure what to say about the way Kate was acting on the show.

I think perhaps The Younger Brother (who is 9) put it best...

"Of course she is cold, she is just standing there. Move around! Do something! Play with your kids!" (all spoken at the TV...or rather, at Kate).

This morning I found lots of head lines asking, "Would you go camping with the Palins."

All of my family is in agreement...yes.

And from what I saw, most of Kate's kids were having fun too...unless TLC cut that part out.

The joy of getting away from it all and just being with family more than makes up for the cold.

I realize this is just our family's opinion, but seriously, there is just something about it.

I am not even sure what it is, but we all LOVE to be in nature.

In His creation.

Together.

Well hello there! Sorry it has been so long. Life does get crazy.

I have recently discovered the fun of looking at creative blogs.

That is perfect since I have been in such a creative mood lately.

I am hoping to get some photos up on projects I have been working on...

although please be aware that I have no intention of becoming a "creative blog"...

just sharing what I am up to...

once I figure out how to get my computer off of spanish.

Cancun Vacation 2010

We recently went on a vacation with Hottie Hubby's family. Every five years his parents do a reunion to get the brothers and their families together. Five years ago it was Disney World. This time it was Cancun, Mexico.

Our family...notice how Older Brother is almost as tall as me.

The cousins, minus the four year old.

Hottie Hubby and I in the pool at the condo.

The Older Brother

The Girl

The Younger Brother

The Older Brother with his uncle, the youngest of three boys.

The Girl zip lining into a sink hole after we went on the zip lines at Selvatica. It was awesome!

My sister in law and I

Hottie Hubby on the plane

The Younger Brother and his cousin, who is 10 months younger, waiting at the airport.

The Girl and I at the airport.