A Little Amateur Applique

Oh man, I've got some serious blogging to do! I have been MIA for a little while, but I'm back with a few pictures and stories to share.

My lack of job has left me bored and lonely at times in good old Ann Arbor and so I've picked up a new hobby or two to pass the time. One of these being quilting.

You may recall from an earlier post that my Aunt recently had a baby. I thought this a perfect time to pick up a few how-to books and teach myself to applique quilt. I was almost certainly pretty fairly sure that I could possibly maybe do it on my own from the instructions in a book.... and so that's exactly what I did. I must say, considering my "jump into it" attitude, it didn't turn out too terribly awful.

I first made a few applique squares, like this one ...

And this one ...

Then I framed the squares, sewed them into rows and columns, added a border, pinned some batting, slapped on my backing, quilted the three layers together, and bias taped that sucker finished! Phew! Hours (more like weeks) later I had myself a baby blanket. Not too shabby, huh?

Of course, the final product had to be quality tested to make sure it was comfy enough for new baby Crew. James was the closest thing I could find to a baby around my house - so he got to be my baby blanket Guinea Pig. 

James deemed it baby worthy with two thumbs up. After the James stamp of approval it was shipped off to be with its new owner. Happy Birthday baby Crew!

Raspberry Picking

Ann Arbor is a unique place. Yes, it's a college town but it still has a very small-town feeling. There are a lot of perks to living in Ann Arbor and the city goes out of its way to make families feel comfortable. They even have city reps that come to your door with a welcome packet outlining some of the fun things to do in and around the area. And man, are there things to do. 

One of which we tried out for our Saturday date this last week. RASPBERRY PICKING!

A farm in Ann Arbor has pick your own fruits. Right now it's raspberry season. Tie an old milk jug to your waste, walk through the fields and start filling quarts!

It was a beautiful day to pick berries. Say what you will about the Michigan winters, but the falls are Heaven.

The fun of picking isn't the only perk to this date. It also comes with an "all you can eat" while you pick buffet. James might have gotten a little carried away.

Yum! Aren't they beautiful?

Like I said, Ann Arbor is a unique place. I am a six minute walk from the middle of a bustling down town with shops and restaurants and people gallor AND within a five minute drive from farms and dairies and orchards to explore. 

It's very ... midwesty. It feels more like a home than a city. I like it. 

Oh yeah, That's plankable

On our most recent visit to my parents house, a discussion arose about one of Amanda's dates where they had taken pictures of themselves planking all over BYU campus.

HA! "Who comes up with this stuff?" we said. "What a ridiculous waste of time," we said. "How could something so dumb be entertaining," we said. "Hey look at me! I'm planking!" we said sarcastically as we flung ourselves onto the kitchen island.

"... I'm a little embarrassed, but that was kind of fun. What else can we plank?"

Quickly the giggles of teasing turned into the laughter of joy as the magic of planking took over our lives and, consequently, our Friday night. The planking extravaganza had begun.

We planked high,

and we planked low.

Some planks were easy,

while others were a little more difficult.

We attempted the backwards plank...

the unthinkable plank...

the multi-plank...

the log cabin plank...

and the kissing plank.

We planked in door,

and out door.

Everyone wanted to get in on the planking.

We soon realized that we could plank anything,

and even nothing.

Before the night was through we had planked the whole town.

A Superior Vacation

We wanted to go on a camping trip before James started his classes and so we decided to go to the upper Peninsula of Michigan. We decided the Pictured Rocks National Park on the Superior Lakeshore would be the perfect vacation spot.

Our camping site was very close to a beach on the lake. We really loved playing in the waves and picking up lots of rocks. 

We also hiked to some huge dunes along the shoreline. 

I LOVE fires. They are mesmerizing. There were lots of yummy campfire meals to be eaten. And for dinner... roasted starburst! Delicious!  

We went on 6 mile hike to see a beautiful rock formation on one of the beaches called "Chapel Rock." On the way we found the roots of a huge tree that had fallen over. Cool huh?

It was awesome to be able to sit on the beach by our tent and watch the sun set. What a great trip.

An Addition to the Family

Congratulations to my Aunt Amy and Uncle Trav on their new baby boy!

Crew Colledge

Born Wednesday August 24, 2011 at 10:10 A.M.

8 lbs. 20 inches

Our Move to the Mitten

Even after the violent lip-stick protesting of our friends the Burtons, we moved our little family to a new state this month. 

We sold our furniture yet again, packed our bags, filled our car and drove ourselves half way across this great country of ours.

We are now Michiganites! Or wolverines, which ever you prefer. 

James will start school just after Labor Day which gives us a little time together before we have to get back to business. That also gave us the time to visit my family before Amanda left for BYU and decorate our apartment. 

The apartment proved to be a struggle. Our apartment door is down a very narrow hallway which made it impossible to get any normal sized couch inside. Know how I know, I tried it ... multiple times. We kept getting new couches we thought would fit - but none of them would. How frustrating! After two or three weeks of searching, we found a couch that can easily be taken apart. Our house is finally coming together. 

We have a couch ...

See how much I love having a couch I can nap on! It's one of my favorite things.

We have a reading nook ...

And we have a T.V. corner ...

All the essentials. Now all we need is a job for Megan! I think we might really like it here in Ann Arbor.