Seven Springs, PA

We went to Seven Springs Ski Resort last weekend for our annual ski-trip getaway! :) Well, my 1st annual trip...last year Ava was too little to leave behind and too little to take along...so Eric went with our friends and mama & Ava stayed home. This year Eric & I both made the trek to Pennsylvania and left Ava behind. We had lots of fun. I love skiing! I wish it had been a little warmer, but otherwise the weather and amount of snow we got was insane!! Perfect for skiing!! 20+ inches of powdery bliss! We stayed at a quaint, secluded cabin about 7 miles from the resort...literally in the middle of nowhere! There were 7 of us total. I'm already anxious for the next trip!! :)

Enjoy the pics....

Check out the snow!!!!!!

The only women on the trip...the guys would have been lost without us. ;o) hehe.

4 wheel drive was a must!

Warming our fingers up!

Seriously...it was freezing...below freezing actually. 16 degrees was the high!

Ava's 2nd Christmas...A Little More Interesting!

Christmas with Ava was a bit more interesting this year! She did more than blink and coo at her presents...yay!! Next year will be even more exciting for her...she was still a little unsure about the idea of unwrapping the gift to get to the good stuff...so daddy helped, cause he really likes opening presents. ;o)

Here we go! Daddy has to help...she has no clue what he's doing though.

It's a remote!! Maybe she'll play with this one instead of ours now!! Highly unlikely....but one can wish. ;o)

Chillin' on her new Dora couch....cause she loves couches!! This one folds out into a bed with a sleeping bag inside...she likes it best unfolded. :)

The infamous popper! Since she has gotten the hang of this thing she has loved it! She pushes it back and forth like we do with the vacuum.

A ball pit car! She loves to play in it...but gets so mad that she can't climb out without the thing tipping over...which totally freaks her out. So momma comes to the rescue. ;o)

Reeeelaxing. Notice the remote she's holding--it's not the toy!!

A new castle with a swing and slide!! Cool!! She stands up there and really thinks she's big stuff!! Until she topples over backwards down the slide...yikes....then she gets mad.

Steering the ship!! At least that's what I think that wheel's for. I thought this was a castle...so the wheel confuses me...maybe it's there just for looks & fun...or maybe I'm missing something. Oh well! She loves this thing anyway!!

Yes...Portia got some Christmas lovin' as well. She was seriously digging life at this moment....

Oh...just a shot to display our monkey of a child. She climbed on top of the couch by herself. I wonder what the neighbors thought. That had to be a sight from the outside. :o)

Just waking up on the ride home from Granny's. Givin' me an I-just-woke-up-and-I'm-happy-to-see-my-momma-smile/stretch. Those boots are brand spankin' new! She's not sure how to walk in them yet. Yes, they are a tiny bit big, but she kinda freezes in them...the way my cat does when I put a halloween costume on her. ;o)

Helping me make peppermint bark. Hey, daddy wasn't home...I needed a taste-tester. The girl loves chocolate...as every good woman does. ;o)

Tickle Time!!!!!! I love tickling that baby!!! You gotta get her right in the thigh--she belts out some incredible baby belly laughs!!!

And this is my sleeping baby girl...worn out from the holiday rush. Looks dangerous...blanket over the head and all...not gonna lie, I get a lil concerned when I see this...but really, she has a breathe hole over on the side where her 'taggie' is that she sucks on...it's strange, but she loves sleeping like this. Hey, if it suits her, it suits me. ;o) ....... but I'll be honest....it is strange...Ha!!

I DID IT!! CHRISTMAS GIFTS COMPLETE!! YAAAAAY!

You have no idea how happy I am that Christmas is over...Ha! That sounds terrible...but I've been hibernating all winter long, spending every spare second in front of my sewing machine with stacks and stacks of fabric, thread, ribbon, and buttons just swallowing me up!! When I decided to pursue this ambition to make everyone's gifts this year I did not realize how tedious of a process it would become. BUT, it was so much fun as well! I am really glad I have become so acquainted with my sewing machine--I have lots of ideas for myself, Ava, and our house now! Bring It On!! :o) There is no project too big!! Ha!! Eric even got in on the fun! He helped snip my mom's quilt and poured some of the candles. Too much snipping will make a lady wanna snip her eyeballs out if you know what I mean, so I had to divie up the duties!! Hehe!

I'm finishing up Ava & I's stockings this week. I know, Christmas is over--and I really don't even feel like finishing them...I'm kind of suffering from a minor sewing burn-out right now...but, I found some super cute Christmas patterned fabric for 70% off the other day so I might as well finish them up!

All-in-all, I had a lot of fun making everyone's Christmas gifts and will do it again in a heartbeat! I learned so much (amazing what you can learn from a sewing machine and a few patterns!) and am pretty proud that I pulled it off!! However, I also learned that I mustn't wait until November 25th to start the sewing...maybe make it an all year long endeavor. :o)

3 Inside-Out-Quilts (aka 'Rag' Quilts)

1 Pair of Kiddo's PJ's

1 Apron

1 Hat & Scarf Set

2 Memory Boards

1 Pair of Lounge Pants

2 Tins of Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

2 Tins of Peppermint Bark

10 Candles

+      2 Photo Ornaments

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1 Busy Woman!!

Inside-out-quilt for my mom. This was before I snipped around all of the squares and washed it to give it the rag look These were 8x8 inch squares. I used patterned fabric for the front, a layer of batting in the middle, and warm & snuggly fleece for the back.

My sister's quilt. Pre-snipped. I used patterned fabric on the front, then a layer of flannel in the middle and flannel for the back as well. It looked way cooler once it was snipped and washed/dried. I like the smaller squares like these because they really 'rag' up. These were 6x6inch squares. I used 8x8inch squares on my mom's.

My mom-in-law's quilt. Similar to my mom's quilt. I added the initials to the bottom by cutting out felt and stitching the felt letters to the quilt by hand using a blanket stitch. Umm...tedious process. ;o)

Neice's PJ's. Made from flannel. I added a little yellow rick-rack around the sleeves. Actually, it was called Jumbo rick-rack.

Memory board for my sister. I just used the canvas that you buy from the store that is already framed and ready to be painted on or whatever and threw some batting and fabric over it and added some ribbon and buttons to pull it all together.

My sister's apron. I'll be making one of these for myself soon...but not too soon ;o)

My mom had a good idea of attaching a towel ring to an apron because she always carries her towel in the kitchen and needs it close by. I just used this plastic ring that I saved from one of the scarves that I bought this winter and used it as a towel ring on the apron. It works! I guess I'll wait and see if Tammy thinks it works. ;o)

The apron pocket. I cut out a cupcake using scraps of felt that I had and blanket stitched it onto the glittery pink pocket! So fun. That blanket stitch looks really cool when you use felt. I have lots of ideas brewing. ;o)

Flannel lounge pants for my step-dad. Can't go wrong with flannel bottoms. :o)

Hat & scarf set for my neice. This fabric was sooo snuggly and warm! I lined the hat with fleece and the outer flowery fabric was even snugglier (if that's a word) than fleece. I can't really expain it other than super-soft and squishy and snuggly. You know what I mean, right? :o) I'd like to make one of these for myself!

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti. A treat for many this holiday season. One of my favorite biscotti recipes ever!

Aaaaand Candles...you knew there'd be candles! :) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, O Christmas Tree, Holiday Pomegranate, and Vanilla Macadamia Nut Coffee. I had FUN!

Monkey See, Monkey Do ...

Our little monkey has been copying everything we do lately. I mean everything...she wants to do it. She has had one serious snotty nose lately...one that can only be relieved with the nose plunger. She had to do it herself....ridiculously cute...snotty-faced and all. ;o)

"Is this right, Mom?"

"How 'bout now?"

"Ahh, forget it...I'll just eat it!"

Decking the Halls!!

Our tree is up!! Finally!! I looove putting the tree up! Actually, I love the way it looks when it's finished...I could really leave this thing up all year 'round!

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Merry Christmas everyone!!! Love this time of year!!

On our way to Cackler Family Farms!! Ava was getting hungry... :)

The petting arena had a sheep, a goat, and a kitty.

Ava says, "brrrrrr!!!"

The perfect tree!! Have you ever noticed that trees look much smaller at the tree farm? We brought this 9 footer into our living room & WOW!!

"Thanks Mom! You got these boxes out for me to climb on!"

"What is that thing, Dad?"

"Ho, ho, ho!" Ava was swimming in this hat last year.

Merry Christmas!!

I love candles & christmas lights this time of year...the warm glow puts me in the mood for peppermint hot cocoa!! Mmm mmmm!

Our big & bushy, sweet & sappy frasier fir Christmas tree. :o)

It took a few days, but she's finally up!

Thanksgiving Lovin'

Just now getting around to my thanksgiving post...yikes!

I only took pictures at my Kandel thanksgiving...somehow I managed to not snap any pics from my mom's house--ahh, too much cooking & visiting going on I guess. :o)

So, here are the few that I snapped from thanksgiving in Walnut Creek.

Alex (baby on the far left) and Keldan (lil guy showing off his abs) had to switch places because Alex was trying to munch on Ava's shoulder...and she did not appreciate his lovin'. Haha!! From left to right Alex, Keldan, Ava, Allie, Addie, Elliott, Lily (the newest addition!).

Last year's thanksgiving babies--Keldan, Allie, & Ava--just wee lil munchkins!

Ohhh, the Kandel family baby-boom...there are a whole bunch of babies not even pictured...and 2 more on the way!!

Ava & Janae were buddies that day. She took Ava with her to feed the doggies...and I'm sure she loved it! These were BIG doggies...the kind Ava is used to. ;0)

Playing with Karina on the couch!

Looking for the sheep in the field. "Here sheepy, sheepy, sheepy."

Here's how Ava felt at the end of that long day of playing with her cousins. ;-)