Sabrina's Barn Raising Quilt, finally

Clockwise from top left: Zest, Surf's up, Mango Tango

I needed to start a new project for vacation, as my son’s Barn Raising Quilt just needed to be sewn together and I didn’t want to take it with us.  I’ve been collecting STR Lightweight minis for a few years with the intent of eventually knitting my daughter a blankie out of them.  With mine finished and Elias’ almost done, I decided it was time.

I grabbed a few of the brightest minis and put them in my carry-on (the rest went in my checked bag).

On the airplane, I had a few moments to wind the mini into a ball and start a square.  The first mini I pulled out was “Surf’s Up,” I got a chuckle because we were going to Maui.  The next mini I pulled out a few days later was “Mango Tango.”  I instantly decided that the squares I knit on vacation were all going to be Hawaiian vacation themed.

After Mango Tango, I knit “Zest” because of all the citrus trees in Hawaii.  Then there was “Cockcrow” because we stay at my mother-in-law’s house and there are usually confused roosters crowing throughout the night and day (surprisingly, this year there weren’t any, the neighbors must of got rid of them).  

Next is a bit obscure.  One of our favorite cold treats is this dessert item found at Maui Mall.  It’s called Guri Guri, but pronounced “goodie goodie.”  I was surprised when I pulled out a mini called “Goodie Goodie”!  It was like Blue Moon Fiber Arts knew I would need these and named them appropriately! 

After that luck, I pulled out “Dragon Dance.”  The one Chinese restaurant we would always go to on Maui was called Dragon Dragon.  It closed earlier in the year and we were super bummed.  But I still knit a square in honor of it!

And lastly, on the way home I worked on “Twitterpated” because traveling with a 2 year old is just nuts.

(I feel like I'm missing one or two, I'll update when I figure it out)

Hmm... anything else?

I'm trying to come up with some things to bring me up to date with the blog.



We went to Hawaii again (seems to be a yearly event). And look!



My mom came with us! It was her first time in Hawaii in like 30 years. It was fun to share our "life" in Hawaii with her.



Sabrina & Nana:



The reason for our trip, Richard's cousin (Don) graduated from high school!



This is the tradition in Hawaii. Everyone piles leis on the graduate. It was kind of fun to watch. Someone holds a sign up with the graduate's picture/name so everyone can see where they are.

We didn't plan it this way, but our nephew (Alexander Pono, AJ for short... Alex Jr.) was born 2 weeks before we got there. We all had colds, so we had to wait a week before we could go see him. Isn't he cute? He's already crawling! I can't wait to see him this summer (if/when we go).





It's not a trip to Maui without doing some touristy things.



Like the Atlantis submarine (first time for this!). Sabrina was just barely tall enough.

My mom's gotta work on her shaka:



Uncle Alex took us to the high school's field to play with his dog (Kala).



And of course we spent time at the beach.



Shave ice at our new fave stand Ululani's



If you're ever on Maui, this is the shave ice to get! They make most of their own syrups (their webpage says it's now 100%) and they use Roselani's ice cream. Yum! Plus, they started in Portland (who knew, right?) We found out because I was wearing my Blazer shirt one day when we got shave ice and had a good conversation with the owner.

I take so many pictures, it's hard to choose which ones I like the best. Our first morning there, we took my mom up to Haleakala since it's like one of the #1 THINGS TO DO.



I really need to clean my camera (I'm a little scared and apparently camera shops won't do it). This is my fave, some people don't get it:



I guess that's all for now, I didn't realize how long this would get when I started!

Camping: Take 3

Our 3rd camping trip this year was our annual family campout at Cape Lookout State Park over Labor Day weekend.. I love that place! I think we started going when I was in middle school or early high school. We always have so much fun. I took Sabrina when she was 5 months old (that’s actually been the easiest camping trip I’ve had with her, go fig.). Last year was fun because she was walking and showing some independence.

However, this year she screamed in the middle of the night for no reason every night we were there. I still don’t know what was up. It’s not like it was her first time camping. We did end up having a good time, but it’s hard camping with Sabrina when Richard isn’t there. (he had to work)

The weather was nice, we swam in the ocean, took a small hike, rode bikes around, sat by the fire… just general camping stuff. It’s kind of like our last hurrah for the summer.

And, we took a little class on cooking in dutch ovens. That was pretty cool. The ranger guy that lead it was a sweet boy scout type. In the end we got to sample the food we made: pizza and peach pie. I'll be getting my self a dutch oven before next summer. Of course I took a picture of my piece of pizza:

I really love this picture. That's my Aunt Teri (Aunt T as all the kids call her).

That one looks like a good Christmas card picture? I hope J.P. & Erin use it!

Camping: take 2

For our second camping trip, Sabrina and I went to our church camp-out at Metzler Park. Richard had to work, but my my mom, brother, SIL & the kids came. We pulled in and immedietly saw big signs saying "No fires." Apparently there was fear of wildfires.

We woke up the first morning freezing! (okay, not really freezing, but we were really cold). Then Mom crawled out of the tent to tell us she forgot breakfast. So we piled into the van and got bagels/cream cheese/coffee in Damascus... or was it Estacada? or ?? We were close to home again, but I hate to admit it... I don't really know the area southeast of us.

Then there was Sabrina's sleeping issue. She did.not.want.to.take.a.nap.... or go to bed in general. She was a little stinker about it, but she needed it and eventually fell asleep.

The church group had some potlucks and a softball game. I really enjoyed this campground. It had showers, a nice playground, softball field, basketball court & a swimming hole!

Camping!

This summer was filled with CAMPING! I love camping. We use to go all the time when I was a kid. We would just pick-up and go on the weekends. As an adult, I'm lucky to go once a year. Richard can only get weekends off if he asks for them well in advance. This year was different, I got to go 3 times!

When asked what I wanted to do for my birthday (Aug 2nd), I said camping. Since it was too late to get a spot in a state campground, I polled my facebook friends and came up with Indian Henry's in the Mt. Hood National Forest. No shower, but flushing toilets! And it was right on the Clackamas river... plus, less than an hour away from our house.

The ride in was beautiful:


We had a secluded site:


It wasn't very noisy, even when the campground started filling up on Saturday.

Sabrina had a lot of fun:

Maui & the Big Island

I have way too many pictures from Hawaii. I'll probably end up making a set public on Flickr. Richard had been feeling homesick for awhile and airfare was cheap. So we went. It was kinda weird. We bought our tickets 2 weeks before we left, so for me, that was a last minute vacation. It just happened that it was Mother's day and my MIL's birthday while we were there. We spent a week on Maui, a weekend on the Big Island, and then another 5 days on Maui.

Sabrina LOVED it! She loved the beach, she loved the water, she loved the avocados... And she loved her Nana!

Where was I again?

So I just went to my blog for the first time in months... Yeah, months! My last post was in March. Some things have happened since then. We went to Maui for 2 weeks in May. I've read some more books. I don't think I've finished a single knit item. Sabrina turned 2! I ordered more yarn. Sabrina had a scary asthma attach. My SIL Erin and I started a weekend yard work exchange program. We've had work parties at my house twice and we cleared a bunch of weeds, shoveled a bunch of rocks and built a 6'x4' garden box (for square food gardening). It's finally summer in Portland... well, maybe. It's a bit cool again today, but we've had some 90 degree weather. Richard and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.

That's where we are now. I'm hoping to put up some posts regarding all that stuff I just listed out.