Stitching?

Okay, I am wondering where the time went since my last post...a long, long time ago...

We had a busy end of the summer...from family vacation, baseball games and triathlons, to birthday celebrations, and back to school and saying goodbye to dear friends.

Hanging with an old friend after school was finally over...

How they have grown in two years...and, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll know all about the elusive teenage smile hunt during our Tennessee vacation...

I did catch an amazing smile during a moment of genuine fun with this brothers...

 

Exploring in the Smoky Mtns...

I love their reflections in the water...

Hiking in the Smokies...

Views from our cabin...I love these mountains...relaxing on the porch listening to nature's songs, watching the hummingbirds feed, reading books...pure heaven...

 

The oldest finishing his season...the last time playing with some of these boys....still playing for the same place this fall, but some new faces joining the team as others move on.

The youngest finishing strong in his third triathlon.  The final one of the season is this weekend.  He will be running cross country this fall.  He is amazing me!

And the middle guy back at the job for a new team this fall.  They placed third in their first tournament together, not too bad.  All signs point to a fun fall season!

 

My middle guy turned the page into teenagedom...the big 13!

We spent the day at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, walking inner harbor and then dining at a fabulous German restaurant....yum!

 

We had about three weeks in August where I wasn't working and before school started back...we had some down days, but had a lot of fun too...

a day at the bay with neighbors and old neighbors who were in town...felt like old times...

A night at the Phillies game for mom and a friend...

We were able to see Charlie Manuel inducted to the Phillies wall of fame...

We watched the Little League World Series...cheering for the Philadelphia team, the Taney Dragons.  Congrats for a former team~mate of my middle guy, Kai on his home~run in their final game!

There was a day of target shooting at Grandma and Pappy's...

The first day of school...the teen lost his smile again...

And while Labor Day found my middle guy and I at a baseball tournament and my husband working, my other two were again at the bay with friends...having a blast and being well taken care of...

Crab time and I missed it!!  Ugh!

My middle guy and I enjoyed some quality alone time and time with team~mates...

We had some good laughs eating here ~ the menu and gift shop are hysterical!

I returned home on Sunday to spend time with my other two and the middle guy stayed behind with his team~mates' family...he's sandwiched between the twins...they gave him his first experience at a Japanese steakhouse...

All~in~all, a busy fun weekend before returning back for the second week of school!

 

Panzer loved having the boys home over the summer and seems to also be adjusting well since we all have returned to school and work...

the lazy dog days of summer...

Panzer wasn't too sure of the bay, and despite the boys all trying, he went back up the steps...

Love that face...

Workin' those eyes!

 Escorting the youngest to the bus...

 

Did you figure out the reason for my title yet?...I did not put a lot of time into stitching...really, nothing that would amount to anything worth showing...I did however frame this piece that I stitched last year...

I saw some great things from the fall market ~ and especially fell in love with the big one from Heartstring Samplery...it's waiting for me at my LNS, the Strawberry Sampler...can't wait to get it and make a start...well, I actually can't wait to find some stitching time...

 

And finally, we said goodbye to some good friends and they are greatly missed.  They are now living in the Atlanta, GA area ~ well, at least for a couple of years, and then hopefully back to this area.  I taught her to stitch a couple of years ago, so if any of you live in that area, maybe I can get you in touch with her.  And if you have any suggestions for shops that are closer to the Atlanta area, please let me know, as there seems to be nothing in Atlanta and that seems crazy to me!  She's really homesick, so hopefully her stitching will help.

 

Thanks to all of you that stop by and lasted through my long post with virtually nothing stitching related...I am reading your blogs, seeing all of your beautiful work and leaving comments here and there.  Hopefully, I will have some stitching to show next time!

 

Given my long absence and saying goodbye to our friends, I thought this more than appropriate...

“Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.”
― A.A. Milne

Summertime Fun

I had all intentions of posting more often, and look what happened...it's been over a month!!  YIKES!

The boys finished up with baseball and we have a few weeks off before they start up again with school and their fall teams.
My middle guy's Little League team finished 2nd in Districts ~ they were hoping to win and move on ~ maybe next year!

My oldest played in what was the hottest baseball game we have endured yet.  How hot is too hot to play baseball ~ well if you are wondering, this apparently was not...

Yes, that's right, 117 degrees!  And that was the temp on the turf during the game as well.  I don't care to repeat that experience!

My little guy has his final tournament this week ~ so oops...not done yet!  In the meantime, he found this book and told me he needed to get it....hhhmmm....

And attended a birthday party for a special friend.

I made this for her to go along with the gift card he picked out.  She loved it, and now all the other girls want one.  I have a feeling he may be invited to some more girl parties!

And most recently, he thought his life was over when he chipped the side of his front tooth.  Seems like this is the summer of accidents for us!  The dentist fixed it right up and you can not even tell.

 

We managed to take some much needed family time and head to the House of the Mouse ~ always a fun time ~ and if you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen these pics among others, sorry...

The first morning after breakfast at O'Hana....yummy!

The rides ~ Mt. Everest is a favorite....

The beauty at night...

The nightly shows... 

The food...these were taken in the new part of Fantasyland at the castle from Beauty and the Beast.  The restaurant, Be Our Guest, was fantastic!!

The monorail rides...

Some relaxing time at the hotel...

The man (who rarely smiles in pics) that made it all possible...

And the boys...every time we have gone, this is a must for a picture.  I will have to make a collage of all the times we have gone.

 

I did some more stitching.  Honeybee Hill from BBD was a fun and relaxing stitch.

 This is Rebecca's Primer from Summer House Stitche Workes.  I have completely gone off on my own with the colors ~ going from three to two.  I'm not having fun with this one so far ~ not sure why, but I'm not giving up yet. This one may end up in the never-going-to-finish pile, time will tell.  It is all about relaxing and having fun, right?

 I have missed another tusal date.  Here is my jar for the month...

This is a solar lid and I love how the light seems to dance at night.

 

Of course, while away, we missed Panzer...

He followed pretty close the first week we were back...

Waiting patiently for treats...

If you leave your seat for the bathroom, don't expect it to be there when you get back! 

Living where we do, we see a lot of Amish and their buggies, but this scene perplexed my little guy and myself... 

Until next time...be safe and find time each day for yourself...

“They're funny things, Accidents. You never have them till you're having them.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner