Significant Stitches

This past spring, Scott got a great deal on some new khaki shorts from Eddie Bauer.  The only problem was that they were 1.5 inches too long.  I called the tailor to find out how much they would cost to hem.  I was expecting that it would be kind of pricey given my recent experience with a junior bridesmaid dress, but I was surprised to hear that the hemming would cost $20!  $20?!!!  That is more than the cost of the shorts.  My "great deal" was no longer looking so great.

I have been interested in learning to sew for a long time. Sewing is on my top secret life list of things I really want to do or learn and places I want to go, but these personal dreams seem absolutely impossible while the kids consume practically every minute of every day. Heartbreaking, but true.  How can one pursue dreams when constantly interrupted for snacks, questions, random requests, bickering, etc.  Even in the ten minutes I've typed these two paragraphs, Caroline and Ben have soaked the kitchen floor with water and poured hand soap on the floor.  I don't really know what they are doing, but I know that for every minute I type, it will take me at least 2.5 minutes per minute to clean up and require one load of laundry.  I am not exaggerating here.  They have just emptied the towel drawer. Sigh. Can't they just read a book?

Getting back to my sewing fantasy...In my ideal parenting reality, I would be able to pick a pattern, maybe even a Halloween costume, out of those pattern books at Jo Ann's Fabric store, while my children would sit patiently by my side.  Then we would quietly, politely,and pleasantly enjoy selecting fabric and notions together, while all the old ladies (who, I should add, are the only other people at Jo Ann's that seem to be buying fabric, except for the professional seamstress purchasing curtain material) smile at me, giving me that knowing nod that says, "Golly, what a beautiful and perfectly behaved family you have there. Well done."  Then, after soaking in all those positive feedback glances and nods, we'd come home and I would work un-interrupted for hours, and whip together whatever garment they had selected before dinner while everyone played nicely together.     

In order to make this dream a reality, I called the best seamstress I know who would give me lessons for completely free:  MOM.  Mom to the rescue again!  She agreed to my invitation to come to a "Sewing Camp" held at my house in June after school ended.  I promised to let her play with the grandchildren as much as she wanted (see how generous I am?) and she would walk me through sewing an apron from a Simplicity pattern step-by-step AND teach me how to hem shorts (those khaki shorts from Eddie Bauer).  

We had to start at the very, very beginning.  Unlike most other people (even Scott), I never had any kind of home economics class in high school.  I think it conflicted with my chemistry lab.  While I have some memories of watching my mom sew my Halloween costumes, mostly I only remember racing her metal weights down the hallway. I really had no idea where to start.  

After three full days of lessons and a whole lot of ironing (who knew there would be so much ironing in sewing???), check out the hem on these shorts -- see how straight the line is?  I hemmed them! The shorts are wrinkly because Scott actually wears the shorts!  I didn't ruin them -- even when I had to cut material off the bottom of the shorts!

And, look how well the aprons turned out!  Caroline and Abby picked out their own fabrics and trims, and their selections perfectly reflect their personalities right now.  The girls have absolutely no interest in wearing the aprons now that they are finished, but that is beside the point.

The sewing "experience" was nowhere,  I mean nowhere, as idyllic as I imagined.  The "easy sew" aprons and hemming took three full days to complete because lessons were crammed in between the regular amount of interruptions and parental duties.  But, even so, I can claim concrete and substantial progress towards a life goal; however, pedestrian it may be.  As the last month of summer vacation continues, I will be clinging dearly onto this little glimmer of hope for more future progress.

Burpee Wasn't Kidding -- Mammoth Sunflower

Stalks are 9 feet tall and still growing!

WINNER!

On Tuesday night, Scott and I went (alone, on an actual adult date) to watch the Reading Phillies play the Altoona Curve.  We had a wonderful relaxing evening at the minor league ballpark, watching the game, watching the people, and enjoying the fun atmosphere in "Baseballtown".  It is a terrific family ballpark that provides free scorecards when you walk in the door.  We even got free baseball hats because of the evening's promotional giveaway to the first 2000 adults.  So, all for the price of only $18 we received FREE parking (love it!), 2 great seats, a free scorecard and 2 baseball caps.  You cannot beat that, right?  

One of my favorite parts about visiting minor baseball games are the quirky games and races held in between the innings, like Dizzy Bats or giant inflatable things dancing/battling, and launching hot dogs into the stands.  It's all in good fun.  Well, GUESS WHAT???!!!!  I got picked to do one of the games!  The General Manager was walking around talking into a headset saying, "I need a female for this next game."  I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm female and I even am wearing my brand new Reading Phillies baseball cap."  So before I even realized it myself, I waved to him and said, "I'll do it!"  I must have looked either cute or incredibly desperate, so the GM picked me to play the HIGH-LOW game after one of the innings.  I was (and still am) completely thrilled!

I should note that this experience, believe it or not, is the second time I have been selected at a ballpark to play a game.  About 10 years ago when Scott and I were in San Diego, we went to a Padres game and I was selected to play a scoreboard game (I represented the yellow train) because whoever was picking the game participants happened to be friends with the people sitting behind me.  Although the yellow express was not victorious, I appeared on a major league scoreboard and won a free yellow Westfield Shoppingtown t-shirt and yellow bucket hat, which Scott still regulars wears.   

For the Reading Phillies game experience, I stayed at my seat and they brought over a camera and my picture was up on the ballpark scoreboard.  I had to answer 3 questions into a microphone, by picking either "HIGHER" or "LOWER". 

Question #1 -  Of fans polled coming into the ballpark, 65% said hot dogs were their favorite ballpark food when compared with french fries.  Higher or Lower?   (I picked higher, but the correct answer was lower, 58%!)

Question #2 - Of the baseball players that answered the poll, 50% had at some point had a manicure or pedicure.  (I picked lower, but the answer was HIGHER!  62% of ball players had either had a manicure or pedicure. WHAT??!!! 62%?  Nobody could have predicted that.)

Question #3 -- How old is the Reading Phillies ballpark relative to the next oldest ballpark in the league.  30 years?  Higher or Lower?  (I had absolutely no idea, so I guessed Higher, and I was right. Whew!) 

Even though I was only supposed to win 2 tickets for one correct answer, the GM gave me 4 free tickets to another Reading Phillies game, and we all had a good laugh about the ballplayers getting their nails done.  How exciting!!  Can you believe it?!  I am a WINNER!!!!

P.S.  Thank you to Mom, Dad, Doris, Pete, and the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania for making this evening possible!

Among the Lights at Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens is currently running an exhibit called "Light: Installations by Bruce Munro."  There are literally thousands upon thousands of fiber optic light installed into eight different areas within the gardens.  And, these light features are a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  The lights gradually shift through the color spectrum, adding to the dramatic effects. The Forest Walk exhibit is like walking through a fairy world. 

We took Abby, Ben, and Caroline to see the exhibition on Friday night.  After they finished singing our praises for letting them stay up so much past their bedtime, and additional praises for letting them play with flashlights after their bedtime, they spent the rest of the evening saying things like:

"This is the coolest thing EVER!"

"You are the best parents in the whole wide world!"

"This is the best thing I have ever seen!"

"Thank you so much for bringing us!"

(Yes, those are actual quotes from my actual children.)

Here are a few highlights to entice you to go too.  

(I took my tripod with me to the gardens so I could take longer exposure pictures.)

Summer Brainstorming

"Moooooooooommmmmm......what are we going to do today?"

We'd midway through the summer, and I'm already really tired of hearing that question.  I do try to have an idea or two for an answer, but I just can't imagine why the kids don't like my suggestions of cleaning their room, practicing math facts, reading quietly, and taking a nap. Normally, my kids run around with the giant pack of neighborhood kids, but unfortunately everyone else is either at camp, at the shore, on vacation, or on a totally different sleeping schedule.  Isn't anyone else anyone else ready play at 7:30am?

Fortunately, the threat of cleaning makes Legos and playing with siblings FAR more enticing. Currently all three kids are playing with a flashlight under a blanket fort on the sofa since my suggested alternative is to go grocery shopping.

To try to prepare for the "What are we going to do today?" question, I asked Caroline and one of her neighborhood friends to brainstorm a giant list of activities.  This is what they came up with (translation below):

CAROLINE'S "FUN LIST"
Egg races
Piñata
Musical chairs
Freeze tag (with timer)
Plain tag
Karate tag
Toilet tag
Play people Legos
Hide and Go Seek Tag
Hide and Go Seek
Play school
Art class
Bedroom games  (?????!!!!!)
Video Games
Cats and Kittens
Power (probably Power Rangers)

I love this list!  The only drawback is that 90% of the suggestions require additional children.  FYI, I confirmed that bedroom games is not what you think.  Get your mind out of the gutter!  Caroline clarified that "bedroom games" means to play with any of the toys that are stored in her room, such as Calico critters, Barbies, or tea party. Whew.

I have my own brainstormed list of summer activities (not those listed above and not cleaning), but I can't share them right now because ABBY IS READING OVER MY SHOULDER.  GO CLEAN YOUR ROOM, ABBY.

Look at that!  It's worked again.  She is going to go play hopscotch.

Road Trip! The Grand Canyon of PA

This past weekend, we took the kids camping at Leonard Harrison State Park, which is located on the east rim of the Grand Canyon of PA in Tioga County.  Our longtime friends, the Sullies, bravely joined us for a weekend of gourmet campfire meals, a 12-mile bike ride, and strenuous hiking.  With an inviting itinerary like that, who wouldn't want to join a family of three children for camping after a 4+ hour car ride?  Right??  Only the best of friends.

The Grand Canyon of PA did not disappoint.  The views are stunning.

Mist rolling through the canyon 

View looking upstream Pine Creek inside the canyon

Soaring Bald Eagle!

The kids really did complete a 12-mile bike ride along the Pine Creek Rails-to-Trails path inside the canyon. The mileage alone is impressive for 7- and 9-year olds, but the biking was made even more challenging after a mid-bike downpour.

On the Pine Creek Trail

Soaked

Smiling at the Finish Line

On the second day, we tackled the Turkey Path, which is a short but incredibly steep round trip into the canyon.  The trail zigzags down a forested set of narrow switchbacks on ledges.  It is a beautiful trail, but required some intense adult supervision.  It only took about 2 hours for the circulation to return to Ben's hand.  I loved fielding all the questions like, "Mom, what would happen if I fell here?"  

At the Trail head 

(before the switch backs)

Beautiful Waterfall near the bottom of the trail

Pine Creek felt DELIGHTFUL after the hike!

 We saw a lot of wildlife over the weekend, much to everyone's delight.  Aside from a 15-minute visit with a soaring bald eagle, we also saw woodpeckers, sapsuckers, kingfishers, and herons. We heard ravens and owls and warblers in the woods.  There were fish and toads and snakes too!

Toad 

(overly "loved" by Caroline)

Eastern garter snake

Overall it was a terrific trip -- totally worth the 42 loads of laundry I'm currently doing. I'm not sure what the kids enjoyed the most, but it was probably the spinning merry-go-round thing at the campground's playground.  I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite thing myself, but I was very tickled to learn that you really can make muffins in orange peels over a campfire.  Also, dark chocolate s'mores are really, really good.

It's Fair Time!

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y (as the kids would say) it is the most special week of the year when we can stroll down to our fire company's town fair.  My kids definitely relish being able to walk down the road to the bumper cars,  swings, spinning strawberries, dragon coaster, and other carnival rides. Scott likes to take advantage of the soft serve ice cream (twist with chocolate sprinkles).  And, I must admit I enjoy taking a daily walks and/or drives down to the park to see how the pre-fair preparations are going in the weeks leading up to the fair.  Bingo tables delivered yet?  Check! Red fire company shed? Check!  Porta-johns?  Check, check, and check! 

Of course everybody would love to go to the fair every night, but that simply isn't doable with ride wristbands costing $20 each. It also pains me to report that we also have not yet won a goldfish or hermit crab, despite throwing a record number of ping pong balls at impossibly small fish bowls. 

I've also noticed that it has been getting harder and harder to take photos at the fair because most of the rides they want to go on spin so fast!  But, there are a still a few slower-paced favorites, like -- 

The Swings

The Giant Slide

Merry-Go-Round

The Obstacle Course

The Stomach Dropper*

(*not real ride name)

You may have noticed that Abby is not pictured.  She is enjoying a week at sleep-away Girl Scout camp called "Paddles and Arrows."  As the name suggests, she is spending a week learning archery and canoeing with six of her friends from school.  Honestly, I'm jealous. Seriously jealous. Doesn't that sound incredibly fun? I received a letter from Abby yesterday, and the first two sentences read, "Camp is awesome! I miss you, sort of."  That completely cracked me up! Well, I "sort-of" miss her too. She'll be coming home tomorrow, and then Scott and I will be outnumbered again.