Who knew shopping could be so fun!?

 

Friday morning after I saw David off to school (he was coming to wake me up, but I was already awake and heard him) we got ready to drive to a fun store.  I'm not much of a shopper but I was looking forward to our outing.  We arrived just a few minutes before they opened.  Amanda had told me about this place and I just had to check it out! Fabric World! (Okay Fresno, we need one of these!)

 

 Flannel and cotton pieces, all $2.99 a yard.  They are just dumped on these long tables and you dig through them to find your treasures!  Some piece are rather long and you have to really tug at them as Amanda is demonstrating in the backgroung!  Jacob had his "fru fru" (that's "ruff ruff" in Jacob talk) and he stayed entertained in the cart while we did our digging.

 There are two long rows of these tables...believe me, we dug for awhile!  We kept finding really cute stuff, and we loaded our cart!  A couple of different ladies asked us if we were "crafters" or if we sold things on Etsy.  It was funny.  I guess we were just being too excited about all the cute fabrics we were finding! One time Amanda came and all their pieces were 25 cents!  Now THAT was a deal!  She has a nice collection of fabrics for all her cute projects she does.  The apron she made me in the spring was fabric from here...

 Here is our boatload of fabrics...two very full bags!  So many different pieces!  Mostly to make burp clothes and "lovies" (mini toy-sized blankets) pillowcases, bibs, and ties.  We felt very good about what we got for our money and what cute baby gifts we will have for very cheap!  A lot of them are "designer" fabrics...but I am not enough of a sewing person to be up on who all the wonderful designers are... 

 Here's a sneak peak of some things we made...these are flannel burp cloths...I love the blue and grey animals the best I think...darling fabric!

 Here's Amanda making bow ties...

 She also made some cute matching ties for the boys too.  They have elastic and just slip over their heads and under their collars!  Oh yes, we had a great time at fabric world!

We also went over to Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite stores!) because she said the Georgia one is so much bigger than our Visalia one.  She was right!  We got ribbon, elastic and thread for our projects and we looked at a TON of stuff and got some good ideas...it really was a huge store!  I only got one picture of Jacob showing me his chicken nugget...again being a good shopper in the cart...

All that and we were still home in time for David to get home from school and Jacob to take a nap.  It was a very fun day!!  And it wasn't over yet...up next...the famous Georgia Aquarium!

Dinner out in Lawrenceville...

I wanted to take the family out for dinner, since they were so sweet to buy me a plane ticket to get there to visit!  They chose this Mexican Restaurant "La Cazuela" and it was a good choice!  Dale and I had a little duel over the check at the end, but the MIL won!  I would not have it any other way.  Love ya Dale!

 We had a hard time deciding what to order since there were so many good options on the menu!

 Jacob showing me his chip...he licks the salsa off them...I think he ate some of the chips too...they were yummy!

 We all enjoyed the chips while waiting to order...

 Then our yummy food arrived!  David loves the cheesy dip and promised to let me try it.  He's right, it is very delicious! He did eat his other food too...but he loved that dip!

 I still get the stink eye face from Jacob when I try to take a picture...he just doesn't want to smile for me!  He enjoyed his rice and quesadilla...that boy loves to eat!

 David on the other hand, fully cooperates for pictures!  I had a chicken chimichanga and we left that restaurant FULL.

 We got Jacob to show me his muscles!  Funny kid...

 After dinner, we went across the street to this beautiful old building, the Gwinnett County Courthouse...and let the kids run off some energy on the huge lawn there...

 They loved to run and find big leaves on the ground...

 Then they would go and drop them down this drain hole.  It was deep and this was a fun thing for them to do.  Their parents told me they do this every time they go here.

 Mommy and her boys having a race...I think David won...

 Then a family picture on the steps of the courthouse.  Aren't they the cutest little family?  Love, Love, Love being with them!!!

 Then we took our leftovers and headed home.  Dale was our taxi driver and their mini van was our taxi...it was a fun evening out!!  We will put a few more miles on this van before I leave!

And the fun begins...

(prepare for picture overload the next few days...you have been warned!)

Thursday morning, when I got up, David had already left for school!  I felt bad that I had missed him.  I told him the next morning he had permission to come in and wake me up so I could give him a hug and a kiss before school!  When I got up I spent some time with Jacob while his momma got ready for our outing.  He showed me his "shoo shoo" book (that's Choo Choo for trains) and we found the little teddy bear on each page.  I love it that my grandkids love books!

 Our first outing was to the Mall of Georgia.  A very pretty place and not too far from their house.  We needed to visit a cute little store called Charming Charlies and I was happy to find out we have one in Fresno!  I also needed to shop for some new clothes and Amanda is always happy to help me pick out new things!

 Jacob was a very good shopper!  We ate lunch at the food court but he didn't want to look at me...I guess he was concentrating on his straw...he had Chick-fil-et and Amanda and I had pizza.

 She was a more willing picture subject! 

 After we finished up our shopping (I found a few new clothes and we both found very cute things at Charming Charlies!) we promised Jacob he could play in the wah wah.

 This fun fountain changes from low to high and Jacob loved touching the water. 

 He would touch it and it would splash him and then he'd run away...it was so cute!

 He didn't even really get wet, just some splashes...we all had fun with it. 

 It was a fun day! 

 And when it was time to go, he wanted to push the stroller instead of riding in it.  Cute Jacob!

 We finished in time to pick up David from school.  He is in Pre-K.  The parents pull into the "drive through" and put the children's name on the window (it hangs on the rear view mirror).  As you pull up, the teacher calls for your child to come.  David carpools with his friend Ainsley.  So as each car got their child and pulled out, you keep pulling up until you are in the first spot.  Quite the system they have!

 Here come David and Ainsley, all done with their busy school day and ready to go home!  Aren't they precious?  I couldn't get David to tell me very much about school.  But I did hear some of the color songs he is learning...

We had a nice drive home and took a little rest in the afternoon...because when Daddy gets home from work, we are going to go out to dinner!  

Georgia here I come!

The day finally arrived for my trip to Georgia!  Wednesday, Aug. 22nd. I was up at 4 a.m. and headed to the airport by 5 a.m.  I saw two young men on my flight dressed in their suits and ties.  we were headed to Salt Lake City from Fresno.  I am sure they were headed to the MTC.  What other young men do you know that dress like that to fly?  I changed planes in SL to a very huge Delta aircraft...7 seats across with two aisles.  It was amazing how big that plane was and how many people were on it!  But soon I arrived in Georgia to this fun welcoming committee!

 I was afraid Jacob was going to be a bit shy, as he kind of looked away when I first greeted him...(he was sitting in the stroller) but by they time we were out of baggage claim he was all warmed up!  David of course came running up to me yelling "Grandma!" Love those fun energetic hugs! 

 And being the lovely hostess that she is, Amanda had already purchased my Boston Cremes for a little treat when we got back to the house! 

 Jacob showing me his puzzle and playing happily in the play room before bedtime.  It's gonna be a fun week!!

I couldn't get a picture fast enough, but as we were leaving the airport there's a big sign that says, "We're glad Georgia was on your mind."  And it truly has been!  Stay tuned for more Georgia adventures!

Back to School and the end of an era...

I am sure it was yesterday I put this little tyke on the bus for the first day of kindergarten!  The time has truly flown by!  In a few short years he has grown from this little cutie...

 to this big cutie! 

This is his first day of his senior year. I am still amazed how fast it has happened. Our last child to go to Clovis High...one last time of filling out all those ridiculous cards of information when they have all our information in their computers...one last time of back to school night (which will be here in a couple of weeks), one last year of early morning seminary, and in the blink of an eye, one last graduation night. Good luck in all that you do this year Joel. We love you! We are proud of you! We wish only the best for you as you wrap up this era of school years in the McKinney household.  

Another branch for our family tree!

Yesterday Clif proposed to his girlfriend Lindsay Worsley!  She said yes!  They will be married in November and we are excited!  We got to "meet" Lindsay tonight via Skype.  It's not quite the same as meeting in person, but pretty close!  She seems like a sweet, fun girl and Clif seems truly happy.  Moms like to see their kids happy!  We are more than happy to welcome her into our family circle.  They met at BYU-Idaho...and their friendship grew quickly into love.  We are happy to be adding another branch to our family tree and look forward to great things happening in their future!  Now, let the wedding to-do list start growing!  Love you kids!

Cards, Crafts, Monsters and Fruit!

Summer is almost over (although you can't tell from our triple digit heat!) and I wanted to show a little of what I have done.  I am in a card club with a few creative friends and this month we made THANK YOU cards.  This is an assortment of the ones I made...kind of plain, but kind of cute...the other ladies made much cuter ones than these!  I will have to take a picture of all the fun cards I have gotten from this club this year...

This is a craft I made for my mother-in-law several years ago.  I took older pictures of all her kids and added their phone numbers to it.  It says "Loved ones are just a phone call away."  She gave it back to me awhile ago and asked that I update their numbers.  So I did!  I need to re-do this in colors that match her house colors as those have changed over the years like the phone numbers did.

 Jacob turned two and was having a "Monster" party so I made him his own monster pillow thing.  Not really sure what it is.  I saw them on pinterest, and they were a lot cuter than this, but he likes it so it will do!  I also sent him the Birthday Monsters book which I can't wait to read with him NEXT WEEK!!!

 I also crocheted some little monsters that didn't turn out all that cute either (why do the pictures on pinterest always look so much better?) but again Jacob liked them so it's all good.  Aren't little children so non-judgmental?  I love that!

 This week was canning week with our friends the Winieckes.  Monday we did peaches.  YUM!  I'm not sure how many batches we did, but I got several jars to bring home and some fresh ones to eat so I was happy!

 Then Saturday we did pears.  49 quarts total!  We did some cinnamon pears too..again I got to bring some jars home...a great reward for helping with the project!  Tyler Winiecke and I both figured out that a melon-baller is sharp and can cut your finger!  Ann Winiecke and I both got red food coloring all over us...not sure how that happened!  Anyway, we did all those quarts in 2 hours!  Many hands definitely make light work. And it is much more fun "working" with friends!  Thank you!

New addition to the fam...

After several months (dare we say a year?) of researching, borrowing bikes, visiting several bike shops and trying different brands and models, Dave finally selected a bike of his own!  He is the proud owner of the Cannondale Quick and he is in the happy zone.

He wouldn't let me take a picture of him in all his bike riding gear, so he just gave me a quick demo up and down our street...he does love to get out and go in the early morning when it's cooler...sometimes in the evening after work (when the weather is nicer than it is right now!). The Clovis bike trail is his route of choice and I am happy he has found something to do in the form of excercise and health that makes him happy.  This and his daily green smoothie will have him outliving me for sure!  I prefer my chocolate shake and my stationary bike indoors, which I don't ride nearly enough...

 Boys will be boys, he had to do a wheelie for me...ha ha.

The pictures are blurry (becuase he was in motion) but I am sure you can see the smile on his face.  I am happy that he is so happy.  Happy Trails!

Happy Happy Birthday Ashley Dear!

I'm sure it was just yesterday we were celebrating your first birthday...in this darling red dress Grandma Farnsworth made for you!  What a cutie!  You still are!  I hope your day is very special and that those closest to you will treat you with all the love and respect you deserve!  And some spoiling too!  We will always be so grateful that you came to start our family and bring us such joy as we had never felt before.  You truly changed our lives for the better and we love you!  Happy Birthday our beautiful Ashley!!