It has been a while since I have had much of anything to say. I have been trying to wrap up my Christmas shopping. Jana and I pulled an all nighter on Thanksgiving and left about 3 am to go shopping Friday morning. We started off for Best Buy but when we saw the line out front (about 150 people) we went on to Meijer. Meijer wasn't really that bad. We snagged a few deals there and headed off to see what trouble we could find. The day didn't end so badly. I got most of what I set out to get. We made it home about 2 pm and I passed out around 3:30. I am almost done with the kids which I think is the hard part. Hopefully I can finish the rest on the internet. That is so much easier than trying to deal with people. If anyone finds any good deals, let me know.

Stacy with the weiner mobile.

Stacy with the weiner mobile.
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

Saturday, Stacy and I took off and went shopping. I am having trouble figuring out what to get the boys for Christmas. The Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile was parked in the Toys R Us parking lot. I told Stacy that she needed to go stroke it!! We had a good time and it was relaxing to go without the boys for once.

Packed up and ready to go to Mansfield!!

Packed up and ready to go to Mansfield!!
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

Saturday, we all packed up and took a trip to Mansfield. We had a decent day. Joshua ate everything in sight and Zach was having one of his moody days. Tyler just seemed to be along for the ride. I bought a few candles and got Steve and I John Deere hooded sweatshirts, and of course, I ate a lot too. I didn't have a belly ache at the end of the day and I was shocked. I am all ready for next year though.

Yesterday we went to Attica with a group of people. We really had a good time. Joshua went with us this time. I wasn't sure how he would react but he loved riding in the woods. He wanted to know why he could not bring his four wheeler. Mommy is not ready for that yet!! It was really cold at first so I didn't get any good pictures of Steve in his jeep. You can check out our pics by clicking here. I am ready for the warm weather to come back. We can do alot more in nice weather. I am a big wimp. I don't like to be cold.

Tyler went to an awards dinner last night at the Elk's. Uncle P.J. took him. He won first place in his age group at the Kick Off that is sponsored by the Elks. There are five brackets that you kick three balls into. Each bracket is smaller as you go and worth more points. I was amazed since he is our only child that does not play soccer. He really had a good time and he was very excited to win a trophy (even though it had the wrong name printed on the bottom). Tyler is considering playing soccer in the spring.

My First Five Rows

My first five rows.
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

I have started a new quilt top that is called Smokey Mountain Stars. I have been buying a bunch of flannel material out of the dollar bin at Wal-Mart. I really did not think that they would go together well, but the way that the pattern is set up, it does not look too bad. I still have ten more rows to go and and border. I am going to start actually quilting on my first one tonight. Hopefully that is not as hard as it looks.

My First Finished Quilt Top

My First Finished Quilt Top
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

I added my border stripe to my quilt top. I now need to finish the backing and the batting. I think the mitered corners were the hardest part for me. I will probably avoid them in the future. I have a few flaws in the quilt but overall, I am satisfied with the way that it turned out.

My Finished Quilt Top

My Finished Quilt Top
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

I worked on this all day yesterday. My kids went camping with my mom so I took the oppurtunity to get some sewing done. I still need to add the batting and backing. I haven't figured out what material I want to use for the backing. This pattern is called an Irish Chain. By the way, Ginger wasn't much help. Everytime I turned around she was laying on it.

This is the first two rows of the next quilt that I am making. I think that there are a total of nine rows plus a border. I really enjoy doing this and I am actually getting a little better at it. I seem to have too many projects going on right now and I need to slow down. I keep seeing different patterns that I want to try but I am afraid that I won't finish the ones that I have already started. I am almost done with my first one. I have my quilting class tonight so I can learn how to finish it. I should have updated pictures this week.

Now the pieces are coming together.

Now the pieces are coming together.
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

I have come down to the final step. You can see my individual squares on our flickr website on the left. I put all of my pieces together better than I thought I would. I still need to add my border stripe and backing. I need to wait for my class on Tuesday to finish up. I am not really sure where to go from here.

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I have finished my third square for my quilt. It turned out better than the others. I think I like this design better also. I have two more squares to go and then I can start piecing it all together. I am anxious to see my final product. I have so many more patterns that I plan to do as well.

My Second Quilt Square

My Second Quilt Square
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

Here is my second quilting square. It is a little better than my first one (not as crooked). I have three more to make before I can start piecing my quilt together. I am really enjoying learning how to quilt even though I get very frustrated at times.

Greg, Mark, Tim, & Dad on Their Journey.

Greg, Mark, Tim, & Dad on their journey.
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

Check out this website to see the details of the journey that these two sets of brothers have made this week. The riders are my dad (Phil Archer), Uncle Mark Archer, Uncle Tim McClain, and his brother Greg McClain.

Joshua's First Day of Kindergarden

Joshua's First Day of Kindergarden
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

Joshua was sooo excited on his first day of school. When I picked him up he said, "Mommy, I didn't get in trouble today." It was as if he was shocked that he did not get in trouble for once. I was a little shocked too. He did not cry when I dropped him off. I kind of figured that he would. He said that he likes to color and play outside, but he is not going to sing. I am not surprised, he would not sing in preschool either.

My first quilting square

My First Quilting Square
Originally uploaded by deanaarcher.

This is the first square for my quilt. It is very crooked and lopsided, but I am excited. I don't think that I did too bad for the first time using my sewing machine. At least it was all attached. I have four more blocks to go and then we will begin putting all of the pieces together. Wish me luck!! I will need it!!

Last night Dad and I went to meet the teachers night at Tyler's school. He was so excited to show me his desk and his new books. His teacher seemed very pleasant and eager to teach the kids. I hope that she can find new ways to challenge Tyler. He seems to be bored by some of the homework that he brings home. I still find extra things for him to do to keep him motivated. I ordered a subscription to Mathmania. It is published through Highlights. They send him two books a month and he seems to really enjoy them. It keeps math exciting and that is his favorite subject right now. He must get that from his mom!! By the way, he is bringing a fundraiser home this week so watch out!

We went to our quilting class again on Tuesday. Our homework for the week was to have our first block cut out. I cut out the first three blocks because I was anxious to get started. I finally taught myself how to thread a bobbin and to thread my sewing machine. In class we started piecing together our first block. Elicia is showing off her first steps. I am having a really good time learning how to do this. I have always wanted to learn how to make something but I did not figure that I would be very good at it. We'll see how it goes. I am going to put together the rest of my block this weekend and I will post a picture of my progress. There are more pictures on my flickr site of our class. Click here to check them out.

We went boating Saturday and Sunday this weekend (pics on flickr). Boy was I worn out! I took it pretty easy at work Monday and Tuesday (video games) and now we are cleaning alot! It is sooooo gross. I guess somebody needed to do it.

I started my quilting class last night. I was so nervous. I could barely cut through the fabric. I hope that I am able to do well with it. I want to be able to start making a bunch of quilts. Mom joined me for the class but she is not making her own. She is supervising. There are only three girls in the class which is good. That will allow for us to have more one on one with the teacher. The lady who is giving the class is doing it for free. She just wanted a chance to meet other women who liked to sew. I mainly wanted to learn how to use my brand new sewing machine that my parents got for me two years ago. I will post pictures as I progress and you can decide if this is a hobby that I need to continue with.

I signed Joshua and Tyler up for school. Joshua is so excited and I hope he does well. If not we will do kindergarten again next year. He is still young so I know it will take time. Tyler is ready to go back to school so that he can get away from Joshua. He is going nuts. He is starting third grade at TZ this year. He has a lot of potential and I hope his emotions do not get in the way of his grades. Zach is moving on to fifth grade this year. The teenage years are just around the corner!

On Friday we went to Evan's Monster Truck birthday party. Joshua loves to go over there and play with the boys. Evan looked like he was ready to dig into that cake! He is such a cutie!! Joshua told me that he had to pick out Evan's birthday present because I did not know what was cool! I am already to the point where the kids don't think I am cool anymore. How sad is that?

Wow! We have been busy lately.

I met up with mom on Friday night to do a little bit of shopping. We really had a good time. She was making fun of me while I was shopping for a new bikini. I told her that I could not buy one unless the top already had boobs built in. I need all of the help that I can get. Then she made fun of me when I tried on a pair of clogs. She said that I looked like I was walking on stilts. Needless to say, I did not buy them. This is the reason why I do not wear anything with a heel.

We took the boys out on the boat again on Saturday. They had a lot of fun. We did learn that if Joshua says that he has to "poop" then you had better be ready. I told him to wait a minute, so he jumped back into the lake to swim. Next thing I know he is screaming. Apparently he decided to go ahead and start to take a crap in his suit. I pulled him out of the water and sat him on our on board potty. Then I shook his suit out in the water. I warned the other boys that they might want to move and they asked "Why?". I decided I was tired of hearing them ask why every time I told them to do something so my response was, "You will figure it out in a minute." That is what they get for not doing as they were told!!

Sunday we took the day pretty easy. I went to Leann's baby shower and Steve took the boys over to Josh's house to ride their bikes. I joined them later and we walked down to the creek. The boys were having a lot of fun splashing around down there. We decided to see if Sable (my 7-year-old weiner/pekinese dog) could swim. She didn't seem to like it but she swam very well, straight for the shore.

Anyways, I am about finished with my cross stitch project that I have been working on forever. I have a few more details to finish up and I will post some pictures of it. I have already picked out my next cross stitch project. I am also starting a quilting class next Tuesday. Mom may be joining me with that. I believe that I am starting to sound like an old lady. I just enjoy doing quiet things since it is not usually too quiet around our house. Do boys keep getting noisier as they grow older? I hope not!

Also, I started a flickr.com account. It is easier and faster for me to post photos there. Check out the link on the left for more photos.

We went out to Leiber again on Sunday. The boys have so much fun out on the lake. Tyler and Joshua decided to try the tube. They started off okay until we got out of the no wake zone, then Joshua was too scared and we took him off. I got in with Tyler nad that lasted about two minutes. It was too slippery. His legs ended up underneath me. They at least gave it a try. We ended up running into Patti & Robert & their boys. John and Jake seem to have a good time on their tube. Maybe we can catch up with them again this weekend. We all had a good time abd got a little bit of a tan. I should have pictures of the new boat Don and Steve bought together today. It is a pontoon boat that has three pontoons on it. They are both really excited. I think we are going to try to take it for a test spin this weekend.

Here is some pictures from our Fourth of July party. The pink tube is actually one of the kids toys. These guys are very resourceful aren't they? We all had a great time. Same time next year.