Sunday Scripture

"I am the resurrection and the life,
He who believes in Me,
though me may die, he shall live."
John 11:25

Ribbon Blanket

Today I had fun making this ribbon blanket. There are a number of tutorials on the net and they are all made basically the same. It is a quick project using simple sewing skills. I cut 2 pieces of fabric 13x13". The top is flannel and the bottom a minky fabric. I've also seen them made out of fleece, cotton or satin. There are a lot of ways to get creative! The loops are a mixture of different colored ribbons in satin or gross grain.

One ribbon I made longer to attach a pacifier or a plastic ring. It's a nifty way to keep track of the pacifier!!


I love the feel of the minky fabric - it is sooooooooo soft. It does have a tendency to shift and stretch so I used lots of pins to keep everything in place. I used a 1/2" seam allowance so the blankie ends up being 12x12". It's a good size for snuggling with or packing in a diaper bag!



Blessings!

(As a P.S. to this post I found out afterwards "taggie blankies" are patented. It is owned by Taggies, Inc. Any blanket with loops around the edges cannot be sold. However, this blanket was a gift.)

A Day of Thrills at Cedar Point

We spent our last day of vacation at Cedar Point. It was definitely a day of thrills! My husband and I took our youngest to the kiddie rides while the older boys braved the big roller coasters. The park offers a wide variety of rides for the little kids and the lines were quite short. They even had a couple of coasters for my son (age 4). He loved it! We met up with the older boys for lunch and then my husband went with them to ride Top Thrill Dragster. I was much too scared to go on this ride . . . see for yourself.



This ride launches you at 120mph in less than 4 seconds and soars to a height of about 400ft! Scary!!! I was in awe watching the cars at the station waiting and waiting to be launched (while everyone's fear builds!) The engines rev and then it backs up slightly before leaving. Wow! That's all I can say!

This park has been voted "the best" for the last 12 years. It sits on a peninsula on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio. On one side is their marina and the other a nice beach for dipping your toes in the water. There is really something for everyone at this park.

My boys are still talking about the rides and say we have to go back next year!

AirZoo - Michigan

Day 3 of our vacation was spent at the AirZoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is a fantastic place to go. It had been 7 years since we were here and they really expanded in that time.


They added new planes and rides. My boys (and husband) especially enjoyed the flight simulators. After touring the museum we spent some time with old friends. I enjoyed seeing the quilts my friend had pieced. She is the one who got me interested in quilting and taught me right before we moved and started me off with the necessary supplies. She makes quilts for all of her nieces and nephews when they graduate from high school. We also enjoyed walking in their garden. It was especially meaningful because while we lived next to them my husband got our friend into gardening. Our friend was always opposed to gardening having watched his mother plant only annuals. My husband enlightened him on the benefits of perennials and that was all he needed to get going! It was a great day in Kalamazoo!

Warren Dunes State Park - Michigan

The second day of our vacation we drove up the coastline of Lake Michigan to Warren Dunes State Park. I love the abundance of beautiful sand here and the sky is such a magnificent blue against the white puffy clouds. We quickly decided we would climb the dune behind us. We were up for the challenge!!

It wasn't a pretty sight! There was a lot of huffing and puffing on my part. And the sand was extremely hot! Only one of my boys was wearing the right foot wear for the climb - tennis shoes! But, we persevered and got to enjoy the view from the top.

What a beautiful view it was - you could see for miles in every direction.

We had it made in the shade at the top. My youngest found sliding down the dune fun! The older boys ran down the dune and they felt like they were flying.

Once we were down to the bottom we cooled off in the water. The beach was beautiful with a sand bar not too far out. The water was warm and calm and oh, so refreshing. The boys enjoyed building and digging in the sand as well. I found out later there are mud pits at the park. We wondered about the teenagers walking on the beach with a grayish tint to their skin. It was a lot of "fun in the sun!"

Museum of Science and Industry

We spent a day at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It is a wonderful museum that is 3 stories filled with something for everyone. The place is HUGE! There are automobiles, airplanes, trains, and even a submarine; not to mention all of the science!

We toured a U-505 submarine which we captured from the Germans during WWII. We went inside the sub and saw first hand what life was like for these soldiers.


Father and oldest son ~ almost the same height! At this point we are in the Futuristic Room. It was fascinating to read about people with very creative ideas and see their inventions; they definetely think outside the box.

My younger son really got into all the science demonstrations. He especially enjoyed playing with a robot in the Toy Factory area.

My second oldest is looking into a wave pool. He wasn't feeling well that day. He kept saying he was tired. Unfortunately, he was coming down with a virus and spent the rest of our vacation ill. It was way too bad that he couldn't enjoy the vacation more. We felt so bad for him.

Our youngest is an astronaut! Or at least he had fun pretending to be one!!

There was so much to see and do! Our kids just moved from one thing to the next and thought it all was great. This was my first time at the museum and it was top-notch!

Blessings to you!

Sunday Scripture

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. " Psalm 127:1

Blessings to you this Sunday! I will be sharing photos over the next few days from our vacation. We had a wonderful time visiting a number of places. We went from Illinois to Michigan to Ohio and back to our home in Indiana. It was good to spend so much time together having fun!