The Rock 'n Roll Boys

 

This is another photo in the set that I couldn't quite fit in. 

If Rowan Were a Rock Star II

 

And this would be the flip side. 

If Rowan Were a Rock Star

 

This would be the cover of his cd. 

Lucky Rowan

 

Rowan finally lost a baby tooth the right way. See his little missing one on the bottom? We're hoping that this heralds the appearance of his upper teeth. He lost those three wrestling with his brother. 

The Back of the Quilt

 

Here's the back. See? Isn't it neat? I like the vintage feel of this one. Oh, if anyone is interested, Mom found the pattern in American Patchwork and Quilting, published by Better Homes and Gardens, February 2003, Vol. 11, No. 1, Issue 60, pp 60-68. It's a very, very fast quilt to make. The big upside is that you never have to try and wrestle a large quilt under the arm of a tiny machine. If you are a machine-sewing-only person, you might feel it's a drag to join the squares together -- you machine sew the top, but you handsew the back. And lastly, you need to fiddle a bit if you don't want batting lumps in the seams. The first quilt I made with this technique really surprised me; when I'd finished joining the squares, my quilter's brain was all set to baste and quilt the top. But, that part was already done. Woohoo. So, there you go.

For anyone who reads my resume, there is an item in my list of interests: Tessellating the Plane in Textiles. That's math speak for quilting. :) 

Quilting Season

 

Well, quilting season has begun. This one went out the door today, to my Mom's new place in California. It's called Courthouse Steps and it uses quilt-as-you-go and stitch-and-flip techniques. The former makes for a neat backing(see the next picture). This is my second Courthouse Steps, the first one was a queen-sized bed quilt but this one is more of a cuddle-on-the-couch lap quilt. I wonder how many words I can string together with these hyphens. Hm. 

Halloween Tree

 

Rowan was playing at a local playground and I look up to see this really scary tree. I thought the colors were very seasonal. 

Kai's got a new smile. He lost his tooth Saturday. He was very excited. Rowan also has a very loose tooth and Kai advised him, "Twist the tooth all the way around and it will just pop out; that's how I did it!" Theo and I shouted, "No!" as the shudders vibrated our bodies from hair tips to toe nails. I swear we looked like characters from a Hayao Miyazaki film.  

Kai at the Mars Camera. 

Rowan and Kai operate the Mars Camera. In this excercise, the joystick controls a camera viewing the martian surface. The player tries to identify certain features like dunes and craters by pulling the trigger when the camera's sight crosses the feature in question. 

Outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Rowan rides with the wolves. 

Mister Rowan Blue Eyes. 

Well, Kai is officially six years old! Here he is with his big present. He's still getting used to it, but I don't think it will take too long. The party is on Saturday, so undoubtedly he'll be swamped with more presents then. 

This is our new friend William C-H. who is eight years old. We met him on a very chilly day at Laguna beach. You can probably tell from this picture that he's very fast. We raced a couple times, just to see. He is fast. :) 

I'm sure in Colorado there's a law against being this photogenic. Lucky for her, we were in California. 

My brother Scott hanging with Rowan. He called this the "Mentoring Picture." Aaaaaaaaagh (just kidding)! I think they were discussing the funky chicken. 

The chase-me game. 

My brother Seth and his very cool girlfriend, Renee. She's already Aunt Renee to the boys. 

Splash. 

Soon to be underwater. 

Tide pools are really neat. We'd just explored a little bit and realized the tide was coming back in. I don't think Rowan was ready to leave yet. 

Did I mention just how cold it was? Brrrrr. I was happy to be generally dressed and only suffering from cold-numbed toes. 

Just before sunset. :) 

Sunset on Laguna Beech, taken from the boardwalk. 

Rowan wanted to learn to surf; but he's still getting used to the whole 'ocean' thing.