I was going through the internal memory of my camera and found a couple more pictures from our latest reenactment. Here is one of part of the camp:

And here is one with Matthew in it. He is over on the left side with that big smile on his face. I just love his smile!

Matthew has gone to work with Kev the last few days, so Kelsey and I went to go visit my sister and her girls. Jessie and Kelsey worked on a couple of crafts while we were there:

I decided that we need to work on PE a little more this upcoming year, so I found an idea in one of my many books to do some activities with bean bags. Kelsey decided she wanted to make some bean bags also:

Filling the bean bags:

Today, it was just the two of us again, so we headed to Turlock to the tea place for lunch. After lunch, we went to the quilt store and found some fat quarters for Kelsey to make her first quilt. Once we got home, we put the material in the wash and tossed her new bean bags for a quick game:

Her Flat Friend arrived home from Israel with some flat bread for a snack!

We have a very busy few days around here so I probably won't even see my computer until next week. Hope you have enjoyed my little update!

...you forget to put the memory card back into the camera after you upload pictures onto the computer??

You hardly get to take any pictures!!

I was so bummed when I turned on my camera this past weekend only to discover that I only had 5 pictures available on my camera. Yikes!!

So here a two pictures from our latest reenactment:

Oh, I did happen to get Kev's shirt done this weekend also:

We didn't know they were going to have a dance on Saturday night for the reenactors. Kev and Matthew stayed at the camp, but Kelsey and I decided to go. We watched a very large group of people do the Virginia Reel. It looks like a lot of fun! Then Kelsey was asked to dance a waltz. She was so excited and now wants to teach Kev how to waltz so they can dance together at the ball in November.

We don't have another reenactment until September which gives me plenty of time to get more sewing done. If you noticed, Kelsey now has a hoop skirt, so she needs me to sew drawers for her. I am currently working on another shirt for Matthew. I want to sew another dress for Kelsey and a wrapper for me for the mornings at the reenactments. Balls gowns need to be done before November, another petticoat for each of us...did I mention that I really am enjoying all of this sewing!

I have been sewing for days now trying to get outfits done for this upcoming weekend's reenactment. Here is a picture of Kelsey in her newest dress:

To which Kev says, "Hey, when are you going to finish the buttons on my shirt!"

Matthew has been wanting to make hard tack to take to the Civil War Reenactments and today was finally the day that I let him make it.

Matthew and Kelsey getting the dough ready

Matthew cutting out the shapes

Ready for the oven

Finished hardtack!!

This afternoon while I was still working on the skirt to my dress (which involves this procedure which I did incorrectly and had to re-do!), Matthew decided to watch Gods and Generals again.

Once Kev got home from work, Matthew drilled him on infantry procedures and Kelsey decided to join in:

Tonight as I was still working on the skirt to my dress, we watched The Great Locomotive Chase.

So how did you spend your day??

I don't think I have done more sewing (even my wedding dress!) than I have since we started doing Civil War Reenacting. But I must say, I am really enjoying it!

Over the past week, I have been working on a corded petticoat, split drawers and my dress. The corded petticoat is done (except for starching), the split drawers need a buttonhole and button sewn on, and the dress...I finally finished hand-sewing the hem tape and am now working on gauging it so I can attach it to the bodice.

Kelsey's pattern arrived in the mail today, so I want to get started on that. Oh, and I still need to sew buttonholes and buttons on Kev's shirt.

Good thing we ran errands today so hopefully I have lots of time at home this week to get all of these projects finished before we head off to the next reenactment! I will try to get pictures of some of these items posted this week so we can see what I have been working on.

Today, the weather forecast was for the temperature to be beyond hot. They are forecasting near 110 degrees here for most of the week. Plus with all of the fires burning in our state, the air quality is so bad that you can't the blue sky because of all the yucky stuff in the air.

So today, we decided to head over to Modesto to run a couple of errands and go bowling. Bowling is not something we do very often. I used to have my own bowling ball and shoes when I was in Junior High, but that was a long time ago.

Here are the scores from Game 1:

Matthew - 53

Kelsey - 89

Mom - 97

Of course, Matthew's argument would be that Kelsey had the bumpers. So let's look at the scores of Game 2:

Matthew - 98

Kelsey - 79

Mom - 108

Not bad for being out of practice!

Once we got home, here is how my kids decided to cool off:

I think we need to find a pool tomorrow!

We have another re-enactment coming up, so I have been busy again at the sewing machine. Tonight I finished the bodice to my new dress:

Now I just need to work on the skirt. Then I hope Kelsey's pattern comes in the next day or two so I can get started on her next dress!

Tuesday, we had a long list of errands to run. All of the big box stores are at least 25 minutes away, so I need to make the best use of my time and my gasoline! :o)

About half way through the errands, we picked up some lunch at Subway (love those $5 foot long sandwiches!) and headed to the park we fondly call 'The Duck Park'. The park has a large wooden play area which is next to a large 'pond' which is home to many ducks. We had some stale bread from our last civil war re-enactment which was perfect 'duck bread'. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids at the park:

I was able to pick up a couple of 4th of July decorations (on sale at Michael's) and some President and United States flash cards (in the dollar section of Target), so I made the table look festive:

Tonight, Kelsey has a friend spending the night. We made this Red, White, and Blue Garland from the Martha Stewart web site:

I pray that you and your family have a safe Fourth of July. Take a moment and thank God for the freedoms we enjoy in this country.

Ping:

One of the sounds I love to hear in the summer time is the sound of canning jars making that 'ping' sound. You know the one. You have been standing over the stove in usually 100 degree heat, stirring that pot of fresh fruit, sugar and pectin to make some delicious homemade jam. Apricot jam is one of my favorites! We were blessed with an almost full 25 pound box of apricots, so I made 2 batches of jam and par-boiled the rest for the freezer. My neighbor has some plums on her tree that she said I am welcome to come by and pick some. Looks like plum jam is next on my jam making list!

Laundry:

What happens when your dryer is not working in the summer time?

Where do you hang the undies if your husband doesn't want them hanging out in the backyard?

The break down of the dryer lead to this:

Projects:

My sewing machine has been very busy lately and will be very busy over the next couple of weeks. I recently finished hand sewing a shirt for Matthew to go with his Civil War uniform and I just finished one for Kev also (it just needs buttons and buttonholes). I need to start working on new dresses for me and Kelsey, as well as corded petticoats for both of us. While I am waiting for Kelsey's pattern to arrive, I have been working on this dress for her Felicity:

Yesterday, we went with our 4-H group to Discovery Kingdom for our end of the year trip. The 4-H group chartered a bus and paid for our tickets into the park. This was a very nice way to end our 4-H year!!

Now, we need to work on getting record books done before Friday. I missed the deadline for Kelsey's entry at the county fair. That means she will not be doing rabbit showmanship this year at the fair. But we did get Matthew's entry in for some of his photographs. We need to go through and get those photos ordered, printed, and matted before they are due to the fair next month!

Thank you to those who have been praying for me! My blood pressure was down to 129/82 last week and all of my blood work came back fine.

We may or may not have internet service this next week or so. If we do, I may have some interesting pictures to share!