Happy Birthday

Christina Ortega - one of my VERY favorites had a birthday! We couldn't get the candles on the cake to light, so Sean quickly came up with a solution and pulled a log out of the fire. He's so helpful.

Blog on Pause

Well if you haven't noticed...I don't post very often. Sorry! We are in the midst of a move and I'm in the midst of early pregnancy. Phew! I'm sure Sean will keep a more detailed log.

I will get some pictures of Jocelyn's wedding up and some details about the move...but probably after the move.

Love you all!
Danie

Oops

I thought I posted this while in Germany - but the website was all in German, so I must have made a mistake. Oops. :) More to come soon.


Well I'm in Germany for a very good friends wedding. It's only once that your Jocelyn gets married!

Germany is beautiful. It resembles parts of the northern midwest and the weather reminds me of Washington DC. Sunny and beautiful then the next day it's cold and raining.

My first day here we walked all over Dresden. Everyone here walks or rides a bike. There are few cars on the street. I've seen families with 5 kids all on bikes. Also, everyone has a dog. Some of the dogs are on leashes. Most just follow right beside you. When people go to the store they bring their dog along. The dog just patiently sits outside the store and waits for it's master to come out. We came across a farmers market in a VERY beautiful part of town. People who walked by would grab a beer and just keep walking. We had fresh apple juice. Yum! On our way back to Jocely's we got an ice cream cone. The BEST ice cream I've EVER had in my life! It was fun to order because Jocelyn wasn't with us, so trying to figure out the flavors was quite interesting.

The next day we went to a church brunch. Most everyone who we spent time with spoke English. Brunch was quite an experience. Lots and lots of breads with lots of different spreads and cheeses to put on it. It was delicious. After that we walked to the river and sat on a blanket in a big field near the water. Sammy and the rest of my travel buddies played soccer while Jocelyn and I made wedding lists.

Yesterday Autumn, Leslie and I got on a train to Prague. WHAT AN ADVENTURE! We got to the train station minutes before our train was scheduled to leave so we RAN to get the ticket and get on the right train. The train ride was beautiful. We couldn't understand the announcer, but there was a helpful passenger who told us when to get off. We got into the station and the girls went to the restroom while I changed some Euros for Crowns. Aparently you have to pay for the restroom in CZ. They didn't have crowns, so the woman at the door yelled at Leslie in Chez intil I could get there with the Crowns. She was so angry that she didn't even take the money. When we got out of the station we were all very excited because Prague is supposed to be the most beautiful city in all of Europe. Well...it wasn't. We were in some cruddy part of town and couldn't find a map in English. After walking for a while we found a helpful American who gave us his map. Once we figured out how to take the tram and get to the MOST BEAUTIFUL part of Europe we were happy. I would have never guessed how beautiful it was going to be. At the end of the day we ran to the train station to wait more than an hour for our train. We had one adventure after another, but I'm almost out of minutes at the cafe, so I'll have to tell yout about it later.

Today we are just hanging around Dresden.

Well I wish I could post pictures, but I left the cord for my camera back at Jocelyn's.

A New Weekend

This was the weekend of new. It all started when the sink clogged last weekend. We thought that it was fixed, but this weekend it clogged again. SO that means we got a new garbage disposal!

Friday afternoon instead of going to the beach we all went to Barnes and Noble. While we were there we decided to go into the mall. While Israel and I walked around XXI, Sean and Judah got me a new shirt! Thanks guys! They said it was a Danie shirt. They were right!

Yesterday when I was vacuuming the vacuum began to smell like something had crawled inside and died. Also the thing underneath it stopped spinning, so we got a new belt for the vacuum - and a new bag!

Judah and I had a sewing lesson. She made a Cutesy Clutch and I made this:



My mother-in-love came by this morning and informed me that the new bag she had made for herself was entirely too big. Darn, I have to keep her darling handmade bag.

Zeb has grown quite a bit since you've last seen him, so he got a new green collar and a bath this weekend. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff. Last night we went to the park near our house. Judah rode her bike and Zeb got to chase her around the park. Israel was on the equipment, so of course Zeb had to go play with her in the sand. Sand would be one of his very favorite things - next to little kids (that's my dog!). I'll post pics of the dog later. My camera battery is taking a short rest.

Pin Cushion Crazy!

Recently, I've been on a bit of a pin cushion kick. If I have an extra scrap of fabric the thought that always comes to mind is, "I bet I could make a great pin cushion out of this!"





I saw this on a craft blog a few weeks ago and couldn't get it out of my head. Isn't it the cutest fried egg pin cushion you've ever seen?





This is my current favorite. I can put all of the extra pins inside the jar and keep the ones that I need out. The jar is from a jelly making family member. Thanks for the tripple berry jelly Jeannie! It was great!

More Crafts

I found a great website that gives you simple how to's for really fun projects. Cut Out and Keep - I really liked the roll-up pencil holder.
I followed the directions on my first try, but the pencil slots turned out to be bumpy and uneven. I decided to make another and just eyeball it instead of measuring and pinning. It turned out much better that way. I didn't have any velcro dots, so I used cute buttons and elastic instead to secure it.

It's Official - The Henry Girls are Artists

Thanks to Nanette we can now call ourselves artists. Two weeks ago this may have not been the case. After two days full of boring work (smashing plates, wearing goofy safety glasses, making big messes with putty and grout - none of those things are fun for little girls) we have finished our mosaic flower pots. We are now prepared to mosaic just about everything in the house. The extra kidlet is Dakota. She's been our super fun roomy recently.

Last Sunday we kept the Henry tradition and went to the Orange County Fair. We ate all the things we shouldn't have, walked until we needed a footsie wootsie break and saw the most delicious piece of chocolate cake in all of Orange County.

I was very surprised to see these guys there. They belong on a dry lake bed in the middle of nowhere.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Israel Weaver's Birthday! I can't believe he's already three years old. Happy Birthday little Izzy. I wish I could squish you myself, but since I can't I'll send Sean to do it for me.

Guests

We have some guests who've made themselves completely comfortable. They make themselves at home to the fridge, the bathroom, they help with the dish, and they'll even take a lick off the sucker on my dresser.

Does anyone know how to get rid of ants?

P.S. The sucker was in a wrapper.

I'm liking Torrance More Every Day

A few weeks ago this sign appeared next to Whole Foods:



Yesterday was the day Pete's in Torrance became more than just a sign. I was one of the first customer's in line and I was the first customer to have my order messed up. I guess I'll have to go again to give them another chance. Darn.

More Beach Fun

The kids had a horrible time at the beach. They barried Judah and Jenai in the sand and Jenai dug a hole to China. That evening I heard Jenai pull her dad into a side room and say "I have bumps...". Hmmm...I wonder how that happened.

Getty Fun

This past weekend Sean suggested we all go to the Getty for lunch and a crochet lesson. What a great idea! It was a peaceful afternoon with sunshine and a cool afternoon full of cartwheels and crochet.

Beach Fun

Each Friday I'm taking off work early and we are going to go the the beach! That's Judah in the waves and Israel trying to convince herself to get into the water.

Crafting Fun

Recently I've been having some crafting fun. The kids and I have been painting, sewing, cutting... It all started with this blog. Then I clicked from one craft blog to the next.




I saw an ad on craigslist for some free fabric samples, so you can expect to see more crafting photos this summer. :)

Birthday Fun

Israel turned 12! Isn't there a law against that somewhere?

I had to make a rushed trip to Cincinnati this week because my grandfather passed away. It was a bittersweet week. Here's the highlight.

Guess who the dog thinks he belongs to...

Often heard from the other room, "Has anyone seen my sock/flip flop/purple underwear?"

Yesterday, I found two socks outside. They didn't match.

Friends with Skills

The other evening James, Gia and Joseph came over. Sean and I are having a great time getting to know James and Gia. Aside from being great friends, James can balance just about anything on his nose and Joseph can play the geetar like any old cowboy.

IHOP Webstream

If you've ever considered checking out the IHOP Webstream now is the time. Here's the link to a free 3 day trial. It's just $10 a month. The quality of the stream is incredible.