New Jewelry Listed

I got my 2nd sale on Etsy!  I'm sure my husband will be thrilled that something is selling.  And of course selling something reminds me that I should be more active if I want to continue to sell other somethings on Etsy, so I listed two pieces that I've already shown in previous posts and have been sitting on my jewelry desk for awhile andthen, made another piece of jewelry, while learning some chain maille.

 I've also been working on some earrings, but they can't be revealed yet, because they will be part of a blog hop from copper diem - can't wait to see everyone's results. And then the earrings will be donated to Ears To You - another awesome idea - much better than just hoarding a bunch of beads.

What's been keeping us busy...

In addition to Daphne starting school, Joey also started preschool and likes it - especially the trains and school bus ( that he gets to play with - not ride).

Running a race....

 This was part of the race - climbing over a big net thing and jumping over fire...

 and this was part of the race - an army crawl in mud...

Soccer - for Daphne...

Swimming - for Daphne and Joey...  (Joey constantly has a huge grin when he is swimming)

Troublemaking for Brady...

 

First Day of School

Daphne's first day of school went off without a hitch.  She took the bus again and likes her teacher and likes eating lunch with all of the other kids.  She's doing great for all day first-grade. 
It's a little quiet without her around...

 First day of first grade...

 Waiting for the bus with Joey

 A beautiful moth that was on our Wishing Well in the backyard - love the colors.

 Some new earrings for myself... with lampworked glass.

 I'm trying to finish some projects and this bracelet has been half finished for awhile, so I finally took the time to tie up the loose ends - figuratively and truly.

And another project that I started awhile ago and have been taking up space in teh dining room.  Some fabric covered button hairbands.  They turned out very cute.

Dog Days?

The weather has been so nice here.  Even though I love hot weather, I prefer not to sweat as soon as I open the door to go outside.  The last few days have been so nice - we could open the windows (after clearing the cobwebs - since its been 2 months of straight air conditioning) and sit outside and really enjoy this weather. 
It's especially nice weather to go running in and since Kevin and I are gearing up for the upcoming Warrior Dash, we have been trying to run more.  But I have figured out that the race is a 5K with 12 obstacles, so really, we will only need to run no more than a quarter of a mile between each obstacle - that is if the obstacles aren't all bunched up together.  A quarter of a mile doesn't sound bad, right? 


The kids enjoying themselves out back...

 A new listing for Etsy. 

 Another finished wrap bracelet

 And some earrings for a dear friend for her birthday - its hard to see but the lampworked beads are a beautiful blue that remind me of my friend's eyes.

Bracelets

Finally getting back in the swing of things - we have been enjoying the summer quite a bit lately - swimming and visiting with friends and family. 

Tried a pattern from Bead Fantasies II.  The patterns are a little hard to follow - but that could be user-error - the end result is beautiful. 

Made some leather wrap bracelets with the TILA beads...  Some for sale, some for a friend and one for myself. 

And some pumpkin earrings for Etsy.  Just in time for anyone gearing up for fall...

And I have 3 more bracelets that I am putting the finishing touches on and will post pictures soon.

Vacation

Just got back from vacation with the family in Indiana Beach - lots of sun - which is what I love.  We are all tired and recovering this week. 

Chicago on the SkyDeck in the Willis (previously Sears) Tower.  Joey was fascinated with looking at the boats below.

We couldn't get the kids to look up at the camera - too much else to see.

Our cottage in Indiana Beach

Riding the train.  Joey's first and only time to ride the train because it went through a 'scary' tunnel by the Haunted Castle.

They were all so cute riding together.  I think this is Kori and Brady's first time riding rides.

On the Shafer Queen before we went out on the Lake.

The kids enjoying the view out on Lake Shafer.

At the Whistle Stop - a pretty, neat train restaurant and museum nearby.

The family portrait.

Ken and I went ziplining over Lake Shafer.  Pretty awesome!  I'd do it again anytime.

Making a race car at a Lowe's event at Indiana Beach.

Kevin and I took the kids to a Monticello city park.

My parents and Daphne, enjoying the last evening.

Outside our cabin at Indiana Beach.

And the result of getting rear-ended on our way home.  :(  But no one was hurt and it's all fixable.
We had a great time!

What a Week!

We acted a bit like tourists in our own city this weekend and took a DUKW tour of Cincinnati.  We had taken the Boston one on our trip there and thought it was different.  The hard part was convincing Joey - I think he was a little nervous about the possibility of getting wet in the DUKW boat.  But we stayed dry and got to see the city from a different angle and we saw Janet and Kim on the downtown streets of Cincinnati.   We spent the day in Newport at Gameworks and getting ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery - just a fun day with the kids.  And walked on the Purple People Bridge.  And on Tuesday, we went to the World Choir Games parade downtown and on Wednesday, to the Touch-A-Truck event here.  Daphne likes getting on all the trucks, but this year, Joey was even more open to getting in some of the trucks - a big jump from last year.

 And I still managed to get some jewelry listed on Etsy...