Ikea Conshohoken, PA

During our trip to Dorney Park in PA I was able to convince my family to go to the Ikea in Conshoken, PA for a few hours. The hubby & kids don't want to admit but they had fun looking.

Here we all sit and pose in Ikea .. some nice man offered to take our picture together (we don't have too many of these)


My son has picked out this room for his room-to-be some day:


My daughter would love have this bed.


We are in the process of re-decorating her room and we are going to set up something like this for her to do her hair, nails and (someday) makeup:


Now I much much would like to have this for my kitchen. This counter top extender would do wonders in my small kitchen:



We all would like this nice simple cozy room to relax in:



And this room to play in ..


Now for the fun part . FABRIC ... I came home with way too much (wait, you can't have too much fabric). Here are a few samples of what I picked up during my visit:

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

We've been so busy this summer that it's been hard to keep up with the blogging and sewing. So all I have to blog for now are some fun things we did together over the summer.

A few weeks ago we did our annual trip to Allentown, PA to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. We've been going here every year since my kids were in diapers. I miss going to the kiddie waterpark and rides but now we can go on waterslides together and some of the amusement park rides (I'm not so big on rides. Any kind of motion makes me feel ill. I'm always the person that volunteers to hold everyone's stuff while the go on the rides. :) ).

This year we did several runs on Thunder Canyon. I can do this ride about 2 or 3 times and then it's time for a rest. But I think it's the only ride I can do multiple times. Everyone loves it!


We also enjoyed our traditional Gas Car Ride, Merry Go Round and Train rides (had to convince them that it was ok to still go on these rides even if the aren't 'cool')


Merry Go Round ...

Train...The only way to keep cool when it's mid 90's and humid is stay by the wave pool and share biggest shaved ice ever ... can you guess what flavor:


The kids made sure we stopped at the candy store to fill up on sour sugar:



When we take this trip each summer we try to visit some other places the next day, spend the night and then go back to Dorney for a second run to go on favorite rides and then head home. This year our "in between stop" was the Philadelphia Zoo and Ikea .. more on those places soon!

Taking A Break

Time For A Break ...

I haven't seen my sewing machine or blogged in weeks but that comes with the territory of being a stay-at-home mom. In June the kids activities, homework, etc. got insane so no free time at all and then next thing you know they are on summer vacation! So officially now I'm on a break from sewing for a while. I admit I was some-what 'cranky' after not being able to go down into my 'studio' during the day to create but my family definitely comes first and I stay home so that I have the greatest pleasure of hanging out with my kids all summer long.

My 9 year old daughter has been stuck to me like glue so I've been trying to get her to call friends and/or find something to do... last week she said to me "Mom, I just like being with you" ... who could not love that statement? So I decided to stop being cranky and take total advantage of my little shadow and we've really been enjoying our time together. She has the creative need as much as me, if not more. She has decided she wants to redecorate her room. She's been online, reading magazines & watching HGTV, etc. So for her birthday we will be redecorating (basically painting the walls, new bedding, and most of all CLEANING). She's doing an awesome job cleaning up her room and donating her toys and clothes that she does not need anymore.


Now my 12 year old son, he just likes being home, hanging out and keeps himself busy. And he still likes to hang out with me (even in public). He has been enjoying swimming, golfing, hanging out with friends, going to baseball games, and demolition derbies & drag races with Dad.


Our first trip this summer was to visit family in Pennsylvania for an annual pig roast. It was great to see everyone, aunts, uncles, cousins, brother-in-law & sister-in-law. Baby K was still in the hospital at the time so we didn't get to see her. But she is home now with her mommy & daddy.

Baby K ...
Our next stop was to Lake Erie & Splash Lagoon Waterpark in Erie, PA...

Splash Lagoon ....


Drag Race ...
Summer Fun ...


Whenever we go some place new I like to look for fabric stores and garden centers. While in Erie, PA I had the chance to visit Mill Creek Sewing & Fabric ... what a great store and the nicest people working there. I used my cell phone camera, which is not great, but here is a look at the store...

In this picture there are the cutest aprons. Of course I purchased the pattern and lots of fabric to make them.
Enjoy your summer!