Neelly's Quilt

I finally got Neelly's quilt completely done.  It has been at Riley getting machine quilted the past three weeks, so when I could go get it yesterday I did, then came home and put the binding on.  I think it is a quilt that can grow with her as it turned out fairly large and doesn't look babyish.   Now we just need Neelly to get back from vacation!

A Few Things

Abby, Braden, and I went to the Pratt County fair last week.  My parents received an award for being great supporters of 4-H and the fair.  It was a surprise to them, and we were glad to be able to be there.  It was a hot day on the hill!

Summer is quickly closing in.  Kyle and I have a trip to Boston and a swing through the rest of the New England states next week.  If anyone has a "must see" in Boston, please comment.  We are planning to do the Freedom Trail for sure.  It looks like you can get on a commuter trail and go to Plymouth.  We won't rent a car until we leave Boston as we have been told their stretts aren't the straight nice right angles we have out here. 

I dropped some things off at school and my room had been painted!  That was a surprise and I know it hasn't been painted for twelve years.  It is the same old ecru but I don't have great big expanses of wall so the neutral is fine with me.  Or I am just boring like that.

I went over to Riley and picked up Neelly's quilt so I am going to get the binding done in the next couple of days.  I'll post a picture when I have it finished.  Thank goodness it is a large baby quilt since she is four months already.

Braden spent Wed. evening through Saturday noon with us.  He is busy, busy and changing so quickly.  Can't believe we are less than a month from a first birthday.

Neelly's Baptism

Neelly was baptized Sunday, July 17, at the Clay Center United Methodist Church.  It is the same church both her parents were baptized in as babies, so that is a special connection for both sides of the family.

Four generations picture with Neelly's great-grandmother, Janis Neelly Moore.

With both my parents.

Our family, including the boyfriend.  We told Derek we could photo shop him out later if we needed to.  I think he and Abby saw the humor??

Neelly with her cake.  As always, when I order cake I have about twice of what we need, but it was pretty and delicious.

Neelly on the quilt that she received from the church at her baptism.  A group of dedicated women in the church make quilts for people who need special prayers and they have started making quilts for babies who are baptized too.  Neelly's has a pretty heart design.

Braden learned to drink out of a straw.  He caught on really fast and was a big fan of the punch.

Love having a full lap with these two wiggle-worms.  What fun it is!

Chicago - Day 3

We started the day with a river side brunch at Chicago Cut with Darci's friend from grade and high school, Kaye Lynne and her husband.   It was delicious and once again beautiful outside.

 Then we went to a park to look at the merchandise at an art fair.  I don't think we bought anything, but saw some neat art.

 The Chicago Art Institute was close and although we had been in past visits, we decided to visit again.  It is interesting to see some famous art in person.

 Then we visited a Polish Catholic church of which I have no pictures, got some yogurt in a shop like Orange Leaf, and relaxed before heading back to the Damon Street train stop.  This is a look down the tracks before we got on.  The track are elevated which is a little hard to see in the picture.  It is about 8 blocks from Darci's and an easy way to get back to O'Hare.  I would recommend using it if you need to get downtown from the airport. 

The plane ride back to Manhattan was uneventful and really neat as we went past Jefferies Energy, the Wamego area, and finally Manhattan.  It was easy to distinguish landmarks from the air since we were coming in to land.  I especially enjoyed seeing KSU from the air.  But the BEST part was landing at 9:05, leaving the airport at 9:20, and getting home at 10:05.  Plus there is no parking fee and the lot is an easy walk from the terminal.  I know sometimes it won't work out and I will have to go to Kansas City, but I will definitely pay a little bit more for the convenience and when you figure the cost of gas and parking, it might not be too different.

Chicago - Day 2

Day 2 in Chicago started with a leisurely morning at Darci's.  Kim, Kent, and I then went on the architectural boat tour along the Chicago River while Darci went to pick up an old high school friend. 

 The boat ride was warm when we weren't crossing under the many bridges.

 We did learn about many buildings in Chicago including the Chicago Tribune building shown here.  The river used to be so dirty and poluted that people didn't want to face the river, but that is no longer the case.  It is also amazing to see how many tall buildings go up in a city.  How they get the supplies in, run concrete, etc. is a marvel to me.

 The name says it all.  (For those who don't know, Skyline is the name of my high school.)

 We then walked to a cousin's house on Michigan Lake.  Looking out her windows, she is just to the north of Navy Pier.  What a view!

 At the birthday bash on Darci's deck which is on the roof.  It is unusual to have so much outdoor space in the city.  She also has a small patio area off the kitchen.

The birthday girl - Happy 50th!

Chicago - Day 1

My sister Kim, brother Kent, and I traveled to Chicago to help our sister celebrate her 50th birthday.  I think it is the first time we have ever gone anywhere together where our parents weren't there.  We left Manhattan at 7:30am, got into O'Hare at 9:00am and took the train in to the stop closest to Darci's house.  She lives in an interesting area called Bucktown which is just NW of downtown.  The area has been renovated through the years she has lived there with new additions or remodels of old row houses each time I am there.  She can see a lot of the downtown buildings from her patio on her rooftop such as the old Sears Tower, now the Willis Tower.  I forgot my camera but am pretty pleased with the pictures off my new Droid Pro phone.

 This might seem like a strange place to start for my three day trip to Chicago, but Whole Foods was certainly an interesting grocery store.  I had heard about it but had never experienced it.  While the prices were high, the variety of unusual foods made it a fun place to visit.  This was the well stocked olive bar.

 Kent, Kim, and Darci at the sidewalk restaurant for lunch.  It was low humidity with highs in the low 80s.  It felt really good.

 Shopping on Michigan Avenue.

 This is called Cloud Gate officially, but it is known to Chicagoans as The Bean.  It is fun to find your reflection in the rounded surface.  This and the face fountains which I didn't get a picture of are in Millennium Park.  It is an area that used to be train tracks in downtown Chicago and they have made a beautiful park.

 This concert pavillion is also in Millennium Park.  The food we bought at Whole Foods made for our picnic while we listened to a concert.  Darci is prepared with a fold-up table and chairs.  It was a beautiful night, in fact, we got a little chilly.