Adventures in Inclement Weather and the Grandest adventure of all

Well, it's been raining here on the Monterey Peninsula for about a week now. Given that a large part of our agenda takes place at the park, rainy days tend to poss a challenge in adventures to do indoors (especially since we only have 1 car, so rain usually equates to stranded at home). Sketch has never been cooped up indoors for so long, so he was getting a bit irritated. Luckily Soph and Bee are "outside the box" girls (much like their mama) and we were able to think of some activities to keep the little guy occupied.

It was pretty miserable out. I didn't mind since it knocked the pollen out of the air. As you can see, Sketch was pretty bummed out.

We had a birthday party to attend later in the day, so the girls and I thought decorating wrapping paper would be a fun idea. Sketch had a great time, as did the girls. It kept them out of my hair for a bit, so I was quite pleased as well.

Bee loves to play games, and really wanted someone to play with, so Sketch joined in on the fun. Usually she plays against Soph, and rarely wins - she totally rocked the connect 4 when her opponent was a little owl. Sketch learned a valuable lesson - "You can't win all the time, but it's fun to play". Thank you Bee for sharing these words with Sketch.

Soph wasn't feeling the games. She's totally wrapped up in this "I want to be the maid" thing. I wish she realized that maids pick up as well as clean - but I'll take what I can get. She had such a good time spot cleaning the carpets the 1st time that she wanted to tackle the worst carpet of all... the living room rug. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I went with cream as the color for the most walked on part of our house - but I will look at it as character building. Soph likes to share her joys with others - so she taught Sketch the correct way to spot clean carpet - he was not as passionate.

It only took him about 3 minutes to wander off to see if the rain had stopped. No dice there - but the wind did do quite a number on my porch. Sketch and I were very displeased.

With Soph busy cleaning and Bee on a new quest for fun, we busted out Where's Waldo. As a kid I absolutely loved Where's Waldo - as an adult I still enjoy finding Waldo and his little followers.

Bee was once again faster than Sketch - this bummed him out a little bit, so while Bee continued searching for Waldo on his adventures, Sketch helped me out with folding. He's getting pretty good at the folding thing, he wasn't took keen on giving me a hand but when given the choice between sorting socks or folding, folding wins every time. (Stupid socks need to sort themselves)

Luckily we didn't do much folding before it was time to go to Soph and Bee's friend's birthday. It was Star Wars themed and Sketch came face to face with a Darth Vader pinata. Sketch didn't know that the freaky head on the table was just a pinata and was very intimidated by Darth.

He did thoroughly enjoy the amazing cupcakes.

As well as the awesome goodie bag treats. (I'm not sure who enjoyed them the most, Kristine, Sketch or the kids... I'm placing my bet somewhere between Kristine and Sketch)

We made it an early night because we had the most grand adventure the next day. That's right... after much waiting and many happy dances - it was finally time for Stitches West 2011!!!! Despite the weather we were all up bright and early to head to Santa Clara. Sketch wasn't quite sure why Kristine and I were so damn excited... until we entered. Holy Cow - talk about the happiest place on Earth! Fiber and Yarn and notions as far as the eyes could see. I imagine that this is what Heaven would be like. 

We met the founders of Ravelry - which could probably be defined as the absolute best website in the history of ever. If you knit, or crochet and have not looked at Ravelry you are seriously missing out on life. Kristine and Sketch were even lucky enough to snap a picture.

I bought my very first spindle ever at Carolina Homespun . One of the amazing ladies from Knitting Guild was there and totally posed for a picture with Sketch. (This was super exciting for Sketch since she has mad skills - I hope someday to also have mad skills)

After our long day of awesomeness - we drove home in the pouring rain. Sketch and I thought we were going to die and were so excited to arrive safely that the only logical thing to do was to admire the newest additions to my stash. This picture makes me happy just thinking about it.

Yup - that's right. Stitches West is on the list of best days of my life. It's right up there with giving birth to Soph and Bee and getting married to the Hubs. 

Curious about the amazing stuff in the picture? Well! I'm glad you asked! Starting with Sketch and going mostly counter clockwise - here is a list of where all the amazing stuff can be found. 

• Tierra Blend - 70% Lambswool/30% Alpaca from Brooks Farm Yarns
• Meilenweit Trend - 80% New Wool/20% Polyamid from Carolina Homespun
• Mountain Mohair - 70% wool/30% Yearling Mohair; Colorway - Balsam from Green Mountain Spinnery
• 2 oz 70%Alpaca/30%Silk Top; Colorway - Mendocino Man from Royale Hare
• BFL Sport - 100% BFL; Colorway - The Green That Sings (Yes...  yes it does. LOVE IT) from Blue Moon Fiber Arts
• Mohair/Silk blend ; colorway ; Riata) from
• Kundert Spindle from Carolina Homespun
• Rhythm 100% wool from Yarn Barn of Kansas
• 1# BFL Fiber - from Miss Babs
• 100% Cashmere; colorway - Pure Honey from Sunshine Yarns (which may be among my new favorites - they have the most amazing colors. Check them out... now)
• Mini Mochi - 80% Wool/20% Nylon from Yarn Barn of Kansas
• All buttons are from UnButton; Antique & Unique Buttons! and were handmade by Rita Carol
• Some awesome SOAK in Flora (best smelling wool wash EVER)
• and lastly! An oh SO entertaining comic book entitled The Knit Princess. So funny for us knitters - the rest of ya... well. I'm sorry but you just wouldn't understand. 

Sketch and I are now off to figure out what exactly is going to be made out of my wonderful Cashmere and what pattern should be used for my first sweater. Hopefully Sketch can steer me in the right direction.