My Grandfather's Grave:

My grandfather died in the October of 2008. When he went up to heaven, he left behind my grandma, three grown children(including my dad) and bunches of us little grand kids: we all miss him dearly. ^~^ This weekend my family and I visited his grave to honor his memory. My grandfather or "Papa", as I always called him, was always making memories. What I remember most about him was that in every situation, no matter what, good or bad, inconvenient set back or unexpected blessing he would always say that we were just "making memories". Those words always remind me that wherever I am or wherever I'm going, it's not the destination but the journey that really matters. I am reminded to enjoy life to the fullest, not only the good moments, but to also make the most of the inconvenient ones as well. After all, our lives consist of  nothing more then the memories we have made....

This is a picture of me at my Papa's grave.

My Grandfather's grave stone. 

This stone marks my family's section of the graveyard. 

This is my family (the Royalty's) section of the graveyard. Both my great grandparents and my grandparents are buried here. While we were visiting we put flowers on all of their graves.

  Here is my grandmother's grave.....

 And here is a picture of my Mimi taking a picture of her own grave! hehe! ^-^ She told me it was a two for one deal! I burst out laughing when I  first saw it. She is all ready to go and join papa in heaven but we aren't prepared to see her go.  I could tell that our visit to Papa's grave meant a lot to her, and I was glad that we took the time to come visit!

It's Monumental: Stephen F. Austin Edition

Every time I've visited my grandmother in Lake Jackson I have past by this Big Guy on the side of the road. For years I have wondered who, and what exactly this monument was. Well, I finally found out!!!! This past weekend my family and I went out to visit Mr. Stephen F. Austin. It was a great experience to see up close, what I had seen over and over again from far away. I made one important observation...... THIS GUY IS BIG!!! I was not expecting the monument to be as humongous as he was! I looked like a little pea standing next to him ^_^. It was not only fun to visit the monument but it was also interesting to learn a little bit about the man it was built to honor!

Stephen F. Austin was born in 1793. He grew up to help his father with his father's lead mining business in  Missouri and  went on to study law in New Orleans. Eventually, Stephen F. Austin  lead a group of settlers into the vast lands of  the Texas frontier and founded the very first Texan colony along the Brazos river. He is known today a the "Father of Texas."

Me and Mr. Monument ^.^

This is a marble wall with the story of Stephen F. Austin's life, and accomplishments. 

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My grandparents Jimmy & Sharlene Royalty and my great aunt & uncle contributed to the building of this monument. Their names where written on the side. The funny thing is that the day we visited was the first time my grandma had ever been there. She really enjoyed getting to finally see it! 

Conserving the Past: a two-hundred year old BIBLE

This Summer my family went to visit my grandparents in Michigan. While we where visiting we helped them move into a new house. While we where packing up their basement my brother found a bible that was published in 1838! Almost 200 years ago! My grandparents didn't have any use for it so they gave it to him. He expressed a desire to display it in his law office when he becomes a lawyer, but also he just thought that it was really cool to have something that was made two hundred years ago. After he go the bible home however, he just stuck it in the top of  his closet!

Now I don't know about you but I don't think something that old and frail should be stuck up in a closet. I decided to take the opportunity provided by my Living History project to conserve this piece of history so that it will be preserved  for the future. 

This is a picture of the side.

this picture is of the pages.

To keep the Bible safe I decided that the best option would be to get a protective case. This sounds easy but you would be surprised at how hard it was to find something big enough to fit it. I ended up finding a Cereal display box, that would fit.

 who actually collects cereal?

Finally the Bible is nice and protected, and snug in it's own little case! I hope that my brother will be able to display this piece of history with pride!!!

Camping Madeline Style:

     Hello, I'm Madeline and I went Camping!!! I honestly had been wanting to go camping for a really long time and Yesterday I finally did it! I went on an adventure! I went all the way out into my backyard and set myself up a little nest within which to reside for the night. ^.^ Yes, my parents thought I was crazy, even my dog thought I was crazy, but I told myself  "who cares" and kept on adventuring! And I have to say that it was immensely fun!!! I started out setting up my camp at around 5 o'clock and it took me about an hour before I actually was able to get my tent up. :) I used two sheets to make the roof of the tent and then I stole the seat cushions from our outdoor furniture to make the floor.  I used  a strip of burlap rope to hang my sheets up between two trees and I used four bricks to keep the sheet stretched out and in place. To keep the sheets from falling I used close-pins all across the top to keep the sheets attached to the rope. It actually stayed up really well! And the cushion floor was surprisingly comfy. After my camp was all set I ate dinner with my parents (we had Mexican food, how campy right?), Then I dragged my  dad into the campy spirit and he came outside with me. We used his telescope to do some star gazing. I saw the moon up close for the first time ever, and it was a really special experience. After that we did something really campy : we watched a movie. hehehe! My dad brought his laptop outside and we watched Star Trek II: The Rath of Khan out in the open night air. After that I parted ways with my dad, he went back into the house, and I went into my tent to do some pondering and soul searching..... Overall it was a really good experience! As my grandpa used to always say I was "Making memories". 

      Here are a few pictures from my days adventures: 

My "little" puppy dog Olivia checking out my tent. 

I used a few  bricks I found around the yard to hold my  tent in place. Surprisingly it actually stayed up!

My Feetses! 

I read one of my favorite Books Anne of the Island. 

The Twilight Sky. 

Weird Face in My tent after the sun went down.  

Creepy me In my Tent! 

Making Something From History: Crocheting

    

    
Crocheting is a classic skill that has been passed down through generations of my family. My great grandmothers both crocheted beautifully, and they passed it down to my grandmother, who then has passed it down to me. Following in my grandmothers foots steps crocheting has become one of my favorite things in the world! One of the wonders of crocheting is the simplicity of the process, and the idea that decade after decade people are still using the same techniques. All you need is a ball of yarn and one needle to make something beautiful. After first learning  to crochet about 2 years ago, I became addicted! Last Christmas all my friends and family got a handmade scarf for Christmas. Once the summer months came around I was forced to lay down my needle because scarves and blanckets were no longer needed, but with the opportunity presented by my Living History project to make something handmade I was able to pick my needle up again. In an attempt to create something more for my project then a simple scarf  I decided to make an afghan. I can still remember when I was little,  cuddling up in a warm afghan at my grandmothers house, and I have loved them ever since! Although it is a lot of work I believe the result is well worth it!

     I started my project where all projects of this kind begin:  at the fabric store. I chose to use a medium sized RedHeart yarn for my afghan. I chose that specific brand because I knew I would need a lot of yarn.  RedHeart sells large and inexpensive spools of yarn that are still soft, and good quality . The color of yarn I chose was "cafe latte" a yummy light brownish grey.  As for my needle, I used a 10mm needle to create small sized holes in my afghan.  If  the holes are to big the yarn slips between your toes, and that can be annoying. ^.^  Overall, my afghan used 1 and a half large spools of yarn and took me about 3 weeks to complete. 

Here is a picture of the finished product! 

Here is a closer look at the yarn I used.

After completing my afghan I made a little instructional video to teach others the art of crochet. I am not very skilled at tutorials but I tried my best and if you (the reader) don't already know how to crochet perhaps this video can help you learn! 

That's All Folks!