Field Trip and Nest Quilts

Mondays and Wednesdays are Gran and Papa days with the granddaughters. We enjoy the "making memories" time. They get to become acquainted with us and their Mom and Dad get a reprieve from paying for childcare for a couple days. Last week, I picked the grands up at 6:15AM from their home. . .sometimes, they are sleeping; but, often they are up. (Usually, DH picks them up; but, he's been away on a trip which I'll share in another post.)

The grands are almost three and almost four and a half. I told them last week that we were going on a field trip last Wednesday. The oldest one said she didn't know what a field trip was only that kindergartners go on them to pumpkin fields! (She is so wise!)

Interestingly, of all the quilts,
"Perspective" was their chosen one!

So we talked about my friend Joanne who made a series of nest quilts. The girls were intrigued with a nest being on a quilt. (Yes, that does conjure up a good picture in your mind doesn't it?) So I shared a couple of Joanne's blogs with them.  They thought that it would be okay to see her quilts.

We drove to Camas, Washington. The exhibit is on the second floor of the  library. Joanne's quilts were paired
with Wilson Cady's paintings. Their show is called: Bird's eye view, nests and landscapes. I was impressed with how well their art work melded together. Joanne even made a quilt that was inspired by one of Wilson's paintings. The show runs through the end of September and is worth the trip to see!

When we arrived, the gallery was empty. I wish that Joanne could have been there to hear their giggles as they discovered another nest, or blue eggs or flowers or sparkly bits! Wilson's artwork didn't get any comments as the grands were all over the 19 nest quilts. They didn't miss one quilt and they walked systematically from one quilt to the next. Each quilt received commentary. Maybe the bird was wearing a hat or sitting on a pumpkin.. . .giggle, giggle, giggle! In about seven minutes, they had seen the show. I asked them to stand under a quilt. . .any quilt so I could snap a photo. "Perspective," was the one that they chose.

The youngest spent equal time on all the available rides;
but she chose to ride the caterpillar one more
time before we left!

Camas is a sweet little town. I've been there to teach water instructor type courses at the outdoor community pool which is in the city park. So when the girls had seen their fill of nests, I said. "Hmmm. Would you like to check out the park??" Of course, they thought that was a terrific idea so we did check out the park.

Our oldest thought the pony was the best
ride in the park! 

It was a beautiful day and we played on almost all of the park equipment. I even went down the slide which they thought was really funny.  Let me tell you, my knees still don't bend well enough to really "slide" yet! The youngest one gave me some fist pumps and the oldest one said, "Good job, Gran!"

We can say "cheese" while we are waiting for our
chicken strips and fries!

Since it was getting close to lunch time, I said, let's go to a restaurant. The youngest cannot eat dairy so eating out is a big challenge. I had researched Dairy Queen and learned there were dairy free options in their kids' meals. It was my first time to take both girls out to lunch. I asked what they wanted and both decided fries and chicken strips with a heavy emphasis on fries! The oldest got a sundae to go. We went home where the youngest could have some coconut based ice cream while the oldest ate her sundae. It all worked great! Kudos to their parents for training them how to sit and eat their meal!

At the end of the day, I asked what was the best part of the day. The oldest said it was the ice cream and the youngest liked the boat in the park. The oldest wanted to know if we could do more field trips!

Spending the day with them, seeing nest quilts, running in the park and lunching out was sure a "gift" for me! I love their openness. They have such a clear idea of what works. It was so much fun to watch their take on each of Joanne's quilts. Perhaps, they will "catch" the quilt pox after all.

As I drove home from dropping them off, I too thought about the day in a quilt related way. How fun is it when you are going to see a show or perhaps participating in a shop hop? If you are joining some friends for the outing, it makes for even more fun. Lunch out with friends is icing on the cake!

Inspiration can come from a show, a shop hop, the lunch or just from the conversation with friends! When was the last time you were inspired and what inspired you? Please leave me a comment!