Look what I found down my mother's top.

While we were taking pictures, a bug landed on my mom.   She swatted at it and we lost it.  Trying to find it, I checked inside her top and there it was.  I got it out and noticed how beautiful this beetle was.  I put it on a rock so that my dad and husband could take photos of it.  I teased that I was going to take it home and make it into some of my resin jewelry I make.  But alas, I can't even find it in me to hurt even a bug, so I left it on the rock.  I keep thinking I really wish I had kept that bug.  I told my dad and brother to try and find me some.  They could not.  I googled beautiful beetles on saw many beautiful beetles, but none like this one.

What do you think?  Do you know what kind it is?  When you look at the picture blown up, it's colors have a metalic fleck about them.

I had posted on Facebook that this is a year of God showing me beautiful things.  I have been seeing ones I have never seen before.  First it was the painted turtle I found.  Did not know they existed.  Then it was the wonderful experience of watching the Decorah Eagles hatch, grow and fly.  Then it was the Blue-tailed lizard (skink) in our backyard.  I have lived her for almost 20 years and this is the first I have seen or heard of them.  Now it is this beetle.  What have you got next, Lord?

A couple of quilts

Just wanted to share a couple of quilt pictures.

The monkey quilt is one I made for my grandson Koa.  The other quilt is a Quilt of Valor that my friend Sharon made.  I did the quilting on it.

4th of July

What a fun day we had.  We drove up to my brother's house, were my parents, grandmother and her sister were.  We played games, had a BBQ and took lots of pictures.  For desert, I baked a strawberry rhubarb pie.  I decided that I wanted to make it more patriotic, so I used food coloring and a paint brush to paint the flag and some stars on the crust.  I also made these eagle cookies.  Here are some pictures of them and one of our 5 generations.

Duane and the kids went home, but I stayed.  Mom and I joined Nana and aunt Val at there hotel suite and had a great time.  Was enjoying myself so much, that I decided to stay another night.

What a wild but fun weekend.  Started out with Relay for Life on Friday night.  Sat hit a couple of garage sales and then took my parents to Elk River Falls for a day of hiking and picture taking.  Then into Elk River for the best nachos around.  While in Elk River, we saw a wedding start.  It was an outdoor wedding on the air field.  There was an arch with antlers that they would be married under.  The procession started from the lodge, with the groomsmen and bridesmaid paired up and ridding in on four wheelers, also the flower girls and ring bearers.  Then came the bride with her dad in 2 seat off road vehicle.

Got home tuckered out, but woke up early Sunday to lightning and thunder.  Some were quite close.  When I looked out our front windows at 6am, it was to find our street flooded and everything in mud.  Had to get Duane up to get our cars moved and he and our neighbor Brian began dig and wash away the mug.  One of the fire trucks came up and hooked a larger hose to the fire hydrant to wash it down.  As the rain poured.  What a mess.  My parents had also stayed the night and I had to wake them up so that we could move their van.  Clay street was even worse, and they will be working on it for quite some time.  There was quite a bit of damage done to streets and hills and driveways.  A few houses also.

Then it was off to church, and around town for the art walk.  Then home for a nap and not much more.