Katelyn & Kalebs Halloween piano recital

Summer Getaway

Every year we go to Idaho for a our annual Bear Lake trip to visit Kirk’s parents.  This year we tried a new route so we could cross off a couple more states we have never visited. 

Our first stop, The Four Corners.   Katelyn loved looking at all the Indian crafts. 

Next stop, Durango CO.  As we pulled into our campsite we could see the rain clouds rolling in.   We quickly set up our tent and sealed it just moments before it poured.  We had  a great time playing games, by the light of the lantern, safely under the canopy. 

As a child we went to Mesa Verde and I wanted my kids to see these amazing Indian dwellings.  I must have selective memory because I don’t remember this…

And if this ladder looks bad, think again

Thank goodness the kids had  been practicing on their new bunk beds.  I am sure the others in the group thought we were crazy to take our 3 & 4 year olds up this.  Heck, I thought we were crazy!

We made it up a 32 ft ladder, crawled through a 12 ft. long tunnel, climbed another 60 ft open rock face ladder to the exit.  Later I noticed the pamphlet describes this tour as the adventurous one.  Amen!

Purgatory was our favorite stop in Colorado. The Alpine slides were a huge hit and the view was amazing. 

Good bye Colorado, Thanks for the good times

Happy Fourth of July

The day started out great with a cool breeze and light showers.  Everyone immediately went outside to ride bikes and to just enjoy.  It seems like we haven’t played outside in months, except to swim. 

Katelyn played all day with a new friend , our new backdoor neighbor.  There is a ladder between our two yards so the girls can climb over anytime they want.

The kids made festive fruit (strawberry, blueberry, and banana) kabobs for dinner.

We ate the best caramel popcorn ever while playing go fish and watching firework on TV from Time Square (Katie Perry and Taylor Swift were a big hit).  

And to finish the night off we joined in on the neighborhood fireworks!

And where is Katelyn you might wonder, watching Taylor Swift

Trauma in our house

Last night Emma was getting herself a drink of water before bedtime when this struck.

She let out an awful scream and we hurried  to find the culprit… a scorpion!  It stung her on the top of her foot by her little toe.  I beat it with Kaleb’s church shoe and threw the shoe on the back patio for Kirk to scrape off when he got home from work.   We were all traumazied and I had to give each child a piggy back to their rooms because they were not about to get off the desk where they were taking cover.   Emma was a champ and has fully recovered.   Many prayers were said and a miracle occurred… it  only hurt and tingled for a couple of hours, and she had no other side effects.  Thank you!!!

This was our first encounter with scorpions since moving last month.  I hope it is our last. 

Playful Pals

Katelyn and her friend have been doing a summer camp for 3-4 year olds.  This is something they started doing last year and had such a great time that she decided to do it again.  Last week they did “Shop Day” 

Katelyn made these wallets

http://pinterest.com/pin/155444624609014045/

and the kids decorated them with fabric markers.  Each wallet had paper money inside, printed on green cardstock. 

Their wallets went along with THIS book.

Every time Max and Ruby spent money the kids had to put some of their bunny money in a jar.  It was a great activities that the kids loved. 

Next they cleaned pennies. 

Put 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup white vinegar in a bowl(not metal). Stir until the salt dissolves.

Drop a penny in vinegar solution and watch them change for the next few seconds.  Remove the penny and rinse under running water and dry with a paper towel.

Once their pennies were clean, the kids could use their pennies to get their face painted, buy a cookie or a balloon. 

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Today was a “Summer Fun” day.  They made firecrackers out of toliet paper rolls

We used crepe paper instead of ribbon and didn’t put a cone on top.  The kids glued red/white/blue paper squares all over the tube. They actually flew quite well when thrown. 

They played water games in the sprinklers, ate rice krispy stars,

and made slime. 

Slime Recipe:

1 TBSP Borax mixed in 1 cup of water

In a cup (or small ziplock bag) mix the following:

About 1/2 cup  of Elmer's white glue, 3 TBSP water, and food coloring.

Mix together then add 1 TBSP of the borax solution and mix some more.  It will take several minutes for it to harden up a bit and then you can take it out of the bag and play. 

(I would suggest doing this outside because it is quite slimy until the kids play with it for a couple of minutes)

This is always a hit.  Good job Katelyn & Abby all the kids loved it!

Kaleb wins awards in excellence and wins cash prize.

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Getting Down and Derby

This was Kaleb’s first Pinewood Derby and he did an amazing job.  He came in 2nd place.  The 1st place rival was our neighbor (whose car we actually built too.  Seriously,  did we really build the neighbor kids car better than our own son’s).

Kirk was one of the official “car setters”. 

Kaleb’s arch-nemisis

Grandpa got out his old pinewood derby cars for a quick race and guess who won… yep, Kaleb!  In grandpa’s defense, his car had not been graphited  

Katelyn loved watching Kaleb’s car race and would give me a high five when his car won.

The other two kiddos loved these treats I found from here. http://http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/01/pinewood-derby-treat-cars.html

(1 Twinkie + 2 oreos= derby treat)

And the precious pinewood derby car.  Kaleb says he wants to do this again next week.  Maybe he and the neighbor kid should built a track and have a face off. 

I made each boy a drivers license with a picture of their own car as their participation award. 

We had a great time and are looking forward to it next year.