Summer Crafting

Our neighbor is heading off to the University of Michigan this Fall (full-ride scholarship!), so her family celebrated her and her 18th birthday with a party/open house in July.  I wanted to do something special -- more than just a card and a gift card/money -- so I saw something like this online and decided to recreate it.

Between the frame and the dollar coins in the jar (for laundry, parking, vending machine, etc), we were able to give her the same monetary amount that we would have given her in the form of a check or gift card.  And it made an adorable display at the party too!

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Samantha and I started a llama pillow together (a gift from one of her friends for her birthday) while we were camping up north.  After we arrived back home, she was determined to finish it -- all in one day.  We worked on it feverishly and we both LOVE how it turned out.

Lots of needle-threading, stitching, tying, cutting ...

The finished product!

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One afternoon, while Jimmy was napping, I set up a table in the garage with some paints and brushes and asked the kids if they would like to paint rocks.  They love a good project, just like their momma, so they set off immediately to find the most desirable rocks.

I gave them a few ideas and a little direction, but I chose to sit back and let their creativity ebb.

The concentration (and peace and quiet!) was wonderful.

Sam's first rock was Mt. Everest with an inspriational saying that he later wrote on it.

And now, the rocks are used as door stoppers for their rooms and are also scattered throughout my rock garden.  It makes me smile whenever I am out there weeding or watering and I catch of glimpse of them and their beautiful colors.

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I decided that it would be easier for Jimmy to VISUALIZE how many days he has left until he starts preschool (a question that he asks me daily) if we made a countdown.  So one morning, we set to work cutting/gluing/stapling.

Making the chain:

He wanted to add his own embellishments:

And then we hung it up by the fireplace so that he can rip a single chain link off every night before bed.  And once the last link is ripped off, it will be time to go to school the next morning!

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Early Week Randoms

Jack received some water balloons for his birthday (such a great idea for kids with late Spring/Summer birthdays!) and we have had a lot of water balloon fights.  The kids are able to fill the balloons themselves -- especially the ones that automatically tie -- and are such good sports about playing together.

Jimmy usually pics just a couple that he really likes (probably based on color) and then prefers to keep them away from the others so that they don't pop.

Summertime fun at it's best.

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More summertime fun = playing in the sprinkler.  Some days, due to time, I am not as apt to suggest going down to the beach.  Those days are better spent with the sprinkler hooked up in the front yard, doing double-duty watering the lawn at the same time.

Two peas in a pod.

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Packing for our first camping trip of the season.

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Samantha did Dance Camp again this summer and had a blast.  It is a full week (9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday) and concludes with a performance for family on the last day.  We were able to see all of the routines that they learned -- and there were so many of them -- and then snap a group picture at the end.

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We celebrated my dad's 71st birthday at my house with a big lunch, swimming/boating at the lake and then dessert afterwards.  He always requests my raspberry cheesecake, but I also made a strawberry poke cake to go with it for the kids that have not yet (sadly) acquired a taste for cheesecake.  It was definitely a fun day!

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This boy discovered that the battery-operated four-wheeler that used to be his big brother's is now passed on to him.  Not a single day goes by that he doesn't back it out of the garage and ride it all over the yard.

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One of my friends (who used to be a neighbor and moved away last year) invited us to her little one's first birthday.  It was a watermelon theme -- I love a good theme! -- and asked me a long time ago if I would be willing to make the cake.  Of course!  I think that it turned out pretty cute ...

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We have been waiting so long for some good Michigan sweet corn because the very rainy Spring made planting quite difficult here.  I broke down and bought some earlier in the summer and I had three anxious kids who were more than willing to help shuck it for me on the back patio.

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This just made Jimmy's day ... I let each of the kids pick out one item from the clearance section at Walmart and this is what he chose; a bubble cycle.

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Jack has really started to enjoy the hobby of fishing this summer.  Steve bought him his own fishing pole and Jack will often go across to one of the docks on the lake and fish either with Steve or even by himself. 

He had been asking for a tackle box of his own and Steve surprised him one day after work by bringing one home.  And even better -- he has lots of special lures and worms for Jack to add to it.  Jack loves a nice organizational task and he set right to work putting everything in its rightful spot.

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Jimmy turned 3 1/2 on August 4th.  This was a day that he has been waiting for ... forever.  This meant that he would be old enough to go to preschool in the Fall.

I didn't want the day to just pass by with little acknowledgement, so I made him a firetruck cake and he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw it.

And we let his big brother, with close supervision, light the candles for him.  All 3.5 of them.

(And then he woke up immediately after his nap and put his bookbag on to head to school.  I should have predicted this, especially since we said that he would be able to go to school after he turned 3.5.  Instead, he actually doesn't start school until after Labor Day ... a long time from now!  Ugh!).

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Happy 4th of July!

We started the holiday week off with a fun 4th of July craft that I hope to pull out year after year.  These are some of my most treasured things and I am finding that the kids love seeing them out too and recalling how we made them together. 

We began with a blank canvas and some bendable straws taped together to mimic a sparkler.

Each kid took a turn dapping their "sparkler" in red paint and placing it on the canvas.

Then, we overlayed some blue.

Portion-control was critical for this little crafter.

The finished project, hanging on our wall -- complete with the year their names next to their personal sparklers.

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One night, I surprised the kids (Aunt Minnie was over with Louie and Zoe too) with sugar cookies that they could decorate.

I loved watching their creativity.

Yes, this was deinitely a favorite activity ... espeically when I told them that they coould each have a decorated cookie (or two?  or three?) afterwards!

Jimmy still continues to have curls, even after two haircuts.  I hope that they stay their forever.

Some of the finished products (and evidence of a blue-frosted cookie consumed by Sophia).

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The girls were playing down the street with their friends, so I asked Jack if he would like to work on a special project with me (Jimmy was napping).  Of course, he was interested so we set to work gathering our supplies.


Pouring the dry plaster into a bucket:

Adding the water slowly before mixing:

Leveling the wet plaster:

Adding glass stones to make a pattern:

The finished project -- a stepping stone for our flower garden:

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Bikes decorated and all ready for the neighborhood parade down to the park on 4th of July morning:

These girls of mine are growing up so fast.  Sam will be entering middle school in the Fall this year (how did that happen???) and Sophia will be the oldest sibling in the elementary school. 

We even decorated the golf cart for the holiday!  You can never have too much red, white and blue!

Facepainting!

Decorated donuts!

Boats and silly moustaches!

Games galore!  (And just look at Jimmy trying to run as fast as his little legs would carry him!)

Nice form, Jack!

Jimmy found the firetruck and wanted to make sure that I got a picture of him sitting in it!

Later in the evening, we ate dinner at home (Grandpa came over to spend the day with us) and roasted s'more over the fire.  And of course, we all enjoyed the fireworks over the lake.  I say this every year, but I really do think that this year was the best ever!