Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Easter Egg Hunt Play Date

We have a little play group that
gets together from time to time
for play dates.
For Easter, we made foam
egg yard decorations.
 Aren't they cute?
 They're so simple and fun to make, too!

Then we made Jelly Bean Prayer Jars!
 They turned out really cute, too,
but I failed to get a picture.
 So here is a picture of one I made
earlier with Caelie.
 
The little tag on it says:

Black is for our sin
All the wrong things that we've done!
Red is for the blood of Jesus,
He shed for everyone!
White is for a heart so clean,
Washed as white as snow.
Gold is for the streets of Heaven,
How lovely they glow!
Green is for Growing,
Hide His Word in your heart.

Put your trust in Jesus, God's son,
Give your life a brand new start!


And after making our crafts we had
a few Easter Stories and then
hunted eggs!
 I think the kids had a good time.
And they got plenty of eggs and prizes.
 And they were kind to each other!
 And even though my foam eggs
were not decorated, they made
great garden decor....
And they've lasted two weeks,
through wind and rain. And they still
look nice.













Monday, April 28, 2014

Easter Egg Craft

I was preparing for an
Easter Egg Hunt and Playdate
when I ended up getting to watch
Caelie for a few hours.
She was happy to test out
my craft project for me.
I had used plain foam Easter Eggs 
and glued them on paint sticks to
decorate my back yard to make
it look more festive for hunting eggs,
when I thought of this.
I let Caelie use permanent markers
to color some eggs and glue
them on paint sticks to decorate
her own yard.
They turned out really cute.
So, we did this again for our playdate.
And I put together a package for
Alyssa to use as a craft in Kindergarten.
You can't really beat this for an
Easter Craft for a group.
A package of 30 EGGS is $5.99
at Hobby Lobby - less 40%
if Easter is on sale or you
have a coupon and paint sticks are
free everywhere.
So, if you need a craft for a large group
next year this was pretty fun,
and inexpensive.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Farm Field Trip


 On my trip to Texas we went on a 
Farm Field Trip!
 The girls had fun discovering how things were
done on a historic farm.
 It was a fun day!
We got to do farm chores.
First you have to strip the corn off the cob.
Then you have to grind it.
 And once you grind it
 You feed it to the chickens
and go gather the eggs.
 When we were in the milk barn
learning to mild Buttermilk the cow,
Grace found something fun to do on her own!
 She climbed in the hay!
I don't think tat was supposed
to be on the agenda!
 Here is Olivia feeding the goat!
 And both girls getting ready for a 
wagon ride!
Look at the clothes hanging on the line!
 
And isn't this the coolest storm shelter
you have ever seen.
I think it's a root cellar. 
 
And it perfectly matches the house!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Brilyn and the Superworm!

 Brilyn loves reading about Superworm!

She also loves all of God's creatures
and that includes WORMS!
 
After our last few fishing adventures
I dumped our leftover worms into
a critter keeper and was planning
to start a small worm farm to
support our fishing needs.
BUT - Brilyn, thought the worms
were her pets and she loved them
so much, I talked her into setting them
free in the garden.
 
 And we'll just have to buy a
fresh tub of worms whenever we
want to go fishing.
Because - I don't know if that girl would
ever forgive me if I were to use one
of her pets as bait!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Brilyn the Super Model

Brilyn was in a fashion
show at Dilliard's Department Store
in our local mall.
 
 She was adorable!
 I may be a bit partial, but I
think she was the prettiest
girl there.
She really does make that
dress look good!
 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

American Girl Doll, Addy Study

I love Civil War history.
Not so much the war stories, 
but the personal stories of people
from both the north and south 
and how the war effected them.
So, when my daughter saw these
books, she knew I would want them.
And she picked them up,
fro me to read to Grace!
 
 I've planned activities to go along with the
books and during my last visit to 
Texas, we read books #1 and #2.
 In book #1, Meet Addy, Addy and her
mother tell of their escape from slavery.
Addy's father and brother had just been
sold and Addy had been mistreated by
an overseer, so her Mother wanted
to run for Addy's sake.
Before they made a run for it,
Addy's mother gave her a shell that
had belonged to her father's grandmother.
She brought it with her when she was a girl
and she was captured in Africa.
Addy's Mother put the shell on one of
Addy's brother, Sam's leather shoelaces,
so Addy would have a memory of her
brother as well. The necklace was to remind
Addy of the journey her Great-grandmother
had made and how she was brave and strong,
and to remind Addy that she could be
brave and strong as well.
 I picked up a bag of similar shells
at Hobby Lobby and drilled holes in
one end for a metal clasp that
we attached before stringing the shells
on leather. The girls call these
"our brave and strong necklaces".
They were fun and easy to make.

And for book #1, I also picked up
a little bull whip.
Addy was whipped in book #1
and I wanted the girls to understand 
what a whip is.
Grace learned to crack a whip right away.
She even commented that she thought
that mean overseer needed the whipping!
  
Just listen to that CRACK!

And in book #2,
Addy Learns A Lesson,
Addy is free. She gets to go to school
and she learns to read!
For Book #2 I gave the girls
a slate so they could play school.
But - I didn't get any pictures.
And we will eventually finish the
Addy books. 
So far, they are my favorites from
the American Girl series.  

Monday, April 21, 2014

Remember Charlotte?


Remember Charlotte?
Our garden spider from last summer?
 Before she went away last winter she 
spun her little egg sack.
We have been watching it, and will
continue to watch it, hoping to see lots
of little baby Charlotte's making their way
out of it and into the garden where they belong.
 But Brilyn kept seeing the egg sac and
asking about Charlotte and asking what's
in there, so we found another egg sac to open.
So Brilyn got to look at the inside of an 
egg sac up close.
She got to touch it, and see all of those
little tiny eggs. 
It was fascinating!
That's a lot of unhatched spiders!
Hopefully, we'll get pictures when
Charlotte's little ones make
their way out of their egg sac.

Friday, April 18, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUSTIN!!!!!!!


It's Dustin's Birthday,
so please comment and wish him
a wonderful day!
Dustin is my daughter, Heather's,
husband and Grace and Olivia's
Daddy. He is a hard worker
who loves him family and
he takes really good care of them.
I couldn't ask for a better
son in law. 

Happy Birthday, Dustin!
I hope you have a wonderful
day, a wonderful year and a
wonderful life!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Brilyn Goes Fishing

 Brilyn loves to go fishing.
 On this little trip, she only caught 
one fish. And it was WINDY! 
(SEE HER HAIR ABOVE)
 She watched for this little bobber
to go under until she just couldn't watch 
it any more.
So, we went exploring!
 We saw a dragon fly!
 A pair of dragon flies!
 A frog in a bog!
And a little black duck!
SHE THINKS THIS IS HER DUCK!
But really, it's a different kind.
Her duck is at the pond on occasion,
but he often flies away to explore other places.
But to her... any BLACK DUCK is HERS!
 

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Baby Giggles

Look who is making 
Weston laugh!
Or... is that Weston
making Grace and Olivia laugh?
Either way, it's pretty cute.
I love a house filled with laughter.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Look Who Is Wearing Olivia's Dress!

It's Abby!
Olivia loves to share with Abby!
I think this is one thing Abby
would be happy not to share, though.
I can't seem to convince these
girls that her coat is
clothing enough.
But, hey..... at least Olivia is
willing to share!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Home Made Play Dough

Grace and Olivia
wanted to play play dough
and we only had one little tub.
 
 So, Olivia helped me make some more.
 We mixed the ingredients and then
cooked it for maybe 5 minutes at 
the most. It was really quite simple.
 When it began to form and get really thick
we dumped it on the table and kneeded
it until it was soft and pliable
It was really good play dough.
 I made a double batch, because,
who wants to get into the middle of a
project and run out?
More is better... right?

Anyway... here is the recipe:

Home Made Play Dough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1/3 cup salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • food coloring
 Mix the ingredients in a large pan and cook on the stove top until mixture thickens. Then cool slightly and kneed until pliable. Store in a large zipper bag or air tight container at room temperature.