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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

 

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.  

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.

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!

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!

 

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.

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!

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.