Craft Wednesday ~Flags, Posters and Lady Liberty~

It's Wednesday!

Time to be crafty!

Whew...I just have to say...this was the most nutty crazy craft day yet.

Probably has something to do with this huge crick in my neck (blogging injury??:) ) 
and the fact that Dave has been out of town.

The girls did an amazing job being helpful and rolling with it all...but I need a trip to the spa after this one!!:)

We started out wanting to do this project from Family Fun

but it didn't quite go as planned.

Not sure if it was our paint being too thick or thin, but when we blew it with the straws

it looked more like giant blobs then beautiful fireworks.

So...on to plan B...

Flag Paintings

this was fun and gave us a quick lesson on Flag history

but it left us all feeling kind of "Blah" about this weeks project

So...on to plan C...

and back to our favorite site 

Deep Space Sparkle

Janey chose the Lady Liberty project

I was a bit worried about this 5th grade lesson

but the girls loved it and and did a fantastic job

we started with a directed lesson with lots of great tips from

Patty at Deep Space Sparkle

We drew with pencil first and then traced with black marker

{Blame it on my neck, but I forgot to use permanent markers and the colors bled a bit}

We then added the details with watercolor.

Here are the finished projects

Riley's

Janey's

This is as far as I got with mine
because I was chasing this little "I want to paint too" 
sweetie around

but isn't she cute???

{even out of focus!}

Oh yeah and then we threw in some Welcome Home Daddy Posters

Whew...can you see why I need a trip to the spa????


Hope you have a Creative Wednesday!
See you next week!

These Two

Some days these two just can't get enough of each other.

it makes my heart sing to see that kind of love

Bake and Share Monday ~Mini Smores~

Well....it's' Monday

time to bake and share!

This week we got our inspiration from my new bloggy friend, Sloan.
She made these little American Girl inspired mini-smores that I just knew my girls would love.
And then, as luck would have it,
Saturday the mailman brought us our new A.G. magazine (thanks Mimi and Poppy!).

These little yummies were so quick and easy to whip up.
And with a trip to the pool today filling our house with lots of
"is it time to go yet????"
this was the perfect bake and share for us today
Give them a try
I KNOW you will love them too.

Happy Monday!
Bake anything yummy lately???

Weekend Glimpses

Hope you had a wonderful weekend...

...and that your week ahead looks great too.

Enjoy the evening

Forts

What do you do when it's 90+ degrees out?

you build a fort outside to keep cool in

and enjoy a yummy snack together

What do you do when it's too hot to camp outside?

you build a fort in Janey's room

and you sleep there together...for two nights!:)

Lovin' these two little girls of mine!!!

Catching Fireflies

The girls had so much fun catching these little guys.
I think being outside so late and the anticipation of seeing who spots the first one was almost as fun as catching them.

Janey wanted so badly to jump right in and get one on her own...but her wiggly nerves got the best of her I think.
But that's ok, Daddy and Poppy were there to lend a hand.
What a wonderful summer night.
Check that off of our summer list.
But something tells me we'll be doing this one again.

Craft Wednesday ~Eric Carle Butterflies~

It's Wednesday

Time to be crafty!

{brief pause for a morning shot of my happy little angels}

This week Riley choose another great project from 

Deep Space Sparkle.

Eric Carle Inspired Butterflies

We just love Eric Carle, don't you??

We started by thinning out the paint with a bit of water.

I think next time I would skip this step to keep the colors more vibrant.

We painted our "Eric Carle" paper with one color per sheet.

We were looking for streaks and swirls to help with the collage feel.

Then we began cutting out our butterflies.

On Deep Space Sparkle she used templates for the butterfly shapes.

The girls wanted to do their own without tracing,

but looking back, I think this would have left more time/energy

for creative decorating of each butterfly and more time/energy to do several more. :)

Here are the finished masterpieces!

This project was loads of fun and we have lots of paper left over for future creativity.

During the project I told them that when I used to teach 

we would make Eric Carle flowers for Mother's Day.

They decided to make a few of those too.

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On a side note, I found a great deal on washable tempera paint.

Hobby Lobby had these on sale for $1.59 with 30% off.

I don't think they are quite as vibrant as Crayola,

but the price was great and

the washability seems good too.

And, I am probably the last person on Earth not to know about watercolor paper,

but we bought some of that  today too

and it makes a HUGE difference.

The colors look amazing and the paper holds up so much better.

Hope you have a creative Wednesday.

Can't wait till next week.

Bake and Share Monday ~Grammie's Bread~

we are reaching back into the archives 

for this week's recipe

Dave and the girls made his great grandma's homemade bread

and boy is it yummy

we have shared this bread with friends before

everyone seems to love it

and it's pretty easy to make

Happy Monday!

Bake anything yummy lately?

Thanks for Visiting

of course, as usual, we were too busy having fun

to take any pictures!

...thanks for the memories...

wagon rides

Toy Story 3

geography lessons

sleepovers

Dairy Queen

carousel rides

we love you and can't wait to see you again SOON

*******************************************************************

And Happy Father's Day to My Wonderful Dad

You are always there to...

pass on wisdom

give explicit directions

fix EVERYTHING

answer any trivia question imaginable

mispronounce or misspell something (on purpose) for a good laugh

make me smile

and give great hugs

so glad you were here to celebrate with us

I Love You

Happy Fathers Day

To...

the greatest...

Daddy ...

in the world!

We love you so very much and 

hope you had a wonderful day!

Awwww......

...shucks...

Happy Friday 

and

Enjoy Your Weekend!

Dance Dance Dance

Boy did we dance a ton this weekend!

The girls took jazz this year and  really loved it.

We wrapped it all up with a weekend full of recitals and fun.

Saturday was a long night 

and by 9:45 the sleepies hit pretty hard,

but  flowers from Daddy seemed to make it all better.

tired...but happy and proud

driving home all snuggled up in their jammies

*********************************************************************************

We are so happy that Ma came to visit for Aubrey's birthday and the girls recital.

They had so much fun...

telling stories in the hideout

having a sleepover

doing puzzles and playing games

drawing

and just being together.

come back and visit soon Ma!

Craft Wednesday ~Where the Wild Things Are~

It's Wednesday!

Time to be crafty!

This week it was Janey's turn and she choose

Watercolor Monsters from Deep Space Sparkle

What a fun project this was!

We have the book at home which was perfect and very inspiring.

This was a project very similar to the first flowers we did
but for some reason it went more smoothly.

We started with sketching our monsters with black crayon

{We have guest artists this week...my parents are visiting from GA!}

We added a few details with crayon for the "resist" effect.

Then finished up with the watercolors.

{Did you know there was such a thing as watercolor paper?

We must get some before next week!}

Here are the finished projects

Poppy couldn't resist all the fun so he decided to join in.

you have a sneaky look on your face Poppy....

what on Earth are you making????

WARNING

Make sure all small children look away!

 POPPY!!

Not quite the watercolor monsters we had in mind!

But it was good for a few ghastly giggles!!

Enjoy the day!

Happy First Birthday Aubrey

Our sweet little Aubrey is one today!

I cannot believe how fast time has flown.

It seems like only yesterday... 

when we met you for the very first time

and  fell instantly in love with you.

We have all loved watching your grow this year.

You fill our hearts and days with so much joy.

We love you so very much Aubrey Kate!

Everything about your first birthday was special

from your fascination with the balloons

to watching you open your gifts.

Of course your sisters were right there to lend a hand

if you needed it.

You were not so sure about your cake.

You played in it a bit and tasted it a little.

I must admit, as I sang to you tonight and tucked you in I cried a few tears.

Looking back on the baby you were...

that sweet baby smell

that swaddled bundle of love

you are growing up so fast and

some memories of you that small 

are already starting to fade

and that makes me so sad!

So instead I must dry my tears and look forward to the sweet toddler you are becoming

enjoy every minute with you

and fill it with love and smiles

I love you so very much!