Summer science fun

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My ninja boy turns 7!

I can't believe it, but this guy turned 7 last week! 

Pizza is a ninja food (cupcakes too)

I love how kids crowd around the birthday kid so close they can barely open the presents.  Wyatt was thrilled with his presents!  He was pretty spoiled.  I better not hear a single, "I'm bored" for WEEKS!!

Make your very own NINJA PINATA!

 

In case you are ever throwing a NINJA theme party and would like to have a bad guy for the kids to attack (instead of each other!!) here is how you make your very own paper bag ninja pinata.  I got the idea from this website then modified it to fit our ninja theme. First I used a glue stick to attach the black crepe paper.  I think sheets of tissue paper would be faster and easier.  Then I filled the paper grocery bag with candy, mini horses, army guys, ninja silly bands (Fred Meyer) and ninja guys (pack of 5 from Honk's Dollar store).  Fold the top of the bag over a wire hanger and tape it closed with packing tape.  The head is a balloon (the black balloon popped so the purple was the back-up head) with a taped on paper mask.  Stuff 4 garbage bags with newspaper and tie the arms onto the hanger and tape the legs to the bottom of the grocery bag body.  Pretty simple.  My husband untwisted the top of the wire hanger and hung it from swing set chains and hung it from our basketball hoop.  By the way, I did not double the grocery bag.  We had about eight 6 to 8 year old kids punching, kicking and throwing ninja stars at it and it held up pretty well.  The ninja swords finally did it in. It would be okay to double the bag to make it last longer.  It did kind of hurt to punch that thing.  We offered punching gloves, but the little ninjas were tough. 

Doesn't everyone's child dress this way to go to school?

Carson looked sharp in his suit this morning--like he was headed to the office.  As it turns out he was headed for the red carpet!  Every year Carson's teacher celebrates the Oscar Awards in her classroom.  The kids read an adventure novel--3rd graders create a movie poster using PictureIt, 4th graders create a movie trailer using MovieMaker and then the kids vote to see who receives awards for best picture, best director, etc.  Carson is already excited for next year when he will be eligible for an Oscar nomination.  This year, as a 3rd grader, he was to play the part of an usher/bodyguard. :)  Some students arrived in limos (composed of cardboard, but still)!

Hand tree project

I have wanted to do this project for over a year! It turned out really colorful and will be a keepsake.
*Trace your kid's hand on the back of some fabric--this is the trunk
*Cut out a tree shape on coordinating fabric (some projects have you cut out lots and lots of little leaves, but one big tree shape is a lot faster and, I think, cuter)
*Use Mod Podge (I like matte better than glossy) to attach each piece to a canvas or wood plaque
*Let it dry and then brush an EVEN coat of Mod Podge over the entire top (I didn't do a good job of this and it's blotchy in spots...).  Maybe you could skip this step, but it helped lay down some of the edges that wanted to curl up.
 *I hot-glued buttons--I had a hard time making them appear random so I ended up making little groups of buttons
*Hot glue ribbon or rick-rack or other trim around the edge
*Don't forget to put your child's name and age/date somewhere on it



I learned something about my boys' hands.  Trevor has the fattest wrist. Carson's hand is as big as mine, but his fingers are still a bit shorter. Wyatt's fingers are as long as Carson's.

Future athlete?

Either someone "fixed" my camera settings or Trevor just moves too much. I gave him this baseball mitt in hopes that he would sit still long enough for a good photo--HA! I love his happiness with anything to do with a ball!

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Caught in the act!

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Trick or Treat

Most years we do a crazy Trick or Treat/family birthday party combination, but we decided to go low-key this year. We had a great time over at Bob and Katie's eating soup, frozen hand punch (courtesy of Greg) then collecting 100+ pieces of candy. It really puts a damper on parental pillaging of the candy buckets when your kids count each piece of their candy!! Just in case you can't tell we had a robot, a bat, and a puppy dog (uff, uff). Ryan and Emmalee were a disgusting zombie and an adorable cat.

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Trick or Treat 2

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Carving Punkins

Wyatt was not into the guts!

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Numero UNO!

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Mom of boys...

Right now we have a little man in motion who will put ANYTHING in his mouth and two big boys who are suddenly ardent rock collectors and displaying their treasures in little piles EVERYWHERE.  I'm thankful that is my biggest dilemma right now!  And to help combat all those little treasures and food crumbs lying in wait...

My new best friend and gift from my hubby.  It is a Hoover cordless stick vacuum from Costco.  It works great on our rugs and hard floor.  The little pile in front is made up of treasures I found in pants pockets which I have finally learned to check BEFORE throwing into the wash.  Boys--you gotta love them!

Greg isn't too fond of this last photo, but it does prove that we had a gorgeous sunny, warm day yesterday!

Good morning!

Most mornings, I am bustling around downstairs when Trevor wakes up.  Big brother to the rescue.  Wyatt hops in the crib; plies Trevor with toys; tickles, pats and entertains until Mom shows up-this time with the camera.

C&R Wedding snapshots

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The video clip at the end explains our funniest moment--I don't know why I have to talk so much when I run the video! Also need to remember not to hold the camera sideways...hmmm.

Florida Trip

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In the video Wyatt basically says, "We're going on a Shark Tooth Hunting Mission to find shark teeth, maybe megalodon teeth, without getting ate'n (eaten)."

Pacific Science Center

Two moms and their five kids went on a Spring Break field trip. We loved the Pacific Science Center in Seattle and hope to go back again.  We really enjoyed the tropical butterfly habitat, the dinosaur exhibition, and the science demonstrations.

March catch-up

 

 This should sum up last month's accomplishments: We had a student of the month with a missing tooth, a 100-month old with peace of pi, and a sock thief who likes to "give five."

Burlap bunnies

Okay, I went on a burlap bunny binge.  I know this comes a little late for bunny season, but they are so fun to make!  You really cannot mess them up and they make a great sewing project for beginners.  Cut two pieces of burlap into a rectangle--maybe 5"x3".  You can draw a bunny form on the burlap with sharpie marker and zig-zag stitch on the lines. (Or just free-sew if you like to skip steps).  Start stitching at the bottom and go up around and back down-leave the bottom open.  I did sew around the ears for my kids.  Stuff fluff (someone suggested cotton balls might work if you don't have stuffing on hand).  It's not necessary to stuff the ears.  Now sew the bottom closed, and cut excess burlap from around the stitching, just don't cut into your stitches.  Draw details on with a sharpie.  I tried some embroidery, but liked the simple and rustic look better.  Add ribbon, buttons, etc for fun.  I also sponged on some pink stamp ink. 

Carson made accessories for his bunny.

Wyatt was pretty proud of his first sewing project.