This is another version I made with vellum. I like the clear better.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Crafty Girl: July Card Class
Here are the cards for July's card class - this Tuesday and Wednesday. We are using a new medium by making cards out of overhead projector sheets. All of the supplies are from Archivers - if you'd like a copy let me know!
This is another version I made with vellum. I like the clear better.
This is another version I made with vellum. I like the clear better.
Summer Days
One of our favorite ways to spend these hot summer days is to pack up the car and drive less than 5 minutes down the road to the beach. The back of the van is always filled with sand toys and towels and sunscreen.
Calvin tends to get a LOT of sand on him - like Sophie.
Here is Sophie helping him wash off - which he appreciated for about 5 seconds.
Max usually finds a group of friends his own age to play with.
Calvin tends to get a LOT of sand on him - like Sophie.
Here is Sophie helping him wash off - which he appreciated for about 5 seconds.
Max usually finds a group of friends his own age to play with.
Fake Lake Elmo
A couple of weeks ago we met up with an old friend of ours (Brandi) at Fake Lake Elmo in Woodbury. It is a man-made lake with lots of sand and no shade! I'm not sure why we need fake lakes in the "land of 10,000 lakes", but whatever. They have installed big umbrellas in the sand now, so if you can manage to snag a spot underneath one of them, you will be OK for the day. Every hour they make everyone get out of the water so all of the parents can count their kids and make sure none of them have drowned!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Movie Review
My Kid Could Paint That is a documentary about a little girl names Marla Olmstead.
Marla started painting when she was two and sold her first painting at two for $250.00 when a family friend asked if he could hang her work in his coffee shop. The documentary is fascination because it asks so many questions about what is art? Is modern art's value intrinsically linked with the story of the artist?
There was a huge controversy about Marla when she suddenly became famous and 60 minutes came to her house and aired a scathing piece about there suspicions that Marla's Dad was "helping" her with her paintings. It is really interesting to see their family over the course of the year. The mother is so believable and comes across as incredibly honest on camera. The father is so nervous (perhaps because he is having to prove himself) and edgy that is is hard to know what really happened. The documentary leaves it up to the viewer, but now, all of Marla's works are filmed from start to finish and sold with a DVD. Marla is now 7, still painting and her works sell for thousands of dollars.
Marla started painting when she was two and sold her first painting at two for $250.00 when a family friend asked if he could hang her work in his coffee shop. The documentary is fascination because it asks so many questions about what is art? Is modern art's value intrinsically linked with the story of the artist?
There was a huge controversy about Marla when she suddenly became famous and 60 minutes came to her house and aired a scathing piece about there suspicions that Marla's Dad was "helping" her with her paintings. It is really interesting to see their family over the course of the year. The mother is so believable and comes across as incredibly honest on camera. The father is so nervous (perhaps because he is having to prove himself) and edgy that is is hard to know what really happened. The documentary leaves it up to the viewer, but now, all of Marla's works are filmed from start to finish and sold with a DVD. Marla is now 7, still painting and her works sell for thousands of dollars.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Boy Scout Day Camp
Somehow I volunteered to be a station leader at Max's first ever 2- day Boy Scout Day Camp. After pawning off Calvin and sending Sophie to work with Bryan (that did not work out so well this time), I ended up at a local park with a whole bunch of 8-11 year old boys.
I was in charge of the Water Sports station and it was COLD!! Granted it was late June, but there was a freezing wind blowing that day! I had on three shirts and thought I was going to die if I had to sit out there much longer! The boys for the most part seemed to be fine because
a. they are boys and b. they were running around all day. Max seemed to have a great time and his favorite stations were archery and marshmallow launchers.
Doesn't he just look old?!
I was in charge of the Water Sports station and it was COLD!! Granted it was late June, but there was a freezing wind blowing that day! I had on three shirts and thought I was going to die if I had to sit out there much longer! The boys for the most part seemed to be fine because
a. they are boys and b. they were running around all day. Max seemed to have a great time and his favorite stations were archery and marshmallow launchers.
Doesn't he just look old?!
Painted Turtles on Father's Day
We spent Father's Day at church and then had Kelly's family over for a BBQ, a hike through Lebanon Hills Park and then back to the house for dessert and games. It was a gorgeous day!
We have been blessed with wonderful fathers and wish we lived closer to them!! The kids love their Grandpas and we feel blessed to have them! We gave Bryan a hummingbird feeder for Father's Day and we had hummingbirds feeding from it just hours after we put it out!
The kids found a cool painted turtle on one of the paths. Sophie kept trying to feed it grass.
After the hike the kids decided to wrestle in the grass and then roll down the hill entwined in a big mass of flailing limbs. This idea ended as all such ideas end. Laugh, laugh, ha, ha, ha, BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM, many tears.
We have been blessed with wonderful fathers and wish we lived closer to them!! The kids love their Grandpas and we feel blessed to have them! We gave Bryan a hummingbird feeder for Father's Day and we had hummingbirds feeding from it just hours after we put it out!
The kids found a cool painted turtle on one of the paths. Sophie kept trying to feed it grass.
After the hike the kids decided to wrestle in the grass and then roll down the hill entwined in a big mass of flailing limbs. This idea ended as all such ideas end. Laugh, laugh, ha, ha, ha, BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM, many tears.
Dance, dance baby
Sophie started taking dance lessons this year -a jazz/ballet/tap class at a school here in Eagan. I looked for a very long time to try and find a place for her to take dance lessons and visited a lot of the local schools. It is kind of shocking to see what is out there and what kind of moves the schools are teaching young girls!! When visiting, I looked at the costumes of the former classes and I bluntly asked if their jazz classes included "pole dancing for 5 year olds". We finally found a place that seemed fine and Sophie has loved her class every week.
This was our first experience with a dance recital, and it was quite the eye opener! The costumes are EXPENSIVE - I now know why moms look positively green when I buy their used costumes for a dollar or two at a yard sale! There are dress rehearsals and photos and everything done in full make-up and hair. The recital itself was almost 3 1/2 hours long! Sophie did a great job though she tends to be very concerned about whether or not the girl next to her is in the right spot and often we could hear her trying to push the girl into the right place! I actually have some video of the dances, but they are too big to put up - I need some computer help with them!
This is Sophie and Sydney, a friend of hers from church who attends the same dance school. She was very sweet and shared her flowers with Sophie! We gave Sophie a necklace with a real beetle inside of it for her congratulations gift. She named the beetle "brownie", because it is brown.
This was our first experience with a dance recital, and it was quite the eye opener! The costumes are EXPENSIVE - I now know why moms look positively green when I buy their used costumes for a dollar or two at a yard sale! There are dress rehearsals and photos and everything done in full make-up and hair. The recital itself was almost 3 1/2 hours long! Sophie did a great job though she tends to be very concerned about whether or not the girl next to her is in the right spot and often we could hear her trying to push the girl into the right place! I actually have some video of the dances, but they are too big to put up - I need some computer help with them!
This is Sophie and Sydney, a friend of hers from church who attends the same dance school. She was very sweet and shared her flowers with Sophie! We gave Sophie a necklace with a real beetle inside of it for her congratulations gift. She named the beetle "brownie", because it is brown.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Here it is . . . the last day of kindergarten and the last time I had to walk to the bus stop to meet Sophie at noon!!! Happy, happy day for everyone involved! Let summer begin!
Kindergarten End of the Year Fair
I signed up to volunteer at Sophie's end of the year party for kindergarten. When a parent signs up to volunteer at a school event, it is assumed that they will be arriving alone. I've always been a little left of center, so when I volunteer, I bring a whole bunch of extra kids with me! I'm sure all of the teachers love me, but if I did not bring the kids, I would never be able to see my kids at school.
This time, I outdid myself and brought 5 kids! I had the normal Calvin, Natalie and Johnny and then I was also watching Luke and Evie for Kelly because her daycare was closed. I was in charge of the fishing booth, so I set up a blanket on the ground behind me and brought books and such for the kids. They blew bubbles . . .
. . . and when I was desperate to get Evie to stay in one place, they ate candy!
Here's my cute girl!
And here she is at the fishing booth. She's a natural - she must take after her Uncle Scott.
Look! She caught a fish! Actually, everyone caught a fish (unless the fierce winds blew it away) and won a plastic ring.
Here is Sophie's class.
And here are her teachers. Ms. Corrigan has been struggling with ovarian cancer all year and has been out of the classroom for much of the time. Mr. Elo was the permanent substitute for the last couple of months. Sophie loves them both.
All in all, it went fine. The kids had a great time and my extra five were well behaved and stayed on the blanket - well except for Evie. She's just that age!
This time, I outdid myself and brought 5 kids! I had the normal Calvin, Natalie and Johnny and then I was also watching Luke and Evie for Kelly because her daycare was closed. I was in charge of the fishing booth, so I set up a blanket on the ground behind me and brought books and such for the kids. They blew bubbles . . .
. . . and when I was desperate to get Evie to stay in one place, they ate candy!
Here's my cute girl!
And here she is at the fishing booth. She's a natural - she must take after her Uncle Scott.
Look! She caught a fish! Actually, everyone caught a fish (unless the fierce winds blew it away) and won a plastic ring.
Here is Sophie's class.
And here are her teachers. Ms. Corrigan has been struggling with ovarian cancer all year and has been out of the classroom for much of the time. Mr. Elo was the permanent substitute for the last couple of months. Sophie loves them both.
All in all, it went fine. The kids had a great time and my extra five were well behaved and stayed on the blanket - well except for Evie. She's just that age!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Sunday Tradition
We have started a new Sunday tradition now that the weather is finally warm and we have early morning church. After coming home and having lunch, we head over to the local park for a long walk together. This Sunday we saw a muskrat swimming in the water as well as a ton of birds and dragonflies. The park has miles and miles of trails so we let the kids pick the directions and usually we walk for 3-4 miles. I took a lot of photos of what was in bloom (on the 8th of June - I'm behind still).
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