Archive for May, 2016

Serenity in March and April

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

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Country in a Can: Serenity’s first big school project was her Country in a Can research project for Creative Producers.  She chose to research Ireland, which was fun for both of us as I love Ireland and now I can’t wait to take Serenity to see all the things she learned about!  In class they read books about their country and wrote about special things of interest that they learned.  They continued their projects in computer class, making things to add to their project.  At home, she was supposed to collect at least six items for the can.  She knew she wanted to make a flag herself, but that was about it until we went to Michael’s together.  We wandered around Michael’s chatting and looking for inspiration.  She saw a little cottage and said it looked like one in her book, covered in ivy and flowers.  Then she saw a wooden house form and thought she could make it even more perfect if she painted it herself to go in her box!  She also found a cow and told me farming was important in Ireland.  And she found Ireland stickers and decorated a card with them.  She got postcards from the trip Dad, Eric and I made to Ireland years ago.  And I ordered some Irish dancer paper dolls for her to cut out to put in the can.  She told me that the Irish call otters “river dogs” and we had an otter in our play-doh stash so that went in as well.  It was fun!

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Lizzie Beth: Serenity’s best friend at school is Liz =)  She gives her all kinds of nicknames, including Lizzie Beth.  They look like they have a great time together.

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Pokemon crazy: In a very random turn of events, Serenity is randomly into Pokemon right now.  She begged for a pokemon handbook from the book fair, and she has literally read it from cover to cover.  I bought a random assortment of pokemon figurines from Amazon, and when they came I was a little disappointed because I didn’t recognize even one pokemon from my brief foray into Pokemon when Alex loved them.  But after she got the handbook Serenity was able to name each and every one.  Crazy considering there are hundreds of them now.  She bought a stuffed sylveon with her own money.

 

She loves her Skylander graphic novel from the book fair.  She reads it nearly every day in the car, and she always says “I Love this part!  Hey Dr. Stupid Face! Missed me, missed me, now you’ve got to kiss me.  Not really though, you’re gross.”  =)

 

Nefertiti: Serenity was Nefertiti in her class’s Egypt play.  It was so much fun making the hat for her costume, and we found a beautiful dress to go with it. We even managed the makeup.  Seeing her whole class “Walk like an Egyptian” dancing to that song was too cute.  Her line was “Known for my amazing beauty I am Nefertiti, wife of Akenaton. I ruled alongside my husband for 16 years.

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The teachers made the Egyptian Lunch so much fun!  Serenity is drinking "Water from the Nile" =)  And the "nuggets of gold" were a big hit (chick fil a nuggets)

The teachers made the Egyptian Lunch so much fun! Serenity is drinking “Water from the Nile” =) And the “nuggets of gold” were a big hit (chick fil a nuggets)

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Started the Hobbit today:  So we had game night one Friday, and the kids actually played a game!  We pulled out the cooperative game of Lord of the Rings.  They enjoyed it, but the best part was the next day they begged us to tell them the entire story of the Lord of the Rings.  So for our entire drive down to Oklahoma City, we told an extremely abridged version of the story.  It was fun, and they wanted to hear it again on the way back!  So when we got to Tulsa we stopped at the bookstore and bought Serenity a copy of the Hobbit.  And she READ it!  I was concerned she might not finish when the story got too stressful, but she loved it even through the dangerous parts.  So great!

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Hour of code/eis project:  We had a big girl scout day in February.  In the morning we went to Emergency Infant Services.  The girls had chosen to donate some of their cookie money to them, and they also got to help volunteer that morning.  They sorted and bagged diapers for them to give to families in need.  The girls loved it!  It was also fun because I brought the huge box of clothes and toys I’d been collecting to donate, and I actually got to see the toys and such put out in their boutique.  Children that come near their birthday get to choose a toy. =)

The iris the Girl Scouts planted bloomed!

The iris the Girl Scouts planted bloomed!

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After the service project, Serenity and Wren went with Eric to the Hour of Code.  They learned about programming and had such a great time!  Serenity bragged that she did one program faster than the instructor.  Of course, the instructor was doing several other things too, but she truly enjoyed the work =)

 

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Working on their display boards for creative producers.  The girls drew pictures and wrote advice about animals to finish their 3 Cheers for Animals journey.

Working on their display boards for creative producers. The girls drew pictures and wrote advice about animals to finish their 3 Cheers for Animals journey.

Climbing the fence with Daniel =)

Climbing the fence with Daniel =)

We love Tina!

We love Tina!

Learning to make pizza with Abbey

Learning to make pizza with Abbey

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Donovan in March and April

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

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I jotted down quick notes in March during electronics free month… Now I will go back and write more =)

Ticket to Ride (he can do it!!! )  Any game, any time:  This is so Donovan.  He loves games and is really getting good at them.  And I think it’s not a coincidence that his math skills are crazy good.  Eric asks him to add up his score, and he does things like 8 plus 5 is 13 without even pausing to count.  He does doubles, like 8 plus 8 is 16, which is something Serenity worked on early this year.  It is important to know what your score is!  In math at school he worked on the different things that can add up to one number, like 0 plus 5 is five, 4 plus 1 is five, etcetera.  He did the same thing adding up to ten at home, just for fun.

He and Maia are buddies now.  He plays with her just like he and Serenity played when they were those ages.  Maia follows him around and he loves coming up with new games to entertain her.  And he read Pete the Cat, her favorite book to her.  Sweetest boy!

 

Snuggle attacks!

 

Hatcher:  Donovan informed me when he and Hatcher, his friend from school, grow up, they are going to be cousins.  =)  He is such a good friend.  He is thrilled about every game night, and asks me constantly when Hatcher will come back over.  I’ve also noticed that he loves Spiderman and Red a lot more since he started playing with Hatch so much.  =)

Donovan played SuperWhy for Maia on the computer =) She loves it and Mama can only do it for so long, but her brother stepped up and did the clicking for her =)

Donovan played SuperWhy for Maia on the computer =) She loves it and Mama can only do it for so long, but her brother stepped up and did the clicking for her =)

DZ with his watering can

DZ with his watering can

Donovan loves it when his cousin KaLynn babysits =)

Donovan loves it when his cousin KaLynn babysits =)

They played for hours with the batcave this month =)

They played for hours with the batcave this month =)

Stump playground! We had to cut down one of the big trees in our yard, but we kept several stumps and the kids adore climbing all over them!

Stump playground! We had to cut down one of the big trees in our yard, but we kept several stumps and the kids adore climbing all over them!

Tina visited!

Tina visited!

Donovan read Maia "Pete pa cat!" She loves that book and he is such a sweet brother.

Donovan read Maia “Pete pa cat!” She loves that book and he is such a sweet brother.

You can still see a faint outline of this car under the gray paint. Donovan loves it and calls it his batmobile =)

You can still see a faint outline of this car under the gray paint. Donovan loves it and calls it his batmobile =)

Donovan took off all the switch plate covers himself and put them back on. And he painted a little too, and helped me cover up all the carpet with protective paper =)

Donovan took off all the switch plate covers himself and put them back on. And he painted a little too, and helped me cover up all the carpet with protective paper =)

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The infamous pillow pile. Every. Single. Day. =)

The infamous pillow pile. Every. Single. Day. =)

DZ made a special perler bead project for his new room =)

DZ made a special perler bead project for his new room =)

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4/31

Tina Visit:  Donovan loved the visit with his Aunt Tina.  She probably played 20 games of 7 Wonders with him, among other games.  =)

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Superhero Challenge:  We did the superhero challenge again this year!  It was a big hit.  All the kids loved running the course.  Maia went on every single obstacle too.  They got their faces painted, and had TWO snow cones.  =)  Snow cones may be the current favorite treat for all three.

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The Violet Thunderbolt and Spiderman =)

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We finally decorated Donovan’s room!  We went with Batman colors, although we play to do lots of different superheros, including Spiderman, Avengers, Skylanders, Pokemon… a nice variety =)  DZ picked a really pretty gray for the wall colors, and we went shopping together to get a few cute Batman accessories.  He especially loves the Batmobile wall art, and the cool new knobs for his bookshelf.  After I painted it and started accessorizing, I was thinking about the fact that it’s really hard to find books on Donovan’s shelf.  It was packed with books and legos, and he has so many of the floppy books that don’t have a spine that it was impossible to find anything.  Then I realized the yellow bookshelf Dad and I built for Serenity’s nursery was PERFECT.  It was such a serendipitous moment because I had just left it in the garage, thinking I should paint over the yellow to something else and find a good spot for it.  But the yellow color is awesome in the Batman room!  And Donovan loves being able to see all his I Can Read books.  We are reading them so much more now!  I also printed custom curtains off cafe press, ordered Batman sheets, and printed a canvas of DZ and Eric dressed as Cyclops and Nightcrawler from Halloween.  I need to print more of those, it’s really cute =)

Cali Trip 2016

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Cali Visit 2016

Visiting our California family was wonderful as always =)  The grandparents played endless games with the children, we reveled in the beautiful weather, we went to Santa Cruz, and generally relaxed and visited.

Custard buns at the park

Custard buns at the park

Serenity is jump rope crazy! I LOVE it!

Serenity is jump rope crazy! I LOVE it!

Maia and Evie actually played a little =)

Maia and Evie actually played a little =)

Aidan bought Donovan Monopoly Junior... with his own money! Sooooo sweet!

Aidan bought Donovan Monopoly Junior… with his own money! Sooooo sweet!

John kept Maia happy for a looooong time coloring. Whenever he'd think surely she was fdone with this game she'd sweetly ask "more?" And more she would get =)

John kept Maia happy for a looooong time coloring. Whenever he’d think surely she was fdone with this game she’d sweetly ask “more?” And more she would get =)

Marilyn organized a little egg hunt and pinata, which were a blast of course!

Marilyn organized a little egg hunt and pinata, which were a blast of course!

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All the kids LOVED the beach, especially Maia.  She was absolutely fearless.  She and Eric were walking along a little stream that led to the ocean, and she found a really deep hole and went under.  Eric grabbed her right away, and she came up smiling and said “I can swim!”  And then she took off running for the ocean.  Scary and awesome.  We played a little with the waves.  Donovan and I made a dragon out of sand, and Vana ema and Serenity collected shells and rocks to decorate it.

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Ann caught a glimpse of a bunny tail, and we got to hunt for the beautiful paper mache eggs.  Eric has been finding his since he was little =)  It is so much fun, and they are usually filled with delicious gummy worms, swedish fish, and licorice for Eric.  Some M&Ms and chocolate.  Fun!

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Serenity played in her first Epic Duels tournament.  She even beat her Daddy once and kept him out of the finals.  She took my spot this year.  Next year Donovan, Aidan and Evan may join, we will see!  And next year we can play with the awesome Rey decks Jack found!  And I won’t have to keep saying #wheresrey.

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Special Delivery Girl Scout Cookies for Auntie Veronica =)

Special Delivery Girl Scout Cookies for Auntie Veronica =)

Serenity had multiple sleepovers.  She and Henry are still such great friends!  They had fun playing with Alexa.  Alexa is kind of a device like Siri that you can ask questions and play a few games with.  They kept asking her to do the name game with potty words.  Lol.  and Ugh. =)  They wrote the story of “The Adventures of the League of Toilets, Poop, and other Potty Words.”  When Patricia saw the title, she thought, “Yup, they are 7.”

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Love this homework =)

Love this homework =)

Donovan and Evan got to have a sleepover… sort of.  Andrew and Evan came over to stay the night after Epic Duels.  Donovan fell asleep in the office chair while everyone was hanging around chatting after the tournament.  Evan slept over about half the night, but had to leave to get his inhaler.  He’s allergic to the cats =(  They got to have a play date at Evan’s house later though, and they had a blast.  And I FINALLY got to meet Daphne, who is adorable and let me hold her.  =)

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Uncle Andrew is really good at face paint!

Uncle Andrew is really good at face paint!

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A few days later, Donovan drew his own face paint. He was trying to recreate what Andrew painted on his face, and I think he did a good job! This was at the discovery museum Ann and John took the kids to.

A few days later, Donovan drew his own face paint. He was trying to recreate what Andrew painted on his face, and I think he did a good job! This was at the discovery museum Ann and John took the kids to.

We got to be there for Evan’s birthday!  He had his party at the science museum!  They made tons of pool noodle lightsabers and the kids had a blast attacking Eric.  We enjoyed visiting the museum with Andrew and Evan, especially the plane launcher activity.  They had pvc cylinders that you could attach various wing to in order to make the plane fly as far as possible.  It was awesome!

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