Fall Craft with Maddie

One of Carson and Brooklyn's favorite things to do is make crafts. They love it, and so do I. I think I'm going to be one of those moms that has boxes and boxes of art projects because everything is just too precious for me to throw away. Brooklyn really, really, really likes painting. Anything involving paint is fun and extremely messy with her around.

We went over to Maddie's house to do a fall craft with her. The kids make hand print trees and then used their fingerprints to make leaves. Carson's was really cute and he worked hard to make it look like a tree with falling leaves. Brooklyn, on the other hand, had lots of fun with the paint. :)

We displayed them in our home for the fall season and then put them away with our fall decorations. I am going to pull them out each year and hang them up during Autumn (they are on canvases). Pretty soon their hand prints won't be so small.

Snake River Youth Jam

I love our town! They always have activities going on, especially during the summer. Last Friday was the Snake River Youth Jam hosted by the Idaho Falls Arts Council. It was a huge event down at the river promoting arts and music for kids. The entire thing was free and they had so much stuff for the kids to do! I got lots of great ideas for fun, easy crafts I can do with the kids during the long winter months too. We went with Carson's friend, Halle, and had a great time. The Church always sends lots of volunteers, so a lot of youth from our ward and missionaries from our area were there helping out at the booths. Way to represent! This is something we will look forward to every year!

Our beautiful view down on the river

 

Beating on the barrels and playing the guitars!

Making maracas and wrapping pine cones with yarn

 Hula hoops, bubbles, and playing with streamer sticks we made

Spin art and hand print birds

Friend Easter Egg Hunt

Last year we invited friends over for a small craft and Easter Egg hunt and had a blast, so we decided to do it again. We hid eggs in the backyard and let the kids go at it. They are all around the same age so it made it fun to watch them discover all of the eggs. They all had so many by the time we were done!

We also did a craft with the kids while we were all there. We tore up pieces of scrapbook paper and let the kids glue them onto eggs drawn on paper. They loved it and they turned out really cute. I think this is a tradition we will continue. :)

Cranky Brooklyn who woke up after we were done. She wasn't very happy that she missed the egg hunt!

Dr. Seuss Week

Last week was Dr. Seuss week and I decided that we were going to celebrate it at our house too! I'm really tired of winter and I thought this would give us a good distraction from not being about to go play outside.

On Wednesday we had Cat in the Hat day. We made our own hats and decorated them however we wanted. Carson loves to glue things, so he really enjoyed this craft. He is also obsessed with buttons ever since we went to the library and learned the "Button, Button" game. He chose to decorate his hat with buttons, pom poms, and some pipe cleaners.

We tried to get Brooklyn in on the fun since I made her a hat, but this was her reaction. She tore the hat off her head anytime I tried to put it on. At least Carson was happy!

As part of Cat in the Hat day we also made Thing 1 and Thing 2 handprints. It was probably one of my favorite activities with Carson. He would giggle when I painted his hand because it tickled, and he thought it was so cool the way it turned out. Brooklyn was little miss cranky pants, so she went to sleep in her swing. She was even mad about that because I found her asleep in the position she is normally in when she is trying to get out of her swing.

Thursday was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish day and we had some friends over to celebrate with us. We made fish shaped cookies and decorated them and ate some fish snacks. We had Swedish fish in blue jello and gold fish. Brooklyn was in a MUCH better mood. :) We also made fish with finger paints and our hands. Even Brooklyn made one!! She wasn't very fond of the whole experience, but I forced her to do it. Her little hand prints are so cute!

Friday we ended with Green Eggs and Ham. We didn't do anything too crazy because we already had a busy day ahead of us, but we did eat green eggs and ham for breakfast. Carson thought the green eggs were really funny, especially when I put ketchup on them for him.

We had such a fun week celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday! We even got to have cake on his birthday because Brock celebrated his birthday that day.  I love spending time with my kiddos.

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

Today, Carson and I spent the morning grocery shopping and running errands followed by a long nap for the little guy. When he woke up it was really windy outside so we couldn't really go out there to play. Instead, I decided to pull out one of my favorite kids books and one that we happened to get at the Shelley Library this week:

 I love this book!! I used to read it when I was little and I thought it would be fun to have a themed afternoon! First, Carson and I made chocolate chip cookies. He likes to help me pour the ingredients in and stir the flour. He also really likes watching the KitchenAid mix everything.

I couldn't get him to smile! He was too busy mixing ingredients.

Yes, I let him try the batter. No, I did not reuse that spatula. 

While our cookies were baking he even helped me wash dishes! Well, not really, but he played in the water. 

Once the dishes were washed and our cookies were baking, we made paper chocolate chip cookies. I cut up little black paper pieces that he glued to his cookie. I can't get over how good he is with gluing! He knows exactly what to do and is really good at it!

 We finished by eating our cookies, drinking milk, and reading the book together. What a fun afternoon! Love you buddy!

What do you do when you are sick?

Last week, both of my boys were sick. They had strep throat really bad. So bad, in fact, that Jason's doctor told him he wasn't allowed to go back to work for 3 days, and we were placed under quarantine. With a toddler, that can be difficult. Here are some of the things we did during the week....

Skype with Nana and Papa

Made Rice Krispy treats

Ate lots of snacks

Did mess-free finger painting

Concentrating really hard

 And try to ride the 4-wheeler I got from Christmas (not a big fan of the thing moving when he pushes the button). We had a few sleepless nights and days with no naps so I'm really glad they are both feeling better!