The theme this week was playing outside. The weather finally warmed up so the kids and I took full advantage and spent majority of our days running around the super muddy backyard, taking long walks, summer-izing the backyard, and getting a start on spring cleaning. Here is a look at our week:
Even the cats were thrilled about the weather this week.....it made for some good bird watching!
We had some pretty exciting walks this week: Mid American trucks, city trucks filling in pot holes, water works working, and garbage trucks. The kids were mesmerized!
Elizabeth happily pointed out every moving object on our walks.
Super muddy backyard is perfect for making mud pies! It's just not as fun for the kid's clothes....
So happy to be outside again! The boys happily played until it was dark outside and I made them come in.
The kids finished up their St. Patrick's Day activities and crafts. After spring break we'll start our Easter/spring activities.
The kids got super sticky while placing green paper squares on their shamrocks.
Who knew that a large celery stick could also become a light saber???
Our vinegar/baking soda experiment for this week: exploding rainbows. I shaped the baking soda/water mixture into clouds. After freezing for 20 minutes, I put them on plates, used food coloring to dye the vinegar the colors of the rainbow, and then had the kids paint their clouds with the rainbow vinegar. Harrison came up with the idea for "exploding rainbows" when we did our hidden treasure shamrocks.
Matt and the boys had an adventure at the Historical Museum after school. This is the globe that was in the old Des Moines Register building. Still just as cool even though it switched homes.
They took another walk on the Capitol grounds.
Grow animals (from Dollar Tree). Once they were completely dry, the kids got to paint with them.
Wednesday evening we finally made it out to furniture shop for a media console and found exactly what we were looking for.
We were able to summer-ize the backyard. This means that there's no longer a playhouse in the middle of the living room and it can finally live outside! The kids happily helped set up all of the toys. It was an exhausting morning, but it only took a couple of hours with everyone's help.
We even were able to summer-ize indoor toys too. The kids were happy that I brought up "new" toys and did a massive toy rotation. This should keep them busy for the next several weeks.
The kids just HAD to get into the sandbox, which was just as messy as the rest of the yard.
We kept with a green theme this week: lots of green snacks, lunches, and cupcakes.
Thursday night we had a family gathering for my grandma's birthday. So good to see extended family and makes us miss those far away even more.
The girlies.
A few weeks ago, I bought a Make Your Own Crystals kits from Dollar Tree. We started by pouring the mixture that came with it over the rocks and were instructed to wait several hours. At the end of the day, it looked the exact same.
Green eggs.
The kids begged me to make their oranges green. So I attempted it......
And then they all had green lips, tongues, and teeth.
Pine cone painting. During all of our walks throughout the week, the kids collected hundreds of pine cones (along with leaves, sticks, and tree branches). We put some of them to use by setting out paints, papers, and the cones and let the kids get creative. Most of the kids just painted the pine cones, but a couple did many different things with the pine cones.
First, Max painted 6 pine cones all different colors. Then he painted our family and stamped the pine cones on the top of the paper. When his painting was complete, he informed me "it's a picture of our family watching the fireworks."
Taking a walk with their shades on. Well, Harrison has Elizabeth's on, but their eyes were protected!
Elizabeth's stroller basket served as a pine cone carrier all week.
This is how Max watches "Star Wars."
Elizabeth found the perfect hiding place and yelled at the boys to "find me!"
The St. Patrick's Day books we've read throughout the week. Apparently, stores don't recognize St. Patrick's Day because I could not find any books about it anywhere. Thanks to my Aunt Cindi and her years of teaching I had something to read to the kids.
We have no activities planned for next week because it is spring break!!! For the first time in years, I took the week off and plan on enjoying the week as much as my kids. We've got quite a few plans: visiting parks, St. Patrick's Day parade downtown, science center, watching "Frozen," Meals From The Heartland spring break challenge, Dubuque, water park, aquarium, the circus, spending time with friends, deep cleaning, and furniture buying. We're ready for our fun filled, much deserved fun week off!
