Sidewalk Chalk PAINT!

My friend posted a picture to my Facebook wall challenging me to try Sidewalk Chalk Paint and report the results to her.  What she didn't know, was that this was already on my Summer Bucket List - and today was the day to tackle this project.  It was EASY!!  As Jennah says, "easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy"!

Here's what you need:

1 cup of cornstarch

1 cup of water

food coloring

Mix the cornstarch and the water together until it is completely liquid.  Divide the mixture into separate cups.  (When I do this again, I'll either do it one of two ways.  One, each painter will get their own 6-count muffin tin, OR, I'll put each color in their own plastic cup with their own paint brush.  There were three of us painting, so it got a little annoying sharing, and the paint was getting all mixed up.)  Stir in the food coloring.  I used Wilton Icing Coloring and we got some beautiful vivid colors to paint with.  Then go paint!!!  The paint dries very quickly and vividly.  We painted for over an hour - it was SO much fun.  

Kylee's bird trap!

Jennah's flower!  Great job Jennah!

I'll definitely do this over and over again.  I truly hate sidewalk chalk.  I hate the feel, and I especially hate it when I scrape my hand when I slip - so this is SO much better!!!  SO much more fun!  Try this - your kids will love it!

Summer is Here!!

Summer has finally found Alaska, and the last couple of days we have been having some beautiful weather.  We're wearing shorts and tank tops, and hopefully sporting Alaskan tans very soon!  Jason's been doing a sanding/staining project on the front porch and around the garage door.  The updated color really makes the front of the house look great!  

Picture will come tomorrow.

I've been planting flowers and getting my greenhouse and mini-garden all set up.  Last year I ended up having maybe 15-20 tomato plants, but harvested NO tomatoes because the greenhouse isn't finished, so when it got cold outside, my plants in the greenhouse died.  This year, I have beans, peas, tomatoes, jalapenos, spinach, watermelon, pumpkin, cucumbers, herbs, and sunflowers.  My greenhouse is full, and I had to build a mini-garden outside of my greenhouse as well.  I hope that I have enough space for all of my plants. I think they are kind of smooshed together, so we'll see if I get any results.  I also hope that the moose don't like watermelon, pumpkins, or cucumbers, or I may just be planting a garden for the local moose.  Nevertheless, each year, I'm learning more and more - and what's awesome is that I have a very handy husband who will be fixing my greenhouse so I can extend my growing seasons!  Yay!  Next year, I hope to be able to create my own beautiful hanging baskets instead of paying a crazy amount of money to buy them.

My greenhouse. I think I need to paint it pink or
something fun!

Inside of the greenhouse.

Tomatoes

My baby beans! Aren't they so cute!

Spinach

My first thought was to just have two boxes for plants, but
then, I realized that I had way too many seedlings and
needed more space, so I had to extend the "flower bed"
into a garden.  Next year I'll either take out the boxes,
or  I'll extend the garden even more.  

I'm trying to grow a Clematis!  I saw these at the store
and I thought they were just beautiful, especially
because they are my favorite color.  The girl said that I
would be able to dig them back up and bring them  inside
in the winter. . .we will see.  Flowers and Heather usually
don't get along too well.  Hopefully they like me.

And what have the kids been doing you ask?  Well, they have just been being kids!  They love playing on their swing set, playing in their sand box, making mud pies, riding their bikes, walking/running in the yard with no shoes, and so much more.  Each day, it's more of a struggle to get them inside than it is to boot them outside - and, for the most part, they play well together, and they do a great job of keeping themselves occupied.  Today was really warm, so they sported the swimsuits and ventured to play in the sprinkler.  Kylee didn't like it so much as she told me to "warm the water up Mommy" - but Jennah played until her lips were blue.  I remember summers being so magical - I constantly wonder if their summer is as magical as I remember mine.  

We still have a month and a half until I have to go back to work - and I'm cherishing each and every moment!  

Father's Day Weekend Adventure!

"Happy Father's Day Dad!  We love you!"  

Last weekend was Father's Day Weekend, and Jason's activity of choice was to go to the local off-road community's Meet & Greet weekend.  On Saturday, there was an obstacle course for people to drive through which included a large hill to climb, logs to climb over, large tires, rocks, a small mud hole, a large mud hole, and then another rather challenging hill to climb back up.  We did about half of the obstacles.  The obstacle course was for more of the bigger trucks.  There were winch demonstrations, activities for the kids to do, food, raffles and prizes, and entertainment.  

The tires!

The large mud/water pit!

Going through the obstacle course.

On Sunday, we started the morning off with a homemade pancake, egg, and sausage breakfast and then followed with an all day trail ride on Baldi Trail.  I have to say, this weekend was probably by far one of my most favorite off-roading experiences that I have ever had!  The kids had a blast getting all dirty!  And we just simply had a great time making our way through all of the obstacles and making it to the top of the mountain.  Jason's masterful driving was successful!  We never got stuck, nor did we ever get in a situation where we needed assistance to get out!  And the view from the top is just absolutely amazing!  All in all, it was a GREAT Father's Day Weekend filled with good wholesome family fun!

Getting ready to hit the trail!

The girls were ready to go with Skittles in hand!

The girls were excited to go.  Jennah wanted to go through all of the mud, and Kylee just kept saying, "oh - this is so not good".  Great memories!

We made it past the first obstacle - a large water pit!

Large water/mud pit.

The next major obstacle on the trail was crossing a creek.  One of the vehicles broke down here, so I got a chance to take some pictures of the girls!

I took a lot here - but this is my favorite! Gotta love them!

After the creek, it was all up hill (more like mountain) from there!  Lots of climbing, which always freaks me out - but I survived and the view up top is work a bit of anxiety!  Breathtaking and priceless!

This climb was a bit challenging.  That truck high centered
on a rock, so getting around was a bit tough - but Jason
and the Rover made it through!

More climbing!

The first pit stop with a spectacular view!

And the top of the mountain!!!  Gorgeous!

There was snow at the top, so we had fun playing it in for a few minutes!

And then, I was able to capture some close up moments with the girls.

Pickin' flowers!

Jennah, my beautiful flower!

Happy Father's Day Jason!

All in all - it was a very successful and fun family adventure - and we are looking forward to doing many more of these adventures.

It's Slime Time!

Do you want something to do with your kids that will keep them occupied for a while!?  Try this project that we just got done doing!  It's known as Gak or Flubber or slime, and there is a recipe out there to make it with Borax, but I found, on Pinterest, a non-Borax recipe - and it WORKED!!!  

What you need:

1 cup of Elmer's Glue

Food Coloring (gel or liquid)

1/3-2/3 cup of liquid starch

In a plastic bowl (I used ones that I could just throw away), add one cup of Elmer's Glue and food coloring.  Stir until you have the color you desire.  

Next, stir in the liquid starch a little at a time.  The original recipe called for 1 cup of liquid starch, but for Jennah we used maybe 1/3 of a cup and Kylee just a tad more.  As soon as you pour and stir the liquid starch in, it starts to thicken.  In fact, Jennah instantly said, hey, it looks like eggs.  

See Jennah's mouth?  That's the
"whoa - look at that" look that I
love doing these projects!

Keep stirring in a little starch at a time until you are able to pick it up all together.  It'll still be "sticky", so fold in more liquid starch, little by little until you are able to play with it without it sticking to you.  If it starts getting sticky, just add a little starch to it.

Then have FUN!  This was a VERY easy project, and the girls played with it for over an hour!!!  Make sure to not let your kids play with it near carpet, and be careful of it sticking to clothes.  (Yes, I may have some special cleaning to do.)  But, not too bad.  The girls had fun!


This idea came from this site:
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/05/making-gak.html