He is armed and dangerous!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
DIY water park
For Inadvertent Farmer's "Summer's Simple Pleasures" series - finding joy in the simple, little things of summer. I hope sprinkler fun qualifies! :)
I have been getting some strange looks at Lowe's lately. On Saturday it was when I plunked down 5 different (bright) colors of paint and told the lady we were painting our swing set. And yesterday, I was pestering the man in the plumbing aisle, trying to figure out which pieces I needed to build a sprinkler/water park....another stolen idea from AshleyAnn (have I told you that I LOVE her blog?). Ashley's instructions for building the water park, as well as her own stories about funny looks at Lowe's, can be found here and here. I will add some details - the pieces that you need to connect the PVC pipe to your garden hose (assuming you are using 1/2" PVC like I did) are this:
And this:
My son and I came home from Lowe's yesterday and put the pieces together after I cut the pipes into 2 foot sections with a saw (I don't know what kind it is - I am power tool illiterate. It sits on a bench in Hubby's work area). We got finished just as Hubby got home from work, which was perfect, since I didn't know how to change the bits on the drill (now I do) to make the holes. Hubby drilled the holes and we dragged it outside to hook it up.
We weren't sure if we would have enough water pressure (our outdoor faucets are connected to a cistern under our front porch, and powered by an ancient pump), but it worked great.
Our son LOVES it! He's already looking forward to tearing it apart and building it a different way.
I have been getting some strange looks at Lowe's lately. On Saturday it was when I plunked down 5 different (bright) colors of paint and told the lady we were painting our swing set. And yesterday, I was pestering the man in the plumbing aisle, trying to figure out which pieces I needed to build a sprinkler/water park....another stolen idea from AshleyAnn (have I told you that I LOVE her blog?). Ashley's instructions for building the water park, as well as her own stories about funny looks at Lowe's, can be found here and here. I will add some details - the pieces that you need to connect the PVC pipe to your garden hose (assuming you are using 1/2" PVC like I did) are this:
(1/2" male adapter - slips on to the end of the PVC)
And this:
(swivel hose adapter (3/4" FH x 1/2" FIP))
My son and I came home from Lowe's yesterday and put the pieces together after I cut the pipes into 2 foot sections with a saw (I don't know what kind it is - I am power tool illiterate. It sits on a bench in Hubby's work area). We got finished just as Hubby got home from work, which was perfect, since I didn't know how to change the bits on the drill (now I do) to make the holes. Hubby drilled the holes and we dragged it outside to hook it up.
We weren't sure if we would have enough water pressure (our outdoor faucets are connected to a cistern under our front porch, and powered by an ancient pump), but it worked great.
Our son LOVES it! He's already looking forward to tearing it apart and building it a different way.
Monday, June 28, 2010
craft hope - oil spill
I stole this idea from AshleyAnn, one of my all-time favoritest bloggers in the whole wide world.
She is a big fan of Craft Hope, an awesome group of crafters who use their talents and hobbies to minister to different needs all over the world. Craft Hope's current project is collecting (or making) washcloths and hand towels to donate to those who are caring for and cleaning the animals affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. Details of the project can be found here. AshleyAnn wanted to get her kids involved in the project, so this is how she made it real for them, and I just copied her marvelous ideas.
First we went to the local thrift store and found a marine stuffed animal for about a dollar. My son picked out a seal.
I used AshleyAnn's "recipe" of corn syrup and worcestershire sauce to make the "oil."
Looks pretty real, huh? We poured the oil into our "Gulf of Mexico" and onto our seal:
Then, in a separate container, we used soap and clean water to wash off our seal:
The seal got a good hosedown to wash all the soap suds off:
And then he got to stretch out on the hammock to dry:
We went to Target and found some cheap washclothes and a bottle of Dawn dish detergent, and packed them in a box to send to the Gulf region. The cats wanted to help.
My son addressed and decorated the box before we went to the post office to mail it off:
It's nice to think of our little washcloths maybe making a difference, however small that difference might be. Thanks, Craft Hope and AshleyAnn, for finding ways for our family to get involved!
She is a big fan of Craft Hope, an awesome group of crafters who use their talents and hobbies to minister to different needs all over the world. Craft Hope's current project is collecting (or making) washcloths and hand towels to donate to those who are caring for and cleaning the animals affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. Details of the project can be found here. AshleyAnn wanted to get her kids involved in the project, so this is how she made it real for them, and I just copied her marvelous ideas.
First we went to the local thrift store and found a marine stuffed animal for about a dollar. My son picked out a seal.
I used AshleyAnn's "recipe" of corn syrup and worcestershire sauce to make the "oil."
Looks pretty real, huh? We poured the oil into our "Gulf of Mexico" and onto our seal:
Then, in a separate container, we used soap and clean water to wash off our seal:
The seal got a good hosedown to wash all the soap suds off:
And then he got to stretch out on the hammock to dry:
We went to Target and found some cheap washclothes and a bottle of Dawn dish detergent, and packed them in a box to send to the Gulf region. The cats wanted to help.
My son addressed and decorated the box before we went to the post office to mail it off:
It's nice to think of our little washcloths maybe making a difference, however small that difference might be. Thanks, Craft Hope and AshleyAnn, for finding ways for our family to get involved!
i heart faces photo challenge
I'm trying my luck at my first I Heart Faces photo challenge. The theme this week is "pets." This is Cinder, one of our two cats.
Cinder is my favorite, but don't tell his nearly-identical brother, Soot. He might get a complex.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
six random things
1. Pirate husband and his twin brother (Summer Bible School at church - it was pirate night with the junior high kids):
Their names rhyme (like "Jim" and "Tim"). Both first and middle. I thought that was super-cheesy when I first met them. But despite the rhyming names, they are both amazing men. Hubby's brother is moving to to the other side of the country in a couple of weeks. That makes us sad. But, how cool is this, he will be living just a few miles from my college roommate and her family! I think a visit may be in order.
2. When our son was dedicated as a baby (kind of like an infant baptism), we were given a daily children's Bible. We have tried reading it with him a few times, but it has never really gotten his attention, so it has been sitting on the shelf for the past couple of years, gathering dust. This past week, my son got very interested in the Bible stories that were told at Summer Bible School, so he came home with lots of questions. Our usual "go to" Bible story books didn't have the stories he was asking about, so this Bible got pulled out. And he has fallen in love with it. He has taken it to bed the past few nights, and we can hear him reading from out in the living room (very poor video quality, but it's the best I and my poor camera could do):
So, so sweet. I love that he loves reading these stories.
3. Today was Mommy-and-son craft project day. In the morning, we did perler beads:
And later in the afternoon, I pulled up memories of a craft project I did in kindergarten (don't ask me why I remember a craft project from 30 years ago).
My crab looks like a spider. Do crabs have six legs, or eight? I didn't know.
4. While we were crafting, Daddy was out working in the yard and watching the US play Ghana in the World Cup. We lost. :(
4. Family trip to Lowe's! Kiddo built a monster truck at their kids' workshop, and we picked up some paint and other odds and ends for some outstanding projects.
While waiting for our paint to be mixed, we found a ruler on the floor in the plumbing aisle. We had a great time seeing how far the truck would go.
5. I am buying stock in band-aids. My son went through eight of them today.
6. And finally, in gardening news, we are waging war against the japanese beetles. Hubby and I went out tonight and plucked them off our plants before drowning them in sudsy water. Our roses can have a short reprieve until more pesky bugs arrive tomorrow (if they haven't already...sigh...).
Their names rhyme (like "Jim" and "Tim"). Both first and middle. I thought that was super-cheesy when I first met them. But despite the rhyming names, they are both amazing men. Hubby's brother is moving to to the other side of the country in a couple of weeks. That makes us sad. But, how cool is this, he will be living just a few miles from my college roommate and her family! I think a visit may be in order.
2. When our son was dedicated as a baby (kind of like an infant baptism), we were given a daily children's Bible. We have tried reading it with him a few times, but it has never really gotten his attention, so it has been sitting on the shelf for the past couple of years, gathering dust. This past week, my son got very interested in the Bible stories that were told at Summer Bible School, so he came home with lots of questions. Our usual "go to" Bible story books didn't have the stories he was asking about, so this Bible got pulled out. And he has fallen in love with it. He has taken it to bed the past few nights, and we can hear him reading from out in the living room (very poor video quality, but it's the best I and my poor camera could do):
So, so sweet. I love that he loves reading these stories.
3. Today was Mommy-and-son craft project day. In the morning, we did perler beads:
And later in the afternoon, I pulled up memories of a craft project I did in kindergarten (don't ask me why I remember a craft project from 30 years ago).
My crab looks like a spider. Do crabs have six legs, or eight? I didn't know.
4. While we were crafting, Daddy was out working in the yard and watching the US play Ghana in the World Cup. We lost. :(
4. Family trip to Lowe's! Kiddo built a monster truck at their kids' workshop, and we picked up some paint and other odds and ends for some outstanding projects.
While waiting for our paint to be mixed, we found a ruler on the floor in the plumbing aisle. We had a great time seeing how far the truck would go.
5. I am buying stock in band-aids. My son went through eight of them today.
6. And finally, in gardening news, we are waging war against the japanese beetles. Hubby and I went out tonight and plucked them off our plants before drowning them in sudsy water. Our roses can have a short reprieve until more pesky bugs arrive tomorrow (if they haven't already...sigh...).
good morning!
I went for a walk early this morning while Hubby and Kiddo were still fast asleep. Here's our garden this morning:
We need rain. Anyone out West want to send us some? We have some scrawny peppers on our pepper plants, the tomatoes and carrots are also very tiny. They need some water to plump them up.
Our pumpkin and gourd vines are making attempts at taking over the world - starting with the pole bean tunnel. It's mostly our fault, I suppose, for planting so many seeds in such a small area. Our pole bean plants are now about 6 inches high, but they are in a lot of shade now because of the large leaves of the vines and our fast-growing sunflowers. We will see if they are able to stick it out and grow tall enough to climb the tunnel and find some sun. If they don't, we still may get our tunnel - the gourd vines have decided to start climbing up the sides. Only problem is, we didn't build the tunnel to support heavy gourd vines! We may be doing some emergency reinforcing as the season progresses.
The pink tree behind our garden is our neighbor's mimosa tree. When I got closer, the whole tree was humming - there were bees ALL OVER, working on the flowers. It was fun to just stand under the tree and listen.
We are looking forward to going out as a family today - the kids' workshop at Lowe's (building monster trucks this morning!), shopping for paint for our swingset while we are there (stay tuned - my son is so excited about the colors we have already picked out), and probably a few other stops. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!
We need rain. Anyone out West want to send us some? We have some scrawny peppers on our pepper plants, the tomatoes and carrots are also very tiny. They need some water to plump them up.
Our pumpkin and gourd vines are making attempts at taking over the world - starting with the pole bean tunnel. It's mostly our fault, I suppose, for planting so many seeds in such a small area. Our pole bean plants are now about 6 inches high, but they are in a lot of shade now because of the large leaves of the vines and our fast-growing sunflowers. We will see if they are able to stick it out and grow tall enough to climb the tunnel and find some sun. If they don't, we still may get our tunnel - the gourd vines have decided to start climbing up the sides. Only problem is, we didn't build the tunnel to support heavy gourd vines! We may be doing some emergency reinforcing as the season progresses.
The pink tree behind our garden is our neighbor's mimosa tree. When I got closer, the whole tree was humming - there were bees ALL OVER, working on the flowers. It was fun to just stand under the tree and listen.
We are looking forward to going out as a family today - the kids' workshop at Lowe's (building monster trucks this morning!), shopping for paint for our swingset while we are there (stay tuned - my son is so excited about the colors we have already picked out), and probably a few other stops. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
bible school
This week has been Summer Bible School week at our church. Kids from ages 4 to 14 (or so) come every morning for singing, games, Bible stories and other activities. I have been wrangling a group of 11 kids ranging from ages 6-10. Every year I seem to get the best kids of the crop. My kids this year are no exception - they have been tremendous. I have had a blast with them!
I have had a lot of fun watching my son make friends and interact with the other kids in our group.
I've also been enjoying watching my parents do the short skits each morning that introduce the theme for each day. Oh, how I love them!
We are wrapping things up tomorrow, then it's back to normal life again. Ho hum. :)
(I'm the monkey in the middle - this was taken by one of my friends who is a fabulous photographer!)
I have had a lot of fun watching my son make friends and interact with the other kids in our group.
I've also been enjoying watching my parents do the short skits each morning that introduce the theme for each day. Oh, how I love them!
We are wrapping things up tomorrow, then it's back to normal life again. Ho hum. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
