Sophie & Art Camp

Last week Sophie attended art camp. She wasn't completely sold on the idea of going, but thought it would be neat to try. Her biggest question as she prepared for camp was if she would be able to eat 58 double pop sickles in time. This threw me for a loop until she explained that she thought that is the number of pop sickle sticks she would need to build a bridge. The art camp focus this year was going to be on architecture.

When we arrived on campus the first things that caught the girls' attention were the beautiful fountains. So after camp we decided to brave the 100* weather and explore.

Everyday when I picked Sophie up she was very secretive about her project of the day. At the end of the week there was to be a "Family Day" when their art was displayed in the real art gallery. So Sophie did her best to keep all her projects a secret. (One night she almost told me all she had designed. She held it in until I left the room and then yelled into her pillow all the creative projects that had come from her handy work :)

Finally Family Day arrived and we all set out to see the grand display.

The Cool Collage Project

a castle

The Fabulous Floor Plan Project

(She was very excited that with a little help she fixed the door so it wouldn't "bump her if someone came in while she was playing Jingle Bells on the piano." Also, she made special note that she placed two computers in each room.)

The Hip Houses Project

(The top window has a balcony for parachuters. The window below that has flowers.) The Spectacular Skyscrapers Project
(This is a replica of the Eiffel Tower.)
We counted art camp a great success. Sophie really learned a lot about architecture and had a blast doing it.

(One day they studied some of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Sophie wanted to call her Uncle Darrin right away to see if they are relatives. "Mom they spell their last names exactly the say, they must be related!!" Perhaps a road trip will be in store next time we are up in WV to visit Fallingwater.)

Riverbank Zoo

Last week we took the opportunity to visit Riverbanks Zoo on the way to meet Meeps and Gran for a "big girl drop." One of the girls' favorite spots was the bird and butterfly garden. I think each of the girls was able to feed at least one bird and one wouldn't get off of Mark. (Sophie has declared that our next visit she will have to wear a blue shirt to attract the birds.)

The koala was one of Haleigh's favorites!

This iguana played chase with Mackenzie for quite a while.

The aquarium was beautiful! I am continually amazed at God's creature creations!

This crab is not an illusion it is as big as it looks. Its body was easily bigger than Haleigh's head!

My favorite, by far, were the silver backs! They are amazing and huge yet seemed kid-like as they moved and interacted!!

We wrapped up the day watching the penguin feeding. It was a blast to watch how gracefully those penguins moved, even getting in and out of the water seemed like one smooth glide. (Mackenzie got tired of waiting for the event to start so she and Daddy explored some other areas.)

It was a sweet day, a very hot day, but a very sweet day!!

"I Love Daddy Because..."

DAD

1. a man who lovingly raises his children 2. wise, strong and protecting 3. deserving honor and respect 4. a father who wisely guides his family in God's way

"I love Daddy because...
... he is funny ...we love his wrestles ...he reads us stories at bedtime ...he is a good doctor and some day I think he will be famous... he takes me places a lot (movies, Great Wolfe Lodge, museums, Mr. Britt and Mrs. Brittany's) AND HE'S MY DADDY!" Sophie

"I love Daddy because...

...he is nice ...he lets us fight (wrestle) ...when he zooms in his truck ... he reads me stories at bedtime ... he plays "Get Me" and "Boogadee Boogadee" ...he lets me open the windows in his truck." Haleigh

"I love Daddy because...
he kisses my boo-boos!" Mackenzie

Thanks for being great Daddy!!

"Missin' My Sisters"

Sophie and Haleigh are gone this week. They are visiting Gran and Meeps while I am attending a homeschool practicum. Mackenzie isn't quite ready for a stay away without Mom (or maybe Mom isn't ready for a stay away without Mackenzie) so she is stuck with us for the next few days without the girls. She asks for them often, especially at bedtime...

Change in Plans...

For the last several Memorial Days we have joined our small group for a cookout loaded with all kinds of food and water fun. This year that was the plan until the water fun kept falling from the sky, all day. We were then in search of plan B.

We headed to the Children's Museum.

It is always funny to see which area the girls will explore most each visit. This time it was amusing to me how much fun the grocery area was. Sophie decorated a cake for a long time. Haleigh filled her buggy about a hundred times, visited the cake decorating area and then camped out in the meat market area?! Mackenzie would fill her buggy and then lay the food out in lines on the floor. (She did this so many times Mark asked me if there was something going on at when we went to the real store that he didn't know about.) It was a very odd, yet entertaining behavior. When we go to the store for real it is never this fun I can promise you that!

A consistent favorite for Haleigh is the race car station. She really worked hard designing her car for the big race. It always has a little style mixed in, like the purple tires.

Sophie is usually the one that floats into the wind tunnel with many frilly things to float in the "breeze."

My favorite of the day...working the little tubes to make neat mazes to direct the water. (That is until one of the tubes disconnected and directed the water right into my shoe:)

The "traveling exhibit" was the Blue Men Band.

(I didn't get too many pics in this section because I was playing a lot. It was really fun!!)

Mackenzie's favorite of the day... the slide which is the digestive track, seriously!? She spent at least 20 minutes here, I think she was doing some research.

Lots of fun was had by all.

And tomorrow we get to go to the small group Memorial Day cookout- yeah!!

The Treasure of a New Park!