Kids' Summer Bucket List - Later Weeks:)

Kids’ Summer Bucket List

Okay, so I might have tried to bite off more than I could chew with this bucket list this summer (not that I ever try to do that).  I had completely forgotten just how worn out I get at the end of pregnancy.  We’ve had fun, but it is becoming much more low-key around here as the big day gets closer. 

Kite Flying

The girls both got some awesome kites this spring and we finally got to try them out.  Unfortunately, it was much windier earlier in the day before Daddy got home.  They were still able to get the kites up though and had a blast.  We will definitely have to try it another time – probably after the baby is here and I can run with them again.

Ella's Unicorn Kite

Hannah's Flamingo Kite

Walk around ISU Campus

On the way to visit my parents, we stopped in Ames, IA to visit our alma mater.  Christopher and I both enjoyed showing the girls where we lived and where we had classes at.  They both loved the library and checking out the buildings.  We also had to pick up some new shirts for the girls and some new Cyclone gear for the baby!

Campanile

Ella's new shirt

Hannah's new shirt

Baby's new onesies

Carriage Ride in the Old Market

While we were visiting my parents, we took the girls to the Old Market in Omaha.  They have been talking about going on a horse-carriage ride for a while and we thought this was a perfect time to go with Grandma and Grandpa.

Circus World Museum

This past week, my nephew stayed with us so I tried to plan some new activities for all of us.  On Monday, we went to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo.  The girls were really excited for all of it, but especially loved the elephant ride and the magic act.
http://circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org/

Big Top Circus Performance

Circus Wagon

Circus Wagon

Ella Balancing on the Unicycle

the girls with their cousin

Elephant Ride!

Elephant Balancing Act in the Kids' Interactive Circus

Fun Mirror!

All Caged Up

Hannah Balancing on a Ball

Roche-a-Cri State Park

We headed up to the family cottage on Wednesday, but it was a little cold to be in the water.  (It is strange to be saying that in the middle of August!)  Instead of heading down to the lake, we drove up to Roche-a-Cri State Park to check out the hiking trails there. The girls and my nephew seemed to enjoy checking out the petroglyphs, pictographs, hiking trails and the top of the cave outcropping.  I was just happy that I could make it to the top at 37 weeks!
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/rocheacri/

My girls had interesting ways of posing this week

303 Steps to the Top

View from the top of the rock outcropping

Another silly pose

Cottage Time

While we were up at the cottage, we got to spend some time with Grandma S and Great Grandma and Grandpa Z.  They got to go fishing, but ended up catching more with the net at the dock than with any fishing poles.  The girls also spent a lot of Thursday swimming.

Feeding the Fish

Hannah posing with her mud balls

Magic Show by Great-Grandpa

We were able to finish off our cottage time with a special magic show put on for the girls and Kyle by Great-Grandpa Z.  Hannah and Ella decided that they wanted to perform their own show at the end as well.

Ella's disappearing dog Magic Act

Hannah's disappearing unicorn Magic Act

Cave of the Mounds

On Friday, the last day my nephew was here, we went to Cave of the Mounds.  Hannah and Christopher were the only ones who had been there before, and I for one, was definitely impressed.  Ella, however, wouldn’t let go of Christopher’s neck throughout the entire tour!
http://www.caveofthemounds.com/

Holding tight to Daddy

Kids' Summer Bucket List Week 5

Birdseed Biscuit

Since we do have the new baby birds, the girls wanted to find a way to make sure they were well fed.  I found a few recipes online for birdseed biscuits and thought I would try them.
The first recipe we tried was from The Virtuous Wife http://www.amandathevirtuouswife.com/2012/02/birdseed-biscuits-kid-craft.html and it used just flour and water.  It seemed to mix up okay enough, but when it was time to pop them out of the cookie cutters, they just crumbled.  I am guessing this recipe would still work if you just use a little more flour than what was called for.
The next recipe we tried came from The Domesticated Princess http://thedomesticatedprincess.blogspot.com/2012/07/bird-seed-biscuits-attempt-2.html .  She seemed to have had the same problem with the flour mixture and found a recipe that uses gelatin instead.  It is mixed on the stove in order to dissolve the gelatin, so the girls weren’t able to do the whole project, but I did make sure they were part of the measuring and pouring.  These biscuits really seemed to work.  We let them cool overnight and they popped right out of the cookie cutters without crumbling! 

Hospital Visit and Crafts

We spent an afternoon visiting one of Hannah’s friends at Children’s Hospital.   The girls loved spending time with their friend and had fun playing at the hospital and doing some of the crafts they had available.  I have been so impressed with Children’s this past year with our own experiences and was not disappointed during this trip.   They had a craft of the day in their playroom and many more crafts and toys to play with as well.

Famous Art Outlines

Since Hannah is taking an art class this summer on famous artists, I thought I could bring that home as well.  I showed them some famous artwork, like the Mona Lisa and Starry Night, and then found the outlines of those pictures online.  Just google “Outline of Mona Lisa” and you’ll find pictures for the kids to color in.

Balloon Rocket

This idea came from Science Bob http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/balloonrocket.php
It’s a pretty simple experiment to set up, but it still didn’t work exactly like I thought it would.  You’ll need a string that has less friction than the twine that we had on hand and probably a different balloon than the round ones we have.  In spite of that, the girls still loved it.  The balloon didn’t shoot straight down the string, but went around and around.  The girls thought it was hilarious, so I’d still say it was a winner! 

Melted Bead Suncatcher

This idea came from the Crafster site, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=185741.msg1943136#msg1943136 and although I chose to make smaller ones, I still love how they turned out.   We had a lot of these little beads left over from other crafts and the girls really like mixing them together in our silicon pan.  It took about half an hour in a 400 degree oven to completely melt them, but it will depend on your pan and your oven.  They came out with rough edges so we plan on filing them down and then drilling a hole in them so we can hang then with string.

Beads ready to go into the oven

All melted

Our finished products after they cooled

Kids' Summer Bucket List Weeks 3 & 4

So, the last couple of weeks haven’t been quite as busy with special activities mostly because I have been absolutely exhausted.  Between summer school, taking care of stuff around the home, doctor’s appointments, and t-ball, I am spent!  Baby girl will be here in about 7 weeks, though, so I am trying to get back on track. We did, however, get a few projects and activities done.

4^th of July Popsicle Stick Flags

This idea actually came from the Oriental Trading site http://www.orientaltrading.com/wooden-craft-stick-flag-craft-kit-a2-48_1441.fltr?prodCatId=388760&tabId=5
It was pretty easy to make my own, although my craft sticks were obviously thicker than the ones they provide in their kit.

Girl Scout Picnic

We also got to spend time with friends and celebrate Hannah’s first year of Daisy Girl Scouts with a potluck at the park.  The girls had a lot of fun, and Hannah was quite proud to receive her certificate and rose!  We have been so blessed to have such awesome leaders and such a great group of girls for Hannah to do this with.

Water Fun Day

Hannah and Ella have been begging for a water fun day with their friends.  So we set up a play date with a couple of good friends and pulled out the wading pool, water balloons, sprinkler, and water guns.   A great time was had by all!

Ivory Soap Experiment

I have been seeing pictures of this experiment on Pinterest for a while now, and it looks like a really fun and cool experiment for the girls.   It definitely did not disappoint!  They had so much fun watching the soap expand in the microwave and were disappointed that I only had 3 bars of soap to use.  They also have a lot of fun mixing the soap flakes with water and putting them in the cookie cutters for their own soap to use at bathtime.  I got the idea for that part from Holly’s Arts and Crafts Corner http://hollysartcorner.blogspot.com/2012/06/art-science-collide-ivory-soap.html

Stained Glass Picture

I found the idea for this at Things to Make and Do http://www.things-to-make-and-do.co.uk/painting-and-pictures/stained-glass-pictures/stained-glass-pictures.html
The girls needed some help cutting through the paper, but had a lot of fun gluing the tissue paper on.  I think they turned out wonderful, and we like having them in our front window to see everyday.

Cottage Weekend

We spent the Fourth of July weekend up at my in-laws cottage.  We are so lucky that they have this available and it’s only an hour from our house!  The girls had a lot of fun playing and of course swimming and boating.  I never did get any pictures down at the lake because I was in the water a lot too and didn’t want to have to worry about the camera.   Hannah also had the chance to be taught by Grandpa how to play chess and really loves it!  Now, I just have to make sure her Daddy takes the time to play with her too.

Baby Birds

One of the neatest things that we have experienced this summer was something that we never could have planned.  I received a beautiful hanging plant at the beginning of the summer, and a few days after I hung it up a mama bird (a morning dove) made a nest in it.  Now, my hanging plant is definitely not the beautiful plant it once was (Mama did not like me watering it), but we definitely think it is worth it.  After watching her sit on the eggs for a while, she now has two beautiful baby birds that the girls can watch all day long!

Sorry for the picture quality, but I have been taking pictures though the window since Mama doesn't like us coming near.

A nice shot of the babies while Mama was away.

Ella checking out the babies.