Its an Olympic Summer!

 The Olympics this summer have been providing a great sense of direction for the kids and I over the last two weeks.  Sometimes I get to the middle of the summer, and I think, "Yikes!  What are we going to do now???"  Maybe its the age of my kids this summer, and how much more capable Roscoe is or something, but I've hardly thought that!  We've been going to the beach a lot, and had family visiting, and so much more.  All the same, I love working within a theme, my kids love having a craft to look forward to every couple of days, and the honest truth?  I just need an excuse to start another Pinterest board (check out my Olympics Kid Fun Pinterest board)!!!

 So, last week we did a great painting activity using toilet paper tubes to paint the Olympic rings.  Have to say, pretty low mess, and easy clean up (I threw the tubes away... no washing brushes!).

 As we painted I talked to the kids about how everything always points back to Jesus' love for us: nature, the seasons, the Olympic rings...

BLACK reminds us of our sin, all the bad stuff we do, say or think.

RED is for the incredible LOVE that Jesus has for us, and because he loves us, he died for us, shedding his blood and taking our punishment, 

that we deserve for our sins.  

He loves us that much!

WHITE is for forgiveness.  For saying that we're sorry to God and others for our bad choices, and having our sins cleaned off us, forever!

GREEN is for new life, for the new, fresh start we get to have 

because of being forgiven: freedom!

YELLOW is the hope that we have of spending the rest of our lives 

with our true best friend, Jesus, every day.

BLUE is for telling others about Jesus and his love.  

One way we can do this is through baptism, 

as well as through our kind words, kind hands (actions) and kind thoughts.

 On another day we were watching tennis with the kids, and thanks to my Pinterest board, I had organized several crafts ahead of time for us to do, and pulled out this beauty!

 Little Tennis Puppets!  Aren't they cute?  We used supplies that I had around the house: pompoms, googly eyes, and feathers.  The kids had fun picking out the colours and then I glue-gunned them on to the balls.  

The puppets are great for storing treasure in too!

We've also built different models of boats to test which ones float the best, but were too busy having fun to take pictures!  Here are some of the ideas we used from other blogs:

Mermaid Tail Pseudo-Tutorial

DISCLAIMER: I say this is a "pseudo-tutorial", because I don't want to claim if you follow my directions step by step it will end up a certain way!  I am definitely NOT a seamstress, and when I do sew, I would say that I am an "interpretive-sewer" (kinda like interpretive dance??!)  That being said, I saw the idea for a mermaid beach towel, and thought, "I could make that!", and I did, for about $5 a towel!  Not bad!

 So, first off, I went to WalMart, 

and found towels at $5 a shot in the colours I wanted (purple and turquoise), one towel per child (I needed 6: so 3 purple, 3 turquoise).  

I chopped the bottom third off each towel, 

and then I made a fin template using tissue paper.  

I folded the tissue paper in half, drew half a tail freehand, cut it, opened it up and voila!  A perfectly symmetrical fin!  

I pinned it to a the bottom third of the towel that I had cut off, and cut around it, leaving a 1/4 to 1/2 inch for the seam allowance (a trick I learned in pattern making from the UVic Theatre Costume department!).

 Then, as I am not much of a seamstress (as mentioned above), I waited to do the actual sewing until I was at my in-law's house in March, because my mom in law is a fabulous seamstress, and often takes my crazy ideas and figures out how to make them work!  We serged the fins (an easy job for me!), and then she and my sister in law figured out a way to use crochet string (not yarn) to gather the unfinished edge of the top two-thirds of the towels in order to sew them to the fins.  Are you with me still??

 Here's the finished product!  

After the visit, I took the finished towels home and attached velcro to the top of each tail so the girls could wear them!

 Here's my husband's mom and sister hard at work on my crazy scheme...

And here's the finished product, modeled by the birthday girl.  

The towels were a huge hit at the party, and a great 

take-home gift instead of a goody bag!  

It was super cute seeing them all wearing their towels 

while they played barbies at the party.

Ways to Celebrate Palm Sunday with Young Children

1.  Colour a picture

Source: sermons4kids.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

2.  Make your own Palm Fronds

Source: impressyourkids.org via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

3.  Use your hands and feet to celebrate

Source: catholicicing.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

I was going to tackle this one with my kids today, but figured I'd wait until Dad was home to help control the inevitable mess!

4.  Decorate a large silk leaf

Source: mustardseeds.typepad.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

I thought this was so cute!  It could also make a great decoration for your door.

 
5.  Start planting a Hill of Calvary garden

Source: mustardseeds.typepad.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

Last year we tried making one of these (see tutorial about Hill of Calvary), 

but the soil dried out, 

and I was trying to use regular grass seed... 

So this year, we're going to try again with cat grass (fingers are crossed!)

6.  Listen to Great Music and Dance!

 Hosanna Rock by Yancy

Hosanna by The Donut Man

Use the palm fronds that you make to jump and dance around!

7.  Watch a movie about Jesus life

One of my absolute favorites is The Miracle Maker.

We also like the Veggie Tales "Twas the Night Before Easter".

8.  Read some books

I have a couple on my to read list.  

And I'm planning on putting one in the kids Easter basket this year.  

But a definite favorite from last year was The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs.

9.  Make a Pinterest Board

Its my favorite way to put all our ideas in one spot.  And my Easter Pinterest Board is a great tool for helping my kids decide which project they'd like to try each day!

Top Ten Ideas for a Mermaid Party

 With Aria's 6th birthday coming up next month I've already started planning some ideas out for how to throw a spectacular MERMAID BIRTHDAY PARTY.  Here are the top ten ideas from my Pinterest board.

1. Seashell Invitations

Source: sillyeaglebooks.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

 How fun are these?  Aria loves shells, and the invitation instantly becomes a keepsake when its not a piece of paper!

2. Balloon Decor

 

Source: karaspartyideas.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

Balloons and nets and some streamers hanging from the ceiling will really make the room feel as though we're underwater.

3.  Rock Candy

 

Source: maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

There's all sorts of recipes out there about how to make your own rock candy.  I think it'll be a fun science experiment to do with my kids several weeks before the party, and doesn't it look like coral?

4.  "Sushi" Sandwiches

 

Source: karaspartyideas.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

I love sushi, but I don't think that I could get the girls to eat it!  This is a super fun alternative, and with all the peanut allergies out there, I think its wise to steer away from the classic PB&J.

5. Orange Pepper Octo-dip

 

Source: familyfun.go.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

How ridiculously cute is this?  And easy!  I love food that adds to the theme!

6.  Mermaid Craft

 

Source: familyfun.go.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

This is a great simple craft that I know any 5 or 6 year old girl would love to make.  I think I'll attach the hair ahead of time, but let the girls decorate their mermaids however they'd like to.

7.  Mermaid Tail Towels

 

Source: thehobbymommy.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

So, on Amazon these towels are around $60!  I'm thinking I can make them for WAY less, and I am NOT a seamstress.  I like to think of myself as an interpretive sewer... no patterns, just making it up as I go along!  My thought is that these will be the party favours that the girls can take home and then use all summer!

8.  Ombre Ocean Cake

 

Source: blog.catchmyparty.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

In my head, this is what Aria's cake will look like, but I know there's no way I can pull it off.  I might try to go for the ombre look on the inside though, with the different layers and try for something simpler to decorate...

9.  Wafer Chocolate for Easy Cake Decorating

 

Source: marthastewartweddings.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

Something simpler like this.  Still beautiful, but layering chocolate wafers I can definitely do.  And the Bulk Barn in town has every shade of wafer under the sun!

10.  Octopus Cake or Marshmallow Pops

 

Source: blog.amyatlas.com via Carmen Kinniburgh on Pinterest

In October I made my first attempt at cake pops for Roscoe's Robot Party.  My husband had much more finesse when it came to dipping them in chocolate.  They were super yummy, and a LOT OF WORK!  Simple octopuses I might be able to handle though...