Weekend Projects

Thanks in part to my in-laws who kept the children on Monday, we accomplished a lot this weekend -- more than what's pictured here.



The girls' bathroom curtain.  Still working on the bigger version for their room.  Kinda cute, I think.  And of course . . . Pinterest idea!



I wish I could show you the whole kitchen, but I'm still waiting on my curtain order.



Daddy painted Isaiah's room.  It's still taped off as it was painted yesterday afternoon.  Leaving the furniture moving to Daddy tonight too.


I'm really hoping everything comes together before Isaiah's birthday in a couple weeks.  Eek!

Why I Love Pinterest

For those of you that have not heard of Pinterest, here's a simple definition.

Like most things, there's a good and a bad side.

There are so many things that you can pin on Pinterest . . . craft ideas, educational / homeschooling helps, decoration tips, funny or motivational quotes, gardening tips, recipes and the list goes on and on.  Click HERE to see a great recipe I found this week.

I'm trying to convince the hubby Pinterest is saving us a lot of money, but I don't think he's buying it so far.  I hope to use some of the ideas I've pinned for decorations in our new home.  I'll definitely post pictures of them when I do.  Have to wait for school to end first though.  Only a couple more weeks!!  Can't wait.

This was long overdue, but I just got around to planting some seeds for my garden this weekend.  I don't even want to talk about it it's so upsetting.  We had it on the calendar to plant in early April, and we just didn't have the time.

I was able to use a couple ideas I saw on Pinterest.  Here I used sticks to mark the vegetables!  All you need is a Sharpie, some sticks (there happened to be a couple dead branches on trees in our back yard) and a cutting utensil.

The second idea I used: turning a milk jug into a watering can.  Since my plants are currently on the deck, I don't have a way to "gently" water them.  Boy, do I wish my kitchen sprayer reached outside! ;)  I remembered seeing the idea to poke holes in the lid of a jug and fill it with water to make a watering can!

Not sure how this one will work, but Madison wanted to plant carrots.  Someone posted and I pinned using a 2-liter bottle to grow carrots!  Since we started late, I don't think we're going to bother making garden boxes this year.  We have more yard work to do to see where we might even want a garden anyway.  This should give them room to grow since they grow into the dirt and not up.

You observant folks probably noticed I only used things that I had lying around (milk jug, 2-liter bottles, sticks, planting containers, etc.).  The seeds and dirt were already purchased, so this project cost me $0.00.  I'm pretty sure that's saving money, even from an accountant's point of view.  Well, on my way to proving my point!

Toledo Imagination Station Video (2 of 2)

The kids loved this screen that captured their motions.

Everyone lined up to take a turn shooting a tennis ball over 20 feet in the air.  Zaya launches a good one.  Please excuse the lack of focus at the end.

Toledo Imagination Station Videos (1 of 2)

After the girls built the Arch, Makenna wanted to destroy it.

The kids had a hard time figuring which way to turn the propellors (even with a little instruction from mom). The boats kept going backwards. Here Madi finally figured out the right way.  I love the expression on her face when she's sees it work!

Toledo Imagination Station

Back in April, I decided to take the kids to the Toledo Imagination Station.  We were headed to Cleveland for the weekend to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday (by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!), so I left a day early and we spent Friday with some friends from Ohio.

This is by far the best children's museum we've been to.  This post only shows a portion of the activities they had available.  We liked it so much we bought a year membership!  I'd love to take the kids back for another visit, but it's also good at hundreds of other museums.  Definitely think we'll get our money's worth.

This is fair warning that this post is CHUCKED FULL of pictures.  If I can easily post them, I'll try to post a couple videos soon.

Tug-of-war, boys vs. girls.  It's point was to teach leverage.  Notice location of ropes on yellow post.



Neither of our kids did this, but you could seriously ride a bike on this high wire!! Unbelievable.



Special Exhibit:  EGGstreme Science

It took 4-5 of us to build this.

Tada!

This machine let you choose how much sugar, oil and salt you thought was in a food.  Then you could push a button to crush that food item and see the correct answer.

This experiment showed you how fast sugar was absorbed vs how slowly flour was absorbed, and they likened it to food being changed into energy in your body and how to make healthy food choices!

Just. Plain. Hilarious.  Your picture was taken in a photo booth and they aged your photo according to how you answered questions about weight, exercise and eating habits.

Zaya trying Tug-of-War by himself.

Balls were inserted at an entry point, automatically sorted and then dumped out when a button was pushed.

The water section is always a favorite!

Can you find Isaiah in the kiddie section?

It was unbelievable what they had to play with in the little kids' section.

Isaiah's driving the ambulance after he secured the baby!

Isaiah working the Admissions Department.  He was hilarious talking on the intercom.

The kids always enjoy the grocery section.

Group photo of the Lott and Davis kids. 
I won't tell you how we went outside to take pics and ended up having to call the front desk since we got locked out! O_o

This mural was made with gumballs!

Makenna was in her glory playing with the robotic arm.  She's very analytical.

Madi's on the green screen.
(She's on the TV!)

Sport's Anchor: Isaiah Lott

The largest exhibit was Mindbender Mansion.  Puzzles had to be solved in each section: Kitchen, Library, etc.

One puzzle was to fill these trays with food before they went too far down the conveyor belt before time ran out.

Then clues were entered here which gave you a code.

Code was entered here.

To print out a certificate that you completed the exhibit.
(Zaya pictured here is ski hat.)

This was a spelling game.  The screen in front of you would show a clue (ie, the longest river in Africa).  You had to step on the correct letters to spell the word.  Points were awarded and you could beat the high score.

It was a long day driving from PA to Toledo and then to Cleveland, but it was well worth it and a fun time with friends!

The Difference Between A Man And A Woman

This is the kind of thing I'll look back on and laugh about.  Yesterday, I had a discussion with a man whether or not the car pictured below was drivable.  Most women would probably agree.  It is not.  Men, however, would probably say. It is.

Either way, we are thankful for the Lord's protection.  On the way home from work yesterday, Rick's car slid on the gravel that was in his lane pictured below and consequently, his car spun out of control and hit the guard rail shown on the left.

Part of his bumper was permanently attached to the guard rail, and the other half was thrown behind the guard rail.  (You can kinda see it lying on the ground.)

We're not sure what the insurance company will say since the car is older and has high miles.  We're just thankful no one else was involved, and Rick was not hurt in any way.  Thank you to those of you that pray for us!

Makenna's 11th Birthday

So everyone could be a part of Makenna's birthday, we had to stretch the celebration out over several days.

Tuesday, we met at Olive Garden with Rick's family to celebrate Makenna's birthday as well as Aunt Niki's, Uncle Brian's and Aunt Marlene's birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL!

Thursday, we took cupcakes (and leftover cake from Tuesday) to homeschool gym class to share with her friends.

Saturday, we surprised Makenna by having Nana & Pappy bring two of her friends to Aunt Mel's baby shower.  She was so shocked and excited to see them!



I thought it was funny that Makenna and her friend Hailey both came back to the table with a pile of olives!  Peas in a pod they are.  Madison and Hailey's sister, Elizabeth, both came back with identical plates of salad, chicken, cheese and ranch dressing.  We're so thankful our girls have such great friends.



After we cleaned up from the baby shower, we headed over to Aunt Mel & Uncle Josh's house for Makenna's party!  There we had another surprise for Makenna ~  her Ohio friend, Faith! 

 

 
Aunt Mel had lots of games planned for the kids . . .

Bean bag toss

Relays

Who can hold the most ballons?

Then it was present time.  (Makenna came to me at one point during the party and said, "We took a vote and everyone thinks we should open presents."  HA!  Wonder whose idea that was??)

Makenna received some very nice things:  clothes, money, a new Leapster to replace her worn out one, American Girl doll clothes . . .

Crochet needles, pattern book for crocheting, yarn . . .

Gift card to JoAnns . . .

and a guitar to start taking lessons!

She loves horses right now and wanted a horse cake.  We had talked about doing a more elaborate cake where the horses walk up a trail to a higher part of the cake, but I was a bit limited on time with the baby shower.  She loved this cake, and I had fun working with chocolate to make some of the decorations.

I'm thankful to have a precious daughter that is starting to turn into a sweet young lady!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

MAKENNA!

We Love You!