Moon Sand Fun!

For any parents out there that want to really show there kids a good time and explore their creativity you must get Moon Sand. It is the finest coloured sand ever and can so easily be molded into really cool structures and figures. We received our Moon Sand from the girls fun Uncle Ryan and Auntie Christa. My kids have only been allowed to play it occasionally. It is not a daily go to activity for sure. But eventually after they have asked to play with moon sand and I have felt the dread and horror serge through my body a couple of times I wearily bring out the sand. I have to admit I love the feel of the too and usually get quite caught up in the building of creatures, volcanoes, and zoo animals.

It is when the moon sand festivities come to an end and there is a fine dusting of sand on all over the table, all the chairs, the counters, in every crease of the kids clothes, their hair, the entire floor, the mats, the window sill, and any other unsuspecting horizontal surface that I remember why moon sand is hidden behind the pull-up box right next to the 'easy' bake oven!!

As I vacuum the fun I take comfort in knowing that soon, very soon, my sweet niece Vaya will be lucky to have fun Auntie Holly buy her Moon Sand to explore her creativity.

A Geocaching we will go...

Cory, our resident adventurer, has introduced us to geocaching.  He very calculatedly (as everything he does is) took the kids out by themselves first.  He made the hiking exciting and the searching for the cache a big, fun treasure hunt.  Of course the girls came home thrilled with their adventure and begging mommy to try geocaching.  There is nothing sweeter than those little faces saying the word 'geocaching'!  So the next day we headed out as a family with 3 sites programmed into the GPS and started our hike at Echo Park.  Because of the flooding this year we had to drive through some water between Standing Buffalo and the Park which proved to be pretty exciting in itself. 

Kenzie and I shared the responsibility of holding the GPS to get us to the correct quadrants..  She is excellent at watching the numbers and making sure they are getting smaller and that we are getting closer.  When we were within 1meter of the cache the real hunt began. When I saw the ice cream pail that was our treasure I race to it and snatched out from under the bench where it was hidden.  As I proudly made eye contact with Cory he disappointingly said "I usually let the kids find it".  I felt a little sheepish but I didn't let that overshadow my pride.  Inside each cache are trinkets and a log book to sign.  The cache etiquette is to write your name in log book and write what you have taken and what you have left behind.  The girls have obtained some bracelets, stones, dog tags and puppy figurine in exchange for little toy dinosaurs and key chains. 

We will definitely go geocaching again, maybe even venture out of our little part of the world.  Although Cory and the kids think it would be find to geocache in Mexico, I may just wait for them by the pool there.

 

Easter Eggs

Kaida was totally into the Egg decorating this year.  I guess when we waited for her to go down for a nap in previous years contributed to her 'not being into it!'  Well she has given up her nap and joined us in egg decorating and made some beautifully decorated pieces.

Kenzie did another fine job of colouring her eggs as well. This year she was interested in what would happen if she put the egg in one colour and then into another colour.  She guessed correctly most of the time.  Kindergarten has made her brilliant.

Pop bottle Barbie

Kaida's latest obsession is Barbie (thanks Raegan!) and most recently  Barbie and the Fairy Secret.  So today when we were in the Bargain Shop getting Owen's birthday card and Kaida found Barbie and the Fairy Secret doll she HAD to have it.  She begged shortly but it was a solid No to the $26.99 doll and she started to cry real, sad tears.  She was heartbroken and the nice lady at the till was almost going to buy her the doll herself.  It was a sad day for Kaida.

On the drive home Kenzie remembered that she was 'owed' some pop bottle money for helping me shovel the Credit Union one day.  She told Kaida she could have the pop bottle money for the Barbie.  So there went any plans I had for the next hour.

We came home and the 3 of us set to work in the garage getting all the bottles gathered up.  We collected 8 bags of recycling and headed to Sarcan.  The girls carried the bottles in and collected $28.64 for their labour.  Kaida told everyone at Sarcan where the money was going with cutest little excited jumps and squeals. 

We headed to The Bargain Shop one hour later all smiles and giggles.  The lady at the till was also happy to see us.  Kaida got her Barbie and for being a sweet little girl, I bought Kenzie a baby chick with a necklace in it that she picked.  It was a good day for everyone.  My garage is clean, 2 little girls are happy and I have some dirty coats to wash and we will be back on track for the rest of the day!!

Report Card #2

Well here I am again, one proud Mama!!  Kenzie continues to love school, do her best, and learn new things everyday.  I hope that I am the kind of mom that will keep these excellent report cards forever so she can read them from Medical school and feel pride; but just in case they get lost here are the teachers comments:

Kenzie is a happy and eager participant in all of our circle time activities.  She listens and participates which has allowed her to master the skills.

Kenzie is making great progress in her early emergent reading skills.  She should be proud of everything that she has learned and mastered.  She is seeing and responding to print in the world around her.

Kenzie has developed a strong sense of numeracy to 20 and beyond.  She loves to talk about numbers bigger than 20.  Kenzie is able to think about problems quietly  and respond accurately.

Kenzie has very well controlled fine motor skills.  Her work is neatly done and she should be proud of it.

Kenzie is always happy to participate in Gym class.  She always tries her best!

Kenzie continues to grow and learn.  Her exuberance is contagious.  She gets all of us excited about the stuff we are learning and doing.

So there you have it!!!  She is sweet, happy and brilliant.  What more could a mama ask for?

Instead of cleats...

We went shopping on Wednesday to buy Kenzie some new soccer shin pads and some cleats.  If the snow ever melts and it warms past -15 soccer will begin!  Kenzie bought some great cleats that she claims make her super fast.  We have been witness to the very loud, yet super fast clickity clack of the cleats on my laminate floor.

I asked Kaida if she wanted to play soccer this year.  She replied very politely "No fank you, I'll just watch.  But I could use a new dress."  So we went to another store and Kaida bought a new dress that twirls so big when she jumps and spins. 

We can always try soccer next year!