Project 64: Red Orange

The color this week is red orange:

Found it on a bike ride with my kids:

Frame A Day '12: Week 8: 2/19-2/25

February 19--A Colorful Look at History--We went to a local museum today to attend a model train show.  We also toured a bit of the museum, as much as you can when you have kids on the move.  This stained glass window did catch our eye for more than a moment, though, and we stayed to admire it and find the items on the scavenger hunt card.

February 20--Swoosh--I brought all three kids to ski after Chretien was through with teaching.  This was Imp's first time on skis, and he was so excited to give it a try like the big kids. 

February 21--Rice Krispie Treats--Updated!!--These are an old favorite with a twist--a bit of powdered cake mix and sprinkles for good measure.  They still taste fabulous.






*February 22--Wind Power--Chretien and the older kids went to ski today. About 1/3 of this peak's electricity is derived from this wind turbine. It's not everyday you get to ski in such a green environment.


February 23--Peek-A-Boo Boy--Lately, Imp has been very insistent that he participate in everything that Trust and Earnest do. So when Trust climbed up in this tree for a few photos, Imp insisted that I take a few of him as well. My regular laptop is not usable right now and I haven't bothered to install Photoshop Elements on the laptop I am using, so I will need to lighten this at some point.

February 24--Class of 202X??--As the finale to vacation week, Trust and  Earnest accompanied me to school today. It was Earnest's first visit during regular work hours. They attended microbiology, watched a movie or two on my laptop and visited with my colleagues. Trust even got a little work in! She viewed printed illustrations under a dissecting microscope to see the individual dots which make up the picture as part of her research for her authors project.







February 25--Gentleman, Start Your Engine--Lowe's Build and Grow workshop today was very timely, with the Daytona 500 and the start of the NASCAR season tomorrow. This was probably the easiest project that Lowe's has done since we started going to the workshops regularly back in October. It was probably also one of the most 'useful' as I think the kids will enjoy the cars for a long while.

Project 64: Orchid

The color this week is orchid:

A pretty orchid sky greeted us on the day of hearts and flowers.

Frame-A-Day '12 Week 7: 2/12-2/18

February 12--Giving It Her Best Shot--My niece's basketball team played my town's girls today.  The game was held down the street at the Y, which was super convenient for us.  Despite a slow start, my niece's team ran away with it and triumphed 38-16.  We only stayed for the first half, but it was fun to go and root for her and her friends.

 February 13--Spreading the Love--Here are my three little Valentines, each holding one of the Valentines we made with love for their friends, courtesy of Pinterest.

February 14--Little Sack of Sugar--Today was the Winter Concert at the kids' school.  The kindergarteners sang three songs--"Little Sack of Sugar", "Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch" and "Won't You Be My Valentine?", while the third graders sang a "Skip to My Lou" medley and a song about colors and rainbows.  It was very cute and one of the days you live for as a parent.

 February 15--They Come in Threes--Our budding author met her third present-day author in person today.  Trust met Jarrett Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady books, when he visited her school.  His books are more like graphic novels, where he is both the author and the illustrator.  Rather than email him first, she brought her questions with her and taped the interview.  These interviews have gone so well that if the author career doesn't pan out, she can always fall back on her interview skills.

February 16--In Honor of Gerald McBoing Boing--This photo exemplifies quite well why I love the kids' school. It's Dr. Seuss night and not only did many of the teachers participate, they really took their roles seriously. The book that was being read was "Gerald McBoing Boing", we can see both Earnest's teacher sharing the "Boing" sign with us while Trust's teacher doing some actual boinging.

 February 17--Read Me a Story, Please--It is very helpful to have another reader in the house, especially around bedtime.

February 18--Sticks and Stones--Today Earnest had a playdate with one of his best friends in his class.  We went to another elementary school to play on the playground there for a change of pace.  What is it about small boys, rocks and sticks that always conspires to match them up?

Project 64: Sky Blue

The color this week is Sky Blue.

Not a heck of a lot of sky blue these days in nature.  I'm going with this photo of my daughter at one of the Lowe's Build and Grow workshops from a few weeks ago.

Frame-A-Day '12 Week 6: 2/5-2/11

*February 5--Superbowl Sunday--Looks like Tom is getting ready to share some secrets with Lady, the visiting ladybug from Earnest's K class, and Trust's puppy.  Obviously, it wasn't the secrets of how to win Super Bowl XLVI.

 February 6--Eat Your Heart Out--Trust, Earnest and I went to a Valentine program at the library this afternoon.  There were bookmarks and wreaths to adorn with hearts, cookies and cupcakes to frost, and lollipops to lick.

 February 7--100 Days of K!--Where are all the engines?  Turns out that Earnest brought all the engines, coaches and other assorted railway vehicles, as well as 16 additional automobiles, for his 100 objects.  It was quite a heavy bag!  In place of the engines, we have the 100 days headband and the Fruit Loop necklace (with a few Loops missing) to represent the big milestone.  I can't believe he's more than 1/2 way through kindergarten. Slow down, Earnest!

 February 8--To An Author, From An Author--We received answers to the questions we sent to David A. Kelly today.  I printed them off at work and brought them to the Y so Trust could read them during the boys' swim lessons.  This is the third author we've heard from, with David Ira Rottenberg being the first and Suzy Kline being the second.  Mr. Rottenberg appeared here on February 2 and we hope to meet the other two authors in the upcoming days and weeks.

February 9--Water Jellies--Another Thursday with Mr. Malcolm at the library.  Today's theme was light and colors.  Earnest is showing us a water jelly, which doesn't quite fit the theme, but boy were they fun to pick up and squish in our hands.

February 10--Poise Under Pressure--Today we had the opportunity to meet David A. Kelly, author of the ballpark mysteries.  He was giving a talk at my nephew's school and he was willing to be interviewed by Trust prior to the start of his presentation.  Trust chatted with him for about 20 minutes, and didn't miss a beat.  She did so well for an eight year old who was beside herself at talking with a 'real author' in person for an extended period of time.

 February 11--You Color My World--A cute project for Valentine's Day at Lowe's Build and Grow clinic today--a card creator box, complete with stickers, colored pencils and a few Valentine cards.

Frame-A-Day '12 Week 5: 1/29-2/4

January 29--A Really Crafty Girl--Chretien teaches skiing all day on Sunday. With a long day ahead of me and the kids, I decided to make it a "craft day", which, of course, delighted our resident artist. We worked on Model Magic projects, sewing, Perler bead initial pins, and Valentines and other paper goods, including multi-colored heart shaped crayons which will be part of Trust's Valentines to her classmates.

January 30--Cheers of Joy--I'm not sure what she was happier about--the fact that she came in first in the Wii race of the fact that she bested her brother.

**January 31--5:20 PM--The main reason I captured this photo is to record that it's the end of January and we're already headed toward spring.  It's after 5 PM and it's not completely dark out!  In an added bonus, my commute is now busy on a road which never was busy in past semesters.  I always joke that it's like a real life video game with all the neat little surprises.

February 1--Kick, Kick, Kick--Here we have Imp showing us his best kicking action at his swim lesson tonight. The level he is in is probably a stretch for him. He has trouble kicking, which we think is due to the weakness in his left leg. Still, he tries (somewhat) and it's great practice for him.

February 2--Present Meets Future--Chretien took the kids to a program at the library this afternoon; a children's author read one of his books to the kids while ballerinas from Trust's old dance school pirouetted around the room. This was especially thrilling for Trust as she is doing a long term research project on how to become a children's author, her future dream, and part of her assignment is interviewing an author. She received the author's email address to correspond with him.

**February 3--Lady (Bug)--Lady the Ladybug, Room 2's Weekend Pal, came home with Earnest for the weekend.  We're supposed to show her a good time and record the activities in which she participates.  We took her along to the children's museum.  The evening will be memorable not so much for her attendance but more for the fact that Imp went missing for a very long 15 minutes.  Thankfully, he turned up safe and sound after some helpful employees joined the search to find him.

February 4--Little Boxes--Another Home Depot Kids' Workshop saw us making Valentine boxes. The assembly was probably among the easiest of all the projects we've encountered (No real nailing necessary! Just glue and go!) and the best part was the stickers provided to personalize and decorate the boxes.

And with the photo from today, that makes 400 straight days of photos for me, if you count last year's Frame A Day project.  I wonder how long this will continue!