Summer Squaw

We have been here in the winter but it is a whole new world in the summer!

Remember how they held the 1960 Olympics here?

OK, me neither but we took a quick look at the memorabilia.

It got me pumped to watch the 2012 Olympics.

We took the tram up to High Camp.

This is what we ski in the winter!

It was gorgeous at the top.

Wildflowers and green.

The earth really is full of HIS glory. (Is 6:3)

There is a swimming pool at High Camp but it was just too cold that day to partake.

But we did try out the geocaching.
Looking.

Still looking.

Never did find anything.

When we got back to the office to turn in our GPS the guy was all

"yeah I think somebody is moving the boxes"

Thanks.

We did find a cool log to climb on.

This is my cute mama.

The next day we went down to Lake Tahoe itself.

Got our feet wet in that glacier melt.

Cold. Water.

It was a warmer day but we still opted out of swimming.

Found some wildlife instead.

A couple favorite pics...

It was so good to have my mom with us for a little while.

The kids just ate it up.

{please note Trek's jacket.  it is on upside down.  and Joe is smiling and i didn't even photo shop anything.}

Fave #2:  Dylan Sandwich!!!

Good times.

Summer Art...Kandinsky Circles

Abstract is the theme of our summer art class.

We started out with potato prints. It was not so successful. The kids got bored with it pretty quickly.

Next, we tried contour or single line drawings. Much better. I loved how they turned out!

Today, we went back to circles.

Kandinsky circles on magnets.

The colors are so bright.

And since they are on magnets, it turns my refrigerator into an ever changing piece of art!

I didn't get but a couple "in progress" pictures because there were about 20 kids creating in my house all at one time.  It went surprisingly well.  The kids just rotated between the stations.  I left them free to make as many or as few as they wanted.

Station 1:  Choose a jar lid. 

            Trace with a black crayon. 

            Draw more circles within the first circle. 

            Cut it out.

Station 2:  Paint inside the lines with watercolors.

Station 3:  Glue your circle inside your lid.

            Glue a magnet to the back of your lid.





Here is the original Kandinsky.

picture from www.enjoyart.com

Your can read more about Kandinsky here.

Summer Days (lower bidwell)

What makes a great summer day?

Running in the sun, getting hot and sweaty, cooling off with a swim, and repeat.

Sound good?

This was a great summer day.

We drove into Chico to lower Bidwell Park.

Checked off running and sweating at Caper Acres.

(Being with the ones you love makes any summer day great!)

Cooled off at Sycamore Pool.

It is seriously cool--fed by Big Chico Creek, it stays cool all summer.

(It's similar to the pool my sis took me to in Austin.)

 What more could you ask for, right?

 How about a nap.

I hope all your summer days are great!

Slime Science

One of the great things about summer is that we have time to do things we wouldn't normally.

Like Slime Science.

The other morning (had to be morning because they are all still in their pj's--but then again it is summer) Joe pulled out his recipes for gook and homemade boogers and other loveliness.  I'll spare you the picture of the boogers.  You know what they look like already.

Here's the gook.

I helped the little boys make their own gook.

It's the easiest thing...cornstarch and water.

Just add water until, well, until it's gook-y.

It creates one of those substances that defies the normal states of matter.

It's not a liquid but it does drip and pour.

It's not a solid but if you hit it, it feels hard.

I don't know what you call something like that.

The boys called it fun.

Summer Art (single line drawings)

Single line drawing.

Let's break it down.

Single as in one.

Line as in what happens when you put pen to paper and move your hand.

Drawing as in a picture.

Today we made pictures by putting our pen to paper and drew the whole picture before picking our pen up again.  We practiced first by trying to draw our hands, then moved on to plastic animals.  The big kids (10 year olds) grasped the concept the best but still had to really think about how to add details like eyes and spots on a giraffe.

 We use permanent pens for the drawings and painted over them with watercolors.

Aren't they beautiful!

Now you need to give it a try.

Draw something that is sitting right in front of you.

Remember, don't pick up your pen until you're finished!

Meanwhile back at the lake

The fish are back now that the water has warmed up!

Note:  the safest way for a young, not fully coordinated person to look at fish while leaning over the edge of a deck is to lie flat with only your head over the water.

It takes a Georgia man to catch a fish like that.

This was Abby's contribution.

Summer Art Project #1

This summer I had a little art class with my two older kids (they are 9 and 7), a few of their friends and whoever else happened to be around.

 

I picked up this Childcraft book at a thrift store months before summer and had decided right away that this paper-mache project would be one of our projects.

Is that clown not the cutest?!!

Step 1.  Find some empty bottles. 

The book says plastic, we used glass, they both work.

Put a little sand or gravel in the bottom to keep the bottle from tipping.

I actually forgot this part but it turned out fine because the glass bottle had enough weight on its own.

Step 2. 

Crush a piece of paper into a ball about the size of the head you want. 

Place the ball in the center of another piece of paper. 

Pick up the four corners and tightly twist them together.

Step 3.

Put the twisted end into the opening of the bottle.

Paste four layers of paper-mache over the ball and top part of the bottle.

You can also use a little tape to start with and then paper-mache over it.

Step 4.  Cover everything with about 4 layers of paper-mache.

(This is super fun!)

This is when you take strips of newspaper or magazine pages (non-glossy works better),

dip them into the paste and

smudge them onto the bottle.

Paper-mache paste can be made different ways:

--3 parts water to 1 part flour

--1 part wallpaper paste to 3 parts water

--2 parts glue to 1 part water

(we used the glue method)

Step 5.  Let it dry.

I kind of liked them at this stage. 

I can see trying this again with some different shapes and just leaving them in the unpainted stage.

But a some of the kids came up with really cute painted people.

And that brings us to..

Step 6.  Paint your bottle figure.

Use acrylic paint.  Add hair or other accessories if you want.

A couple kids added paper hats. (no pics of the hats, sorry)

Here are a couple of our finished products.

Blue-haired Fairy and Raiders Guy!



Ador.

Tomorrow, I'm going to tell you about the project I was doing while they were busy with Bottle Figures!

Best Dives of the Summer

We had such a blast this summer! 

I hope to be able to share some of the best parts here in the near future: 

our travels, camp adventures, art and craft projects, fun with visitors. 

I felt like the pool was a good place to start. 

We spent a lot of time swimming and jumping and splashing. 

So, without further ado, here are the nominees for

Best Dive Summer 2011

Abs:  "shot through the heart", "noodle jumping", and "the classic"

Joe:  "karate kid", "my dad can still throw me", "walking off a cliff"

Trek:  "I just started swimming by myself 3 days ago and now I want to give my mother a real heart attack", "cannonball", and "ninja kick"

Dylan:  (there were fewer pictures to choose from for this one.  probably because i was in serious lifeguard mode whenever Kamikazi here decided to get in the water.  however, i feel this one jump is worthy of a nomination)

"white dolphin"

Please leave your vote for Best Dive Summer 2011 in the comment section below. 

joe friday : resipe for summer

Top 10 for 10.10.10 by Joe

Top 10
Things to do in the Summer

1. play wii
2. watch movies
3. swim
4. play computer
5. go to the sugar barrel
6. play football
7. ride my bike
8. read
9. play wiffle ball
10. go to the game room