Craft Day with Nana...

A couple weeks ago I was reading one of my very favorite blogs, Whatever, and the minute I saw this craft I knew that, for a couple reasons, I had to do it...I love crafts and I love rainbows.  So, today K, R and I created these "masterpieces!"  I used the hot glue gun to adhere the crayons to the canvas, and the girls used the blow dryer to create the magic.  It was fun, easy and cheap!  The best kind of craft!!

Three days in Seattle...

Our three day "get-away" to Seattle this past week was wonderful.  It was an anniversary celebration and a chance for us to get a Seattle "fix!"  We love Seattle, always have, and getting to spend a few days there always recharges our batteries!!  Our favorite place in downtown Seattle is Pike Place Market.  We spent a good part of every day there, and loved it!

The fresh flowers are beyone description...they have huge, beautiful boquets for $10!  If I lived there I would fill our house with them!  It's always fun to watch the guys at the fresh fish counter throw the fish around!  And, every corner in the market area has "live entertainment" going from sun up to sun down!  The four guys singing outside the original Starbucks were amazing!  We also saw a guy with a trained parrot, a musician playing the guitar AND harmonica while hula-hooping, and SO much more!  It's great!!

I didn't take my camera (I didn't want to have to carry it around), but my iPhone with the Camera+ app did a great job of capturing some of our special memories!!

New discovery...

I just discovered a new iPhone app called "Camera+" and it is so much fun!!  It let's you do SO many fun things with photos...all kinds of "effects", frames, and even let's you put captions on them.  I just took this picture and then played with all the different effects.  Can't wait to try more!!  I am easily entertained for 99 cents!! :0)

It was FABULOUS....

Just returned from our trip east.  It was SOOOO much fun, and, as always, went by too quickly!! But, we packed every minute with lots and lots of fun and made lots of very special memories!!  Just of few of our highlights....

Putt-Putt golf

Go-Karts

A stop at our favorite ice cream shop

An evening at the Lugnut's game

And, most importantly, THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Today...

From "Pinterest." 

I LOVE this, and I'm going to try to remember it every day!! :0)

"Camp Nana & Papa"....

We begged and pleaded with our kids (not really, we didn't have to beg) to let us have their children (our grandchildren) for this weekend.  They agreed, and the fun started today....

We went to see Mr. Popper's Penguins...FUN movie, we all loved it!!  The penguins are adorable...makes you want to adopt one as a pet; and, as usual, Jim Carrey was great!

Next stop was at the "Bear Research Center " at WSU...the bears were outside of the building and having fun playing in their cages, we got a fabulous "close up" view.  The kids were amazed at the bears, they were impressed with their LONG claws and big noses!!  We were all thankful that there was a fence between us and the bears!  One of the bears stood up on his hind legs and it was incredible to see how tall he was.

"WSU scientists and students work with both free-ranging and captive bears. Because it is necessary to weigh the bears regularly, draw blood samples, and provide special diets, not all of the research can be done in the wild. Research with captive bears permits a more in-depth understanding of bear biology."

The rest of the afternoon they are doing some "cousin bonding time" ....lots of Legos with the older ones, and a lot of playing "house" for the younger ones!!! 

The only additions that would make this weekend PERFECT would be if our two little grandsons in Michigan could be here with us!  Some day!! :0)

My Dad...

“My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”

~Clarence B. Kelland I was blessed with a Dad that loved being a father.  He was always there for us, nothing was more important that being with his girls...all three of us... Mom, Jean and me.  I miss him!!

Summer Bucket List, 2011

Last night K and R helped me make their "Summer Bucket List" for 2011.  It was fun helping them come up with this list!  Just a few of the many, many things they plan (hope) to do....

Sleep-overs with the cousins...Tea Party with their American Girl dolls...play 18 holes of golf (that's an ambitious one!!)...Kid's Triathlon...make S'mores...wash their parent's cars (on a hot day)...read...make a "Wipe Out" course in the back yard...go to "Mr. Popper's Penguins" movie...cook dinner for the family...write letters and really mail them (with stamps)...help Mom and Dad in the garden...go to the library...AND SO MUCH MORE! 

Looks like they will have a very busy, and FUN, summer, 2011!

Doing some scrapbooking...

I've been "out of the mood" to scrapbook lately...maybe I just haven't been home long enough, but these adorable little boys and some great papers helped me to be inspired!!

Almost complete...whew!!

In August, 2010, I began a project in first and third grade with my granddaughter's classes to have each child document their school year by making "personal yearbooks".  (This idea came from Becky Higgins.)

I took the children's pictures in September, January and May--oh my, how they have changed through the year!  And, each month the children drew a picture and journaled about something special that they wanted to remember from that month at school. 

After my years of teaching, I always love getting back into the classroom!  There is something so exciting about interacting with a classroom full of bright and shiny little faces!! And, by going in every month I really got to know the children and they got to know me. 

It's been a big job, but "K" and "R" helped me with some of the "behind the scenes" work of sorting and matching the pages for each child.  I think they had as much fun as I did!  We are almost finished...only the "May" pages to complete and then binding the books together. 

This has been such a fun project, I'm hoping to do it with their classes again next year!