Ocean Crafts

Kate and I have managed to squeeze in a few ocean crafts over the last couple of weeks.  

I covered a cardboard fish shape with foil and gave her oil pastels and Sharpies to make her own Rainbow Fish.

She colored an envelope and together we turned it into a shark.  Kate enjoyed a silly game where the shark asked for different letters to eat, and she would feed him.

She loves to play with shaving cream, so I squirted some on a tray and let her add acrylic paint and swirl it all around with a wooden skewer.

So pretty.
We read Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle, and I cut a seahorse shape out of card stock for Kate to marble.

 She pressed both sides into the pretty shaving cream and then we left it to dry.

 Kate played in the paint and shaving cream quite happily.

 After a while, Kate and I used the squeegee to scrape the shaving cream off of the seahorse.  Once it dried, Kate added an eye and a mouth.

We have read a lot of ocean themed books too.  She is especially fond of I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs.

Around Here

We have quite a lot going on this summer.  I always debate whether to sign up for a bunch of things or keep it to a minimum. The best summer for us is one full of new things to try and still plenty of time for family fun.  I think of summer as the best time to try new activities, learn things that are not taught in school, and spend time with friends and family.  So, that is what we are doing!

Field hockey started for Reagan last week.  She loves this sport.  I'm glad she does because it is popular in town and she will be able to try out for the middle school team in a few years.  Field hockey is once a week for two hours.

 Collin and Reagan started their weekly tennis lesson with Steve.

We went to a magic show at the library.  It was cute.  The magician has received a lot of awards and has performed at the White House nine times.  He used a few books in his show which was neat since it was a library performance.

It was hot over the weekend, so we went to the beach on Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday, the kids had a blast with friends and a cousin.

Reagan and Addie

Kate and Ayla

Cousin Riley with Reagan

Collin and Jack

Yesterday, Reagan went to Edaville with Auntie Cyn, Uncle George, and Riley.  They had a great time!  It was very hot, so the rest of us decided to go to the beach instead of the amusement park. Reagan said it was a lot of fun though, and she loved hanging out with Riley.

Collin started his second robotics camp this week; he did a week of robotics at the high school right after school ended.  This week, he is at Wheeler, a private school in Providence and Seekonk, three hours a day. He showed me a video about a robot named Jibo that is so very cool; I want one!

I'm off to pick Reagan up from her friend Makenna's house now because that child must have somewhere to go and someone to see every day!!!

Beach

The beach has been so much fun this summer.  Kate is at a great age, and she loves everything about the beach and wants to make sure she gets it all in every time we go - sand play, running in and out of the water, jumping in the waves, looking for shells, climbing the sand dunes, snack shack for lunch, and ice cream at the end of the day.  Collin and Reagan love all of that too. For some reason, when we are at the beach the kids all get along so well; I hope that continues all summer, and I should probably make a point to spend as much time at the beach as possible!

Cousins

We were all SO VERY EXCITED to spend time with Karen, Mark, and Hannah over the last few days.  My children are so in love with their baby cousin.  Kate was funny; she was so excited to see Hannah and she set up all of her toys for them to play together.  She will be thrilled when Hannah is a little older and can actually play with her.

Hannah is so adorable, and maybe the happiest baby I have ever seen.  I wish they lived closer.

Tom's cousin, Ryan, was also in town over the holiday weekend, and we spent a few hours visiting with him, Narcy, Logan, and Elaina.

Kate and Reagan both enjoyed playing with Logan and Elaina.  Kate and Logan are only three days apart; it's always fun to see them together.

Reagan was quite the entertainer for this crew.

My kids don't get much cousin time, but they love the time they do get!