4th of July

We had an excellent 4th of July!  The kids spent some time exploring the flower garden, while I picked weeds.

Then they got the cat all gussied up.

We were afraid we would have to spend the evening indoors because of the rain, but instead, we got to enjoy rainbows and temps in the 60s!



In past years, we've enjoyed the fireworks over Lake Estes.  With the predicted thunderstorms and John being on call, I didn't want to drive up there and end up watching in the rain from the safety of the car.  So we decided to stay home, and I am so glad we did!  We purchased some little, legal fireworks and set them off in the front driveway.  Several of our neighbors were out doing the same.  The kids really enjoyed the camaraderie of it.

John and Campbell had fun writing/drawing with their sparklers.  And I had fun with 5 second exposures.  :)

John's signature (this is more legible than it is on paper)

a smiley

spiral

Campbell drew a heart

and wrote "Mommy"

Some of our more distant neighbors had a spectacular (probably illegal) show going on.  Campbell was concerned that maybe we should call the police.

We could also see the official fireworks from the town of Firestone
and some from Thornton, but they were too distant to be worth photographing.

And we had an excellent view of the Longmont show:





Seeing all of these shows from our driveway and deck was spectacular.  I hope all of my friends had as good of an Independence Day as we did!

Spa Party

Helene got the idea from a Littlest Pet Shop Party Planning book to host a spa party.  So, today was the big day.  She invited her two best friends over, and we started with lunch.  It was only mac&cheese, chips, and fruit, but it was served from a tea tray, and Helene made a menu and namecards for the girls.

This was followed by popsicles in the shade on a picnic blanket.
The girls made their own bubble bath and lip gloss (recipes were in the party planning book) and decorated the containers.

After that, we put on some classical music and went to the massage parlor.  One girl would lie on the blanket on the floor while I rubbed her back and the other two lounged on the couch in the waiting area.  Each girl, while receiving her massage, proceeded to "break wind" on me (as Helene put it).  They thought that was pretty funny.  Then, they all decided to lick their armpits. (?!?)  Oh well, at least they don't take being girly-girly too seriously.  They are only 6, after all.
Helene used her own money to buy these baskets and a couple of party favor spa-type items from Target's dollar section.  The girls decorated them by weaving ribbons through the holes.  All in all, it was a fun, successful party.  Now I need to go paint their nails and then send them home . . .

Sunset Train

Last night, I was running an errand around 8:20 p.m. and noticed how incredibly beautiful the sunset was, especially by the rail road crossing near our house.  A train has been parked there for weeks.  Some people find it annoying, but I think it's picturesque.  So tonight at sunset, I went out to the tracks to take some pictures.  For the longest time, I had not felt the creative urge to photograph.  Today, with the sunset and the lightning storm, I couldn't resist grabbing my camera.  I'm glad my inspiration is back (probably my muse is otherwise known as "summer").

zoo camp

The kids attended zoo camp last week and had a great time.  These pictures are from the last day of camp.  I had a chance to see Campbell's small group presentation.  They had set up a station in front of the elephant exhibit and were available to answer questions any zoo patrons had about elephant facts and to share their group's ideas on how the habitat could be improved.

This bear is smiling because he has been gnawing on a huge bone for the past few minutes (cow femur?).  It was fun to watch but a little creepy to hear the bone crack when his jaws snapped through it.


All parents were invited to watch the wildlife show at the end of the day, which concluded with the kids singing songs about animals and what they had learned during the week.  This camp was right up Helene's alley.  She can tell you all about how animals communicate using scent, patterns, sounds, etc.  




Anytime Helene spots me across a distance, she gives me the "I love you" sign.  :)  Can you see her here?



Campbell was hiding in the back row of his group.  He doesn't like to sing much.  But he was proud of the tie-dyed doo-rag he made.

Garden Preparations

John has been doing some tremendous preparation work on our gardens.  I am so excited for the harvest we will have this summer!

This is what the bed along the side of the house looked like when we first moved in.  There was a big, bushy tree next to the evergreen that got scragglier looking every year, and this last year, about half of it died.  Then there was a small bush next to it, and then the remainder of the bed up the side of the house was just rocks and weeds.

I took out the tree about a month ago, and John began making these terraced beds for our fruit plants.
This is the end product.  We have a raspberry bush to the right (just out of the picture), and John has planted strawberries, rhubarb, blueberries, blackberries, and pumpkins in this bed.
These are the two beds we had last summer.  John has turned them, added in some great compost, and rearranged the drip lines.
Here they are now, fully planted.
These three terraced beds are brand new.  John just built them.

I think they look so pretty, and he did a great job of building them into the hillside.

Here's what we'll be eating all summer: sweet corn, tomatoes (several varieties), onions, lots of lettuces and spinach, green beans, black eyed peas, sugar snap peas, 7 varieties of squash/zucchini, radishes (I'm not overly fond of radishes, but Helene grew them from seed in her Kindergarten class and brought them home, so we added them in.), carrots, and I'm sure there's more.  What am I forgetting, John?

Science Fair

I am so proud of Campbell and Helene!  They worked hard on their science fair projects, and it paid off.  Campbell got a medal for third place amongst all the third graders, and Helene got a medal for third place amongst all the Kindergartners.  John and I tried to be there to give them examples of good projects and attractive displays, to teach them about the scientific method, and to offer advice.  But other than that, we tried to be hands off and let the kids do their own projects.

The students were given a list of topics from which to choose.  Their school is a core knowledge school, so the topics were concepts that fit in with that curriculum according to grade level.  Campbell did his on gravity.  I think you can click on the picture to see a larger version, on which you can read his hypothesis, etc.  John taught him how to use Microsoft Excel to calculate P-values and other statistical stuff I don't know anything about.  But Campbell gets it!

Helene did her experiment on magnetism.  She found household objects and tried picking them up with a magnet.  On her display, some of the metal objects are displayed on the left and some other objects are on the right.  She attached magnets to ribbons to create an interactive display. 

This project was by another member of Campbell's class.  Campbell liked it because of the scientific name for a dwarf hamster.

Tandem Bikes

On Day 3, we rented two tandem bikes and rode up the Glenwood Canyon.  I am not a cyclist, so parts of me were bruised and sore after 11 miles on a bicycle seat, but I enjoyed the adventure anyway.  It was beautiful scenery, a nice day to be outside, and quite an experience to ride tandem.  

The kids rode on the front of the bikes.  They could help pedal or just let their feet go along for the ride.  They could not steer, so all steering was done by the adult in the back.  When we got towards the tops of hills like this, we would ask the kids for a "turbo boost," and they would pedal as hard as they could to help us over the hump.

We spent most afternoons and the morning of the last day in the hot springs pool.  I think swimming was the best part of the vacation for the kids.  I enjoyed all of it.  It was a very relaxed vacation, with not much planned ahead of time, but with plenty to do once we got there.  I highly recommend the train ride, as well as all the other adventures we had this last week.