Artist Party

Caylie turned 7 last month, but we just got around to having her birthday party yesterday.  This year's theme is artist party!  We had several artistic activities to keep the little ones engaged.  First they used sharpies and rubbing alcohol to make tie dye t-shirts. 

Creating a new fashion trend

 Next they got messy with some fingerpainting.

Getting their hands dirty!

We also tried sidewalk chalk paint, but the pics of that didn't turn out great, and I probably wouldn't do that one again.  But making a mess is always fun on principle. 

t-shirts and fingerpaintings hung to dry

Then it was time for a pizza and junk food feast!  Yes, there were some veggies offered as well, but some of the little guys declined.  

After the main course, they got messy again by decorating cupcakes with an array of coloured icings and candy toppings.  Fun!

Caylie's creation

 When parents arrived we packed their artwork into these goodiebags along with a paint palette, paint-by-number sheet and a blank colour wheel to fill in.  The kiddos had a good time and Caylie raised almost $25 for the SPCA!

Young chef

My eldest daughter (who is well over 11 now) is beginning to cook by herself.  We decided she would be responsible for making the family dinner one night a week.  Her first meal plan was:  homemade pizza, veggie sticks, and dip with yellow jello for dessert.  It was delicious!  She was so proud to have made a whole meal by herself, and she was impressed at how tasty it turned out.  Next week:  Butter chicken and rice. 

Camping fun

This summer we went on a family camping trip through Washington and Oregon.  We visited Soap Lake, Cle Ellum, Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, Canon Beach, Tillamook, and then home to Vancouver to visit the fam.  Here are some highlights from our trip.En Route to Mt Baker State Park we stopped at a "viewpoint".  It surely was a great view!

Checked out Tillamook Cheese Factory and got to watch how cheese is made.  And Ice Cream!
Crab catching (and eating) at Kelly's.  This was so much fun and such an experience!
Soap Lake healing mud.  Next time I'm going to bring a bucket to carry it home!