Calendar Blocks

Once each month I have been getting together with a group of friends for a craft night.  We take turns hosting it and coming up with the craft.  In September we made some really cute Christmas or Halloween calendar blocks.

I really liked the idea and decided to also make some for a teacher gift, and some that would work year-round in our home.  For the teacher gift I used three blocks so that she would be able to count up to the 100^th day of school if she wanted to.  In our elementary school they always celebrate the 100^th day.

For our home, I wanted to be able to exchange month names throughout the year.  This is what I came up with.

I printed the month names, cut them in strips, stamped them, then coated each strip in mod podge and a spray sealer.  I put two eyelets in the top of each one.

I spaced the eyelets to hang on hardware that I installed on the bottom block.

The months wouldn’t all fit on one side, so I put some on the back of the block as well.  That way I could keep all the pieces in one place.

I am happy with how they turned out!  Many thanks to Suzie for sharing the calendar block idea and for cutting out the vinyl!

Memories of Dad

This winter the kids figured out how to roll big snow balls.  Today was a snow day, and they were all determined to get out there and build a big snowman.  They reminded me of my dad.  He didn’t come outside to play his kids that often, but when he did it was awesome!  He played frisbee, gave us rides in the wheelbarrow, and took us camping, biking, and hiking.  Once, he decided to build a big snowman.  The snowman was so big that he had to use a sliding board and some ingenuity to put the head on.  The snowman had a big bucket for a hat, and was as tall as the roof of our house.

One winter, Dad and Everett had a Spongebob party and sleepover.  They ate crabby patties, built a Spongebob snowman, watched Spongebob, and danced together in their Spongebob jammies.  My dad was weak and had difficulty breathing and staying warm, but he wanted to have this special time with his grandson.  I am so glad that Everett got to know him.  I think of him often when I am planning our cub scout activities because he is so good at everything they do in scouts.  I sometimes wish he could have been Everett’s scout leader.

 

I love you Dad!

 

The kids all rolled big snowballs today.  Even Emma got in on the action.  They made a fort and several snowmen.  Their masterpiece was a mama snowman and a dada snowman who were “holding hands and looking at the sunset”.

Triple Birthday Part 2

On Saturday we got dressed up and took everyone to see the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony at Heinz Hall.  They played Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Bizet’s Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.  I really enjoyed it, especially the Firebird Suite.  The girls looked like they were quite bored at times, but when it was all over they kept telling us how awesome it was.  It didn’t hurt that it was in such a fancy venue.

After the concert we took the kids out to dinner at Moe’s.  They liked the food, but especially enjoyed the high chairs.

^{Maddie and Lana}

^{Everett and Gwyn}

Today we had our silly string battle.  We had a can for everyone, and it was fun, fun, fun!