Week 49 - Goslings, Pinewood Derby, Cupcakes and PUPPIES!!!

Well this week, we were kind of on vacation.  We still had plenty of activity though.  So it was a vacation, but a working vacation.

On Monday we had a tour of a local bakery.  They got to see how they use they make and bake the cakes and cupcakes at a local grocery store.  The staff showed them how to decorate the product too.  They were experts and made it look soooo easy!  After that, the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes.  It was very fun!

On Tuesday, there was art class and riding lessons.  Caty got back on the horse and kept going after what happened a few days before.  I was very proud of her for doing that.

Then we headed out to the Sportsman Club with some friends to practice archery and do some fishing.

I even shot Brayden's bow for a while.  It was rather fun.  I think I'll keep up that little sport.

Caty was having a field day with all the dandelions.

Brayden tried to fish with the help of some friends.  This was the first time casting into the pond.

Wednesday was May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Day....so we had a little fun with that.  I had to work in the afternoon.  So I themed meals all day and they did a Chewie Bookmark.  They also made no-sew fleece pillow cases.  Joey and Brayden had Star Wars fleece and the girls had some of their own choice.

Death Star Orbs and Princess Leia buns...

 Trooper Scoopers and Hot Lava Dip

 Hoth Dogs and Vader Tots

 Working on the Chewie bookmark

Playing Star Wars chess

Tuesday we also went to the Scholastic Bookfair at the local fairgrounds.  I didn't find what I was really looking for.  The kids found a bunch of books, and stocked up on some reading.

On Thursday, we helped with the family garage sale.  Lots and lots of walking.  In fact, I was able to earn my 20,000 steps in one day badge.  I was pretty happy.  I started out Friday morning helping there also, before we headed to archery.

We had archery on Friday....

And then we headed back out to the Sportman's Club to practice handgun safety and target practice with daddy.

 Even Brayden tried.

Then Joe, Joey, Lydia and I signed up for the .22 shoot competition.  I got 5th place out of 10...so not horrible.  Right in the middle.  Not bad after not practicing for over a year.  The kids want to do this again.

On Saturday, the girls had Regional Pinewood Derby.  We had time to kill since the girls are in separate levels and we arrived early due to lack of communication.  So we went to the local park and enjoyed a nature walk.  We saw lots of goslings and birdwatched.  We even saw a groundhog.  This park has a great nature center, even Joe enjoyed the nature/bird watching window.

This mama goose was very protective....she was hissing at us.  We were even walking on the other side of the path to keep as far away as we could.  Forget Mama Bear....bring on Mama Goose!

Caty's Pete the Cat car was in the design competition.  She didn't place, but she got to go, so that was cool.

Lydia placed 6th out of 14.  Her car registered over 188 mph.  I need to do more research with her for next year.  I still do not totally understand the building of the cars.

Since it was Free Comic Day, and Caty was terribly disappointed that she missed the Brownie photo (she had to run to the bathroom and they didn't wait), we decided to run and get some comics together.  The kids love reading comics.

Then daddy and I gave in.....we got two puppies Saturday evening.  I know that I am crazy....very crazy for this one.  But we had been looking for tiny dogs that we could travel with.  Lydia specifically wanted chihuahuas....and that is what we got.

Meet Finn

Meet Chewie (as in Chewbacca)

Going to the pet store.

Yep....I am crazy.  The kids did enjoy their downtime, but it's back to the grindstone next week.  I am working on planning out the summer soon.  The summer is packed with 4H, Girl Scout and riding competitions.  But there will be some summer learning going on.

The next few months will be very busy, but very exciting!  Hope everyone had a great week!  See everyone next weekend!

The Pencil Grip, Inc. - Kwik Stix Review & Giveaway

We are so excited to share with you about a recent product that we were given the opportunity to review.  Kwik Stix 12 pk ($11.99) from The Pencil Grip, Inc. is an innovative art supply that encourages children's creativity without all the mess.

Kwik Stix are a Solid Tempera Paint stick.  They taking the mess out of painting.  Your child can simply take the cap off the Kwik Stix, twist up as needed and paint away.  They are made with a special formula that allows them to dry in roughly 90 seconds.  They can be used on canvas, paper, wood and we even used them on aluminum foil for a project.

We have been using Kwik Stix 12 pk for several months now.  Caty loves art and loves to paint.  The trouble is, when we travel I do not want to have open paint containers in a hotel room.  Kwik Stix has been the answer to our problem.  We don't have wet pictures laying around and I am not panicking over the possibility of spilled paint.

We have used Kwik Stix on coloring pages and even poster boards.  Caty and Lydia used mini-poster boards to make their grandmother get-well cards while she was in the hospital.

Joey was even able to use them on his water shed model, which is aluminum foil.  

They spread on quickly and then dried easily.  I was worried about that, and to be very honest would have never even thought to use tempera paint on this project.  

We have been very impressed with the Kwik Stix 12 pk not only do they dry quickly, but they are easy to use and they do not smell horrible!   I truly hate the smell of normal liquid stuff tempra paint.  I think it stinks.  I dreaded using it.  When I first used Kwik Stix, this was a worry for me.  But there is no awful smell.  

Another thing I like about Kwik Stix 12 pk is that the paint doesn't crack when it dries.  This is a major thing.  I don't like it when tempra paint projects look awful after so long.  We have actually avoided using tempra paint for a couple years now because of this.  It means that we have been using acrylic paint, which stains easily.  This is a 3rd reason for loving Kwik Stix 12 pk, I love the easy cleanup.  Soap and water for clean up on most surfaces.  We have not had any stains on clothes as of yet.  It has been regular wash there.  The colors also stay bright and do not fade.

I cannot fully express how much we LOVE Kwik Stix 12 pk from The Pencil Grip, Inc.  The kids love them because they are using paint and it looks like paint, yet they feel like they are using markers.  Even the kids art teacher was impressed when she seen Caty using them with her projects during class.  She had never seen them before, and of course I was happy to share all the benefits we have been seeing.

I can't recommend Kwik Stix enough.  They are wonderful for "kids" of all ages....and yes, I enjoy using them too.  They make coloring even more fun and bright & colorful!

We also had the opportunity to try out one of the Pencil grips, that The Pencil Grip, Inc. has available for students.  We had the opportunity to try The Pencil Grip ($1.79) - The Single Grip.  

Caty has trouble holding her pencil/pen on most days.  So I was excited to have her try this out.  This grip attached to almost all her writing utensils very easily.  She mostly used this on her pencil and it worked out for her.  The grip is soft, so it felt a little squishy to her.  With most grips, it feels hard and she doesn't like to use them.  But she seemed to do very well with this, and even didn't whine as much as she was working on her copywork each day.  The Pencil Grip is a product that we will be ordering more of, since I want to have a few extra on hand in case she loses it.  And when we travel, there's always some sort of casualty left behind.

Several members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to try out Kwik Stix 12 pk from The Pencil Grip, Inc.  Take some time to visit their blogs and see how they enjoyed using this product in their homes.



Due to the Generosity of The Pencil Grip, Inc.  We are giving away a set of Kwik Stix 12 pk.  You too can join in all the fun that we have been having with the Kwik Stix Tempera sticks.  You simply need to enter using the Link below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway