Old Mac Jackson had a farm

This is another fun project that I have been working on for my little farmer boy. The barn was a lot of work, but the animals weren't too bad. They are the perfect size for his chubby little hands. If you ask Jackson the cow says "Boooooo"

Keeping Busy

Last week Mackenzie and John flew out to Denver to Aunt Jen and Uncle Scotts house. (Kenzie is starting her 3 week road trip with Nana from there) So anyway, the boys and I tried to stay busy. Here is just a few of the things we did.

We went to the park and played in the wading pool. Jackson mostly stood in 1 spot and stared at the water. We played hide and seek in the laundry. We ate muffin tin meals (JT's new favorite). We played in the sprinklers. We dressed as cows and went to Chick-fil-A on cow appreciation day, we got free lunch, and Jackson loved the cow.























We made Terreriums in empty soda bottles. We did a bunch of science experiments, like seeing if a hard boiled egg will fit into a jar that is too small for it, and seeing if we could blow up a balloon with a rotten banana. We also picked some Queen Annes Lace and put it into different colored water, and watched as the flowers turned colors from sucking up the water. We did some other experiments too.
We played monopoly a few times too. We used special dye and sun dyes some bandanas and shirts,(I'll post pics of them later).

We did a lot of other things too. It was a busy week, but Daddy is back now to help with the entertaining. (I need a break)

Paper Beading

This was one of our many activities this summer. We made our own beads out of paper, and then made our own bracelets.

My Little clown

I am so proud! He isn't even 2 and he has already found his calling in life.

Hootenany Pancakes

Just for you mom! Yummy!!

Not just for the birds

At a recent BBQ we attended, Jackson decided that the birdbath wasn't just for the birds. He wanted to splash too. He talked this little girl into splashing with him. (I don't think her mom was too happy about it.)
They emptied out the birdbath (mostly Jackson did).

Craftapalooza

These are a few of the crafty items That I have been making lately. I have been trying to use up some of the fabric that I have had hanging around for years.The top two photos are of seat belt strap covers. Now the straps will be padded, and not dig into our skin. The froggy ones are for Jackson's straps, and the dragon one is JT's. I also made some for Mackenzie and John and Myself, but they were already in the car.
These two adorable items are my own design of children's travel games. The car one is a "Race & Stow" portable race track. It is a quilted 12x12 mat that folds up to 6x6 (takes up little space) and has 2 pockets to hold hot wheels size cars. It has handles to carry around. It is a great item for a Dr's office visit, or to take to church. The girly version I am calling the "Tea to Go" It is the same size as the race track, but it has a cloth tea cup, 2 fabric cookies, and a matching napkin that all fold up and fit into the pockets. They are both very cute if I may say so.
The next one is a water bottle sling with a strap. As we were doing our nature hikes, we needed to carry water bottles, and if I had these made it would have been a lot easier. Hands Free!! It holds many different sizes of bottles, to accommodate everyone. It is being modeled by the lovely Mackenzie, in her jammies.



John thinks I am crazy, and we both agree that I have Artistic ADD (I have so many crafty ideas that I can't focus on just one), but he will be happy when you all buy one of these from me for Christmas gifts for your loved ones. When you are all interested, let me know!!
I am working on a few other gifts that you might like. I will post them when they are completed.

Our Nature Walk

We have been keeping up with our summer activities. Although we don't have photos for everything we have been doing a few things. We have made homemade ice cream in plastic baggies, and made a few little crafts. We have gone to our library every Monday for activities, and taken a couple of Nature Walks. On one such Nature walk,each of the bigger kids had their own camera, and took photos from their own view. We haven't developed the film yet, but can't wait to see what they saw. We also had lunch at Caledonia State Park, nearby, and Jackson loved the cheesepuffs. (I think his favorite food is cheese)

Toddler Treasures

We recently went to a party for some friends of ours that are moving to Arizona. The kids swam and got to ride in go karts. They thought it was way cool.


Jackson spent time collecting treasures from all over the ground. (Sticks and rocks are a particular favorite.) Later, he shared his treasures with another little boy. I hope he doesn't ever learn the concept of "MINE". I like it when he shares!