Hope Fall Fun Fest 2011

We had a blast at our church's (Hope) fall fun festival this Friday (Oct 21st). So much to do, not enough time!! Here are a few pics we snapped along the way..

Lots of inflatables-- this giant tiger was a favorite of Deacan's. He had to do 3 times:)

This ladder was also tons of fun. The best part was jumping off at the end!!

So glad Poppa was able to join us when he got off work. He made a cozy arm chair while we watched the Illusionist. :)

Deacan enjoyed feeding the goats and seeing Llama Llama..

Lots of fun games and candy!! Mom is already tired of picking up wrappers and it isn't even Halloween yet..

The grand finale was the firework show which was amazing!! I will go as far to say it was even much better than the ones downtown on the 4th. I so wish my camera hadn't ran out of battery power at that time. The look on Deacan's face when lit by the fireworks while being held by Poppa was priceless (and not captured on film--BOO!).

What a fun time! My only regret is not enough time for lazer tag and that stinking camera battery!! Next year I will make sure to power up that battery..

Zoo day with Grandmother Betty:)

What a perfect day to go to the zoo!! And what a fun family outing!

The animals were out and amazing.. God's work throughout creation is remarkable!! So many species, such detail and beauty!!

bit

Next time we will bring a picnic lunch, although we did enjoy a wonderful lunch elsewhere, afterwards. We were a bit hungry and Deac was losing interest by the time we passed Cat Country. Note to self: skip the bird emporium on the front end and see it later if time/patience allows.. All in all, it was a lot of fun! Looking forward to going back and seeing the lions. Oh, I almost forgot about those wax animals you can buy via machine!! I so need to look for those next time! I can smell them now:)

How to make an Autumn Leaf Wreath

I wanted to take Deacan on a nature walk to collect pretty fall leaves. The only question: what to do with them? We decided to make a wreath for the front door. This project was so easy and fun! All you need is cardboard, glue, scissors, and a pile of autumn pretties.

You will need to cut out a cardboard circle with a smaller circle cut out of the middle. As you can see in the photo, I tried to get precise with the measurements but gave up on that due to the thickness of the cardboard (or the dullness of my scissors.. haha). For a kiddie project, I thought best to stay loose and just go for it!

One of my favorite things about this project is that there are no stuffy rules. I do recommend putting the larger leaves on the bottom (like the giant one Deac is gluing in the photo). The idea is to completely cover the cardboard. I just let Deacan have at it, then went behind him and filled in the gaps. I did put a few "heavy" objects on top of a few stubborn leaves during the drying process (one of the "heavy" objects was a salt shaker..haha). After the leaves were dry, we glued on the acorns using thick puddles of Elmers glue, also the pinecone.

The final step is adding a hole near the center top of the wreath. I used a hole punch but a good old fashioned knife could get the job done:) Oh, let's not forget to add the yarn/ string. Violla!! Now, you have a sweet splash of Autumn's brilliant color right at your doorstep:)

Now that I've previewed this post I realize I really need a doormat..

How to make a Spider handprint Craft (easy!)

I just love making these with Deacan and the kiddos in my class every year. They are super cute and every parent loves a handprint craft:) I look forward to seeing how much Deacan's hand will grow throughout the years. I joke that he will be 18 and I will still be saying, "time to paint your hands black our the annual Halloween
craft". haha

All you need is black paint, paper, scissors, googly eyes, and a pair of hands. Simply paint child's right hand with the paint and press onto paper. Wipe hand (or wash). Next, repeat process with left hand, layering somewhat to match "legs" on the other side of the spider. Allow time to dry.

Once completely dry, cut out spiders, turn over, and tuck thumbs over. I like to tape them down. You can also write the year on the back of the project at this time.

Now just turn it over and glue the googly eyes on. I prefer Elmer's Liquid glue over a glue stick for this. The glue stick will not hold the eyes on as well. Just wait for the glue to dry and you have a cute Halloween (or should I say "Fall Harvest") decoration to enjoy year after year.

The spideys look really fun when laced into webbing. Even better if the webbing glows in the dark!! :)