Sun masks?

The other day the kids couldn't see the tv screen while they were having their Wii time, so they decided they needed to make sun masks to help with the problem (while, craft-lover Lexi decided that and eventually talked Tori and Eli in to it). :)

Lexi (in the back) made a princess cloud mask, with purple and pink pom poms, while Tori had me cut out a basketball jersey for her to decorate as her mask. Eli, our craft agnostic, consented to making a paper with a story on it (a dolphin loving basketball and soccer player meets a lion in the woods), which he then turned in to a mask. Just for the record, his mask needed no glue. Very important, since Eli has declared anything with glue to be a craft, and he "doesn't like crafts."  If I ask if he wants to do a project with me the first thing he asks is, "Is there glue?  Because if there is glue it's a craft and I don't like crafts." Anyway, since it did not use glue, just pre-sticky foam shapes, his mask did not break his craft-tolerance barrier, and we were in the clear. :)

The sun masks worked (or the sun moved so it wasn't shining in the window, one or the other). :) Then the kids made up a whole play with their masks, something about basketball man Darth Vader, and basketball practice man Darth Vader, and the princess cloud . . . can you tell they have an older sibling/cousin who likes Star Wars? :) I couldn't believe a simple mask craft (don't tell Eli) could entertain them for so long!

Sprinklers and pools, oh my!

Our sprinkler broke so I had (yeah, HAD) to go and get a new one. Couldn't find a sprinkler anywhere, but they had pool things on clearance at Target and I couldn't resist. Money well spent to see what fun the Eli and the girls are having in the pools. :)

First we had the "baby sprinkler" out, which a baby would HATE since it sprays so much water. But the kids loved it! Eli's catching some air! That boy can jump! Oh to be able to kick that high again . . . Then we added the pool. Overheard from Lexi: "Please, guys. I'm in my sauna here just trying to relax for a few minutes. Stop jumping." Good luck with that request, Lexi. Eli is a jumping bean.Eli and Tori making the circuit between the pool and sprinkler while Lexi "relaxes". :)

Camping 2009!

I've finally gotten around to going through my pictures, so I thought I should actually post them as well. :) We headed up for a camping (cottaging, really) long-weekend at Cran-Hill Ranch a few weeks ago, and we had an awesome time!

Mom, Eli, Matea, and I headed out Thursday morning so we could get there, unpack, and get some afternoon beach time in. Matea and Eli loved the water, and they both also loved playing in the sand. The were digging all around in it - which meant they had sand in places I don't want to talk about. :)

Thursday late afternoon/evening Jeff and Lori came out, then Grandpa and Jon, and my Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda, and cousin Toni and Paul and their four kids as well. Friday started off with a hike to a spring where we could fill our water jugs up (clear, cool water, yummy) and then pony rides - Eli had no hesitation this year and was a pro. Then more swimming in the afternoon, and Jon I took Eli on a paddleboat ride where Eli did all the steering (he was proud as a peacock).

Friday night was tie-dyeing night, and Eli wanted a green, blue, and orange shirt. But the dye chart showed that orange with either blue or green made brown. Not what we were going for. Eli chose yellow instead of orange and wanted a spiral burst pattern this year. When we got the dye out though some of it splattered when Eli put the bottle down and the green dye went straight up and landed on Eli's hair. Oops! After our best clean up efforts we still had a kid with green hair on the side. Oh well! Eli's shirt turned out great again and he loves it (he wants to wear it every day, I'm serious).

Saturday Eli slept in until after 11 am and it was kind of windy, so we spent the rest of the day playing games, making pizzas in the fire, and then going on a hayride with our whole extended family. After the hayride Grandma, Uncle Jeff, Noah, Tori, Eli, and I went for a kayak trip around the lake, and Eli loved it. He got a chance to help paddle as well and did great. Eli headed back to the cottage after the kayak ride but, after seeing him safely back, the rest of us went for a swim and did jumps off of the dock. Tori and I started jumping together yelling, "Girl power!" and that quickly led to daddy/daughter, daddy/son, brother/sister, mommy/son/daughter, aunt/nephew, Koorndyk power and all the relationship permutations we could find. We ended with Tori's idea though - yelling "Jesus power" as we did our final jump. :) We had such a fun time in our after dinner swim. That was one of the highlights of camping for me!

Matea just kind of took it all in while we were camping. She liked playing with the kids the best, and the swimming and playing in the sand. She took really good naps while we were there which was nice, and for the most part she slept well at night (except the first night where she kept standing up and reaching over the pack-n-play to whack me on the head and then laugh).  I can't wait until next year when she can go on a pony ride and tie-dye her own shirt!

My little fashion plate.

Matea loves to pretend to put clothes on. She gets them on top of her head and wearing them like a cape mostly, but she is just pleased as punch when she's doing it.  Well, when I got an order from Children's Place earlier this week she was just in her glory with all the clothes surrounding her. She played for almost 45 minutes just taking the clothes on and off. I had to capture it! Also, in her small vocabulary she has included the word "shuss" which means shoes. Matea will sit and play with shoes for a long time, and loves taking my shoes on and off. She's my little girl, there's no denying that! She loves shoes and clothes already!

Does it go on like this, Mom?This really does make a nice cape.Hmm, this orange cape is another option for me. Eli thought Matea was really silly . . .And then he decided to get in on the act too!I love dressing up! Now if only I had some "shuss" for these outfits!

There she goes!

Matea turned 14 months old yesterday, and decided to celebrate that milestone with another milestone - walking on her own! She has been able to walk with assistance since about 10 months old, and *could* walk on her own since about 11 and a half months. Across the living room, between people, etc. But she never chose to walk on her own, it was always at our prompting. Since being in the new house she's been getting braver with cruising around the furniture on her own, but then figured out how to crawl properly and WOULD NOT walk on her own at all.

Yesterday morning though Matea started walking between the couches . . . then to the kitchen table . . . then to the fridge . . . then to the other room and down the hall! She kept practicing all day and last night she was doing laps around the house and doing circles around her toys in the living room. She's walking on her own!