Monday Funday :: Paint with Bubbles

 This little project was tons of fun!! 

All you need is:

1. Water
2. bowls (round work best with your round bubble)
3. paint (tempera paint or acrylic paint worked well too)
4. dish soap (we used dawn)
5. paper (preferably water color paper)
6. straws

Mix: WATER + DISH SOAP + PAINT

Just blow into your bowls to create loads of bubbles (this is fun all by itself) and then gently place your paper on top of the bubbles.  Your paper may pop the bubbles or you may lift it off and then pop them.  The result of the popped bubbles is this awesome pattern on your paper.  If you try it and your bubbles are too faint, just keep adding more paint until you get the color you want.

We found that the bigger bubbles didn't work as well as the medium to small bubbles.  I guess the smaller bubbles hold more paint.

 

Mae loves bubbles (what kid doesn't, right?) so she especially loved this project.  

This would make a beautiful card don't you think? 

Please let me know if you try it with your kids!

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Our Garage Sale

 We are so fortunate to have had almost everything for our garage sale all donated to us to help us raise money for our adoption.  Our garage was so packed we had to be strategic about packing it so we could even close the door. It was almost overwhelming... and would have been if I hadn't had my mom helping me all last week to get ready.  It took us a few days to sort and price... and we also decided we'd add cupcakes and lemonade too.  We baked 100 cupcakes! On Friday, bright and early my mom was there and so were two amazing women in my life... my Aunt Julie and Mrs. Shirley. They drove from an hour away to get there at the break of dawn to work with me.  If you've done a garage sale you know it is hard work but being together with awesome ladies made it so fun.  We made memories and money!! (:  Friday we had a swarm of people come too...  

 

On Saturday my mom was there for me again and this time my sister came to help... and my dad too (he watched Mae for me). Oh, I guess it would be good to mention Cody was out of town.  I seriously could not have pulled this off by a long shot without all the help from everyone.  Just look at the lengths my sister went in the picture below.  A neighbor bought a piece of exercise equipment and my amazing sister walked it up the hill 10 house up from ours.  In a dress no less (:

  

So we did fantastic... we raised a little over $900 in 2 days.  And if we had not made a single penny I still would have done it.  I can not tell you how many incredible people we met... we shared our children's story with many and I was so blessed by the hearts of strangers.  My hope is that we have put a positive image of adoption in someone's mind and possibly planted a seed.  After all, it took a stranger at a store to speak to me. (:

• you can read our adoption story.

Photo Friday

Monday Funday :: Magazine Beads

So to get into the summer spirit, this morning Mae and I crafted!  We started doing practice school work since she got out of school in the mornings... but who feels like work on Mondays?? So bead making it is. (:

 Here's what you need to make your own: 

1. scissors —optional (I was hoping we could do some cutting practice but Mae doesn't quite have enough control yet). 
2.  straws 
3.  Elmer's
4. old magazine

 

Look for nice bright colorful pages in your magazine. 

1:: You take the page and rip it or cut it— you want one side to end up wider and go to skinny.  

The smaller the strip the smaller the bead. 

2 :: I added a little bit of water to our glue so it would be easier to paint with.  

3 :: Figure out which side is more colorful side and add glue to the other side. 

4 :: Then wrap it around your straw, starting at the wider side. (Mae needed a little bit of help wrapping it tightly but she loved this.)  Just look at all of our beads!! 

5 :: Now they have to dry completely... we were impatient and used the hairdryer to help speed things up.

6 :: Some of the beads slide right off... but the ones that don't you can just cut them and leave the straw in the middle. 

 Now we were set to make the necklace.  

7 :: Tie a knot on the end.

 8 :: String them on!! And of course sing while you work. (:

Any ENJOY! Don't you want to make one now?? 

Mae sure loves hers; she is very proud she made it. 

Patio Camping

So last night our family camped out Lekberg style... on the back patio.  It was a perfect night for camping.  Cody and I told Mae earlier in the week that we would be camping out and this child was overly excited. (First time ever camping.)  I may not have ever seen her so giddy come to think of it.  While we were setting up the tent she was running upstairs to her room to get all her stuffed animals and blankets.  She came down with her arms full and squealing from pure joy. Once we got the tent set up she got herself all snugly. 

She is SO CUTE!

So my favorite part of camping is the fire and yummy delicious s'mores.  Mae loved roasting her marshmallow but didn't like the sticky that got on her hands and cheek. She hardly ate any of hers... which was surprising.  But you'd never guess it; she was bouncing off the walls.  We put Mae in the bed in the tent probably after 9 and she was talking or singing nonstop until 10:45.  That's when Cody and I just decided to take her up to her bed so she could finally fall asleep.  She protested leaving the tent but was asleep in minutes in her own bed. So, that's why the Lekbergs camp on the patio; it's perfect for 3 year old campers (: 

• We had a very fun and memorable night.