Kookaburra

They now have laughing kookaburras at the Dallas Zoo.  I had never seen them before in my life, so it was interesting.  They have a unique call and when gathered together can make a lot of ruckus.  Their call sounds like a laugh.  This particular kookaburra is native to eastern mainland Australia.

Girl Scouts Earth Day 2012

Recycled CapriSun purses

Craft- making UV beaded bracelets

Picnic snack of Sun Chips and water

Solar watch

What a fun Girl Scout event!!  Jaden and Morgan had fun with LeCount at the area Girl Scout Earth Day event. 

*They had a toy and book swap, so they each brought a toy and book and came home with a "new" toy and book. 

*They made UV bracelets that change color in the sun. 

*They made purses out of CapriSun pouches. 

*They had a sun snack of Sun Chips and water.

*They made a solar power bug.

*Then, they heard from an expert on the environment, and got to view the sun through a telescope.

And... Of course, they got a cool patch to go with it!!

Pottery

This is Jaden's first pot the made out of clay using the pottery wheel.  She decided to add a spout to it so that it would pbe kind of like a pitcher.  I think she did an awesome job!

Koala Walkabout

Another new addition to the Dallas Zoo- koalas!  Koalas don't do much, but they are so sweet and look so cuddly.  These koalas are in class cages =(  That made me sad to see because most of the other animals are in open air cages.  I am wondering if they are caged this way because they can not handle Texas weather... It just seems so sad to have them in a small totally enclosed space like a pet fish. 

Lorikeets

Have you ever seen a Lorikeet?  Jaden saw a few at the zoo this week.  Jaden is never one to be afraid of birds.  She loves when they land on her (Morgan and I are the opposite).  When we make a trip to the zoo, she goes in with the birds for a few minutes.

Now, the Dallas Zoo has an Australian area.  In this area are some new birds- the Lorikeets.  Jaden jumped at the chance to go in.  The birds LOVED her!  Unfortunately, one bird loved her a little too much- You can actually see him here in the picture taking a chunk of skin off her ear.  She started crying right after I took this photo, and we got her ear treated with alcohol.

She says she is NOT going back in!  We'll see how long that lasts =)

In Charge

I love to watch animals- their behaviours especially.  While we were out visiting the ducks and geese, I saw this little guy strutting around.  He wanted to make sure that all of the animals around him knew that he was in charge, and he would be taking all of the food.  It was a funny sight.  I had to take a picture of him with his neck and head feathers all stuck out.  I have seen this same behaviour in humans as well.  Not a very attractive pose.  LOL

Nature Box

The girls decorated a shoe box to turn it into a collection box.  Now that the box is decorated, they are adding things from nature. 

They collected shells from the Dallas Zoo- In the children's area of the zoo, they have a swap spot called The Nature Exchange.  Every time you visit, you can choose a free item from the bin, or you can purchase items as well.  You can, also, bring natural things to the exchange for points.  You can use the points to purchase items in the exchange. 

The leaves were collected from walks.  They have quite a collection already.  They have enjoyed making note of the similarities and differences of the leaves as they add new ones. 

What a beautiful world!!

The Hunger Games

Have you read The Hunger Games trilogy?  I had to start reading it because I was hearing such great things about it.  I am in the middle of the trilogy, so I am still undecided about my overall thoughts.  Mostly, I am saddened and disgusted about all of the tragedy... Too much negative until at times I just wanted to chunk the story in the trash! 
The book The Hunger Games was a quick read.  The only reason I read it so fast, though, was because I wanted to know that something good was happening next.
On the bright side, this is just a story and not real life- Thank God!  Additionally, there was a lot to be gotten from the book as far as a literature goes- symbolism, and all of that English class stuff.  I could relate to some of things in the book and see how though my life is different than theirs, our worlds are similar.  Hunger, yes, we have hunger here... privileged upper class, yes we have that here, too... I could relate to the hunger games themselves because I feel like I enter the arena every day I head into work- where my boss and other key players prod the rest of us, until one or more of my fellow coworkers takes their frustration out on another coworker.  Every one fighting for hours, fighting for the best demo cart, fighting to be next to their friend, etc, and it all plays out in front of a live audience.  Maybe they do not kill each other with arrows and knives, but they do attack with words and actions.  We even have staged catastophes more or less.

I guess I will be able to give a better review when I get through the other 2 books.  Right now I am in the middle of the 2nd book called Catching Fire, and I am mad!!  I am mad that the author would put me through this AGAIN!  If you have read the trilogy, you know what I am talking about.  Life better get better for these people, or I may lose it. LOL!

Ducks and Geese

I love these girls!!

This is the park across the street from the high school I graduated from in 1992.  The park looked nothing like this in the 90's.  I was surprised to see a beautiful pond with a nice bridge.  There were lots of ducks and geese as well.  The animals were quite comfortable around people, and they walked right up to us.  I love to see progress like this- beautiful scenery!

Jaden's Video: Drinking Ducks

Here is the first video Jaden has taken.  I have been practicing photography tips with her.  She decided she wanted to do videos, too.  This is the result.  I could not explain to her just how unsteady her shooting was.  She will need more practice.  She stayed focused on the ducks, but her hands did not hold the camera steady enough. 

4-H has several specialized training manuals that teach just about everything!  Jaden is working on the photography curriculum.  =)

Awana 2011-2012

Pie in the face day.  What fun!!

Wow the AWANA school year passed by so quickly!!  Jaden and Morgan have grown immensely in that time.  The AWANA at our church goes from September to April (with several days off during the season).  That means it will be over until September!!  How sad =(

Morgan finished her entire Cubbies book.  That means she memorized 25 verses!  She will officially start kindergarten in the fall, so this means no more Cubbies for her after next Monday.  This past Monday they had a pizza party.  Morgan has enjoyed the class a lot and made a bunch of good friends.  Her favorite part is snack time and crafts.  She likes to see Cubbie Bear and sing the Cubbies song.  She is going to miss Cubbies, especially since only the soon to be kindergartners will be advancing to Sparks with her. 

Since this was Jaden's first year of AWANA, she did not get to experience Cubbies nor did she get to experience kindergarten and 1st grade in Sparks.  This left her starting her Hang Glider book, when she would have done it in kindergarten had she been there.  One big opportunity opened for her: Since she missed the 1st two years of Sparks, she had the opportunity to go as far as she wanted to, to make up for lost time.  She finished her Hang Glider book in 4 months and went on to her Wing Runner book.  She finished Wing Runner in 2 months and went on to Sky Stormer.  She finished Sky Stormer in 2 months as well!!  She, also, did the review of each of the books. 

Last day of AWANA in this coming Monday.  It is awards night and store night.  Jaden will be receiving 3 awards (1 for each book).  She earned a total of over $1200 AWANA bucks, so she will be buying a few things at store night as well. 

Overall, AWANA has been a wonderful experience!!  (..but, can I just say, after Jaden's Olympic feat of completing 3 books in one year, I am ready for a little break... That wore me out!!)

Play Doh

We went to hang out with some friends last week, and I brought the ingredients to make play doh.  This is the same recipe I used to make the play doh for Morgan's Wiggle party back in 2009.  For Morgan's party, I used Koolaid for the coloring.  This time, I just used food coloring. 

Here is what you need:

2 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1 cup salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)* mix last

Just mix the items together.  I added a little bit more flour as I worked the dough and noticed it was too sticky.  Just go by feel as you knead the dough.  After the dough is to the right consistency, divide it into separate parts depending on how many different colors you want (We did 4 colors).  Make a little indention in the clay with your finger.  Then, add a few drops of food coloring.  Knead it some more, and add food coloring until it looks the way you want it to. 

Store in Ziploc baggies or in an airtight container. 

Thank yous

I have always encouraged my girls to send thank you cards when someone gives them a gift.  I am happy when I see that they can do it on their own.  A friend of the family gave the girls art books.  Morgan used one of her art pages to send her a thank you.  Then, she put it in an envelope and addressed it:

"From Morgan

ox

Tow Jenee"

(spelling by sound, and not asking me to tell her the letters)

Love it!!

The Butterfly Whisperer

Jaden is not afraid of insects.  In fact she is in awe of them!  Butterflies are especially a treat to see for her.  I love butterflies, too, don't get me wrong... But, I don't love them enough to not be grossed out by their thin legs moving around on my skin. 

Jaden can spend the whole day tracking and catching butterflies.  It is amazing because they don't fly away from her, and she knows just how to approach them. 

Here are a few photos of her with 2 of the butterflies she befriended.  They are all still in the wild, but she spent a few minutes with them =)

On a regular day, butterflies flock to her.  They must know that she loves them and will treat them well.  They just land on her out of nowhere, and she silently watches them.  I love to watch her watching them.  Gorgeous!!

Lifetime Firsts: Photos in the Texas Wild Flowers

The wildflowers were so much fun!!  Most of the photos I took of the girls were natural shots.  Morgan was facinated by the flowers, as you can see in the bottom picture.  She kept holding them gently and sniffing them,  Jaden was facinated by the butterflies, so she kept trying to catch them.  The photo of Jaden with her big dimple is when she was catching butterflies. 

God's creations are so awesome!!