Areya had a field trip to the River Trails Nature Center where they learned how to make Maple syrup. They took us out into the Maple woods and told us how the trees get the sap that is needed to make the syrup. Then they drilled a hole and put in the spout. They let the kids taste the sap right from the tree. After that we headed over to the "sugar shack" where they cook the sap and turn it into syrup. We did not see that part of the process but they told us how it works, It was really neat to see and learn about.
They also have a few animals and other thing for the kids to do and see while they are there. They had a great activity room where the kids have lots of hands on stuff to do. I think we will have to make another trip there soon to see what else they have.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Maple days
My favorite time of year... Spring!
I am so happy that Spring is finally here!! It has been a long COLD winter and I am ready for the flowers to bloom and for everything to turn green. I love the smell after a Spring rain, all the sunshine and best of all it's warm. The weather has been wonderful ,we get out and enjoy it as much as we can. Some of the things we have been doing are playing at the park, ride bikes, color the driveway with sidewalk chalk, and we even went to Lake Arlington to play in the sand. We got the cars out for the kids and gave the Moon Sand, that Uncle Matt gave us, a try. It is really neat stuff. 
The Moon Sand is cool because you don't need any water to make it stay together. As you can see by the pictures below all you have to do is apply firm pressure to make it stick together. It says that you can play indoors but I found it to be pretty messy so we played outside. The girls loved it and Areya didn't need help making a sand castle.
On Thursday we had a play day with some of the kids from our ward. We went over to the Rubow's house and had a picnic out on their deck. Then the kids ran around in the huge field behind the house and when they were finished we went inside movie and play time. The kids had a blast playing together. After the movie was finished they all danced rocked out to the music. (Areya got a little wild, but what else is new?)
Thank you Sandi for letting us come play and Thank you Lori for lunch. We had a great time and will have to get together more often.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Sleep over at our house
Areya got to have her friend Kirsti over for a fun sleep over. They watched movies and ate popcorn, played doll house, cooking, dress up and had a great time talking and playing together. Areya loves having another girl her age around to play Princesses and make up with. Thanks for coming over Kirsti we had a fun time with you here. Areya can't wait for the next sleepover!
I love the look on Kirsti's face in this one. It just proves how crazy Areya really is, even her friends think so!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Building an Eternal Family
This year in Primary we are learning about building our Eternal Families. To go along with that theme we had an activity where the kids got builder hats and working together to built a home. They went from station to station preparing the things that were needed to make our house a home. Each group got a chance to make furniture, create things to hang on the walls, and to build our house. When we were finished we had a home with a garage, fireplace, curtains, art on the walls and brick path lined with flowers. They all did such a great job and had so much fun doing it.
