Fishy Fun

We had lots of fishy fun today at our Finding Nemo party. We created a special fish tank for Nemo (and Dory and Bloat) and of course watched them on the big screen after our craft. The fish tank was a baby food jar, and the fish was held by a paper clip connected to the bottom of the jar with a piece of fishing line. We put a magnet on the lid, which grabbed on to the paper clip and made the fish look like it was swimming. We put blue sand on the bottom for the water. I got the idea from the fabulous Family Fun site. Click here for instructions from their site. I would also suggest a jar larger than a baby food jar, with a wide mouth if possible. Expect to spend some time getting the measurement of the fishing line correct. It has to be just right to achieve the swimming effect...as you cut 8554 different lengths of fishing line, be sure to sing Dory's just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin' =)

Robert poses with his Bloat and my Nemo

Austin, Robert, and Rhianna suggested we make a fishy pyramid. I think they have a future in studio photography

Surf's Up Party

No need to vacation in Hawaii...we had our own surfing adventures at the Rec Center. We crafted our own surfboards, learned surfer lingo, and enjoyed a viewing of Surf's Up.

hannah works on her surfboard

karley shows off her finished surfboard

Indiana Jones

Today the Rec Center was transformed into a forbidden forrest, the Sands of Egypt and even had its own Cave of Doom! The kids navigated their way through the Indiana Jones style adventure using the clues provided. We transported the Cave of Doom and Sands of Egypt to Riverbend so the kids could get some more fun out of them during the movie. It was a great night and everyone enjoyed watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

cindy was kind enough to lend her services as a tribal face painter. she was beyond hilarious!

henry makes his way through the cave of doom

big thanks to miltons for supplying the boxes for our cave!

josie and henry mummified

the forbidden forrest

sam goes over the unravelled clue with zachary offering advice

josie digs through the sands of egypt for treasures

jackson supervises movie set-up

I Love Horses Day Party

Every day is a holiday somewhere, and today is National I Love Horses Day. We celebrated all things equine by crafting our own horse which we then used in a horse race. After our time at the track we enjoyed watching the classic National Velvet.

christina shows off her horsey

christiana, grace and nicole race down our homemade track

I Scream, You Scream

To celebrate National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day, we held a our own ice cream party. We even made our own ice cream! It's super easy and delicous...

Ingredients
one cup whole milk or half and half (i think half and half tastes the best)
one tablespoon sugar
one teaspoon vanilla extract
pint sized baggies
gallon size baggies
six tablespoons rock salt
ice

Directions

1) Put milk, sugar and vanilla extract into the pint bag. Make sure it is sealed tight!

2) Fill gallon bag up halfway with ice; add at least six tablespoons of rock salt.

3) Put the smaller bag in with the ice and shake, shake, shake for about five minutes! Your ice cream will form and will have the texture of soft serve.



Since it was National Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day, we added things like air heads, sour punch straws, butterfinger bars, graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate! You can enjoy it plain or add your favorite candy.

Eliana adds her special ingredients

Touch-A-Truck

Logan and Braiden relax inside the tires of the road grader

This week wasn't just for the princesses in Smithville! Yesterday we created construction hats for our Touch-A-Truck event today. The City and fire department were kind enough to send out their trucks to Riverbend for the kids to explore. They had a great time seeing the dump truck, bucket truck, road grader and of course the fire truck. Everyone got a big kick out of setting off the sirens and airhorn!

Volunteer firefighter and city employee Trey Clemmons shows Logan and Braiden how to sound the sirens.

Judah seeks some shade in the road grader tires

Logan checks out the bucket truck

the kids from first baptist sonshine school were initially not super thrilled with sirens. they were easily won over as they each got their turn to sound them off, though!

mister gabriel commands one of the big trucks

gabriel and matthew explore the front loader

Princess Party

Princess Chesney

The princesses of Smithville had a fabulous time crafting and watching a princess movie. We made two different types of bracelets and decorated princess themed sun catchers. One of the bracelets we created was filled with glitter and beads. I got the idea here at familyfun.com, which is a GREAT website.


Hydo Bracelet
Supplies
1/2" clear plastic tubing (can be purchased in the plumbing supply section)

3/8" clear plastic tubing
(You will need a smaller size for the piece to hold it together, it helps if you pre-fit it in the store. We used 1/2" and a smaller size for the smaller one.)

Tiny beads and big glitter.
(our beads were a bit on the big side - seed beads would work better. And we discovered the finer glitter globbed up and the larger kind worked much better.)


Directions
1) Start by measuring your wrist and trimming the larger tubing accordingly. The straighter you can get the cut the better.


2) Cut the smaller piece to approximately 1". We found it works better when the piece is on the long side, so start longer and trim from there.


3) Place the smaller piece inside the larger piece to plug up one end.


4) Place your glitter and beads inside the tube (you may need to use your finger to keep the beads from falling out).


5) Add a little water at a time, plugging of the other end with your finger.


6) Slip the other end onto your smaller piece to seal it - enjoy your bracelet!

Pet Parade

Both the two and four legged had a great time at our first pet parade. We started the day by taking a special stroll from the Rec Center down to the gazebo. Once at the gazebo, we had a pet fashion show and pet trick contest.

Jayton and Bailey lead the way

Chad and Bella work the run way

Jaycee and her kitty, Luna, take a stroll down the run way.

Jordan leads Sunny with some impressive tricks

our esteemed judges =)

prizes were generously donated by rainbow company, riverside veterinary clinic and petco

bella models her winnings as best dressed pooch


brodie poses with his pup, bella