July 4th - Part #4

Summer Camp

The boys were involved in a summer camp in June and one of the many things they did was learn a Spanish dance.  On the last day of school they did a performance.  It was really cute.

Kitchen Stencil

 It says "Kitchens Bring Families Together"

 It says "Free Kisses for Doing Dishes"  So far no one has taken me up on the offer, as you can tell from the picture below.  Sarah said I might have gotten more help if I had stenciled "Money for doing Dishes"

This is what I've been doing in the kitchen.  The purple mesa picture was painted by Shaun's grandmother June.  She was a very talented artist.  It is what Shaun chose from her house after she passed away.

Surprise For Sarah

Sarah has been wanting an "under the sea" room so while she was at girls camp for 5 days this is what I did to her room.  I painted the turtle, ocotpus, dolphins, and starfish.  I left some room on the wall for her to add her own personal touches.  She has been adding the coral and fish.  She didn't want me to take a picture because she said it's not finished yet but I've waiting long enough already.

Thank You Nana and Grandpa

T - I - double g - ER

Cocoon

Due to the overwhelming request for more picture (OK, the one request) I'm updating the caterpillar blog.  They have now finished their cocoons.  We also found 3 cocoons around the front door area, hard to see but they are there.  I read it takes 2-3 weeks before they hatch so Savy, you are going to have to be patient.

Ethan is Smart!

Yesterday when the boys came home from school there was a caterpillar hanging above the front door.  They begged me to catch it but I said no because it was hanging upside down and it looked like it was about to make a cocoon.  About 4 hours later when we checked on it there is was, all wrapped up.  Then a little later they found the same kind of caterpillar outside on the driveway and caught it in a bucket.  They weren't aloud to touch it with their hands though because it looked spiky and I wasn't sure if it was poisonous.  They eventually caught three caterpillars and put them in a little container.  Ethan has been studying life cycles at school said to put a cloth across the top of the lid and they would crawl up there and stick to it and make a cocoon.  Sure enough around lunch time this is what they looked like.  If you look close you can see all three hanging upside down in a little "J" shape.  I'll check on them later and take pictures of the cocoons too.  We looked them up on the Internet and they are called Spiny Elm Caterpillars and they do sting and cause a rash.  But when they hatch they are a butterfly (not a moth) called Mourning Cloak.  It is amazing what we can learn from our kids. More on this exciting story as it develops.