Family Night ~ Night at the Museum

Tonight we asked Grandpa and Grandma to go to the Toledo Museum of Art with us.  It is always a super fun time!  The Museum has activities planned throughout the week, but Friday night activities are a little extra special.  There is so much to do that we didn't get to everything in 4 hours!

One of our favorite stops is the Family Center.  They supply art projects, drying racks, smocks, and the best part is....the staff cleans everything up and restocks your supplies as you work....a Mommy's dream come true!  Everyone paints a half dozen pictures and the fun continues without a mess to clean up! I just wish these people could live at our house!

Middle Sis had to paint a picture of Rapunzel and a rainbow!  It turned out really cute!

Everyone Foam painted! This is Grandpa and Grandma with their favorite picture! Check out the details of this project HERE!

...And everyone kept painting!

...and painted some more!

Daddy read some art themed books.  

Our favorites were:

The Red Dot by Peter Reynolds

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont

White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

and

Pantone Colors

Lil Sis played with some very neat building blocks.  

These are great to figure out balance when building a tower.

These are made of hollow wood that is very smooth. 

The blocks have a ring of felt on the top and bottom.

We had free play time in the family center. It is a lot of fun to play with trains and trucks! I still am not used to boy play yet!  Lil Bro now makes sound effects all of the time.  It is really funny to hear boy sounds and play with boy toys when I am used to dolls, tea sets, tiara's and sparkle!

We panted with marbles!

This painting was here when I was little!  

I am sure Big Sis is tired of the "When Momma was little..." stories!

Everyone loved watching the glass blowing demonstration! It is amazing that a shape that resembles a pencil eraser that is about a 1/2 cup size can turn into a beautiful vase!

What is more fun than running up the steps? 

The answer is: Running down the steps...and then running back up again!

I have always loved the columns out front of the Museum!  

We always have to stop for a picture!

Had to get Grandma and Grandpa's picture too!

Thank you Toledo Museum of Art for a fun Family Night!

Check out their website HERE!

Family Night Project ~ Marble Painting

Marble Painting

Supplies:

Several colors of paint, marbles, a cardboard box, paper

Step 1: Place your paper into the bottom of a cardboard box.

Step 2: Dip your marbles into your chosen paint colors. 

Step 3: Put your marbles into the box and shake the box.

Step 4: Watch the marbles roll around.  Re-dip the marbles if necessary.

Step 5: Take your paper out of the box.  Set aside to dry.

Step 6: Autograph your art work...you may be famous someday!

Thank you to the Toledo Museum of Art for another Fun Family Project!

Recipe of the Week ~ Momma's Peach Pie

When I was little I used to help my Grandpa on his farm.  Some of my favorite memories were made on the hot summer days sitting on the old antique truck with a bed full of peaches. Sitting and being silly with the cousins was the best. Selling to customers, yet eating more than we sold! There is nothing like the smell of a homegrown peach.  Biting into the perfect juiciest one sure was a treat.  One that was taken for granted in those days. Now a days, I still have yet to find a peach that that could ever measure up to those that my Grandpa grew.  I am sure it will never happen!    

Here is a recipe that my Momma taught me.  It is a family favorite.  

One that is great any time of the year!

Momma's Peach Pie

3 - 4 Large cans of sliced peaches (drained and sitting in a colander for at least 15 minutes)

2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts

1/2 c. flour and 1 c. sugar mixed in a small bowl

Almond Extract

Vanilla Ice Cream

Coat peaches with mixture. 

You may have some extra mixture leftover.

Spray Pam in the pie plate and then place the crust in the bottom.  Sprinkle a little flour in the bottom pie shell. Pour in the peach mixture.  Dab a few drops of almond extract on the peaches.  

Place crust on the top, wet your hand with water and rub on the top crust.  

Sprinkle sugar on top.  Poke the crust with a fork.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Enjoy with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream!

Scrumptious!

Olympics ~ Window Clings

Here is the British Flag in honor of the Olympics!

In order to tie this craft project to the Olympics the following question was posed:

"Today we are going to make window clings to celebrate the Olympics.  What types of things might you see at the Olympics?"

The answers: Rainbows, butterflies, flowers and hearts.  Oh well.  I tried!

Window Clings

Supplies:

White craft glue (like Elmer’s), Liquid food coloring, 

Liquid dish detergent, small paint brushes, A clear plastic sheet protector, 

Newspaper to cover your table

Step 1:  Mix a couple of tablespoons of glue with food coloring. 

(For 6 of us, we ended up using 3 bottle of Elmer's Glue.)

Step 2: Draw a picture and put it inside the plastic sheet protector or you can wing it!

Step 3: Paint on the sheet protector to make your picture.  Make sure your paint is really thick because you want it to be sturdy when you peel it off later. The paint will also shrink so you may have to add paint to keep your section filled in. Make sure that the different colors touch one another to make one solid painted piece and that there are no gaps.

Step 4: Set aside to dry. 

Make sure it is out of reach of the little ones because it is very VERY tempting 

to touch it to see if it is dry!

All done!  Now they have to dry...Oh wait...Grandma doesn't want to quit!

Once the glue is completely dried, peel the picture off of the page protector.  Slightly dampen your window and place your window cling on to the window.

Have fun!

Have you done anything crafty lately?

The original idea is found HERE!