Adventures in Fingerpaints

We've been having alot of fun making our own art supplies lately. One of our favorites was fingerpaints. They were really easy to make and a lot of fun to paint with once they cooled. They had a really smooth texture and the colors were so vibrant! It was another great way to work on our colors. The only thing I would do differently is store them in the refrigerator becasue they got moldy after a couple of days sitting out at room temperature.

Tate had a great time with this activity. He really enjoyed combining the colors and squishing them through his fingers. He quickly created the color brown! It took Jackson awhile to get used to the messiness of the paints, but once he did he seemed to enjoy making a small picture. Lana is my resident artist. She took her time trying each color, creating a picture of swirls, smudges and lines that she was pleased with.

Here's the recipe we used:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup corn starch
2 cups water

*Combine ingredients in small saucepan.
*Warm until mixture starts to thicken.
*Cool and pour into containers, adding food coloring to create desired colors.

Nathan's 7th Birthday

Nathan turned 7 on May 4th. It's so hard to believe that's it's been seven years since he was born! It just doesn't seem possible!!! The years are just going by way too fast. He's not a little boy anymore, he's growing in so many ways. He's becoming more responsible around the house, helping out with chores and the smaller kids. He finished First Grade with flying colors and is heading to Second Grade in less than a month! He struggles with his temper sometimes, he's indecisive and easily distracted not always putting as much effort into things as he should, but he loves to laugh, talk and tell goofy jokes. He may not be perfect, but we are very proud of everything that he has accomplished. We are grateful everyday that we have him in our lives. He's Tate's partner-in-crime, Jackson's buddy and Lana seems to have a special unspoken connection with him.

Nathan's birthday started out rough. He came home from school that day with pink eye and stomach bug. He was supposed to leave for a camping trip with his Scout troop the next morning but wasn't well enough to go. Becasue he was supposed to be camping that weekend, we had planned to have his birthday party the following weekend.
For his party this year Nathan choose a camping theme. Camping is Nathan's favorite activity. He is always excited to leave on the next trip. He spends his days fishing and swimming and his nights sitting around the campfire.

The weather that day was abosolutely gorgeous. He loved his cake and the smore's inspired mini-marshmallows on a stick that were dipped in melted chocolate and covered with crushed graham crackers. He received a lot of nice gifts. In addition to his new blue bike that we had already given him, he received Transformers, Lego Hero Factory sets, a new fishing rod and gear, new clothes and some money.