School Field Day 2014

I was lucky enough to be able to make it for part of Boogs' Field Day at school. I had to leave before it ended but I was able to take a few pictures of the outdoor fun. The kids had so much fun!!!

Bouncy-ball relay race

Two-person potato sack race

Scooter relay race through sprinklers

 Hoop relay race

 Tricycle relay race through sprinkler

 Ball balancing relay race

 Baton relay race

 Over/under pool noodle relay race

 Fill the bucket with sponge water

 Tug-O-War

The kids battled each other for tug-o-war. Each side won once. Then the class competed against the teacher and parents. 21 kids against 6 parents. The kids won.

Boogs' class still had a few more stations to go through when I had to leave. It was great fun watching Boogs and his classmates enjoy some of the same games I played at Field Day when I was young.

This post is linked to:

Three Tools for Wendolonia

I have greatly admired the beautiful lunches Wendy of Wendolonia makes for her children. I recently purchased her first book, Everyday Bento: 50 Cute and Yummy Lunches To Go.

It is filled with cute lunches, easy to use tutorials, great information about bento box basics, techniques, and equipment. I especially love her list of foods by color. You can purchase her book HERE.

Wendy invited BBF bento bloggers to participate in a series of posts on her blog. Each post will showcase several bloggers using the same lunch making tools. The post in which I am participating will be using:
Easy Lunchboxes (ELBs),    IKEA Woodland Cutters,   and Food Markers - I use Americolor Gourmet Writer Pens

Usually, the lunches I make are inspired by the books I read with my son. We call them story-themed lunches. Most of the time, I base the lunches on whatever book my son happens to want to read with me. I have to admit that I specifically searched the library for books with characters to match the IKEA Woodland Cutters for these lunches.

Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland

Bear, Beaver, and Moose are good friends but that does not mean they always get along. The three friends decide to set out for a canoe ride. Their journey is off to a rocky start when all three of them decide to sit in the stern to steer the canoe. After much arguing and several mishaps, the friends learn that teamwork is important.

In the ELB lunchbox: almond butter with jelly moose & bear sandwiches made with the IKEA Woodland Cutters, beaver drawn on a marshmallow with the Americolor Gourmet Writer Pens, red Babybel canoe, blueberry river, salad, and grapes.

Fox and Crow Are NOT Friends by Melissa Wiley

My son has already read the fable about the Fox and the Crow. This book tells what happens after Fox tricks Crow out of a tasty piece of cheese. The crow is very upset and vows to take revenge on Fox. Crow sets up an elaborate trap to get even with Fox. When Fox spies a tasty piece of cheese on the ground, he unwittingly steps into a rope trap set up by Crow. Fox was unhappy about being tricked by Crow so he decides to get even. Then, Fox sets up a trap for Crow. Just as Fox is about to sample the sweet taste of revenge, he and Crow are taught a lesson by Mama Bear. My son and I enjoyed seeing how each trap worked.

In the ELB lunchbox: ham & cheese fox sandwich with ham rope around his front paw, small slice of cheese in Fox's mouth, Zbar ground, spinach tree leaves, berries, and salad with radish FOX letters.

 
We Both Read Endangered Animals  

 

The book is made for parents and children to read together. Every two-page spread has one page for a parent to read and one page for a child to read. Boogs could have read the entire book to me, but he enjoyed both of us taking turns reading it. This book focuses on the fact that animals need food to eat, water to drink, and a safe place to live. If trees were cut down in a park, squirrels would not have a home and they would not have a place to hide if a dog chased them. It tells how regulation efforts and laws have saved humpback whales from becoming extinct. The book talks about many kinds of animals that are in danger and also tells how the reader can help.

In the ELB lunchbox: melting iceberg turkey, squirrel & whale (using snail cutter) quesadillas, cheese water spout, okra chips, dried apricot beehive, berries, and salad.


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar!  If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by. 

Outdoor Fun!

The weather has been beautiful lately! We are taking advantage of the sunny days before the temperature gets too hot to go outside. Last weekend, we went on a family hike at the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. There are a couple of miles of trails, lots of shade, and a beautiful view. There are 16 markers along the Cactus Rock Trail. Boogs was our leader on this trail and it was his mission to find all of the markers.  Boogs was a good leader!

We went geocaching and were able to find one out of the two geocaches we went looking for. Boogs traded in a travel bug butterfly for a prism viewfinder. Geocaching, hunting for hidden "treasure", is a fun way to spend the day.

We have two weeks left of school this year. My friend and I took advantage of the time we have while the kids were at school to go ziplining. A couple of months ago, there was a groupon for Lake Travis Zipline Adventures. Both D and I purchased the groupon season pass. D has done ziplining three times before but was eager to go again. This was the first time I have gone.

Lake Travis Zipline Adventures has a series of 5 lines to cross on a three hour tour. (The theme to Gilligan's Island just ran through my head.) The last zip of the tour is the longest zipline in Texas and the 9th longest in the world. It is half a mile long. You reach 50 to 60 mph. It was so much fun!!!

Jumping off backwards did make me a bit nervous the first time, but it got easier. If you let go of the handles, you can spin around and see the great view. The only problem is getting yourself to stop spinning. D and I got to race each other on the last one.

D jumped off a little bit before I did. I never quite caught up. The guide was kind enough to take a few pictures for us. It was a long way from one side to the other. Our two guides, Parker and Johnny, did an excellent job of making this little adventure fun for the entire group.

This post is linked to:

Lunches May 19th - 23rd

Boogs' lunches are usually inspired by the books we read together. Story time is part of our daily bedtime routine. Boogs reads to me and then I read to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. We like to pack our lunches in ELBs and Laptop Lunchboxes.

National Geographic Kids Magazine

Scientists are trying to figure out dolphin language. This article states that each dolphin names itself. Baby dolphins play with "words" and come up with their own unique pattern of squeaks and whistles to name themselves.

In the Laptop lunchbox: almond butter & jelly dolphin sandwich, cheese waves, salami ocean, raspberry sunset horizon, salad, pineapple, and yogurt.

Momma slept in lunch

In the ELB lunchbox: ham, cheese, Pringles, veggie chips, salad, blueberries, and blackberries.




Little Lamb lunch

In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j lamb sandwich, okra chips, raisins, Babybel cheese sun, orange slices, salad, and yogurt.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: Zbar, tomatoes, crackers, cheese, ham, and nectarine.




Mysteries, According To Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

Boogs and I love to read Humphrey books. There are twelve books in this series about a classroom pet hamster with a "lock that doesn't lock" on his cage. Humphrey has all sorts of adventures and always manages to help solve the problems of the students in his class. In this book, Humphrey must figure out what happened to the teacher, Mrs. Brisbane. He writes down clues in his notebook to try and figure out the mystery of the missing teacher. For awhile, the clues lead him to believe Mrs. Brisbane has left teaching to become a ballet dancer. Eventually, Humphrey solves the case. Boogs enjoyed trying to figure out where Mrs. Brisbane went. He knew Humphrey was wrong about Mrs. Brisbane becoming a dancer, but did not figure out what really happened to her until the end of the book.

In the ELB lunchbox: cheese Humphrey on top of almond butter & jelly sandwich, veggie straws, broccoli, radish, and berries.


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! This post is linked to Fun Food Friday. If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Recent Lunches

Usually Boogs lunches are based on the books we read together. For some reason, our mornings seem to be a bit more hectic lately so Boogs is taking more "regular" lunches to school. I pack the lunches in Easy Lunchboxes (ELBs) and Laptop Lunchboxes.

Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown

This book was inspired by the true life of Luis Soriano Bohorquez. Luis was a librarian and teacher who used his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto, to deliver books to children in remote Columbian villages. In the story, a little girl named Ana loved to read the one book she owned. One day, she looked down the hill and saw a man with a Biblioburro sign. The man had two burros carrying books. The village children flocked to him. The man told them he was carrying a moving library with him. He let each child pick out books to keep for a few weeks until he returned to exchange them for new books. Boogs and I have read several books about book mobiles and mobile libraries. He said he is glad kids everywhere can get books from a library even if the library is on a donkey's back.

In the ELB: Alfa drawn on cheese on top of almond butter & jelly sandwich, fruit snacks, salad dressing, salad with little radish books, and nectarine slices.

Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Jeanette Canyon

Boogs has recently been researching stingrays for a school project. I came across this book while we were trying to find more information about stringrays. This book is patterned in the same song type rhythm as Over In the Meadow. Each page has an increasing number of a certain type of sea creature. At first, Boogs was convinced this book was too young for me to read it with him. But, the rhythm of the words, the hunt for sea creatures in the pages, and acting out the movements for each creature won him over. Jeanette Canyon's illustrations in this book are amazing. There is a section at the back of the book which tells how the illustrations were made. Canyon used polymer clay to make every part of each picture. The colors and textures of the creatures and their habitats are beautiful. You can see some of her work HERE.

In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j stringray sandwich swimming in blueberry water with yogurt pretzel shells, Goldfish crackers, raisin & dried apricot coral reef, and broccoli with salad dressing.



Here are the "regular" lunches I have made for Boogs recently:

  

In the Laptop Lunchbox: salami, Babybel cheese, Zbar, apple slices, salad, and yogurt.

 

In the ELB lunchbox: berries, salad, Babybel cheese, Hawaiian sweet roll, yogurt pretzels alternated with dried mango pieces, and ham.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: strawberries, carrots with hummus, okra chips, crackers, salami, and Laughing Cow cheese.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! This post is linked to Fun Food Friday. If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by. 

School Carnival

We went to Boogs' school carnival last weekend. He had a great time. I was at the coin drop station for about 1.5 hours. Boogs was on his own at the carnival. When I finished my shift, I had him take me to the stations he liked best.

Coin drop

 Jousting - the stick weighed almost as much as Boogs. It was so funny to watch these two fighting.

 Boogs dropped his joust and just grabbed onto the other one.

 They both ended up falling off their platforms.

 We are in Texas so there had to be a bull roping station.

 Boogs did not want to leave until it was his teacher's turn at the dunk booth.

 He had great aim!

Snowcone time to cool off.

 Some of the games were kind of gross, like the toilet toss and booger picking stations.

 Boogs stuck all of his arms in the nose to pull out a big booger.

 Then he had to pick through the snot to collect his prize. Ewwww!

It was perfect weather for this event. Boogs is already wondering what kind of stations there will be a next year's school carnival.

"Inactive" Week

For the past couple of weeks, Boogs has been having some intermittent pain behind his ribs when he is very active. Last week, he had to sit out during a soccer game and leave swim practice early. So, I took him to his doctor to get him checked out.

His x-rays came back normal. Boogs did great during the x-rays. The doctor diagnosed Boogs with an intercostal (rib) strain. I was told to have Boogs limit his physical activity for a week. Boy has it been a long week!

We spent part of the week getting ready for Boogs' stingray presentation for school. Boogs has been studying stingrays' habitat, appearance, predators, life cycle, senses, and ways they are in danger. Boogs has learned a lot about them. He had to come up with an original product to go with his presentation. Boogs decided to make a "replacement tail" for stingrays whose tails were damaged or torn off by hungry sharks. He had a friend help him make a paper mache model of his replacement tail.

My husband and I thought it would be funny if Boogs introduced himself during his presentation as Boogs Cousteau, the great-great grandson of the famous marine explorer Jacques Cousteau. Then my husband had Boogs watch Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther movie to copy Sellers' fake French accent. Boogs worked hard to prepare his speech and perfect his accent. It was fun watching him give his presentation. He did a great job!

The evening Quest Fair was held on Wednesday. Boogs happily shared his research with whomever came by his booth.

We have a little family of cottontail bunnies living behind our backyard fence. They frequently hop into the yard to snack on our grass. We threw a couple of carrots in the backyard to see if they would eat them. The next day there were a few nibbles taken out of two of the carrots. I had to remind Boogs that he was supposed to be taking it easy so that he would not try and capture one of the bunnies.

Boogs completed his "week of rest" and was able to go to swim evaluations for summer swim team on Thursday. He was soooooo happy to be freely moving around again. He said he did not hurt too much. We will see how it goes. Five days a week swim team practice begins this coming Monday.

 The first jump into the outdoor pool was COLD!!!

Hopefully, the rest has helped Boogs' rib strain. I am still encouraging him to take it a bit easier than usual but that is really hard to do when you are 8.