Sunday, October 19, 2008

What could be better than the integration of science and baking??

I'm pretty sure Alton Brown would agree w/ me when I say NOTHING!!! Well, maybe a few things, but not many.
Jillian piping frosting. James and his red ant.
This has been a month of projects for me, but before I get to that, here are some fun pictures from the other day. In the spirit of Halloween the kids and I made some creepy cupcakes (chocolate zucchini btw....yet another fantastic zuc. recipe). I figured this would be a great opportunity to educate my children on the anatomical differences between insects and spiders. A little science, a little art and a lot of tasty treats...that makes for a success in my book. I think the kids enjoyed it too. ;-) They had the frosting smudged faces and shirts to prove it. I let them each decorate 5 cupcakes. Overkill? Maybe. These pictures were taken before they destroyed my kitchen through their creative endeavors.

As I said before...we've been working on a lot of projects lately. I was hoping to post pictures of the completed play structure on here. Unfortunately it's been too wet outside to finish painting (the railing), so I'm posting pics of the mostly finished play area.
I kind of have a love/hate relationship w/ the sandbox built under it. Hours of fun, but gallons of sand tracked into the house almost daily. The kids are getting better at brushing sand off, emptying pockets, removing shoes....but I haven't figured out a good solution to the occasional potty emergency.

Also, I FINALLY finished restoring the piano!!!! This project has been in the works for a very long time. My mom started it long ago. After many days spent stripping it and 4 coats of varnish applied...this is how it looks.


I left it in pieces last night to dry. We'll reassemble it Monday. Here are some pics of before and after. The wood underneath all the crud is beautiful mahogany...I'm very pleased w/ the way it's turned out.

Other than that, not much to report. Life is great here. Yesterday I also finished landscaping a flowerbed w/ some bushes, mums and a bunch of bulbs. It's amazing how much I can accomplish on a Sat. afternoon when Donald takes the kids to the park. I love it!
Had an incredible ward conference today...although I wish the kids had been less rowdy the first hour, so I could have listened more, but I take what I can get...and the last 2 hrs. of church were great. Hope you're all well.

7 comments:

The Dwelley's said...

Your play area looks way fun. Your Piano is beautiful. I need to do that to ours. We got it from one of the cerritos wards. They were selling them for $100. So it is a little scuffed up.

nikki said...

wow the piano looks amazing! and the play area - I am jealous and no motivated with ideas of what to do here! I say just put a port-a-potty out, or dig a hole and put up a sheet :) Zach loves to just go out in nature, but it isn't so easy for girls.

Wendy and Rick said...

Oh my gosh is that "the" piano? I didn't even know that there was actual wood underneath all the guk. hee hee. I can't believe how beautiful it looks. Awesome job. And the play land. How are you guys so handy? Yeah my poor kids will never have cool stuff like that. Tell Doanld to build one and ship it to me.

Jenni said...

Wow, Busy Beaver.

The piano is awesome. What a project.

Carrie Maseda said...

Those cupcakes look delicious!!!! I know what you mean about the sand; we have a sandbox in the backyard, and our patio looks like a beach. There is more sand out than in, and they are always tracking the sand into the house. I do love the fun they get out of playing in the sand, but I hate the mess.

Jen said...

Madeline says "why did they get all the cool stuff after we left, it's not fair" That's when Ty piped in and started to list all the cool stuff that he had. And Madeline would interrupt him in intervals saying why his stuff was not cool.
Isn't it great how kids can argue over anything?
Well i LOVE the play structure, it looks great. And i am always jealous how you always are so educational with your kids....I would steel your idea of the cup cakes, but i don't know the difference between insects and spiders

Robertsons said...

Heidi,
The blog looks great. Thanks for the heads-up on it.
Steve