First Snow of the Season

We had our first snow of the season at our home away from home in Flagstaff, Arizona. I have never lived where it snows so this is a very exciting first for me. I have already enjoyed the beauty of the Fall colors for the first time as Summer turned to Fall. Beautiful!

I missed this first snow fall in person but I am very anxious to get back up there and experience a real winter. My kids and grandkids are all anxious to get up there to play in the snow. I can't wait to share in the fun and in the wonderful memories we will create!

Global Warming Solution is in the Works

Last night while watching three of my grandsons, out of blue, my oldest grandson who is eight said; "Grandma, if no one has fixed global warming before I grow up I will fix it."

The solutions and the needed inventions are very clear in his very sharp mind. I can only imagine his frustrations sometimes....being in 3rd grade when he would probably much rather be in a research lab helping to save the planet!

Playing in Tents - A Kid Favorite!

Knowing that my grandchildren love to play in tents I just had to add these two small tents to my grandma bag of tricks for outdoor play! These small two man tents are perfect for children to play in. I purchased them at WalMart for just $20 each. They are easy to set up and simple to move around. They are small enough that they could be used for indoor play too.

The kids were indoors when it started to rain outside. They quickly ran out and sat the rainstorm out in their tents. The tents were a big hit and a great addition to my Trunk of Treasures!

String + Trees = One Big Web

This kid made web was created from over 1000 feet of yarn. The kids really enjoyed spinning their tangled green web through the forest. It was huge! It was a huge (temporary) string art craft project of sorts. The only rules I made were no knots and don't tie one another up in your web which I am sure was very tempting.

The follow up activity was to create a big ball of yarn as the web was removed. This web was done on private property. Caution would have to be taken if doing it on public lands. We would not want strangers to get caught in our web!

Just Being Silly

Just being silly and making her grandma laugh. Pure joy for both of us!

Outdoor Cooking of Sorts

This is a creative and fun activity that you can do when you are in the outdoors. I gave each of the girls a plastic plate and I asked them to use their imaginations to create a plate of food to serve me. They searched the forest floor and came up with some great meals.

We have a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with a side of salad, a hamburger and a side of fries, and a hearty serving of an all meat plate with chunks of beef and ribs.

Fort Building....the next generation!

It is so much fun to watch the next generation do the same things that their parents did as children. The grandkids worked long and hard to collect the wood and rocks they needed to create their fort. The children were very proud of the huge building materials that they had found and hauled to their building site.

The parents however thought it looked more like a fire danger since the "Fort" looked a lot like a huge bonfire ready to be lit. Don't tell the kids!

Checking Out the Big Outdoors

This little guy wonders around nonstop checking out checking out his new surroundings on his recent visit to Flagstaff. He loves chasing the lizards, chipmunks, and squirrels. He also keeps his eyes on the bigger kids and takes it all in. He is as very happy camper when he is playing outdoors at his grandma and Papa's house in the forest.