The Scavenger Hunt

Aaron is finally learning what it means to be bored. At age 3? Really? Shouldn't he be getting dirty out playing with sticks and rocks or something? .....EXACTLY!  That gave me an idea....

I decided to do compile a nature "Scavenger Hunt" for Aaron. It consisted of a list I created out of some old poster board and markers:

 I explained to Aaron that we were going to go outside and find everything on this list - 

• something yellow
• dirt
• 2 different kinds of flowers
• something green
• 3 small grey rocks
• leaves
• a stick
• 1 white rock
• bark
• and 1 bug

(we later added on "something red")

I then took an old first aid kit container and put in "scavenger hunting supplies" which included:

• tweezers
• a magnifying glass (with an attached compass)
• a measuring tape (from my sewing kit) to measure how small or big each item he found was
• a "dust brush" (ok...so it was an old makeup brush) to remove debris and dirt from his items
• a marker to check items off his list
• a container to put items in and examine them
• and lastly, a glue stick to attach his findings to his poster board.

I quickly found out how informative this scavenger hunt was for him - for example, when it came time to find the "Bark" on the list, I said, "Okay Aaron, it's time to find some bark...lets go!" Aaron stopped and looked around puzzled for a second and then said, "But I don't see any doggies Mommy.....?"  I couldn't help but laugh. I told him, "Yes, doggies bark too, but bark also means little pieces of wood." Not thinking again, I sent him off to find bark again. Within a minute Aaron screams, "I found some bark!!!" and I stroll over and find him pointing at the wood paneling on the side of the house. (More laughing from me). I tell him, "Great job!" (due to my lack of explanation) and then take him into grandma's garden to show him what the "bark" is we are looking for. It all worked out and he learned something new.

Here is Sunny just hanging out enjoying the weather with us:

Our Sunny Bunny

Oh my goodness...who gave her that rock to play with? Oh yeah, that was me...Don't worry, she couldn't pick it up. She just liked to feel it.

Aaron had so much fun looking for everything - I really didn't think he was going to enjoy it that much, but he kept looking for stuff even after we were done.

We also used an egg carton to collect all of his neat items in:

And you can't see it, but there was a Rolly Polly bug in the blue container (which we eventually set free, but Aaron had fun watching it in the meantime. I think the bug was his favorite part.)

Everything glued to the list.....except.....

As you can see, he found all of his items on his list, and if you'll notice there is only a drawing of a bug for that box - At first he wasn't happy about the inconsistency of the drawing being there instead of a real bug so I had to spend about 3 minutes explaining to Aaron that we do not glue living things to paper (or anything for that matter). Eventually he got over it and was just happy he found everything.

Best picture we had of him...and there is Sunny in the back still having a blast

After everything dried we hung up his poster on the wall and just about everyday Aaron looks at it and reminds me he wants to do "Aaron's chart" again soon.

Family Camping 2012

(Sorry - I think 3 month long gaps in between posts is becoming a theme in our blog. If it wasn't for Matt reminding me to update this thing I think the gap time frame would be a lot larger.)


Since our last post, we have done quite a few things as a family - one large event being our camping family reunion.

Although I was a little worried at first to go camping (being that Aaron had never been camping, and well, baby Sunny hadn't done much of anything at that point...) but it all worked out a lot better than I expected. It was nice to be away from computers, TV, cell phones, and microwaves and let Aaron be a kid, get dirty, and explore on his own.

The first evening we got there the weather was gorgeous! We were very excited to see where our home would be for the next 2 days.

Our cabin was the one on the left.

Aaron looking, but Sunny isn't....

Sunny looking, but Aaron isn't.....

Before everyone else got there, we decided it was time to start some dinner:

Tri-Tip and homemade macaroni salad on the side - YUM!

Camping? So far, so good! =)

Our little family

Here is Uncle Jeff pushing the cousins on the porch swing. I think Uncle Jeff and Aunt Yolanda were the stars of the show - they brought fun toys for all the kids to play like bubbles and squirt guns. The kids (especially Aaron) followed them around everywhere. It's months later and Aaron still asks where Uncle Jeff is. =)

And what's camping without smores?

Getting the fire ready

Aaron's cousin Bailey roasting some marshmallows

Aaron being a goof. =)

 And just a few photos from our last evening there:

 

Family picture

All the kids. (Left to right - Aaron, Sunny, Brooklyn, Zaya, Nick, and Bailey)

All in all, aside from the bugs, and the 10+ mosquito bites I got the last night we were there (oddly enough, the kids didn't get bit once, but that's great!), it was a very fun trip...maybe we should make this an annual thing.....maybe....  :-)