Frozen Fractures All Around...

I took Amelia to her first non teacher community/neighborhood birthday party, which was a Frozen themed celebration for two sisters who attend her preschool. I snapped some photos because it was such an elaborate occasion I just needed to share. It's amazing how different birthday parties have become since the days of a few neighborhood kids hitting a piñata and eating some cake with Neapolitan ice cream. It was beautiful and the kids had a great time...see for yourself.

Decorations made from painted styrofoam

Doesn't this shot just say it all?

Amelia in a dance contest

The candy buffet - remember concept this at our wedding?

The table settings looked nicer than our wedding.

Although we had a great time we are still happy to celebrate in our own simple, yet fun way. Bryce just celebrated his second birthday with bubbles and cake on our neighborhood field. I haven't posted pictures yet, but will very soon. Jim has the camera and he is off hiking a volcano this weekend.

Amelia's First Spa Visit

Now that the kids are getting a bit older, we are starting to do things in pairs a bit more. A few weeks back Amelia and I visited a local salon for some girl time. The salon, which is called Cantik Mama, or Beautiful Mama, was a short bike ride away from our complex. I had heard about it from a neighbor, but this was our first time. We arrived to find a very simple, but clean space. Amelia had a manicure and pedicure, while I had a cream bath (hair conditioning treatment) and foot reflexology. We both loved being pampered together.

"Ooooh...the water feels nice."

"This is sooo fun!"

"I am such a grown-up girl now."

What a fun time!

Have you heard about the Vegetti?

We love vegetables, which is why this summer I picked up a Vegetti. We haven't used it since we got back to Jakarta, so we pulled it out this weekend and made some zucchini with marinara and parmesan. I love the texture and taste; it is crisp and fresh. The kids like it too!  

I am eating it like a baby bird!

Noodles...yummy!

Moon Sand

Making your own moon sand is easy to do! It was a great sensory experience for the kids and a wonderful way to occupy our time when the Jakarta pollution was just too much to be outside.  To make your own, visit The Imagination Tree for directions.

The corn starch is so soft! 

I am making a dinosaur.

I can crunch it up!

Sand...Mess...Dig...Soft...

Look, it's raining!

What fun...but next time we will do it outside because it gets everywhere!

Little Swimmers

Simple Sensory Fun!

Inspired by the wonderful website, The Imagination Tree, we created some simple sensory fun this past Sunday. I taped two toilet paper rolls together and then attached them to a plastic egg carton. (You could also use paper towel rolls, but anyone who has been in our house knows that we don't buy them, unless there are crabs to be picked.)  Both Amelia and Bryce were delighted to try it.  They loved watching the balls go down the chute and appear in the box.  

I am hoping to try Kinetic Sand next, which is so simple and wonderfully fun, but I need to get some clean play sand first.  I think I may have located some, so watch this space for our next fun weekend project...

Read Anything Good Lately?

One of the benefits of living out of the city and not having cable or internet is lots and lots of time to READ! So many great titles that are worth sharing for those that might be looking for something they will surely not be able to put down... (The links take you to amazon.com)

Summer kicked off with The Night Circus by Eir Morgenstern. This book was absolutely delicious - it is a magical must read!

From there, I started down an enticing path of historical fiction including:

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

I finished up the holiday with Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, which was an epic journey, indeed. What are you reading? I would love to hear from you!

So come on...curl up with a good book and enjoy!