Art Camp

I signed Sweetie Heart up for Art Camp this last week. We have an amazing local artist who is young and fun. She has two kids one of whom is Sweetie Heart's age. She also substituted for the art teachers at the end of last year. So Sweetie Heart knew her and she so loves art. I'm so glad we signed her up for it. She had a blast. She doesn't want it to be over. Here is the art she made while she was there. She came home with paint on her clothes and in her hair. I asked her what she liked best and she said getting messy and the art show. Here's a little Art Show for you.
Did I mention they were using house paint for these? It makes those overalls even cooler.

Here is her oil pastel & water color that she took from the picture. I could not be prouder of her!

God is so good. When I first heard about art camp I was told that it was already full from a friend. I was totally bummed. I decided that I would talk to the artist who was running the camp to see if I could put Sweetie Heart on a waiting list or something. I usually would see her first thing in the morning when we dropped the kids off. The next day didn't start great and we ended up being late. I took Sweetie heart back to her classroom and when I turned around to leave there she stood dropping her own son off late. So a said that I heard that she was doing art camp but it was full. She told me she still had a couple of slots left. She emailed me the dates and told me that she needed me to commit pretty quick because she had two more calls that morning. I got in under the gun.

Then I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for it. I knew it would all work out I just didn't know how. I was up at the library (surprise) talking about it when my neighbor/volunteer said she could pay for it, bless her heart. She has grandkids of her own and I really appreciated the offer, but could not possibly take her money. She came to my door a few days later. She had a proposition. If I would help her with her yard work she would pay me $13/hour and that could pay for Art Camp. She needed the help and I was more than happy with the agreement. She is a wonderful woman, sent from God to help us. I am so grateful, as I am with all the blessings I have been given.

We rode our bikes there three of the five days. The days it didn't rain. She did great, but I was struggling. That said I was pulling a bike trailer and had to ride it twice each day instead of once. There are lots of hill, little to some big to me...I mean others. It was about 2 miles round trip. Even so, Sweetie Heart wouldn't have had any trouble riding longer. She loves her new bike and has the stamina of her father, or older cousin who races 10-15 miles easy.

Here we are taking the finger painting in a very literal way. I really have loosened up since having kids. Yes, sticky little fingers still make me cringe. But I let them happen anyway, so long as they stay away from me, as best as they can.

Mornings can be a little tough around here. Sweet Girl needs a little pick me up sometimes.

It's syrup, what were you thinking?

And speaking of tough mornings, school starts in a week and a half. The summer has flown by. We had a great summer! Sweetie Heart is looking forward to getting back to school though. Although, she does have her moments she says she wants me to home school her so she can be around me more. Mostly, she enjoys the our time playing board games, like Monopoly, while Sweet Girl is "napping."

We came out ahead this year in getting ready for school. For some reason there isn't a school supply list around here, at least not yet. So I don't have to worry about that. We were given two garbage bags full of clothes for Sweetie Heart, one from a friend and one from my sister-in-law. So I didn't have to buy any back to school clothes. Actually, I think I'm going to need to get rid of some. We did buy a new pair on sneakers. These were $31 and we got a discount of 20% because we are members of the local food co-op. Here she is showing off her new sneaks.
She didn't understand why Webby and I were laughing. That's where I've been all week. Riding my bike and recovering. Webby scoffed a bit when I told him I was sore and had a hard time getting up one of the hills after the first day. (Yes, you did Webby) I know 4 miles doesn't seem like a lot, but if you haven't ridden since you were like 12 it is. That and Webby's idea of a ride lasts a couple of hours, not 20 minutes.