Inside Play and Snow at the Beach

It's been brrrrr...but it's still winter, so that's okay. (This weekend is spring, so we're going to jump 20 degrees next week, right!?) So, I try and keep Maddie busy with projects. We tried out clay the other day. Not the first time for clay, however, the first time for THIS clay the right way. When we first used this clay we didn't use any water and the legs on our giraffe and elephant fell off. This time everything "stuck" together, however...I highly recommend a plastic place mat that will permanently become the modelling mat. I might switch to paper clay. I used it a lot when I was in high school, but I don't remember it being as messy, just more expensive.

We tried our hand at making a string bowl. As Maddie would say "sticky!" It was fun. Maddie had a hard time waiting to pop the balloon. We made it into a nest and I made a little birdie from this free pattern that I've seen so frequently. Very quick, easy and adorable.

Boxes are a very fun play thing for most kids. Sometimes we make stuff out of them, like little houses...but they don't care, they're happy to just have a box, especially if you slide it on the kitchen floor.

Thanks to my wonderful husband, we had a fun trip to the Washington coast. We woke up to a snowy wonderland. It was really pretty. Too cold for a beach walk our first day, but there was a bowling alley at our hotel! Maddie's first experience was great. We braved the cold to collect a few shells and take a couple pictures the next day and even ended up with a whole sand dollar!