afternoon at the museum

today was a fun day! we took a trip to the boca art museum. the public libraries here in palm beach county are giving out free tickets to various museums in the area and this was one of the places we chose. the girls were a bit skeptical at first, but enjoyed themselves immensely. it was a perfect sized art museum for them. not too big and a variety of art to expose them to. painted art, photography, sculptures (and a really nice sculpture garden outside), and some neat pieces from africa, mesoamerica and china.

my favorite was all the photography. and they had a great piece by my fave artist george seurat. just a small one but it was nice. they also had some picassos and an andy warhol. trying to explain to the girls how cool all this stuff is was quite the challenge, but at least they were exposed. just like some of the naked ladies portrayed in some of the pieces that they were giggling and embarrassed about!

these are outside as they don't allow cameras inside the museum.

this was a nice piece outside the entrance.

the girls "not touching" the artwork. (just noticed that if you put the two previous pics together it's almost what the sculpture looks like! i'm such an artist. ha!)

we saw this on our way out. love it!

enjoying the "artwork" on the way home.

maybe he's going to make some of his own art at home.

homemade knitting needles?

leave it to savannah to do something like this. you have to admit she is a clever one. she got this idea from a knitting video we had been watching. (see previous post) in the video this lady teaches some kids how to make their own knitting needles out of dowels. well, i guess the nice ones that i bought at the store weren't good enough for her! my first reaction was to be very upset since what she used was REALLY NICE TINKER TOYS!!! did i mention that they aren't cheap???? so i told her that it was unacceptable and she had to pay me $3 for them. i handed them to her and said "enjoy your purchase!" notice how she even put the little knobs on the ends. the points were sharpened lovingly with a pencil sharpener.
here is the culprit with her new purchase. happy knitting sista!

why i've been a slacker

here is the reason that it took so long for me to post the end of the year stuff. i have taken up a new hobby. knitting! for all of you who know how much i HATE dislike sewing this is a real feat! it is quite addicting to say the least. and to also put it into perspective - i am a lefty! that means i have to figure out how to do everything the OPPOSITE of what the instructions say. can i say how much i love youtube! 2 hours and a few knotted tries later i was on my way to my first creation. i am not the best, nor do i know how to do much right now, but i am learning and really enjoying it. so far only scarves, but after i do one for each girl then i can move on. maybe to hats. funny how most things knitted are not for our sunny south florida weather! well, all of you out there in cold places might be getting some fun things to keep you warm. (and yes, heidi you have first dibs! what's your favorite color again?)

just finished this one for savannah. her fave color. and it's sooooo soft!!! and the yarn was in the 99 cent bin!

how could you NOT want to do something with all this yummy yarn? the blue one in the middle is what i am using right now for gracie's. it is sooooo cool the way it is turning out. and yes, all of it came from the 99 cent bin at michael's. i am not ready to venture into the snotty pricey knitting store in town yet. this was the first one i did. love the color and texture. (it hides all the mistakes that i know i made.)
as you can see sarah has laid claim to it.
and now the girls are doing some of their own. i was actually surprised that gracie actually picked it up, with help. but she is able to do the stitching on her own. crazy! this one is of sarah's creation. she says that whoever's birthday comes the closest when she is finished gets it!

the reason i started this latest obsession is because of my other obsession: books! i read a fab book, that is laugh out loud funny, (here) that was lent to me by my fab friend and now i am a chick with sticks! i have helped her get back to knitting and she in turn has taught me to crochet. we may not be as great as her daughter who whipped up a totally cute hat for her baby on the way on her first try (PUKE on you katie - kidding.) but we aren't that bad. teaching the girls was not that hard using this video. (and marybeth and i actually sat and watched it to figure out how to purl) we checked it out from our local library and we were off! it is actually inspiring since it is a little boy who is like maybe 7 teaching you how to knit!

christmas dinner?

one afternoon i heard them doing this but wasn't sure until i investigated further. they dressed up and were having "christmas dinner" ala felicity (or old fashioned) style. here they are eating their "soup". (a bowl of water!)

the last of the 5th grade shenanigans

i think this is the last of the end of the year crap, i mean, stuff.

and this is why we call the last day of school free babysitting!

on the last day of school the 5th graders get to participate in a school-wide parade. the whole school comes out to the basketball courts and the 5th graders parade around it while everyone yells and blows bubbles, whistles, etc.... it is quite fun. (although i really liked the way they used to do it where everyone came out of their classrooms and they would go around the ENTIRE school and a dj would be blasting music in the courtyard.)

sarah and her buddies looking like rockstars!

she thought she was cool with my glasses on. the real reason was it was either this or her squinting in all the pictures.

if you enlarge this one you can maybe find her throwing a "peace-out" your way. i am told that's the "in" thing these days. (do they really know it's really just something old that has circulated once again? probably not.)

the 5th graders also get to make their own sidewalk chalk and then one afternoon they get to decorate the courtyard with it. sarah is sitting proudly next to her goodbye to hl johnson.

this is where i'z went to school.

goodbye hlj!

more 5th grade stuff

here are a few more 5th grade things. i swear i am going to get the rest done before she starts middle school. these are from the luncheon and the awards ceremony. apparently her hands were more interesting than her teacher getting a sword through his neck!

did you think i was kidding?
sarah says these are "the best teachers EVER!" i must agree because if you can make kids excited about being at school than you've got talent!

the 5th grade awards ceremony was fun. her teachers did a special tribute their class. i was going to post them but decided not to bore you all with those details as we would be the only ones to truly appreciate them.

sarah trying to hide from the camera and the 5th grade awards. i don't know why she does this as she is well aware that the pics, good or bad, go on the blog.

with the principal

our fave store

what's a trip to the mall without visiting our fave store: JUSTICE just for girls!

after savannah got her ears pierced we had to walk around and of course stop at justice.

and doesn't dad look thrilled amongst all the girliness?

virgin ears no more

in the linares family it is a right of passage that when you turn 8 you get your ears pierced. (good thing we don't have any boys.) so it was savannah's turn recently. she is so cute with her earrings and she takes care of them all by herself.

before

waiting in anticipation. i got me some nice dots on my ears.

i love this shot. "is it over?" "is that it?"
pretty pierced ears.

yay savannah!

savannah had a few end of the year events as well. the first few pics are of her 2nd grade award ceremony. she did a great job and we are very proud of her for her STRAIGHT A's!!! these pics are from her make-up field day. it was SOOOOOOOOO dang hot! i don't think the kids even wanted to do it. savannah says they should do field day in the winter and i must admit i concur. field day in june in south florida is just not fun.mom could you please stop taking pictures.