We're back from vacation! Every one had a great time, plane rides were survived (there were some rough moments, but overall not so bad) and we're now enjoying our last week before Logan starts Pre-K next Tuesday. The boys got to see the GGs, Nana & Papa, Auntie Denna, Uncle Tom and baby Ryan. They spent 5 days at Nana and Papa's house while mommy and daddy had some much-needed relaxation time! I took over 400 pictures, but promise not to post them all!

While I dig through the pics on my camera, I thought I would post on our post-vaca craft project from yesterday. This was another idea straight from the pages of Family Fun Magazine. I saw it a couple months ago and made a mental note to collect some shells in California and Hawaii. The boys never made it to a beach in Cali, but Brian and I spent an afternoon in Hawaii combing the beach and snorkeling in one of the resort lagoons looking for shells, coral, crab claws, lava rocks and anything else we could find.



The project is making a mini aquarium. It involves sand, shells, blue colored water, a little glitter and baby oil all mixed together in a water bottle. Our supplies are pictured. Since I'm still fighting the jet lag, necessary craft items also included an early-afternoon iced coffee for mommy!
The boys with their empty water bottles. I found some cool, very tall and round ones that worked really well.
Coloring the water

Brady was napping, but we made one for him as well. Each boy picked out a variety of things to put in their bottle. I helped add the sand and baby oil was strictly a mommy job. Here are the finished bottles:
The rest of the shells in our "cleaning station" Brian and I had collected them in a Vitamin Water bottle in Hawaii so the boys put them in the water table to rinse them off.

So...the whole aquarium concept was very cool and all three boys love playing with them, but the sand we used (from our sandbox) did not work at all. It's far too fine and just mucked up the view. I suggest using only straight beach sand. We ended up draining the oil and water, washing the shells and the sand out of the bottles and re-assembling (sans sand). Much better! This is a picture of the water in motion which is why it's a bit blurry.