FREE Shubert Club Courtroom Concerts in March

There will be 5 FREE Courtroom Concerts presented by the Shubert Club in March. All of thee concerts are at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN and are at noon on Thursdays. For more information and to see the full concert lineup, check out the Courtroom Concerts.

7 Handmade Easter Gift Ideas

Peep Finger Puppets



Easter Bunny Smores



Loom Knit Stuffed Bunny




DIY Peep Hair Ties



Jelly Bean Filled Easter Egg



Easter Applique T-Shirt


Upcycled Easter Bunny Ears Hat

FREE Kids Periscope Building Class at Home Depot - March 3rd

This class is NEXT Saturday! So be sure to get signed up right away! Spots fill fast!

Visit the MN History Center for FREE!!

Did you know there are a variety of ways to go check out the Minnesota History Center for FREE!!! Besides having a membership to the MN Historical Society, you can go on Tuesday nights from 3-8pm for FREE. You can also check out Nine Nights of Music for FREE in July and August! Plus, check out the calendar for free events and guest speakers you might be interested in.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Science Museum of MInnesota

As I mentioned last week when we had gone to the winter carnival we coupled it with a trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota.

We had renewed our membership and we're were excited to check out what was new and see a film at the Omni Theater.

Omnifest is actually going on so there is a variety of films to choose from some new and some older. We ended up seeing Rocky Mountain Express. Because we are members we are able to see a free movie each time we go and we can book our tickets online in advance for free. It used to not be free to book it online so I was happy that it was. With it being omnifest The movies do fill up quickly. When we arrived at the Museum there was a sign saying that the next show wasn't until later in the evening then we were seeing a show so I was very pleased we booked it in advance.

We spent most of our 4 hours there doing all the different special projects they had set up for the day. The Omni movie was 45 minutes long and we watched a couple 10-15 minute long presentations.

The picture above is of the frozen Mississippi River as seen in February from the top floor in the Science Museum.

Learn How to Install Wall Tile at Home Depot on Feb 24th

Does the thought of installing wall tile intimidate you? Then perhaps you would be interested in learning how to do it with this FREE Class at Home Depot this Saturday!

Get signed up now! And be sure to check back to see what other classes they are offering at Home Depot. They offer a variety of classes every month!

RETIREment Gift Idea

Tonight I am giving this gift I made to someone in my book club that is retiring from her in job. I made the sign and other members of our club are buying something that fits each of those letters. We did have to double up on a few of the letters.

I am curious and excited to see what each person buys her that goes with each letter theme.

To make this wall hanging I had bought the pre-made wood hanging from Walmart and then made the letters on my Silhouette machine.

The word retire is one type of font and the adjoining letters are another font. I thought that added some more visual interest. Once I had got the words in place I put two coats of Modge Podge sealer over the top then I did two coats of acrylic high gloss clear paint, allowing it to dry in between each layer.

When it was all dry I glued into place with a hot glue gun, ribbon and flowers. Be sure to take all the plastic pieces out out from the flower so it will glue on flat and stay into place better.

Thinking About Painting Your Home This Year? Check out this FREE Class!!!

Learn all about the new tips and techniques in painting and find out the hottest colors in this FREE Class TOMORROW at Home Depot. Get Signed Up today!

Harry Potter Golden Snitch Valentine Box

As promised on Tuesday here is the Valentine box that my daughter made for this year. It is her last year of elementary school so this will be her last Valentine Box.

She is a total potterhead so she opted to make a Harry Potter themed Valentine Box. She had several ideas but this was the one she finally settled on. If you remember reading about our problems with using a punch ball in the Pokeball post, we had the same issues but this didn't claps quite as far because it was smaller already.

To make the wings she taped cardboard from a 12 pack box and then paper mache paid the taped joint area. Then she paper mache paid over the entire Wings to add texture to them as well.

She decided to use a paste made of flour and water where as my son used liquid starch as his paste. The paste she made seem to shrink a bit more and made it more textured. But it did seem to be a thicker and sturdier project with less coats. The final coat she had to do with starch because she needed to have a smoother area in order to put the letters on.

The letters are made using my Silhouette machine using the font I bought from the silhouette design store called lightning.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? St. Paul Winter Carnival

 For the first time, we attended the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. Unfortunately, it was the last day of the carnival that usually last around 2 weeks. So you won't be able to attend at this year but you can add it to your list of ideas to do next year. It is free to walk through Rice Park.

 We only went to the activities at the rice Park location but there were other events going on at the State Fairgrounds. At the rice Park location is where you will find the ice castle and all of the ice sculptures. There is also a stage that host a variety of performers.

We coupled this with a visit to the Science Museum and just walked the one block from the science museum to Rice Park.

Pokeball Valentine Box

I really want to tell you that this was super easy to make but we learned a few new things about paper mache that we had not known before. We had thought we would try using punch balloons because they are typically more around then a regular balloon but found that as we got additional layers on it would compress in make it all bumpy. To be honest after our third layer when it started to compress it looked horrible. We had spent so much time working on it I wasn't sure how to get it smoothed out and look like a ball again.

What's a combination of ideas from my husband and myself I ended up putting a regular balloon inside after I quickly soaps the entire thing in water to soften it. Then I blew up the balloon inside the paper mache until it was inflated enough to pop out the bumps and give it around shape again.

It had outstretched some of the weak spots so we ended up putting on a layer over the weak spots and then another final layer over the entire thing.

The red is actually red tissue paper and the white is white tissue paper except for the center of the Pokeball which is painted white. The black stripe around is all painted black.

As long as this Valentine Box makes transportation to and from school for Valentine's Day my son is hoping to save it and make some kind of lid for it to be able to store stuff in. If it makes it home we will add a sealer to the inside and outside which will also help make it stronger. He is hoping he can alter this to use as a Cloverbud fair project for 4-H.

On Thursday, I will share the one that my daughter made. They didn't get them finished until Friday night, so we couldn't share them earlier.

Build Your Own Spice Rack at Home Depot on February 15th

Don't you just love this spice rack? You can build it by yourself!!! There is a class at Home Depot, so get signed up now! They will tell you the supplies to purchase and you can attend their free class will show you how to make this on your own! This class is on February 15th.

FREE Screening of WONDER at the St. Paul Winter Carnival on SATURDAY

Free family fun?

How WONDER-ful! 

Join us on Saturday, February 10th for a special screening of WONDER in celebration of its upcoming release on DVD & Blu-ray! Screening will take place at 2pm in the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium located in the lower level of Landmark Center. Those in attendance will receive WONDER ValenKinds while supplies last and have the chance to enter to win a copy of the Blu-ray combo pack. The critically acclaimed film releases on 4K Ultra HDTM Combo Pack, Blu-rayTM Combo Pack, and DVD on February 13th!

Where Did We Go Wednesday? RIU Emerald Bay in Mazatlan, Mexico

Just look at these pictures. It's no wonder that we are heading back there again this winter. This is RIU Emerald Bay in Mazatlan.

Yes we are aware of the Travel warnings to Mexico and to this state in Mexico in particular. They are the same warnings as when we went last year and when we had booked last year's trip six months prior to taking it.

We wanted to go to this Resort one more time and enjoy the relaxation that an all-inclusive place affords. There was a ton of food choices and we never got bored of our choices plus there were options for sit down restaurants with reservations.

It is an absolutely gorgeous all-inclusive resort. There were a handful of pools to choose from and a kids club so the kids could go do some crafts or play some games with other kids and not have to just be supervised by Mom and Dad. The kids even participated in a show one of the nights that was put on buy kids going to the kids club. They had a couple of different rehearsal times through the day in order to prepare.

Of course there was also the beach and part of the beach is roped off so that local vendors are not allowed to cross and harass any guests. They are very persistent but it also makes it convenient to have a service or buy something there when you just have to walk down to the beach. My daughter had braids put in her hair on half her head and we just had to walk down to the beach.

We did take a bus into the city of Mazatlan which was an interesting experience. It only cost $0.50 a person but there were so many stops along the way that it seemed to take forever. On the way back we paid a "taxi", which is really just a local with a souped-up golf cart, to take us back to the resort. It was only $10 and well worth it since we were leaving at a time many people were getting off of work and the streets were very crowded and they knew all the back roads to take to get around the city traffic. But also gave us a chance to see some of the houses in Mazatlan. 

FREE Home Depot Class on Easy Bathroom Updates! THIS SATURDAY!

This class is this weekend, so get signed up and make some new updates to your bathroom soon!

AR (Accelerated Reader) Books at 8.0+ Reading Level

 

I went in search of books for my 6th grade daughter to read that are interesting and appropriate for her 
age, plus taking in to consideration she has had enough social studies to mostly understand the social 
contructs of a given time period. He most recent AR test put her at a 9.0-12.0 reading level. There goes
 all the Harry Potter books she loves (except one, which you will see below and she will be excited to 
know I requested from the library.) Do you know how hard it is to find books that are at that level that 
are appropriate for an 11 year old to read and doesn't require prior knowledge of historical events or 
social constructs in foreign lands? It is not easy. 

Sure I can find lots of non-fiction, but some of it starts to get really technical and, frankly, are of topics 
that would bore her. I am sure I will have to look again when my son gets to this level, as his interest 
in non-fiction topics is different than hers. When I was looking up books that are popular among teens 
and tweens the books were often in the 4.5-6.5 grade levels. Honestly, I saw several books we read for 
book club that are 6.5-7.5 levels. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Fiction

Call of the Wild by Jack London (8.0)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (8.1)

The Tales of Beedle and Bard by J.K. Rowling (8.3)

1984 by George Orwell (8.4)

The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe (9.9)

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (9.9)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (10.0)

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (9.7-10.0, different versions)

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (10.5)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (11.0)

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (11.3)

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe (11.4)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (12.4)

Non-Fiction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (8.0)

Into the Wild by John Krakauer (8.1)

Lives of extraordinary women : rulers, rebels (and what the neighbors thought)  by Kathleen Krull (8.5)   

Getting Away with Murder by Chris Crowe (8.7)

Cubism by Shannon Robinson (10.1)

The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein (10.1)

Salt, Sugar Fat by Michael Moss (10.2)

Barack Obama by Sherri Devaney (10.3)

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (10.4)

_____________________________________________________________________________

On these lists I made, I have only read 3 of the books in the non-fiction category, 2 of which I own and will 
give her to read. Luckily, the library system has a bunch and the ones I included are ones I can find within 
our system. I didn't include any that were not available. I like to make up these lists so I can go back and 
reference them when she needs more books, or when my son reaches these levels. No sense re-doing 
all the research when I can just save it and share with my readers. I looked to see if anyone had a list out 
there list this and couldn't find one. Next year, I don't believe she has AR anymore, so she can read some 
of those 4.5-6.5 books that are popular (that were not appropriate for her at the age she was when she 
was at that level.)

FREE Courtroom Concerts in February

There will be 3 FREE Courtroom Concerts presented by the Shubert Club in February. All of thee concerts are at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN and are at noon on Thursdays. For more information and to see the full concert lineup, check out the Courtroom Concerts.