St. Therese Parish - Collinsville, OK

The girlz and I love to find new places to do school and we love to do school outside when it's nice, so yesterday we took a blanket and our books to the Saint Therese Parish in Collinsville. Our homeschool co-op is having our school pictures taken there next week so I kinda wanted to check it out before we went, too. It was really pretty and serene there with a pond, lots of trees, several benches, beautiful flowers, etc.

The architecture of the parish itself was almost like a pueblo building you might find in New Mexico - which was kind of neat because we're studying New Mexico as we learn about the American Girl, Josefina, in the curriculum we are currently studying.

Here's a few pics of Saint Therese...

Secret Keeper Girl Tour 2010

A few months ago I heard an advertisement on the radio for a "Secret Keeper Girl" tour. I checked into it a little more and thought it sounded like fun so I posted it on facebook. By the end of the day, I had about five friends tell me they wanted to go, too!

So the event was last night and we all went together with our daughters. The theme was "pajama party" but I think we were the only ones dressed in pj's! Oh well - it made it more fun for the girls! We started out the night eating dinner at Cracker Barrel, in our pj's, mind you - got a few interesting looks from the customers. Then we carpooled to the show.

The premise behind Secret Keeper Girl is to teach girls about inner beauty that comes from God and how to dress modestly. It was a high energy night with games, songs, a fashion show and biblical teaching on godly beauty - the girls had a blast! I'm so glad we went because it backs up what I'm trying to impress upon my girlz at home. The world places so much focus on outward beauty - my focus is just the opposite. I'm always telling my girlz that it's so much more important to be beautiful on the inside. I think to be caring, loving, serving, sweet, thoughtful and kind on the inside automatically makes you beautiful on the outside.

I just joined the Secret Keeper Girl facebook page and read that about 40 girls accepted Christ last night, too! Such a great experience - we look forward to going again next year with even more friends!!!

Collinsville Homecoming Parade 2010

The Collinsville Homecoming Parade was yesterday. My nephew was in it so the girlz and I joined Steve's family in downtown Collinsville to watch him and get some candy. Collinsville is a small town but everybody rallies around for activities like this - especially to show their school spirit. Lots of red being worn that day! Here's a few pics from the parade...

Brush Creek Bazaar 2010

The girlz and I have started making the Brush Creek Bazaar an annual event we look forward to every fall. We had such a great time there last year we had to go back again. The grounds are so beautiful and we had a fun time looking around at all the craft booths. The girlz had $10 each to spend so they bought cute little matching zebra-striped purses. Now it feels like Fall is here!

Recycling Rules!

Our homeschool co-op went on a great field trip today to Advanced Metal Recycling plant in Tulsa. Many of the kids brought cans from home to exchange for money. We had a fun time learning about what happens to our stuff when it is taken to the plant to be recycled. The kids especially enjoyed watching a car be demolished (see video below). We had a wonderful tour guide and she even served the kids cookies afterwards. We definitely gave this field trip a thumbs up! Recycling rules!

Training for the Tri

The Owasso YMCA is hosting a kid's triathlon and my girlz have decided they want to do it. So -

they've been biking...

swimming...

and running...

to get ready for the race. They've really been working hard to prepare for the big day but I've also stressed to them how it's not really that important to win - but that it's more important to try their best and to have fun. I think so many families get caught up in competition - gotta win, gotta be #1, gotta be the best. I just want them to enjoy this experience and know that staying healthy is important and exercise is part of taking care of our bodies. I'm looking forward to watching them in a few weeks and supporting them in their choice to stay healthy and have fun!

Stop and Smell the Roses

Today the girlz and I went to our favorite place for lunch, The Pink House in Claremore. I asked "A" why she liked it so much and she said, of course, "because it's pink!"

"M" had the grilled cheese sandwich...

"A" had a ham and cheese sandwich...

and I don't like having my picture taken...

I mean, I had the chicken tortilla casserole. DeLiCiOuS and absolutely no fat calories - yeah, right!

Unfortunately, we stuffed ourselves pretty good and didn't have room for our favorite dessert, baked fudge.

Then we did our next favorite thing after eating at the Pink House - antiquing!

Since it is a school day, I thought we better tie something "educational" into our outing and since we've been studying the Colonial time period, we were on a search for colonial pieces. We actually found lots of colonial style hats, shoes, and kitchenware - not to mention these Avon perfume holders.

Hey, this bicycle can be yours for the mere price of $700! What a bargain!

And our last stop was the doll shop...

Today is one example of why I love homeschooling so much - getting to experience life with my girls because life passes you by so fast. Blink and you'll miss it, so take time to slow down and smell the roses!

Hollenbeck Family Reunion

How to Paint Straight Lines - Tutorial

I've had several people ask me lately how I paint straight lines. I've painted a lot of borders and stripes in my day and have developed a few tips I'd like to share. I wouldn't say I'm a pro, by any means, but this is a really simple technique and gives a great finished look. I did this recently in my girl's rooms and the lines turned out so straight - I didn't have hardly any touch up to do. And it works especially well on textured walls!

Supplies needed...

* Level

* Painter's Tape

* Chalk pencil (Found in the sewing isle at Wal Mart or the fabric department of stores like Hobby Lobby. I prefer to use chalk pencils instead of regular pencils because you just wipe away with a damp cloth any marks you don't want and you don't have to worry about erasing.)

* Paint brush - I prefer to use a thin, 1 1/2" angled brush (easier to control)

* Paint & paint can opener (duh!)

First, paint your base coat...

Second, mark your lines with a level and chalk pencil...

Third, use painter's tape to tape off along your drawn chalk line. Be sure to press down on the tape pretty well. A credit card works really good.

Fourth, using a small amount of your original base coat on an angled brush, paint the area into the grooves of the wall where you want the stripe or line at the tape's edge. This will fill the grooves from the texture with the original base coat paint and is the big "secret" for getting super straight lines. Let this dry well - at least one hour.

Fifth, paint the area you want striped with a different color. You could also use the same paint color but do a different gloss - i.e., flat paint as your base coat then do the stripes in high gloss. You may need a second coat if the first coat didn't cover very well.

You do not have to wait on the paint to dry. After you have good coverage, carefully peel off the tape and reveal your BeAuTiFuL work!

I just made this stretched canvas for one of my girlz on Artscow.com - one of my new favorite sites for creating photo gifts. It was very simple to make and I purchased it on sale for only $15 with no shipping!

Good luck with your next painting project! I'd love to see pics! :-)

Art 2010

Our homeschool co-op just began our Art classes for the fall season. We have a new teacher, Mrs. Kuhns, who also taught the girl's Art Camp this past summer. She has many, many years of experience in teaching Art and is a very skillful and talented artist. The kids have really enjoyed it so far and have learned so much. Here's a few pics from the last class we had. I'm thinking we have several very talented artists here!

Remembering a Kind Soul

One of our favorite homeschool co-op activities last year was Art. We had an AmAzInG teacher, Miss Ann, who was a brilliantly gifted artist who also worked really well with children. She was a family friend and the mother of one of my best friends. Sadly, she passed away unexpectedly in her sleep one night this past July.

We were all so saddened by her sudden death. She will be remembered for her spunkiness, encouraging attitude, giving spirit, unending patience and her passion to teach others about art and creating things.

Ann, you are a kind soul who touched many, many lives while you were here on Earth. As I get older with each passing day, I am realizing just how very short life is and to treasure every moment. Goodbye for now - until we meet again at those pearly gates!

Gilcrease Museum Tour

The Gilcrease Museum has a "free day" on the first Tuesday of every month so of course, that's our favorite day to go! The girlz had a great time making things in the craft room, looking at western art, creating art on the computer and we shared a yummy brownie dessert at their restaurant.

Then we went outside to their beautiful grounds and finished our school work then snapped a few pictures. It was perfect weather to be outside and enjoy the day!

Visit to the Little House on the Prairie

The girlz and I decided to make an impromptu trip to the Little House on the Prairie today. It's only about an hour and twenty minutes from our house and the girlz always love to go there to visit. We got to visit with "Ma", see the post office, log cabin and school and we spent a lot of time petting the horses and donkeys at the barn. Here's a few pics and a video from our visit...

Little House on the Prairie

Making new friends