The Boys at Play on Mother's Day!

This is what Daddy and Zane did to entertain themselves on Mother's Day.

Wall Bed

For those of you who have had to endure my ramblings about the wall bed I've been making in my garage, here are some pictures of the un-finished project. This picture is of the bottom of the bed which becomes false cabinetry when the bed is being stored upright. This part of the project is pretty much done. I just have to add the false drawer fronts and then build the cabinet frame which is attached to the wall. Some beds use a spring system to raise and lower the bed. This particular model uses gas pistons similar to those found on the back of a mini-van or hatch-back.
This picture shows how it will look with the false drawer fronts. I haven't put the handles on yet but they match the ones shown above. This picture is a close up of the top or foot of the bed. The outer 2 pieces of mold with handles pop out and become the leg supports as you will see in the next picture.
This bed has a cool feature that you can't see from this angle but when the leg is extended out it opens the locking mechanism at the top which keeps the bed locked upright when being stored.
Just another picture from a different angle.

I'll post more pictures as I get further along in the project. Also, I want to send out a special Thank-you to my grand-pa who has listened patiently and let me pick his brain on not only this project but pretty much every other wood-working project I've undertaken.

P.S. This post was actually written by Zanesdaddy because I can't figure out how to change the "posted by" name.

Protected like the Animals

Being the science teacher and my love for nature, I love the fact that Zane loves animals. This allows me to teach him about animals and pretend to be different animals.

With it getting soooooo hot, I thought it would be fun to be animals on the African Savannah! What do the rhinos, elephants, and hyenas do?

They cover themselves in mud!
Why?

To keep them cool, prevent insects from biting, prevent sunburn, and to clean/cover the smell of blood.

So we did this! However, Zane wanted to test if the mud would prevent insects from biting.
What does he do?

Goes and touches a BEE! Which proceeds to sting him. So mud does not prevent bees from stinging, but it is great for the skin and keeps you cool. This was, surprisingly, the first bee sting Zane got (More to come if he did not learn) and luckily he did not have a reaction!

Yes Grandad Easy, this happened the same day that we talked about Zane getting stung!

Nature vs. Nurture?

They are questions I think all women ask........

Who picked out your outfit?

Do men have a concept of patterns and colors?

Do men learn how pick out their clothes or is it inborn?

I think that one of our pastors has the right idea:

Just buy the same basic colors, all solid with khaki pants.

That way you are sure to match.

Why am I asking.....

Zane picked his outfit today!?!?

Fingerpaint Face Style!

I know that this is another messy project, but those are the best! As you can see, the paper is not enough for Zane. He decided that he needed to paint himself. It looks like he is really hurt.

Future make-up artist?!?!
So very proud of the mess.
Yes, we know your hands are messy!

Fun Family Time

Today we wanted to have some family fun. So we called Grandpa (John) and asked him to join us at the Zoo! It was a blast. It was not too crowded and we got to see some really cool action by animals that are normally pretty BORING! Zane loves the zoo. But I love when David tags along so I don't have to be chasing Zane all the time. I was able to relax and enjoy the interaction of my two men. Zane also played in the tree house at the zoo, which we normally don't do because mommy is too tired by that time. Thank you daddy for coming!

The Tiger is drinking! Best I have seen him.


The male lion is very flexable!


Mom and Baby Otter playing! They were everywhere.



Hello Mrs. Mandrill!


Grandpa taking pictures of Zane

Dinosaur Nest Continued....

No pictures to go along with this activity, I was too worried about where the mud may land!
After a few days of letting the nest sit, we revisited the site today as archaeologists. We mad a muddy mess and started to dig. We found all sorts of rocks (I called them treasures). Then we took the treasures and rinsed them off to see what we found. The rocks that we had painted earlier in the week we kept. Zane was soooo muddy that I rinsed him also, then proceeded to the tub. Here we scrubbed the eggs clean, and he had water fun also.

I found that the acrylic craft paint I used rubbed right off. So I am going to use the rocks for another project!

Happy Hunting!!