I took the girls to an event in Olympia today called Sand in the City. It's put on by the Hands-On Children's museum and is a fun/free sand castle building event for families to enjoy. The sand sculptures are done by teams, then the public can view and vote for their favorite. They were amazing to say the least, and so fun to see and appreciate the hard work that was put into making them.
I had a great day, it was so nice to just enjoy the sun, and spend the day with my girls doing something so fun with no time schedule, just enjoying being together. I posted a lot of pictures of the sand sculptures, but try to notice the detail on some of these, they were just really neat.
Although we had a great time, I often thought about my dear husband who is studying SO HARD for the NCLEX test he will be taking next week. We missed him today, but we know his sacrifices are for us and we love, love, love him.
It was fun to actually watch them working on this one. I helped the girls notice all their very cool and unique tools they were using. It was like a construction workers belt full of paint brushes and many other tools they use to create the scene.
The guy on the right was working on the boys hair, very tedious work that takes patience, especially in the very hot, bright sun!
This was a favorite of the day... Angry Birds!
More of the Angry Bird Scene.
Oh oh.. an unhappy pig that an angry bird needs to kill.
Yup, Kung Fu Panda.
This one was done by REI. It's hard to get the entire scene in my camera picture, but it was a whale, octopus, canoe, and people in the water.
The girls also really liked this Winnie the Pooh one. Roo is on the end pulling Eor, Kanga, Christopher Robin, then Pooh Bear. On the other side of the hole was Rabbit. So, so cute.
Notice how they really made the sand look like spilled milk.
It was a very hot and bright day, so Kai had to take turns using my sun glasses. You see, these kids aren't used to the bright sun in their eyes too often out here in the NW.
There was a rock climbing wall for kids to do and the girls really wanted to try it, so we stood in line. We watched many other kids try and enjoy their rock climbing attempts, and I observed that the kids about Tyler's age and even older would make it a few feet up, then the instructor would pull their foot or leg back down if they weren't heavy enough for their own body weight to bring them back down (it was a weight bearing type of rope/belay that would allow you to come back down and take the slack as you climbed up). When it was Tylers turn, she got in her harness and started to climb the wall. She climbed, and climbed all the way to the top in a matter of a minute with no problem at all, she was a total natural climber and pretty strong for a small little girl (her uncles would be SO proud), BUT when she was at the top, she didn't weight enough to pull herself down, she just dangled at the top. The instructor tried to climb the wall a little to see if he could reach her, but he wasn't even close. Tyler just waited at the top patiently, and I think she just enjoyed being up so high and hanging out. The crowd was very impressed that she made it to the top. She was eventually rescued.
This was Tyler's "rescue mission attempt" from one of the employees, but he couldn't reach her and ended up putting a harness on and going up on the rope next to her in order to pull her down. As he was pulling her to safety, the crowd all cheered, Tyler thought it was all great fun and I was very impressed with her climbing skills! Sister, on the other hand, could use a little practice.. cute little Kai, Kai.
Face Painting is always a favorite and they made themselves kitty's.
Playing in the giant sand boxes. Making their own sand sculptures was lots of fun!
There was a rock climbing wall for kids to do and the girls really wanted to try it, so we stood in line. We watched many other kids try and enjoy their rock climbing attempts, and I observed that the kids about Tyler's age and even older would make it a few feet up, then the instructor would pull their foot or leg back down if they weren't heavy enough for their own body weight to bring them back down (it was a weight bearing type of rope/belay that would allow you to come back down and take the slack as you climbed up). When it was Tylers turn, she got in her harness and started to climb the wall. She climbed, and climbed all the way to the top in a matter of a minute with no problem at all, she was a total natural climber and pretty strong for a small little girl (her uncles would be SO proud), BUT when she was at the top, she didn't weight enough to pull herself down, she just dangled at the top. The instructor tried to climb the wall a little to see if he could reach her, but he wasn't even close. Tyler just waited at the top patiently, and I think she just enjoyed being up so high and hanging out. The crowd was very impressed that she made it to the top. She was eventually rescued.
This was Tyler's "rescue mission attempt" from one of the employees, but he couldn't reach her and ended up putting a harness on and going up on the rope next to her in order to pull her down. As he was pulling her to safety, the crowd all cheered, Tyler thought it was all great fun and I was very impressed with her climbing skills! Sister, on the other hand, could use a little practice.. cute little Kai, Kai.After the fun with the sand, we decided to cool off at the plash park in Olympia. It was a hot day here in WA, so the water was great!
This was our view from the slpash park, with the state capital building in the background... such a beautiful place we live! See Kai wrapped in the blanket on the ground?
This was our view from the slpash park, with the state capital building in the background... such a beautiful place we live! See Kai wrapped in the blanket on the ground?We had a wonderful day and enjoyed seeing the sand, playing in the water, and just hanging out together. We really, really missed Austin, but sent him lots of pictures and we know he is doing what is best for our family. Good luck my dear, we love, and appreciate your determination and hard work. We believe in you!
