Count Down to Christmas

I am taking the challenge of writing 30 posts in 30 days. (Thanks Catherine for the idea). I am doing this because I need to be better about writing things down. After all this is supposed to be my family journal.
Yesterday, the kids and I made advent countdown chain calenders. The kids had a lot of fun. First I had them color a Christmas Picture. Then we made a chain out of red and green strips of paper connecting them together. Rylan finished his, but was quickly off to something else after and I had to finish Alana's. However they have been excited about ripping of one link of the chain off every night before bed. They quickly take it off, admire the rest of the links and say "that's how many days until Christmas" and then rush the one taken off to the trash can. It is very cute.
In the morning they get to eat a chocolate from their other advent calender (thanks Nana for buying them). They have been a fun tradition and both advents give the kids something to look forward to. One in the morning and one in the evening. They get so excited about it. That is what I love about it, children make the magic of Christmas possible. So we are officially counting down. 23 days to go!

A Classic

I love crayons! As a child I loved to draw and color. I was always doodling something. I loved getting new crayons. Who dosen't remember the excitement of opening a brand new box of crayons? I remember sometimes at Christmas I would get a new box of crayons, and it was exciting! As an adult I still get excited over crayons. (Only now I buy them for my children).

This year the Crayola 64 pack turned 50.

Just some fun facts I want to share about crayons: (I thought they were totally cool)
*About 3 billion Crayola crayons are produced each year.

*Sold in 80 Countries (Packaged in 12 Languages)

*The average kid in the United Sates will wear down about 730 crayons by his or her 10th birthday.

*Has a distinct smell--one that Yale University ranked on the most recognizable smells. It ranked 18 out of 20. (I love the smell of crayons)

*Over the years the 64 pack has changed some. Some colors have been retired, some have had name changes (like Flesh color changed to Peach color) and they have added some new colors. For the 50th anniversary Crayola asked children around the world to pick color preferences, and eight colors were given new names. Some of the new names include "super happy" and "best friends".

Any way you look at it crayons are A Classic, they will never go out of style (they may change their name or shade). They are a timeless toy. I love crayons and the ideas and memories that are expressed by a simple pack of crayons. Kids can used their immagination and create something. Even young kids love to scribble, it is a great toy because it developes fine and gross motor skills. It's great for youngsters, but even adults can have as much fun as the young ones do. It's an activity that the whole family can enjoy and do together. I love crayons so much that

I think I will have to go buy a few more packages (nothing like a brand new box)....I love crayons. It just makes me want to be creative!!!

I think that crayons are a classic toy and we all have an emotional connection to them somehow.

Happy Birthday Crayola 64!!!!!

p.s. Here is a great idea to do with your old crayons. They are called "Crayon Nibbles". Many of you may remember that for valentines, the kids and I melted down their old crayons in a bunch of little heart shaped tins (like the circle one pictured below), and then we let them cool put them into sacks and delivered heart shaped swirly crayons to their friends for Valentines day. It was a fun activity the kids enjoyed, we used up all of our old crayons and it made a fun gift. (The only bad part was that I had to unwrap the crayons first.) Hope you enjoy--Have fun with your box of colors.

Crayon Nibbles

Items that you will need:

-mini muffin pan (one that you don’t mind getting a little crayon on)--Mine was little heart shapes.

-Old Crayons

-Wax Paper (to put crayons on after they are cooled)
Directions:

You’ll want to preheat your oven to 265 degrees F. Peel off all the paper from the crayons (for the new ones, and break them into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces. Arrange two to three like colors in each slot, then bake for 6-8 minutes (don’t over bake - you want them just melted so you can’t distinguish the crayon shape anymore). Let them congeal a little on the counter, then place them in the freezer until they are firm (approx. 30 minutes). They should then pop right out.
These crayons are great for little hands that aren’t steady enough to hold thin crayons. They can wrap their whole hands around them and go to town without breaking them. Hope you have fun!

Fun facts taken from the Deseret News.

A little bigger

Here is the first update on the garden this year. I have to admit that I have helped with the garden, but the master behind this great garden is my dad! He is so great with plants. He totally has a green thumb. We are so excited to have fresh produce to use. Here is what it looks like now. To view up to this point view my previous post How does my garden grow.