Camp Girata - Weekend Edition

We've had a fantastic weekend! We began with a family outing on Saturday to pick blueberries. We went a bit north of the house to a new farm (different than past years). We had an excellent time and the kids were very excited to have replenished our blueberry supply, especially Layna!

The kids began picking immediately!


The berries looked wonderful


One happy picker




Hard at work

Layna was dipping and diving around the bushes, looking so cute in her headband ...until I noticed it wasn't on her head. I asked her where it went and she hadn't noticed it come off. I scanned the bushes for a few seconds and saw this --

Funny (and a bit creepy...)

We took a break for a quick picture before continuing to hunt:

Gigi with her grandbabies




The laborers, coming out of the field

We picked a good 2 gallons, enough to last us most of the year. When we returned home, we laid them out on the island to let them dry. (HINT: Do not rinse berries before you freeze them or they'll become soggy. Wash the frozen berries when you're ready to eat them.) Nicole picked out all the bad berries and little twigs before packing them in the freezer.

That night, we celebrated the weekend with a very special dinner -- FONDUE!! When I asked the kids a few weeks ago what we could do with Gigi that was extra special, Brayden suggested fondue (and was very proud of the idea!). Since the kids absolutely love Gruyère, we started with a classic cheese fondue with a wine base. I won't lie, it was amazing!

After the cheese course, there was only one thing we could do -- CHOCOLATE!! Although we had many different dessert options to dip in the chocolate, the kids ate their body-weight in marshmallows. They loved it!

We definitely had a fun weekend, topped off with a very special dinner. I don't think I'll be hungry for days...

Camp Girata - Day 4

At the end of the first week of Camp Girata 2011, Gigi had a big morning planned. The kids began with the craft of the day -- airplanes. Brayden built a decently large plane and flew it around the backyard.

Then the kids took to the patio to play with Moon Sand. They had a great time building shapes and animals (and other things...).

After they came back inside, Brayden wanted to play "space bingo," a game Gigi created just for Camp Girata. The bingo cards are laminated with empty spaces shaped like aliens/spaceships/things. Before each game, Brayden's card is filled with math equations, while Layna's card is filled mostly with whole numbers (and a few simple equations). Then, when a number is called, they each have to find the corresponding number on their board. It's a great way to reinforce Brayden's budding addition and subtraction skills.

Preparing to play


Does he have a bingo??


BINGOOOOO!!

After a morning playing at home, Gigi took them to Pump It Up, an indoor inflatable play place. The kids ran and ran, playing away the rest of the morning. Their favorite inflatables were definitely the slides!

...and just when they thought it couldn't get any better, out came the carpets and the sliding got even faster!

The kids have had an excellent week with Gigi. She caught the two of them in a little cuddle. So cute! (even though Layna's not as cute as usual... the picture's still cute!)

Camp Girata - Day 3

The kids are continuing to have an excellent time with Gigi. They had a lot of fun work to fill their time...

The morning began with some simple stamping and coloring and cutting (both kids love to cut anything -- luckily they haven't thought to cut things they shouldn't cut...).

After a calm morning of coloring, it was time for Big Project-of-the-Day #1: Tie-Dye!! The kids were so excited, and they didn't even know what tie-dyeing was! Layna worked with pink and yellow and Brayden worked with blue and red.

The shirts needed some time to dry, to be washed, and then dried. So what are a couple kids and their grandma supposed to do while they wait for their tie-dyed shirts to finish? Make cupcakes, of course!! And not just any cupcakes, but ice cream cone cupcakes!

Filling the cups




Icing the cakes




All good cupcakes need sprinkles!

The cupcakes were sooo good! ...and by dinner, the tie-dye shirts were finished!! Come on, they are so cute!

Camp Girata - Day 2

The second full day of Camp Girata 2011 is over -- and what fun it was! First up, Gigi helped the kids make some chocolate candies. Layna made chocolate covered pretzel sticks, while Brayden made chocolate stars.

Later, they took off for some playtime at A Play Place (an indoor play area around the corner from our house). They all had a great time and stayed out of the heat, too!

They loved the slides


...and the see-saw!