new favorite

 

since moving to albuquerque we seem to have a new favorite past time. in the backyard we have a huge concrete slab porch that has become a blank canvas for our girls. while i was going through grandma's sewing room (which i converted into kawena's room) i found a dollar store box of sidewalk chalk. i thought, "the girls might have fun with this."

 

when nani got home from school that day, i presented the box to the girls. they were so excited! they ran out back and i didn't see them again for 2 hours. needless to say, the chalk was a big hit and pretty much all used up within a couple days.

 

realizing what a great activity this was for the girls i went for the good stuff and bought them the "crayola" tub-o-chalk the next time i was at the store.

 

 

they have had hours and hours of fun drawing self portraits and treasure maps on the porch. when it gets too filled up they just hose it down with some water and they are presented with a blank canvas full of possibilities!

 

you may think, "sidewalk chalk! so what?!! big deal!" but if you ever went to our house in oregon you know that we had nowhere but our small "two car" garage to draw with chalk. our driveway was that gravely, textured concrete that is not condusive to sidewalk drawings. and our driveway was so long that we were nowhere near the actual sidewalk. out our back door was a nice stained deck that was not going to be used for chalk drawings!

 

if you were to visit us now, you would see big bright, yellow stars decorating our walkway (lala just mastered the art of drawing stars!), and you would see colorful drawings covering our back porch! 

 

the girls love it!

 

i love it!

 

they play for hours outside in the crisp, bright sunshine and fresh air. better yet, they enjoy being out there T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R.! it is wonderful, cheap entertainment!

 

last week, while nani and kale'a were both at school, kawena and i played in the backyard. i thought it would be a perfect opportunity for a mini photo shoot. it was great one-on-one mommie/daughter time!

 

she is so funny about this little backpack. it is just perfectly her size and she loves to wear it . it must make her feel connected to her sisters who both have backpacks that they wear to school. i love how she is wearing her backpack full of little toys while she busily draws a picture for me.

 

 

notice the little rubber ducky in the back. when i was editing this photo it just made me laugh because he is wearing sunglasses! haha! i don't know why i found that so hilarious, but i did!

 

now these last two photos i absolutely L.O.V.E.! i may have to blow them up and frame them i love them so much!

 

now, i may just be a biased mom, but is she gorgeous, or what?! i've always been a sucker for blue eyes, but, i don't know, these beautiful brown eyes certainly are captivating!