Face Painting at Encanto Park

It was a beautiful Saturday and I had just finished subbing for a very rigorous 2 hour aerobics class when I picked up Sianna at 11A.  We went straight to Encanto Park.  I had never been there before, but Sianna said she had been there with her Mom.

We both got wrist bands so we could have unlimited access to the rides.  There was a carousel, spinning cups, a train that gave you a a ride around the entire park, little boats, cars, airplanes, helicopters, along with a dragon (Sianna's favorite) and a gentle drop-down ride.  Sianna went on every ride (the dragon twice) and I went on every ride where I did not exceed a maximum height restriction.  Sianna also got her face painted (picture on the side of this blog entry).

On the way out of the park, Sianna spotted an inflated Dora jumping setup -- and we went over there.  A small girl (Kathleen) was celebrating her third birthday and the two girls jumped until they were exhausted.

We went to AJ's for a desert - Sianna chose a Valentine's cookie plus she had some fruit from the salad bar.  Then we went back to my house.  Sianna finished "Grizzwold" (the book we were reading) and we made her grandmother a  pink 'Get Well' card since she was not feeling well.  Sianna played in the leaves and we started another book (Arthur's Loose Tooth). 

I'm going to get tickets for the Wiggles who are performing here in March.  Neither of us know much about it, but it sounds like fun.

Our 'Block' City

The clay class was canceled due to insufficient enrollment.  We were so disappointed and had to return our clay purchases we made last week.  However, I've already signed Sianna up for an Oodles of Doodles class at the Shemer Art Center & Museum.   This class will definitely not be canceled since there is only one spot left in the class.  The only problem is that it doesn't start until 3/3/2007.  We will have to be creative until then.

I picked up Sianna a little before 11AM - she was full of energy and raring to go.  Unfortunately, it was a bit cold and overcast today (plus it was still wet from yesterday).  Sianna had some sniffles, so we came back to my house to grab some tissues.  We started a new book  Grizzwold, which we will continue next week.  We grabbed tissues and a snack and headed off to Kiwanis Park.  There was some sun peaking out from the clouds.  We found the playground and once again, we were the only ones there.   Sianna played on the equipment plus we spent quite a bit of time playing in the sand.

We then headed to Wild Flower Bread Company for some soup.  Sianna got some Tortellini Soup and a chocolate cupcake.  We walked a couple of doors down to one of my  favorite bookstores.  They specialize in children's books and toys.  I picked out some books for Sianna while she played with the toys.  Then she selected a book (a children's classic:  Are You My Mother?).  She read that book to me on the way home, then to Ron at home and asked to take it home to read to her mother.  We are well stocked for books.

I brought out the blocks and we started to build a city (a picture of it midway through can be found on the side of this entry).   We had fun - even though the clay class was canceled.  There will be more fun next weekend.

Sianna showing her gift for her Grandmother

I picked up Sianna at 11AM. Next week we start our Hands In Clay class at the Tempe Parks & Recreation center, so we'll be in clay class at 9AM for the next eight Saturdays.  There will be lots written in this blog about our pottery projects/adventures.  Even though it was cold (~45 degrees), we went to Pierce Park in Phoenix.  Sianna loves parks and asked to go to a park when I spoke to her on the phone during the week.

Since it was so cold, we were the only people there at first.  We played on slides, swings, jungle-jims and chased birds.  A couple of children came for our last half-hour there and we all played together.  We left to go get the required clay supplies for our class next week (25 lbs of clay plus basic clay tools).  The art supply store was next door to a great pizza place (Otto's on Ash in Tempe), so we stopped in for lunch.

It was after 1:30P when we came back to my house.  We built an elaborate house from blocks and Sianna read 3 books (Morris the Moose, Sammy the Seal and  the Horse in Harry's Room).  Sianna's grandmother was celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary, so we brought out the beads to make her a present.  We made an orange and yellow bracelet that is shown in the picture on the side of this posting.  Unfortunately, the bracelet broke in the car and when we put it back together (we lost some beads), it was too small for grandma - but a perfect fit for Sianna.  We're excited about clay class next Saturday!

Sianna, looking out over Tempe from 'A Mountain'

It had been almost two weeks since I've seen Sianna as our previous Thursday plans were canceled (she was out of town). We both really missed our 'sister outings'; we  planned to do all the things today that we were to do last Thursday.

I picked up Sianna at 11AM and we headed to A Mountain for a morning climb.  Sianna loves this and easily has the coordination and energy to go straight to the top.  We ran for about half the climb (up & down).  It was a great day to be outside!  The picture on the side of this entry shows her on the A Mountain plateau. Sianna remembered that last time after we climbed, we went for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, so (of course) she wanted to repeat this.  She got chocolate (with Oreo's and sprinkles).

Then we headed back to my house to see I-Dog, read and prepare for the puppet show (Cinderella).  We finished the book we were reading:  Morris goes to School.  Sianna really enjoyed this book; we will begin a new book next time.  We added some more things to our Idea Box:  Climbing at  a Rock Gym,  Taking a Class called 'Hands In Clay',  Tumbling & Balloons.  We're going to sign up for the Clay Class at the Parks & Rec center.  We made a spider out of clay, played hop scotch and chased I-Dog. We made each other bracelets made out of pipe cleaners.

It was time for the puppet show, so we drove once again to the Great Arizona Puppet Theater.  It was packed with kids.  The show was funny and entertaining.  On the way back to Sianna's house, we stopped at McDonald's for a Kids Meal.  The day was lots of fun for both of us.

We are reading this book

I picked up Sianna at 10:30A for some Christmas activities.  We came back to my house where a Christmas present for Sianna was sitting under our tree.  She quickly unwrapped it and found a Deondra doll.  It came with extra clothing, jewelry and accessories.  With a good imagination, it should provide Sianna hours of fun.  Sianna named the doll Aud!

We had decided to make her Mom a necklace for Christmas.  I had some beads and elastic all set out.  Sianna chose all blue beads since that is her Mom's favorite color.  We gift wrapped the present and Sianna made a Christmas card for her Mom.  It is always as much fun to give as to receive.

We started a new book:  Morris goes to School.  Sianna enjoyed reading it out loud to me.  We played some hop scotch, played in the dirt and did some races outside.  On the way back to her house, we stopped at the Chinese Cultural Center for lunch (Sianna loves orange chicken).

I should hear all about Sianna's Christmas on Thursday; outside activities, reading Morris and the next puppet show (Cinderella) are planned.

Face painting is fun

Sianna and I had a long day today.  I picked her up about 2:00PM and we headed to Tempe Town Lake.  There is a small park there near the water with slides and bridges.  It was a beautiful day and it felt good to run around.  Then we walked down Mill Ave. and found a Cold Stone Creamery for a yummy (cold) snack.  'A-Mountain' was just across the street so we decided to climb to the top.  Sianna displayed super energy and stamina as we climbed straight to the top.  The view was spectacular and the mid-day sun and wind felt great.

We headed back to my house to see I-Dog around 4PM.  Sianna finished the 'I Spy' book we started earlier and we read a cute book about Christmas tree tops.  I had brought out some face paint,  and we were ready to get dirty.  The picture on the side of this entry shows our attempt at a clown face.  Fortunately, it washed off without difficulty.

We were starving!  We gathered up our warm clothes and headed off to AJ's for some food.  Sianna had pizza while I had fish and veggies (Sianna liked the fish too).  It was dark when we left AJ's and headed to the zoo for 'Zoo Lights'.  We each had gloves as the temperature was dropping rapidly.  The lights were spectacular and we loved it.  We also went on the Merry-Go-Round three times.  By 7:30P it was freezing and we were happy to escape to a heated car.

What's next?  Sunday we are meeting early for some Christmas cheer.  And the following Thursday, we're planning our second puppet show - Cinderella. 

43 piece floor puzzle

I picked up Sianna at 11:30A and she had a gift for me (complete with wrapping paper & bow).  I opened it up and found a holiday card, an original drawing (which included I-Dog, the turtles, Sianna and me) plus McDonalds gift certificates.  I love it!

We headed to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters party which was taking place at the Boys/Girls Club of Central Phoenix.  It was being catered by Panda Express; there were arts & crafts tables set up to make Christmas ornaments.  A staff member took a picture of us which was to be used for our ornament.  Sianna chose a pink background with purple glitter.  It is now hanging on my Christmas tree.  Sianna enjoyed using chopsticks with her orange chicken.  There were over 100 people (bigs with their littles) at this party.

Then we headed back to my house where Sianna headed straight outside to see I-Dog.  We raced a bit and then I brought out a jumbo piece floor puzzle (48 pieces) of dinosaurs (a picture of it is on the side of this blog entry).  Sianna did a great job putting the puzzle together out on the patio.  We read part of an I Spy book  and played outside in the dirt (no shoes).

At 1:30P, we left to go to the puppet show (to see the Shoemaker and the Elves).  There were about 50 children there (and some adults).  The puppet show was done with marionettes and was very fun.  When the show was over, Sianna chose 2 finger puppets to bring home (as souvenirs):  a yellow duck and a white dog.  We decided to stop at McDonalds on the way back to her house to use some of the Christmas coupons she gave me.

Our next outing is Thursday.  I will pick Sianna up after school.  We plan to see Zoo Lights as soon as it is dark.

I picked up Sianna at 11AM on Sunday (12/10/2006) for our first Sister Outing.  We came back to my house to decorate my Christmas tree (we sawed it down from Kaibab National Forest and brought home yesterday).  Ron wove three strands of lights through the tree;  Sianna put up several of the ornaments; she placed a bell ornament so that I-Dog could brush by it and cause it to ring at all hours of the night.

We started our idea box; we put in 4 initial entries:  roller skating, puppet show, hopscotch and the State Fair.  I had some chalk so we headed outside to draw hopscotch on the patio.  Our hopscotch board went up to 13!  We played one full game together, ran several races and played with I-Dog.

Not surprisingly, Sianna announced she was hungry.  We headed to AJ's for pizza.  Sianna's favorite pizza is pepperoni so we bought a large slice at AJ's.  The allure of the bakery caused us to buy a Christmas Tree cookie and some cherry strudel.  We probably need to chat about nutrition at some point.

We came back to my house and did some work with clay; we made snakes and turtles.  Sianna noticed that the Christmas tree was missing a star on top, so we made a paper star which is crowning our newly decorated tree.  We played another game of hopscotch and ran a few more races before I took her home.

Next Saturday, there is a Big Brother/Big Sister party that we will go to.  Following that, we will see our first puppet show at the Great Arizona Puppet Company. 

I think it is important that Sianna and I read a book each time we get together.  I will go to a used Book Store this week to begin the library.   It's fun being a Big Sister!

Sianna's Artwork

I met my little sister (Sianna) at her home at 4:00P on 12/8/2006.  This was a match meeting  attended by Evelyn (from Big Brother/Big Sister), Sianna's mom (Marlene), Sianna and myself.  Sianna's 12 year old sister (Jessica) also participated;  she was meeting her new big sister an hour later.

The match meeting included a Community Based Match Agreement that we all signed to formalize our commitment to the program and to the match.  Sianna and I put Match Pins on each other.  We each introduced ourselves and shared some basic information about who we were, why we were doing this and what goals we had. 

Sianna and I spent some time together getting acquainted.  I had constructed a small survey (http://www.myeport.com/published/l/it/little/survey/1/) which was to be used as an ice-breaker.  Fortunately, the family had an Internet connection so Sianna could fill out the survey.  I learned that her favorite color is pink,  her favorite food is pizza and her favorite subject in school is math!  Sianna is 6 years old and has an older brother and sister and a newborn baby brother; she admits to being ticklish. We read a Sesame Street book together in her room and had fun at our first meeting.

Ron & I went up to Williams (Kaibab forest) on Saturday and cut down our Christmas tree.  Sianna is coming over on Sunday to help decorate it.  We will continue to explore things she may enjoy doing -- and hopefully will go out for pizza.

We're off to a great start!  Sianna has a pet dog and cat at home, she likes to draw (one of her drawings is shown on the side of this posting) and is a happy delightful child.