Beach Themed Candleholders.

Every time I am at the beach with my kids, I always pick up pretty shells and pieces of sea glass. Frankly, I don't know why, I never have any specific purpose for them in mind, it has just become a habit for me. At the end of summer, my purse pockets are filled with little rocks, seashells and pieces of sea glass.

After the super storm Sandy knocked our power out for eight long days, I found myself in a desperate need for candleholders. Not usually one to use candles for fun, I didn't have any around the house. We made do with jars and lids at the time, but now I found myself on the kick to make candleholders. The ones with the seashells turned out to be one of my favorites.

They are all easy to make and produce a beautiful result. 

 

 

To see the instruction, please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Seashell-Candleholders.html

Rafting on Delaware Water Gap

A new note on this trip:
This summer (2013) we made it rafting again.  Same place, except this time we had three kids with us.  We took the 4 mile trip and it was very manageable with younger kiddies.  Also we rented a tube to tie to our raft, which made it so much more fun!!! You do need to make sure that the water is safe for a tube.  We called in a week before, and were told that the waters are too cold and choppy to use a tube due to some rains, so we had to wait a bit to go.  The following week we called and were good to go.  The tube definitely made it more fun for the older kids, and the braver younger kids.  I also managed to accidentally drown my old camera in the river, so no pictures from this trip.  It was a ton of fun. 

Oh, and on the same note, we went to the restaurant that we enjoyed the year before that was just down the road from the rafting place.  The ownership changed, and so did the food.  Not as good as I remember.
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A few times a year in the summer time we like to get a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks, throw on our swimming suits and go rafting.  There are many good places along the Delaware Water Gap to rent a raft from.  There is one in French Town that actually serves lunch.  There are many up north, around Sparta.  They all have different deals, depending on what you are looking for.  Some are great for large groups, some have restrictions on kid ages (usually 4 years old is as young as you can take a child on a raft safely).  We go with just the kids and us, so the place where a kid is free with a paid adult is the kind of place for us.

We usually use this one :
http://www.indianheadcanoes.com/

Up to four kids under 12 go free with two paying adults, which really works for us. This time we took the 7 mile trip, the river on that stretch was way too calm. The 9 mile trip takes just as much time, which means more rapids, more fun. With two smallish kids the 4 mile trip would've been enough.  We stopped on the bank to enjoy our lunch, splash and swim.  My older son enjoyed swimming alongside the raft during the calmer water.  We met a few cool fishermen that educated us about Shad.  Overall, the kids and us were really tired at the end, but it was a fun experience!

 

 

Rachel's Awesome Sewing

Sewing with kids is an awesome way to spend time together. While my boys aren't into it, their cousin, Rachel, absolutely loves it! With a bit of help and encouragement she has already made a bunch of pillowcases, two dresses for herself and a whole lot of clothing for her bear. Check it all out below: