Saturday, April 26, 2014

Ninja Turtle Shell's for TMNT Birthday Party!


 
Ninja Turtle Birthday Party!

This is a very very LATE post BUT, I have been getting a lot of re-pin’s from my pinterest page from Stella’s birthday party so I decided I would put a How-to together for all those pinners who want to know just HOW I did the ninja turtle shell’s and masks.

These shells really were such a great addition to the party, all the kids wanted to have one and then they all took them home as one of their party favors!  


Supplies:
Aluminum “ Shells”
2 Light Green Spray Paint Cans
1 Dark Green Spray Paint Can
Scissors
Patience
Brown Ribbon. 1”-2” (depends on size of shell)
            I needed roughly 10 yards for 10 shells, with excess.


First.

You’ll need to get aluminum tins, you can either get the small 9inch round tins that I used, or you can get the large “turkey,” size ones that are more of an oval shaped. This party was for a bunch of 3 and 4 year old kids so I went with the smaller shaped because the turkey size covered my daughter all the way to the backs of her knees.




When you’re picking up these tins, make sure you get at least one or even two extra because you will need this as the stencil, (also sometimes when you’re cutting you just go to far and cut the whole darn thing,)


Second.

Get some spray paint. I used Krylon light green for the base color of the shells. I would suggest getting two cans per 10 shells you are making. You actually use more than you think you would. I used a Krylon Emerald green paint for the inside print on the shells. I think you could use any dark colored green; I just used what was in our garage. 

Paint those Shells!

Wait for them to dry. I actually waited and didn’t do the stencil part until the next day just to be sure. The aluminum doesn’t hold paint super great, so be prepared for the paint to rub off once the kids get ahold of these bad boys.

 

Third.

Take your extra shell and cut out the “blocks” that are already pre-dented in the tin. Make sure you use sharp scissors and I poked the center then tried to cut to the edges. (If you don’t poke the center and move outwards there is a good chance you’ll cut the whole way to the edge and just mess up everything, like I did my first try.)


When you paint the stencil don’t try to coat it. If you do, it will leak through and smear. I just did little puffs of the paint to get the idea of the “shell print.”

MORE drying…… I suggest giving yourself a few days before the party to do these, they aren’t easy to do really fast.
 They dry pretty quickly, but try not to move them right after you paint them. Your fingers will leave marks.
 
LAST:

Take your Ribbon and measure around your child. Make sure it has enough excess to tie around the kids.
Feed the ribbon through two slits you make through the sides. Make sure that you go down far enough on each side so that the ribbon cuts across the shell.

Now you have awesome shells for your little turtles to wear!

Depending on the age of the kids, they may wear their shells over one shoulder because it simply does stay on better and doesn’t bother them as much.


I hope yours turn out wonderful, they add just that little oomph to the party and every kid feels that much more like a ninja. :)


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Churaumi Aquarium

This aquarium is where just about everyone goes when they first get here. Anyone and everyone has been here and knows all about it. Our family took almost 4 months to finally get the courage/time to drive the 1.5 hour drive up to this amazing aquarium!

It was TOTALLY worth it, except for some minor details that left us not getting to see the dolphin show and mantatee pool ( more reason to convince the hubs to come back.)

This aquarium is the 3rd largest in the world. It was 2nd largest for a long long time until recently dubai made one to take the infamous 2nd spot ( thank you AFN radio for that fun fact.)

The big deal about this aquarium is the whale sharks. They are MASSIVE, and honestly when you are standing next to the tank you almost feel as if you're swimming under these huge animals. It's pretty amazing watching them all swim around and interact with one another. The dolphins were even messing with the whale sharks while we were there.

With this aquarium being the third largest in the world I still have to say how I feel bad for these guys! The tank is large, yes, BUT it's not large enough for these fish to have lives! They just swim around in circles and it breaks my heart a little. (rant over)

Stella was in awe of how amazing gods creatures of the sea were and just wanted to jump from one thing to the next  as fast as possible. ( which worked out for our timeline) Ian was the cutest thing ever! He pulled himself up to standing holding onto one of the little railing poles and all of these Japanese women were laughing and pointing (sweetly) at him. It was precious because he just kept staring and looking up at the massive amount of water and fish above him. 

Overall it was a great experience! Next time we will have to plan an entire day for this and visit all of the other attractions as well so Stella can enjoy them, and I can feel bad for the animals.

















 These Jellyfish were AWESOME!
There is a tiny little bear right there in the front!



Saturday, April 12, 2014

Here goes nothing..

Hello everyone! (or no one as it probably will end up)

I have decided I will TRY my hardest to blog about the craziness of my sweet family as much as I can. I realized that it's really hard to remember all the details of vacations, trips, family outings, adventures and milestones in my amazing children's lives. So, I'm hoping if I can dedicate some time to this blog I can be able to look back and have better memories to show my kids, and myself when I forget what my own name is. I hope someone will check this out besides just myself but hey, the truth hurts.

My first post will be dedicated to none other than.....STELLA!

This little crazy of mine started basketball 6 weeks ago and on her first day she couldn't wait for it to be over. LUCKY for us, she continued to want to go every week and by the end we had a real player on our hands.


After begging me for basketball to end she actually got much better. She learned to dribble and most of all she learned to STEAL the ball. (When I say steal, I mean forcefully snatch the ball from anyone and everyone at all times, even her teammates.)







Best of all is watching these little preschoolers try to actually play a game. It is less like a basketball game and more like corralling cows into a pen by a bunch of cowboys running around.  The parents are constantly yelling at the kids to PASS, SHOOT, DRIBBLE, STAY IN THE COURT, DON'T HIT, DON'T GRAB THE NET! It's a hot mess, but hilarious as a bystander.






Stella on her final day received a trophy, and boy was she excited about this little bobblehead basketball player. I couldn't get her to put it down and she just kept telling me, " It's my FIRST trophy momma!" I was so proud of her finishing her first sport and now I can't wait for SOCCER!




After our wonderful last day of basketball we decided to hit up Foster Fest. This was definitely less appealing than state fair's we have all been to in the states but fun considering there are not many places here in Okinawa that you can get a genuine Funnel Cake! ( none if I actually count) So, we took ourselves over there and I waited in line forEVER so that Stella could ride/jump on as many things as possible.




Well, I guess that's all for the first post. I will try to go back and post some old adventures we have gone on since we arrived here in Okinawa.  Until next time.