The Once a Year Blog: May 2014

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

The fine art of preschool

Claire and Tyler have been working hard on their masterpieces for the school art show. This is one of my favorite school events, because the kids are so incredibly excited and beaming with pride. I'm so glad they like arts and crafts as much as I do!

Here's Tyler standing under his butterflies:

Claire standing under her landscape painting:

Sibling love, also very artistic.

Claire's pet rock:

Tyler standing under his cow painting:

Let's hope we all never stop painting and doodling. Clearly it is good for the soul.

Claire and Tyler's quest to visit all 50 States, all US national parks, and to see the world

Progress:
States: Claire 37/50, Tyler 33/50
Countries: Claire 14/203, Tyler 14/203
National Parks: Claire 11/62, Tyler 8/62
State (Date Claire or Tyler First Visited):
California (C: 1/30/2009, T: 5/15/2011)
Hawaii (C: 4/24/2009, T: 8/7/2021)
Missouri (C: 5/22/2009)
Texas (C: 5/25/2009, T: 5/26/2012)
Colorado (C: 11/25/2009, T:8/16/2014)
Iowa (C: 11/25/2009, T: 7/27/2011)
Oklahoma (C: 12/20/2009, T: 12/24/2011)
Arizona (C: 4/02/2010)
Nevada (C: 4/17/2010)
Virginia (C: 5/29/2010, T: 5/27/2011)
Maryland (C: 5/29/2010, T: 3/16/2011)
Delaware (C: 8/05/2010, T: 6/25/2011)
New Jersey (C: 8/05/2010, T: 6/25/2011)
New York (C: 8/05/2010, T: 11/19/2011)
Connecticut(C: 8/08/2010, T: 11/21/2011)
Massachusetts(C: 8/08/2010, T: 11/21/2011)
Kansas (C: 9/05/2010)
Pennsylvania (C: 10/09/10, T: 6/25/2011)
West Virginia (C: 10/17/10, T: 7/6/2012)
North Carolina (C: 12/24/2010, T:4/12/2014)
Florida (C: 12/24/2010, T:2/14/2015)
Illinois (C: 7/27/2011, T: 7/27/2011)
Michigan (C: 9/2/2011, T: 9/2/2011)
Ohio (C: 11/23/2012, T: 11/23/2012)
Vermont (C: 11/28/2013, T: 11/28/2013)
Washington (C: 8/24/2018, T: 8/24/2018)
Tennessee (C: 11/30/2018, T: 12/6/2019)
Maine (C: 8/24/2019, T: 8/24/2019)
South Carolina (C: 11/24/2020, T: 11/24/2020)
Georgia (C: 12/1/2020, T: 12/1/2020)
Louisiana (C: 12/28/2021, T: 12/28/2021)
Mississippi (C: 12/30/2021, T: 12/30/2021)
Oregon (C: 7/19/2022, T: 7/19/2022)
Montana (C: 8/20/2022, T: 8/20/2022)
Wyoming (C: 8/20/2022, T: 8/20/2022)
Idaho (C: 8/20/2022, T: 8/20/2022)

Country (Date Claire or Tyler First Visited):
United States (C: 1/30/2009, T: 3/16/2011)
United Kingdom (England+Scotland) (C: 6/25/2009 T: 8/18/2017)
Mexico (C: 12/09/2012, T: 12/09/2012)
Switzerland (C: 09/18/2013, T: 09/18/2013)
France (C: 09/18/2013, T: 09/18/2013)
Germany (C: 09/20/2013, T: 09/20/2013
Lichtenstein (C: 09/24/2013, T: 09/24/2013
Cayman Islands (C: 02/16/2016, T: 02/16/2016)
Ireland (C: 08/15/2016, T: 08/15/2016)
Bahamas (C: 04/08/2016, T: 04/08/2016)
Canada (C: 07/25/2017, T: 07/25/2017)
Italy (C: 07/25/2018, T: 07/25/2018)
Iceland (C: 07/21/2019, T: 07/21/2019)
Costa Rica (C: 4/07/2022, T: 4/07/2022)

National Park (Date Claire or Tyler First Visited):
Lassen Volcanic National Park (C: 9/3/2009)
Grand Canyon National Park (C: 4/2/2010)
Yosemite National Park (C: 7/4/2010)
Virgin Islands National Park (C: 12/21/2011, T: 12/21/2011)
Cuyhoga Falls National Park (C: 11/23/2012, T: 11/23/2012)
Shenandoah National Park (C: 10/26/2013, T: 10/26/2013)
Rocky Mountain National Park (C: 8/8/2014, T: 8/8/2014)
Olympic National Park (C: 8/27/2018, T: 8/27/2018)
Acadia National Park (C: 8/25/2019, T: 8/25/2019)
Yellowstone (C: 8/20/2022, T: 8/20/2022)
Grand Tetons (C: 8/24/2022, T: 8/24/2022)

Amusement Parks Visited:
Busch Gardens (Pennsylvania) (C: 07/2010)
Sesame Place (Pennsylvania) (C: 06/2011, T: 06/2011)
Dutch Wonderland (Pennsylvania) (C: 06/2013, T: 06/2013)
Adventure Park USA (Maryland) (C: 07/2013, T: 07/2013)
Disneyland (California) (C: 10/28/2013, T: 10/28/2013)
California Adventure (California)(C: 11/1/2013, T: 11/1/2013)
DisneyWorld*4 Parks (Florida) (C: 2/14/2015, T: 2/14/2015)
Six Flags (Maryland) (C: 6/15/2016, T: 6/15/2016)
Universal Studios (California) (C: 8/7/2021, T: 8/7/2021)

Sports Stadiums Visited:
Busch Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals (C: 05/23/2009)
Nationals Stadium, Washington Nationals
Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles
XFinity Center, Maryland Terrapins