Vibrant Journey » Family http://blog.vibrantjourney.com life with a little pizzazz Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:17:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Art Literacy Rhapsody http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/04/07/art-literacy-rhapsody/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/04/07/art-literacy-rhapsody/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:35:16 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=629 Jennifer Bartlett’s Rhapsody inspires these small art panels crafted at home by dad and daughter. The kids at school will be crafting pieces for a large installation as part of art literacy. We get to play and work on the projects as a trial run for the classrooms.

You might remember our Chinese Dragon Puppets from a previous art literacy program.


]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/04/07/art-literacy-rhapsody/feed/ 0 Spelling Word Stories http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/03/18/spelling-word-stories/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/03/18/spelling-word-stories/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:29:44 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=619 I like to combine my daughter’s spelling words into instant stories as I quiz her. It is made more fun, since the words must be used in the order listed in her book. Does this help with her spelling? I’m not sure but it makes listing words more fun. Here are the words for this week.

The League of Heroes is led by Sergeant Egglatch from the team’s HQ yacht. Egglatch has doubt that the fatigue and debt weighing the team down is due to the ongoing Blood Wars. He also has vague recollections of an anxious foreign agent’s bargain advice that may have led the League’s troubles.

He would like to condemn the recent intrigue on Soxoff, the villain spotted last week eating cantaloupe during a sewage flood at a Paris train depot. Soxoff may appear to be a cordial individual, especially while wearing a subtle disguise, but don’t be fooled. This villain, according to the Heroes News Bureau, is reminiscent of every bad adjective. He is known for his long-winded and hot-tempered monologue. He seems just the type to have set the environment for Egglatch’s angst.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/03/18/spelling-word-stories/feed/ 1 Chinese Dragon Puppets http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/01/07/chinese-dragon-puppets/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/01/07/chinese-dragon-puppets/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:07:39 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=597 A fun evening crafting Chinese dragon puppets. All the students at the school will be making them soon, so we played to build samples and figure out ideas for materials needed.

Three souls expressed in our creative clan of dragons.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2010/01/07/chinese-dragon-puppets/feed/ 1 Chicken Soup for a Fall Day http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/11/15/chicken-soup-for-a-fall-day/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/11/15/chicken-soup-for-a-fall-day/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:19:46 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=593 There is nothing like homemade chicken soup for a cold fall day and it is even better with carrots from the garden and baby bok choy from the farmer’s market.

Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/11/15/chicken-soup-for-a-fall-day/feed/ 0 Fall Colors in the Garden http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/10/18/fall-colors-in-the-garden/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/10/18/fall-colors-in-the-garden/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:05:06 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=550 Some shots of fall color in the garden. The blueberry leaves are always amazing and on this day of rain and sunshine everything was spectacular.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/10/18/fall-colors-in-the-garden/feed/ 0 Oregon Coast Trip http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/09/02/oregon-coast-trip/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/09/02/oregon-coast-trip/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:31:07 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=448 Some photos from our recent visit to the Oregon Coast. This summer we focused on the coast starting from Newport and heading south.

We also started collecting lighthouse stamps in our very own Lighthouse passport. Our passport now includes stamps from six Oregon lighthouses.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/09/02/oregon-coast-trip/feed/ 2 The Chronicles of Goodfoot and Toaster http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/07/24/goodfoot-and-toaster/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/07/24/goodfoot-and-toaster/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:02:52 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=423 The first volume of The Chronicles of Goodfoot & Toaster: The Misunderstood Union is now available for the world. This soon-to-be cult classic tried in vain to avoid being posted online but finally relented to the throngs awaiting its release. The Misunderstood Union is loosely based upon actual events in the lives of our main characters.

Cover of The Chronicles of Goodfoot and Toaster

(The Chronicles of Goodfoot and Toaster is a wedding card produced by a father-daughter team one fun afternoon.)

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/07/24/goodfoot-and-toaster/feed/ 0 Paska Bread http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/04/12/paska-bread/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/04/12/paska-bread/#comments Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:56:58 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=408 Our home was filled with the wonderful aroma of Paska bread. A quick post here with some photos for you, but now we must leave to enjoy the second loaf.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/04/12/paska-bread/feed/ 0 Scrapple Fest at Reading Market http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/03/22/reading-market/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/03/22/reading-market/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:27:13 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=378 Our morning started at the Reading Market which is always an exciting adventure of noise, smells and sights. Today was especially unique as it was Scrapple Fest Day!

Scrapple? You don’t know what scrapple is? Well I didn’t either and I’m still not sure I do. Pork, I know that. The other ingredients are a mystery to me. I know I could look it up but I’m not sure I want to. My impression after viewing and tasting is that scrapple is a browner version of Spam.

The truck below was a “Guess the Weight” contest. I guessed 35 pounds and was told I was close (as I’m sure everyone heard that missed) and awarded a balloon.

While I can’t say I enjoyed my sample of scrapple, I did thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere and excitement that Scrapple Fest brought to the market.

]]> http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/03/22/reading-market/feed/ 0 Philadelphia http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/03/21/philadelphia/ http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/2009/03/21/philadelphia/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:39:28 +0000 Luis Menchu http://blog.vibrantjourney.com/?p=373 The trip to Philadelphia has been great. We spent most of Friday at the Museum of Art. The museum is featuring a Cezanne exhibit highlighting his work and the works of the many artists influenced by Cezanne. Obviously I didn’t do my homework, I had no idea on the amazing works to experience including Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas.

The Friday night highlight was the Art After 5 jazz in the main hall. Tonight featured Tim Ries playing music from his Rolling Stones project. He was joined by vocalists Bernard Fowler and Magos Herrera. While the music suffered struggles with acoustics, the music and this event were a nice close to our evening.

The walk to the museum and the views from the museum back to downtown Philadelphia were nice on this cool dry day.

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