CSI - Chalk Scene Incident

It is so gorgeous outside today.  Sunny, 63 degrees.  OK, so 63 might not sound like the perfect temperature, but in direct sun it feels a lot warmer.  Just when you're starting to say, 'maybe it's a little too hot,' a breeze comes along and cools you off.  Ahhhh, thank you spring!

I didn't know it was going to be this nice today, though it was obviously sunny.  So, when Bella did her entire sheet of words that start with the hard 'c' sound (YAY), I was inspired to grab the sidewalk chalk, bundle her up and trot her and Josie out to the front to color the driveway.  I quickly realized that the bundling wasn't entirely necessary.  While Bella drew random lines all over the driveway I got some weeding done and basked in the sunshine.  She was enthralled by the robins hopping in the yard, though unhappy that they wouldn't come to her when she called them.

Then I thought about showing Bella how to draw an outline of a person.  So she laid down and I traced around her and then we stood up and admired the result.  Then I laid down (Josie attempted to lay on  with me, but refused to be outlined so she got ousted from the project) and I helped Bella do my outline.  The result:

First: I was not entirely prepared for how much like a crime scene this appeared.  (That's probably not going to help us sell the house anytime soon - oops)  I'm hoping it rains soon.  In any case it should be interesting to see Vinny's reaction when he comes home this afternoon.

Second: Bella decided to embellish the drawings.  The pink is the original outline and what we drew in to make it look less like a crime scene.  The orange is her embellishment.  I honestly had no idea what she was going for.  When she started drawing around the mouth I thought maybe she was doing lips or lipstick.  Then she went for the hair, and the legs...and I was becoming more and more concerned.  It seriously looked like she was exorcising a demon....hmmmm.  (a close-up for emphasis)

Me (quite concerned at this point): Hey Bella, What are you drawing?
Bella: I'm making an Elmo!

Whew!  Put down the Bible and the holy water, she was just attempting to make herself look furry.

It was so nice I pulled out the beach chairs and we sat in the front driveway (trailer park style) and ate lunch.  Then I made a gallon of sweet ice tea to celebrate the clear indication that spring is actually on it's way here in the frozen north.  Can't wait to hit the park this afternoon!