Father's Day

Father's Day has long since come and gone. I've been waiting to post because I wanted to get a picture of Cam in his gift. Alas, I'm still waiting, so I'll share what we made for Poppy and Opa.

First, Opa. 

Opa has been sharing Greek Mythology with the girls. He has several children's books on the subject and shares with them about Perseus, Medusa, Zeus, Poseidon and the like. One of their favorite stories is about the Cyclops. I really thought Opa needed a Cyclops hood to have on hand at his house for Greek story-telling. Of course, I couldn't find a pattern for a Cyclops hood, so I had to make one up. I used a ping pong ball for the eye and drew on it using permanent markers. I added big ears and some fake hair. I think he loved it.

Now Poppy. Poppy is my dad. He grew up in the mountains of West Virginia. His family ran a grocery store and his dad worked in the coal mines. He has a handful of stories from his childhood that he likes to tell. He used to tell them to me when I was little, and now he tells them to my girls. One of the most memorable is about his encounter with a rattlesnake. Or, "Poppy's Snake Story". It is only a matter of minutes from when Poppy climbs in our car that the girls, usually Maggie, ask for "The Nake Tory". The girls have the story basically memorized. So, I decided it would be cute if they retold the story in their own words and illustrated it for him. Then I created a Snapfish Photobook that I was able to pick up at Meijer in a matter of hours. It turned out really cute and personal. I loved hearing how they told the story and what they felt were important elements. 

If you're interested, here is their version:

Lila: Well, you know when Poppy told us the snake story? He always told it for Maggie.

Maggie: I always like the nake tories.

Lila: So, he started off as “you know where Poppy came from?” And, I forgot it right now.

Lila: So, once upon a time when poppy was little, Poppy and our cousin Norman heard about a peach orchard on top of the hill

Maggie: No when poppy was grown up.

Lila: So, they went on top of the mountain and they took Norman’s dog Buster.

Lila: It was a short time.

Maggie: No, a long time.

Lila: No, it was a very short time. They picked and picked and picked and picked and picked and picked and picked peaches from the hill. Well, actually it’s a mountain. Not a hill. So, when they were done picking peaches, they started down the mountain. But, suddenly…

Maggie: They heard a tss tss tsst

Lila: He heard a rattling noise and a “hiissssss”. Poppy said, “Stop, Norman! There’s a rattle snake ahead!” But Buster kept going. And he trampled right up on the snake and the snake bit him right in the neck. But not very hard and not very easily, too!

Lila: The bite swelled up for a couple days. Poppy came to check on Buster, Norman’s dog of course. He was better, but it was a little swollen.

Maggie: Poppy thought he was going to die any minute, but he didn’t! Them ran home as fast as they could. Them thought Mustard was going to die any minute, and he didn’t die! Their friend was there and they went on top of the mountain again to shoot it and there was no snake. It’d crawled into his hole. The hole was this wide.

The End

I had some extra pages, so I decided to do an "About the Author" for each of the girls. The book turned out so well and Poppy really seemed pleased.