Finally, Mom let us make a VOLCANO!

Making a volcano is a lot of work! First Molly and Jack made a base with a water bottle. Then they covered it in tin foil "like a banana". The kids made clay out of flour, salt and water and covered the foil. It was really beginning to look like a volcano.




Next they painted it to look "more real". They even made palm trees from fun foam and pipe cleaners.


The best part was putting in the ingredients to make it erupt!!! Success.

LIFT OFF!

February 25, 2009... 45 degrees and sunny. Perfect day for a Rocket Launch! Make sure you have your SOUND on for this one!

Rocket Science

Timothy's science fair project this year is model rockets. Daddy and Tim spent a few hours putting together a model rocket. After the glue dried, Timmy got to paint it any colors he wanted.




Spray painting in the garage was great fun! It took a few days to dry. Now the wait for a nice day for a launch!

Man's Best Friend

Rusty is the best! Our dog has always lived in the mudroom and kitchen only. The mud, dog hair, chewing of toys, etc. has meant a limited access to the rest of the house for man's best friend. HOWEVER, recently to keep my toes warm in the evening, I've invited him into the family room to lay on my feet. By far his favorite channel is animal planet. He will growl at the bears and gets up to sniff the tv when the dogs are on. When my shows are on he takes a nap. Recently I was home alone upstairs putting away clothes. I heard something and assumed the kids were just getting home. Instead dear Rusty wandered upstairs and found me in my room. He jumped up on the bed and looked at me expectantly, like, "Okay, turn on the tv and let's snuggle". Oh man would we have been in big trouble. I escorted him back downstairs to the kitchen. Rusty is a great dog!

Remember When...

(YES I know it is sideways... still trying to figure out why) But anyway a few years ago the boys would literally climb the walls. I remember doing this as a child as well so the thought never occurred to me that maybe this wasn't a safe thing for them to do. Now, a few years later, they are too big for this very fun activity (I think).

THE BOX

Our friends' refrigerator died around Christmas time. They bought a new one that was so huge they had to take a window out because it wouldn't fit through the doors to their house. That brand new, huge, refrigerator came in an enormous box. Oh the possibilities! It was welcomed into our home in late December and took up residence in our living room. It has been many things in the last month: a fort, a store, a bed, a pet hotel, and a tv room (yes a television was added at one time for movie viewing). The walls were decorated, lights were added and as many as 9 children were in it at one time. Mom could only put up with it for a month and on Sunday it was put to the road to be recycled (again). We loved our box! Let us know if anyone is getting any more large appliances in the future!!!

Wildlife

Living in the country can be very exciting. The day we came home from camping and found this little guy in our front yard was unforgettable. We could get so close. He just lay there waiting for his mama. I watched him all day while unpacking and doing laundry. Eventually his mother must have called for him and off he went. We were able to capture his beauty on our camera.

My kids know how obsessed I am with bird watching. When a friend told me there was a snowy owl in a nearby neighborhood I packed the twins in the car and we were off to investigate. Sure enough here was this magestic creature on the roof tops and then on the playground in the backyard. I could have stayed and watched it all day.

Probably the coolest visitors we have are the fox every spring. Usually in February the mother fox moves into the den behind the pool and we can expect to see a bunch of baby fox in the spring. They start out gray but then turn a beautiful orange color. Here are two (we think twins of course) out by the front fence. They are pretty bold and don't seem nervous about people at all. I even came home one day to a fox strolling out of our garage. Yikes

Every year we have giant snapping turtles that walk through our yard. Sometimes these old guys come right up to the front step. They are so prehistoric looking and we get a big kick out of them.