Summer Creativity

We are only a few days into summer vacation and already the kids are making good use of their time. I'm proud of how creative they are.

Before I was even out of bed, they were telling me that we needed to make "fizzy balls." I had never heard of such things, but Calvin had a youtube tutorial he'd found.

They were taking the experiment very seriously. They had protective lenses, measuring cups, and vinegar (and Listerine which they thought was another kind of vinegar) ready to go.

First we mixed the water with baking soda:

 Measuring:

 Mixing:

Then he smashed his little angry bird and sonic toys inside the balls:

 When they were packed tightly, they were ready to bake. We put them in the oven for an hour (kind of long for a dumb kids' experiment, if you ask me, since the baking soda and vinegar react the same way without the baking--but the baking keeps the toys locked inside the fizzy ball). They thought it was brilliant though. I think putting it into the oven added some legitimacy to their scientific process.

While the fizzy balls baked, we tried alka seltzer tablets in soda. 

And then we exploded the fizzy balls in vinegar. It was kind of fun. It made a mess and he was excited to find his prizes inside, unharmed by the "explosion."

Then Calvin made the entire Pac-man line-up with play dough while Autumn made cakes with every shade of pink of purple she could find.

After play dough, he wanted to paint boxes for his angry birds. Brown=dirt, grey=rock, blue=ice. 

 They spent about three hours painting boxes. I was super impressed by their long attention spans with all of their activities today, and I'm glad they weren't whining about watching tv or being bored. Hopefully they'll be this motivated all summer long.

Tonight I had study group so the babysitter put Calvin to bed. When I came home and checked on him, he was asleep wearing his Link hat. The picture is blurry, but I thought it was darling. He's such an imaginative little guy.

(TRUTH: I didn't really have my writing group tonight. We all went to a writing conference a few weeks ago, and since then, we all seem burned out and sick of each other. It was so much work to get our stuff ready for that conference, that now we all just want a break. I told them I only have two more weeks that I can come anyway before my sister's wedding and the baby being born, so we all decided to take a break. BUT the kids love the babysitter, so Andy and I sneaked off together. To McDonald's. Where we had a smoothie inside while we worked for an hour, and then we went out to the car. We then spent the next couple of hours watching Arrested Development and doing crosswords together. And had a hot fudge sundae. All sitting in the backseat of our car in the McDonald's park lot. Lame, I know. But this is why I fell in love with him. We enjoy each others' company, even if we're doing the most boring things ever. It was a fun, impromptu date night.)

Quiet Time

Remember that chair we were sitting on yesterday at Costco? Today Andy surprised me and went back to get it. I was telling him a few days ago about my plans to move some furniture around so that I'd have somewhere comfortable to sit when I'm up with the baby at night. He decided that this chair would be just right.

The kids immediately claimed it. They grabbed their blankets, sippy cups, and the tv remote, and made themselves at home.

I adore my kids. Even when they're horrible pains and I want to run away, I still think they're the cutest things ever. Lately, my favorite thing about them is watching them become the best of friends. They will play for hours together, laughing at each others' jokes, chasing each other around the house and yard, and even cuddling when they need a few minutes of rest.
5/4/13

Friday Fun

Andy's not home often, so we take advantage of the times that he is. Especially the weekends. Today we kicked off Friday with:

Lots of play time with daddy.

A yummy dinner at Red Robin. It's one of our favorite places because the kids eat well there and after dinner, we usually enjoy the roller coaster in the mall attached to the restaurant.

 It's not a real roller coaster ride if you don't put your hands above your head--Andy taught Calvin this important lesson at Disneyland.

Then we did our weekly trip to Costco where we found this fun section filled with comfortable chairs.

 They pulled out the ipads and hung out as long as we would let them.
 5/3/13

Plants and Experiments

 Calvin was playing with my phone and took this picture of Andy choosing plants for the garden. Andy grabbed the veggies while I picked the flowers. We came home and planted in the rain. It was fun to be outside in the downpour, digging in the dirt while the kids twirled their umbrellas and splashed in puddles. 

 

Calvin was dressed like Evel Knievel all day, asking if we could do "expenses" (he meant experiments). Here he's playing a matching game still dressed in his gear. We never did do experiments (we promised him it would happen tomorrow), but I thought he looked adorable. 

Picnic

Calvin's mid-afternoon picnic with his Sonic friends:

A Perfect Spring Rain

Lately we've had some perfect storms. The first thing the kids always do when they see any raindrops is run for their gear. They love being outside in the pitter-patter, splasing in puddles with their rubber boots, and chasing each other with the spikes on their umbrellas. They love the rain, just like their mama does.

(I spent the morning picking up dozens of earth worms and putting them in a covered spot of the garden so they wouldn't drown in puddles or die on the sidewalk. Just like I remember doing since I was their age).

 Pretty girl.

Funny kids.

A perfect day.