Walk Time w/Opa

I love the second picture. Opa tells me that Viva and Lincoln were non-stop chatterboxes on their walk. I love that they love to play and get along so well! They are lucky to have eachother. :)

Instant Slush?

The children like to watch science videos by Grant Thompson, The King of Random. Sometimes they ask to do the experiments. Some of the experiments are quite involved--for instance cutting a fire extinguisher in half to create a backyard foundry or using a fire brick to make a mini arc-furnace. Needless to say the adults in the house are not eager to help out with such experiments. However, I want to encourage the children in their scientific inquiries, so if an easy to do experiment comes along, I try to accommodate them.

A couple of weeks ago Viva (and then Jake) watched a video on how to make magic slushies. The key was to super chilll a plastic bottle of pop to the point that it was still 100% liquid, but when you opened it and poured it out it turned to slush as you poured it--just like magic! 

Finding a small plastic bottle of pop was my first challenge. You can only get name brand pop in plastic pint bottles, so I paid top dollar for a six pack of Sprite. The video told us to shake the bottle and put it in the freezer for 3 hours and 25 minutes--the time varied depending on your freezer. We did that and by two hours we had frozen pop. Over the next two days we put bottles of pop in and out of the freezer trying to find that magic threshold where the pop was super chilled, but not yet forming any ice crystals. We never found the magic time for our freezer. The children lost faith after the fifth attempt, but they enjoyed drinking the half frozen pop!

Bentley steered clear of the entire experiment. I'm sure he was afraid we'd make him give the drink a try.

Sunday Cutie

 

Just a few short months (three or so.... !) until church nursery is a thing of our past!  I am excited.  I appreciate the nursery workers and the time they volunteer, but I find nursery to be a kind of scary place.  Cranky children, clingy children, germy children putting everything in their mouths..... !

Evan will be off to Sunbeams in January.  Hip hip hooray!  

Fall is in the Air

Neither rain nor cold keep Evan and Lincoln from their beloved biking and rock throwing with Daddy.  The leaves are definitely changing colors (and falling)....

Potato Diggers

This past weekend the kids headed up to Grandpa Tim's place to help him dig up his potatoes.  This is something that they were all looking forward to; I'm glad they had the chance to do it with him again this year!

Summer: Playgrounds!

Every summer we try to visit a variety of playgrounds at schools and parks. Different places have different cool equipment that the kids like to play on. We didn't make it to as many playgrounds this summer as last summer, but we visited quite a few.

We didn't make it to as many playgrounds this summer as last summer, but we visited quite a few.

Artists Hard at Work!

Evan:

Viva:

 Lincoln:

Jake's Chain Mail

Jake found someone online who showed how they made their own suit of chain mail. Jake was very enthused by this idea and brought it up repeatedly until his mom purchased him the recommended supplies--a roll of wire. I was surprised when I saw the wire because it's not very heavy gauge, but it's heavy enough that an eight year old can't cut through it, so we have to help him out. The guy in the video said it took him three years to finish his chain mail. I tried to persuade Jake to make his chain mail for a doll, but he wasn't interested. He wants to make if sized to fit him.

Apple Picking

Alaskan children don't usually get the opportunity to pick apples because there aren't a lot of apple trees this far north. It's hard to find a variety that will survive Alaskan winters. Far worse than winters, though, are the moose. If you don't fence an apple tree in (check out the fencing in the photos below), the moose will prune the tree back severely. I have seen trees with no branches left on them. It is not a happy sight.

Our friends John and Lisa have two apple trees, one grows small crab apples and the other grows nice tart eating apples. The moose nearly killed their apple tree twice. Once a baby moose went under the fence.

On Sunday evening John and Lisa invited the children over to help pick the apples off their tree. The kids had a great time and we came home with a couple dozen Alaskan apples!

Back to Dance!

This fall Viva is trying ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Her verdict after week one? Modern is her fave, but they are all awesome. I'm excited to see what she learns this year. It is fun to watch Genevieve because she always has fun with whatever activities she tries - a great trait to have, for sure!

Everyday Life: More August

Legos, Legos, and more Legos...

Viva made this without a pattern. I'm impressed!

This thing is in the upstairs hallway across from L & E's doorway. 

Lincoln told me he climbs it every morning.

I'm not sure what V is doing, but L & E are intrigued.

L & E are great buddies!

The children made painted sun catchers. 

It was hard work because most of the paint was dried out.

I matched the pancakes to the Fiestaware! I think Jake appreciated my efforts. 

(Of course, his was the only plate that matched the pancakes.)

I had a fantastic crop of sweet peas this year. Viva liked to help arrange them.

Usually Lincoln builds roads on the floor with the Magformers, but this day he was into tower building. He was quite good at it!

Evan stashing two triangle Magformers in his pocket.

Bentley mastering the whirligig toy. 

(I did not make that name up--it's from Colonial times!)