May 14

Today we've had a bit of Juice.
The Mama went to the library to pay a fine [sigh] and to pick up the next Dinosaur Cove book. I carted to the counter and showed them (not so anxiously, I'm actually getting used to this sort of thing) the Fizz, Bubble and Flash that I borrowed a few weeks ago. Remember how I said that I love it, and that it's imperative that we own a copy?? Guess what!? We do!!
I picked up a few cd-roms for the babes while I was there, though Trev still wanted to play JumpStart World Second Grade. (It's been like three days of that, now. I'm not complaining.)
Have I mentioned in a few days how much I love JumpStart?

To the store, then, for a few supplies. Like dish soap for bubbles. And glycerin. (found it, Julie!) And iodine. And a couple of rambutans.
Oh, yeah... and food.

To the rambutans, then.Trev gave it a thumbs up. Madd, too.
"It's interesting," said she.
I didn't much care for the texture... it reminds me of raw fish. Doesn't taste like raw fish.... but still. Kind of hard to get over. (Even for an omnivore.)
We tried out a static experiment (Hey, static again!) that I got in my inbox from Home Science Tools yesterday. While it wasn't terribly effective, it was enough - with the explanation of
"Lightning happens in exactly the same way. Usually, a negative charge from a thundercloud is trying to find a positive charge to meet up with, and it will "jump" from the cloud towards a positive charge on the ground or in another part of the cloud."Cool.

We also tried a test for starch with iodine.
Bread, potato, spinach, sugar, apple, and pasta.Which was cool, but particularly interesting when we read that when the person at the grocer's runs a pen over your large bill, he or she is checking for starch. All paper has starch in it, but U.S. currency is made of sugar fibers, and contains no starch.Cool!
And... I wonder if the clerk knows that?
Computer play. JumpStart, still. And Dancing Dora, or something like that. (Except when Trev gets up for a minute and she snags his Second Grade game.)

Zoo Tycoon
and more Dora

giant bubbles.

Volcanoes! Always a favorite.

After that Trev was ready to try out Journey to the Center of the Earth, one of the games I picked up at the library, today. (Upon linking to it I read the reviews on Amazon, and felt it necessary give Trev a heads-up on the reviews-- not so good.)

A wander over and through the gardens.
To discover that we'll have grapes
and raspberries
cherriesand peonies.
We have the first tiny rose
and periwinkle
pretty heartsajuga flowers
and phlox.
The lemon balm is high
the bee balm has flourished
the catnip is plentiful
the sugar snap peas are happy
the sage is heavy
and the honeysuckle is humming.(Yay... more bees!)

Trev tested out a theory.... he dunked a balloon in bubble mixture, then blew it up and let it go, hoping that it would spit out bubbles as it flew about.
It didn't quite work, but I loved the theory and the experiment.

Time for reading out on the trampoline. We read Flight of the Quetzalcoatlus.
And then we measured fourty feet in our backyard, so we could see and get a feel for its wingspan.
Incredible.

Blondie came over and the children played Capture the Flag. (She actually came over while we were reading, but Little Son sent her away with the promise that he'd come to get her when we were done reading.)
And the babes got the vinegar and baking soda back out.
And then they had to show her the balloon being blown up by the gas of baking soda and vinegar.
She was duly impressed. : )

The day has turned into evening, and we come to this place with full minds and hearts,
but with empty tummies.
That's my cue...
Goodnight, then.