New Camper

Today, Derek and I purchased a new to us Pop-up Camper. It is a 1999 Coachman. I am very excited to go camping now that I no longer need to sleep on the ground. We also have an air conditioner, so July and August camping no longer mean no sleep at night, Yeah!  The boys think it is great because now they can have the air materess in their tent. I am glad they are still going to sleep in their own tent.

We have a King Bed with the U-shaped table/bed, then a full bed with a table/bed on the left. The storage areas are set up differently then my in-laws so that is going to take some getting use to and careful planning to get all of our gear stored eventually. We will be picking up the camper on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and driving it down the road to Minneopa State Park, 5 min from the dealership, to camp for the weekend.  Good thing the only thing we really need to bring is bedding and the normal dishes, that we already pack for camping.

Exploding Volcanoes

 Over the last few weeks, we have been reading about Pompeii. This seems like a great time to also learn more about volcanoes. The boys have loved being able to do experiments and have volcanoes exploding in our kitchen.  This also seemed like a good time to introduce the Scientific Method.

Bryce's Volcano Experiment Lab Report

First question:  Does flour effect the creation of bubbles?
     He planned to determine this by seeing how far a cork would travel. We quickly figured out the cork traveled to far to do this experiment in the house.

Second question: Does flour effect how long the bubbles stay?

He measured the out come by timing from the time I poured in the vinegar until the bubbles were flat in the remaining liquid.

Hypothesis:  The more flour the longer the bubbles will last.

Experiment 1:  1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda, No Flour
          Results: 2 minutes
Experiment 2: 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda, 1 Tablespoon Flour
          Results: 5 minutes
Experiment 3: 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda, 2 Tablespoons Flour
          Results: 6 minutes

Conclusion:  My hypothesis was true, flour does effect the longness of the bubbles.

Micah's Volcano Experiment Lab Report

Question: I wonder if the amount of baking soda effects the amount of bubbles created.

He will measure his results by taking pictures to record his observations.

Hypothesis: I think experiment 1 will have the biggest eruption because it has the most tablespoons of baking soda. I think the eruption will flow out of the pan.

Experiment 1: 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Flour, 2 Tablespoons baking soda

Experiment 2: 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Flour, No Baking Soda

Experiment 3: 1 Cup Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Flour, 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

Conclusion: Experiment 3 had the most bubbles. I think this was because there was less baking soda and flour in the bottom of the bottle after mixing with the vinegar. Yes, the amount of baking soda effects the amount of bubbles.

Amazing Chemical Reaction

Science Museum

On Sunday, we purchased a Science Museum for the first time with a gift certificate from Uncle Jim. Thanks Uncle Jim the boys love it. They are very excited to go back and explore the galleries more.  Micah kept saying "Wow, this is science."  

Matthew was entertained playing with fire.



Christmas Sheets

After the squeal of delight upon opening his new sheets.

The boys and I all got new sheets for Christmas this year. Excitement was running high.  Bryce recieved "How to Train your Dragon," Micah "Mario Cart Wii," and Matthew "Cars," mine are micro pulsh and oh so soft.  All the boys are tucked in with thier new sheets and mine are waitng for me.

A 32 Degree Day in December

The boys had a blast playing in the snow this afternoon.

Matthew helped daddy shovel by putting more snow on the side walk and drive way!

A snow ball fight broke out. Some how I was a target even though I wasn't playing - just taking pictures. Micah attacked Derek and he returned the attack by throwing snow by the shovel full. The boys thought is was great and so did Lucy.

Of course much snow was eaten.

All three boys wore the hats they recieved from Santa when we visited Bentleyville last week in Duluth.

3 Days in Duluth

Last week, we spent 3 days in Duluth with my mom and dad. It was a wonderful time of being together. We stayed at the Edgewater and spent at least 2 hours each day at The Edge Waterpark.

The vortex pool was a favorite along with all the falling water and the slides. Bryce spent a lot of time on the lazy river with Grandpa. Matthew loved to play catch in the pool while Micah was going in circles in the Vortex pool. The hot tub was also popular as we all got chilly from time to time.

On Tuesday, we went to see the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The boys loved going to the movie. That evening we went to Bentleyville. The lights were beautiful. We all visited with Santa and the boys recieved new stocking caps.

I hope the boys have lasting memories of the time we were able to spend with Grandma and Grandpa. It seems like time is one of those things that we just take for granted and it is precious. I long to build lots of memories of my boys with both sets of grandparents - I know I have many.