Saturday, October 6, 2012

we didn't order the duck. it's bad enough he walked around the ship with no pants.


i'm just off the boat from a seven night western caribbean cruise aboard the disney fantasy.  there's lots to show and tell.  and i'm starting with the food.  you know why?  because as soon as we arrived home, my husband asked me where the gourmet meal was.  so i showed him the pictures.  

and then he proceeded to the kitchen to make ramen noodles for lunch.  

don't worry.  because i surprised my husband with a wild flower on top of the ramen noodles.  and i even made a pretty little soy sauce design to match on the side of the plate.  

no.  not really.  but i did sing a few songs from aladdin for him and the girls.  i even added in a couple of jazz hands.  and just like that, we're back to our normal routine.



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

there's no pressure. so just breathe.

today was the last day of the weather module in our homeschool class at the zoo.  the kids passed around a tornado tube, they made a huge pinwheel and a barometer, and they created hurricane waves.

it was a successful day.  except.  the hurricane waves demonstration went something like this.  put water in a pan. blow water with straw.  watch water splash everywhere.   see lil's mom grab her away from the project and violently sprinkle hand sanitizer everywhere like it was holy water.

creating the barometer went a little bit more smoothly.  to make your own barometer, you'll need:

- a half pint mason jar (without lid)
- balloon
- scissors
- rubberband 
- glue and glue dots
- toothpick
- index card

1.  cut the neck off of the balloon.
2.  stretch it over the top of the mason jar and secure with a rubberband.
3.  glue toothpick onto the top of the balloon (towards the middle).
4.  draw a line in the middle of the index card.  write "high" on the top, "low" on the bottom.
5.  attach the card to the jar with the middle line adjacent to the rim of the jar.


once the glue on the top of the balloon is dry, you have a working barometer.  the toothpick will indicate pressure. as pressure pushes down on the balloon, the toothpick will rise and point to high.  etc etc and vice versa.

ps.  did you know that hurricanes don't form on the equator because there is no spinning wind there?  and hurricanes that form in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise while those in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise.   


Sunday, September 23, 2012

there were these last week.

cracked.  over a grate in legoland florida.

fallen.  behind lego deer.

ordinary color.  in the cypress gardens' pond.

bokeh.  with a lost lego minifigure shield.

fence.  overtaken by the banyan tree in cypress gardens.




Saturday, September 22, 2012

stepping on legos hurts. swimming with them, not so much.

we hung out with some friends yesterday morning at legoland florida's water park.  it's a relatively small area, but we had a blast.  except.  there was that one time when lil pushed me down a pitch black tube water slide.  and then i heard her laugh about it with the lifeguard.  i think they even high-fived each other.  true story.  

also.  i'm going to take her around town later this week.  in my pajamas and curlers.  while rapping old school run dmc.  like "you be illin'".

duplo splash safari area and build-a-raft river.

joker soaker.

joker soaker slides and wave pool.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

balloons are scary because of the popping and the spit.

i'm terrified of balloons.  i blame the lutherans.  sort of.  when i was a mere six or seven, my dear mother enrolled me in vacation bible school at a local lutheran church.  for our activity, they thought it'd be good clean fun to have relay races that went like this:  run to the chair with the balloon on it.  sit on it.  pop it.  and repeat to the other side.

longest - week - of - my - life.  also.  i'm probably a southern baptist for this reason.  that and the potlucks.

yesterday's first zoo school lesson focused on thunder and lightning.  in order to demonstrate thunder, the kids blew up balloons.  and then they popped them.  i cried and shuddered in the corner.  


for the lightning experiment, we attempted to produce static electricity.  however.  because we live in florida, the humidity didn't allow us any success.  praise jesus.  because i have  a story from my childhood about that, too.  yada yada yada.  i blame clint and steven.  but just in case you want to give it a shot, you'll need to gather:

- foil pie pan
- styrofoam plate
- piece of fleece
- pencil with new eraser
- thumbtack 

1.  poke the thumbtack through the bottom middle of the foil pan so that it points up.  
2.  stick the eraser on the tack.
3.  place the styrofoam plate upside down next to the foil pan.
4.  rub the fleece on the plate several times then quickly drop the fleece into the foil pan.
5.  pick the pencil up (without touching the foil pan).
6.  touch the foil pan with your other hand.  you should feel the shock.

if this is done in a really dark room, you should actually be able to see the static electricity.  

ps.  some happy things we learned were:  you know how sometimes there's a double rainbow?  well in the primary rainbow, the colors start with red at the top.  and in the other arc, the colors are reversed.  and.  to even see a rainbow at all depends on your position.  you have to be in between the rain and the sun. once you're there, look towards the rain.  and.  the lower the sun, the bigger the arc.  



Sunday, September 16, 2012

there were these last week.


kiss.  on the road.


askew.  over epcot's japan.


fragrant.  in epcot's rose garden.


simple.  in epcot's germany. 

plant.  in epcot's canada.


Saturday, September 15, 2012

silence is a sign of (a) good character.

i don't recall ever hearing a child ask why certain characters at the disney theme parks don't talk.  it's like some magical innate acceptance.  in any case, words can be puzzling.

yesterday's trip to epcot allowed us to meet remy.  and wendell.  and br'er fox.  and mr. penguin.   lil and mad could associate all of these characters with either movies or rides/shows.  can you?