Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we had Mike come over with Emily and Owen for swimming and a BBQ. And to celebrate another day of Dave's birthday.

A FIVE Year Old I Have

Dave-o has grown so much this year. Being a big brother comes naturally for him. However, he also enjoys all the attention of being a younger sibling. 

Dave-o loves:

Legos, Star Wars, books, ninjas, cuddling, berries (especially raspberries), Dinosaur Eggs hot cereal, chicken drumsticks, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, swimming (as long as his head doesn't go under the water), Despicable Me movies, mustard, singing (he hums while building with Legos), magic tricks, laughing, the color blue, the beach.

Dave-o hates:

Insects (he freaks out at the littlest bug, like fruit flies), the dark, bedtime (because of the dark), swings, water on his face, dogs, vegetables, red meat, soda,

Before church, Dave-o opened his presents (all of which had a Lego or Star Wars theme).

Even Darth Vader goes to church.

Tomorrow we will continue Dave-o's birthday celebration with his cousins and aunt and uncle. 

Happy Birthday Dave-o.

I love you!

What is Soil?

Rocks and soil has been the topic of Kirsten's Earth Science study.

She recently sketched out the soil's profile (what you would see if you cut down through the soil to the bedrock below). In many profiles, you can identify five layers, or horizons. Today I put Kirsten's knowledge to the test and had her make an edible soil profile.

The D horizon is unfertile solid bedrock

(We used a sugar cookie)

The C horizon is unfertile, weathered rock fragments.

(We used cookie fragments.)

The B horizon is subsoil.

(We mixed chocolate pudding with crushed Oreos.)

The A horizon is topsoil, dark and rich in humus).

(Crushed Oreos)

The O horizon is a thin layer of humus (dead leaves and other organic matter).

(Candied nuts broken up)

Worms technically aren't part of a soil profile, but they do help in making the soil rich.   

The finished profile (with or without worms). 

Can you see the different layers?

Enjoy!

Project: Mountain Bike

 Over seventeen years ago, David and I left BYU Provo, Utah with Justin in tow and James a few short weeks from being born. With an EE degree (electrical engineering) in hand, David began working at his father's company, Micrel. We found a cute little apartment for our little family minutes away from David's job. This close proximity allowed David to commute on bike each day. A year later, we bought our first home and moved our now family of four to Gilroy. Biking to work was not an option now. Since then, David's mountain bike has sat unused. 

Until now.

Steven has taken it upon himself to fix this bike for an upcoming mountain bike trip at Zion's Camp. So far, he has replaced the chains, inner tubes, and tires. Next he will clean the rust off using Simple Green (found in the automotive section of stores like Walmart). The seat will need to be replaced and the gears tightened. And sometime (probably after camp) Steven plans on spray painting the rims gold or green.  

Don't Try This

In the ten years that I've been homeschooling, the kids have enjoyed countless experiments and projects. Most of them were successful. However, occasionally things don't work out the way we anticipated. Last week we had somewhat of a disastrous experiment. While browsing Pinterest, I came across instructions to make Magnetic Slime (affiliated link). I immediately jumped all over the idea and ordered the black iron oxide powder. Because we are prime members of Amazon, the oxide arrived on my doorstep two days later. Yes! The kids and I were super excited to make the slime.

I read and re-read the directions and noted that the concoction will turn your hands black, but would easily wash off. I also read in "Step 4" to pat the slime dry with a paper towel to get rid of any excess liquid. The finished slime won't make your hands black, but the extra liquid will. Once the slime is dry, it should be ready to play with.

Ok. We were fine with getting our hands a little dirty, especially since the end result was supposed to be amazing.

We used plastic gloves for the really messy part.

The experiment did work in the sense that we created slime. However, no matter how much we patted it "dry", that darn oxide kept rubbing off on our hands. I don't think it's possible to get slime "dry". If it were possible, than it wouldn't be slime anymore. 

Plus, it wasn't as magnetic as was promised. 

Conclusion: Magnetic slime is a dud. 

Loni was the only one who stayed clean.

Boys and Girls

 I sent my boys (minus Justin) off to the "Fathers & Sons" campout. Dave-o was afraid that mosquitoes and ticks were going to suck his blood (like last year). So, before they left James agreed to sleep with Dave-o in the car. This made him a "happy camper". 

Kirsten and I were so excited to have the house to ourselves without any boys (well, except for Justin). We are dinner at Wendy's, bought lots of junk food, and watched Hunger Games. Then, I had Kirsten sleep in my bed with me (because I get afraid when David isn't around at night). This didn't end well for me, however. Kirsten kept slapping and kicking me in her sleep. I moved to James's empty room and had a peaceful sleep for the rest of the night. I hope the boys slept better than me.

Liquid Nitrogen

Another hot day spent in the pool.

I found Loni's swimsuit (it was hanging up in her closet).

And her bottom front tooth poked through today.

David came home from work with a canister of liquid nitrogen. This provided lots of entertainment and experimentation from the family. (David plans on having a "Menrichment Night" using the nitrogen for cooking and other fun activities.)

David poured some in a Styrofoam cup and added marshmallows.

Tasted like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal.

They also froze rose petal and leaves.

Kirsten eating a liquid nitrogen marshmallow.

Dave-o was the first to get the gas flowing out his nostrils.

Steven and David had fun with it as well.

The leftover nitrogen in the cup got tossed into the pool to create an awesome reaction.