Mad Scientist Party

Andrew's birthday is next week, but we had a birthday party for him today. He wanted a science themed party and I really didn't want to do a party in the first place because they are so much work, but Dan found a good website online called Steve Spangler Science that had some fun science experiments for kids. So Dan was pretty much in charge of the activities and I just did the cake and decorations (which was mainly balloons and a tablecloth - I am getting more lazy with each party.)

At first Andrew wanted a light bulb cake but I couldn't figure out how to do one. So I talked him into a volcano cake. It was super easy. I used the King Arthur's gluten free chocolate cake mix (which is the best of the three I have tried by the way). I cooked it in 2 bowls. One I used for today's cake and the other I will use next week for Andrew's actual birthday. I should have taken in-progress pictures but I didn't. When it cooks in a bowl it actually rises up in the middle and looks just like a volcano on top. I froze it overnight, then this morning cut it in half and flipped over the domed bottom to form the bottom of the mountain. Then you frost it and make it look less pretty - this was the fun part. It was way easier than last year's race-car cake. The lava is called lollipop lava and I got it from this recipe. The cake turned out really yummy and everyone ate it and a few even asked for seconds.





We played with magnets, made instant snow and slime. Jorgen did NOT like the slime - he was afraid of it! It was so funny!

We also made instant worms which was a big hit.

We set off Andrew's volcano he got for Christmas one more time. One rule of science we told them was to never eat your experiments. Well, the boys saw that the volcano was baking soda and vinegar and a few of them thought it was funny to taste it. Gross! We also made paper airplanes and ended with a game of Four Corners. It was a fun party and I'm glad Dan did most of the work. I think he may have had even more fun than the boys. :) The only disappointment was the lab coats we ordered from a different website didn't come in time, darn it! That would have been cute. They will probably show up on Monday.

What a Bad Mom Am I

One morning I was really tired. So tired that after the big kids left for school, I fell asleep on the couch while Jorgen watched "Cat in the Hat." I vaguely remember him waking me up to open something and me telling him to get a bowl. Awhile later I awoke and discovered he had helped himself to a big bowl of nerds for breakfast, to go with his beloved OJ. What a nerd!

St. Patrick's Day

The kids were a little disappointed that no leprechauns came to our house this year. Blame me for procrastinating and/or forgetting about it until the night before - at midnight no less. I made up for it by making green pancakes for breakfast and a green dinner. Green eggs, regular colored ham, yellow potatoes cut into "gold coins" and a green smoothie. We also had green jello for dessert. It was fun and they all liked everything. Except Andrew doesn't like eggs, but he ate everything else.

First Trip to the Dentist

Jorgen had his very first dentist appointment today. He was great. He didn't really like having his teeth cleaned, but the hygienist was fast and it was over pretty quick. He was excited to get a new green toothbrush and a green squishy toy. He loves green!

Cool dude!

Piano Recital

I had another piano recital. This is a great bunch of kids. These are the students who played at Federation last Saturday, and they all played great. They are a lot of fun to teach!

Grandpa's Birthday

We got together last Sunday to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was fun to have the cousins over to play. It turned out to be a crazy day. They reorganized our bishopric and Dan was called as an assistant ward clerk (financial), so he had to stay after church for awhile to get some training and figure everything out. So we started the party without him, but he was able to get home before dinner, so that worked out.

The boys were all interested in Andrew's electronics kit, which he proudly let them use. They are all getting old enough now where the boys tend to play together and the girls play together. Little Nicole was enthralled by Bethany's Barbie collection, but I didn't get a picture.

All the grandkids except Serena. What a cute bunch of kids.