Pop's 92nd Birthday

We were invited to Blue Doors for a birthday celebration.  Mike's Uncle was turning 92.  I had never heard of this place before but it is on my list of places I must go back to. 

It was magical.

The kids went tubing and swimming with Uncle Matt.

Mike was the king of the grill and we had a delicious dinner.  

We had beer and homemade ice cream and watermelon.

Emma captured these pictures.  The one of the hummingbird is amazing.

Thanks Myers family for inviting us.  And thank you Blue Doors for the amazing retreat.  We will be back!

Evening of Lucy's 7th Birthday

This was a busy day at our house.  The evening of her 7th birthday, Lucy learned to ride her bike without training wheels.  It was super exciting and once she got going, she did not want to stop.

Daddy and sissy were very encouraging.

She was brave enough to look over at me for this picture.  But most of the time she had a very serious look of concentration on her face.

Doesn't big sis look cool on her beach comber?

Lucy's 7th Birthday Pary

It seemed only natural that we have a science birthday party this year for Lucy's 7th birthday. 
The periodic table was the inspiration for the invitations and decor.

I pulled out all my beakers and flasks for this party.  I think Mike was surprised by my inventory. 

The girls and I had fun making the cookies for the party.  I baked but they helped ice them.  I used a edible pen to mark on the dried icing.

We also made these great petri dishes filled with Jello, but I forgot to get them out of the refrigerator until after all the guests had gone.

But the real fun began when the guests arrived.

We made large bubbles out on the driveway.

We made lava lamps in the backyard.  I didn't get any pictures, ugh.

We made dry ice bubbles inside.

We also played with dry ice outside.

We did the mentos and diet coke experiment.

I also attempted the elephant's toothpaste demo but it was an epic failure.  Oh well.

Lucy opened presents and got lots of Legos, which she wanted desperately. 

Thank you to all the little scientists that came to Lucy's party.

Lucy, you are such a kind hearted girl.  Happy birthday sweet princess.  I am so glad you are my baby.  I love you more every day.

The morning of Lucy's 7th Birthday

The morning of Lucy's seventh birthday, she wanted to get dressed all by herself and put on a fancy dress and surprise us.  Unfortunately, she didn't untie the sash on the back and as she tried to pull it over her head, she got stuck.  She must have struggled for a while because she finally came into our room in a state of distress.  She had both arms up above her head and couldn't get the dress to go up or down.  The tight waist was across her face and she was helpless and about to cry.

From the dead of sleep to helping my girl struggle out of a tight spot in 12 seconds.  It took me quite a bit to recognize that she was really stuck.  I think I would have panicked had I been in her predicament. 

After she left our bedroom Mike said, "I'm glad she didn't get stuck 7 years ago."

Indeed...so am I.

How we made our Periodic Table-Table

 Many people have asked, so here goes:

I ordered a black periodic table poster from Pottery Barn, way back last October when they had their mad scientist collection.  It is a black canvas poster on a black table.  I cut the wood off the top and the bottom, so it was just canvas.  Then I ordered glass from Tulsa Glass cut to fit my table.  I simply placed the canvas on the table and put the glass over it.  Simple, yet pretty.

Our Periodic Table

For the lamp, it was a bit more complex.  Mike and I went to Best hardware on Brookside (if you're local) and this wonderful man named Leroy helped with all the lamp components.  The bulb going down into the Erlenmeyer flask is by Bulbrite.  Mike built a socket that goes up and a socket that goes down.  (He is so handy!)  He even put a switch on the wire that allows me to have a high and low setting.

Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp

Thanks Mike for enabling me to let my geek shine through!

Making the Lamp

Everyday is mother's day around my house.  I ask Mike to build me something and he builds it.

He made me this lamp!

In the neck of the lamp are two light sockets.  One that goes up and one that goes down.  There is a short edison bulb going up and a long edison bulb going down. Here is a glimpse of the innards.

I

I found the flask here.
 

Our Table of Elements Where We Eat Periodically

I have been wanting to turn my kitchen table into a periodic table for about a year. I finally did it!

Those are beakers, flasks, a ring stand and a mortar and pestle on my periodic table table.


Addendum:  I wanted to turn the large Erlenmeyer flask in the back into a lamp.  So I asked my handy husband to build me a lamp.  We went to a local hardware store called Best Hardware.  I nice man named Leroy who has owned the store for 40 years helped us get the pieces we needed.  Then we came home and Mike wired it all together.  He even put in a switch that dims it.

Yea, that is an extra long Edison bulb down in the flask.  I am going to sit there tonight and look my new lamp on my periodic table.

Separating water into H2 and O2

 Here we connected two pieces of copper wire to a 9-volt battery.  We filled two test tubes and a beaker with distilled water.  We added baking soda to the water because we needed the ions to transfer the H+ and the OH-.  Hydrogen gas formed readily but the oxygen gas was inhibited by the copper oxidizing at the anode. We are going to try this experiment again with different electrodes.

Here's a bright idea!

Snow Day

What we do when school is out and mom is home.

We bake.

This is the best icing I have ever had.  I has five ingredients and none of them are shortening.  Here is the link to the recipe.  If you don't care for super sweet icing, then this icing is for you.

The morning was spent baking, then we moved on to science.  We covered acid/base reactions by using vinegar (HC6H12O2), Ammonia (NH3) and Phenolthalein.

Awesome Day!