a very cool eggsperiment

This is easily one of the best experiments we've ever done.  I pinned it months ago and was dying to try it with the kids but I'm glad we waited until summertime because the eggs moved around a lot and the kids had fun watching them. 

This experiment is super simple and the results are amazing.  All you need is:

vinegar

raw egg(s)

a jar or container

As soon as we put the eggs in the vinegar the shells bubbled up.

All you do is put the eggs in the jar, fill the jar with vinegar, and wait.  The vinegar will completely dissolve the egg shells and thicken the membrane surrounding the egg,  leaving you with clear, rubbery eggs.   

A few hours later the eggs began to float up to the top, then drop back down to the bottom. 

The site where I found the experiment advised me to change the vinegar after 24 hours, then wait another 24 hours for the end result.  We did change the vinegar the 2nd day, but our eggs were ready after about 27 hours.  While I was changing the vinegar on the 2nd day, I carefully rinsed the eggs which I think helped speed the process. 

By the end of the first day both eggs were at the top of the jar and very bubbly.

The end result:  By day two our egg shells were completely gone.  Leaving us with still raw but rubbery eggs.  When we held the eggs up to the light we could see the yolks floating around inside. 

One word of caution.  The eggs are still raw and right after we took them out we wound up dropping and breaking both eggs.  Be careful when handling the eggs and use more than one egg in the experiment.  That way you'll have some back ups. 

busy

 One of our summer projects; learning how to play chess.  Ray has been teaching the kids how to play for a few weeks now and they are really getting the hang of things.  I searched around on Amazon and found a highly rated computer game developed for kids. 

I'm learning along with the kids and we love Fritz and Chesster.  Grace, Carter and I will sit on the couch together with my laptop and practice for an hour at a time.  Today we learned a few new strategies.  Our goal:  to be able to beat Ray by the end of the summer. 

 After our morning chess session, we made pickles.  We used a simple recipe I found on Pinterest and whipped up a small batch of pickles.  The recipe said to wait a few days, but I just tasted mine and they're pretty good.  I'll let Grace and Carter taste theirs tomorrow and see what they think.  We each seasoned ours a little differently. 

 Our neighborhood has several different pools, and of course Grace and Carter each favor a different pool.  We'd been to Carter's favorite twice in a row, so we needed to hit Grace's pool.  Because the pool Grace likes is a little bit deeper than Carter's nose, and it's so early in the summer, I still make Carter wear his puddle jumper, which he hates. 

To soften things up for Carter I told him he could bring any raft or floatation device he wanted. 

I had no idea we had an actual floating barcalounger in our collection. 

 Needless to say, we were "those" people at the pool today.  The ones with the obnoxious pool toys.  But, no one seemed to mind and the kids loved their chair. 

 Finally, our tomatoes are starting to turn red.  We've been picking five or six small tomatoes every day.  Today, we picked our first big tomato. 

 It looks like it's going to be a very good tomato season. 

kate and spence - the end of an era

Yes, it's what you think.  Either Kate or Spence recently passed away.

This afternoon, the kids and I headed out to the Taylor farm to visit with all of our feathered friends and drop off some chicks Grace's first grade teacher hatched at the end of the school year. 

It was a nice farm visit.  We toured the grounds, stopping to oooh and ahhh over how much all of our spring hatchlings had grown since our last visit.   

Kate and Spence with their boyfriend in April.

Kate and Spence had taken up with a male goose (standing in the middle of the pair in the picture above).  He was their mate and was fiercely protective of the two female birds. 

Kate and Spence were identical to one another but different from all of the other birds on the farm.  They each had one wing with drooped a bit, so the pair was always easy to spot. 

Today, as either Kate or Spence walked by with the larger male bird, I paused slightly and glanced around for the other female.  I glanced over at Melissa and she simply said, "I don't know what happened." 

I knew instantly what she meant and was well aware that Grace was only a few steps away.  I had to choice but to say nothing, show absolutely no reaction, and just keep moving.  I didn't want to take a chance that Grace would recognize one of the birds was missing. 

(I did talk to Melissa after I put the kids to bed tonight.  She said it was most likely a Coyote but had no idea how or when it happened because the birds are very secure in their enclosure and well protected by several large and loud dogs.) 

The drive home from Taylor was long and quiet.  The kids were busy playing their Kindles, leaving my mind free to wander. 

Kate and Spence were no ordinary farm birds.  They were the first geese I ever hatched.  They had my heart before they even came out of their eggs, and everyone who saw them feel in love with them immediately. 

And they, obviously, loved all of us back. 

We all looked forward to each and every visit after we returned them to their home on the farm.  We would squeal with delight the moment we spotted them from the car.   

Kate and Spence brought pure joy to all of our hearts. 

And of course, I worried about them.  Every time we left the farm I worried that something catastrophic might occur before our next visit.  The 'what ifs' would keep me awake at night. 

But, if I've learned anything in thirty-eight years, I've learned that one of the hardest things in life is being able to let go of the things we cannot change. 

love.

Yes, my heart is heavy tonight.  I am sad that Kate or Spence lost her life. But I am happy that while the bird was alive, she had what had to be one of the best possible lives any goose can have and I am lucky to have been a part of such an amazing life.   

In Memoriam of Kate or Spence.
The video I made the day we took them to the farm:

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

 To celebrate our summer kick-off, Grace and I made some indoor sunshine for the entryway. 

 Everyone loves our puff balls.  Especially Chloe. 

Saturday, I made my first, of many, summer dinners.  Steaks on the grill, fresh corn, artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, sugar snap peas and french bread.  Summertime always inspires me to cook fresh veggies. 

 Sunday we got the Cooper clan together for burgers and dogs at Mindy's house.

Memorial Day weekend is over. Tomorrow, our summer officially begins.

welcome to summer

My sweet kids on their second day of school in August. 

And, this morning, on their last day.  I didn't notice until I saw the picture, but Carter is holding a tomato in his hand.  He picked it and took it to his teacher. 

And, they're off!

In preparation for their return, I made a sign,

made sure we had plenty of ice cream,

and made some giant pin wheels.

Grace and Carter were happy with their treats,

and they loved crashing through their sign.

This evening, Ray mentioned something to the kids about the three day weekend.  Carter quicky corrected him, "Dad, we've got more than that.  We've got a three month weekend!"

Welcome to summer.

Today Carter graduated from kindergarten.

The diploma.

Carter and his teacher. 

Proud mommy. 

After I watched Carter graduate, I ran upstairs to Grace's end of year party.  There is much less pomp and circumstance at the end of second grade. 

We gave Grace's teacher her quilt and she absolutely loved it. 

Each student took a moment to tell Mrs. B which square they made for her. 

Princess Grace (in her tiara, she's not calling it a crown anymore), hitting the sundae bar. 

Not sure why my head is cut off in this pic. 

Only one day of school to go...

almost there

Every Thursday, the kids bring home a folder with that week's completed work inside. Thursday nights, after supper, we take some time and let each kid show everyone at the dinner table what they've been working on.

For the past few days, the kids have been coming home with notebooks, spirals, journals, artwork, projects, writing assignments, etc.  Their stacks had gotten so high that this afternoon I asked each of them to sort out their best items for a big share session tonight. 

After dinner they each shared what they considered the cream of their crops.  Grace is an amazing writer and some of her stories Carter found absolutely hilarious.

I really liked the one about our trip to the pumpkin patch and the selection of the pumpkin king. 

Carter is always excited about sharing his work, and tonight was no exception. 

He loved reading from his journals and explaining all of his experiments. 

He read us a letter he'd written to next year's kindergarteners: 

Dear Kindergarteners,
Do not talk in the hallway.  Clean up when you're done.  Make good choices.  Listen to the teacher.  Play at recess.  Have fun!!

                                                                                                             Love,
                                                                                                             Carter

After all of our sharing, we went for a quick swim. 

Then came back home and worked on treat bags for Carter's end of year party tomorrow. 

I found the cutest food erasers in Target's (six for a) dollar section.  We also added bouncy balls, bookmarks, party noise makers and a few pieces of candy. 

Carter's excited about giving the bags to his classmates tomorrow after he graduates from Kindergarten. 

Grace's end of year gifts were a bit more involved.  As the room mom in Grace's class, I've been taking pictures of the kids all year long for the yearbook committee.  A few of my pictures actually made it into the yearbook, and because I didn't want the rest to go unseen, I decided to make each student in Grace's class a memory book. 

I wanted each student to be the star of his or her book, so I made sure they were in every picture in their album.  I did this by printing out over 300 prints.  If a picture had seven kids in it, I printed seven copies.  If there were only two kids in the picture, I printed two. 

Grace helped me sort the pictures into twenty two separate stacks.  One for each student.  The end result; each child has an album with 8 - 12 pictures of them inside.  Some of the pics are of the entire class, some are just of a few friends, but each individual album is different and each student is in every picture in their album. 

The albums turned out even better than I had hoped.  They'll be great keepsakes.  I can't wait to give them to Grace's classmates tomorrow. 

And, the teacher quilt is neatly folded and wrapped.  I showed the finished quilt to Grace's class last week and they were all thrilled with the way it turned out.  Hopefully Grace's teacher will be too....