Bubble bubbles bubbles

Every summer we do a little program at the library around science. Several years ago we did the program around bubbles, it was so much fun we had to do it again this year.  It was MUCH easier this time around since the boys could pretty much do everything without my help.  The crowd was about 300 total for the two shows. It was crazy fun!!

Luke was the Master of Ceremonies. He is naturally charismatic and did an awesome job! The kids LOVED him!

Ben gave his first presentation. He talked about his "Snake Bubbles."  He had fun figuring out which fabric made the best chain of bubbles. (It was a super cheap washcloth btw. )

Luke made bubbles that he could hold in his hand. He used dry ice to make the bubbles nice and cold, and he totally held them in his hands.

Ben did bubbles with a straw...and then he played with all of the other bubbles.--Who can resist bubbles????

This is James practicing his presentation. He did two different chemical reactions commonly known as elephant's toothpaste. We were trying to get the huge reaction of bubbles that you see online, but we were unsuccessful. We even purchased some potassium  iodide with no large reaction. :(

However, it was fun to see the difference between the yeast reaction (on the right) verses the potassium iodide (on the right).

Of course we had BIG bubbles!

Lots of BIG bubbles!

And to top it off, we put the kids inside a bubble. How often do you get to be inside a bubble?? So fun!

Kay the fantastic librarian that has inspired my boys so much. Without her encouragement, I don't know if James ever would have read on his own. She could get us to do just about anything.

We love the library! And I love bubbles. Lots of bubbles! :)

Sweet Sixteen!

I cannot start a post about Luke turning 16 without a proper baby picture of him.  Luke was a very fussy baby. He didn't like to be held or comforted by his mom. He has always preferred to be independent and learn things on his own...the hard way. I love my Luke.

Last year Luke took a class about World War II. He loved it and has read many more books about WWII and the events surrounding it. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he wanted to have a 1940's Dance Party for his 16th birthday party. What I was surprised was when I agreed that it would be fun!! I am not a party girl. My kids have had maybe one or two birthday parties. I love small gatherings, but more people then six and I'm suddenly a wall flower. But alas! We pressed forward and I became very excited for it.

For his birthday, we gave Luke some WWII memorabilia. He loved it! It suited him very well. As he called it "Real History!" Among the items were a ration card, various badges, pins and buttons. We also found the newspapers from after Pearl Harbor. So neat!

We decorated with flags, flag banners, lights and vintage posters.

 

We had some friends, who are dance instructors, teach the swing, foxtrot. They had the kids twirling around and dancing all over! Even Ben danced with all the girls!

My amazing mother in law found a 1936 car to display outside and it was the detail that made the party great! 

Luke dancing with his Grandma Sutton--who was born in the 40's so she was her own display. She kept up with all the kids on that dance floor!

Grandma dancing with her son...the biggest smile of the night!

Over 60+ kids! They were awesome!

Fun times!

Like sister like brother.

Y-M-C-A!

The clean up crew...we have so much fun anytime!!

Dance dance dance!!!!

 Happy birthday Luke!! I hope you'll never forget this even...cause I'll probably never do it again. Love you!

Pioneer day

Sometimes I think my kids are so stinking cute. On pioneer day they dressed all up and I thought they were just adorable. My littles were anyway, my older boys refuse to let their mom call them adorable anymore.

Ok maybe technically the pioneers weren't cowboys and I'm sure the pioneers had matching socks. But that morning, I really couldn't care less!

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A big thank you to the leaders of these pint size pioneers. They are dedicated and do a fantastic job. Thank you ladies!

Run away!

At the Cheesecake Factory. Wow it was yummy!

 I have the best friends!  They are just like me in the sense that they love a good time and a good laugh--lots of laughs. We decided that we should do both of those things in a concentrated amount in the innocent venue of VEGAS!

Ok..maybe the venue isn't that innocent.
However, it was my first time to the Cheesecake factory and to Fremont Street. I will definitly be at the Cheesecake factory again...Fremont Street...well...maybe not.

I really wanted to swim with the sharks at the Golden Nugget. It was already closed by the time we arrived, but it was still fascinating to watch!

Fremont Street...AT MIDNIGHT!

With all of the lights it was like daytime.

At the temple!!

 Ok the real reason we went to Vegas was to attend the Las Vegas temple. I had never attended this temple and really wanted to. I love the spirit of the temple and the contrast to Fremont Street was quite extreme. There is so much peace and comfort found at the temple. I prefer the peace at the temple a thousand times verses the worldly Fremont Street.

We laughed and laughed and we cried and cried. We shared memories, adventures and trials. A wonderful time

A-Z of IDAHO.

In an attempt to put a legit blog post, here are the highlights from our summer trip to beautiful Idaho.

I'll start with "A."

Awesome first fish ever caught by James. He went on to catch many more in Grandpa's pond.

Bouncey new trampoline! It was used for both jumping and sleeping at night. You can't go wrong with a trampoline!

Cutie Rissa!!

Decorating boulders for Grandpa's tree border.

Everyone painted!!!

Flowers were my first choice to paint--I had no chair available to paint.

Great celebration for Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Happy 40th Anniversary!!!

It was so nice to have most of the family together. Only Cory and Dustin were missing..and they were definitely missed!

Judds. Thats Big Judds.

Kids! Or rather teens!!...And a pound of burger and fries.

Luke and Nate wanted in on the Big Judd's challenge.

Minutes later...seriously 15 minutes later they were done!!

Nate didn't seem phased.

Open wide!!! Their pictures are now on wall of fame!

Photo bomb that I wish wasn't there. ugh. She is in every picture of Mark on the carousel. I guess that's what happens when the carousel is next to a splash pad.

 

Quilt squares that everyone helped decorate turned out so cute!

Rexburg temple is one of my favorite.

Someone has turned into quite a photographer. Ever since James took a class for a merit badge he has loved taking pictures.

This one was one of his favorites that he took in Idaho.

 

Unfortunately, Mark wasn't always happy about all of the pictures.

Very happy cousins. Ben and Rissa were almost inseparable. Cousins really are built in best friends.

 

Well...so are sisters.

X-tra special person missed me and send me beautiful flowers!!  I missed Cory too.

Ye-haw! We went to Virginia City in Montana and were able to see tons of history. For example, we learned some crazy things about how the gold rush was accompanied with lots...AND LOTS of hangings. This town had over 100 in 6 weeks.

Zoinks! We did eat in the park that had a lot of hangings.

 Shoot! I ran out of letters...ok I'm at A again.

At the bottom of the mountain that we were going to hike. In my youth I remember hiking this mountain that led to the Lewis and Clark Caverns and it was no big deal. It was just a quick little walk. It was only 3/4 of a mile but it was up a mountain side!

But the view at the top was spectacular!! And the caves were remarkable. I loved it! It was two hours of crawling through tunnels, sliding down walls..oh and 500 stairs going down and 100 stairs going up while we were in the caves! It was exhausting but so worth it!

Cubs at Bear World!

Darn he is growing tall!!

Even Mark is growing up..barely.

Fun fun fun!! I didn't know bear world had small amusement rides for the kids. They played on them for about an hour with the biggest smiles!! I loved watching them!

Great kids!

Happy memories!

I love them so much!

Joking around while we waited for the fireworks. They didn't go off until after 11, but well worth the wait.

Keeping in touch with Grandma Hanson-whom I was named after. Our visit was brief but very enjoyable. She told us stories about the anvil that was in her back yard when she was a young girl and how that anvil crossed the planes with the pioneers.  She also talked about the pioneers that smuggled their guns in the bellows of their blacksmith equipment.

Idaho was fantastic!! And if you read this far down without giving up, then you must love Idaho as well! Either that, or you would. I hope to visit again!!