Random Summer Activities

Not too much is going on here other than enjoying the lazy days of summer. The boys have been going to day camp and are looking forward to a visit to Texas in a few weeks.

Last week Evan went to art camp. The instructors showed the children how to use a different medium each day. They did projects using acrylic paint, watercolor paint, clay, and pastels. 

On the day that Evan did the clay projects, he told me that in order to last, they had to be baked. He handed me an instruction sheet and I saw that it had instructions for air drying and baking. Wanting to bake the items, I followed the instructions in the baking section. I put them in the oven, set the timer, etc. After about 45 minutes I heard a really loud popping sound come from the kitchen. I turned the light on in the oven and saw that one of the items that he made had exploded.

I then looked more closely at the directions and realized that the clay items were supposed to be air dried for several days AND THEN baked. I let everything cool and then a few hours later was able to pick up the big pieces of clay out of the oven and the vacuum cleaner picked up the rest, so there was no permanent damage done.

Collection of Evan's art projects.

Clay cat, pencil holder, cup and turtle.

Speaking of pops, Todd was using my computer on Sunday afternoon, heard a pop and the whole computer shut down. Being an electronic genius, Todd opened it up to see if he could find out what was wrong and fix it. Since I need a computer for my business we had plan A, fix the computer and plan B, buy another computer that evening. He did some investigating and initially thought that it was a problem with the power supply. He also then took out the video card and saw that some caps had popped. 

We went to the electronics store and bought a new video card and power supply. We also looked at the new computers just in case the computer couldn't be fixed. Todd first put in the video card and turned on the computer. Nothing happened. He then changed out the power supply and bingo, the computer started whirring and came back to life. I was relieved because starting over with a new computer is a LOT of work. Thanks, Honey!

I never realized there was so much empty space in the computer. Todd says it is for air circulation.

Service with a smile!

Father's Day Weekend

The weather has been really steamy, so we did a lot of "inside" activities this Father's day weekend like watching movies. On Saturday, the boys and I ventured out and went to see The Karate Kid. It was full of action and we all loved it. After the movie, I did my "mom thing" and pointed out some of the lessons in the movie like the importance of following your heart, showing determination and having persistence when working toward a goal. I can only hope that some of it sinks in!

On Sunday morning the boys gave Todd his Father's day presents. A few days earlier I suggested to Evan that he make a card to go along with the presents. His card ended up being a scrap of paper that said, "Happy Father's Day, Love, Evan and Chad." It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but Todd appreciated the effort.

Todd opening his Father's Day presents.

Todd showing off his "elaborate" card from the boys and Chad giving him some love.

I love my Daddy!

Science Experiments

The boys love science experiments, so they always enjoy it when my friend, Coach, comes to our house and brings surprises. On her latest visit, she brought some plastic poppers, gyroscopes and supplies for a baking soda/vinegar experiment.

To conduct the experiment, she put some vinegar in a water bottle and some baking soda in a balloon. She then put the balloon on the bottle and the boys were supposed to lift up the balloon and dump all of the baking soda into the vinegar and watch the result of the chemical reaction. Below is a snippet of some of the fun.

Everyone is ready for some action.

Todd hanging out at a safe distance.

Cartoon Boys & Big Helper

We were at a store recently that sold  eye glasses. Chad and Evan were trying them on and acting goofy, so I had to take a couple of photos. I then got an application on my phone that turns photos into cartoons (Toon Paint). I couldn't resist using those photos to experiment with the program. These were my first try, so they aren't perfect, but we all thought they are hilarious.

Cartoon Chad

Cartoon Evan

Now that summer is here, the grass is growing like crazy. Chad was a big help yesterday and mowed the back yard while Todd did the front. Way to go, Chad. We appreciate your help!

The grass was pretty tall, so Chad had to take it slow.

Check out the our neighbor's pretty garden in the background.

Boat Launch & Organization

Todd took the boys to see a new boat being launched on Saturday. It was quick and you can hear Evan's comment, "That was it?"

Evan also spent some time organizing his shells and rocks. I was so proud and have been telling him that the label maker is an organized person's friend.

Evan was so proud of his labels...he snuck my label maker and did them on his own.

Evan posing by his newly organized shelf.