Spring Break Day 5 - FAVORITES DAY

For our FINAL day of Spring Break we had a FAVORITES DAY. This is always the kids' FAVORITE DAY of the week because they know they'll love everything we do. I put the word "FAVORITE" on the wall & let the kids each take turns picking a letter off. On the back of each letter was a FAVORITE ACTIVITY to do. Whoever picked that letter got to pick what we did exactly. They were SO EXCITED.

Lorien was the first one to pull a letter off our wall this morning. She picked the yellow "I" (which I knew she would). It said to do your FAVORITE ACTIVITY which of course is SWIMMING. So off to the pool we went straight after breakfast. The kids had a BLAST.

After swimming for OVER TWO HOURS, we went home, showered, got dressed AGAIN & were FINALLY ready for our day. I totally didn't plan on them wanting to swim for so long, but it's FAVORITE DAY so if that's what they wanted to do. . . then GREAT.

Taya pulled the "E" off the wall & it said to pick your favorite movie to watch together. Taya picked Barbie & a Mermaid Tale 2. It's brand new & our friend's let us borrow it. So we all cuddled on the couch & enjoyed an hour & a half of BARBIE. ha ha ha

By the time the movie was done, it was already past lunchtime & into nap time. We quickly made some lunches, ate, & got the little ones down for their naps. It was short naps again today so we could do more FAVORITE THINGS.

Bladen picked the letter "T" & on the back it said: Paint your nails your FAVORITE COLOR. Poor Bladen WOULD pick that one wouldn't he? He sat & watched as I painted the girls' nails. Cadence went for a rosy red, Lorien opted for gold & yellow (no surprise there), & Taya went for straight gold glitter. They looked adorable.

Cadence picked the letter "A" from our wall. It was time to do our FAVORITE PUZZLE. The kids really don't have a favorite puzzle, they just LOVE putting puzzles together period. So we got our biggest puzzle, a 100 piece princess puzzle, & put it together as a family.

After the puzzle it was snack time so we ate our FAVORITE SNACK: popsicles & ice cream sandwiches. Even I LOVED that.

It was Lorien's turn again & she picked the letter "R." It was time to read our FAVORITE BOOK. Lorien picked her favorite: Hop on Pop. The kids laughed & laughed. We all love Hop on Pop.

It was Taya's turn again. She was SO excited with the letter "V" turned out to be FAVORITE TOYS. I secretly bought each of them a new small toy (something inexpensive) & let them play with it for favorite toy time. They were SO excited they were SHAKING.

Both Bladen & Craiger got new cars to play with. Lorien got a pretty new Zooble unicorn & Taya got a little Tinkerbell polly pocket.

Cadence got a small Harry Potter Lego playset. She was in HEAVEN.

I didn't expect the kids to play with these new toys for OVER AN HOUR. It was getting late & we weren't going to be able to complete our last 2 favorite tasks: FAVORITE GAME & MAKE YOUR FAVORITE TREAT. It was okay. We had had a TON of fun.

Trek's car broke down so we all piled in & drove to Marina to pick him up & to jump his car. (Dumb cheap car) Once we got everyone home it was time for FAVORITE DINNER. We all wrote down our very favorite restaurant & food from that restaurant on pieces of paper. USUALLY when we do this, we wind up all over the place, but remarkably tonight there were only 2 restaurants written down. So we were off to Jersey's Subs & Taco Bell for FAVORITE FOODS.

Lorien & I opted for Jersey's Subs. They're a great little local sub shop in Seaside. We both got small sandwiches & I let Lorien get root beer & cheetos too. She was SO excited.

The rest of the gang was feeling Taco Bell tonight. Trek got a Doritos Taco & a Taco Salad, Cadence got a burrito, & the little ones each got a cheese roll up & a bowl of beans & cheese.

Then we took all our FAVORITE FOOD home to share it together as a family. This is our FAVORITE part. We share our food & let each other taste it, then we eat to our hearts content. It was a FABULOUS DAY.

Now I'm off for a good long winter's nap. Spring Break fun is done & so am I. ha ha ha.

Spring Break Day 4 - SCIENCE DAY

SCIENCE DAY is always one of my favorites. I come up with 5 science experiments to do with the kids & then organize them by color. I wrote each activity on the back of a colored piece of paper & hung it up on the wall.

Then I pour vinegar into 5 clear cups & set them aside. I take a cookie sheet & add 5 plastic spoons. I put 5 drops of food coloring on each spoon. . . to match the 5 colors I hung up on the wall. Then I top the coloring with enough baking soda to hide the colors so the kids don't know what they're picking. Oh, I & added blue glitter sprinkles to make it magical. When the kids pick a spoon & mix it into the cup of vinegar, the baking soda has a reaction that makes the cup foam over with colored vinegar. That's how they know what color they got. It's SO FUN.

Cadence got to pick the first spoon of the day. She couldn't wait to mix it with the vinegar & watch it fizz out of control. She got the red magic potion.

I was excited about this one: A HOMEMADE VOLCANO.

I knew this one was going to be time consuming so I was REALLY glad it got picked first. Trek hadn't left for school yet so he got to help us a little bit too which the kids REALLY loved. First we mixed the plaster with water until it became a paste. Then we poured it into the plastic volcano mold to harden.

Before it hardened, Trek put each of the kids' names in the bottom to MAKE IT THEIRS. It made it VERY SPECIAL. Then we put the volcano aside for a few hours to harden.

Lorien picked the blue potion on her turn. She was excited to do VINEGAR MAGIC.

I taught them how vinegar will clean just about anything: fruit, hard water stains, sinks, tubs, etc. I put some vinegar in a spray bottle & let them get to work on all my sinks. They had fun watching the hard water stains dissolve with the vinegar.

Taya got to pick the 3rd spoon. She picked the green magic potion. She LOVED the fizzing. She thought it was "really cool, mom! It's really cool."

When she pulled the green paper off the wall, it said

HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH

on the back. They all started jumping up & down at that. My kids LOVE play dough. I taught them a little about thickening agents & how flour will turn into a ball once it's cooked. . . hence play dough.

Then I let the kids play for a full hour.

While the little kids took their naps this afternoon, Cadence & Lorien got to work on our volcano. We got it out of it's mold & it looked pretty good. It was nice & hard & very sturdy.

They both spent a good hour and a half painting their mountain. They were determined to make a perfect volcano.

They did a fantastic job too. It was BEAUTIFUL.

After nap time it was Bladen's turn to make a magic potion. He chose the purple potion. I think it scared him a little bit when the fizz started to boil over. He was SO FUNNY in his facial expressions.

He couldn't wait to rip that purple paper off the wall to see what our activity would be.

COLOR WONDER.

We talked about chemical reactions (which is what color wonder is) & how certain things happen when certain chemicals are applied to them. That is why color wonder markers will ONLY appear on color wonder paper. My kids love to draw & color so this was a good long break/activity for them to do.

Cadence got to pick our 5th & final science project of the day. Her magic potion turned yellow so it was time for the yellow activity.

HOMEMADE BATH BOMBS.

I found this cute little set of make-it-yourself bath bombs online & bought it for today. Bath bombs are full of baking soda, corn starch, & citric acid. Mixed together properly, when water mixes with it, it starts to fizz & explode in a way. . . making a bath bomb in your bathtub.

All you do is mix the 3 powder ingredients together, add Sunflower Oil & Witch Hazel Oil into the powder. Then you add a flavored oil of your choice. We used Key Lime.

Then you mix it up really well with your fingers until it all feels like moist sand. You don't want it "wet" & you don't want it "dry" either. Just a happy medium of moist sand.

Then you put the moist mixture into any kind of soft mold. We did heart molds & cupcake molds for ours. You have to push it in REALLY tight (like you would when building a sand castle). Then you let it sit overnight. In the morning it will be nice & hard because all the moisture will have evaporated. Just throw it into the water the next time you take a bath & you have some fizzy fun.

We waited until Daddy came home to make our

HOMEMADE VOLCANO EXPLODE.

The kids were SO excited. We built a little town around our volcano & then did our science experiment. We put a spoonful of baking soda into our volcano & added the vinegar. Sure enough, it began to foam up & explode.

It wasn't the hugest explosion we've ever seen. . . actually it was kind of a dud, but it was fun. It made the kids laugh & that's all that mattered. The girls did a fantastic job at painting it & it looked really great.

Hooray for Science.

Tonight was Bladen's special night. We ate his favorite dinner: Hot Dogs (on the grill), baked beans, & chips. As you can see from the picture below, he loves it so much that it disappears almost as quickly as it's put on the plate. I didn't get a picture in time to see the beans because he ate them at lightning speed.

I love my little Bladen man because he's a STUD. How cute can you get? Seriously. He is such a fun little ball of energy & my life would not be complete without him. His hugs are the highlight of my mornings & his "I love you mommy" is the best part of my nights. His blond hair is magical & his sweet face is all I need to get me through my day.

I love you Mannos!

Our last day of Spring Break is tomorrow: FAVORITE'S DAY. I always save the BEST for last!