Weekend Recap

We have had another fun, busy weekend.
For the past few weekends we have been doing farm work. Some friends just bought a new house with about 5 acres and needed a place to put their horses. So one weekend we helped them build fence-line and make a paddock. The next weekend John and Odin went back to start building a shelter for the horses. They had troubles finding the materials on a Saturday so they didn't get a whole lot done. I was at another farm (where I ride) that day clearing blackberry vines, hauling wood chips and dismantling beaver dams.

This weekend was no different. Most of it was spent at the farm building a lean to for one of the horses. Saturday we spent all day mostly in the rain working on the shelter. Odin ran amock on the farm, mostly finding nice juicy mud holes.
Sunday morning we woke up and had some pumpkin cinnamon rolls before carving up our pumpkins. Then it was back to the farm to finish the lean to. We finished just in time to drive our to the beach and do a little clam digging (more on that later!). It was a late night driving home and John and I both noted how much fun we had over the weekend. Good thing too, our friends still need to build their lean to!

Mentos

Ages ago I bought a pack of mint Mentos to make the diet cola geyser. They have been sitting in a drawer waiting. They have been waiting until it was going to rain. You see, we live on a cul de sac and the plan was to do this experiment in the middle of the street. However I did not want everything to be covered in sticky cola mess for a long time. The rain has finally returned to western Wa.  The other evening we pulled the Mentos out of the drawer.

It is super explosive and cool. We had a slight misfire, as the Mentos did not all drop at the same time. Therefore I failed to get an "action picture". Odin was afraid it was going to explode laterally, and  was running away as it went off. I will do this one again for sure! Only next time I will be ready.

Fund Run 2012

Friday was the big fall fundraiser for Odin's school. They do a Fund Run. The kids get pledges for running wither per lap or a fixed amount. Then on the day of the event they run! There were parents cheering kids on, helping to mark down laps, and taking pictures. John and I were both able to go. He was one of the cheering parents, I was one of the photographing ones!

Odin ran 17 laps around the school track about 3.5 miles!

Stretching with Spirit

A stretch after the run.

Fun things

The boys joined me at the farm one day to help give Zarah a bath. I thought it was going to be one of the last nice days. I was very wrong. They have all been nice days since. . .  That is supposed to change next week.

 Odin had fun stacking the barrels, then knocking them over.

Do you remember the pictures of the cool fort  / curtains I made for Odin's new loft bed? They looked like this:

He still prefers to sleep here:

We went to a sandcastle festival this summer. Highlights were a big pile of sand to play in
and a touch tank (with crabs!)

October? REALLY?

It has continued to be dry and sunny here. Pretty strange indeed. It is cooling off in the evenings lately and supposed to be in the high 30's tonight. But this afternoon in was in the low 70's, just lovely.

The other evening after dinner we went for a bike ride and we all commented on how beautiful the evening was. The temperature was perfect. The scattered clouds in the sky were reflecting the beautiful pinks and oranges of the setting sun.Odin rides at the same speed that we do now. And when he wants to he goes crazy fast.

This evening after dinner we made a few baking soda / vinegar rockets. My sister sent us some tiny plastic test tubes (with stoppers) filled with candy. Odin enjoyed the candy then thought to blast the test tubes into the sky. They worked way better than the film canister rockets ever did for us. One of then blasted about 20 feet high!

We also used the baking soda volcano that Odin made a few months ago. I thought I had some pictures, but I need to search a bit more . . .