Giant Bubbles

As Jill and Brad's visit is nearing an end, I had one last activity I wanted to do with the kids before they head back to up-state NY. Bubbles are always such fun, so when I saw these GIANT bubbles I knew I had to give them a try!

Ryan caught on quickly and was making some pretty impressive bubbles in no time.

.Shae was delighted to make such big bubbles all by herself!

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I found the instructions at a great blog called Tatertots and Jello who tweaked the instructions from a blog called Down Memory Lane.

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Purified water, a clear dish detergent and glycerin are all that is needed for the bubble solution.  I had a really hard time finding liquid glycerin.  The two crafts stores in our area (AC Moore and Michael's) do not carry it.  They suggested a pharmacy but none of our pharmacies carried the kind we needed.  I finally found it at Whole Foods.

I followed the recipe from Tatertots and Jello but added more water as the liquid was a bit too heavy.  Apparently humidity has a lot to do with good bubble making and since it is so humid here in August, thinner was better.

Here is what I used to make the

Bubble Solution

1 Gallon Purified Water (original recipe called for 12 cups)

5 cups Unscented and uncolored Dish-washing Soap ( I used Palmolive)

1/2 cup Glycerin (I found mine at Whole Foods in the Body Department)

1. Pour the water into a bucket. I used a clean plastic container.
2. Pour the dish-washing soap into the water. Then mix it gentle with a wooden spoon.
3. Pour the glycerin in. Mix gently again. You don't want ANY bubbles.

Making the wands with Raiders help!

We made the wand exactly as described on Tatertots and Jello

Making the Wands

2 Wooden Dowels ( we used 24" dowels that we had in the garage)

2 Eye screws

4 Washers

Cotton String (we used kitchen twine) (Tatertots and Jello started out with 20 pound weight butchers string but found that it was too thick, so ended up using 3 pound weight string she found at Home Depot)

1. Drill a hole in the end of the dowel.
2. Screw the Eye Hook into the hole you just drilled until it is secure.
3. Cut a 100 inch piece of cotton string. And another piece of string that is 70 inches. (you can make the string as long or short as you like -- as long as one string is longer than the other -- we wanted our bubbles BIG)
4. Put the four washers through the 100 inch string.
5. Put the ends of both pieces of string through one of the eye hooks and tie a knot. Do the same thing on the other eye hook. Now you should have a long string and a shorter one that runs from one dowel to the other.

Now for the Fun part:

Making Giant Bubbles

1. Take your bucket outside.
2. Put the end of the dowels in the bucket and the string should be submerged. 
3. Bring the ends of the dowels up from the bubble solution, together until about chest high.
4. Then separate the dowels by pulling them outward so the string makes a triangle -- pointing down. The washers will weigh the center of the bottom string down.
5. Step backward quickly so that the air goes through the bubble solution between the dowels and makes a bubble. 

We had to give it a few tries before getting the hang of making the bubbles but as you can see, even little Shae was able to master it.

Thank you so much Tatertots and Down Memory Lane for your posting these great tutorials!

Sugar and Spice & Everything Nice...

Our time with our NY grandkids is quickly coming to an end.  On their list of 'want-to-do's' was to have a sleepover with their cousin Keri.

So after a day of play, it was jammies, popcorn and a movie, brushed teeth with princess toothpaste, lots of giggles and ready for sleep!

well, sort of...

They tried (I think) to settle down, but one-by-one a little girl was separated to a different location if sleep was ever to occur.

Then awake early to fuel up for another day full of running and playing together.

♥

I was able to cram in one last activity before they hit the road tomorrow morning.  I will post about it tomorrow as I remember the special times we spent and how blessed we are for their wonderful visit.

Bienvenue à Paris!

Keri celebrated her 7th birthday today with a French flair!

Brothers, Noah, Silas & Caleb took the role of servers to the young ladies

Pâtisseries, croissants, Madeline's and French Onion Soup were menu items

Precious faces of attending guests

Purchasing bouquet de fleurs with the Euros they were each given.

Posing as the Mona Lisa

A few of Keri's special people!

More precious faces

A few of the grown-ups

What bébé doesn't love a little dark pink frosting on occasion.

Happy Birthday, Dear Keri!

Love, Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop

♥

On the Boardwalk

Last night we met up with Jill and Brad who are spending the week in Ocean City as youth group leaders. We were introduced to their pastors, friends and kids from the youth group and then headed off for an evening on the boards.

The scrambler was a favorite!

Who doesn't love the carousel!

Were we shocked when we saw the size of this pizza!  They said it was big but we didn't expect it to be as big as the table!  yummm... there wasn't a slice left when we were finished :O

 Still lots to do before the family heads back to NY on Saturday.

Then it is rest time for Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop!

I think we're ready for a long winters nap

♥

Not Perfect but BEAUTIFUL!

That's what these little girls thought of their finished butterfly cake!

A work of editable art! For the butterflies body, the recipe called for a candy stick which we did not have.  A straw was our quick substitute.

Summertime fun making their own colorful butterfly cake with bright sugars and candy pieces.

Serious work going on here as well as the irresistible urge to lick ones finger

Recipe from Betty Crocker booklet

Super Moist Cake Mix Recipes 

April 2004

 

Butterfly Cake

• Ingredients
• 1  box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
• Platter, tray or foil-covered cardboard (about 10x10 inches)
• Frosting and Decorations
• 1  container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
• 1  candy stick (8 to 10 inches long)
• Food color (in desired colors)
• Betty Crocker® decorating gel (from 0.68-oz tube) in any color
• Decorating sugar crystals (any color)
• 8  jelly beans
• Small round candy decorations

1. Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for 2 (8- or 9-inch) round cake pans. Wrap and freeze 1 layer for a later use.
2. Cut cake in half crosswise; cut each half into 1/3 and 2/3 pieces (as shown in diagram). Place cake pieces on platter to form butterfly. Gently separate cake pieces to form wings.
3. Reserve 1/2 cup frosting. Frost cake pieces with remaining frosting. Place candy stick between cake pieces for butterfly body.
4. Stir food color into reserved frosting until well blended. Spread over cake in desired pattern on wings. Outline wing patterns with gel. Sprinkle with sugar crystals. Place jelly beans on corners of wings. Decorate butterfly with candy decorations.

At the Park

When you wake up to a sky like this...

and a break in the heat and humidity...

you just know it would be a perfect day....

to take a bunch of grandchildren to the park

so they can make silly faces

and do boy stuff

like slamming the ball

like Pop-Pop

 

ready to catch his fly ball

and lovin' on baby

amused by her complaining about crawling in the grass

a toothless smile

a picnic lunch

watching crystal clear water trickling  in a stream

investigating

climbing bars

playing on swings

climbing trees

 splashing in water

Enjoying our daughter

and each other

♥

Jill, Brad and Ryan left yesterday for a week at the beach with their youth group.  Brenna and Shaela are spending the week here with us.  We have a fun filled week planned that includes tea parties, cousin sleep over, cookie making, cake baking, bubble maker constructing, boardwalk visit and a Paris birthday Party for Keri.  Whew... hope I can get a nap or two!