I Wish I Were a Little Bar of Soap

BAR OF SOAP!


Oh, the fun that can be had with one bar of soap.  But, ivory soap, it must be!  Did you ever wonder what would happen if you microwaved a bar of ivory soap?

Well, first cut it up:

 Put it in for 1 minute:

 And, tada, it explodes marshmallow style!

 It is fantastic fun.  Let it cool a bit and then you can mold it.  It deflates and cools quickly and then it becomes quite crumbly.

 So, with all that crumbly soap, we decided to make "clean mud."  Just google and you can find some recipes.  Essentially, you shred toilet paper, grate up a bar of soap or just use the crumbles from your microwaved bar, and add warm water.  It seemed a little nutty at first, but it turns into this wonderful squishy, creamy mud.  And it smells lovely.

Finn and Josette thought the toilet paper shredding was grand fun in itself:

 Squish, squish.  Finn enjoyed subjecting his cars and trucks to muddy fun:

 Josette gave it a try:

 Finn thought she really needed it all over her:

 Fun times with my big brother:

Chickens in the Coop

There is quite a bit of work yet to be done on the coop, but the chickens have moved in and seem to be very happy with their new quarters.  They have taken to the roosting posts:

 They quickly got used to their new water and food set up:

 They love to dig into their litter of pine shavings and shredded newspaper:

 Finn is happy to visit them and feed them still:

 They are definitely big and needed the new room:

They still need nesting boxes and a door and run to venture outside.  We still need to get the roof shingles on and the outside door.  Plus, I want to paint and add some flair.  But it is looking great so far!

Father & Son Play Catch

Finn got Sean and himself baseball gloves for Father's Day.  Finn starts T-ball this summer and was excited to start practicing with his Dad.  A nice little game of catch:

A Little Finnbar Fashion

Finn has quickly taken to dressing himself and gets a kick out of sneaking into his room and getting dressed after breakfast and surprising us when he is done.  It is great to see him becoming independent in this matter and his pride in doing so.  He still gets things backwards here and there, typically forgets underwear, or will put on clothes that are not appropriate for the weather.  In most cases, we still just smile and applaud his efforts.  Often, things don't match very well either, but the other morning when he came out with this gem, I just couldn't stop my laughter.  What a combo:  red and blue plaid, with multi-colored pastel stripes.  Wow!

Another Summer Day, Another Lake

Still trying to beat the heat in NH, we headed to Jenness Pond yesterday to cool off.  Lily was thrilled to get to go swimming.

Josette practiced climbing up and going down the slide, over and over again:

She and Finn are really getting good and playing together:

Finn tried out a face mask:

This kiddo wants to swim.  He kept going further and further down the dock and asking if he could jump in:

Josette tried the face mask too:

A little flotation:

Finn had to try out the turtle with a splash:

5 Week Chickens & Coop Update

Ah, I forgot to do my weekly chicken post in all the excitement of the start of summer.  The chickens are continuing to grow and flourish.  I love the start of their combs:

 Finn still asks many, many times a day to hold and pet the chickens:

 Their feathers have pretty much all filled in and they are ready for the out of doors:

 They are getting a bit cramped in the brooder, but they actually like to all huddle together in one corner:

 This past weekend, much progress was made on the coop.  Papa came by to help with the roof:

 The siding went on:

 And, we ran short on boards!  Just five left to put on, a diving wall inside, and a door.  This weekend the chickens will have a new home!  Look for the big move post next week :)

Music in Prescott Park

Every summer, there is a most fantastic music series in Prescott Park at the seacoast.  It is a wonderful way to see some great music acts with the kids.  You can picnic in the park and run on the piers and listen to the music the whole time.  We had to go this past Wednesday for the opening concert of Melissa Ferrick and Ani DiFranco!  So wonderful!  We got there a bit early and Josette and Finn explored the piers with gusto, running and playing chase and "tickle monster."  Then, we settled in for a picnic, and ran about the park some more.  And, once again, Ani put on an amazing show.

Happy Solstice!

The summer solstice brought a heat wave to NH, so we hit the beach at our town lake.  Thank goodness for that cool water and kids who love it!