Brian Regan Funny Man

No matter how many times I watch this, I still laugh! 

Baking Soda and Vinegar Rockets

This is great fun!

Add vinegar. . .

Prepare and slide the baking soda packet into the bottle. . . 

Quickly cork the bottle and set it upside down in place. . .

Back away. . .

Wait for it. . .

Blast off ! ! !

Retrieve the bottle and go again!

Supplies:  
Baking soda
Vinegar
Toilet paper squares
Plastic bottle
Cork

Fill the bottle with about an inch of vinegar.  Put about a table spoon of baking soda in the center of the T.P. square.  Fold the paper around the baking soda into a neat little packet that will be narrow enough to fit through the opening in the bottle.  Working quickly, drop the T.P./baking soda packet into the bottle, cork it, place it upside down on the predetermined launch pad, and back away.  Be patient, it will be worth it. 

It's best to use a strong plastic bottle of the ~16 oz. variety that can be found in the recycling bin.  I found corks at an army surplus store near Idaho Falls, but I've heard that you can get them on eBay, Amazon, Lowes, Etsy, Craft stores. 

Coincidence

  

What are the odds that when my car broke down in the Walmart parking lot, that within five minutes our mechanic would walk by and fix the car. If either of us would have gone shopping at any time other than at that little span of time or parked anywhere else, I would have missed him.  I've heard that there are no coincidences. 

*""President Monson often says, “There are no coincidences” as he makes the point that his experiences in life have taught him to always look for the Lord’s hand. ""     

Yesterday was one of those times when I was reminded that I am not alone.  Often I have had to struggle with car trouble and work out a solution to the problem, but, yesterday - yesterday I saw a **tender mercy. 

*Thomas S. Monson, in To the Rescue, 60.  Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

**Pslams 119:77

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/03/have-i-done-any-good-in-the-world-today?lang=eng#footnote7-10403_000_015

Father, Jesus, Spirit - Campfire Round

This is a favorite Girl's Camp round that is fun to sing around the fire right before bedtime.  It seems to calm everyone and hopefully end the day.  Listen to the sound recording to get a feel for the tune and where the parts come in.  Yep, it is being sung by real girls campers.

Father, Jesus, Spirit

(Girl's Camp-Campfire Round)

Father I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

Jesus, I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

Spirit, I adore you,

and I lay my life before you,

How I love you.

by Terrye Coelho

Calvin and Hobbes

There is more than the food chain to the purpose of life.  Check this out.

http://www.mormon.org/faq/purpose-of-life

Dip, Dip, Dip

Ages: 6+

Number of players: 3 -15~

Supplies: concentration and reflexes

Object: be the last player in the circle

Stand in a circle. The leader will put their hands together (like praying hands) and use them for a pointer.  Aiming at someone in the circle, they say "dip, dip, dip".  That person will pass the "dip" on by aiming their hands at someone else and repeating "dip, dip, dip".  And on and on the dip is passed randomly through the circle. 

Meanwhile, the two players standing on either side of the person who is saying "dip, dip, dip" will put their hands together (praying hands again) and do a sideways tree chopping motion toward the person saying "dip, dip, dip", but say  "dippity, dippity, dip", instead and at the same time.  There will be a rhythm and it has to be maintained.  If you mess up and break the rhythm you step out of the circle and the game starts up again where it left off.  When you are down to two players, they do a "rock, paper, scissors" play off to decide the winner.  Then, everyone hops back in the circle and you go again. 

Details:  "dippity, dippity, dip" begins after the first  "dip, dip, dip" is passed. The first one is just to begin the game.  Once the rhythm is broken and you start the game back up.  Be ready for when someone dips the person next to them. It gets exciting.

Battleship for Free

click here for more printable games-

Great for Road Trips with kids!

You can make your own gameboards for this by drawing two 10x10 grids for each player. Lable one grid as "my ships" and the other as "enemy ships".  Number each column 1-10, and lable the rows as letters A-J. (Or print the template sheets above).

How to Play: 

Ships: size Aircraft carrier  Battleship Cruiser Destroyer Submarine 5 4 3 2 3

Plot all of your ships on your grid by drawing an outline of each onto the grid according to its size (ex: size 3 = 3 blocks).  Ships may not overlap.  Don’t let your enemy see your ships! 

Take turns firing upon your enemy by calling out plot points (example: "A-5") and marking them as “hit” (X) or “miss” (dot) on your enemy ships plot according to your enemy’s reply. 

When your enemy fires upon you, say "hit" or "miss", mark your ships with an X when they are hit.  When your ship is sunk, you must say, “You sank my ____!”  (fill in the name of your ship type). 

The first person to sink all of their enemy’s ships wins! 

Here is a printable battleship template with a grid on it for playing road trip Battleship.  This a two-player game for older kids who can read numbers and letters. It's a printable version of a traditional pen and paper battleship game that dates back pre-WWI.  It was made into a popular board game board game in the 1930's.

http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html

The Best of Tim Conway

Get your day going with a smile :)

If your short on time, go to the 5 minute mark.

click picture to read a great article about Tim Conway growing up.

Pie to Die For

My mom always told me that making pie crust is tricky.  She said that you should never work the dough too long or it will be tough and chewy.  You should always try for a light, flaky crust.  I don't make pie very often because it's a lot of work, but I do know what to watch for in a good crust.  This knowledge really came in handy when the neighbors, Tom and Wendy (names changed for their protection)  invited me and my husband over for homemade pie.  Wendy has the physique of a fabulous cook, and the pie was evidence of her skill.  I complemented her on her wonderful crust.  She said that the secret to great crust was to use lard.  She also explained that it is really hard to find lard in the stores anymore.  

A few days later, I was out grocery shopping and saw a stock pile of lard in the refrigerated section.  I made a mental note to tell Wendy where she could get lard for her pies. 

The next time I saw her was at a formal church dinner.  We, the neighbors and two other couples, were all dressed up and seated around an elegant table.  Then I remembered - I had to share my discovery.  I spoke across the table to Wendy and said, "Wendy, I saw some lard and thought of you!"  Shock and disbelief was on all the faces and there was nothing I could say to recover from my ill worded complement.  

The Cross Walk

Today, I was coming home after dropping my daughter off at the High School.  I stopped at the cross walk to let two teen boys go across the street. The red-head did a thank you wave to me as he went across, even in the presence of his friend.  It made me smile.  Ok, maybe my daughter can go out with that kid--a, when she's older.