Nothing funny or interesting to report. I just emptied the camera memory card and thought I would post some of the best photos. Check out the web album here.
Max and Darwyn colouring
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
On the origins of gas
Max and I have been enjoying spending time together studying different science topics. Right now we are reading about space at Max's request, and we have been talking about the different planets. We started reading about Jupiter and learned that it was the biggest planet and composed entirely of gas. Max listened patiently as he always does when I read to him, but I thought there was no way that this gas thing made any sense to him.
Greta: Max, do you know what gas is?
Max: Yup. It comes out of daddy's bum.
I found this quite amusing, mostly because I wondered what he must think of Jupiter with this definition of gas in mind....
Greta: Well...yes, that is gas...one type of gas, but there are many types of gasses. Do you want to do an experiment?
Max enthusiastically agreed to this because he loves doing experiments. We went to the kitchen and measured a small amount of water into a measuring cup. We took careful note of how much water we had and then we poured it into a pan and started heating it. Soon it started to boil. I asked Max what he thought the bubbles were, we felt the steam and noticed how we could put our hand through it and also things that were liquid, but we couldn't put our hand through solid things. After we had boiled the water for awhile we put it back into the measuring cup and noticed that we had less water than before.
Greta: Max, where did our water go?
Max: (to my great surprise) It turned into steam.
I was thrilled with his comprehension and started giving myself a nice pat on the back for being such a fabulous science teacher. Then Max got a look of sheer delight as though all these ideas were finally falling in to place.
Max: And our tummy is boiling too!
Greta: (confused) what?
Max: We drink water and it goes into our tummy where it boils and makes gas. Then the gas comes out our bum!
Hmmm...not quite. But it was a fine piece of thinking and I didn't have the heart to shoot it down...so I just told Max what a smart idea that was and maybe we can think about it more when we start talking about how our bodies work. So now my kid thinks our stomachs boil...so much for being a good science teacher.
Greta: Max, do you know what gas is?
Max: Yup. It comes out of daddy's bum.
I found this quite amusing, mostly because I wondered what he must think of Jupiter with this definition of gas in mind....
Greta: Well...yes, that is gas...one type of gas, but there are many types of gasses. Do you want to do an experiment?
Max enthusiastically agreed to this because he loves doing experiments. We went to the kitchen and measured a small amount of water into a measuring cup. We took careful note of how much water we had and then we poured it into a pan and started heating it. Soon it started to boil. I asked Max what he thought the bubbles were, we felt the steam and noticed how we could put our hand through it and also things that were liquid, but we couldn't put our hand through solid things. After we had boiled the water for awhile we put it back into the measuring cup and noticed that we had less water than before.
Greta: Max, where did our water go?
Max: (to my great surprise) It turned into steam.
I was thrilled with his comprehension and started giving myself a nice pat on the back for being such a fabulous science teacher. Then Max got a look of sheer delight as though all these ideas were finally falling in to place.
Max: And our tummy is boiling too!
Greta: (confused) what?
Max: We drink water and it goes into our tummy where it boils and makes gas. Then the gas comes out our bum!
Hmmm...not quite. But it was a fine piece of thinking and I didn't have the heart to shoot it down...so I just told Max what a smart idea that was and maybe we can think about it more when we start talking about how our bodies work. So now my kid thinks our stomachs boil...so much for being a good science teacher.
Winter wonderland....and cows
This past weekend we dragged our children, aupair Angel and his girl friend Consuelo to the river to experience winter as it truly is...SNOWY. This year we have had an incredible amount of snow in Waterloo and the snow is always even deeper near Gus's parent's river property. Each year it is fun to go up to the river and see the mushrooms of snow on top of whatever furniture we forgot to put away before the snow came. It is especially beautiful to look at the ice sculptures made from the millions of tiny waterfalls escaping from the rock cliffs into the river.
Despite this beauty, we rarely visit the river in the winter, especially with kids. We have to haul all our possessions in a kilometer from the road, dig out the cabin (there was 1 meter of snow blocking the doors) and light fires, all this with two toddlers in tow. And then we are confined to the 100 square foot cabins for the rest of the weekend. I always imagine hours spent outside building snow forts and tobogganing down the big hill to the river, but Darwyn starts crying the instant you set her in the snow and Max doesn't care for tobogganing because he might get snow in his face. Not that it matters, the snow was so deep and fluffy that any toboggan would sink a foot deep into the snow the instant you sat on it. And so it goes that we rarely get up to the river in the winter anymore.
Fortunately, we have made some new friends at the river that, this year and last, offered us the use of a beautiful extra house that they happen to have lying around. They built it a couple of years ago as a retirement home and then forgot that they were going to retire. Ah well, our gain. So we've made it a yearly tradition to go up to the river once in the winter. This year,we made a couple of trips to the barn to see the animals, climb on the hay bales and play in the tractors. And we also got to visit the beautiful river oasis without having to backpack in two days worth of gear.
It was especially fun this year because we could show off winter, real winter, (not that..oh we have snow on a mountain in Spain stuff that Angel is always talking about) to our Spanish Au pair and his Chilean girl friend (although Chile apparently also gets real winter...but in the summer....they are all backwards there). Also that gave us extra adults so we could stay up late playing board games. The whole weekend would have been idyllic if our children had slept at all...oh well.
Anyway, this doesn't make much of a story, so I will stop talking now and just post some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
Despite this beauty, we rarely visit the river in the winter, especially with kids. We have to haul all our possessions in a kilometer from the road, dig out the cabin (there was 1 meter of snow blocking the doors) and light fires, all this with two toddlers in tow. And then we are confined to the 100 square foot cabins for the rest of the weekend. I always imagine hours spent outside building snow forts and tobogganing down the big hill to the river, but Darwyn starts crying the instant you set her in the snow and Max doesn't care for tobogganing because he might get snow in his face. Not that it matters, the snow was so deep and fluffy that any toboggan would sink a foot deep into the snow the instant you sat on it. And so it goes that we rarely get up to the river in the winter anymore.
Fortunately, we have made some new friends at the river that, this year and last, offered us the use of a beautiful extra house that they happen to have lying around. They built it a couple of years ago as a retirement home and then forgot that they were going to retire. Ah well, our gain. So we've made it a yearly tradition to go up to the river once in the winter. This year,we made a couple of trips to the barn to see the animals, climb on the hay bales and play in the tractors. And we also got to visit the beautiful river oasis without having to backpack in two days worth of gear.
It was especially fun this year because we could show off winter, real winter, (not that..oh we have snow on a mountain in Spain stuff that Angel is always talking about) to our Spanish Au pair and his Chilean girl friend (although Chile apparently also gets real winter...but in the summer....they are all backwards there). Also that gave us extra adults so we could stay up late playing board games. The whole weekend would have been idyllic if our children had slept at all...oh well.
Anyway, this doesn't make much of a story, so I will stop talking now and just post some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
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| I just like this picture |
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| Our total snow get up. It is the rare stroller that would allow you to move your kids around in 3 ft of snow! It is hard to see, but the chariot is outfitted with skis! |
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| Angel's first attempt at snow shoes (and we stuck a chariot behind him). It was a little tough getting started. |
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| This picture would have been adorable if it weren't for that stupid flap on his toque. I promise his expression shows his thrill. |
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| We got to ride the pony, Star. Unfortunately, she refused to move. |
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| Darwyn enjoying cheese and posing for the camera |
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| More posing for the camera.... |
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| This is the entrance to the river property. Can you find the gate? |
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| Consuelo in front of the winter falls |
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| And Angel in front of the winter falls |
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| This picture isn't so fabulous...but I thought the snow on top of the outdoor shower really demonstrates how the snow tends to mushroom on top of everything. Also you can see how deep the snow is....note that the snow on the shower is farther away from the camera than Angel, but it is about half his height. |
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| Here I am behind a mound of snow that had piled up in front of the kitchen overhang.... it made a great fort. |
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| Consuelo and the kids attempting to warm up around the non-existent fire. |
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| The mill in winter. No one wanted to try diving through the chute. |
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| Gus and the mill |
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| Max with snow in his mitt. |
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