Bubbles

Bubbles are the best - so easy, so cheap, and SO much fun.  Kate asked for bubbles one day this week and while we were outside with the regular bubbles, I thought she would enjoy the bubble machine even more.  She did, and so did Boo!

 She held on to that bubble wand for almost all of our bubble play time.

Boo got a bit of a workout chasing and chomping the bubbles.

Here are two short videos of our bubble play; I love the way Kate says the bubbles are "so wonderful":

Boo was funny with the bubble machine:

It was nice to have some real spring weather this week because Kate and Boo always want to be outside, and being outside on a nice day is much better than being out in the cold!  Hooray for spring and bubbles!

Frozen Bubbles

I have wanted to try to make frozen bubbles for years, but I either didn't have bubble solution left from the summer or the weather didn't cooperate.  Well, it has been VERY cold, and I saw bubble solution on sale at Target yesterday.  That's a double win!

After school yesterday, Reagan attempted to blow frozen bubbles without any luck.  I did some research and found that warming the bubble solution first provides the best results.  Reagan and Ellie braved the frigid polar vortex this morning to try again with warm bubble solution.

I put the bubble containers in a bowl of hot water for a while before they went outside.

At first we didn't think it was working, but the girls caught a few bubbles on the wands and they froze before our eyes!

This picture is very blurry, but you can actually see the bubbles in the process of freezing.

Here is a bubble on Reagan's wand that froze as we watched.

The frozen bubbles aren't solid like ice; they are kind of gelatinous and remind me of the bubbles we used in the past that you can grab.

When the bubbles fell to the ground, they shattered, and that was also kind of cool.

Kate wanted to join the fun in the worst way.  I bundled her all up, but the second we got outside she took her mittens off.  She blew two or three bubbles, and returned to the warm house!

Yesterday, a few people asked me how we have time for activities before school.  I was specifically asked what time I wake up and how we manage to do fun stuff so early.  I am usually up around 6:00, and the kids are usually up by 7:00.  If they take the bus, they leave the house at 8:00; if I drive them or we walk, they have to be at school by 8:50.  Ellie (our neighbor) comes over at 7:20 every morning.  After giving them breakfast, and packing lunches, we usually have about thirty minutes on the days they take the bus.  I try to have something fun for them to do to start the day; I think it's nice to head off to school with something fun on their minds rather than just sitting in front of the television.  I'm also fortunate that I don't usually have to rush out and I'm still in my pajamas setting up any activities.  Nothing we do before school is very elaborate (although a few of the activities have been more complex than I expected, and those required more than just one morning), and most of the activities only take a few minutes to plan and execute.  Also, most of the time the activities are so simple that they aren't even blog-worthy.  Sometimes the kids choose not to do the planned activity, and that is fine too!  Reagan and Ellie played a game yesterday instead of making bird feeders, and Collin wasn't interested in being out in the cold today.  I know that mornings can be difficult for some people, and not everyone has time to play before school, but we are very lucky that mornings are only mildly chaotic here, and we usually have time for fun.  If it makes for a positive start to their day, then it's well worth the few minutes it takes me to plan something fun!!!

Bubbles Finale

Two bubble treats that are rare around here make for the perfect end to a bunch of bubble fun.

Bubbles - Part Five

Maybe because it's not typically allowed, but blowing chocolate milk bubbles is WAY more fun than you would think!  I didn't actually blow any of my own milk bubbles, but just watching Collin and Reagan have a sanctioned milk bubble blowing contest was a blast for me!!!

Just in case you are wondering who won, Collin's mass of bubbles was higher, but Reagan's bubble mass had the most coverage.  In the end, they both won because I cleaned up all of the mess while they enjoyed glasses of chocolate milk!

Bubbles - Part Three

 If you leave bubble wrap in different spots around your house, it will be popped!!  Who can resist it?  I found myself jumping on it a few times!

Bubbles - Part One

We haven't had any theme fun in a while, so I thought we should try at least one theme before the summer ends.  I looked around at what I had on hand, and decided our theme could be BUBBLES!

 I saw these bubbles and just had to try them.  Bubbles that last and last and can be held in your hand?  Sounds cool!  They did not disappoint.  The girls and I had fun playing with them.

In the above photo, you can see how the bubbles just sat on the deck.  They were very neat.  It was fun to have bubbles that didn't pop immediately.

You can see there is a bubble in Reagan's hand, and several tiny bubbles in her hair.  They just kind of sat in her hair or on her hand like that for the longest time.

Of course this type of bubble was no more exciting to Kate than a regular bubble, but she was happy trying to catch them.  A few landed on her, but she could not grab them and keep them in bubble form.

If you are not careful, these bubbles squish.  That's right, they don't pop like normal bubbles, they squish.  They feel kind of like dried up glue.  The bubble residue remained in our hair , on our clothes, and on the deck, but it washed away just fine.