Rockets Over Rhema 2014

Our church puts on a huge event called Rockets Over Rhema every year.

They have it the Sunday night before the 4th of July, which was last night.

cameraman

We went so that my husband could help with cameras for the Patriotic Tribute.

girls

patriotic

boys

dance

jump

done

After the tribute we went outside to walk around for a bit.

synergy

synergy2

carshow

stinkers

These stinkers did not cooperate for the picture…

jump2

watch

vespers

vespers2

vespers3

sun

watching3

vespers4

We left before the fireworks.

I know that seems odd but we would have to wait around for a really long time and we are not really into that.

We might be the only people that go to a 4th of July event and leave before the fireworks…

Insect Lore ~Butterfly Kit

 

caterpillar

It is really interesting to receive caterpillars in the mail.

comeout

I  actually bought the cage last summer but put off buying the caterpillars too long and than had to wait until this year to buy them.

We did not want to get them in the winter and be unable to release them.

cage

The boys were so excited about every stage.

close

reading

We have a book on the stages of a butterfly that my youngest wanted to read again when they started to come out of their chrysalides.

The boys were even able to watch one of the butterflies emerge from the chrysalis!

flowers

release

butterfly

butterfly2

Only one out of the five caterpillars had some trouble.

This butterflies wings did not develop correctly and it could not fly.

My oldest wanted to keep it safe in the cage but we ended up putting it in our flower garden instead.

spider

I could not help playing with this little guy while I had my macro lens on!

If you have a butterfly lover or are learning about butterflies this is a great kit!

 

Marshmallows vs. Gumdrops

marshmallows

After seeing this post on the Money Saving Mom site, I decided a toothpick and marshmallow structure would be a great idea for the boys to try.

building

I bought the marshmallows and toothpicks over a month ago but kept putting off getting them out.

I am lazy.

minehis

We broke them out finally when I chose a zoo trip on the day it was closed…

It helped curb the disappointment a bit.

Well, that and ice cream.

ours

Thankfully I keep the Magic School Bus dvd’s in the vehicle so they watched the one about building bridges called “The Magic School Bus Under Construction” on the way home from the zoo.

The boys got frustrated with how flimsy the marshmallows were.

Their buildings kept leaning and it got worse the warmer our house got.

gumdrops

Since the Magic School Bus episode used gum drops, I picked up a package at the store the next day.

gumdrops2

They liked them a lot better!

They were nice and sturdy and tasted good also!

gumdropbridge

They thought their bridge should be over water…

structures

I had them do a contest to see who could build the tallest structure.

My youngest won with the one on the left.

I have seen some amazing structures done with marshmallows and spaghetti on Pinterest!

I think the boys would break them easily and get discouraged but if you have older kids or a very patient child you should try it out!