Eliza Wren aka "Baby Sister"

Violette is in love with Baby Sister. The day after she first saw her Violette begged for Baby Sister all day long! She is constantly asking about her.

This little girl is constantly on the go - there is no down time until she crashes.

Memorial Day

We had a nice relaxing Memorial Day. We went to our favorite river spot and played in the mud.

Violette played more in the mud than the water. I finally gave up on trying to get the mud off of her swim suit.

Oliver has been begging to go off this rope swing since we first found it. Usually this area of the river is crowded with teenagers, so we don't hang out much there. When Oliver saw it was open we let him try it out.

Oliver loved it. This was his last swing, and he panicked a little.

Beaker bubblin bubble bustin backyard birthday bash

While we were waiting for all the guest to arrive we had a contest to see who could build the strongest tower.

The Trockel fam watching a failed experiment. We had 2 bad experiments. I guess I should have tried them before everyone came.

The colors were fun to watch as they combined and moved, once the q-tip (dipped in soap) touched the milk and food coloring.

The kids LOVED the rocket. Never a dull moment when Uncle Chris is around.

It was amazing how high it went. I love the kids faces.

I loved the self inflating balloons with vinegar, water, and baking soda.

Another favorite - the "Lava Lamps". During one of the experiments Jamal said, "BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!"

I couldn't have done this party with out help! Even with Ryan, Momma Lee and Papa Lee, and Chris and Rozannah it was still a crazy party.

There is only one place in Buffalo that sells dry ice. It took me 2 weeks to finally find it. Any guesses where I found it? A welding supply warehouse. So if you need some for your party and the grocery store doesn't sell it, unlike where everyone on the wonderful www said it would be sold, you could try there first.

The dry ice bubbles were a challenge to play with. Only a couple of kids could throw them up and catch them, but everyone wanted to try (and of course everyone said they could do it). I love the confidence of children!

I didn't get a picture of the big bubble, but this was their reaction when it finally popped.

So I might have panicked a little when Papa Lee said, "Don't try this at home" and started chipping away at the dry ice with all the kids around.

The cake was unbelievable, thanks to Rozannah, Momma Lee and Papa Lee.

The classic Coke and Mentos experiment. I wish I could say this was the messiest experiment but it wasn't. We also made slime, what a dumb idea. Who ever thought of that should be fired from birthday party planning. Somehow we didn't get a picture of it.

Before bed we had to do just a few more big bubbles.

Little Mother Hen

Violette is the best helper when Solo is here.

out of the mouth of babes

So I have to admit when I read the first line I may have raised my voice and said, "I am NOT 43 years old!"