Easy, Efficient, Clean Bird Feeders

Today we will make bird feeders by using the following:: Toilet paper rolls (withOUT the toilet paper),peanut butter and birdseed.

DIE-rections:: Smear the peanut butter all over the toilet paper roll. Then roll it in the bird seed, making sure that the seeds stick all over the roll. You can really press hard. After you do that, double check to make sure there isn't any peanut butter showing. Once you have gotten all the spots covered, you should use a ladder and hang the feeder in a tree. (You are not limited to make only one. Make as many as you please.)

Conclusion:: It is a healthy meal for birds. I hope you have fun making it! It should only take 10 minutes so you can make lots in a day! Have fun!!!!!

Spinning EGGS!!!

This is a spinning egg experiment. You will need a hard boiled egg and a raw egg.

Hypothesis: I think that the raw egg will spin faster than the boiled egg after you touch it.

DIE-rections: First you spin the raw egg. While its spinning, gently touch it. Then do the same with the hard boiled egg.

Conclusion: The raw egg continues spinning after you touch it, because there is liquid inside which keeps moving even after you stop the egg. It's solid inside the hard boiled egg so when you touch the boiled egg, it will stop spinning.

Skuimpies (Meringues)

DIE-rections: You'll need a KitchenAid mixer (or other mixer), 3 egg whites, food coloring (optional), 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup sugar.

Method:

Make sure that you separate the egg whites from the egg yolk carefully. It can be tricky! Then set the egg yolks aside and have your sister (or mom) make you an omlete later. Then pour the egg whites into a chilled mixing bowl. (I put mine in the fridge for a few minutes.) Add the food coloring and vanilla. Start beating the eggs at medium high speed until they become frothy.

Graaaaadually add the sugar. It will become stiff and form peaks. Now you are ready to scoop tablespoon sized drops onto a foil lined cookie sheet. You should place the meringues 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. Put it in a 275 degree pre heated oven for 90 mins. When they're done, allow them to cool, then they will peal off of the foil easly.

Conclusion: DELICIOUS!!! After you take your first bite, you'll notice that they are sort of hollow in the middle. That's pretty cool to see. They're a lite and fluffy treat that I think you'll love, too! 

Uncle Micheals Happy RC Birthday Weekend

My drive up to surprise my Uncle Micheal for his birthday was a looong one. I couldn't wait until we got there, so it probably felt longer than it actually was. I was excited to go up because I would get to see Evan, one of my favorite cousins! I don't get to see him very often, so seeing him on this trip was a pretty big bonus.

When we got to Uncle Michael's house, he was really surprised! He thought we wouldn't be able to come visit, but we had secretly been planning the trip with his wife, my Aunt Alisa. We gave him a  small present. It was his very own Monskey! (If you don't know what that is, it will remain a mystery!) Then we gave him a big present which he totally wasn't expecting. Dad and Aunt Alisa had bought him an RC truck! It's called a Stampede and it is a 4x4 with a brushless motor. If you don't understand "RC talk", let's just say it's a really good thing. Uncle Micheal was sooooo happy and very surprised!

Of course, Uncle Michael needed to test out his new RC, so we went to play RC at the church property. Anthony, one of my cousins, was there! We had loads of fun playing together. We shot water balloons from a giant slingshot and almost hit the road which was very far away. Then Mom and I went to pick blackberries. They were so delicious! Then we went over to watch the boys do RC time. Anthony broke his RC before he drove it off a ramp, so sad, but we had fun watching the dads play. I think Uncle Michael really enjoyed his new truck.

That night it was time to go to Aunt Alisa's parent's house for dinner and an outdoor movie. We were excited. (Again) When we got there, Natalie and I started to pick blackberries. They were also delicious! While dad and Uncle Michael were setting up for the movie night, we picked boysenberries, blackberries and pears. (We have enough berries to make jam with!) We also herded the ducks and Natalie went to see the horses.

We had a bbq with all sorts of yummy food. I ate a bratwurst and some chips. Dad said I had to have some veggies, so I had one cauliflower and one broccoli. Mrs. Molen (Aunt Alisa's mom) helped me to make lemonade using real lemons, honey and water. It was the best lemonade I have ever had!

We sat down in front of the big outdoor movie screen with our dinner and watched "Gnomeo & Juliet". It was a fun movie. My favorite character was definitely Featherstone!

The next day was Sunday, and after church, it was time to go to the restaurant "Claim Jumpers" to celebrate Uncle Michael's birthday as well as my Grandpa Ron's birthday and my Aunt Teresa's birthday, since they all have early September birthdays. I was really excited, because I would finally get to see Evan! When we got there I ordered strawberry lemonade for a drink, then about ten minutes later, Evan arrived! We were talking until the rest of the people arrived. (We have a big family, so it took a while for all 27 people to show up!)

The dinner was delicious! I had two mini burgers and french fries. We visited together and sang "Happy Birthday" to all the birthday folks. After dinner, Mom let me go home with Evan! Yay!! When we arrived at Evan's house, he gave us a tour of his world on "Minecraft". Then we played together for hours until Mom and Dad came to pick us up.We had so much fun.

Parting is such SAD sorrow, especially from Evan's house! We spent the night at Uncle Michael's house and watched "Megamind" with them. Now they also know how to speak in CODE:

CODE: The End

Comb Collector

Hypothesis: I think that by rubbing a plastic comb on a wool sweater, charging it up with static electricity, it will pick up the small pieces of tissue paper.


DIE-rections: You will need a wool sweater, a plastic comb, and tissue paper.

First tear up the tissue paper into little bits, then charge the comb with static electricity by rubbing it vigorously on the wool sweater. Slowly wave the comb above the tissue paper bits. At least one piece should stick.

Conclusion: The tissue paper stuck to the comb, because it was charged with static electricity. I think it was pretty cool.

Max's Static Charge

Hypothesis: I think that by charging a balloon with static electricity, it will stick to a wall.

DIE-rections:You'll need a blown up balloon, a wool sweater, and a wall. First rub the balloon against the wool sweater vigorously, then put it against the wall. It should stick.

Conclusion: The balloon stuck to the wall,but lost its static charge after a while.

I encourage you to try this fun experiment.

My reveiw of "Star Wars The Last of the Jedi: Underworld"

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read this book and want to be surprised, DON'T READ THIS REVIEW!!!!!

I'm going to tell you a little bit about this book. It's the second of the star wars series "The Last of the Jedi" by Jude Watson. First they start out by telling a description of the ruined Jedi temple as Farus Olin, former Jedi, sees it. The Jedi temple is badly damaged and used as a prison for the imperials, who are on a quest to destroy all Jedi in the Galaxy. They don't enter just yet so they retreat, but they will come back to the temple later in the book.

Then you are introduced to a stowaway named Trever who further in the book becomes sort of like Farus's companion. There's a battle between two bounty hunters, Obi-wan and Farus on Courasaunt and, in my opinion, the way it was written really fired up my imagination. The battle scene was very descriptive, and I could imagine being there. They have to make a quick escape and with some help from Trever, they make their getaway, but the bounty Hunter Boba Fett is close on their tail.

Escaping, they landed on a small planet (or should I say CRASH landed on a small planet, tsk tsk) in the middle of war! There are some small rebel forces fighting against the Empire on the planet and in the air. They met the leader of the Rebellion when she was shot down, taking the Jedi and Trever down with her. Thankfully they emerge from the dust okay. The leader of the Rebellion then takes them to their base of operations, a small school that was converted into a base when the city was evacuated.

The rest of the book is filled with action and excitement, so I suggest you read it.

I really liked this book, and I really can't wait to read the rest of the series.

The Pepper Magnet.

Hypothesis: I think that by rubbing a plastic spoon on a wool sweater to charge the spoon with static electricity, it will attract pepper away from salt.

DIE-rections: You'll need a saucer, a wool sweater, salt and pepper, and a plastic spoon.

First pour the salt and pepper on to the saucer. (It doesn't matter how much you pour on.) Then charge the spoon with static electricity by rubbing it really fast against the wool sweater. Then wave the spoon close to the saucer, letting it hover over the salt and pepper mixture. It should attract the pepper.

Conclusion: The spoon attracted the pepper, but no salt. It was a success! I encourage you to use this when separating salt and pepper.

My trip to Crater Lake

The trip up to crater lake was loooooong. We got up early and started our journey with hot chocolate to go! I read "Star Wars, The Rebel Force" book #2 (named "Hostage") while we were driving. It was a very exciting book, and I finished it by the time we arrived at Crater Lake. When we finally got there, it cost ten dollars to get in. We received a map of the area and suggestions about what we might like to do while we were there.

Of course the first thing we did was to admire the lake. It was so blue it looked fake! We drove to a spot where we could hike down to the lake. It's called Cleetwood Cove Trail, and it's the only hiking trail that takes you down to the water. The hike down to the lake was slow going, but it had to end sometime right? On our way down we saw some ground squirrels! (Mom kept calling them "chick-munks" because apparently that's what I called them when I was little.) They were so cute! One even came right up to me and sniffed my fingers. I think he was disappointed that I didn't have a snack for him, but you really aren't supposed to feed the wildlife. It's not healthy for them, and it can be dangerous for you!

When we got down to the lake, we went for a swim in the 38 degree water. That's Fahrenheit! (That's only 3 degrees Celsius.) The water was so cold that I was freezing my head off! Every so often, I would get out and sit on a tanning rock in the wonderful sunshine. Yea-ah! Finally it was time to start the long, tiring hike back up. Hiking the trail from the bottom to the top is equal to 150 flights of stairs or the 75th floor of a building. That's 724 feet or 218 meters. It was slow going and I was tired, but I had some delicious quiche to keep me energized! Yummy! Before long we got to the top, so ending our hiking adventure!

The rest of the day was spent driving around, sight seeing. We stopped every now and then to get out and look around. The scenery was great! When we finally made our way all around the lake, it was time to go home. I really enjoyed my trip to Crater Lake.

Finding Magnetic North

Hypothesis: I think that I will be able to determine where magnetic north is by making a simple water compass.

DIE-rections(just cuz it sounds dangerous): First you'll need a shallow pan or pie dish, a saucer smaller than the pie dish, sticky tape, a magnet and 2 cups of water.

Put the water in the pie dish, then tape the magnet in the center of the saucer. Place the saucer in the pie dish so that it's floating on the water. Be sure that the saucer is centered. If it touches the pan, then gently nudge the saucer back to the center of the pan. Watch what happens!

Conclusion: I watched the saucer turn in the water until it stopped and pointed in one direction without moving again. By putting the dish in the water, it was able to turn freely to magnetic north. This experiment was a success! I was able to find magnetic north on my own, which is a good thing, because my mom is horrible at direction!

Magnetic North is that way!

My dog, Vivi looking for magnetic north.

I don't think she found it.

Baking Soda Explosion!

Today's experiment: BAKING SODA EXPLOSION!!!!!
Hypothesis: I think that if you combine vinegar and baking soda in a plastic (zip type) bag, sealing the bag, it will EXPLODE!!

Directions: You will need about a 1/4 cup of baking soda and a 1/2 cup of vinegar as well as a small zip type bag.

You might also want to employ a helper. I used my sister, but I didn't have to pay her because my mom said she has to help me. =) hee hee

Have your helper hold the bag (just in case something explodes early, that way only your helper will smell like vinegar for a week, and you can still go out in pubic...) while you pour the baking soda in first and then quickly add the vinegar. Make sure to close the bag AS SOON AS the ingredients are combined. Then SHAKE IT!

Conclusion: The bag didn't explode but it started expanding as soon as it was sealed. It got tighter when I shook it, and I really thought it would explode. After a little while, without any explosive action, I decided to help the process along by throwing the bag down from my deck to the ground. It still didn't explode, but it sprang a leak.