Playing with the new Toys...

January 4, 2009

OK - I don't know why it is underlining my text. If anyone can tell me why it would be greatly appreciated. :) It did this to me before too. But below my text isn't underlined - who knows... Sorry - this is a long post!

Dillon got a Bubble Gum Factory Kit from Santa - he just loves gum!! So today he wanted to try and make some. He can make fruity, sour, minty and goo-filled gum! The kit came with this interesting tidbit of information: In North America, kids spend half a billion dollars on bubble gum each year! Now aren't you glad you can make your own? Woo! I'd like to have a piece of that pie. Anyways, he was so excited to get going and making his own creation of bubble gum. For his concoction he chose - Blueberry Mint flavored gum. Interesting flavors? Another tidbit to chew on: According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the biggest bubble gum bubble ever blown was 23 in. in diameter, roughly the size of an extra large pizza. To set this record, Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno, CA, used three pieces of gum. I thought it was interesting. :)

Ahhh.... the moment he had been waiting for. Savor the taste...

The gum was a success! A little chewy but it tasted OK. He was pretty proud of himself and put the leftovers in the container it came with to save for later. Last tidbit of information on gum: It's true! Gum chewing is good for you! The recently created Wrigley Science Institute is committed to advancing and sharing scientific research that explores the benefits of chewing gum. Its international panel of experts cites several good reasons to glom onto gum: Gum chewing can aid concentration and provide relief from life's little stresses; Chewing sugar-free gum can keep your mouth clean, lessening the risk of cavities and whitening the teeth by reducing stains; As a substitute for high-calorie snacks, chewing gum can help you watch your weight. Huh... who knew? :)

Bryson got a Tasty Treats Activity Kit. What makes cupcakes rise? What makes drinks fizz? He couldn't wait to find out. In this kit he can make soda pop, powder candy that melts in your mouth, cupcakes, rockin' candy crystals, and blue sugar cookies. It even came with test tubes. It was pretty cute. For his first food science experiment he opted for the powder candy that melts in your mouth.

Once he completed the directions he tried it - watermelon flavor. Not bad. Then his dad suggested that he put some citric acid in it to make it a little sour. Ugh.... a little too much citric acid! It was so SOUR!!

He added a little more sugar and...

Yummy!

His next experiment was making soda pop - a little flavor for your fizzy! He wanted to make Raspberry Grape flavored soda pop. He had to set up his laboratory with the test tubes and all.

Ah... the final product. Bryson took the first drink and he didn't make a face, didn't say anything, just kind of sat there. I asked him, "Well, how is it?" "It tastes wierd." David said, "Here, let me try it." Ooh! NASTY!! That is all I can say about it - they made me try it too. A mix between dish soap and baking soda with a trace of grape? Yuck! Bryson said this one was definately going down the drain.

But amazingly enough we found someone in the family who liked it - yep, Logan. He drank about half of it. Yucky! He then tried it again and only added raspberry flavoring and may have altered one other ingredient and it actually wasn't too bad. Ah... the adventures in the kitchen laboratory.

Today I noticed that it was awfully quiet and I didn't know where Logan or his dad were, I walked into the kitchen and there they were. Building something... Logan said he was being Handy Manny. Goggles, tool belt and tools... and boots! Pretty cute!

Oh, and this was too cute. Grandma and Grandpa Gardner gave Logan a little play shopping cart for Christmas (he had seen it in Kings and just LOVED it! He pushed it all through the aisles and did not want to leave it at the store.) So he was so excited when he opened it Christmas morning. Anyways, he came into the kitchen with Curious George and his other animals, Lion and Sonny and said, "We going shopping mom. See..." It was too cute! Then he said that George needed a seat belt and David worked something up for him. He was so excited! He pushed them around the house for almost a 1/2 hour.