Mini Comets

We made some of these simple mini comets on our last camping trip. Easy to make and fun to play with  ... they make a good evening activity as they light up in the dark.

MATERIALS
· Light, large bouncy ball that lights up on impact
· Knee high stocking, in grey or blue
· Various colours of ribbon to choose from
· Glow-in-the-dark plastic beading cord
· Star Beads

THE HOW-TO

Put the ball in the toe of the stocking.

Tie a knot under the ball.

Tie the ribbons above the knot to help ensure they stay put while being flung about at high speeds.

Add as many ribbons as you like.

Tie the beading cord above the knot as well.

Tie on as many star beads as you like, or have the patience for, at various positions on the cord.

PLAY!
These are best played with in large open spaces. Once they are done, grab onto the nylon tail and swing the mini comet around in circles ... let go just before it looks like it's heading to the sky.

Today's Lunch: From the Farm

It's Day 3 in Spud's Mountain Eco Day Camp. So far they have been doing a lot of hiking, nature journaling, learning wilderness survival and orienteering. Each day he comes home happy, dog tired, and very hungry! Hopefully this will adequately fuel his adventures today.

TOP TIER
Strawberries, Peas in pods and our U-pick Blueberries (I added a little blue skewer for the blueberries hoping that the lure of being able to stab them will mean he'll eat more of them).

BOTTOM TIER
Cheese cubes and 2 turkey + butter lettuce wraps

Summer Fun Passport: Summer Night Markets

Another tick ... Summer Night Markets! Love them. And we are blessed to have 3 of them! We hit the Richmond Night Market for the first time this year. Love the larger than life, loud, crazy-busy nature of it all. Food stalls stretch as far as the eye can see offering all sorts of tasty morsels. If you are ever in the area make sure you bring cash, an empty stomach, and a sense of adventure.

We also checked out the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market this year which we've done a few times in previous years. It's closer to home but a fraction of the size, making it less likely you'll get jostled in a crush of people yet still offering a modest array of yummy Asian street food and shopping stalls.

The third market, which we've been to several times, is the International Summer Market, also in Richmond and voted by the BBC: Travel as one of the world's top night markets!

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Berry Picking!

We had the best time picking berries on the weekend. The end of the raspberry but the beginning of the blueberry season meant we got the best of both worlds.

Our usual destination for u-pick berries is at Krause Berry Farm. Aside from the easy pickings they have an amazing bakery that does wonderful things with all those fresh berries. But with a recent recommendation we tried Emma-Lea Farm this year. The pickings were just as good and we really enjoyed the relative quiet and lack of hubbub. While picking, we split our attention to the flora and fauna around us; noting bird and insect behaviour and how they interact with the plants. It's nice to get out of the city. And the post-berry-picking strawberry sundae treat wasn't bad either.

Now what to do with all those berries? If we can find a free evening this week, we want to make this.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Sailing!

Ahhh. Warm summer eves. Spud spent the early evening sailing with his Pa ... practicing his new found skills of manning the jib. The boat not being big enough for the whole family, I spent the time with the pup on the beach, relaxing, taking in a killer view.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Take a Cooking Class

Two years in a row now, Spud has chosen a cooking-themed summer day camp. In last year's day camp he made lava cake, corn soup, gnocchi, calzone, meringue, sorbet and other delicious things ... all from scratch! The whole affair was very impressive.

This year, just to mix things up a bit, we signed up at a new place, where they take a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject. While he still did a fair amount of cooking from scratch, he also did meal planning, went shopping within a given budget, did a power point presentation on nutrition to some younger day-campers, observed live yeast in action, and went on two field trips. One of which was to a neighbourhood sushi restaurant where he learned how to make a special smoked salmon nigiri requiring the use of a blow torch! Very cool. And a well-rounded week indeed.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Drive-In Movie

Yes, we still have a drive-in theatre in our midst! Granted, we had to drive an hour to get there but it was worth it! Despicable Me 2 me was on the bill. Love those minions.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Camping with Friends!

11 kids. 15 adults. Tubing. Swimming. Marmot Spotting. Biking. Hiking. Mozzy dodging. Badminton. Crafting. Water rockets. Watermelon eating contest. Glow stick mania. Wee hours by the fire. Good times with good people.


Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Makes Me Happy: Chilly Cherries

Mmmm. I truly heart cherry season. Especially when we are lucky enough to buy them from the Okanagan ourselves! The best way to enjoy cherries.

Welcome to Makes Me Happy Wednesdays. Why not celebrate hump day with a little happiness? A photo. A Caption. A smile. What made you smile recently?

Summer Fun Passport: Water Fight!

Kids vs. Adults ... go!

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this year!

Makes Me Happy: Chilllin' on the Deck

Beating the heat on the deck with some reading time.

Summer Fun Passport: Making Popsicles!

We really love making popsicles around here. And eating them. Here are 3 recipes from last year. And 5 recipes I posted on Apartment Therapy a few years ago ... which are all yummy ... but the lemon-buttermilk is a must-try! Trust me.


Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Water Rockets!

Hubs, with Spud's help, built this rocket launcher following the detailed instructions in these videos. We had some friends over for Canada Day and decided to put it to the test. Loud. So Fast. And a welcome spray of water on a hot day. Big thumbs up for this project.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this year!

Summer Fun Passport: Sailing Lessons

"Scary and fun all at once" pretty much sums it up. The first day he spent in the coach boat. It was a choppy day and he was convinced they were going to flip over. By day 5 he was doing capsizing practice and loving it.


Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this year!