Thankfulness

In the tradition of the season, I'm going to take the opportunity to list a few things for which I am thankful.

• My family and our health
• We live in such a great community--not many kids get to participate in a Thanksgiving feast at school and actually give thanks before they eat.
• The zoo--T.S. found one place the chickens have been laying, so he got to throw the old eggs at the tree. Somehow he ended up with egg on his socks and shoes.

I could list more, but I'll stop there for now.

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with all you want and that you remember to keep an attitude of Thanksgiving throughout the year. (Especially when you start your Christmas shopping and have to deal with the million other souls who are shopping, too)

Firecracker Fun

When I was a kid, my mom taught me how to "blow up cans" like she did as a child, now my mom is teaching my kids how to do it. I love the traditions we hand down from generation to generation. If you have never done this before, you need to try it--it amounts to hours of entertainment at our house.

First, find two cans that, when empty, just fit inside each other. (Mom was nice enough to find some out-of-date ones in her pantry and empty and clean them out when she came. She's also very smart--she brought a set for each kid.) Then, punch a hole in the end of the can so a firecracker will fit very snugly.

Pour a small amount of water in the large can. (You'll learn that the amount of water affects the height the can goes--that's the fun part, experimenting)

Place the can with the firecracker in like this:

Mom says the secret is to put the can in the can with water, then put the firecracker in.

Light fuse:

and get away:

The can will launch into the air.

Collect the can, and do it all over again.

To see more photos and read more about our family celebrates the Fourth, go here.