FAMILY LIFE ~ A Pause for Station Identification!

You may have noticed new posts have been few and far between lately.  We've been busy and have lots to share but it will have to wait until another day...

We've been planting potatoes, enjoying the Newcap News TV and radio tour with the Lloydminster Homeschool Association, taking swimming lessons, and now we're heading off on another adventure!  We're going to take a "journey back in time" and visit what's left of the RMS Titanic at Telus World of Science in Calgary.  We're also going to visit family and get to see little baby Jack (my Great Nephew) for the first time!  It's going to be a three generation excursion as Granny and Grandpa don't want to miss out on the fun, either!

... and so, later in the coming week, we'll have lots of exciting posts to share with our readers.  Enjoy your Victoria Day long weekend (even if it isn't on the 24th of May this year!) ... and stay safe!

READING ~ 125 Books and Counting ... 150 will be Just Around the Corner!

We didn't really set a specific numeric goal for our reading but we're just seeing how many titles we can  enjoy together.  We've just surpassed 125 titles (currently at 127) but there are more waiting, at the local library, for pick-up ... so I am sure the tally will be going higher very quickly!

Many of our recent books have been from "Tiger Tales" publications.  They usually have a surprising "twist" at the conclusion of the story which makes bedtime reading fun!

Just a few more books and we'll hit the 150 title mark!  If you don't regularly go to your local library, why don't you make a trip there to borrow some books for your summer reading?  I'm sure you'd be glad you did!

VIDEOS/BOOK REVIEWS ~ "Silverlicious" ~ By: Victoria Kann

Victoria Kann has a new book hot off the press called "Silverlicious."  It follows in the footsteps of "Pinkalicious" and several other "colourful" books this author has penned.  (See previous blog post ~  "Pink? Purple? Gold? They Are All Delicious ~ February 10, 2011"). We were lucky to get ahold of a copy as it is very much in demand ~ even at the library, with several patrons placing "holds" on the material.  The dustjacket of the copy we received had a blue and white sticker on it, indicating the "Girl Guides of Canada" endorsed the book.

At the beginning of this story, Pinkalicious Pinkerton realizes she has a serious problem.  When she loses a tooth, Pinkalicious is suddenly unable to taste anything sweet.  Candy, cookies, cakes ... they all taste disgusting!  Poor Pinkalicious ... even visits from Edgar Easter Bunny, Carlos Cupid and Elf #351 do not help. Finally Tootheetina (the young girl's own personal tooth fairy) is able to solve the dilemma.  Tootheetina leaves Pinkalicious a note.  It says: "Sweetness comes from the inside.  When you are sweet, the world and all the delicious things in it will be sweet too!"  When Pinkalicious takes this wise advice to heart, she realizes that she has not been very grateful or polite.  On the last page she vows, "From now on I am always going to be as sweet as my sweet tooth." 

This video is a "trailer" for "Silverlicious":



There is also a website devoted to all things Pinkalicious.  Check it out at Think Pinkalicious!  There are e-cards to send, games to play, activity pages to print and colour, and you can even put your own photo into a graphic of Pinkalicious to "pinkafy" yourself (or your little one!)  Isobel loved it!

***

After reading this book, last week Alisdair lost one of his own teeth.  Luckily the molar was NOT his sweet tooth (although I'm not sure he actually has one!)  We did have fun joking about it, though!

CELEBRATIONS ~ Kindergarten Class Hosts "Mother's Day Tea"

Chit Rose and her daughter, Dianne
(One of Isobel's classmates)

Isobel's Kindergarten class held a "Mother's Day Tea" on Friday, May 6th.

Most of the mothers attended for the short program and refreshments.  The children sang several songs and then the teacher read a little book the students had put together.  Each child had drawn a page and the teacher had written on it why they loved their Mother.  Isobel said she loved me because we "cuddled in church and I gave her snacks!" After the entertainment, the children served puffed wheat cake and rice krispie squares to their Mums, accompanied by tea or juice.  After we'd eaten, the children played while the Mothers visited.

Before long, the tea was over and it was back to regular classes for the Kindergarten students ... definitely "a special moment to remember!"

COOKING ~ "Blue's Banana Muffins"

Isobel borrowed a book from the school library called "Blue Makes Breakfast."  On the last page there is a recipe for "Blue's Banana Muffins."  Isobel wants to make them.  Maybe you'll want to mix up a batch for your breakfast, too!

BLUE'S BANANA MUFFINS

3 large bananas

1-1/2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.

3. Add sour cream, eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla.

4. Mix all dry ingredients and add to mixture.

5. Pour batter into greased muffin tins (or line with muffin cups).

6. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until muffins are golden brown and spring back to the touch.  Enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW? ~ The Most Challenging Races in the World

Until Alisdair and I read "Geronimo Stilton - The Race Across America," I didn't know about the four "Most Challenging Races in the World."  I can't say I'm planning to enter any of them, as a participant, but they would be interesting to watch as they are run each year!  On Page 15, of the novel, readers are told the following information about the four races:

"1.  THE RACE ACROSS AMERICA is a 3,000 mile bicycle race across the United States.

2. THE VENDEE GLOBE began in 1989.  In this famous race, sailboats sail around the world without stopping.  The race begins and ends in France.

3. THE IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE is an annual sled dog race in which mushers with teams of ten to sixteen dogs cross Alaska from east to west, covering 1,161 miles in eight to fifteen days.

4. THE IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is the world's oldest, longest, and most prestigious triathlon.  The first Ironman competition was held in Waikiki, Hawaii, on February 18, 1978.  Competitors must swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles."

***

RECORDS FOR THE RACE ACROSS AMERICA

"Riders can participate in the Race Across America as individuals or as part of a group.  An individual cyclist can travel about 430 miles a day in approximately 22 hours.  In the race's 26-year history, fewer than 200 solo cyclists have finished the race.

* In 1986, Pete Penseyres set a world record for biking 3,107 miles in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes.

* A cyclist burns an average of 300 calories an hour (a total of 7,000 calories a day) during the race!"

GEOGRAPHY ~ "Miracle Rock" ~ Colorado

Miracle Rock



Geronimo Stilton's "The Race Across America" also describes an interesting landmark in Colorado. 

On Page 80 the author tells us, "In the sixteenth century, Spanish explorers named the area Colorado because of its red-colored earth.  Colorado means "red" in Spanish.  Colorado has fifty-four mountain peaks that are more than 14,000 feet high.  Colorado National Monument preserves 32 square miles of canyons and mesas sculpted from years of erosion.  A few miles west is Miracle Rock, a huge sandstone outcropping perched on a narrow cliff.  It may be the biggest wobbly rock in the world."