Well, as you know I had a plan in mind for Leap Day. My idea was to make the extra day an extra fun day for my family... all around the famous quote by Neil Armstrong, "One small step for man, one giant LEAP for mankind". Not everything went as planned. And that's okay!
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The boys and I started out our day by making rockets out of water bottles and bright colored paper.
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The boys and I started out our day by making rockets out of water bottles and bright colored paper.
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We made moon cookies. And Robbie (4 years old) made it clear that the moon did not look like the cookies. :)
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I started setting the table for our out-of-this-world family dinner. I had the moon, the stars, the planets, the silver chargers, my meal plan, but... more important things grabbed my attention - literally! My boys wanted to play. Those boys needed more attention than my table scape. :)
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So, instead of finishing my table decor, we created an alien detector and communicator. We flew their rockets around the house, snuggled up and watched an episode of ScoobyDoo, which happened to have an alien mystery to solve! And later, the boys got to the table decor and wanted to know every planet's name - luckily the names of the planets were printed on each sphere.
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When it came time for dinner, I prepared flying saucers. Do you remember having those as kids? Bologna, mashed potatoes, shredded cheese. Mom used to broil them until the bologna curled. That was the best! Maddy (13 years old) was excited to see what we were having. It made me smile!
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We made moon cookies. And Robbie (4 years old) made it clear that the moon did not look like the cookies. :)
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I started setting the table for our out-of-this-world family dinner. I had the moon, the stars, the planets, the silver chargers, my meal plan, but... more important things grabbed my attention - literally! My boys wanted to play. Those boys needed more attention than my table scape. :)
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So, instead of finishing my table decor, we created an alien detector and communicator. We flew their rockets around the house, snuggled up and watched an episode of ScoobyDoo, which happened to have an alien mystery to solve! And later, the boys got to the table decor and wanted to know every planet's name - luckily the names of the planets were printed on each sphere.*
When it came time for dinner, I prepared flying saucers. Do you remember having those as kids? Bologna, mashed potatoes, shredded cheese. Mom used to broil them until the bologna curled. That was the best! Maddy (13 years old) was excited to see what we were having. It made me smile!
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Above, a grown up version with garlic mashed red potatoes, served with green beans. I guess I could have made it more grown up by serving it on sliced ham instead of bologna. There's always next time. Below, my kid version, complete with green pepper alien and star apples. :)
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We didn't get as much family time in as I had hoped, with dad getting home late from work, the girl's homework and then having mutual activities to get to after dinner. Make the most with what you've got, right?
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After we dropped the girls off at the church, the boys and I went on one of our Ultra Fun Outing, a.k.a. "Alien Hunt". This is something we like to do. :) I have made it clear to the boys that we are just pretending, no worries. Tonight was our best alien hunt to date! So much excitement in the air.
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Let me explain how our alien hunts work:
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After we dropped the girls off at the church, the boys and I went on one of our Ultra Fun Outing, a.k.a. "Alien Hunt". This is something we like to do. :) I have made it clear to the boys that we are just pretending, no worries. Tonight was our best alien hunt to date! So much excitement in the air.
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When the hunt begins, our van is no longer a van. It becomes our rocket. Each time we put the van in motion the boys count down, "3, 2, 1, blast off!" Sometimes they get so excited they start counting down before the car even comes to a complete stop.
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We have decided that any green or blue lights are the aliens. We started something new tonight, the boys decided they were going to shoot all the aliens with their freeze guns. I felt like I was in the middle of the Buzz Light Year ride at Disneyland! They were going crazy! Cooper (2 years old) kept yelling out, "Watch out for aliens!" in a very concerned voice. Robbie was shooting aliens left and right. I love that they use their imaginations!
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Our main goal is to find the alien spaceships, which are water towers.
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During the hunt, you are real lucky if you find a spaceship with an alien (green light).
Which we did! The boys were so excited!
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When we made it back home (which the boys really did not want to do) we used our alien communicator to talk to the nice aliens we had left behind. If you look real close you will see the mini alien we brought home with us. The water bottle holding cells were lit up with Christmas lights from inside the box. :)
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An added bonus... Dad played the bad alien, as the boys ran around the house yelling and screaming.
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We were planning on making UFOs when we got back home, but we had already stayed up way past our bedtime. Next time!
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We were planning on making UFOs when we got back home, but we had already stayed up way past our bedtime. Next time!
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Here is my version of a UFO: using 2 foam plates, toothpicks, 2 glow sticks, and a stapler. (Pictures are from another night filled with out-of-this-world fun.) I have the kids poke holes into 2 foam plates, any design they want. Then we take two glow sticks (make them glow first) and connect them together to create a circle (fits perfectly between the plates). Next, place the glow sticks between the plate and staple side together. Voila! Turn off the lights and the fun begins. Easy, peasy.
Here is my version of a UFO: using 2 foam plates, toothpicks, 2 glow sticks, and a stapler. (Pictures are from another night filled with out-of-this-world fun.) I have the kids poke holes into 2 foam plates, any design they want. Then we take two glow sticks (make them glow first) and connect them together to create a circle (fits perfectly between the plates). Next, place the glow sticks between the plate and staple side together. Voila! Turn off the lights and the fun begins. Easy, peasy.
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Here we are making the UFO's with the cousins, during our visit to Utah this past Thanksgiving. We took them on an alien hunt in the snow!
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The day may not have turned out the way I had imagined it. But, my goal had been met. I knew it had been an extra fun day when Robbie asked me the following morning, "Is it still Alien Day?" :) Good times!
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