We had a lovely Christmas with the Romero family in Maryland. It was very fun to get caught up with grandchildren, especially the younger ones. Shortly after our arrival, James and Jonathan each gave me the grand tour of their favorite toys. I feel like I finally made in onto three year old Cozette's "A List". She actually asked me to sit next to her in the car and invited me to play with Monster with her. It was particularly fun to be there on Christmas morning. I was very impressed with Tony's stamina on Christmas morning. He very patiently assisted both James and Jonathan in assembling fairly complex new Lego toys. He then spent a fair amount of time in the construction of James' model volcano.
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| I didn't end up with any group picture of the Romero children in which they were all sitting still. |
The volcano project lasted several days as the plaster, various coats of paint, and the sealant each needed to dry in turn before the volcano construction crew (Tony and James) could proceed to the next stage of construction. Because of the lengthy construction process the actual eruptions didn't take place until the morning of the day we left to return home. We all assembled in the dining room and got to watch a series of baking powder and vinegar volcanic eruptions. Tony built a little safety containment berm using using wrapping paper tubes and a plastic garbage bag. The berm was for the safety of the table and other items on the table, not the spectators. As it turned out, the eruptions were more like a Hawaiian volcano than an explosive Mt St Helens eruption. There was a relatively steady flow of lava down the side of the volcano. Any villages in the path of the flow would have suffered death by baking powder, but there wouldn't have been any significant ash cloud or burning debris raining from the skies.
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| James was pretty focused. I guess volcanic eruptions are a good way to hold a boy's attention |
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| The eruption is fueled by baking powder, a few drops of red food coloring, and a tablespoon of vinegar |
...and now James has finally had a baking soda volcano - just like in Phineas and Ferb. (I bought that one, so I'm super lucky Tony didn't make me put it together!)
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