Announcement From Leena

Leena to the 11 people at dinner tonight: Tomorrow is the first of June!!!

The grown ups: Yes, that's right.

Leena: On the first of June, I am going to put on my Japanese dress and hula on the beach!!!!

The grown ups: Really?!?

The kids: Hooray!

Happy Birthday, Choclo!

3? Can you really be 3, my truck loving boy?

The Emperor had found a ton of fire engine themed stuff, but the biggest hit was the fire hydrants.

On our frequent walks around our neighborhood, we stop at every hydrant (further proof, LT, that I do not need a dog). Choclo hops out of the stroller and says, "Hi ya, Sparky!" He then examines the hydrant carefully, checking the valves, chains, and all important switch on top. Then he says, "OK, Sparky! See ya later!", climbs back into the stroller and off we go.

Needless to say, finding a little wax Sparky on his cake and two stand up cardboard Sparkys was thrilling!

And, yes, Choclo's cake was chocolate with chocolate frosting!

Guest Post by Klenda

Sock Puppets..... of LOVE!!!!!
I know,i know,it`s crazy,but true!
They're.....SOCK PUPPETS......OF LUVEEEE!!!!!!!!

Hand Painting

No, not finger painting! We mean using face paint to paint your hand like this. I painted a horse on Klenda but you could do any 4 legged animal like that. You could also do an octopus (pentapus, or paint the extra legs going up the hand! Hey, how about a squid!!!) or a person if you folded up one finger and used your thumb and pinky as arms.

Klenda painted an alligator on me. As you can see in this photo, it is lying in wait for the horse.

Don't worry, the alligator didn't get the horse; in fact the horse kicked the alligator and danced on its head.

This would be a good Fun Jar activity! One caution: you do want face paint here. Tempra would flake off of flexible hands. You can find recipes to make your own here.

We did go on to paint our faces because, well, we couldn't resist! Thanks for the face paint kit, Mumpy!

Guest Blog by Mxyl

Introducing: Roboquad!
This amazing mechanical machine was actually my pet on Zoom.
I don't know how the idea came to Earth, but Roboquad was more then excited to find more of his "kind".

This cute little creature is only ONE of my pets!
Here, let me show you...

Squirrelly

Leena would like you to know: the Queen of the Squirrels has a Baby Squirrel that she likes to push around in her Squirrel Box.

Also, we have determined that Oob's full name must be Ooby Carry-Toss. (If the pun escapes you, either count your blessings or click here).

Planet Pox

Jupiter is breaking out in spots! It seems we aren't the only planet with climate change woes. More info here.

Monkeying Around With the Blog

I have been having fun trying stuff out. I put up a poll at the top of the sidebar and a map at the bottom of the sidebar.

The map has been there a week or two and it shows (in the most general terms possible) where people are when they visit Zoom Times. Hokey Smokes!! International readership!! This is pretty exciting to me because I've always wanted to travel. My Dad traveled all over the world when I was growing up and I always wanted to meet new people from new places. And here you are! Welcome to Zoom!!

The poll is new and just for fun. Actually, most of this blog is "just for fun!" What I mean is , I'm not planning to do polls on weighty issues. If you want to comment on the poll or add an answer not on the list (eclectic home school: we're all about options!) you can comment on this post.

Crazy Bug Hats

I had forgotten about these! We used to do them all the time when the three oldest Zoomlians were little and they had forgotten all about them!

Here's how to make your own: I used my Big Roll of Paper, but you can use any paper big enough to make newspaper hats.

1. Take a largish sheet of paper and center it over a kid's head.
2. Tape it around their head with a band of packing tape. At this point it looks like the kid is wearing a paper ghost costume without eyes.
3. Take it off the kid and roll up the paper edges to make a brim. Roll it just a little and it looks like a sombrero (depending on if you started with a square or rectangle). To make a smaller brim roll and crumple more!

You could stop here for a plain strange hat or you could decorate the hat with feathers, bells, foil, scarves, or whatever you have on hand to make hats for tea parties, cowboy round ups, space excursions, etc.

4. Decorate to make a crazy bug (or whatever you like). We tuck pipe cleaner antennae into the tape band and put on large crazed eyes. Strange proboscises are optional. Pipe cleaner or folded paper legs are also good. I bet you could even make it educational (look, your crazy bug hat has 6 legs, just like a real bug)!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! This would be a good Fun Jar activity.

The Founding of the Zoomlian Empire

18 years ago today! Who knew?

People asked us how many kids we wanted. We said 5.
5? Just wait til you have some and then we'll see if you want 5!
How right they were!

How much we've seen and done and yet it seems just a few days.
I think that is one of the many mysteries of love, how it is always now.
Now that I love the most.
Now that I say "I do."
Now that is the happiest day.
Now: a foretaste of eternity seen in the eyes of the Beloved.