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Friday, June 29, 2012

A BRIEF VISIT TO JAPAN

HELLO EVERYONE!

Krumbs and I have recovered from our adventures at the New England Pirate Museum and now we're looking forward to visiting Japan for some fabulous sushi.  Well, maybe we won't exactly be going all the way to Japan, but we're going to experience some of Japan....right here in our home!

This is how it all started....we were visiting the Cafe (uh-huh!) and we found this fantastic article  called "Seafood and Rice and Everything Nice" by Edie Stoltz Zolkower.  The article is all about a food called sushi that was first created in 4th Century Asia, but is most known as a Japanese food.  Sushi is made of tasty foods like rice, seaweed, avocado, cucumber and fish, but some kinds of sushi is made of vegetables with no fish at all.  Krumbs and I were thrilled to learn about sushi, but we were more excited when we found out we could get recipes and make our very own sushi rolls!

We're having a bunch of friends over this weekend and we're going to "visit Japan" by reading the Cafe article and following the directions to make....sushi!!!!  I bet it will be a blast and I'm really looking forward to it.  (Krumbs is looking forward to it too, although he wasn't on board until I promised we'd make the fish-free version of sushi.)

Have you had sushi?  Do you like it?  Fish or no fish?  We'd love to know.  Visit us again to learn more about our adventures living the "Late Great Life"!


さようなら
Sayōnara
SI OH NAR UH is how you pronounce the word and it is a formal way of saying goodbye in Japanese.


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

YO! HO! HO! WE'RE OBSESSED WITH PIRATES!!


Yo! Ho! Ho! As part of our summer living the "Late, Great Life", Krumbs and I are taking some trips, looking for new and exciting things to do. Guess where our latest adventure took us... We drove (and drove and drove and drove and DROVE!) to a town in Massachusetts called Salem to visit the "New England Pirate Museum". (Click here to visit the museum's website)


It all started with a visit to the Cafe. Krumbs and I found this awesome article by C.L Vaughn called "The Mystery of a Boy Pirate". It is the awesome and totally TRUE story of the youngest pirate to sale the Carribbean. It's so cool! The article told us all about this eight year old pirate's life on board a real pirate ship.


Of course, Krumbs and I were fascinated by the idea of pirates (and who wouldn't be, I ask you?). We couldn't stop thinking about pirates, acting like pirates and writing about pirates. We were becoming obsessed with pirates!   That’s when my parents decided to make our whole “Late Great Life” perfect…they decided to take us to the New England Pirate Museum!


We went on a real pirate ship replica, saw pictures and actual STUFF from real pirates, explored a real cave and learned a whole lot about how pirates in New England lived.  (Did you know pirates spent the summers in the part of the United States called New England and winters in the tropics?)



What do you think about pirates?  Do they fascinate you?  Let us know and check back with us again soon for more adventures while Krumbs and I live the “Late Great Life” of summer! 










































Monday, June 25, 2012

HOLY HOUDINI...IT'S A CRAYFISH!

It has been a crazy cool summer so far...and it's only been a few days!!!  We found the coolest creature by the lake yesterday, but when we did a little research we found out this crazy crustacean is even more exciting than it looks!  I'll tell you more...

We were lifting rocks on the bank of the pond and suddenly, something scurried right out from between two rocks. The mystery creature was grayish black and about the size of a half-used up pencil, but it had two big pinching claws, a long, curved tail and the longest antennae we'd ever seen.  Krumbs let out a huge, high-pitched yelp and jumped about a mile, landing right on top of me. (Nope, he didn't really jump a mile--that was just an expression to build up the drama)

Krumbs and I untangled ourselves super fast so we wouldn't lose this alien creature.  Krumbs said it looked like a grayish black lobster only much smaller, but I was pretty sure it couldn't be a lobster because I thought lobsters live only in salt water.  (We were by a freshwater lake...no salt water in sight).  Krumbs was right about one thing-it definitely looked like a mini-lobster.

We kept the creature for about a half hour, watching it scurry, examining its pinchy claws and using little twigs to see how those crazy claws worked.  It was the coolest animal!  I found out it could move really fast, it's claws could pinch really hard (not on my fingers or Krumb's paws), and it could hide really well.

It wasn't until we came home and did some research that we found out we had found a crayfish!  Once we found out what it was, we visited the Cafe's "Doggy Bag" section to see whether crayfish are listed as under "Creature Features"...and they are!!!!  There was an awesome article called "Crustacean Houdini" that's filled with awesomely cool information about how much a crayfish is like the magical magician, Houdini!  Check it out because we were shocked at how cool this crazy creature really is! 

I couldn't get a picture (no camera again...when will I learn??) but I visited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Photo Archives and found a photo taken by Gillian Ball that looks just like "our" crayfish.  I posted it for you below:



Isn't it amazing?!?!  Have you ever found crayfish near your house?  We are so excited to find so many cool animals right in our back yard.  What have you found so far this summer?  Let us know and visit us again for more adventures as Krumbs and I live the "late great life of summer"!

Friday, June 22, 2012

WE'RE LIVING THE "LATE LIFE"...ARE YOU?


I’m ready to live my life “LATE”.  Are you wondering what I mean?  Today is the last day of school and the first moments of summer vacation are only 5 hours and 17 minutes away!  That’s right—in only 5 hours Krumbs and I will be living the “Late Life” and I really can’t wait.

Living the "Late Life" means everything is late, late, late.  We’ll stay up late.  We’ll sleep late.  We’ll have no schedule so we’ll go places late (and no one will care because they’re living the late life too)!  It will be a life of leisure (relaxing) without the drag of bus stops and school bells, soggy sandwiches and cafeteria food (ugh!), homework and pop quizzes.   The “Late Life” gets rid of those awful things and brings us baseball and ballgames, grilled cheese and grinders, long hikes and lazy days.   

We can’t wait!

Uh-oh!  No, Krumbs, no!  Krumbs is reminding me of the other side of summer…school summer packets and extra chores, our promise to eat healthy and exercise regularly, and maybe, just maybe,  a little bit of boredom.  Ugh…he had to do it, didn’t he!?! 

Well, we’ll be visiting the Café a lot this summer.  We’ll be looking for cool stuff to do, book recommendations, interesting articles to read and new recipes to make and new games to play.  We’ll live the “Late Life” and balance it with the “Great Life”—sleeping late and working on summer packets, playing ball and doing chores, eating grilled cheese and fresh fruit, and keeping busy with ideas and news from the Café!

What will you do this summer?  Will we meet you in the Café?  Join the fun…summer’s begun.  Enjoy living the “Late-Great Life”!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

They're Slick and They Slide, Glitter and Glide...Snakes!

They're slick and they slide, they glitter and glide...what are they?  They're snakes and Krumbs and I LOVE them!  Yep, I know it sounds strange for a girl and her dog to love these silky silent creatures, but we do, we do, we do!  And yesterday we saw the most beautiful snake in our yard.

We were stomping through the tall grass, deep in the back yard where the grass meets the trees.  It was still warm but the sun was starting to sink in the sky and we wanted to enjoy just a few more minutes. Apparently, someone else wanted to enjoy those last, precious minutes of sunlight too, because right in front of us, stretched across a rock with its head pushing toward the last glimmery rays of sunshine, was an enormous snake!

His brown and gray scales glistened so brightly he looked wet and his tongue flicked in and out in the steadiest rhythm.  (I bet all that wet glistening sparkle is why people think snakes are slimy, even though they're not.)  He was so beautiful he took our breath away.  We couldn't do anything but stand there and watch him.

We watched for the longest time, fascinated by this awesome animal and then, with a flick of his tongue and a slip slide glide, our friend started moving.  Faster than lightning, he slipped off the rock and disappeared into the woods.  That's when we finally noticed the sun was down and air was cooling fast-you can bet we raced up the hill before mom noticed how long we'd been gone!

Last night we decided to find out more about unusual snakes.  We visited "Creature Feature" at the Cafe and of course, we found exactly the fierce and fun article we were looking for.  The article is called "Australia's Strange Snakes" by Alicia Klepeis and it is full of cool facts about snakes in "the land down under".  Check it out and see for yourself how amazing snakes can be.

Do snakes live near your house?  Do you like them?  Krumbs and I would love to know!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Dive Bombing Birds, Flying Marshmallows and Tasty Treats

Good Morning Everyone,

After a fantastic weekend, it is a gloriously happy Monday.  Krumbs and I had so much fun this weekend.  We hung out with friends, investigated dive bombing birds, tried a new recipe and best of all, finally made marshmallow shooters~woo! hoo!

When our friends came over this weekend I had the brilliant idea of showing them the dive-bombing birds at the end of our driveway~not the best idea for the birds, but we saw something really cool.  We tiptoed to the edge of the driveway and slowly, slowly snuck to the edge of the bushes.  Stretching, stretching, stretching...we strained to find birds, babies, nests or eggs hidden in the sea of branches and green leaves.  We were about to give up, when we saw them!  Deep in the center of the bush, nestled in the crook of three branches and almost buried by leafy greens, was a nest.  Inside the nest were three, olive sized cream colored eggs

Faster than you can say, "Oh my gosh, there are eggs in this nest!", we were surrounded by flapping wings, screeching squawks and clenching claws.  Yep, the momma and daddy birds had found us~and they were NOT happy to have visitors.  You can bet we high-tailed it out of there, but not before we saw those amazing eggs.  I wonder when they'll hatch?

I kind of thought nothing could outdo the dive-bombing birds and eggs, but then Krumbs and I made marshmallow shooters!  I know, I know...I couldn't believe it either but our friend Katie brought over all the stuff we needed.  (Looks like Krumbs and I aren't the only ones who visited the cafe and read "Marshmallow Shooter" by Logan in the Tip Jar at the Cafe!)  We had a blast shooting mini-marshmallows for distance, height and even accuracy (we blew up paper bags, tied them, and then set them up in a row and MARSHMALLOW BLASTED them!).

Last but not least, after all the marshmallow shooting, bird-bombing, and nest searching...we were ready for a snack.  We checked out the newest Cafe article about Garrett Weber-Gale, an Olympic swimmer and food lover.  The article is called "Eating to Win" by Rochelle Groskreutz and it tells about Garret's intense training (5 HOURS A DAY!?!?!) and healthy eating habits, but it also gives a taste bud tempting recipe that satisfied our need for sweet and our need for healthy.  Check it out to find out more about Garrett, Olympic swimming and healthy eating.

Did you have an amazing weekend?  Have you found a fantastic taste tempting recipe?  Do you have a great hobby or book to tell us about?  Visit the Cafe and join Klub Krumbs so you can share all your great fun with us!

Check back soon!


Thursday, June 14, 2012

GETTING RID OF GHOSTLY GHOULS AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Happy Friday Everyone!

Krumbs and I were thinking some more about our horribly scary story from the sleep over.  We just couldn't get ghosts and goonies and things that go bump in the night out of our minds.  (Okay, the truth is...I couldn't get ghosts and goonies and things that go bump in the night out of my mind.  Krumbs is just fine, thank you!) 

After three nights of nightmare filled sleep I decided that enough was enough.  (Okay, my mom and dad decided enough was enough)  I needed something to take my mind OFF ghoulish ghosties and ONTO some cool and unusual, wonderful and wacky stuff.  Of course, I turned to my trusty friend Krumbs and the Imagination Cafe! 

First we visited the "Quizzes" section of the Cafe--good stuff, my friends, good stuff.  I found a great quiz to help me learn more about myself and...$$$MONEY$$$.  That's right!  I took the quiz called "Money Come or Money Go?" by Shannon Caster and I found out I'm like a bank teller.  Check out the quiz yourself and find out what it means to be a "bank teller" and to find out who you are in the wild world of saving and spending.

Next, we went to the "Games" section of the Cafe.  What better thing to take your mind off the weebie jeebies than a little game room fun?  We played some of our favorites like "Tic Tac Toe" and "Coconut Cabana".  Which games are your favorite?  We like games we can play together!

Visiting the Cafe did the trick!  I had a great night's sleep and I feel so much better.  Goodbye nightmares, ghouls and goblins and hello dreamland.  I'm grateful, my parents are grateful and even Krumbs is grateful.  How do you get rid of your bad dreams?

I hope you have an awesome weekend plannedKrumbs and I have softball, pogo sticking and hanging out with friends planned for Saturday and Sunday.  I can tell you one thing we aren't planning--another scary sleepover!

Check back next week!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Animals+Ghost Stories+Sleeping Outside=WEEBIE-JEEBIES!

Good Morning!

OH BOY we had a great weekend, but it's Wednesday and we're still recovering.  The TGIF sleepover was a tremendous success.  Our party had great food, great friends, something amazingly cute and something amazingly terrifying! OH...and we didn't sleep a wink!

We had watermelon pops, English muffin pizzas and we even made homemade dog biscuits.  The food rocked!  One friend brought over chicken wings with blue cheese dressing and another brought ice cream-ugh...so much for healthy eating.

We decided to sleep outside on our deck with sleeping bags since it was a warm, clear night.  That might have been a mistake...or maybe not, depending on how you feel about animals and ghost stories.  Maybe I should explain-

We were stretched out on the deck while it was still a little light out and guess what we saw?  A mother chipmunk walked across the yard carrying one baby in her mouth, while another one toddled behind her.  We couldn't believe how tiny the babies were and that one of them could already walk.  The walking baby was wobbly and stopped several times to rest, but it was so little and so cute.  It's baby chipmunk legs were like little matchsticks!  Even Krumbs couldn't bring himself to want to chase these chipmunks.

Once it started to get dark, we exhausted ourselves playing "Flashlight Tag".  After some huge drinks of water, I thought for sure we'd fall asleep but someone (Krumbs!) decided we needed a good ghost story.  Trust Krumbs to pull out the laptop and bring us to the Cafe.  Have you read the story of "The House That Sarah Built" by Judy Parker?  I've never been so freaked out by a story-and it's true! 

I can't stop thinking and thinking and thinking about the story.  I still have the weebie-jeebies and it's been four days!!!!!  Check out the story and see for yourself.  What do you think?  Am I just overreacting?  (Me? Overreact?  Never!)

There you have it...the slumber pary stories.  Have a great day and check back soon!

Friday, June 8, 2012

It's a TGIF Slumber Party!!!

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!

Yes, yes, yes, it's Friday and Krumbs and I couldn't be happier.  We're having a slumber party tonight!  Yep, it's true.  After years of begging and pleading, arguing and cajoling, my parents have finally caved and Krumbs and I are partying it up!

We're going to have three friends and their dogs so we have a lot to plan.  Since we all love to cook, love to be outside and (at least three of us) love chipmunk chasing, we've got an inside and outside agenda going on.  Check out the plans:
  • First, we're going to make some snacks.  Krumbs and I are trying to stay healthy so we scoured the Cafe for some fun snacks that aren't too unhealthy.  That was a pretty good plan.  We found directions for yummy Watermelon Pops and Frogs on a Log.  (Sweet and Salty-just perfect!)  We're saving the ingredients so our friends can help us cook because cooking is part of the fun!
  • Then, we're planning on some awesome outside games.  We love making obstacle courses and then timing ourselves to see who can complete the course the fastest.  It is SOOOO much fun.  (We'll also have some chipmunk chasing...to keep everyone happy!)
  • When it's time for dinner, we're planning English Muffin Pizzas!  They are our all around favorite dinner...BONUS-we can make them ourselves with just a little help.  Check out my picture for directions in case you want to make them tonight too!
  • After dinner, we're going to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on DVD and then, when it's late and dark outside, we're going to play "Flashlight Tag" in our yard! 
It is going to be a fabulous first slumber party!  Have you had a slumber party yet?  What are your favorite things to do?  Tell us about it! 

Check back on Monday for "Super Stories from the Slumber Party"!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

We're Thinking in Threes!

Good Morning Everyone!

Krumbs and I made the coolest discovery in the Café yesterday and it has us thinking in threes!  Our find is an article on triathlons and let me tell you, our interest is PIQUED!  Maybe I should explain myself.

Remember how Krumbs and I decided to be healthy and stay healthy?  Well, the whole idea is going well.  We tried some new fruits and I have to say they probably won't be our favorites, but we found we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE star fruit and kiwi.  We also walked a mile yesterday because I didn’t have softball practice.  What, I’m sure you’re wondering, does any of this have to do with thinking in threes?

Well, Krumbs and I were checking out the Café, looking for something new in the sports section of the “Weekly Special” when we found an article by Rochelle Groskreutz called “Just Tri It”.  I have to tell you, just the title was intriguing.  (That might be why my writing teaching always says to make sure you have an awesome title—the title totally drew us in!)

The article is all about triathlons and tri-athletes.  Do you know if you compete (yep, triathlons are definitely competitions!) in a triathlon, you actually compete in three different sports, one right after the other?!??!  Seriously, triathlons include swimming the length of a pool 4 times, riding 3.1 miles on a bike and then running 2/3 of a mile!  I can’t even imagine it…but I’d like to try!

Krumbs and I are going to start running 2/3 of a mile and then we’ll see if we can add bike riding.  Later on, when it’s warmer out, we’ll try swimming.  Maybe by the end of the summer we can put it all together and do our own little “at home” triathlon!

What do you think?  Could you do a triathlon?  Check out Rochelle Groskruetz’s article and find out for yourself.

Check back with us soon!

Monday, June 4, 2012

IT'S GREEN AND GOOPY AND CRUSTY AND GONE!

Good Morning and Happy, Happy Monday!
And do you know why it’s a "Happy Monday"?  My green, goopy, crusty, nasty eye is all gone.  Well, the eye is still here but all the nasty, gross and disgusting stuff is gone-thank goodness!!!  Those eye drops were like magic!  I took them twice and the yellow goop disappeared and by the next morning, my eyes were a little pink and a little itchy, but those eyes almost passed for normal!!!!  I am so thankful for medicine and for my healthy self!

Now that I am healthy, Krumbs and I have decided it’s time to stay healthy.  We’ve started a “Walking Warriors” club.  We plan to walk one mile every day that we don’t have softball practices or games.  We also decided to try to eat healthier.  We’re cutting out junk food and making room for more fruits and vegetables.  The Café has an awesome article on odd and unusual fruits called “Scary, Hairy, Scaly—Freaky Fruits” by Sandra Muncaster.  The author wrote about completely crazy fruits we never knew existed.  Did you ever hear of fruit called Durian?  (You would if you lived in Southeast Asia!)  Krumbs and I are going on a fruit hunt.  We’re going to check and see if we can find the fruits Sandra Muncaster wrote about in “Freaky Fruits”…and then we’re going to have a taste test!  Check out the article and see if you can find those wacky fruits in the store. After you've looked around and tasted some common and not so common fruits, share with us…Tell us your favorite fruit!

Time to go!  Check back soon…Krumbs and I are sure to have more to share!

Friday, June 1, 2012

CREEPY AND GREEN, GOOPY AND CRUSTY -OH MY!

How do you know it’s a bad morning?

It starts like this…Beep!  Beep!  BEEP!  BEEP!  You slam your hand on the alarm button, roll over and try to open your eyes.  Wait a second!  It feels like your eye is glued shut.  One eye opens but the other just won’t.  What, you wonder, is going on?

You jump out of bed faster than a jackrabbit bouncing in clover and race to the mirror.  And then you see it.  Your face is taken up by a huge, swollen eye with creepy, crawly green goop seeping through the crusty eyelashes.  You can’t help it…you let out a scream—

MOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!”

She knows just by the sound of your scream that this one is serious.  She flies up the stairs, takes one look and says, “Honey, you have pink eye and we’re going to the doctor”.
Pink eye?  You think. How does she know my eye is pink when I can’t even get it open?!?

 Only later, at the doctor’s office, do you find out that pink eye is the name of a bacterial infection that’s also called conjunctivitis.  The doctor also removes the crusty, green goop and suddenly, your eye opens and what used to be white is now, indeed, bright pink.  (And it is so disgustingly awful, I can't even draw you a picture-be thankful for that. Be thankful!)

 That everyone is why Krumbs and I will be home today.  We will spend our day visiting the Café (I’ll share all my new Café discoveries!) and reading entries for the After School Awards.  (Have you entered yet?)  We hope you have a fabulous, goop-free, crust-free weekend!

Check Back on Monday for a Less crusty, Less creepy, More happy, ME!!!