Not for the Faint of Heart

I spent hours editing Pennsylvania photos yesterday (thanks for the kick in the pants, Kara!), and I hope to start sharing some tomorrow.

Last school year I began setting aside Thursdays as Denton-only days, or as my kids call them--No-Friend days.  I loved having that day with just my kids so much that we have continued the practice this year, minus Lily since she doesn't get home from junior high until 4:15.

I have been filing ideas from Pinterest all summer in preparation for Thursday activities.  This last week, the boys and I filled cups with vinegar and submerged eggs for a few days.

 The vinegar starts working immediately, eating through the calcium carbonate of the shells, and the boys loved checking on the eggs to see how much of each shell had dissolved.  Admittedly, Hyrum's lack of patience kicked in and he complained that this was the worst experiment ever because it took so long.

We removed the eggs from the vinegar a few days later, rinsed the dusty remaining shell from the egg, and this is what was left:

The eggs, because the membrane allows vinegar to pass through to the white of the egg (osmosis, as we talked about), swell up to almost twice their size.  They feel like a water balloon, but they aren't quite as strong.

Hyrum just loves carrying his around, which did freak me out a little bit at first, but he's pretty careful about it. Yes, I let my boys carry around shell-less raw eggs.  I'm just brave like that, I guess.

Micah and his friend set Micah's egg up on the mailbox and pulled out the Nerf guns.

 Although they got pretty close, I don't think they could have shot it hard enough to break it.

 We've done this twice this last week, and it's been pretty fun.  I think my perspective may have changed if one of the eggs had exploded on the boys.  They carefully placed them in a cup when they went to bed last night, but I think the Egg Fairy may dispose of them while they're at school.

And what about the eyelashes on this boy?  He has my heart, that kid.