(Not Quite) Live Blogging the 4th of July, Part 3

11:32 a.m. I decided that we should do some sand sculpting, from a recipe I saw in a Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. So, while Mama went outside with the kids and looked for natural embellishments like stones and sticks, I stayed inside and mixed up a batch of what can best be called Sand Playdough. It took longer than I thought but soon we were outside with plastic containers, sticks, stones, and shells, making towers and turrets and gates and doors and window in the warm, sandy goo. Sis sprinkled the whole thing with a covering of loose, dry sand.

12:10 p.m. Mama heads inside to start lunch. (Oh, and I tried a crystallized watermelon slice--it was okay, refreshing but not too tasty. But then, I don't think the watermelon was fully ripe. I would try it again.). The kids and I play with their parachute guys and then with the sprinkler. In the end, I chased them around the yard with the hose, delighting Sis but upsetting Bud. Can't win 'em all.

12:58 p.m. With canopy in place and table set, we are ready to eat outside. Mama, like a short order cook, has made a hamburger (for Sis), fish sandwich (for Bud), veggie burger (for me), faux chicken pattie (for herself), plus oven-baked fries. We put the watermelon on the table, as well as the ramen salad and some three-bean salad we had from the warehouse store. Lunch was served! And it was delicious (even the several flies thought so).

1:46 p.m. With table cleared, we were ready for ice cream. But we had to make it first, in our rolly ice cream ball. I tidied up the kitchen while Mama mixed ice and rock salt (which I'd finally located not at the grocery store but at the department store, next to the ice cream makers) in the outer chamber and then cream, sugar, and vanilla in the inner cylinder. We all went to the shady spot in the backyard and spread out the huge rainbow beach blanket. And, not throwing or kicking it, we rolled the big, plastic, orange ball back and forth between us, playing a game. We named things we liked--colors, animals, food, people, places to go--and, if we couldn't think of something in that category, we just changed categories. The kids had trouble rolling and thinking at the same time, but the ice cream was definitely making progress at the 10-minute mark. We rolled it for 7 more minutes (after Mama stirred it and refilled the ice/rock salt), singing the ABC song, counting, calling each other's names. Then it was done.

2:17 p.m. We were all at the table digging into our delicious soft-serve vanilla ice cream. Sis added chocolate syrup to hers, while Mama, Bud, and I spooned on some of the macerated strawberries from the morning. Wow! What a wonderful taste of summer. I think those sweetened strawberries would be good in lemonade with some seltzer.

2:44 p.m. With the backyard and porch cleared (though the kitchen slightly a wreck), we headed upstairs to start rest time. Whew, I need a rest before s'mores and sparklers!

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Sand Playdough

3 cups sand

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups cornstarch

old cooking pot

plastic cups, funnels, etc.

seashells and other natural embellishments

Mix the sand, water, and cornstarch together in the old pot over low heat, stirring until mixture is thick and starts to hold shape (this takes at least 10 minutes, or more). It will seem dry at first, then quickly turn wet.

Remove from heat and allow to cool 1-2 minutes.

Shape your castle the way you would on the beach using a shovel, cups, funels, and more (actually, we had trouble getting the sand playdough out of the molds, and just took to shaping it with our hands). Embellish with seashells, etc.

Allow to harden fully at least overnight. A day and a half works great.

Scholastic Parent & Child magazine.