To be continued...

After five months of asking if "tonight would be a good night" (and it just never was) to make his volcano, Ben finally got his wish. Troy and Dan (known for their cool gifts) gave him this fun kit for Christmas. Tuesday evening the weather, parent availability to help, and hours remaining before bedtime were perfect. Ben was able to get his hands all gross and squishy in the paper mache mix and sculpt his volcano. All of the neighborhood kids came over to watch, only one dared to join in the mixing and plunge his hand into the slimy goo. Josh was surprisingly facsinated with the little booklet all about volcanos that came with the kit. While Ben was concentrating on smoothing the sides, Josh kept being blown away by what he could learn from the pictures in the booklet, "Whoa! Did you know there are volcanoes under water?? Mom, is that true? Look at this..." We are now in the middle of the "let dry for three days" step. Hopefully tomorrow it will be ready for its first eruption. Stay tuned...

EDIT: I forgot that Scott was taking the big three with him on a campout/Virginia Creeper bike ride this weekend. Unfortunately we probably won't have a chance to spill lava until Monday at the earliest. When asked if he'd rather stay home and do the volcano or go on the trip, Ben had to stop and think about it.