Beauty of Nature

A breath of fresh air,
As sunlight reflects on gleaming blue waters so fair.
Where mountains meet as the golden star sets,
O such wonderful scenery one mustn't forget.

Along the path where the river divides,
Such spectacular view of the ocean incessantly wide.
Forth daffodil fields of familiar scent anew,
As baby's breath refreshed with droplets of morn's dew.

Out on the plain, cumulus clouds blanket the sky,
Hereafter downpour, a rainbow emerges before your eyes.
A handful of earth consists of aesthetically precious ore,
The intrinsic values of which became obvious lore.

You glance as you stroll down the trail ahead,
The comeliness of such creation is something to be said.
Appreciate the moment we have surreal,
Tis the beauty of nature makes you feel.
~Misilla de la Llana

Ape Caves, Mt. St. Helens

Lava tunnel hike near Mt. St. Helens: 2 miles round trip.
Good sturdy shoes, warm coats and headlights are a must!

Wallace Falls, Goldbar, WA

Nice hike, pretty views of the lower and middle falls. Total distance roundtrip: 5.5 miles.

Ice Caves At The Big Four, Granite Falls, WA

Great hike for families. Enjoy the beautiful scenery from afar, the melting ice can be very dangerous. Other than that the kids had a good time. Nice short hike with distance of 2.2 miles roundtrip.

Ice caves are formed by avalanches.

Snoqualmie Falls

A little stroll on a beautiful day to Snoqualmie Falls.

Polymer Crystal Gel Balls...Super Absorbent Polymer Gels

A polymer is a really big molecule made of little molecules linked together. When we placed the tiny marbles (2 millimeter in diameter each) in water, they expanded up to 10 times from its original size measuring from 10 mm 20 mm (1/4 to 3/4 inch) in diameter. Each marble can hold up to 300 times its weight in water.

The marbles bounce, because polymers are elastic like rubber. These marbles can be used for decoration.

That was little Nick making silly noises :-)

Volcano Project

Our homemade volcano and eruption powered by vinegar and baking soda (red food coloring added). Volcano is made from plaster and fabric wrapped around a card board mold.

Rocket Powered by Vinegar and Baking Soda

When vinegar and baking soda are mixed together they create carbon dioxide which releases gas that powers the rocket to take off. Here's a video of the rocket:

Oregon Coast Trip

On Spring break we drove down the Oregon coast. We went to see the sea lion caves, which is the biggest sea cave in the world. It was windy and rainy so the ocean waves were pretty large. We also went to the aquarium, my favorite part was watching the sharks.

Gravity Goo

I made gravity goo by mixing water and linear polyacrylamide (polymer).

By pouring the mixture into two cups back and forth for about ten minutes, the substance turned into "goo". I put drops of red food coloring for the color.

Making Crystals

Golden Amber

Aquamarine Blue

I like growing crystals, because it is fun. It took three to four days for them to grow. My mom helped me with this project, because it was hard. We mixed monoammonium phosphate (salt of ammonia) with hot water and poured the mixture over small rocks. We used the Smithsonian crystal growing kit.

Crystals