Volcanic

Given recent events, the Short One and I have been spending some time learning about volcanoes. My mother actually managed to find a book on the subject meant for elementary school-aged kids. I have to simplify the contents a bit, but he's been quite interested to learn about how volcanoes are formed and their destructive power (what is it with boys and destruction, eh?). The SO, in particular, loves all of the dramatic photos of molten lava spitting and flowing from the volcano.

So, imagine how impressed he was when he discovered that we actually had lava rock in the house (although he was a little disappointed that it wasn't glowing orange, as in the photos). Yep, I took out my small stash of lava beads (some of which he surreptitiously added to his rock collection - I pretended not to notice) and we discussed how the stone looked and felt and what we liked about it. From my perspective, this was a nice, educational and practical way to use the beads. In the end, we took a little time out to make matching bracelets on stretchy cord, too. Here's the SO's version. Pretty manly, eh? I'll have to find some obsidian, now...