The Thompson Zoo

Home on the Range

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Guest post by Crazy Fox.

We went to a cattle ranch and we saw a lot of cows and some babies.

There was over 325 cows all together and we got to feed them all.

We got to ride on a hay wagon and it was fun.

The cows were hungry.

I like this cow a lot because he looks cool.

These cows are heifers. That means they have not given birth to a calf.

Just One Extra Hour . . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0000

So much for resolutions.

We woke up this morning to fresh snow. I had big plans for today. A new week, a new year and a new schedule. We were going to start school as soon as the Zookeeper left for work. The only problem is, I love to have fun with my kids. I love to make memories with them. I think it is one of the joys of home schooling to tell your kids they can go play in the falling snow. We still got all our school work done. We just took one extra hour of Christmas vacation.

Little Lady and Crazy Fox making snow bricks.

Digging Badger making a stockpile of snowballs.
(Thanks Great Grandma and Great Grandpa!)

Crazy Fox sliding down the hill.

Digging Badger on his snowboard.

Little Lady doing what Little Lady does.

Little Lady's Tobaggan Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:50:00 +0000

This morning's fun started out great. Little Lady lugged the toboggan up the short slope and waited for her turn to go down. She has learned it is better to let one of her boys go down first to pack down the snow.

She was all set and ready to go.

She gave it a little forward heave ho, but she didn't move.

Her brother gave her a little help and she started in a downhill direction.

But still no speed. None at all.
She leaned over the side and started digging herself out. All three of them were laughing so hard. Little Lady continually cracks us up. She was just so matter-of-fact in the way she decided that she could dig her sled out and gain the speed she was looking for. All the while laughing with that deep belly laugh, the genuinely tickled laugh that can not be reproduced. It is the laugh that comes out of her when she is making other people laugh. The noise that allows her to get away with almost anything.

One more little heave ho, and she was off!

Little Lady guiding the toboggan like a pro.
Can I have some hot cocoa?
I love that girl!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:36:00 +0000

The kids and I had a quiet evening at home. Well, it wasn't really quiet. You see we took all of the Christmas decorations off the tree and transformed it into a New Year's Eve tree. We put shiny hats and horns and sparkly tinsel and garland all over it.

We had a basket of noise makers and instruments we found around the house. And the kids used them . . . all night long. It was really very festive, just not really quiet.

Little Lady helped me decorate our clock cake. We just used what we had on hand.

We made it 11:59 so we could do a count down.

Happy new year from our zoo to yours!

O Christmas Tree

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:39:00 +0000

Our family is a real tree kind of family. We love to walk into the living room and smell the pine scent. We love that our tree is different every year. We love making a yearly ornament out of a slice of the trunk. Oh, and of course the challenge of keeping the water full and the floor clean. The convenience of an artificial tree is tempting, but we have not given in yet.

We were planning on getting our tree the first week of December, but one thing led to another and come Christmas eve, we still did not have a Christmas tree. We have friends that always get their tree on the 24th. It is their family tradition to go get their tree and decorate it after dinner on Christmas eve. I myself an more of a planner. Decorating a tree is a messy undertaking. But as the month passed by and our living room was still void of a tree, I realized that most of the tree lots were also void of trees. And then I realized that we would be putting our gifts under a house plant if we didn't take action.

It so happened that the Zookeeper was working a 24 hour shift on Christmas eve. I had called around to several stores and guess what, they were all out of trees too. There is a landscaper that grows trees not to far from us, so I gave him a call. He said, "You need a tree today? Well I stopped selling trees a few days ago, but you are welcome to anything out in the pile". Usually this pile is clippings and dead trees from his jobs that he burns every few months. So I thought to myself, maybe we can get some branches and try to shape them into a tree, anything would be better than my sickly pothos plant.

So the kids and I loaded into the truck for the 1/4 mile trip. It was of course, snowing by this time. We pulled up to "the pile" and under the snow there were several Christmas trees still wrapped in twine! I tugged on the first one I could uncover and dragged it away from the pile. Digging Badger helped me get it into the back of the truck. We drove the short trip home and backed into the driveway.

The fairy tale tree story takes a short break here. . .

We somehow managed to get the water-logged tree onto the porch. I was covered in snow and very heavy. I got the tree stand out and tried putting it on, but the trunk was just as big as the opening of the stand. The boys helped me hold it and turn it enough that we got it crammed into the stand, but then it started to lean, so I tightened it some more, and then it leaned some more and the boys thought they were going to be killed on Christmas eve by a huge Christmas tree that refused to stand up.

We'll just do it the old fashioned way. I don't need to water it anyway. So out to the shop I went to find some scrap wood and a few screws. I grabbed the power drill too, because after turning the rusty screws in the tree stand back and forth, my hands were aching. Half way back to the house I dropped one of the screws, a black screw, onto the white, snow-covered driveway. I looked for the screw for ever, but it could not be found. I'm sure one of our tires will find it. Back to the shop to get another screw. I'll just grab a few extra this time. So, I get back to the house, which has it's door wide open, because there is a monster of a tree hanging out of it, while it is literally freezing outside and the heater is blasting, but I don't care because I am sweating after trying to get this tree up. I screwed the first piece of wood into the bottom of the trunk. That was easy! I get the other cross piece started and guess what? The battery goes dead. So back out to the shop I go to switch out batteries. By the way, it is still snowing. So now the cross piece is on and the boys help me stand the tree up. . . until it hits the ceiling. All I can think of is Chevy Chase and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I got the loppers and cut the top 16 inches off that tree. That was easy! We got it to stand up without tipping over and it is now 1/2 an inch from the ceiling. Still room for a star!

I cut the twine expecting there to be a big poof of branches opening up, glad to be unbound. There was no poof. There was no being unbound. There was just a stiff, frozen, skinny tree.

I started to pull the branches down like you would an artificial tree coming out of storage. I thought this is great, I get the smell of a real tree and the fun of fluffing a fake tree.

Notice the frosty color on the branches. That is not camera effects people, that is the real deal.

As I am fluffing up our tree, I begin to wonder how safe it is to put lights onto a tree that is dripping melting snow into a puddle on the floor. I put a few towels around it and decided to take a lunch break.

Back to our previous fairy tale. . .

We plugged in the lights that were all untangled and all worked. We trimmed our tree with Christmas music playing in the background. The kids each put on their ornaments from years past. And they all went to bed with visions of sugar plums in their heads.

And on Christmas morning when the Zookeeper walked in the door, he saw only the love that went into putting our tree up.

Our Knights in Shining Armor

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:09:00 +0000

We are in the middle of our Christmas break from school. We have been studying medieval times. The boys have not given up their lessons completely though. They have been taking advantage of the snow and acting out jousting tournaments in our yard. But instead of horses they are using sleds and instead of lances they are using pool noodles.

They have been doing this a lot.

Reformation Day

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:29:00 +0000

My knights in shining armor guarding their fair lady.

Little Lady was a fair maiden, but after she took the tulle off her crown,

she told everyone she was a queen.

Digging Badger and Crazy Fox prepared to defend the castle.

The boys and the Zookeeper in the final stages of sword construction. Everyone was a little tired here. They were really having fun, it just wasn't captured on film.

Apple Picking

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:21:00 +0000

The kids and I went apple picking today and we had so much fun. We went to a small u-pick orchard. The favorite job was holding the huge picking basket. . .

. . . until it was full.

The orchard has an ongoing contest for the largest apple picked. We didn't know about it until we took our load of apples to be weighed, but Digging Badger's came in at 12 ounces. Little Lady and Crazy Fox both had an apple that weighed 12.5 ounces.

Along with her big apple, Little Lady had one baby apple that she held onto all morning. I bet it is going to be tart!

Crazy Fox was very good at finding any defects on the apples, before he picked them.

We picked Golden Delicious, Rome and Crisp Red apples. We sampled them on the way home and they are wonderful. We are planning on making applesauce, an apple cake and some apple crisps for the freezer.

Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple,

but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.

~Robert Schuller~

I Can Can

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:29:00 +0000

It is beginning to feel like real country living around here.

One of our sweet neighbors invited the kids and me down to her kitchen to learn how to can. They had a bountiful crop of peaches and extra jars that she generously shared with us. We had a great day learning how to skin the peaches, (the boys favorite part) and the rest of the process. My pantry shelves look so pretty with the jars of peaches all lined up, that I was inspired to do more. We stopped at the local fruit stand last weekend and bought more peaches. I canned some, froze some and made peach pie filling with some. I also had a failed attempt at fruit leather. When we got home from the fruit stand we had two big bags of plums left by our other neighbors. I made two batches of plum jam and have some in the freezer for smoothies.
I also canned some tomatoes and made salsa from our garden tomatoes.

We also had our first full dozen fresh eggs. We had some for lunch today and they taste wonderful!

It is very satisfying to grow, harvest and preserve your own food. Knowing that our pantry is well stocked with the fresh foods of summer, that will last us all winter long, makes me feel like a woman from another era. Although I am not giving up my dishwasher or washer and dryer just yet. And I'm sure those pioneer women didn't blog about their canning experiences.

First of Fall

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Autumn is a second spring when every flower is a leaf.
~Author Unknown ~

We celebrated the first day of our favorite season with a bike ride along the Boise River.

I have loved this bridge since the first time I saw it. The bridge itself is not all that much to look at, but just the idea of a single lane, truss bridge feels like small town living. Maybe it's because I drive over this bridge to get to one of my dearest friend's home. Or, maybe it's because my dad always slows down to look at old bridges and barns when he drives. Whatever it is, I always enjoy driving over it, riding over it, or sitting under it. The weather was perfect today. Everything was clean from the weekend's rain storm. The sky was beautifully blue with bright, white clouds floating overhead. This was all framed by trees speckled with golden and red leaves.

We took a break under the bridge to play on the bank of the river.

Little Lady built a sand castle.

Crazy Fox found a big stick and some old fishing line and fished the river a bit.Digging Badger just had fun running in the sand and being outside.Here's little Lady and me with the new bike trailer.

(She loves riding along with me and talked the entire time we were riding.)
How beautifully the leaves grow old. How full of light and color their last days.

~John Burroughs ~

Eggs-cellent

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:39:00 +0000

We got our first eggs today!

Crazy Fox went out to feed the chickens and found an egg. He was so excited he came running in to show me. We went back out and found two more. We only have three chickens left and they all layed their first egg on the same day. We haven't eaten any yet, but are looking forward to the taste of fresh eggs.

This Might Sound a Little Corny. . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:50:00 +0000

Corn Pickers

We got an email from one of the local food banks saying a seed field had been donated to the food bank. They just needed people to come pick the corn. So we were able to go pick as much corn as we could haul away, keep what we could use and deliver the rest to the food bank. So we went to the field and met lots of other helpers there. The kids had a great time picking the corn and carrying it back to me in their huge bags.

Crazy Fox poses for me like a pro.

Digging Badger only picked the huge ears.

Little Lady was a little concerned she would be lost forever if she lost sight of me.

We had taken a few loads to the car and were just packing up the last of the boxes when a man came up to us and told us nicely that we were in the wrong field. He said the food bank had made a mistake. He told us to take what we had already picked and go. Then he left to go tell the other twenty families that were picking his profits to go home.

My Mini Mr. Fix-Its

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:30:00 +0000

We have been looking for a used tag-a-long trailer for Little Lady. We finally found one, but it had a flat tire. The Zookeeper taught Crazy Fox how to patch bike tubes about a month ago and he has had lots of practice already. He took it out to the shop to repair the tube.

Digging Badger decided to take the hand brakes off his scooter.

(They have been sticking and slowing him down).

The tube is all fixed and ready to go back on.

This is what we call discovery learning.

See anything wrong in this picture?

He won't make that mistake again.

Now that the chain is on, Crazy Fox tightens everything up.

One last turn of the wrench and those brakes won't be slowing him down anymore.

Don't worry, he still has the foot brakes.

August in Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:57:00 +0000

The last few weeks of summer flew by without even an update on "the blog". We were too busy spending our days playing and enjoying each other. We had a lot of fun things to fit in before we started school last week.

We did a lot of this. . .

And this . . .

We had some sleepovers . . .With some puppies . . .

We went fishing in Cascade and Little Lady caught her first fish!And then she caught another one!The boys decided they better check their bait.

We found out that our car was in fact totalled, so we have been looking around for something else. Everything has worked out so far, now we are just looking for something that is a good fit for our family that is also in our budget. So for now, the kids and I are in the commuter kia and the Zookeeper is back to his diesel guzzling work truck.
The Zookeeper took the boys to work with him one day and they enjoyed a great day of fishing and playing in the creek at our neighbor's property.

Little Lady enjoyed a gymnastics class over the summer, but has suddenly decided she doesn't want to go anymore. One less thing to do each week!

Around here the cool evening breeze does not make us think of fall, but football season. The boys started back to football practice a few weeks ago and had their first scrimmage at Boise State. They won, and they are so excited for their next game on Saturday. I made sure the camera battery was charged, but forgot the minor detail of the memory card, so no pictures of that, but here's some of practice.

Digging Badger trying to get past Crazy Fox.

Crazy Fox doing drills with his team mates.

The boys took bowling lessons and did really well. Little Lady joined in a few practice games and has gotten to the point where she is holding the ball with one hand and I would guess has about as good of form as I do.

Our new family mascots from the pond next door. Toad-poles or Tadpoles?And a new litter of kittens.

We started school last week and found out about a campaign to send President Bush "A Thousand Thanks" for all the things he has done during his term as our president. The kids painted these and couldn't believe that they could actually mail them to him. I guess he is sort of a cardboard figure to them right now. It ties in perfectly to our first unit, electing America's leaders. I am hoping to re-learn right along with them.

The kids spent most of their summer hours making memories with each other. I don't think there is a better gift we could have given them.

The tans will fade, but the memories will last forever.

~unknown~

Our New Ride

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:41:00 +0000

We got our rental car yesterday.

I was expecting a white Taurus or something similarly bland, but they gave us this .

The Mazda 6

It is sure fun to drive.

Attention Walgreens Shoppers . . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:15:00 +0000

We were down to our last bottles of shampoo here at the zoo, so I headed out to Walgreen's with my crinkled, but dry coupons in hand.

Last week was another great deal week at Walgreen's

Here's what I got:

6 bottles of body wash

6 bottles of shampoo

7 bottles of conditioner

3 bars of soap

1 bottle of mineral foundation

2 boxes of trashbags

4 lightbulbs

4 bags of chocolate

Total before coupons: $110.27

Total after coupons $34.34

I paid with my Walgreen's gift card from previous rebates so my out of pocket was $0.

I got back $6 in register Rewards and will be getting back $39.10 in rebates.

This week looks like it will be free cereal week.

Check over at moneysavingmom.com to see all the great deals.

Grandma's Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:13:00 +0000

I always used to make cake from a cake mix. One day when I was feeling quite domestic, I remembered making a cake from scratch with my mom using my Grandma's recipe. This was quite a while ago, but I remembered it being so moist and delicious. So, I made this chocolate cake last month for my chocolate lover friend Farmgirl's birthday. It got rave reviews, so when it was time for me to make dessert again, I thought I would keep a good thing going. Only one problem, my recipe had vanished. Gone. Disappeared.

So I looked in my Betty Crocker cookbook that I always turn to for regular recipes that most of us just open a box to make these days. There was a recipe for chocolate cake, but I knew it wasn't the same. So I went straight to the source. I called my Grandma. She told me she used to make it once a week back when she was making seven lunches every morning. I can't even imagine packing seven lunches every morning. She said she stopped making it because it always boiled over. I have never had that problem, but I always have made it in two round cake pans instead of a 9X13 dish.

So, the recipe has been saved and the finished product was delicious!

Grandma Aldridge's Quick Chocolate Cake

In a saucepan melt

3 squares of unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup butter

Add 1 cup boiling water

Prepare

1 cup sour milk

(milk with a touch of vinegar to make 1 cup, let it sit at least 5 minutes)

In a mixing bowl stir together

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 pinch of salt

To flour mixture add the melted chocolate mixture and milk.

Beat in

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla (or more to taste)

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe Grandma!

What a Wreck

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0000

That is usually what I say when I walk into the room the kids are currently playing in. But this time I am referring to our car. The kids and I were out on a quick errand. We were driving beside a semi-truck on a rural highway not far from home. We were starting to slow down as we came up to a quaint little town. The truck turned right and out from that street came a green Grand Prix turning left, trying to get out of the truck's way. The only problem was that we were still going straight. It felt like we were in slow motion and I tried to get out of her way, but it could not be done. We slid to a stop on the other side of the highway and caught our breath. All of us were wearing our seat belts and were just a little shaken up. The other driver was fine too. I can't say as much for the two vehicles.

We were getting close to needing new tires anyway.

But the bumper was just fine. I guess we'll need a new one of those now too.

And maybe a few other parts.

I got out and hugged each of my precious children and we said a thankful prayer to God for protecting us. We have so many things to be thankful for. No one was injured. There were no vehicles in the oncoming lanes. No one was sitting in the passanger seat.

Now at this point I was thinking, "What now? I have three kids and two dogs with me, but my cell phone is sitting on my night stand." The police had been called and a nice man who had stopped to make sure everyone was okay let me use his phone call the Zookeeper.

While we waited for the tow truck I gathered the few thing that we had in the car. I found the contents of my coupon box that had been on the front seat opened and scattered onto the floor. That must have happened a split second before my cup of lemonade splashed all over it.

The tow truck came and took our car away and then we got to ride in the police cruiser up to town, so we didn't have to wait on the side of the road. The kids rode in the back seat with the two dogs. I looked back through the bullet proof glass and told them "I never want to see you in the back of a police car again!" They thought that was funny.

Farmgirl arrived just moments later and brought us safely home. (Thank you!)

Picking we will go . . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

The only thing better than raspberries are fresh-picked home-grown raspberries.

Our neighbors have a wonderful raspberry patch.

They invited us to come pick while they are out of town.

We were happily picking when we realized that we were getting bitten by mosquitoes. We went home and lathered on the bug spray. After we we safe from the bugs, we went back and finished picking. At least one of us was whistling while we worked. Little Lady was filling up her bucket mostly from Grandma's bucket.

Grandma had to work fast to stay ahead of Little Lady!

We have been enjoying fresh raspberries with our granola for breakfast and I have been able to freeze quite a few for later in the season. Thanks neighbors for sharing your bounty with us.

It' not so much picking the berries as it is a kind of treasure hunt for the kids.

-Mike Skinner-

Start Your Engines

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:14:00 +0000

We had planned to spend the last day of Grandpa and Grandma's visit doing something fun together. It was raining, so we were going to go to the indoor miniature golf course, but it was flooded. The boys just love our local arcade/fun house. We actually have only been there twice, both times when Grandma and Grandpa were here. The boys had a turn at the bumper cars and then played some games. Then they talked Grandpa into going on the bumper cars with them. It didn't take too much convincing.

Digging Badger ready to go.

Crazy Fox ready for action.

Grandpa was trying to beat Crazy Fox in the Top Skater game.

We all had a great time playing together and enjoying each other's fellowship.

And we found out that some of us are better at Deal or No Deal than others. ;)

It is a happy talent to know how to play.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Curly-Q

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Grandma and Grandpa were here for a visit last week and we had so much fun with them. This was just one of our many adventures.

We got Little Lady's hair wet and rag-rolled it.

Little Lady sat surprisingly still while Grandma told us stories about how her sister and her used to take turns rolling each other's hair.

She had so much fun with all her "bows" in her hair.

She slept soundly on her curlers. When we took them out the boys said "You look like a poodle!" This was fine with Little Lady, because she loves dogs and Cleo the poodle on Clifford.

We combed her ringlets out a little bit and pulled the front back into pony tails.

Here she is all ready for church.

Little Lady was very proud to look like her cousin Taylor. The curls turned into waves and then back into her beautiful straight hair after we washed it. It was fun to have a curly-Q for a day or two. Thanks for showing us how to do it Grandma!

Please be quiet. We need to hear a pin drop.

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Bowling has always seemed like summer to me. My mom used to bowl in a league, so when summer hit, my brother and I would always get to tag along and play a few games. We signed the kids up for this great bowling program called Kids Bowl free. They had such a great time and the competition was fierce!

Digging Badger waiting for his turn. He bowled 2 strikes.

Crazy Fox was trying to figure out the technical side of the game (no time for posing).

Little Lady did great with a little help. She was a great encourager to her boys.

In the end Digging Badger won the first game and Crazy Fox won the second.

Four . . . and 1/2

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:23:00 +0000

We are always looking for an excuse to celebrate around here. So, last week we celebrated Little Lady's 1/2 birthday with half of a cake and a few friends.

Little Lady loves parties and cake and of course being the center of attention. She told me today that it sure is hard to be 4 1/2.

Sing a song of Birthdays

Full of fun and cheer

And may you keep on having them

For many a happy year.

- Anonymous

Solar S'mores

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:50:00 +0000

The plan was to make Solar S'mores for dessert on the first day of summer but, that just didn't happen. So, we made them for dessert today instead. We had saved a pizza box just for this project and the kids were excited to make it. We got out the aluminum foil, black construction paper, and clear plastic and got busy. The chocolate had done some previous solar cooking in the car yesterday, so it isn't too pretty, but it melted again just fine. We got everything all set and then went out to find just the right spot to place our oven, trying to get maximum solar power.

It sure is bright out here!

About 10 minutes later the chocolate was melted. After we finished planting a few restarts in the garden we went back to check the progress. The kids decided it was time. The marshmallows were still a little firm, but they were warm. The graham crackers were nice and toasty too. The chocolate was a great consistency for say, dipping strawberries.

We ended up with a chocolate dipped sidewalk and three chocolate dipped kids, but a little mess is always worth a great memory with our kids!

Little Lady was all smiles holding her solar s'more.

Crazy Fox isn't afraid of sugar.

Digging Badger with his dripping S'more

Happy Summer

noreply@blogger.com (The Thompson Family) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Nothing says summer better than a lemonade stand.

We signed up to be part of the Crayons Lemonade Brigade. They sent us the blank cardboard stand and about 100 cans of lemonade to sell, to raise money for a charity of our choice. We chose Love Inc., which bands churches together to provide food, clothes and other services for people in need. We had a great time decorating our stand together. Unfortunately, our sales were not very good. Actually, we sat in the very hot sun for about and hour and a half at a local golf course and only sold two, TWO, cans of lemonade. It was a bit disappointing, but it was our best option for today. I was really surprised that so many businesses turned down charitable work by children. I called at least 10 places and everyone had a reason why we could not sell on their premises. I don't remember needing a permit to sell lemonade when I was a kid. Do you? All in all, the kids and I had a fun day together, even though we still have a big stack of lemonade to sell.