Party Spotlight: Party Like An Animal Housewarming!

This week we have a very special treat for all of our beloved readers (AKA you)! It's a fun little thing we call a "Party Spotlight"! We love hosting parties, and want to share with you some of the delectable highlights of our latest shindigs. This week, we had a housewarming at our new place! Con Bro Chill (the River Otter's favorite dance band) inspired the theme, "Party Like an Animal!"
To make sure guests felt welcome as soon as they came (or to save them the embarrassment of showing up to the neighbors' dressed like a kangaroo) our entrance to the party welcomed our guests:

Then, decorations. Plastic animals with party hats were a must, and threaded garlands added a wonderful touch:

Yes, they were uncommonly adorable. We adore lawn games, so all of our favorites were there:

But, of course, the best part was all of the party animals that showed up to celebrate and dance to Con Bro Chill (here is the River Otter with three cougars):

Top it off with Swedish Fish, a cucumber and tomato snake, "Fish and Chips" (goldfish crackers and Ruffles), animal crackers and mini corn dogs and you got yourself one wild party.

"Will we possibly live on Mars in the next 20ish years? Or maybe the Moon? I need to know this..and prepare." - Ashleigh Cropper

The River Otter: 
Yes. Definitely. No question. I commend your gusto for emergency preparedness, Ashleigh. Some things you will need to know as you pack for the big move: in the future we will all wear asymmetrical zipped jackets, like this:

or maybe like this: 

 If you're especially cool. All of our clothing will be silver or iridescent.

Oooh, pretty. 

Stock up now. Our skin will have the capacity to change patterns. Because of this I will look like a mermaid butterfly. It will be awesome. You'll want to bring a camera so you can take pictures with me. We will all wear those floaty shoes that Leonardo Da Vinci invented to walk on water...but we will wear them all the time.

We will use a lot of his other inventions, like plastic and armored tanks. Most importantly, things on Mars will perfectly follow the writings of Ray Bradbury in "The Martian Chronicles."

So reading this is going to be your best bet for survival...and paranoia. Good luck!


The Silver Fox:

Twenty years.  It is definitely crazy to think about what is going to happen 20 years from now!  20 years before I was born we landed on the moon.  This year we received close-up images of Pluto.  20 years from now? I bet it will be possible to live on Mars or the moon.  

But, there is a lot to prepare for.  Although Mars is more like Earth than any other planet, I learned that there are some extreme differences when it comes to supporting life forms.  Because Mars is farther away from the sun than Earth, it has extremely cold temperatures (colder than Antarctica.) It also has way too much carbon dioxide and the air would be toxic to us.  The atmosphere on Mars is thinner than that on earth, and so the ultraviolet rays reaching the surface would be a rather large dilemma for us as well.  Also, the surface gravity on Mars is 38% of what it is on earth.  This could pose future problems as populations spend extended times on Mars, because the lessened gravitational pull will likely cause weaker muscles and lower bone density.  

So what is the solution? Bundle up in your parka (or maybe 10-20 of them), put bricks in your boots, get ready to live underground, and make sure you’ve studied up on how to make water since there doesn’t seem to be a lot of it there…  Then buckle your seat belt because it’s going to be a 6-7 month ride to our red neighbor!

(Also, in researching this question I found some great quotes on Mars and I'd like to share a personal favorite. This is from Elon Musk: I'd like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.)

"When is eggplant ever a good idea?" - Tegan Steimle

The River Otter:
There are many times eggplant is a good idea. Here are some ideas for using your eggplant:
1. Put on some tiny wheels and you have your own "Eggplant-mobile" that could be a healthy alternative to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
2. Throw it under an opponents tire during a bike race to ensure a win.
3. Carve it out. Now you have a bowl.
4. Carve it out. Now you have a boat.
5. Carve it out. Now you have a freaky Polly Pocket house.
6. A funny hat.
7. If you do improv, use it as a light bulb prop by holding it straight up above your head and opening your mouth and eyes wide while pointing your index finger in the air to show you have an idea.
8. A terrible hammer.
9. A fake baby if kept in a baby bjorn or stroller.
10. Hollowed out and filled with a message, then stopped up with a cork it could save your life on a desert island.
11. A percussion instrument (like maracas).
12. Catapult ammo.
13. Cut it up. Now you have a full Frisbee golf set.
14. Cut it up. Now you have a new set of coasters.
15. Cut it up. Now you can play Coaster Frisbee Golf with JC Martin.
16. A fake chocolate covered banana for a prank.
17. The leaves can be used for a medium sized fairy hat.
18. If sewn together, a very weird Halloween costume.

The Silver Fox:
Ummm...well....huh.  Good question.  A few weeks ago I received an eggplant through Bountiful Baskets and the only thing I could think of to do with it was to use it as a baseball bat...and it wasn't even very effective that way.