Out and about

We had a couple of fun field trips.  The first was to SLAC, the Stanford linear accelorator, with the Cub Scouts.  It was pretty interesting even though there really isn't that much to see.  One of the Cub Dads works there so he told us all about the research that goes on there and how it works.  It was originally designed for particle physics research.  It is still the longest linear accelorator, but most of that has not moved to the CERN in Europe.  It is now used in part as a source of high energy X-rays for things like X-ray chrystalography.  I had a great time.  I think the kids got something out of it.  If nothing else, my kids got to see the cool thing their great grandfather built.

During winter break we headed up to the City on a rainy day to go to the California Academy of Sciences with Grammie.  I think everyone else in town did too.  It was pretty busy, but we did get to see a lot of great exibits.  We went in the earthquake simulator.  Grammie remembered the big one in '89.  The simulator didn't quite compare to the real thing.  My favorite was the rain forest.

I love the butterflies....

and the tree frogs.  For some reason I'd never realized that they were so small.  They had several different species and most were quite tiny.

We also saw the aquarium.

My Girls demonstrated her fishy swimming moves.

Another great day out and about.  We were all pretty exhausted at the end of it all, but it was fun.

Happy Valentines Day

My Party-Planning-Girl is at it again.  So we invited all the girls in her class over for a little Valentine celebration.  That's only 9 girls, but by the time you add a bunch of Moms, a Dad, and a couple little brothers it was a house full.  We  decorated with heart streamers.  My Girl and I taped the tissue paper hearts together and strung them all over the kitchen and living room.  Very festive.

 

We colored and made love bugs from paper cut outs.

And we played a few rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose.  It is such a simple game, yet they always love it.  We had snacks and then for the grand finale we did a little treasure hunt in the back yard.  The treasure was a box of cutsey pencils and notebooks.  We went the non-food route since any food had to be vegan and gluten free for the guests.

 

Happy Heart Day!

P.S.  You can see the trunk of the fig tree lying on the ground back behind the kids.  It had to go before it got too big since no one likes figs except the neighborhood squirrels.  It's pretty satisfying to take out a tree.  We'll eventually replace it with something else.  Maybe an orange tree.

100 days

At school they celebrate the 100th day of the school year.  Each class has their own way of marking the occasion.  This year Buddy Boy's class made bridges out of 100 popsicle sticks.  No more.  No less.  The objective was to see if they could carry 50 pounds or at least beat the teacher.  It brought back memories of High School and the balsa wood bridge building contest sponsored by the University engineering dept.  Anyone who beat the principal got ice cream.  People really got in to it, especially the math teacher.

 

Buddy Boy decided that he wanted to build an art piece rather than a feat of engineering strength.  When he said that I was able to step back and just let him go.  I'd been trying to "guide" him a little bit too much.  He wanted it to look old and creepy like an abandoned mine shaft.  He decorated it with Minecraft guys, Creepers etc.

Both second grade classes made bridges so both classes and a few more came out for the testing.  There were some bridges strong enough for kids to stand on them and a few that took a long time to break because they were very flexible.  There's probably a lesson in there somewhere.  I'll look for it later.  The teacher build a Bridge Over Troubled Water that broke spectacularly, which was it's purpose.

Fun day.

I'm back...

Yesterday I gave the final exam for the class I'm teaching.  Primary no longer stresses me out to the point of migraines and skin rashes.  The kids still come on Tuesdays, but My Girl has had a 180 degree attitude adjustment and now likes having them come.  That makes it so much easier.  (For a day and a half she would complain about it!  We had several long talks about the need for a change in attitude and it worked.)  So, I'm back. 

I haven't been twiddling my thumbs nor did I have my nose in my text book the entire three months.  We had some fun and I have a few photos.  I'll share them all in bits and pieces.

In January we went to Reno for the weekend to visit friends and play in the snow.  There was enough snow on the ground that we could go to the park around the corner and sled.  It was the perfect sledding spot.  The kids were thrilled to pieces that they got to see snow AND go sledding.  The only thing that could have been better was if the snow had been good packing snow for snowmen and if I'd remembered my camera.  Maybe it's better without the camera.  I just had fun too.

One day My Girl made a paper garden.  She "dug holes" and planted seeds.

The next morning....

 

The seeds had sprouted!

Isn't nature amazing?

Happy Spring.