GIRL SCOUT OLYMPICS

This meeting was more about having fun than learning anything... We ate foods from different countries for snack, made Valentine's for kids at a local shelter, then played some silly Minute to Win It games in lieu of snow and an ice rink to compete in realistic Winter Olympics games. It was a hit!

 On the drive home, Cora decided to start taking her practice of the Girl Scout Promise and Law more seriously, as there's a badge involved if she can get it memorized.

(I loved how she made all the Daisy Scout kindergartners extra tiny!)

JAMES' 1ST SPRING SOCCER GAME 2018

VALENTINE'S DAY 2018

Doing the best we can for fun Valentine's Day apparel while accommodating uniform requirements:

(That smile of his though! And Cora requested braid buns. Both of them as cute as can be!!)

James brought home a special Valentine from his "friend that's a girl":

(He was very upset that he hadn't brought a special Valentine just for Darcy, so he brought her a box of Girl Scout S'mores cookies the next day with a note that said "I like you s'more!" He's a very big fan of puns... I thought it was super sweet though!)

Even Buster and Claw'dia were showing each other some love this evening:

COOKIE CAR

What's better on Valentine's Day than a trunk full of Girl Scout Cookies?!

MARDI GRAS 2018

We only attended one Mardi Gras parade this year, but we were on our first float! We joined ERDC's Castle Club float (under the sea theme for "Making Waves with STEM") despite the cold and really enjoyed throwing beads for an hour. The kids were awesome and helpful (they had some school friends on the float with them, and Cora made friends with an older girl who seemed to think Cora was the cutest thing ever), it was COLD (hence Cora's full body suit beneath her fish ballet costume), and we got to hang out with the Colonel. It was a really fun way to celebrate the holiday!

EMMA'S BIRTHDAY BOUNCE

Emma had her party at the same bouncy house place that Coltin had his back in December, only this time both kids got to attend (James was home sick with strep and missed Coltin's party).

Jay chased the kids all over the place (they were all a nasty sweaty mess at the end of the hour)

The birthday girl!

Stirlin took a few hits in the jousting center:

Tired because daddy wore him out...

The girls helping Emma with her candles after the birthday song:

OPENING CEREMONIES 2018

We didn't catch all of it due to running group get together at the new Public House downtown (a recently moved-away friend was in town for the weekend) followed by the Bowmar Work Day (er... night), but we got to see all the good stuff (we mostly just missed all the athletes walking in). We've been hyping up the Olympics for weeks, so the kids were pumped for it to finally get rolling! We plan to leave the blow up mattress in the middle of the living room for the next few weeks for optimum viewing (we already told them the TV would be on most evenings and all weekend long so we could try and catch the different events).

BOWMAR BUSINESS

Bowmar has some pretty cool projects and some really fun bulletin boards around the school that are great motivators for all the kids (and parents), so I snapped a few photos when we were there at the Bowmar Work Party tonight.

 This is the start of the rock garden that the kids are creating with their uniquely painted rocks:

BLUE AND GOLD 2018

Different Pack, but similar tradition (potluck, camaraderie, and awards)

COULD HE BB8 ANY CUTER?

THE MAGNETIC FORCE AWAKENS

In our town/state, third graders are required to participate in Science Fair. We tried to get Cora to do it as well, but she couldn't come up with an idea (and with our busy December/January and multiple parent illnesses, we didn't push her to). James decided quickly that he wanted to do a magnet experiment, so he and Jay looked through books (we have some Science craft and project books) and the internet to come up with a plan, then they set their minds together to come up with a catchy title.

Jay did the majority of the experiment with him (encouraging him to come up with his own hypothesis and way to test it, to write out his own notes and data, and to get it done within a couple of days) and I did the majority of the board with him (helping him write up his results and conclusions to put in his biner, typing them up for him, then printing them out and helping him get everything centered and attached). He was pretty proud of himself (and we were all glad to get it done - even Grambot helped glue "stars" to the board for dramatic effect).

The Science Fair ended up being delayed for 2 weeks due to the snow days (and no, we still couldn't convince Cora to do a project), but Jay and I were still able to help judge (just not the 1st-3rd grade physics category, since that's where James' project was entered). It was fun talking to all the kids about their projects (they didn't do that at Southpark - this was good practice for those that moved on to the District Science Fair where presenting is required). When they weren't up and talking to a judge, they were tucked under their tables with their Chromebooks working on iReady (or reading a book). One of the categories I judged was right next to James' category, so I got to hide behind a board and watch him talk about his project - he did a great job and was very thorough.

He ended up being in a tie for 3rd place, so he had to wait it out longer than some of the other kids (so another non-partial judge could speak to each kid and break the tie). I found him bored, laying on the floor around 10:00am...

He finished in 4th for his age/category, so no District Fair for him this year. He had fun with his project though and learned something (about magnets, and presenting scientific ideas), and scored a 100 from his Science teacher on his project board, so we'll call it a success!