First we had some demonstrations about owls. Did you know they cant move their eyes? that is why their heads move so much.

The girls got to dissect a “owl pellet”. I learned something here too.. I did not know they coughed up the pellet the day after they ate the animal. I thought it was “poo”.

They matched up the bones they found in a pellet to a chart. Their owl had eaten a rodent! actually two!

The girls Learned about parallel and series electrical circuits. I could see the understanding in their eyes. it was great. Here they are demonstrating their optional project.. they could do whatever they wanted to.. and they made a huge series circuit with 2 light bulbs, two motorized propellers and 6 batteries!

Here are Melinda’s notes of the day. She is very organized…

Earlier in January, we went to the Zoo..

Had to get one of all of them together doncha know.

How many times in your life will you be able to feed a giraffe out of our hand? I think this is so cool.

This has to be the worst picture I have ever taken.

These birds were crazy.

Not to mention all over the place.

Here is Hannah with some of her friends on the Space camp trip. They spent 2 days in Alabama and had a great time.

Hannah’s friend Sara.

Afterwords, I cut some wood nice and thin, and let them draw some designs on it, then I had them cut it out.

Here is what Melinda came up with.

As you might know, we went to Indiana to visit my Mother. While we were there, I caught a picture of some cousins. 🙂

Here is a Nannyrama of the whole field.

Hannah tried out for volleyball. I think she did pretty well, but I don’t know if they are going to have enough kids to make a league.. I think they only have enough kids for three teams at this point.

Rock well is in his second year of soccer. I think he might be inclined to keep playing.

The Pose!

OK, so what the heck is going on here? What happened, is we emptied the pool, which caused a mud puddle, which attracted Rockwell, and then Melinda, like a magnet! Here is the beginning of their creation…

So that night, I filled in their lake. But the next day, (Labor Day) they must have had a lot of fun, because they used the hose and created their own… and Hannah joined in on the fun. they did this for hours.

OK, 5 hours later, here is what they came up with last Sunday… A lake, with a magical island, and two cities. Hannah’s city even has a satellite (the can hanging on the door)

Later on that day, We went to a friend of Kathi’s for a party, for some clean fun.

Melinda wanted to do cheer-leading.. She is so much a cheerleader. It would not surprise me if she was a leader of the squad some day.

And finally, probably the last picture I will ever get of Rockwell in the tub.. He wanted me to see his mohawk he gave himself. Later on, when he realized I was going to post the picture, he said “DELETE! DELETE!”
Sorry Rockwell…

(I know, I need to re-do the caulk)

The kids were up to no good sometimes, with the help of the adults of course.
Click here for movie of Rockwell while buried in sand.

On the way home, we managed to stop and say Hello To Nanny and Gramp.

And we stopped by my sis and B-I-Ls for dinner. With a bonus of getting to eat with my mom. My sister Verna admonished my mom for going up and down their staircase. With socks on too. If you saw how steep they are, you would know why.

Melinda got a skateboard for her birthday.

Rockwell already had one from Christmas, so he is currently the “pro” in the family.. but Melinda seems to be a quick study so far.

Here is a video of them On their skateboards.

Melinda Insisted she wanted to hold the spider.. but was not so sure when the time came. (The expression on her face says a thousand words!)

Rockwell has been pestering me to buy him a blue tongued skink since we went here.

Melinda had no issues with the Rabbit..

This is just a good picture! You know, those “spikes” on the this lizard (I forget its name.. I will have to ask Rockwell) are soft! the whole lizard is soft and smooth like a snake.
Rockwell wants a lizard now.

WTHeck.. I have short stubby arms, and no lips whatsoever. And Melinda likes to point out, that the Skink Peed on me a second after this picture was taken.. Of which, she got a picture of.

The librarian was not so sure about this.. but she was a trooper.

Rockwell insisted I bring him to the Adult section of the library that had books about lizards. (Section 590 something?)

Here is a story.. We found this scooter in the garbage. i actually went up to the door and asked them if it was really trash, because it looked almost new.
They said “yes, it has a dead battery, and no charger”
So away we were! They rode it for a couple days. The origional motor was incredibly anemic, (probably ~50 watts?) so, we made it a little more fun by putting 24 volts to it.. That lasted two days, until we broke the belt. hello internet. a week and 10$ later we had another belt. Then, a day later.. the motor burned out. 🙁 that’s what happens when you over power the motor, and run it in grass I guess)

So, I figured we would go big, and put a 300 watt motor on it! 24$ eBay for the motor, another 12$ internet for the belt, and away we go!

So, it’s a 24 volt motor, but we have only attempted 12v so far. With the itty bitty wheels, it gets a tad squirrely at speeds.

No problem at all with heat so far though!

Here is our “free” pool, that we got from a friend of Kathi’s that was moving away, and did not want to take it.. Fun fun!
But, I have to say, Pool Chemicals are expensive. Even this little pools probably going to run about 50$/month if you include the filters.. and I even wash them out and use them again.

Here was a fun thing to watch. On our way back from the library Friday, there was the “first Friday” festival in down town Augusta.
Hannah and I stopped for a few minutes, an strolled down the boulevard to watch the sights.
Here is one of them.. you can see their web page at pyroteque

She was also the student of the year in her classroom, I beleive it was for being the organizer of all the classroom plays they did. Each friday they would put on a play. I am sure 3rd grade is going to be a memorable experience for her, simoply for that reason alone.

And, I have another reader on my hands. perhaps not as enthusiastic as Hannah, but she is definitely into it! Which makes me happy. 🙂

I will collect the other kids awards and show them next.

Way to Go Melinda! I’m so proud of you.

I brought a IPad home from work to mess with (don’t bother buying one, its pretty much just a toy) and thought this was an interesting picture taken with ambient light.

Rockwell’s soccer team had its awards thing last weekend. The adults played the kids in soccer.. Man, that was fun. The team was undefeated the whole season.. not that the parents are counting or anything..(!)
I do have to say this.. The coach rarely raised his voice or yelled. I suppose its easier when you are always winning, but I was impressed by it anyway. The other teams coach was always belting out commands, sometimes with (bad) attitude, and you rarely even heard our coach.

I’m just not sure what Rockwell was doing here. Other than trying to impress his sisters.