Crazy Hair Night - Awana

Every year there is a crazy hair night at our Awana and sometimes twice during the year.  The kids start planning and thinking.  We've done something similar to Lona before but this year she wanted an A out of her hair.  Job wanted to carry over the theme from his party - Mad Scientist Hair.  (What does that really look like anyway?)  Around Halloween time I make a run to Walmart and stock up on hair coloring spray.  Sometimes the soccer teams have colored hair games and so I need some on hand for both soccer and Awana. 
Chaque annee il y a un nuit pour les cheveux fou a Awana.  Mes enfants commence de penser et plan.   Nous avons faire quelques de similaire avec les cheveux de Lona mais cette fois elle veut un "A" avec ses cheveux.  Job veut semble un scientiste fou (comment ca voir?)  Vers Halloween je vais a Walmart d'acheter des fixatif des coleurs.  Quelques fois l'equip de football a un matche avec les cheveux dans d'autre coleurs alor entre Awana et le football, j'achete assez des fixatif.

It's that season

We are in full swing of soccer at our house. It is six days a week with four out of five of us playing soccer.  And if that isn't enough soccer we must watch the Sounders when they are on a channel we get.  This year as well as last year, Isaac has participated in soccer at his middle school instead of the rec league during the fall.  This allows him to be a referee most of the day on Saturdays.  He's a driven kid to make money.  So far his plan has been to save for a car and college, but he certainly likes having some spending money as well.  I'm loving the middle school soccer program in that he practices for 1 1/2 hours everyday.  His games are during the week too.  I can make it to some of his home games and need my camera so that I'm not the obnoxious mom yelling at kid.  It keeps me quiet and focused.  I think it keeps me from embarrassing him.  The varsity high school coach just  had a little talk with these middle schoolers and now Isaac is running with John at night (4 miles).

C'est le temp de football.  Quatre dans notre familee jouent le football.  Et si c n'est pas assez nous voyons le Sounders (l'equip de Seattle) quand nous avons le chaine de television. Cette annee et l'annee prochaine, Isaac a joue pour son ecole.  Comme ca, il est libre le samedi pour fait l'arbitre.  Il aime de gagner d'argent.  Il veut garder l'argent pour un voiture et pour aller a l'universite.  Il aime aussi depenser un peu aussi.  Moi, j'aime qu'il joue pour son ecole.  Il practique apres l'ecole et joue dans le semaine pas le weekend.  Son match et dans le semaine aussi.  L'entraineur pour le college viens de parler avec les joueurs.  Alors il decide de commencer de courir quelques miles au nuit avec John.  Quand j'attends les matches je pris avec moi mon camera.  Comme ca je ne cris pas et ne lui embarrasse pas.

Mad Scientist Party

I was inspired by this site to host a mad scientist birthday party.  Job is my science kid.  he loves science.  He reads an animal fact file and then stores all that information in his brain.  He reads science books like Can You Feel the Force.  He loves it.  What better way to celebrate his birthday than with a party.  So I ordered materials from Steve Spangler Science store, and bought the others from our local grocery store. As the kids arrived, they received a lab coat and safety goggles.  We first made rainbow cupcakes with cake mix and sprite, then we used these polymer balls to make jelly marbles in our test tubes.  We blew up balloons with baking soda and vinegar.  We made slime with other polymers and food coloring.  John taught them about Newtonian fluids.  I learned a few things too.  Then we brought out the most fun thing of all - dry ice.  I'm not kidding. This was the best thing as far as the kids were concerned.  We put pennies on the ice and listened to the sound it made.  John was great because he explained everything.  The kids wanted to freeze their jelly marbles, their slime, pour water both warm and cold on the dry ice.  We had to shoo them outside to set off their mentos diet pop fountains.  I really thought that they would like this the best but it was the dry ice.  Finally we had the cupcakes the kids made and opened presents.  Wow, two hours went by fast and it took the rest of the day to clean up.  But John and I looked at each other and thought that was the best birthday party we've had.  It really helped that all the kids were really into it.

Nous avons un fete pour l'anniversaire de Job.  Job aime la science.  Il lis les livres des animaux, de la physique et se souviens tous l'information.  Il adore ca.  Alors je pense que c'est parfait d'avoir un fete de la science pour Job.  J'ai achete des chose de Steve Spangler et d'autre chose de magasin.  Quand les enfants sont entres, ils ont recu un manteau labratory et lunette de securite.  D'abord nous faisons des gateau d'arc-en ciel.  Puis nous utilisons des boules de polymere de fabrique des marbres dans notres tubes d'essaie.  Nous gonflons des balloons avec du  bicarbonate de soude et du vinaigre.  Nous faisons des mucosite avec polyvinyle alcohole et un traverser la solution relie.  John les enseigne des fluide newtonien.  J'apprens quelques chose aussi.  Ensuite nous jouons avec du glace seche.  C'est le favorite chose des enfants.  Ils touches le glace avec des coins, avec d'eau, avec les marbres, le mucosite, et plus.  Ils pouvons jouer avec le glace seche pour le reste du temps. Il faut que nous les poussons dehors.  Nous faison des jet de cola avec des mentos.  Je pense que les enfants aiment ca le plus mais c'est le glace ils aiment.  Finalement nous mangeons le gateau et ouvrire des cadeaux.  C'est un fete marveilleux.

Eleven

How did this happen.  Rhetorical question.  I know how it happened but sometimes when I really think about it, it seems surreal.  My 2nd born is 11 years old.  He has very definitive tastes and opinions.  He had decided the night before that he wanted to open presents before John left for work which meant waking up and having a party before 6 am.  At 5:45 he bounded into our room getting me up so that we could watch him open his presents.  John had been up for a while but I like to sleep until 6:00 when I get Isaac up for school.  It was still dark outside.  Crazy.  Being a birthday, our homeschoolers took the day off.  I took a nap, Job played mine craft and put his RC car together.  There wasn't much to do, just insert the battery and put in the antenna.  Treat the car like a cell phone they said.  Which meant no driving in the rain (yes, it was raining) or through puddles or in wet grass.  No running it into curbs.  yadda yadda yadda.  The rules went on and on, but he took ownership of it. Next on the agenda was a trip to Greene's Corner for hot cocoa, cookies and some reading.  Then back home to have lunch with John.  He had a meeting in Bellingham.  He tries to schedule those meetings so he can have lunch with us.  There were somethings that we just couldn't cancel but seeing as though guitar is one of Job's favorite things it was ok to have lessons.  One thing I try to do for our kid's birthday is to have a favorite dinner, whether that's at a restaurant of their choosing or their favorite meal.  Job likes shrimp scampi.  So he made it for his birthday.  He's getting good at it. 

It's still dark.
C'est deja nuit.

Job etait onze annee.  C'est presque incroyable.  Il avait des idees definitives.  Il a decidele soir avant qu'il veut ouvrir des cadeaux du matin avant le temps que John partir pour son travaille.  Il me reveille a 5:45.  Je ouvre mes yeux et vois Job me regarder.  Il me demande, "Est-ce que je peut ouvrire mes cadeaux?"  Je decide de ne faire pas des devoirs aujourd'hui.  Au lieu de faire devoirs, nous allons a Greenes Corner (un cafe) pour des chocolat chaud, des biscuit et de lire.  Apres midi, Job a des cours de guitare a le meme temp des cours de piano pour Lona.  Pour le dinner, j'aime de faire les nourriture prefere a Job.  Il aime les scampi crevettes.  Alors il le prepare.  

Hop to Job's Blog

So Job has started a blog: Lego 52  The idea is to create a small lego creation once a week, photograph the steps, and write about it.   He has made two entries.  We are both learning a little bit about photography and photoshop together.  We created a small "studio" to photograph his creation in.  Nothing like a little tag board and natural light. 

Job a cree un blog.  Il faut creer un figure de Lego chaque semaine, prendre des photos des etapes, et ecrire.  Nous sommes apprennons ensemble un peu de photographie.  Nous faisons un petit studio pour prendre les photos.  Alors voyez qu'il fait.  www.lego52.blogspot.com ( cliquez la).

C'est que j'ai vu quand j'approches le frigo ce matin.   This is what I saw when I approached the fridge this mornig. 

Camp Grandma's 2011

We meet half way, sometimes exchanging vehicles when dropping or picking up the kids, sometimes flying home, sometimes just leaving kids.  This year I just dropped off the kids with my mother and enjoyed two weeks at home.  The kids on the other hand were busy.  Starting July 30th to Labor Day they had been gone 28 out 36 days.  Wow!   Two weeks of that was with my mother. 
Mes enfants visitent ma mere cette ete.  Elle me recontrantes au millieu pour prendre Isaac, Job et Lona.  J'ai peu avoir du temps de faire des chose a la maison.  Les enfants et ma mere vont a South Dakota pour un semaine.  Des photos en bas sont tous qu'ils ont faire.
The agenda for Camp Grandma 2011 was something like this:

Warm Springs
Un lac avec des coiusins

Fishing
Des peche

Slip n Slide
dans la jardin

Reading
lise les livres

Mount Rushmore

Devil's Tower

Bear Country

Reptile Gardens

Crazy Horse Monument

Needle's Highway
and a myriad of other things.