Camp Invention

This kid loves him some science. If you ask him what he wants to be when grows up he will usually say a scientist (sometimes he says artist, sometimes both). This year he asked if he could go to Camp Invention. When I asked him why he wanted to go he said "Because I think it will help me be a scientist when I grow up." How do you say no to that?

I don't know what all he did during the week, but he came home every day grinning from ear to ear and chatting away about everything he was learning and the things he got to take apart and look inside (a keyboard, labelmaker and some hard drives). On the last day they had a little scientist expo where we were supposed to see all his inventions from the week. Unfortunately, one kid from each group got to take home the invention, and they didn't necessarily have to wait until everyone had the chance to look so we didn't get to see everything. We did get to see this, though, a tree house for Adventure Park. He's already talking about next year. I can't wait to see what he comes up with then!

Happy birthday to me

When my mom turned 50 in February, we got her (among other things) a gift card for Cedar Valley Art and Wine. Life got in the way, and we never got around to using it until tonight. Lucky me, we were able to celebrate my birthday and her's (again) with wine and painting. It was a first for most of us, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised with how our pieces turned out.

Just missing Ashley (she had to work)

Joni was my "date" for the night!

When did he get this big?

When did Nick go and grow up? This weekend, out of the blue, he decided he was going to make his own lunch. He went and found the Velveeta Shells and Cheese, read the instructions and carefully watched his pot so he didn't make a mess. I showed him how to strain the noodles, but he did all the work.

After taking the first bite, he said "And it tastes good, too!" Way to go kid. I'm proud of you. Now ... when can I get him to make dinner for everyone?

Lazy summer day

Our last few summers have been ridiculously busy, so this summer we are taking a little time to just be and sometimes that means hanging out inside even on a nice summer day (it didn't help that Mike woke up with a gimpy knee). Today, we played several games of Ticket to Ride (a new family favorite).

Ben was a trooper (he can be my train builder, but otherwise is too little to play this game) and entertained himself with his old favorite—Power Rangers.

After our game, Zander joined him on the porch. I love listening to these two play together. Their imaginations are always going a million miles a minute. I also love when they actually play with all of the toys we own. It makes a ridiculous mess (that they often forget to clean up), but at least they are actually playing!

My little scientist

Zander has been bugging me for weeks to help him make the sandstone that came in a rock set he bought at the Science Museum of Minnesota in March. If I had taken the time to read the directions to see that it only takes about five minutes, I probably would have helped him sooner. Oops. Instead, I took a much needed/wanted break from hauling rocks to help this budding scientist create sandstone in our kitchen.

According to the directions all we needed was a little sand packet, sugar and water. Mix it together, heat it in the microwave and we were supposed to have sandstone. We didn't. But, Zander was a trooper and thanked me for trying, at least. Gotta love that kid. 

The Friendly Meeple

A woman I know from work and her husband are board game aficionados. But, they aren't fans of the games we are used to like Monopoly or Clue or Uno. They like Eurogames with funny names like Carcassonne and Agricola. They own a ton of them and like to share their love for games through monthly get-togethers called The Friendly Meeple (a reference to the playing pieces in Carcassonne. We've been talking about going to a game day or night since they started almost a year ago but just never really found a time that worked until today. I think we will now be staples. The boys loved playing new games, and I loved that it was free and family-friendly. The big boys played several new games (I even joined them for Ticket to Ride, which we went out and bought on our way home that night) and Ben even found a new game that he enjoyed.

First day of summer

It's the first day of summer for the big boys, and we tried to start it off right (at least by my standards). The boys started the day with 25 minutes of reading and then another 20 or 30 minutes working in their summer workbooks. Knowing that I'm heading back to work next week means that this likely won't happen again, but it was good to feel productive at least once this summer.

Once the work was done, the boys headed outside to play. My only goal for this summer is to spend less time on electronics and more time playing. I don't care if they are inside or outside, alone or with friends. I just want them playing! Fortunately, Zander has a lot of kids to play with in the neighborhood. The girls down the street (Cyniah and Ari) and Brianna are good about indulging Zander's love for a good mudpie and superheroes. Unfortunately, they are less inclined to do the things Nick likes to do, like play hockey, basketball, kickball and baseball (basically anything competitive). This has caused huge drama at our house already this spring, and I imagine it will only get worse as the summer drags on. 

And Ben will play with whoever is willing to keep him entertained. He's flexible like that.