Colorado History Field Trip

To reinforce the history they have been learning, I accompanied the 4th graders on their field trip to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings and the Western Museum of Mining and Industry. They got to see first hand how the Anasasi Indians ground corn and lived in tiny spaces. We also learned where the term "grease monkey" came about, panned for gold and saw a model of what is at work under ground at a gold mine. It was great to get a hands-on look at what life was like for some past Coloradans. Even better, for me, was opening up the brown bag lunch my son had packed for me and seeing a note that read, "I love you, Mom."

Celebrating Eachother's Victories

As school winds down, there's a little less homework for my 4th grader and 2nd grader. There are a few tests. Jack came home with an A+ on a science test and we celebrated with ice cream! I think Kate and Lily were truly happy for him, but it's great when you get to share in the congratulatory prize.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Earth Day Projects

Jack and Kate both had craft projects to make using recyclables, so we had fun getting out the craft stuff and creating! Here's an interview with Kate about her project:



Jack's creation will be a part of his Cub Scout Pack's booth at the Scout Show this weekend, entitled "Heroes on the Hudson". Kids that visit the booth will be able to make an airplane and fly it through the booth, with the goal being to land it on the "river". Cereal box buildings and skyscrapers will line the riverbank. (We watched this video to better understand what a feat the real-life landing was!) Since Jack has been known to sit with John and watch CNBC, the first NY building he could think of was the New York Stock Exchange. What a happy accident . . . .Mom just so happens to have a bunch of toilet paper rolls to use for the columns!

Happy Easter

April Fools

I fed my kids Kool-Aid and Cupcakes for dinner. APRIL FOOL!

Actually our dinner contained ground beef . . . .

and mashed potatoes . . .

the food colored pretzel salt only looks like sprinkles . . .

(and we had corn, but I didn't put it on the plates until after the reveal.) There actually really was Kool-Aid, but not in these cups . . .

It actually was a very yummy dinner, and TOO MUCH FUN!

Spring in Colorado

Spring has come to Colorado, which means some lingering snow storms. It also means we are busy preparing for the neighborhood egg hunt!

The bins have begun to collect in the garage and the kids are helping out by testing the bunny hop sacks. Luckily, they passed quality control.

We've also been getting a little crafty. We made little chickie egg holders and Julie made a Bunny Shop sign (for the egg hunt) out of a vinyl table cloth and some permanent markers.

With plastic eggs everywhere, it was fun to find this cute craft on the internet for making decorative speckled eggs with spray paint and an old toothbrush. We now have speckled eggs nestled in the wreath on our front door and decorating the small pine tree that sits on our front porch through the chilly months.