Kyle's science fair project

Well, I made it through another science fair project!  This is my 4th one.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of it!

 

We had a cool idea to compare 5 different brands of vanilla ice cream and see which one melted the fasted.  It was a fun project.  We checked and compared at different intervals:  10 min, 20 min, 30 min, and 45 min.  And then we waited until the last brand melted, which was roughly 49 minutes.  We compared ingredients and fat content, to see if those were factors.  I think they were.

 

 

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and Kyle did a great job!  And just fyi, the Meadow Gold brand left behind a sticky residue once it had completely melted.  It was kind of gross.  I'm just saying....

 

Awesome job Kyle!

Eric's mission papers are in!!

 

 

 

Now we wait...(I'm not very good at this part)...

 

 

Easter 2013

 

Well, this is just going to be extremely lame, because I hardly took any pictures for Easter.  But here's all the baskets before the kids got a hold of them...

 

 

Eric got Risk.  He has wanted it for awhile.  See how happy he is?

 

 

 

And Jacob got a DS game...Kirby, I believe. 

 



 

Brandon got a new key chain, with a car key attached, since he's going to get his license in a couple of months...no, not his own car, but his own key!  Kyle got a lego set, which he loved, and Dallin got a camping lantern.  Each of the children got a new book and some Easter candy.  It was a wonderful Easter!  (And Eric got to be home for a whole week for Spring Break, which was awesome!)

 

On Monday (the day after Easter), we got together with Brad and Michelle and their family, and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson to celebrate "family birthdays."  It was really fun.  We made peep s'mores...and they were a big hit!  (and in case you didn't notice, I decided to take a picture of the treat instead of the people, because after all, that's what posterity wants to see, right?)  Duh!  Sorry about that!

 

Dallin was asked to give a talk on Easter Sunday.  He wanted to prepare it himself and because his dad is such a good speaker, and doesn't seem to need to write down any more than a few "bullets" on an index card, Dallin figured he could do the same thing.  This is Dallin's talk.  It is a 1 and 1/2 inch by a 1 and 1/2 inch post-it note, with a few little phrases on it to remind him what to say.  That's really all he needs, right? 

 



 

 

(Okay, I went through it with him and typed up real sentences on an actual 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper, just incase he forgot what each of those "phrases" meant).  And he gave one heck-of-a talk!  He's a natural, and everyone said he's just like his dad.  And that's okay with me...

 

Happy Easter!

New Life

For Christmas this past year, Jacob got a "Butterfly Garden" kit. It didn't come with the caterpillars.  It had instructions to send for them when you were ready, and they would come in the mail, so we decided to send for them last month.  They came in a little cup, complete with food and everything.  They sent 5 caterpillars, and they guaranteed that at least 3 of them would turn into butterflies.  We were so excited when we finally received them.

 

I didn't take pictures the first couple of days to show how little the caterpillars were when they arrived, and how much they grew in just a few days' time.  But trust me, they grew at least double in size.  We didn't realize they were going to grow so much.  This next picture is when all of the caterpillars settled at the top of the cup, upside-down, and eventually each entered the pupal stage.  We were excited to see that all 5 caterpillars were getting ready for the big change.

 

 When the caterpillars finally hardened into chrysalids, we were able to open the cup and move them to the "Butterfly Garden."  It's hard to tell from this picture, but the caterpillars had actually spun long silk threads thoughout the cup.  It was pretty cool...and kind-of gross, too.  :)

 



 

Here they are, moved into their new home.  Now we just had to wait until they "hatched."  (I really doubt that's the proper word to use for this process, but you know what I mean, right?) 

 



 

 

Still waiting...but you can see how close they're getting, right?

 



 

The first one is out...the second is just starting to break out...

 



 

 

3 of them are out...

 



 

 

They were kind-of squishy when they first came out...but obviously they were pretty "squished" in their cocoon.  Even now, I'm wondering how they fit in there...

 

All 5 of them have "hatched" now...

 



The butterflies were so pretty when they opened their wings.  They were called Painted Ladies.  The red stuff you see on the netting is left over coloring and fluid from the butterfly's formation.  It's not blood, but it was still kind of gross...

 



 

 

And then a few days later...4 out of the 5 butterflies began to mate!  What the heck?  Already?  Holy Cow!  And I don't really know what else to say about that, so I'll leave it there...

 

ANYWAY...in other news, the butterflies are still flying around and they are beautiful.   But now we have to keep them away from Ziggy.  He has noticed something "flying around" on the kitchen table...Funny dog!

 

 

I don't know what's going to happen with the butterflies.  Their life span is only 2 to 4 weeks, and it's too cold to let them go outside, so for now, we are just feeding them sugar water and oranges, and they seem very content flying around in their little home.  This has been a really cool project though.  The kids have loved it...and so have I! 

 

 (In the meantime, I guess we wait and see if any of the butterflies lay eggs---give me strength!)...



Indoor Soccer for Kyle and Jacob (2013)

 

Kyle and Jacob decided to play a session of indoor soccer.  It started in January and we had 8 games, all on Saturdays.  The last game was on March 24th.  Kyle and Jacob were on different teams, and they had so much fun.  

 

Jacob, before a game...

 

 

Jacob really got in the game and tried to do his part.  Way to go, Jacob!

 



 

 

 

 Kyle played on an amazing team.  Apparently the team he got on had played together before (probably several times---and I think they were all related too), so Kyle was the only white boy on his team.  (I don't mean that in a bad way, or a judgemental way, it's just a fact.  He literally stood out among all of his spanish teammmates).  But his team was very nice and even though they had all played together and knew each other, they accepted Kyle and helped him feel a part of the team.  Luckily, Kyle is a good little player as well.  He wasn't afraid to get in there and contribute.  Way to go, kyle!

 

 

As for me, it was quite intense watching the games each Saturday.  This team was really good!  They were so fun to watch and they showed such great teamwork.

 



 

This is Kyle's friend, Shandis.  They are in the 5th grade together. She was the only white girl on the team.  They were both awesome!

 



 

Kyle had Strep Throat on the day of pictures, so he missed them.  So sad!

 





 

It was fun to have them play soccer again.  It had been a while.  Fun stuff!