The Great Pet Debate

This year the kids decided they needed a new cool pet, since Aunt Heather got a turtle. So the Great Pet debate ensued. Neither kid wanted another dog. Olivia wanted to get a cat or a rabbit. Both were vetoed by Dad. Bradley wanted to get a snake, lizard or frog, and wouldn't you guess that Mom vetoed those ideas too. Dad suggested a pet rock, and the kids vetoed that immediately. Mom vetoed hamster, guinea pigs gerbils and any other rodent before the kids asked. I really don't like the nonstop gnawing, So at this point we were at a loss for what to get. Then Mom had a brilliant idea.... Beta Fish. They are pretty, easy and have a short life span. Bradley was on board, in fact he loved the idea. Olivia's was not. Her exact statement was "But I can't cuddle a fish." So the hunt went on. 

Bradley got his Beta and named him Flare.

We had to find a pet the did not eat any live things (bugs, mice and what not), per mom's request. And a snugly pet per Olivia's request. Birds were brought up and quickly crossed off, because "birds are creepy" per Olivia. So after a lot of research on easy pets, we finally decided on a Hedgehog.

Olivia named our hedgehog Clover

I know you are going to call us out on this pet not being snugly, but she is, as long as it is on her terms. She is very cute and lovable addition.

 

 



 

 

 

Piper even loves her, She loves to watch her for hours.....and NO, I do not think she is thinking food, when Clover is out on the ground, Piper hovers like a nervous mommy.

Valentine Boxes 2014

So at the kids' school, they don't usually make Valentine's Boxes, the school supplies bags and decorations, this way all the kids have a similar bag, they do however let the 4th, 5th and 6th Graders bring in their own boxes. Last year was the first year Bradley made his (a Minion). This year he wanted to top it. He is obsessed with the song "What Does the Fox Say" so we made a fox. Olivia really wanted to make a box too so at the LAST minute after getting permission from her teacher, we made her one too. She didn't get a huge choice on what to do (she had to use the same brown covering as her brother), but her's still turned out way cute. Thanks Pintrest!

 

 

 

 

Science Fair

Bradley participated in the School Science Fair this year. His project hypothesis was "Does the number of Mentos added to Diet Coke affect the fountain height?"

His display had the Mentos launcher that was used it also has Mentos glued in it for the display. We also added a flip book. Our camera takes high speed pictures, so we were able to get a bunch of pictures and glue them together for a flip book.

His school would only allow poster displays of the science projects, we were not allowed to bring in the kids' projects. Good thing, as about 10 other kids did a variation of Bradley's. That would have been one sticky gym.

 

 He was able to get the fountain to shoot 12 feet with 7 Mentos. Richard and Bradley had a lot of fun with 9 bottles of Diet Coke and a ton of Mentos to get this project done.



There were no ribbons or awards given, but they did have two 6th graders and two 5th graders move to the District Science Fair. Bradley' was one of the chosen 5th graders. At the District Science Fair they also chose two 6th graders and two 5th graders move to the State Science Fair. Unfortunately Bradley did not move on from the District level. We were real proud of Bradley making so far.

And to think this was just practice.... After the experiments were done and the project display was almost done Bradley informed us that the Science Fair is required for 6th graders and optional for 5th graders.... So another science fair will done next year. At least next time it will count towards his grade.

Olivia's Birthday

For Olivia's 8th Birthday we had an ice skating and hot chocolate party. Here are some pictures of  the party.

Lynlee, Kelsey and Olivia

Lily, Olivia, Amy and Hailey

Olivia and Brooklyn

Olivia, Emmalee and Emily

Jacob and Bradley

Family Pictures

School Pictures 2013

Bradley 's 5th Grade Picture

Olivia's 2nd Grade Picture

Holy Alter Ego, Batman!

Holy Halloween, Batman...

This year for Halloween the kids dressed up as Batman and Robin. I saw a girly Robin costume on the Internet a few years back, but the kids didn't want to do this, especially because the year before Bradley was Batman. This year the kids didn't really have any ideas on what they wanted to dress up as, so I suggested this again and they agreed!  

Bradley still had his Batman costume and amazingly it still fit. We did make a few additions: we had to buy a new mask, because we couldn't  find the original. We also made duct tape boots and covered one of Richard's Army belts in duct tape for a utility belt. 

Duct Tape Boots

Duct Tape covered utility belt

I am very proud of how Olivia's Robin Costume turned out. It was mostly a home made costume. I made the green tutu (125 yards of tulle; oh my). We bought the iron on R patch for her shirt and a yellow satin ribbon for her belt. My mom made her wonderful hair bow. Richard made her duct tape boots and bracelets. Her mask was also store bought, but I had to deconstruct it, because it had ribbons and gems on it, and I just wanted a plain black mask. All in all we pulled together an adorable costume that I think is better than my inspiration. 

Duct Tape Boots

Robin hair bow and mask

Holy Duct Tape, Batman...

I also made two trick or treat duct tape bags for each of them. And let me tell you how hard the duct tape was to work with.... It wrinkles and folds on it's self. And it shrinks, which we only figured out the day before Halloween when we tried Olivia's boots on again. Luckily we heated the boots up with the blow dryer and got it to grow a bit. I do love the way both pair of boots turned out. All the kids' friends loved the boots and we got so many complements, but I don't think we will do them again, 

Happy Halloween!

Bradley's 11th Birthday

This year for Bradley's birthday we decided to have his party at Boondocks. We had pizza and cake and Bradley got the opportunity to win 200 extra tickets. He just had to wrap himself up in tickets before the Birthday song was over.

Then the kids were free to play games, play laser tag, ride go-karts along with a lot of other activities.

Bradley spent most of his time with his friend Heber either at laser tag or the go-karts.

All in all I would say it was a wonderful birthday for an 11 year old!

Now and Then

Here are some comparison pictures from our San Diego vacation in 2005 and 2013. Boy how Bradley has grown from an adorable toddler to a handsome pre-teen.




3 years old

 

10 years old

 

 

This picture is one of my favorites of Bradley.