Red Radioactive Lightning

Carson and Henry were part of a Junior First Lego League team this fall. They joined brothers Jordan and Elan (who are also homeschooled) to make up "Red Radioactive Lightning". We spent Saturday at Legoland in Carlsbad where the boys presented their model at the JrFLL Expo.
The theme for this year's challenge was 'Smart Moves'- the boys had to come up with an item and research how it is transported. After much lively discussion, the boys chose to learn about land mines. Their model consisted of a field of land mines and a vehicle which can lay down or remove the mines. They also had larger scale mine models and a few causalities as only lego people can have. (I must say it was one of the most 'boy' projects at the expo- as opposed to the transportation of things like soccer balls or pencils.)


A reviewer came to each team (there were about 35 teams here) and asked them lots of good questions about the model and their research on the poster. The boys did an awesome job! At the end of the morning, there was an award ceremony where the boys received certificates and ribbons.
And of course, there were a few rides to enjoy too.

Natalie's First Lost Tooth

It was a long time coming (and very terrifying when her tooth first began getting loose) but Natalie officially lost her first tooth on Jan 5th. Gram and Gramps were even here to share the joy. I'm happy to report the tooth fairy was quick to arrive on the scene in this situation (hasn't been the case for her brothers' last few teeth.)

Happy 7th Birthday Henry!

Henry turned 7 years old Wednesday Jan 27th. We went out to Denny's for his grand slam breakfast, had cake with some neighborhood friends, and pizza (with rootbeer!) for dinner. He was very disappointed to have to do school on his birthday (he was quick to remember that we didn't for any of the other kids last year), but he survived and was excited to open presents.
His favorite gift this year was his very own baby Taylor guitar. He is already writing his own songs and playing by himself in his bedroom. We look forward to seeing how he progresses with a few lessons from Dad!Henry makes us happy! He is easy going and fun to be around. He can be very creative and gets wrapped up in imaginative play or building tree forts. He likes to play nerf gun battles and tag with the older kids, but he usually takes on the role of a spy and can be found sneaking around the edges of a room- especially in his night vision googles. We love you Henry!

All Dressed Up

Today I took the three biggest kids to see the Nutcracker at the Barclay Theater in Irvine. It was a performance adapted for kids (narrated and only 1 hour long) but it definitely impressed all of us.

Since the kids were all dressed up, we took a few kids photos- potentially for Christmas cards, but in case I don't get that far at least you can see the photos here (as well as some of the ones that didn't quite make the cut).

It's much easier taking photos of the kids now that they are older, but as you can see Peter couldn't quite make it to the end.

Great Nana Drabick sent Natalie some money for her birthday so I took her shopping for a Christmas dress. It was the first time that she got to go shopping to try on dresses and narrow her choices down. In the end she chose the one that came with a matching dress for her doll.

Sprinkles in California

Okay, it wasn't much rain in Irvine (unlike San Diego or the snow in the mountains) but it was enough for Natalie to get out her new umbrella and boots and dance around outside. She was in paradise!

Carson Likes to Read

One of Carson's chores is the take out/bring in the trash cans, but as usual, the book he was reading was just too good to put down. I only caught the last few moments but I watched him reading while moving all 3 cans.

Operation Christmas Child

This the first year that we've participated in Operation Christmas Child where we pack shoe boxes with gifts for needy children around the world. I took the kids shopping at Target where they each picked out the gifts for a child their age. They were especially excited when we ran into another family from the church doing the same thing. They drew pictures, wrote a letter and put photos in the box as well. We will also be praying the children who will receive the gifts. After the boxes are delivered we will get an email telling us where the box went. What a fun way to encourage them to give this season- especially as they are easily consumed by the toy catalogs and adding wishes to their wishpot list.