Braxton's a star

Braxton is a star! OK, he's earned the rank of Star Scout. Steve and I are so proud of this "man-child" of ours. :) (That's what Steve calls him.) It's been a while since we've had a Court of Honor, so he received 6 merit badges and his Star patch. He should be coming up on Life in May. That means a project is right around the corner! One of the best things at this ceremony was during the pledge of allegiance, Emma was saying it with such gusto that everyone in the room had a difficult time staying focused on our own words. She was so excited to show us how she does the pledge of allegiance in her classroom. What a hoot! Her enthusiasm was catching. By the end, those of us able to speak and not keeping our laughter in check were adding volume and emphasis to our words.

The Proud Parents

I love the scouting program. I love what it did for my brothers. I love how it encourages our boys to grow, set goals, and be involved. I love the sacrifice that our scout leaders make to help our boys succeed. I also love that I only have 3 boys to get through to eagle--and not five.

Emma's Kindergarten Musical

Emma had a lot of fun singing in her musical "Kindergarten Rocks" on Friday, March 18th. She had quite the fan base, since the school allowed Evan and Carter to get out of class to watch her performance with Lizzie and me. I especially enjoyed a particular song as it was sung with sign language. Being an interpreter for a deaf couple at our church services every Sunday, it warms my heart to see my daughter signing and singing. I think both languages set to music allows the message to be communicated on an even deeper level. Maybe it's just me. Nevertheless, she got me choked up on this song--when I wasn't giggling with my boys over her sweet friend who sings tons of volume, but is as the American Idol judges would say, "a little pitchy." Kindergarten kids are so cute!

An original song

Lizzie Loo-Hoo may not have perfect pitch like her sister, but she puts a lot of heart into her songs. :)

My Champion

Braxton was awarded a Crone Champion Certificate at a special breakfast to honor select students at Crone Middle School. He was nominated by 2 different groups of teachers, but his Health teacher won out. All four of his core teachers came up to us to congratulate him for this honor, to restate what a great kid he was, and to inform us that they had each nominated him as well. I'm so proud of him! His certificate says that he was selected "because he is hard working and has a pleasant personality." Amen! (I added that last exclamation.)

Here he is after receiving his certificate, shaking the principal's hand, and being escorted out to the hallway for pictures.

I can't believe this is my son.

Yes, he is now taller than I--yet another milestone in his life.

He asks to compare heights every day after school.

The man across from us at our table was trying to recruit him for football. :)

If he only had an agressive bone in his body, that might be an option, but not in this life.
That's OK. I'll keep my sweet, respectful, "pleasant" son just the way he is.

Daddy Daughter Masquerade Ball

Steve and Emma got to go to our school's Daddy Daughter Masquerade Ball and had a wonderful time. They got a late start, but made use of their time at the dance. Steve said Emma was totally in her element. She would run around, play, and dance with her friends, and then run back to him for a hug and a dance, then go with her friends and then back to him. She got a cookie and cup of punch and thought that was pretty special.

Here she is in the mask she made for herself.

Meanwhile, back at home, Lizzie cried for nearly the whole hour and was only consoled with the promise that she would get a date with dad this next weekend. I'm sure she'll hold us to our promise.

Still winter, but...

We had the most gorgeous and amazing winter phenomenon happen last week. After raining, the rain froze on the trees over night. We woke up to the trees glistening like they had Christmas lights on them. Lizzie and her preschool friend were arguing whether or not they were white lights on the trees. It was ice droplets! I know it's hard to see in the picture. I had a hard time capturing it. Driving down the streets was breathtaking as the trees glistened and sparkled. In Elko, where I grew up, we had what's known as poganip--an Indian word for ice that forms around all the branches. This is the closest thing I've seen to it. By 4:00 in the afternoon, the ice had melted off the trees, but it was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. It was my tender mercy for the day.

Adler Planetarium

So, what do you do in Chicago in the middle of February? Visit one of the great museums, of course! Five museums and zoos were free on Tuesday, the 22nd, so when we took a vote, it was unanimous...Adler Planetarium. We had never been there before and it is RARELY free. I had heard to only plan on an hour and a half to really see it, so we all surprised ourselves when we filled 3 hours. I should have brought a full lunch instead of snacks. Oh, well. The kids learned a ton and got to explore new terrain. Evan kept us busy with his, "Did you know..." questions the entire time. That kids never ceases to amaze me.

Models of the solar system were everywhere!
We learned about the history of star gazing and the science of telescopes.

If you allign the right lenses at the right distances, you can see a picture 50 feet away. Cool!

This 360 degree picture of the Milky way was gorgeous. I came away feeling small and in awe of the beauty and divinity of the design of things.

We took a tour INSIDE this sphere. It was used in World War II to help soldiers know how to navigate at night. When inside the sphere, it's dark but lit with a blacklight from the outside (I think) so you could see the constellations. The sphere would move so that you could see what the sky would look like in all four seasons. Very interesting. Because of my boys' obsession with Greek mythology (thank you Percy Jackson), they helped out our tour guide with all the stories of the constellations.

This was a demonstration on craters. The kids dropped different sized rocks in the flour at different heights and with different force. Great science lesson.

The best part for the kids was a room built just for them. They could dress up and pretend to go on a space expedition. Lizzie can't help herself when given the opportunity to dress up and pose.

Peek-a-boo!

Her smile is contagious!

The boys could even drive a moon rover. It just took a lot of effort to make them move.

The girls thought it would be horrible to have to sleep standing up.

Ready to launch. 5...4...3...2...1. Blast off!

A real sundial. Too bad there wasn't any sun.

Chicago. I love this city! I love that I've lived here 8 years and still have not tapped into all that it has to offer.