Pinewood Derby

Lukas participated in his first Pinewood Derby today for Cubscout Pack 200.

The theme was "heroes", and Lukas chose Batman (naturally).

I stayed pretty hands off as he designed the car, and helped him a bit with the final assembly.

I am not a crafty person, so I needed some extra help myself from friends and Iria.

In the end, we got that thing painted, rolling straight, and weighing in at 5 ounces.

What more could you ask for?

Here are some of the other cars from his age group. 

Lukas was enjoying himself, and had a good attitude going in.

In most of the races he came in second to that thin wedged orange and blue car that was looking a bit more 'Father Project' than the other seven year old's cars :)

But he got one win in when the orange and blue speedster sat out.

Overall he placed second in his age group and made it into the finals for the chance to compete against another dozen slick thin wedged cars.

Kassidy had a lot of fun, and brought her own cars.

At home she had already commandeered Lukas's car.

Lukas placed 11th in the finals, taking third place in one heat and averaging fourth place in the rest.

In his age group, he won a medal for "Best Themed Design" and "Second Place".

Woohoo!

Pleasant Dreams

If you are going to fall asleep on the couch, you might as well do it cuddled up with Kassidy.

Silly Siblings

I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the other kids when I was shooting Katharine's birthday pic earlier this evening.

Happy Birthday to Katharine

Katharine turned 10 today.

Do we need to start calling her a young woman now?

Whatever we call her, it doesn't change the fact that we love her and are so proud of her.

Ten candles on the cake.

They weren't sure what flavor it was when they picked it out, and it turned out to be an amazing vanilla.

Katharine got a bike, a Monster High Doll, and an Aragorn and Arwen doll (from LOTR).

Katharine Facts:

Katharine says grace at every meal.

Katharine is super passionate about dance, and goes to classes and rehearsals 6 days a week.

Katharine is a big reader, and is currently finishing up the Eragon book trilogy.

The only meat that Katharine eats is hot dogs and chicken nuggets.

Katharine loves to build Legos (especially 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' sets).

Katharine is obsessed with 'Monster High' dolls.

Katharine loves to draw, and is beginning to learn a lot more about human proportions and anatomy.

Katharine has already seen 'The Hobbit' two times.

Katharine will sometimes watch 'Project Runway' and 'The Amazing Race' with us.

Katharine has a nervous habit of rubbing her fingers together.

Katharine does not like cheese, unless melted on pizza or in quesadillas.

Katharine loves to play Scrabble.

Katharine loves home schooling, favoring literature and history over math.

Katharine loves her brothers and sisters (at least when Keira is not rummaging through her room).

Katharine chose pizza for her birthday meal.

Katharine also likes to eat waffles, strawberries, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Katharine's favorite singer is Ingrid Michaelson.

Katharine has started volunteering in Kassidy's Sunday School room to help with the kids.

Katharine, like her Mom, does not like cold temperatures.

Puzzles

The kids went through a puzzle kick this week. 

At one point the wood flooring in our living room was completed covered by the large puzzles that had been put together.

Second Snow

We woke up to some more snow this week- not a lot, but certainly enough to have some fun (especially if you are a kid).

Ginger Bread House

A picture of the ginger bread house that the kids made this week, shortly before it succumbed to an unnatural disaster.

Frousins at the Perot

The kids got together and visited the Perot yesterday, followed by some awesome "foraged" food at the Martels last night.

Generations

I found these two pictures at my Mom's house and photographed them together. 

They are of Keira and my Mom at about the same age.

Wow.

Massachusetts Snapshots

I'm slow to post this, but Katharine and I flew up to Massachusetts for a few days at the beginning of the month to visit my Mom and Dad.

We had a great time, and even though I din't go full-out photo essay I still took a few shots.

Spoiled = whip cream hearts on Katharine's English muffin :)

Katharine skipping her way through a very cold Boston on our way to the Aquarium and Tea, as the freezing grownups tried to play catch-up.

At the Aquarium.

Stopping for a pose on the street (as we waited for Grandma and Grandpa to catch up).

Tea time at a fancy hotel.

Playing dolls with Grandma.

Playing Scrabble with Grandpa (and cat).

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Kassidy on Camera

Here are two random pics that I had of Kassidy.

Looking cute in her hat (she has always liked hats).

Lounging on the couch eating one of her Grandma's cookies (she was very chilled out with her legs crossed).