summer activities

a few of the things we've been doing to keep busy since school is finally out!

i've been brave enough to send afton and ella to rite-aid on their bikes.

just to get a cold drink.

 we're trying out the "kids bowl free" program, which ryan insists is not techically free.

you have to pay for shoe rental.

 we went to see Brave at the drive in last friday night.

we love the drive in!

 we have been swimming every day that the sun has shone.

and even when it hasn't!

 we've been planting flowers and taking care of our garden.

the girls are doing kidbiz again this year!

afton's hairbows

&

ella's sweet scents

featured once a month at the elmwood-bidwell farmers market.

ella's sweet scents is all about homemade playdough that is scented with essential oil.

it smells lovely and is fun to play with!

she's going to try to sell tie-dye scarfs for dogs next time.

the first week of summer break has already flown by, and i hope it slooooowwwwwsssss way down!

smelling salts, stat!

over the past few weeks, the entire 5th grade population of our school district has been partaking in the scientific study of the human reproduction system and all of the inclusive gory details. 

apparently the information has been more than some of the little darlings could handle!

a friend shared the following from her son's classroom...

on the first day,

"a boy in class passed out!"

then,

"you know how we lean back in our chairs, mom?  and then when the front feet of the chair come back down to the ground there's a 'thud' sound?" 

"well, today we heard a 'thud' sound and then we turned around and a girl had fainted". 

rumor has it, that lesson was on menstruation.

queen elizabeth 1

this is aftie's ipad presentation from the 5th grade biography bash.

enjoy!

the spoils

the girls and i hate it when ryan has to go away for work, but we always enjoy watching him unpack his suitcase after one of his journeys.

we sit on the bed and watch.

out come the dirty socks,

smelly shirts,

wrinkled pants,

scuffed shoes

and we won't mention the underwear!

but then the magic begins...

 bars of milk chocolate..

bags of pasta...

bottles of olive oil...

tapenade...

more chocolate!

more pasta!

boxes of chocolates!

a beautiful hunk of parmesan!!

we run our hands through the chocolates and toss them in the air as we laugh and shout with glee!

our beautiful treasures!

we feasted on the italian spoils for sunday dinner, and i prepared a chocolate tasting plate for ryan's co-workers. 

it's always nice to share.

even if you want to hoard it all for yourself.

thank you ryan!



she's a gymnast!

saturday was ella's first gymnastics meet.

(last year was just a "show")

she performed routines on the

vault

bars

beam

floor

  a practice run on the vault

 those two legs belong to our monkey!

 the uneven bars are her favorite event.

i would just look up at them and say, "no thank you".

ella's a brave girl!

ella placed

6th in floor

4th on bars

3rd on vault

3rd on beam

and then 4th place overall!

 celebrating afterwards at red robin with an oreo milkshake!

great job little monkey!!!!

5th grade field trip

i was able to join in on aftie's 5th grade field trip!

we went to niagara falls and rode the maid of the mist.

the maid of the mist is the boatride that takes you right up close to the horseshoe falls.

i am proud to say that i took full advantage of my pretty blue poncho/trashbag and didn't get a single drop of water on myself!

a true accomplishment. 

 aftie and friends

 mr roche's ela class

aftie had a pulled tendon under her knee and was really hurting, but didn't want to miss out on the big event.

so, she limped along and was able to do almost everything but climb the stairs right next to the american falls.

we'll go another time and climb those stairs, little love!

thanks for inviting me, aftie!

it was a very fun day!

queen elizabeth 1

the 5th grade biography bash was held tuesday night.

afton was assigned to report on queen elizabeth 1.

we found a gown at the costume rental store, a golden sceptor, some jewels and a tiara. 

i thought it would be a great idea to fashion a large collar out of coffee filters, but afton would have nothing to do with it.

so she reported sans collar.

  the bible, sceptor, tiara and jewelry represent facts about queen elizabeth 1.

the parents walked around the cafeterias to hear about the lives of many people who have contributed to the world throughout history.

here's our own qe1 and her loyal subject, lady ella.

the students prepared short videos on the ipads to share with their families.

a fun night and great prep on the students part.

milestone

hooray for ryan!

our very own genius inventor had 3 more patents granted this year, which brings him to a grand total of 5 granted patents!

the awards ceremony was held at pearl street grill & brewery.

it's always a nice evening for all of the inventors to be recognized.

the current record number of granted patents is 122, and is held by ryan's boss, rajiv!

one interesting patent fact...

after a patent is filed, it usually takes 3+ years to be granted. 

many patents ryan filed in his first year or two of work are now being granted. 

he's worked for honeywell for 9 1/2 yrs!

way to go super inventor!!!!