Visitors from the West

 

Friday evening we were graced by the presence of Grandparents.  Grandma and Grandprize made the drive over late in the afternoon and stayed the weekend with us.  With plenty of laughs over pizza and beer the kids came and went throughout the evening.  Merrick was coming back from a school ski trip and Sophia went to pick him up, Ella was at work until about nine but they joined the festivities.  Puzzle tables were set up by the fire and there were plenty of laughs at the dogs haircuts and Grandprize's growing affection for the dogs.  Saturday we took a tour of the Titletown area hoping to see the hoopla and tailgaters, but much like the Packer's performance later that night, nobody had showed up yet and the area was pretty quite.  We hit Fonferek to check out the frozen waterfall.  Merrick, Grandma and I all crawled behind the massive wall of ice.  It did get a little dicey for Grandma, but she pretty much rocked it on her Birthday weekend.  We walked the river ice down to the hole, natural arch and stayed out of the wind in the glen so it was a pleasant walk.  Hit Greystone on the way home for bloody mary's and some food before dropping "Ronnie" [Grace changed her name during the car ride] off at a friend's house for the night.  The rest of us headed back and started to get prepped for the Packer's playoff game against the 49ers...the game was horrible but the company was great.  A slow Sunday start with coffee and birthday cake for Grandma before they hit the road and headed west.

Catapults in the cold

It was over a week in design and with the garage heater combusting the propane Grace's Catapult came to fruition.  The medieval technology of a trebuchet had to be altered a bit to account for the short acceleration drop on the small scale implement of war; and we used shock cording instead.  Online schooling taught us that the garage shop is easier for getting the work done.  Fewer bottlenecks on the equipment and way fewer safety rules....Grace even pointed out to Amy, "nobody lost a finger yet"...so it is good to see that growth mindset training is really working too.  In the end I am sure he catapult will exceed the relatively hefty parameters of shooting over a 4 foot wall and in excess of 8 feet total with enough precision to hit a 5 gallon bucket target.  Step one however was getting it to school all in one piece and storing it in the shop without anyone messing with it....until it is time to "let Loose!"

**This entry needed an edit. Not only did Grace score an A+ on her Catapult, but she was asked to donate it to the Principal as an example for others.

The New Year Cometh

 Of course the stated and intended purpose is to report on the kids an our outdoor adventures.  These days it seems hard enough to get them together for an hour let alone an extended trip for an adventure.  Our adventures are smaller, closer to home but the time is still as precious.  We have had two family bowling outings...with little improvement.  Grace is playing Bball for the traveling tournament team and Merrick is now a student leader in karate, working with the underbelts.  With the kids gone as much as they are, Amy and I have taken to messing with the dogs and giving them funny haircuts.  Oliver is now sporting a mowhawk and a goatee while Hazel has either a "Betty White" or Angry Ostrich...depending on the angle.