And Heeee's On It!

Last weekend we went to see Pole Day for the Indy 500. We used to follow the race the whole month of May when we lived in Indy (and quite frankly they just don't cover it properly in the national news so it's not the same outside Indy), and we went to time trials and even the race a couple times. So we met up with my parents at the track.

The weather could have been a bit better. We were under threat of rain the whole day, but thankfully it didn't rain until the end of the day. We sat right across from the start/finish line for awhile, but it was a little too loud for Chi.

Gabe claims it was his favorite part, but even he seemed to struggle with the noise a bit.

So we moved to turn four for the rest of the afternoon. Boys boys seemed more comfortable there. Plus Grandma bought them huge ice cream cones, so of course they were happy that afternoon. :)

All in all it was a nice day. We plan to show them the race on TV this weekend and see what they think of it now that they saw the track and cars in person.

P.S. Many of you know that we lived in Joplin. Thankfully our friends are safe, but unfortunately they have lost their home. The whole neighborhood we lived in is gone. It will take a long time to recover. Please help in anyway you can. ELCA Disaster Response is an excellent place to make a donation. 100% of your contribution goes to helping those effected by these destructive storms.

Little Chicks

Gabe's class studied the life cycle of chickens. They got eggs and an incubator and studied the process all the way through to the chicks being about a week old. One presumes they were then taken to a farm, but I don't really know for sure. They had 12 eggs, all labeled and used candling to see inside the eggs to learn about the development. Most of the eggs actually hatched overnight so the did not see a lot of the hatching process, but as you can imagine they were so excited when the eggs hatched.

But "Baby G" did not hatch. It was the only one that did not make it. Last night Gabe was talking to me about it because he was a little sad that all the chicks were taken away yesterday (even though they knew it was coming). 

Gabe said, "Some of the kids think we need to have a funeral for Baby G." 
"Oh," I said, "it is a little sad that the egg didn't hatch." 
Gabe replied, "Yes, but we shouldn't have a funeral. It's not right." 
"Okay. Why not?"
"Because a funeral is for some one who died. How can you have a funeral if they have never lived?" he said.
I was taken aback by his wisdom. I replied that I agreed and said, "It sounds like everyone is just a little sad about Baby G not making it. It just helps to talk about it, and that's okay too."

Given the politics surrounding Planned Parenthood and other women's rights, abortion and the importance of its availability has been on my mind. What struck me so much during this conversation is that although we have never had a conversation with him about abortion, it amazed me the clarity this seven year old kid has that adults don't seem to have. The thing that is always missing on both sides of the conversation is that there is a very real difference between realized life and potential life. Until that is part of the conversation, there really isn't a conversation is there? Denial in abundance, but no real discussion. I guess this is why they say "Out of the mouths of babes..."

In a galaxy far, far away...

We survived Gabe's Star Wars party! It rained! Argh! It was not quite as good as we hoped since we had 20 kids packed in the house, but it worked. Gabe liked it so that's all that counts.

Even the chalkboard wall got a little decoration.

I made lightsabers out of pool noodles (to see how, click here), and the kids loved them, but they got a little out of control with them unfortunately. But they were all very excited that they got to take them home. 

We played several games. We had Jedi balance games where they had to balance on one foot on a rock to see who could stay up the longest and they had to try to stand up together, back to back with arms linked. And they tried to drop straws in a bottle and we just renamed it The Trench Run. We had them use lightsabers to get balloons in a pen and called it Nerfherding. And defend their hoop from Asteroids (bean bags). We did a relay race, but our Obstacle Course and our Deathstar game couldn't work inside, so that was a bit of a bummer.

I made Gabe a Millenium Falcon cake. Here he is getting ready to blow out the candles.

The food was fun, we did a few creative things with that (click here to read more on the food). We of course all had to get dressed up. Gabe was dressed as a Jedi (based on Obi-wan's outfit, but he decided to just be himself),

Chi had a Yoda robe, but he lost it before the party started and he didn't really care,

I was Princess Leia at the Battle of Hoth, 

and Matt (whom we forgot to photograph) was a Republic Officer. He dressed in dark gray pants and shirt and then made his rank insignia out of duct tape and sharpie marker.

So, today for the official birthday, we are keeping it low key. It's still bad weather so Gabe and Chi have just been playing with all Gabe's new toys. We are taking him out for a birthday dinner tonight, but not a second cake. One elaborate cake a birthday is enough. :) Gabe is excited to seven years old. He says he feels older.

Another week gone by already?!

What is it about this time of year that makes it go so fast? I don't even know where the last week went. I suppose overall it was pretty run of the mill.

The weekend, however, has been busy, busy, busy. Friday I got a call that the physics club needed a new host for the party that night because the original host got sick. With much wailing, I agreed. I had to wail a bit as I was having a heart attack thinking about how the ENTIRE house was a disaster area! Huge mess. Every room. Plus, I need to go to the grocery store because I had NOTHING to feed these people. Nothing. It's not an exaggeration. Luckily, the original host had already purchased desserts at a bakery, so that really saved me. I just had to go pick it up. The house itself took quite awhile, but it was nice to have it all picked up before the weekend started.

The party was nice. It was really more of a gathering. Not so much party-animal type happening. The boys enjoyed getting to stay up way past bedtime too. 

Saturday we bought lots of stuff we needed for the great outdoors. Wood for trellises and raised vegetable beds. Ferns (Lowe's had them on sale!), we actually are putting at least one of them inside. He is very full and has a life of his own so I named him. His name is Herbert Nininger. (Fans of Curious George will laugh at that.) Spray paint for the wicker chair. Fence posts. Mulch. And a decorative metal piece for the house. 

Matt made his bean trellises and he also mowed the back yard. I tore out some grass and mulched a new planting bed by the fence. It really made that area of the yard look so much better. I also spray painted the wicker chair a sunny yellow. I plan to blog about that on Domesticated Nomad once I find or make a cushion to go on it as well.

And today, we had church. Then Gabe was invited to go to a friend's brother's birthday party at the roller skating arena. Carter was allowed to have a friend his own age at the party so he wouldn't feel left out from all the big kids, so Gabe got to go along. He had fun. It was only his second time roller skating and he's doing really well. Then the DJ called for the races. So anyone 10 and under could line up for the race and Gabe tells me he's going to do it. Now the kid spends half his time on his bottom from falling, and now he plans to race? I thought this was going to end so badly! I asked if he was sure. Dangerous mother territory. You want the kid to make his own decisions and try things, but sometimes you know the failure is just not worth it. He was sure, so I let him go. He was only half way around when the winner crossed the finish line. (Gabe was skating his best ever though!) Oh, I was so worried about what he'd do. But he was determined. He just kept skating. The DJ started saying things like, "Look at him go! Way to finish strong! Give him a round of applause!" so that was cool. He really wasn't upset that he came in last. He says he'll just try again next time. I can't tell you how very proud of this kid I am!