Aidan Received the Light of Christ Award

Today Aidan received his Light of Christ Cub Scout Religious Award. I’m very proud of how hard he worked to get this award. He had to complete a bunch of activities in a booklet and talk with a priest about his work. He worked on the booklet all last summer and talked with a priest last fall. He was excited to get his medal after all his hard work.




2009 Lip Sync

The kids school had their annual lip sync show today. The twins kindergarten class and Aidan’s class both performed. The twins class did “Mr. Roboto” by Styx. The kids all looked so cute dressed up as robots.

Jared and Riley

Jared

Riley

The whole class

You can see their performance in this video.

Aidan’s class was divided into two groups. Aidan’s group performed “He is the Life”. You can see their performance in this video. Aidan is wearing the blue shirt.

Talia Won Library Time Warp Writing Contest Award!

Last month Talia entered the Library Time Warp contest being held by the Huntington Beach Library. The contest was to write a story about either 100 years in the future or 100 years in the past at the library. She got a call last week informing her that she won an Outstanding Merit award. The award’s ceremony was held today. She won a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card.


You can watch her getting her award in this video.

Here’s her story:

Books? What Books?

I was walking home, reading, when I looked up. I was at the library. I thought I’d stop by. But at the moment I opened the door, I knew something was wrong. There was a heavy mist inside the library, definitely not usual. I decided to investigate, starting on the left. Here, the mist was clearer. The library looked old, an ornate, 1900’s old. “Odd.” I said aloud. Moving to the right, I noticed the mist was really thick here. Something was moving toward me. It definitely wasn’t a person, it was a robot! I’ve always wanted to see one. I could put two things together. Past or Future? With no hesitation, I threw my science fiction book aside and headed to the future!

The mist closed in, and then cleared. There was nothing where I was standing, but skyscrapers everywhere else. There was a fluorescent blue street – no cars, just people and robots. I really needed to learn about the future. I stepped on the street and started moving. No, the street was moving! It stopped at an info center and I walked in. A robot there named Bot (Total cliché!) handed me an “eRec” (that’s what it said on the top) and wheeled off. I opened the eRec and read the first page that came up.

“Following the banning of books, the government has made it possible to attain information by mass producing these eRecs…” At this point, I had to back up. Banning of books? As if the eRec had read my thoughts, another page popped up. “In 2070, the government officially banned books because they were poisoning the minds of the people.” This confused me even more. Books aren’t bad! (Except in some cases when a hardback gets in the hands of an angry librarian.) I had to sort this problem out, and fix it. I left some money on the steel table and walked out, taking the eRec with me.

-later-

After finding out where the town hall was (and where they first banned books), I hatched a plan. I was going to talk to the man in charge and attempt to convince him to un-ban books. Stepping off the street moments later I walked in and asked another robot (Named Rob, this time) to take me to the head. I was lead down the hall, to a jolly, but firm man. “Can I ask you a question, and be given a fair hearing and answer?” “No problem.” He said with a confused look on his face. “Why did you ban books?” I demanded. “Bad ideas were spreading. People were getting false hope from false things. Eventually all of the anxiety peaked and I had to ban the books. Every government official in the county agreed with me, so it happened.” he answered. “All of that’s not true!” I yelled. “SECUR-” He stopped. “I promised, didn’t I.” I nodded and continued. “Bad ideas spreading? False hope? You don’t have to believe what you read. False things? Fiction books are great! You can put yourself in a place you’ve never been or will be. You can experience things and sensations while sitting, reading!” I exclaimed.
The man sat there, thinking. After a few minutes of nothing but that, he replied, “I see your point. I’ll bring this up at the next meeting. Perhaps books will be unbanned after all.” “Thanks!” I shouted, as I left. I walked back to where the library should be. The mist rolled in, then cleared again. I found myself back in the time I belonged, where books actually existed.

Pinewood Derby

Today Aidan’s Cub Scout Pack held it’s annual Pinewood Derby. He had a lot of fun designing, building and painting the car with his dad. Aidan’s car got an honorable mention this year. He was a bit disappointed that he didn’t place, but said he had a lot of fun at the event anyway.

Quote of the Day

Overheard while the twins were playing on of their Star Wars Wii games, “If you kill me, I am so telling!” This was said by Riley to Jared. He was talking abut Jared killing his character in the game. I thought it was hilarious.

Falyn’s Swim Class

Falyn is doing so good in her swim class! Today she floated for 10 seconds on her back all by herself. She will go under the water from one “castle” to another by herself. She jumps of the side of the pool to her teacher and is getting really good at kicking. She just loves her teacher, Heather. This is the third week she as been taking swim lessons here. She took classes last summer at a different place. Here’s some more pictures.

All ready to go to class. I bought this rash guard for her at Costco back in September. I knew I wanted to put her in classes this winter and thought it would be perfect. She already had the pink goggles and plenty of swimsuits from last summer.

Here’s Falyn giving her teacher a high five.

Here’s the pool where she takes lessons.

On the castle.

Going under.

Backfloat

Having fun.

All wrapped up after her class.

Eating her animal cracker snack they give her after the class.

How many inches are in a hand?

Last night after dinner, the kids were sitting at the table eating ice cream when Aidan asked, “How many inches are in a foot?.” Kayli told him that there were twelve inches in a foot. Jared thought about that for a minute then asked, “How many inches are in a hand?” I guess it is time to start teaching the twins about units of measure!

Falyn’s Mess


While I was helping Aidan with his homework, Falyn was having fun with a marker. I have no idea where she got the marker. All the markers are suppose to be put up where she can’t get to them. She is normally very good about only drawing on paper, but not today. She drew all over herself, the tile floor in the kitchen and dining room, the stool in the kitchen and the refrigerator. Of course it has to be the black marker. Why is it always the black marker when kids do things like this? When I saw it I was afraid I would never be able to get it all off. The markers all say “washable”, but rarely do they wipe right off. This was on of those rare times when it just wiped right off, no scrubbing needed. I was shocked it came out so easily. Off everything, that is, but Falyn. She was left with some black marks on her arms and hands that will no doubt wear off in a few days. She said she was sorry and promised me to never write on anything but paper from now on. We’ll see.

Jared’s Thinking Scary Thoughts At Me!

A few weeks ago I put Jared and Riley both in time-out in the kitchen. They both started complaining about the other one making hand motions and looking at them meanly. Because of this, I had them move so that they could no longer see each other. A few minutes after that Riley said, “Mommy, Jared’s thinking scary thoughts at me!”. Jared claims he was not thinking scary thoughts at Riley, but who can be sure? Is this one of those strange twin things where one twin can tell what the other twin is thinking at him? Or was Riley just making it up? Who knows! It does make for a funny story though.

A Tea Party Set, Lego Storm Troopers and the Twins

Falyn got a Disney Princess Tea Party Set for Christmas. She loves it! She will set it up and have tea parties with anyone that will come. The twins often attend the tea parties with her. The other day Falyn set up her tea party set then went to play somewhere else. I found the twins playing with it along with their Lego Storm Troopers. I asked them if the Storm Troopers where having a tea party. I was then informed, “No, they aren’t having a tea party. The giant forks are attacking the Storm Troopers.” I had to laugh. It just goes to show you that boys left to themselves can turn even a tea party into a war zone.