May 13th, 2019: Family quiz night, cooking with the kids for Mothers’ Day weekend & a little horseback riding.
Friday
Friday started out with some outside time catching-up on some yard work. Gracie was a big help – and it was nice to spend a little extra time with my original “little one”.
In the evening, the kids (& Melani) completed one of my silly quizzes. You can give it a try here: Chip’s Monthly Quiz May 2019 Edition! I was especially impressed with Dominick on this one. He is very persistent and even came up with two other answers for the match stick question – other than what I had considered! He ended up getting 11 out of 15. Due to his carelessness in reading one of the questions – he left some points on the table.
Gracie also did very well – but if I can teach her to be a little more persistent – she would have had 14 out of the 15! She got tripped up on the chalkboard questions with the 2 variables. She kept on insisting that I had made a mistake in putting it together. That was three questions that were tied together – so if you miss one – you are probably going to miss all three! Gracie ended up tying Dominick with 11 out of 15.
Annie – well – it was quite a challenging test for a 7 year old! But she did a good job and had 6 out of 15. Not bad for someone that hasn’t even really covered some of the math concepts that were present here in this quiz!
Mommy – of course did well. I think she got 14 out of 15 – and the one that she might have gotten “wrong” was the match stick one – in which there was a least one other answer that I should reflect as being correct (it has since been changed and now reflects the other correct answer). Not bad for a woman with a mere 6 years of college!
Saturday
On Saturday morning I had to take Annie to Harmony Hill Ranch for some horse riding. It was something the Girl Scouts were doing as a troop – for a successful season of selling Girl Scout Cookies. Of course – Annie was reluctant to go – but she ended up having a wonderful time. Gracie also went with us to watch. They kids like to go to each others scouting activities – because sometimes they get to participate as the sibling of the scout. So I think Gracie was hoping there would be some girls that didn’t show up – and she would get a chance to ride too! Unfortunately, the only “horse” Gracie got to ride in was an electric one called “Bolt“! (I will be writing an article in the near future on just how much I enjoy driving an electric vehicle!)
Apparently they teach some rather “unorthodox” or “unconventional” riding techniques at this school! In the one picture it looks like Annie might be discussing this fact with the instructor!
Sunday
Sunday was all-about-Melani (Mom)(deservedly so)! After church (and finally turning in the Lenten Rice Bowl) Melani was showered with some homemade cards and the kids & I prepared brunch for her. Gracie had the idea to make pink waffles. So each of the kids got on their chair around the peninsula in the kitchen and we whipped up a batch – which ended up being a little more purple than pink! I was really impressed by how well everyone worked together to make the day special for mom! They all had their aprons on and co-operated very well with getting the table set, making the waffles and serving them to Melani & Sophie. It was a lot of fun for everyone – and something I think we will all remember fondly for a very long time!
After brunch – we cleaned up a little and then fixed a HUGE fruit salad! All the kids helped in cutting up the fruit. Best of all – no fingers were lost or harmed in the process!
Later in the afternoon we made chili together – and both my mother and Melani’s mom came over to our house. By that point – some of my younger helpers were getting a little riled up – and it wasn’t quite as sweet as it was earlier in the day!
We tried to make the day special for Melani to show her how much we all appreciate the tireless devotion she demonstrates to our family every day! Thank you Melani – we love you and are truly blessed to have you as a wife and mother! Thank you for everything you do for us!
Update
Update on the “pterodactyl” egg that the kids brought home last week. – Someone dropped / cracked it the next day…. Dominick was particularly upset over this. When we looked at it – we told him it did not even have a bird in it – it was just yolk like a regular store bought egg. I think this made him feel better – but I think he was really hoping for a pterodactyl as a pet!
Miscellaneous
Last week we got back a school project that Gracie had recently done. I was very impressed with her art work. I also really liked the report because it was about Machu Picchu and was done in an “Indiana Jones” style. I have been fortunate enough to have visited Machu Picchu in person and have always found it a mysterious & fascinating place! Ever since I was in High School I had wanted to go there – and finally did so with a buddy from law school in 1993.
I’ve also featured some artwork from both Annie and Dominick this week. Please note – I did correct Dominick on the speed figures for both the SR-71 and the Bolt. Seems he overestimated the top speed of one (the Bolt – electronically limited to 91 MPH) and underestimated the speed off the other (SR-71 ~ 2,700 MPH or Mach 3.5).
We now have 12 butterflies in the the house. The kids got a kit with caterpillars for Easter – and all 12 of them successfully made the transition to the butterfly stage! So now they are in this net / container. Melani says we can only keep them for a few days – and then will need to release them.
I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful Mothers’ Day weekend!
Sincerely,
P.S. Here is a “gratuitous” Sophie shot!
