Engineering day @ Binghamton University was the big event this past week! It is the second year in a row that we have gone to it. They do a great job over there of getting the kids excited about science with a lot of fun activities!
Last year we were late – because we were coming from basketball for Dominick. This year there was no basketball on that day – & Gracie made SURE we were early! So, basically, we were among the very first to arrive (yes – BEFORE it actually started) and the very last (yes, again, AFTER it finished) to leave!
Dominick & Annie had fun too – but they were not as enthusiastic to eek every single minute out of the day as Gracie was!
Gracie made A LOT of friends! By the end of the day it seemed like almost everyone knew Gracie’s name!
Gracie might be a little overconfident sometimes. She was CERTAIN HER egg would survive the throw off the 2nd floor balcony in the rotunda. I made a couple of suggestions to her with regard to the structure of her Egg Landing Vehicle (ELV) – but she refused to listen. I told her it certainly would be embarrassing if her little sister’s egg survived and hers did not! Gracie assured me that would not happen!
Well – it happened! Annie’s egg was the only one of the three eggs to survive the fall! I was very proud of her! Gracie, of course, chalked it up to bad luck for her and good luck for Annie – nothing more, nothing less….
They also learned a little bit about encryption and the Enigma type coding machines used during World War II. Finally, they got their names “spelled” out in morse code. Check out this morse code translator I found online! Morse Code Translator
Church Pot-Luck Dinner & Trivia Night
So the church had another potluck dinner and trivia night this past weekend. I really enjoyed the last one (Adventure Update # 031: “Daddy, I Want a Giraffe That Poops Skittles!!”) – and was looking forward to going again. However, the littlest one was sick – so I offered to stay at home with her while the others went.
Well, last time we were the trivia winners. I’m glad the kids are somewhat competitive – but I also don’t want them to be TOO competitive. So we talked about not trying as hard this time to win – so others could have a chance at the prize.
Well, I was shocked that they pulled it off again! Apparently they did have a little help from a couple of other people at their table.
Next time I’m going to make SURE we don’t win! I don’t want us to become “THAT family….”!
Miscellaneous
I had seen these “Predator Pliers” quite awhile ago – and was really impressed with how they looked! So I was really ambitious the other day and printed them out! I was really pleased with how well they printed out!
I didn’t really expect to just remove them from the build plate and be able to use them, However, I was eventually disappointed that I wasn’t able to get them to work. We have to work on tweaking the printer setting apparently – because most of the moving parts were just a little too tight!
I might still glue the thing together. But we do have a LOT more learning to do – and I will print this again. I may first modify some of the weaker parts before doing so, however….
Sincerely,
