Thursday, April 26, 2012

4/26/12 written Wednesday 4/18/12 air gun...

Maggie has almost finished her air gun. The first one that she built didn't work. She got onto the Internet and got some directions. We got another bucket and some painters plastic. This one is better, but still doesn't work at twenty feet. Half of the problem is the design, and the other half is the aiming. She still has more time. Maggie is taking the project to school tomorrow to get help.


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

4/25/12 written Sunday 4/15/12 flower seeds...

We planted flower seeds in the two pots in the frount yard. If we get more snow or frost, we can get more seeds and plant them. The seeds that were planted last year were perrenials, so they may sprout this year too. We got two packs of flowers, two different kinds, so there may be a lot of colors in the planters.


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

4/24/12 written Saturday 4/14/12 air gun for science class...

William worked on the dishes today, Beth did the laundry and Maggie needs to make an air gun for science class. It uses a bucket and some plastic and a bungee cord. A hole is cut into the bottom of the bucket and onto the top is taped some plastic. When the bungee cord is pulled back and let go the air rushes out of the cut hole in the bottom. To get an "A", her air gun must be able to blow out a candle at 20 feet. She needs to write a paper on the project too and do a drawing. It is due in a week or two.


Monday, April 23, 2012

4/23/12 wtitten Wednesday 4/11/12 board games and unicycles...


We played board games a few nights ago. We haven't played board games in a long time. We played "Blockus 3D" and "Go". It was a lot of fun. We played for a few hours.


Maggie has been riding the unicycle. She has been holding onto the fence as she rides along it. The last time that she was riding she started by the garage and tried to ride down the driveway. On the first try she was able to the length of a half of a peddle before she fell off. By the time that she came in she was able to pedal twice before falling. Maggie was so pleased. She looks sturdier when she is away from the fence, because she is relaying on her own balance and not on the fence to balance her.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

4/22/12 written Monday 4/9/12 unicycles and Easter...

Last Friday night Maggie was able to get onto the unicycle. It was Friday so she didn't have any homework, it wasn't raining and we were at home. Her balance is getting better but she is still holding onto the fence.


Yesterday was Easter. The kids and I went to the Easter service on Saturday night. I love Easter. It is such a good time to say all is forgiven and we can start over.

Friday, April 6, 2012

4/6/12 written Sunday 4/1/12 cont. being baptized...

I was baptized today. I do feel new, like a burden was lifted. The kids and I picked up Beth's friend and went to the church. There was a short meeting to make sure that everyone was sure that they were ready to be baptized. We got our pictures taken and gave them a copy of our spiritual story...what we had done before, what we had worshiped, like work or money, when did the change happen and why did we want to be baptised. They baptize people in large pools with full dunking. We went to the chapel where they showed us how to line up and how the service would go.


then we went into the sanctuary and all sat in two areas together. There are two tubs so one group sat on the left and one on the right side of the church. The water was very warm, 104 deg. The washing away of the old...life, person etc,. and coming out of the water as someone who belongs to God in a deeper and closer way was so fulfilling. It all happened so fast. About seventy people were baptized that day.

There was a church service and communion at the same service. There was singing as the baptisms were being done. After that there was community time out in the church. They had "walking tacos", root beer floats, inflatables for the kids and music.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

4/5/12 written Sunday 4/1/12 kids zoo interview...

Maggie, Beth and I went to the Zoo teen interview this morning. It was scheduled at 8:30 am. They got name tags and had their pictures taken. After some short introductions the kids went downstairs to play some games..to make them more comfortable to talk during the interviews...and then to be interviewed. The parents went upstairs and were told a little about what the teens do. They do a lot more than just inform kids at the zoo. It runs May through October. They go out of the zoo and do some community service, like packing bags for the homeless. They also have picnics for the teens and do a one day field trip to a nearby big city. It is possible to be a zoo teen year round, if the kids are that interested. The group takes about one hundred new kids a year. One hundred and eighty kids have applied.


When they were done telling the adults about the program, the adults had about forty-five minutes of free time. I went downstairs ...there was a fallout shelter. I don't see many of those any more. I looked at some of the animals and read a little until the kids were done. When they came out they said that it had gone OK. We should hear back if they were selected in about two weeks We looked around the zoo for a few hours. The battery ran out on my camera after taking only a few pictures outside. Beth's camera on her phone worked so she took a lot of pictures.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

4/3/12 written Saturday 3/31/12 sewing machine...

We got our sewing machine back on Friday. It is nice to have it fixed. It is an old treadle, Franklin machine that we got at a flee market. It came with the bobbin and the instruction book. We have had it for a year or two and have been trying to get it to work off and on.


We have two old jackets of Maggie's that have broken zippers. They are still good jackets, they just need the zippers fixed. I need to take the old zippers to the store so that we can get new ones of the right color and length.

This machine is an old foot pumping treadle machine. Before we use it, it must be oiled on five places underneath where the treadle is, oiled on top of the machine in about five places and oiled under the machine where the pieces move to make the bobbin move. Then the machine is run for a few minutes to get the oil worked in and then wiped off so that no oil gets onto the material. We need a project to do so that we can use the machine.



Monday, April 2, 2012

4/2/12 written Saturday 3/31/12 National History day...

Maggie and I went this morning to the University for the National History Day competition. We had to check in between 9 and 9:45 AM. Her website was judged at 12:30 and the winners were announced at 2:30. She saw a friend of hers and his step-mom, so we sat with them until he presented his project at 11:40. He did a documentary on Germany. Later Maggie presented her website. After that we ate lunch at the school cafeteria. Some of the questions that the judges asked were "Why did you pick this topic?", "What type of sources did you use?", and "What would someone learn from this that they didn't already know?" The presentations went smoothly for both of them. We walked around the building for a while. We looked at the bookstore. At the awards ceremony, neither of them won. It was sad, they had both worked so hard.


Sunday, April 1, 2012

4/1/12 written Friday 3/30/12 National History Day...

Tomorrow, Maggie and I go to the University for her to compete in the National History Day competition. She has done a web site. The doors open at nine AM. Her project will be judged at 12:30 PM and the award ceremony is at 2:30 PM. I am excited to go. Last year mom took Maggie and I was with Beth at a choir competition. If Maggie wins, she will go to the state competition.