Science Fair

This year both boys participated in the science fair at their school.  Kyle's project was "Which ball has the most elasticity?"  He researched what elasticity was and then tested 3 different balls (a marble, a ping pong ball, and a rubber ball) to see which was the most elastic and was able to explain why.  Max's project was "Can balloons stick to anything?"  He learned about static electricity and how it works and then rubbed a balloon on a wool blanket (and Peanut worked well too) and then tried to stick it to various things i.e. the wall, the tv, my shirt, etc.  I think they both learned something new and were able to explain it to the principal who came around to see all the projects as well as the judges who reviewed each project as well.  They didn't hand out prizes for places this year, but everyone got a certificate of achievement for participating.  The boys had fun and it was fun to see all the other projects as well and learn some new things!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today was Mom's 60th birthday!  We celebrated by meeting her and Dad and Mike at Romano's Macaroni Grill in Dale City, VA.  It was nice to get together for a yummy dinner and spend some time together! 

Promiseland Sunday

The boys decided to join the kids choir for Promiseland Sunday at our church this year.  Max has always wanted to do it but has been too nervous.  This year he decided he was ready since he sang in his kindergarten concert at school and did well.  They had 3 rehearsals and we practiced at home as well.  Most of the songs the boys were familiar with and sing at church during the kids worship time.  There was one new song, but they did a good job learning it and singing it.  They helped lead the congregation in singing 3 songs at the beginning and then they had a special performance later in the service with just the kids choir. They also got to participate in a parade at the end where they could sing and dance down the aisles!  And as a bonus for Max he was chosen to be the king in a skit during the drama presentation.  Mr. Reuben (the kids' ministry director) chose some kids randomly during each service to help out and Max was picked to be the king during the second service.  He was thrilled!  It was a long morning as they sang during both services and had to be there early to get ready, but they did great and had a snack in between services to recharge!  Overall I think it went really well and they seemed to have a good time.   Here is a link to the video of the entire service: http://www.cedarbrook.org/media.php?pageID=50  Max is on the first step on the riser in section on the left and Kyle is at the top of the riser in the middle section.

 

Kyle's brown belt

Kyle tested for his next belt level in karate and is now a brown belt.  He did a running jump side kick to break TWO boards!  He did it on the first try and was one of only a few in his class that were able to break 2 boards with the kick on the first try. 

Snow!

The boys ended up being off school on Monday and Tuesday due to the snow we got on Sunday and additional snow overnight Monday into Tuesday.  It wasn't a ton of snow but enough to build a small snowman and have a family snowball fight! 

The Polar Express

Max LOVES the movie The Polar Express.  We watch it year round at our house.  This year we got him tickets to ride the Polar Express in Elkins, West Virginia for his birthday.  Our train ride was on December 8 at 7:15pm.  We ended up driving there on Saturday and spending two nights due to an ice/snow storm expected on Sunday.  This turned out to be a great idea since we got quite a bit!  We arrived before the storm hit and left on Monday after it was over.  We stayed at the Iron Road Inn.  It was an independently owned place that was train themed.  They had a nice lobby/sitting area with board games for families to play and a buffet style restaurant within walking distance so we had a nice dinner and played games in our downtime.  We headed to the train station early on Sunday and had dinner at the Railway Restaurant.  It's on the second floor of a building so you could look out and see the Polar Express train pull in to the station as you're eating dinner.  We got some souvenirs in the gift shop and then walked around the winter lights display outside the station.  After that we headed inside the train station where they had some activities for the kids while we waited to board.  The ride itself was AMAZING!  We had hot chocolate (complete with the "Hot Chocolate" song and dance similar to the movie . . . it felt like you were in the movie!) and cookies.  We stopped at the "North Pole" where Santa boarded the train.  He gave each of us a bell as a special Christmas gift (just like in the movie).  The conductor punched our special tickets.  They read the story.  We got to check the stocking from Mrs. Claus to see if we were naughty or nice.  Max was a little worried, but luckily he pulled out "nice."  :)  They had a lot of little things planned throughout the ride so it was never boring.  We all had a great time!

 

Happy 6th Birthday Max!

Max turned 6 on November 8th!  We had lots of birthday celebrations this year.  He had a party with his friends at Bounce U on Thursday.  There were lots of kids and lots of fun had by all!  Max was thrilled that his favorite friends could make it.  They ran, bounced, climbed, slid, and had a great time.  We ate pizza and cake . . . Monsters University was the theme he picked for the cake.

On his actual birthday we took him to dinner at the restaurant of his choice . . . California Tortilla.  We also gave him his birthday gift from us . . . a ticket to ride on the Polar Express.  This is his favorite movie/book.  We watch it throughout the year even though it is a Christmas movie.  There's a place in West Virginia that recreates the movie and some of the scenes from it.  You get to ride the train in your pajamas, drink hot chocolate and eat cookies, hear the story, listen to song and dance, meet Santa, and see the "North Pole."  We'll be going in December and he's really looking forward to it!

Ma and Pa came up to watch Max for the day a couple of weeks ago and gave him his present then . . . a Nintendo 2DS which he LOVED! 

And Grandma Luster (who shares her birthday with Max) and cousin Michael came up to visit the day after his birthday and we all went out to lunch at Red Robin followed by leftover cake at home.

He's still working on thank you notes for all his many presents . . . he's a very loved little guy!