Science Fair

Noah presented his Science Fair project to the entire Troy CC Community today. His hard work and practiced paid off, and he handled the questions from the judges with ease. Well done, Noah!

Clarinet Talk

I caught my three favorite guys chatting about a clarinet last night....

Food Art

Noah's apple slice.

Brain Workout

Lukas and Noah are great brain exercise athletes - never missing a chance to head downstairs and to do programming.

Pencil, Anyone?

Noah loves to do puzzles. The rest of the family enjoys them. Noah has several puzzles on his wishlist for Christmas and there is no better way to spend dreary, cold, gray winter afternoons than putting together a puzzle.

This is the puzzle that has occupied the sofa table for the last few weeks.

Music to My Ears

Noah and Lukas are thoroughly enjoying their music lessons and I am treasuring the fellowship with this dear music teacher. She is such a sweet Sister in Christ, full of wisdom, and the gentlest of spirit. Sitting in her living room and listening to our boys playing is a weekly treat for me.

Lukas Speech

Lukas was assigned to memorize a 3-5 minute long speech and then deliver it to his peers. He chose George W. Bush speech on the eve of 9-11. After many practices, and adding in a bit of emotion and movement he was ready to deliver it. 

The timer said his speech was 5 minutes 15 seconds, although that did include his introduction which was not supposed to be included in the final time. Lukas thinks he was pretty much right on five minutes for his performance. 

and yes, he will have a longer tie next time :-)

Gluten and Glutton Free Pancakes

Noah decided to treat his Mama to pancakes for breakfast. He used the Vitamix to make some oatmeal flour. Mixing up a double batch he spent a bit of time at the stove, and since we would not want just plain pancakes, he added in a few toppings such as blueberries and of course chocolate chips both dark and white. It was a tasty and thoughtful breakfast - gluten free pancakes. Not sure they are glutton-free however, the entire plate was gone before 10 am.

Why not watch a YouTube while waiting on the pancakes?

Programming

Once the contraption was built, it was time to program. Since the weather outside was a bit frightful, Lukas opted to sit upstairs writing and testing the program.

Creating

Lukas and Noah finished their school work and headed down to the basement. They are constructing a multi arm contraption using Lego, motors, and programming. Lego never goes out of style! And learning never stops!

Passport photos

We needed to renew passports so Bob set up the photo studio in our hallway. Lukas was the model while Bob adjusted for light, although Lukas does not need a new passport. We then got Bob and Noah to pose and passport applications can be processed.

He Can Fix It!

An absent-minded Mama dropped the last two cups of Basmati rice into the pressure cooker, added tasty broth liquid only to realize that the pot was leaking. The actual pot was not inside the cooker, so the rice and liquid drained straight into the electronics part of this trusty kitchen appliance.

While Mama cleaned up the messy floor and counter, Lukas set out to save the pressure cooker. He swiftly disassembled it and carefully wiping, cleaning, and vacuuming out the innards. He was methodical and careful and when it was all done, the machinery looked like it was new, not nearly 8 years old.  Although Lukas had had other plans for his spare time, he cheerfully took on the task and even remarked that it was fun.

The pressure cooker is back in action and Lukas can now add one more thing to his long list of capabilities - fixing kitchen appliances.

Science Fair

 Noah spent a good part of his last day of his Christmas break preparing his Science Fair board. He printed out headers, graphs, summaries, and photos. He tried several layouts to find one that would convey his story well. In the process, he learned the tedium of any project, the final details, the final copy edits, and the final adjustments that always seem to occur at the very last minute. The final product represented both Noah and his project well. Now, he only needs to practice presenting in preparation for the CC Troy Campus Science Fair in late January.