Science Olympiad

Garrett has been meeting for the last 3-4 months with Hannah to study their two events for the Science Olympiad for our county.  They competed in Rock Hound and Orienteering together.  On the day of the event, Dad and Garrett woke up early and arrived for the all day event, from 7:30am to 5pm.  They brought a soccer ball, baseball gloves, Battleship, Qwarkle, and CC memory master stuff to keep them busy in between events.  They also played basketball and enjoyed some downtime in the shade structure they brought.  In the end, Garrett and Hannah received a fifth place medal in Rock Hound, which is quite an accomplishment for the first time competing against kids up to 4 years older than they are.  Twenty-nine schools were represented at the event.  The also contributed quality scores in both events to help their team to a seventh overall finish in the competition.  Bryce and Griffin celebrated Garrett's efforts and medal with a banner for him upon his arrival home.  Bryce also made a special care package for him to show his support.

Alright, we are ready for our orienteering event.

Hannah sets the compass and I have the clipboard.

This is as close as our parents were allowed to be while watching us do orienteering.

Hanging out in between events.

Alright Dad, let's play Battleship!

Garrett and Hannah fifth place finish and medal winners!

Up on stage to receive their medals.

Knights Ferry

After a number of years of considering going to the Civil War re-enactment at Knight's Ferry, Joy took the boys to see the action.  In years past, the weather had not cooperated or we had other excuses, but this year, we are studying American History, so it was a go.  The boys' favorite part was the booming cannons and the pretend dying of the soldiers (some were better than others).

Up on the hill we sat to watch the action below (say with Yoda voice).

I've got you in my sights.

Playing in the canal at Will's grandparents.

Here is a sample camp that the soldiers would've stayed in.

The procession to battle.

Some cannons used in battle.

We Love Rocks!

One of our areas of study has been rocks and minerals, mostly motivated by Garrett's involvement in Science Olympiad and the Rock Hound competition.  However, since we have all been studying rocks, all of the brothers have acquired an interest, led by Bryce.  We had two field trips the last two months, one to the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa, CA and the other the Rock and Mineral Show at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.  Both of these provided us unique opportunities to see some amazing rocks and minerals including gold.

We made it, and it didn't rain until we left 3 hours later.

Bryce's favorite mineral and rock is gypsum.

Waiting in line to go see the florescent rocks under black light--God is amazing.

Getting a great lecture about formation of igneous rocks.

Panning for gold...you could find it, but they wouldn't let you keep it.

We love rocks!

Arizona Vacation

We arrived in Arizona on Monday the 2nd to a steady rain falling in the Valley of the Sun.  We were all pretty tired after having woken up before 4am to catch our flight.  Fortunately, the hotel let us check in early and Joy took a nap while the rest of  us braved the elements and picked up lunch.  After swimming in the rain at the pool, we made our way to Organ Stop Pizza where we ate pizza and enjoyed the organ music played by the same guy who used to do something similar back in Grand Rapids, Michigan when she was a kid.  We were there at the right time because we got to hear Star Wars, Phantom of the Opera, and Pink Panther.

The car the boys wanted us to rent...

...the more practical one, that we could all fit in.

It wasn't long before everyone was trying to catch up on some lost sleep.

This only gives you a glimpse into the size of the whole organ we heard.

We had to wait a little bit for our pizza, so it was a good thing we got garlic bread and there was good music.

Duo dive displays became Bryce and Griffin's ways to make conversation in the pool at night.

Night swimming with the disco dancing lights made for some fun times every night.

One of the many really cool climbing structures at Sloan Park.

Reading books was another staple of our time in Arizona, everyday reading together.

Buffet breakfasts everyday made for interesting choices of food.

Look out the train is coming...we better get off the track.

McCormick Train Park, one of our favorite stops every year.

Giants Spring Training

We also enjoyed following the Giants at Spring Training.  We saw the Giants in Mesa, Scottsdale, and Surprise.  This included their first game, which Bumgarner pitched in, and their first home game which Posey played in.  We collected autographs from Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Juan Perez, Hector Sanchez, Hunter Strickland, Jean Machi, Jeremy Affeldt, and a few other minor league Giants.  The boys collected baseballs also during batting practice including one tossed to them by Jeremy Affeldt.

Giant fans, including us, took over the Surprise Stadium with our orange and black.

Watching them warmup before the game gives Joy ideas for exercising the boys.

Gotta get the updated World Championship picture!  Still can't believe they won it last year.

Garrett gets Jean Machi's autograph.

Keeping score is not a lost art, I am teaching it to my boys.

Roberto Kelly takes over from Tim Flannery as the Giants new third base coach--we noticed he wasn't quite as demonstrative.

Jeremy Affeldt signs a ball for Garrett.

Mad Bum has his game face on already in game one of the Cactus League.