Rain!

We are in a drought and any rain is welcome. It's even better when there isn't any lightening so we can go splash in it. I also love photos that look like my kids are levitating.

We walked down the street to the biggest puddle we could find.

The problem with having such great drainage is there are very few splashing puddles.

Yes, the kids are in the middle of the street. However, we are standing with them and watching for cars. There isn't a lot of traffic on our street, but we were watching.

Such a graceful jumper!

The next time it rains, just put on some sandals and jump. It makes the entire day feel great, even if it's dark and cloudy.

Last Soccer Game

I've written about our first soccer practice and our first soccer game. So after 6 weeks, just how far did we come? The photos are proof.

Starting the game. Look, both of my kids are on the field! This in itself is an improvement as Sweet Son wanted nothing to do with the field during the other 5 games.

The game begins! There go 4 players in blue and 3 players in yellow. Wait, aren't we missing one?

Hi Sweet Son! You were supposed to follow the ball. 

Let's try this again. All of the players are running to the right, except Sweet Son. He didn't stay in the game very long, but we are proud he was willing to at least get on the field.

The Tiger Team

This final game started at 8am and it was already in the 90s. It was also the day of the team photo. They scheduled the photo for 45 minutes before kickoff. We had to have the kids awake, alert, dressed, fed, and to the Y by 7:15am. This was the first time Sweet Daughter started to think soccer isn't a great sport. Sweet Son had already decided he was done with it. Even today if you ask them they will insist they don't like soccer. The good news is they love tennis, horseback riding, biking, and many other sports. We tried it, but we just aren't a soccer family.

Space Science Camp

We enrolled the kids in multiple Science camps at the museum near us during the Summer. The one they were the most excited about was the one focused on space. At breakfast the first morning of camp the kids were coming up with things they wanted to learn. Sweet Daughter wants to know what the astronauts do with their trash. Sweet Son wants to know why iron makes Mars red and methane makes Neptune blue.

Each day they came home excited to tell me everything they had learned. They also brought home their art. Here Sweet Daughter is showing me her space suit. She is trying to hook up her breathing tube to the helmet. 

Here you can see Sweet Son's oxygen tank on the back. This was such a quick and simple craft, but the kids loved it and wore them until they fell apart.

Here you can see a satellite and rover for exploring other planets.

I couldn't attend the camp with them so I only know what they shared with me. At the end of each 3 hour morning, they would talk for 3-4 hours about all of the things they learned and did during camp. They were always excited to attend and sad when the camp was over. After 6 weeks of camp (not consecutive), when I told them they were going back to school they weren't sure what to think. They love school, but they love Science camp as well. Needless to say, we are enrolled for more camps this Summer.

Science Museum

With two kids who love Science, we spend a lot of time at our local Science museum. It has only been open for a few years and is fairly small. However, all of the exhibits are hands on and the staff is amazing. They get on the kids level and explain things throughout the museum. They put on stage shows, bring out experiments when they get bored, and are always smiling.

Sweet Son learning about recycling in a traveling exhibit.

Sweet Daughter trying to create enough energy to light a lamp.

Part of the permanent exhibit "Coordination Station".

Many museums have a water table. This water table has pieces you can place to change the flow of the water. You can build it up or cut it off then race to see how quickly your ducky floats to the other end. This can become a bit competitive.

They also have an area for creating large bubbles. You know it's a good hands on museum when even the adults have to try the experiments.