Fine Art's Night

Ashlee's Digital Art Picture.  They spelled her name wrong on the display.

Mikayla's Picture

The write-up Ashlee had with her castle.

A castle Ashlee made from TP and paper towel rolls

Every year the girl's school has a Fine Art's Night.  During fine Art's Night, they transform the school's Multi-Purpose Room into an Art Gallery.  Each student has at least one piece of art work on display for their parents to purchase for $10.00 (the money is used to purchase supplies for the fine-arts department).  There is a silent auction and there are refreshments, sparkling cider, lemonade and bottled water available for purchase. All the refreshments are donated and are displayed really fancy (just like you would find at an art show).  All the money raised goes to the fine-arts department.  This year's theme in art class was" Recyclable Art".  Most of the art projects were made from recyclable products (this being why Ashlee made a castle out of toilet paper and paper towel rolls).  I wasn't thrilled about the theme, but oh, well what could I do!

Iowa

John and I went with our boss and his wife to Iowa this week.  We went to a conference for a company that they do business with.  Saturday night John woke up at 1am with a fever and not feeling well.  We happened to have an antibiotic with a refill available on it so I went and got it filled.  Hoping we could stop whatever was making him sick in its tracks so that he wouldn't be miserable the whole trip.

Monday morning we awoke at 1:30am to get ready to go to the airport.  By 1:30pm we were in Des Moines, Iowa and John was not doing well.  He was taking medication around the clock and felt horrible.  We knew he didn't feel well, but it was funny watching him with all his medication.  Whenever something started to "wear off" he was ready to take something else.  I had to start keep tracking of what he was taking and when he could take more.  John's motto is "if a little is good, more is better so if one pill helped, why not take two pills."  He was this way the entire trip.  Fever, headache, stuffy nose, couldn't hear, couldn't talk, coughing etc.  Monday night he decided that he wasn't up to going to the evening reception by any means so he was showered and in bed by 5pm.  ALL NIGHT he was up fighting a fever and unable to breath.  Tuesday morning we walked to a near by gas station to get some DayQuil.  We had meetings from 8am to 7pm Tuesday and some how he had to get through the day.  Our meetings finished at 5pm and we had an hour break before dinner.  John went up to the room to take a nap and I decided to watch the news.  As soon as I turned on the TV there was a special report regarding 2 tornado's in Iowa.  Being in a new place, I had no idea where we were in relation to the tornados, but what I did know, was that I didn't want anything to do with a tornado.  Within minutes the news says: "If your in Des Moines you need to start putting things away and getting into a shelter."  I am thinking Des Moines has to be a big place, so maybe it's on the other side (I can only hope right)?  Within seconds the tornado sirens start going off outside.  We are on the 8th floor of the hotel and we have to get to the 1st floor.  John is a sleep.  I woke him up and told him that we have to go, there is a tornado.  He won't move.  He says the siren is on TV.  I repeatedly tell him it's outside and that we need to get out of our room.  He finally decides to get up.  We make it to the first floor (where a reception aka bar is being held prior to dinner for the conference we are attending).  Everyone is drinking and socializing and these sirens are going off outside.  Then the national weather service comes over the radio.  No one is moving.  I am thinking these people are nuts, a tornado is coming and no one is doing anything (I think they were all a little too tipsy to know what was going on).  The hotel staff comes out and tells us that we have to move to the lobby.  We get to the lobby and they said.  Now you need to get into the hallway of the first floor.  So here we are.  Nine floors of hotel rooms crammed into a hallway on the first floor of the hotel and the die hard drinkers decide that they need to have their alcohol so they drag it in to the hallway.  For 45 minutes we are crammed into a hallway with loud, boisterous, people who are drinking. A couple of hudiorights( a religion like minnonites) realize that John and I and themselves are the only ones not drinking, so we try to talk to them. But between all the noise and John not being able to hear or talk, it was pretty difficult.  The National Weather Service is talking on the radio, but we can't hear a word of it because of all the noise.  We are trying to access the weather on our phones to find out what in the world going on.  45 minutes later, the tornado passed.  No damage is done to the area we are in and we are finally able to escape from the hallway.  Talk about a nerve wracking 45 minutes.  I am glad I don't live in tornado country!

Wednesday morning we had meetings from 7:45 to noon.  John was still feeling crummy.  We made it through the meetings.  Checked out of our hotel.  Ate lunch at the Cracker Barrel and had 4 hours to kill before our flight.  So we decided to go to the Iowa State Capital.  Here are some pictures from the capital. 

 The capital is very old, but packed with detail.  There is so much marble, granite and gold in this capital it is unreal. After going through the capital, we drove to the airport (a whole 15 minutes).  Very short considering how far we have to drive to get to an airport.  We get checked in and guess what?  We have an hour and a half flight delay.  Not fun.  We were already sheduled to arrive back in Sacramento at 11pm and then drive another hour and a half home.  It wasn't looking good.  We had a connecting flight in Colorado and it was looking like we might make it either.  Everything ended up working out.  We arrived in Colorado with enough time to race from one end of the airport to the next and board our next flight before it left. We arrived in Sacramento at 11pm and were home at 1:15am.  John was able to stay home on Thursday and go to the doctor.  He is doing a lot better than he was, but he still isn't feeling a hundred percent better.  I think I have decided that traveling by any other means than an automobile is not for me.  I have been motion sick (I am assuming that's what it is) since Wednesday.  I feel like I am going up and down in an elevator and can't get off.  It won't stop and it's really starting to worry me.  John says it could last a week.  I am ready for it to be over with. Grandma survived taking care of the girls.  Gettting them to and from school, church activities and getting through homework.  We are all glad to be back home. 

Big Top Brownies and an Explosion

Ashlee's class read the book Chocolate Fever.  As the teacher read the book to them each day, they had to complete a packet of questions and do a project.  Ashlee and three of her friends decided they were going to create a chocolate bar, make a commerical for their chocolate bar and design a label for their chocolate bar.  Her group decided they would make Caramel Brownies.  I got on line ordered some cupcake boxes, Ashlee and I designed a label and her friends came over afterschool to make the brownies and do their commercial.

Ashlee, three of her friends, myself and two other parents all crowded into our little kitchen to make brownies.  A couple of the girls said "something smells funny."  I said "I cleaned my oven a couple weeks ago and ever since then it has smelled like that."  A few minutes later we hear a loud explosion, sparks fly, and we all jump.  The oven stops working.  We try to get it going again, but no luck.  The girls have to get this project done and now what?  Luckily, a friend lives down the road.  I loaded up all the brownie stuff and went to her home to finish making the brownies, while the two other parents stayed at our house with the girls filming their commercial.  When John got home he took apart the stove and all the wires were melted.  The stove was done.  That night we had to go buy a new stove.  After all that, we were able to get the project done and here is how it turned out.

Braces

Today Mikayla got a partial set of braces on her top teeth.  She has been so worried about having this done.  Afraid that it was going to hurt.  But everything went just fine.  The plan is to have a full set put on in about 5 years once she has done some more growing.

I told her she looks like she has the vampire teeth on that you see at Halloween time.

She chose pink and neon green rubber bands this time.  You really can't see them here.  We will need to get a better picture later.  She is still trying to get use to them.  Not wanting to smile.

Literacy Night

Every year during Dr. Seuss week the girls' school has a literacy night.  At literacy night, each person that comes gets a slice of pizza, a bottle of water, a rootbeer float and popcorn.  Each child that comes gets a free book, a book bag, pencil,  and a book mark.  They also have several different activities for the kids to do.  This year the theme was "wild about books" so everything was centered around animals.  Each activity had something to do with animals.  They made animal necklaces, animal finger prints, clay animals, animal print book bags, bear cub cupcakes, monkey mix (trail mix), etc.  Each class also made an animal themed exhibit to decorate the cafeteria.  They also have the bookfair going on so parents and children can purchase books.  Here are some pictures from the event.  Unfortunately, only Ashlee and I got to attend for a little bit because Mikayla was at home sick.

Ashlee's Class did the underwater theme.  Ashlee made this turtle.

Mikayla's class did the dinosaur theme.  Mikayla made this egg.