S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

It rained all night last night so the first day of soccer was postponed because the fields were a mess. Jamie didn't mind, though, because it meant that he was able to go to Science Saturday. Today's topic was Simple Machines and they used wheels/axles, levers, inclined planes and pulleys to move heavy objects.

They used wheels/axles to make a "conveyor belt" to move Cameron across the room.

They used pulleys to pull themselves up a rope.

They used a lever to move Dr. Emmons car.

They used pulleys and an inclined plane to pull Dr. Emmons car from the parking lot, up onto the sidewalk and grass.

Bill had a craft show today at the Elks Lodge. He only made two sales but had lots of fun anyway. Today was also the Spring Thaw volleyball tournament at Alamosa High School. I wanted to play but knew that Bill would be busy with the craft show and figured that I'd have to take Jamie to his soccer game and wouldn't be available. After Science Saturday, Jamie wanted to hang out with Bill, so I spent the afternoon at the high school with all of the crazy volleyball people. I got bleacher butt from sitting all afternoon but it was fun seeing everyone. I definitely want to play next year!

More Birthday Pix

Here are some of the photos my friend took at Jamie's birthday party. Thanks Lynn!

Celebrating Eight!!

We had Jamie's birthday party this afternoon at the bowling alley. Nine friends came to help celebrate and everyone had a great time!

The bowling

The cake

The presents

The haul

I'm still using my mom's camera and am not getting very good shots. I cannot figure out how to get good results in low light with her camera. It works great for outdoor shots but I've experimented with every setting and almost all of my indoor/no flash photos are blurry. If I use the flash, everything is washed out, I just can't find a good compromise and it's driving me CRAZY!!!! My friend, Lynn, took pictures today with her Canon SX20 IS (YAY!!) so I'll probably post more photos from the party later.

Sand Dunes Robot Challenge

This week's Science Saturday took us to the Great Sand Dunes National Park for the Colorado Robot Challenge (click for more information).

This photo is actually the result of four photos being merged together with the photo-stitch software that came with my old camera. My Canon camera had a cool feature that helped to line up consecutive shots for merging but I decided to try the software with four photos that I lined up as best as I could using my mom's Kodak...I think it worked nicely. (Click on the photo to see larger image.)

Several Colorado colleges were represented in the annual Robot Challenge and each robot was unique. The goal for each team was to develop small autonomous robots of less than three pounds capable of navigating harsh terrain similar to what is found in an area devastated by an earthquake or other natural disaster. The robots had to be designed to move around objects and contend with bad traction and steep slopes as they find a radio beacon. I had three favorites: a "walker" robot (Mesa State College), a "screw-driven" robot (Trinidad State Jr. College) and a powerful little monster truck type robot (Colorado State University). It was an absolutely beautiful morning at the Sand Dunes. The wind even held off until everything was just about finished.

We took Jamie's friend, Cortez, with us and they had fun watching the robots, at least for a while. They actually watched the robots a lot longer than I thought they would. The sand and the other kids were just too much to ignore, though, and they soon were digging, climbing and jumping in the sand.

Justin, Jamie & Cortez

On another note...we took Jamie to Carlucci's today to have him measured for a tux! He's going to be a groomsman in Scott & Corrie's wedding over Memorial Day weekend in Salt Lake City. He is going to be the most handsome groomsman EVER!!!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Today was Jamie's 8th birthday...our little man is growing up so fast!
I made cupcakes and took them to school for afternoon snack with his class. They were a huge hit!

Grandma drove up from Rio Rancho in time for us to pick Jamie up at Parker's and drive to Dairy Queen in Monte Vista for his birthday dinner. They made him this special cup of chocolate ice cream and the employees all came out and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I know they do the song and a special treat at most sit down restaurants (Chili's, etc.) but I've never seen it in a fast food place. It was an unexpected, and very nice surprise!

He opened his gifts from Bill & me and Grandma when we got home from Dairy Queen. We gave him a SkyRail Marble Roller Coaster set (like the ones he's been playing with at Science Saturday), the newest Alvin & the Chipmunks DVD, a baseball Wii game and three games for his Gameboy (yay for eBay!). Grandma gave him a container of lemonade packets...not exactly what a kid wants for his birthday BUT...inside the container she also put $20.

All in all...a very good day for an eight year old!

The fun will continue when he has his birthday party on Sunday at the bowling alley.

Happy Easter

Well...I didn't make it to the sunrise service, too early and too cold! Jamie was excited about his Easter basket, he got some wiffle balls, pencils, erasers, baseball cards, math workbooks and chocolate bunnies. Bill came home after the sunrise service and we did the Easter egg hunt. The wind had already started blowing so a lot of my late night, cleverly placed eggs had been blown to the ground. The Easter Bunny didn't think it would be so windy, so early, in the morning! We found all but one egg, we looked everywhere and I don't know where it is...I suppose it'll turn up one of these days.

We went to our regular church service after the egg hunt, where they had an egg hunt for the kids so Jamie got even more candy. We grilled chicken breasts on the grill for lunch...ya know, I don't even know what a "traditional" Easter dinner is. I should research it and think about preparing a big feast one Easter.

Jamie and Bill had last Friday off and also tomorrow...a nice 4-day weekend. Jamie is going to Parker's tomorrow afternoon to play. I've got to print & cut 38 copies of the 2010-2011 P.E.O. yearbook and design a W.E.B. card for Bill, all while watching the Rockies opening game at Milwaukee. Wahoo!! I'm glad that baseball season is here! Tomorrow night is also the NCAA Championship game, pitting Duke against Butler. (College basketball and MLB in the same day...it doesn't get much better!)

Constellations & Stars

Just another Science Saturday...
The subject of today's session was constellations. We met in the Science Activity Center to learn about constellations and draw a constellation chart. We learned about the Orion, Taurus, Canis Major and Canis Minor constellations and their major stars: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran, Sirius and Procyon.

Jamie's constellation chart

After drawing our charts, we headed to the planetarium where Dr. Emmons was able to show us what the night sky looks like and how to recognize the constellations & stars we learned about today. I've probably heard this information before but it was nice to get a refresher. I'm excited to take a look at our night sky. We have a really awesome night sky, very little light noise!

Tomorrow is Easter and I'm still deciding if I'm going to get up early for the sunrise service. Bill is helping to set up chairs so, he has to be there extra early. I still have to get Jamie's Easter basket ready and, since I don't know what my plans are for tomorrow morning, will probably go out and hide the eggs tonight.
Jamie is SO excited to hunt for Easter eggs!!

The Colors of Easter

Who doesn't love coloring eggs for Easter? I'm the only person who will eat them, though...guess I'll be eating boiled eggs for a few days!

The Great Camera Debate, Part Two

I heard back from my cousin and he recommended the Canon Powershot SX1 IS based on it's CMOS sensor and the ability to record in RAW format. He's still digging into the ISO issue for me.

In the meantime...I figured that since I'd probably be spending $500, I should just look at a few basic DSLR models and compare prices. My first stop, as always, was Consumer Reports magazine and they rated both the Nikon D90 and the Canon EOS Rebel T1i highly. But, down just a few notches and listed as a CR Best Buy is the Pentax K-x. I found several reputable places online with kits that include the camera and two lenses (18-55mm and 55-300mm) for around $700. It is 12.4 MP, records in RAW, has CMOS sensor and, something that wasn't available in DSLR when I was looking in June 2008, ability to record HD video. I just spent over 2 hours reading customer reviews and they all say phenomenal things about this camera. Oh, and that Consumer Reports ISO test...this Pentax rates at 6400!! Yes...I think I'm in LUV!!! I just wasn't getting a good vibe on either of the Canon models but, I'm definitely feeling it with this Pentax!! One thing that I REALLY like about this camera is that it uses AA batteries...very unusual for a DSLR. I have learned that it is so much easier to have spare, charged AA rechargeable batteries (if I remember to actually recharge them!) than to worry about whether the battery pack is charged.

So, now I just need to raise $700 so I can buy this baby!! It comes in a choice of black, red, navy or white...hmmm...which color should I choose?

The Great Camera Debate

I am looking to purchase one, of two, almost identical cameras.

The first one is the Canon Powershot SX20 IS, which is a next generation model of the Canon S5 IS that I bought in July 2008. It is 12.1 MP, has CCD sensor, 20X optical zoom, 720p HD (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps) movie mode and records only JPEG. The best price I can find on this one today is $330.

The second one is the Canon SX1 IS. It is 10 MP, has CMOS sensor, 20X optical zoom, Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels at 30 fps) movie mode and records JPEG and RAW formats. The best price I can find on this one today is $518.

I have devoured the Consumer Reports ratings on both cameras and have read pages & pages of customer reviews...and I still can't make up my mind! I do like the fact that the SX1 IS shoots in RAW but not sure that it is worth the extra $$. Also, the CMOS sensor is supposed to be superior to the CCD as it is the sensor found in all DSLR cameras. The reviews are mixed and I'm mostly concerned about the ISO test that Consumer Reports put each camera through. They test for "maximum ISO with best quality" and, according to CR, the SX1 IS rates at 100 ISO. They rate the SX20 IS at 1600 ISO. That seems pretty significant to me and tells me that the SX1 IS doesn't do well in low light. I generally avoid using flash (don't like the "washed out" look it gives photos and, don't like to call attention to the fact that "hey, I'm taking photos"), so I do not like this bit of information on the SX1 IS. In fact, many of the customer reviews that I've read state that it does not do well in low light situations.

I have sent an email to my cousin, a professional photographer in Los Angeles, to get his expert advice. I know he'll say to buy a DSLR with all of the fancy high tech gadgets. (I think he has a Canon 5D.) I would SO love to have a DSLR but, it's not in my budget at this point.

So, if anyone out in blog land has experience with either of these two cameras, please take the time to leave a comment with your opinion. Thanks!