Science Saturdays at ASC

Science Saturdays is a FREE program offered to the community through the Adams State College Science department for kids 12 and younger. They started the program last fall but I always heard about it after the fact. I was looking at the ASC website for something last week and saw the announcement that they were continuing the program this semester. Jamie was reluctant (as he is with anything "new"), but his friend & classmate, Nicole, was there and they had a great time! Today's presentation was about technology and science. One of the cool things they had to play with was PicoCricket, a little computer that can easily be programmed (by kids!) to spin objects or turn on lights, etc, using motors and sensors. It can be used with Legos to build all kinds of cool things! (Note to self: birthday gift idea for Jamie) There were several other stations set up, each with a cool experiment to try...it reminded me of my college Physics lab only way more fun!

Nicole actually did one of the PicoCricket demonstrations, proving that even a 7-year-old can program the computer!

Playing with a pendulum

Jenga blocks

Everyone had fun with the balance board & fulcrum!

The Skyrail Rollercoaster was a huge hit!! Through trial and error, they built a pretty extensive marble run! (Note to self: another great gift idea!)

This was such a great activity and the kids might have even learned something today. Sssshhhh! Don't tell them that, though, they were just having fun!

Next weeks presentation will be about the science of color and everyone will tie-dye a t-shirt!

Snow Play Day

Two big storms over the past two weeks have left the San Luis Valley looking like a winter wonderland! So, we decided to bundle up and head to the hills for some winter fun!

Jamie had fun sledding and tasting the snow!

Bill was having a hard time staying on track and kept finding all of the rocks!

Here's Jamie plowing through some fresh powder...and below is his face (hair & eyebrows) covered in powder!

All smiles for Jamie!

It seemed like the hill got steeper each time we had to climb back up carrying our sleds. The people sledding next to us had 4-wheelers that they were using to haul sleds & kids back up to the top of the hill...no fair!

Julie WIPED OUT on the final run!
We had so much fun playing in the snow today!

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Jamie's class (with two other classes) took a field trip to Canon City to visit Diana's Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze. I agreed to be a parent sponsor but, since there were more parents than expected, space on the school bus was limited. Mrs. Price guaranteed that "there will be puking", so I was quite happy to drive my own car. Lynn, Tiffany & Tracy rode with me to the pumpkin patch and then we switched it up and Lynn & Tiffany and our three kiddos made the trip home.

I was impressed with the Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze...it's something that I'd like to visit again next year as a family. We split into small groups of 3-4 kids with an adult and started in the corn maze. I don't know how long we were in there but, we were lost! It felt like we were just going around in circles. We never did find the "out" but finally made our way back to the spot we entered...we were so happy to be out of the maze that we didn't care! I would've loved to have gone back in and tried again but we didn't have time.

After the corn maze, we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. Each kid was told that they could get as big a pumpkin as they could carry...then the kids found the wagons...so much for that idea! Jamie wandered around a bit before deciding on the perfect pumpkin. It was too big for him...yeah, I caved and carried it for him!

We sat around the campfire and ate our packed lunches. Then the kids got to make s'mores!

One of the highlights for the kids was the corn bin, filled with corn kernels. They had fun digging, piling and jumping into the corn bin. Jamie did a cannonball into the corn.

Finally, there was a hayride around the pumpkin patch and corn maze. There were a lot of different activities to keep everyone busy for most of the day. Mr. Felton kept the brains stimulated by providing fun pumpkin facts throughout the day.

See more photos from this fun day HERE.

Good Bye Aunt Bernice

aunt Bernice with Jamie in September 2002

aunt Bernice (far left) & Gram (in red) in November 2006

I've known for quite a while that my great aunt Bernice is not doing well. I heard from my cousin on Monday that she was not doing well and was not surprised to receive the call, today, that she had passed. Aunt Bernice is my grandmother's sister and she lived in Arkansas so I didn't see her very often. I last saw my aunt in November 2006 when she came to NM for my grandmother's 90th birthday party.

When I think of aunt Bernice, I remember a bunch of us sitting around my grandmother's kitchen table listening to family stories. And aunt Bernice could TELL a story! It didn't matter that we'd heard the same story a hundred times, she still would have us laughing so hard that we were crying!! At one of these family story telling events, my cousin had the wherewithal to set up a video camera and let it roll. I would love to watch that video right now and remember my aunts laughter and joyful perspective of life.

Aunt Bernice died today, at the age of 88, from complications of Alzheimer's Disease. I'm sad that she's gone, although I know that her last years were not very pleasant and that she is now in a much better place. Rest in Peace my dear aunt Bernice...travel well.

Harvest Train & Pumpkin Carving

The Harvest Train left Alamosa at 11:00am and took a slow, leisurely ride to the Pumpkin Patch. We met up with friends and enjoyed a wonderful autumn day!












































Once at the pumpkin patch, the kids had a great time running around and looking for the perfect pumpkin.


























































After the train returned to Alamosa, we met at our church for lunch and an afternoon of pumpkin carving fun.






The kids had a great time picking out the patterns they wanted, cutting the top hole and digging the seeds and innards out.




By the time they got to the tedious task of the actual carving, well, it was way beyond the average 6-year-old attention span limits.





The adults were left with the fine tuning of each carved pumpkin while the kids enjoyed a game of tag.





More photos HERE.