There's a Snake in My Boot!

This year for Halloween we have, Woody, Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, and two army guys~

Our friends the Peseks joined us for trick-or-treating~

From the Mouths of Babes

Mary has two imaginary friends (for the last 6 months or so) - Garbage and Leafy. We've known for a while that Garbage is a trouble maker. But today Mary was in the back seat of the car and said out of the blue, "I don't like Garbage. She's trash."

Whoa!

Slow down, little girl!  In two days Mary will be 4!  We stopped at Too Toots for lunch and she loved riding the mechanical horse.  Not as exciting as "Dagger", but an adequate substitute~

She is sweeter by the day, and we love her so.  She makes us smile, laugh, and try harder to slow down.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
~William Shakespeare

Little Mar-maid

For her fourth birthday, Mary had her first "friend" party.  She wanted a mermaid theme~

The girls decorated crowns and played pin the tail on the mermaid.

Mary loved this mermaid, which she helped color.  Kids are so good for one's self esteem - she made me feel like Picasso~

Wands made from rice krispies covered in white chocolate~

Everything was pink~

Opening her gifts with Allison~

The girls played dress up.  Mary and Sophie~

Mary and Hannah~

Mary and Anna~

And with Charlotte~

She is our little princess~

Jaiden came to help~

"The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four - of secondary importance is to prepare for being five."  ~Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 1985

La Cenerentola

We met the Peseks at Curie Metro High School for a Lyric Opera performance.  This is part of their "Opera in the Neighborhood" program.  We were the first to arrive, so we had the best seats right in the front row!  The kids (and adults!) loved it.  The Lyric really makes opera accessible and fun.  This version of Cinderella was great.  Afterward we went to Bobak's (on Scott's recommendation) for lunch.  He was right - it was delicious :)  We (mostly me) entertained each other on the drive home singing our own renditions.

Argonne National Laboratories

Today Charlie and I took a field trip to Argonne National Laboratories. 

Here we saw magnetic levitation using liquid nitrogen~

Next we saw how materials (a balloon) behave under super cold temperatures~

Charlie used “pedal power” on the Energy Bike to generate enough electricity to power a set of light bulbs or a hair dryer. There was quite a difference between the energy required to light incandescent light bulbs compared to fluorescent or LED light bulbs~

Determining the amount of vitamin C in fruit by way of titration~

Argonne was pretty cool.  We had to get "clearance" to come on site - so spy movie!   I am planning another field trip here in a couple of months for Charlie and Sam.  Can't wait!

Ronald McDonald

Mary has been seeing Dr. Minutti since shortly after she was born.  We are now down to 4 times a year.  Mary loves seeing this familiar face~