Thank you...

Thank you to all our friends and family that serve/served.  Of course a special thank you to my Soldier...

Fort Hood Fundraiser

Support the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund

Join Texas Roadhouse in Killeen on Wednesday, November 11th for a lunch fundraiser to benefit the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund. This fund supports the families of the service men and women killed or wounded in the line of duty and we are honored to support this Legendary cause!

Stop in from 12PM-3PM for a complimentary lunch in exchange for a minimum $5 donation. Lunch includes a choice of pulled pork, BBQ chicken, grilled chicken salad or a 6oz sirloin with a loaded baked potato, house salad, rolls and a soft drink.

All donations will go directly to the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund to help the families of the recent tragedy. Please come out and show your support! 

Thanks to Texas Roadhouse for supporting this worthy cause.  

Junior

A few pictures of Junior....

Trying to make his own simple motor...

The cowlick is getting out of control again.

Denver Zoo

It was free day at the Denver Zoo today, so we figured it was as good a time as any to head on up there and check it out.  Free in Killeen means that at least half of the population turns out.  In Denver, it means that 99% of the population turns out.

Gunner dropped us off at the front and went to find parking.  Of course we had driven an hour, so they were hungry famished.  We snacked while waiting for Gunner to find us.  Abs being Abs, she wanted to see every single animal at the zoo. 

Abs held Junior's hand and read every informational sign to him.  She would try to hoist him up to see.  A far cry from wanting to donate him to Science the night before when he bit her.

Just a random picture on one of the signs.  Abs thinks that he has heard about Obama's health care plan.

We have about 20 pictures of these two on the ape, but they are not looking at us in any of them.  Em was too busy texting.

We saw about 50% of the zoo before the crowds got to be too overwhelming for all of us.

Not before we saw these two recent additions to the zoo:

Good grief!  We saw this sign on the way home:

And what Texan couldn't stop for a small taste of home?

Once again, I was along for the ride, but in none of the shots.

The zoo was nice, but next time I won't be so cheap, and we'll pay for tickets so we don't have to fight the crowds. 

Cool Science at UCCS

I'm frugal (most of the time).  I'm always looking for something fun for the kids (the parent in me), and where they can also learn something (the teacher and parent in me). 

Saturday morning I told the kiddos we were going to go to UCCS and hit the Cool Science Day.  Abs wanted no part of that.  "It's going to be boring."  "Who wants to learn about Science anyway."  "I can have more fun playing legos all day in the basement."  "I have nothing to wear."  "Why do you do this to me???"

Regardless, I let her leave the house in mismatched clothing and we headed out.  When we got there, Abs was drawn in right away.  They had 36 booths setup through the building, and gave the students a passport so they could check off each one as they completed it.  Abs is a checklist girl. 

We started out by looking at sound waves, testing sound waves, and experimenting with sound. 

From there we moved to shadows, lasers, mirrors and working with light.

Simple motors...

 

Then it was on to simple machines, dinosaurs, and working with dry ice.

There was a whole section on space, stars, and making rockets.

They touches snakes and iguanas, flew space shuttle simulators, created hover aircraft out of balloons, worked with air, made worms, and tons more.

We acted like birds migrating, and played a game that had us running all over the rooftop trying to make it south for the winter.  I got tons of ideas for science classes, and all the materials to do the experiments.  Abs was enthralled with every station, asking questions and trying to soak up as much as possible which is her method of operation.  The poor little guy at the raisin and ginger ale booth didn't know what hit him.  Everyone came and looked, then moved on, while Abs sat there for 15 minutes quizzing him on everything about the raisins, why it worked, how it worked, and then re-explained it back to him to make sure she understood.  The workers were great, and I think were glad to have someone that was interested in the how and the why rather than flitting about from booth to booth.

When it was all said and done, and we had visited every single booth, we finally were able to drag Abs out of there.  As we walked to the car I asked her how she enjoyed it, and her response was "I guess it was okay".  I know she had a great time, regardless of her answers, and Em and Junior loved it. 

Gunner took the kids swimming at the Y while I finished up some school work since I am flying out this week to TEXAS!!!!  We're hoping to get some things done this morning so we can head out this afternoon to somewhere new.....

Carving Pumpkins

I can't believe we didn't get shots of Abs in her costume too. She wouldn't sit still and have any part of that, and she looked so cute! Em went with a friend, so she was back in regular clothes by the time she got home. Next year, I'll be on top of it. I'm thinking that because Gunner is usually gone I am a little more adamant about taking pictures.