Aliens, Science, and Flying

Isn't it great to have holidays in January and February?  It's a day off for the whole family and on this last Monday, we slept in, had a great breakfast, and headed out to our local movie theater.  We were the only ones there for the first little while (this is an old theater that not a lot of people go to - but we love it, mainly because it's not super busy).  So we literally had the full run of the place.  And we ran, and ran, and ran.  It was really good for tiring out some energetic boys!  And then the movie started and it was great.  Escape from Planet Earth - two thumbs up!

After the movie we headed out for some ice cream.  Mmmm, mmmm, good!

It is science fair time and we did a class project this year about plants.  My group's question was could plants grow without soil?  We presented our findings to our families on Friday.  It was lots of fun - we learned lots.  Here is my group presenting what we learned.

And here I am with my best friends at school.  We have so much fun together!

Here I am with our project board, my plant, and my lab journal.

 

We even wrote a Haiku poem and made a painting to go along with our science project.

 

Finally, here I am with the seeds that our class sprouted.  I love science!

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone.  Sam here.  I thought I'd share a short video of me from this week.  One day after school, I was awfully quiet.  Mom was fixing dinner and Mason was doing his homework.  All of a sudden, I started making some noise - after I prepared my "landing zone" I started "flying" through the air.  Take a look and see - 7 stairs without a running start.  (Sorry for another sideways video - when will mom learn that you can't turn the camera sideways when making a video?  Mom!)

Here I am with Mason at his science fair.  He is showing me his poem and painting.

I can't wait until next year when I get to participate in the science fair! 

Sam out!  Love you!

A Hint of Spring

 We're starting to see some signs of the coming spring . . . finally!  And it is pretty exciting! 

 

First up though - we finished up our Year of the Snake craft this week.  They're neat huh? 



And here we are "helping" dad play a game on his iPad.  

 Saturday was a beautiful pre-spring day.  We took advantage of it and headed to the mountains.  We drove up to Logan and headed up a canyon to the Hardware Ranch to take a sleigh ride out to see some elk.

 

Here we are headed out on the sleigh.

 

It was definitely a small elk winter area as compared to Jackson, but there were a couple of decent sized bull elk.

 

 

 

These three little ladies came running down the hill while we were out.  They were afraid they were going to miss out on lunch.

 

It was a beautiful day!  

We loved the sleigh ride!  Although we did wonder where the jingle bells were.

Here I am with our horses!  They worked hard and pulled well.

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone.  Can you guess that I absolutely loved being outside yesterday?  It was wonderful!  Mostly warm and sunny.  The fresh air.  

Mom and I made this short video for you.  Sorry it's sideways, but tilt you head and watch for a few seconds.  I call it Peanut Butter and Jelly.  He he he!

 I'm quite the ham!  See you next week.

The Year of the Snake

 Happy Chinese New Year everyone! More on that later.  First up:

 

It was a relatively quiet week around our house.  Here we are with daddy having a nice weeknight dinner.  (I photo bombed the picture actually! He He He!) 

 

Here I am with the cat that adopted us last summer - Shadow.  She loves my bed!  She has a few quiet spots around the house that she loves to sleep in and my bed is one of them.  This is where we found her when we came home from school one day.

 

And here I am playing in the ball bucket one night.  Daddy snuck in and snapped this picture before I knew it. 

 

I got to go to a birthday party for one of my very best friends from school this weekend.  It was at the local aquarium and boy was it fun.  Here I am on my way out the door to the party.

 

In this picture, Sam and I are working on our hand print Valentines.   The space between the thumb and first finger make a heart when you cut them out on the fold. 

 

And we went out for a super yummy Asian dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year last night.  Mmmm, Mmmm, good!  This is me being a Utensil Samurai.

 

And this is mommy and Sam as we were waiting for our dinner to arrive.  Sushi, fried rice, and orange chicken - - oh and a little Mac and Cheese for the boys.  

 

 Sam Alert:  Howdy - Sam here.  Mason and I had a wonderful weekend playing around the house.  In fact, it was so much fun that at one point on Saturday afternoon, you literally couldn't walk through the house without stepping all over toys.  Anyway - one of the things Mason and I like to do is to write notes for each other on our magnetic tablets.  It may be hard to read in this picture but this Saturday, our notes read:  "Sambo you are my friend" and "Mason you are my friend".  The parents seem to love days when we get a long. 

Have a great week everybody!

While Mom Is Away . . . . .

 Mom had to be away for work this week so us boys were all on our own.  And because of that . . . nothing much happened.  We worked and went to school.  We ate up all the leftovers mom left for us.  We tried to keep the house mostly organized.  We shoveled a lot of snow - while she was in warm, sunny lands.  

Uncle Noley and Aunt Christy came over one evening and kept us busy.  We played and wrestled and then when everyone was tired, we wrestled some more.  

Why is it that Sam always seems to end up on the top?

 

And we Skyped with mommy while we wrestled.   Now that's talent!

 

We also celebrated dad's birthday this weekend.  We went to dinner with Grandpa and Grandma L.  We made a cake and made him blow out a huge candle.  We sang happy birthday to him. 

Dad reports that he is 102 years old this year.  Wow!  That's all we can say about that!

 Sam Alert:  Hey y'all.  I have one picture for you this week.  Daddy took this picture one morning while mom was gone.  I was lonely and decided to sleep in mommy's spot one night.  This is what I looked like when dad woke up the next morning.  Yes - I am a crazy sleeper!!!

 

Sam out - have a great week.

Winter Fun

How do you have fun in the middle of a cold winter?

 

1. You go bowling

Bowling is a much requested activity around our house.  We bundled up and headed out to our local bowling alley on Monday (along with every other kid that was off from school).  We had a great time - I bowled about half a game on my own and then resorted to the ramp for the last half. 

 

Sam used the ramp the entire game - and beat us all.  Good job Sam!

 

2.  You wrestle dad

Dad is always good for a hearty wrestling match.  Somehow it looks like Sam in winning here.

 

3. You do an art project

Mom is always good for an art project or two.  Here we are making handprint snowmen on a little canvas.  We used our very own hands/fingers to make the snowmen.  They turned out pretty darn cute.  We're going to turn them in to Christmas ornaments for next Christmas. 

 

 

Sam Alert:  Howdy everyone.  I have a quiz for you this week - - - what do I look like in this picture?  If you guessed "an angel" you'd be right.  Look at that face - angelic!  Only those who know me best would actually know that I have quite the funny, quirky, argumentative, "Sam" side to my personality.  But this picture proves that I'm an angel at heart!  Right?!?!?!?

 

Have a great week everybody.

Dinos and Books and Chess

We finally talked the parents in to taking us out to Family Night at the Dinosaur Museum this week so that we could stretch our legs and brains and get some energy out.  The activity was Moody Mammoth and we did a scavenger hunt looking for the ice cubes the animals were using to stay cool. 

 

Here we are tickling the tummy of this super giant dino.  We love the huge skeletons they have there - can you believe how big they really are?

 

And here is our traditional picture with the baby Triceratops.  We always take a picture with him every time we're at the museum. 

 

 

And just for fun - here is the same picture in January 2011 - two years ago.  We really are growing up fast!

 

 Here we are with the Smilodon - one of our favorites.

 

 

 And whenever dad is with us (and whenever we're brave enough) we take a picture up close and personal with the T Rexs. 

 

 

 Dad lifts us high in the air and we can look straight into their mouths.  It is a little bit scary!

 

 

 And while the T Rexs still make us nervous, the Megalodon doesn't scare us anymore.  Ok - Sam walks up to it backward so he can't see it, but at least he'll come up and have his picture taken with it. 

 

 

 In other activities of the week - we made a stop at the library for more books one night after school.  We're all stocked up for a few weeks.

 

 

 And I've taken up a new hobby - Chess.  Dad and I have been playing a lot this week.  I know all the names of the pieces, how they move, and am doing really well.  Dad has beaten me every game so far except one - that one resulted in a stalemate.  Oh and mom beat me one game so far.  But the good news is - I love chess.  I'm not giving up - in fact, I'll play anyone who'll sit down with me long enough for a game. 

 

 

 Sam Alert:  Howdy everyone - Sam here.  Funny how both of this week's pictures from me involve sleeping.  For a boy who claims he hates napping and doesn't need to sleep, apparently I do (from time to time). 

 

 This is me last Monday morning - I made it out of bed but had a really hard time getting myself up and moving.  Mom's feet make an bumpy pillow for a little guy who doesn't want to get up. 

 

 

And this is how dad found me sleeping one night.  Fluffy the dog is my regular sleeping friend, but apparently I grabbed my stuffed snake in the middle of the night for extra company. 

 

Sam out - have a great week!