Mother's Day in the Land of Imagination

Today's blog is pretty self-indulgent. I am among millions celebrating Mother's Day today with mothers and children participating in a mutual admiration society. All children should think their mothers are the best and mothers think the same of their children. I have no intention of arguing with that. However, I'll go on record to say that I think I got the most original gifts! Surely there are few surprised by that. The whole day has been so nice - a beautiful yogurt parfait for breakfast, chocolate as a gift at church (Daniel even made sure I got the dark stuff), a lunch/dinner that I didn't have to think up or prepare, and even a nap in the sunroom. Then came the gifts. Sweet Cheyenne started with a cute card and great family portrait -- one of her original works. I love the hair! Notice that only Dale was painted with gray hair!

That was followed by a fun small LED flashlight for my purse. She was most excited about the wrapping which included paper, bows, tissue paper, and four increasingly large gift bags!
Then came Daniel. His package was wrapped in silver paper then turned into a robot. I knew it would be a treat. The rest of the package came in steps. I've recorded the pictures to present it just as I saw it!

Yes, that's a box wrapped in duct tape. When I opened it, I saw this.And underneath the paper --
It's a little tough to see all the detail, but next to the rake and shovel (of course made from popsicle sticks and hot glue) is a small sign to post in the 'garden' when I plant it. It has an ear drawn on it.

But wait - there's more! The next box --

Once opened, I saw this cage with an egg in it. It says "Grow your own garden dragon." "For the Fair Maiden in your life." The scroll to the right gives growing instructions.
"Brave Knight not included" but the egg contains Snap Dragon seeds.
It's always an adventure at our house. And now I'm off to go eat the homemade bread and garlic relish that Dale prepared for tonight. I love Mother's Day!!!

Equal Project Posting

It's only fair that I share an equal amount of time sharing a recent Cheyenne project. She had to do a big biography project for third grade. She chose Amelia Earhart. We read a book, she wrote a report, she made a poster, and she prepared an oral presentation. The final part was the oral report. The third grade teachers set up a Time Machine through which the kids would walk and then deliver the presentation as if they were visiting in 2009. It was all really cute. It actually brought tears to my eyes to watch her succeed at this project. She worked so hard. She practiced and practiced for this presentation then she stood up there and delivered it beautifully. For a sweet girl who sometimes struggles with schoolwork, she did an awesome job. She was right on par with the other kids. It was pretty exciting for me.

I didn't videotape the actual presentation because I just wanted to enjoy it, but you get to enjoy a dress rehearsal straight from our hallway. Don't worry, this one only takes a little over a minute - no need to pop the popcorn this time. But thanks for the ongoing cinematic support.

My Favorite Horror Film

So, I've been away from the blogging world for a bit because I've been consumed with school projects! I'll be really happy when today is over. In the last week we've been working on several major projects. I want to display them here on my blog because I'm proud of their work, and because I want to preserve them for posterity.

Today's display is Daniel's math film. The assignment from his Geometry teacher was to make an entertaining video that simultaneously teaches a math concept from their book. Daniel's first idea was a horror flick. I found the finished product pretty entertaining. We had a five minute version done when he re-read the instructions saying it could not exceed 3 minutes! Arghh! So, the final version he turned in was heavily edited and the instructional pieces were sped up which also made his voice really high. It was funny, but this extended version was overall more fun. This is about 5 minutes, so pop some popcorn and enjoy!!