The Sky's the Limit

This week we had a really fun and unique opportunity that, quite frankly, we would have missed had we not had a kindergartner. Hallie's elementary school (a.k.a. Mom's work) held one of several 'Family Reading Nights'. Typically, and ESPECIALLY on Fridays, Mom is done with work and opts not to participate in the evening activities. It is rare for her students to have any extra involvement beyond the school day so, unless help is needed, she calls it a day. (Note: This will no longer be the case as she has been elected by PTA to be Red Ribbon Week Organizer/Chairman - check back in October and watch her stress level rise) At this point Hallie doesn't always remember that there is a school function since she just plain enjoys being with her family so we come off easy, but we decided this sounded fun. As a bonus, Mom got some much needed classroom time since we hung out until Dad and Anna brought dinner and, Dad got to surprise his students who were there earning community service hours.

The evening began with a trip to the Star Lab planetarium (an inflatable dome in the cafeteria) for Dad and Hallie. Inside, they listened to the guide and watched the constellations above while learning of the different 'stellar' perspectives had by Asian, Native American and Greek traditions. An exciting announcement came shortly after the star gazing began, and we were notified that the International Space Station would, within minutes, be passing almost directly over the playground! We all hurried out to the grass and waited until gradually it came into view. SO COOL! It traveled quickly and blinked its way across the sky to the North of us to the gasps and cheers of the crowd. So the picture is a tiny speck and the video is the tiny speck moving (and blinking). We know what it is! Speaking of tiny specks, another point of interest is the photo that leads off this entry. It is a picture of Saturn. Yes, ACTUALLY Saturn. The nice man with the telescope held our camera to the eyepiece and got this great shot. Its pretty amazing, though the picture doesn't do it justice. We've all seen pictures and posters but this was actually it - rings and all! It looked like a perfect little sticker until the eye adjusted and flickering stars could be seen as well. Several other displays and additional telescopes were set up on the field so we had plenty to see on the way to an activity-filled library.
With 3-D glasses at the ready, we were amazed at the 'really real looking' planets posted around the room. We learned more about the planets' appearance and positions in the sky from a JPL volunteer who was wonderful with kids. Readers were on hand to share stories of galaxies beyond and craft stations were set up for us to make our own shooting stars.The girls had a great time and Mom and Dad enjoyed the night out as a family. We're so glad we spent that last little bit of end-of-the-week energy to share in this very successful school event and experience Hallie's continued wonder and love of science.




This was not our first adventure in space at our school either. In 1998 we had the pleasure to meet (and acquire the autograph of) space shuttle pilot Maj. Steve Lindsey. Not just any pilot, but fellow alum and brother to Auntie's piano teacher - oh yeah, and the guy piloting John Glenn back on his return to space!

Oh, I Could Write a Sonnet....

Well, not really, because Easter was not eventful enough to give you the required fourteen lines (and, which scheme to follow... Italian, Spencerian, English, Modern?) Besides, there were no bonnets to provide a rhyme for sonnet - just a couple of cute girls who had fun running around a yard full of eggs. First at church, looking for plastic eggs full of Oriental Trading's religious finest, then at Grandma's, searching for the eggs they had dyed the night before (and a few special extras from the Easter Bunny).

Again this year, Hallie assumed the important role of fashion consultant (a task that entailed agreeing to look at a catalog tossed to her by Mom and informing the buyer if anything caught her eye). She decided that pink was 'last year' so blue was the way to go. It was all of her choosing and it is quite obvious she knows what makes them look good. All the kudos from the church crowd had to be handed over to the big sister who wanted to be dressed like her little protegee. After the service, the 1-5 yr olds waited at the gate to be let in to the egg hunt. As you can imagine, the 5 yr. olds are only there because they would be mowed down if they were in the bigger hunt, so their bags seemed to hold a greater bounty than those of the toddlers. Though Hallie was with a Kindergarten friend, she was very good about allowing some of the little kids to find some eggs. She even directed a couple children other than Anna toward the 'hidden' treasure. She was very good about not taking the obvious finds and running interference when a bigger kid got too close to the little one trying to make it over there. It sure would be nice for Hallie if, next year, the older children show the newbies the same courtesy (but we won't put all our eggs in THAT basket).

After church we made our way to Grandma's party with Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Mike and 'Auntie' Madolyn. Since more guests were coming, the Easter Bunny (as directed by the team of Auntie and Uncle Chad) had a good amount of time in which to hide the eggs (which had magically traveled from one fridge to the other). The delay was no problem for the girls since they hadn't had a chance to tear around the house for a while. When Grampa arrived we began to hunt for the eggs - luckily, Mrs. Bunny had remembered to count the eggs beforehand. Shortly after the hunt began, Mom's cousins John and Michael arrived as did Uncle John bearing See's chocolate bunnies (only for the girls..mmmm). He didn't hand them out until after the eggs were safely abed. Smart guy! He got them each a different color bunny which made life SO much easier. Of course a taste test was necessary and it was tad more difficult to get the bunny away from Anna than Hallie. (Later she would ask for her "chu-loc-lit, Daddy?" Hallie got a kick out of the fact that she could have a bigger morsel than could her sister. Miraculously, the dresses remained chocolate free - though we made sure they were machine washable. Soon, a diversion was created so we were able to rescue the earless bunnies and bring the hunt to a close.




















The eggs had been sorted and counted and survived several trips into and out of the baskets. Hallie was so tolerant of her little sister and thought Anna very cute, trading between the two baskets to get the colors she liked. She is such an unselfish little girl and such an awesome big sister!










The celebrating came to an end after the perfect Easter ham with trimmings, a birthday dessert for Mom (thanks Auntie!) and presents. It was an absolutely perfect day; relaxing, beautiful and memorable. Thanks, Grandma for a wonderful party!