The Children's Museum

On Wednesday morning, we met Amy, Ryker, Katie, Chaney, Tucker, Paislee, Raendra, Clayton and Collin at the Children's Museum... and I forgot to bring my camera! So, if you want to see pictures check out: Katie's blog or Amy's blog. We started off with a ride on the carousel (some of us had to ride twice) and let the kids play in that area for a while. We also visited the Barbie exhibit, Dinosphere, Fireworks of Glass, and the new Dora & Diego exhibit. Charlotte really likes Dinosphere and was asking about that before we arrived, but she had a great time in the Dora & Diego exhibit too. There were so many great, hands-on things to do and play with. She slid down the slide over and over and over again. She enjoyed putting the stars in the constellations, making her way through the rain forest, and putting the coins in the bank on the pirate ship. We had a wonderful time playing with our friends and getting out of the house for the day!

Snow Bunnies

We survived the ice storm, and then on Saturday morning it started to snow. And snow, and snow, and snow! The original forecast was only for 1"-2", but I think we ended up with more like 5"-6". The girls were eager to get out and play, so Saturday afternoon we turned them loose in the backyard. Our neighbor, Brian, brought his little boy, Clayton (who is Charlotte's buddy) out to play as well. They threw snowballs, slid down the slide, swung on the swings, played with large chunks of ice they found on the swing set, and ate a little snow. Chloe and Sophie even got buried in it. They all had a great time, and Charlotte had to be dragged back indoors.

Ice Storm 2011

The first wave of the ice storm started Monday night and was followed by a second, larger one on Tuesday. UIndy closed their campus on Tuesday and Wednesday, so Jason was home with us (which was very nice). The girls' school was closed Tuesday through Thursday, and opened with a two-hour delay on Friday. However, Chloe caught the virus that everyone seems to be passing around, so she was home sick on Friday as well. I have to admit that I enjoyed having the girls at home and not being required to go anywhere for three days!

The ice covered tree tops in our backyard.

You can see the sheet of ice on the roof of the shed and some icicles.

It looks like the backyard is covered in snow, but it's actually all ice. Pupcake ran out when I opened the door to take pictures. I was not about to venture out there to chase her. Luckily, she came back on her own.

This is my weeping cherry tree by the front door.

The river birch in the front yard.

One of the bushes in the landscaping out front.

This is the two inches of ice on our driveway. I am slowly chipping away at it!

Science Fair 2011

It's that time of year again: Science Fair time. I didn't like it when I had to do it in school, and I don't really like it any more now. Last year was the first year that Chloe had to participate (and she won first prize for 3rd grade at her school). This year her project was: What will happen to hamburgers over time? (I thought it might be interesting. I had seen a woman on a TV special who had a three-year-old hamburger from McDonald's that looked the same as the day she bought it.) Well, let me tell you what happens to hamburgers: they mold. The scary thing is the rate at which they molded. The homemade and Burger King hamburgers molded very quickly. The McDonald's burger took a lot longer. The Wendy's burger... Yikes! It did eventually mold, but you have to look very close and squint at the picture to see it. (So, that woman on TV must have freeze dried her McD's burger or something, and maybe she should be taking a look at Wendy's instead!) The Science Fair was supposed to be this past Thursday, but because of the ice storm it was postponed. I'll let you know how it goes!

Snowman Family Project

Today we worked on Sophie's Snowman Family Project for school. She had to come up with a scene representing all of her family members as snowmen in her favorite season. She also had to incorporate one penny somewhere in the scene (it's stuck in the beach ball) and list each family member's name on the scene. The projects will be on display in her classroom during the school's open house this Thursday.

Summer is Sophie's favorite season, and she loves to spend time at Grammy and Grandpa's pool (I think she also enjoys the fact that she doesn't have to go to school).

I'm in the lounge chair reading a magazine. Jason is standing in the flippers. Chloe is on the slide. Charlotte is floating in the pool. And Sophie is playing in the snow with her shovel and pail.

The Nye Christmas

We spent New Year's Day celebrating Christmas with Jason's family. We started the day off with breakfast, took our annual family photos, then headed to the basement for the Christmas festivities! Jason's dad reads the Christmas story from Luke every year, the grandkids get to open their stockings and gifts, and then we clear them out so there is room for the adults to open gifts. There are a lot of people and each gift is opened individually so everyone gets a chance to see. This is a pretty long process, so we opened for a while, took a break for lunch, opened the rest, and headed home around 7:30 PM after the last gift was opened. It was a wonderful way to end the Christmas season!

(I will preface the pictures buy saying that the family photos are all missing Jennifer's oldest child, Brad, and his wife, Danielle. They did not come until later in the afternoon.)

The grandchildren

Sue and Dick with their grandkids

The whole family

Jason, Susie, Rich, Jennifer
Dick, Christy, and Sue

Dad and Mom

Charlotte and Jenney

Jay and me