That time of year again

...for science fair projects. I have a love/hate relationship with the science fair. The idea is great. The amount of work and time required (which no matter how early we start, we are always scrambling to finish at the last moment) is just insane. This year I missed getting pictures of the finish presentations, but here are some shots of the work in progress:

Isaac did an exhibit about how a pulley works. He built a little stand and attached weights and pulleys to demonstrate how pulleys make work easier. He was supervised by Nate but really did make the whole thing by himself.

Aspen did an experiment with balloons. She figured out how many balloons it would take to lift different objects. Then using those results figured out how many balloons it would take to lift herself and Nate or Hazel. We really wanted to lift her like this man here. But the cost was too much for a science project. We copied Jake's and McKay's idea from last year, BTW.

When the experiment was over we had 200 balloons in the house. Everyone enjoyed playing with them the next day.

It was about time

Nate got a stylin' new suit! He looks very handsome!!!

Would you like pancakes with your syrup?

Hazel asked for a drink of juice right before lunch the other day. I said no because I didn't want her to ruin her appetite. I looked over a minute later and she was drinking pancake syrup! I guess it does have a sports bottle top on it. She was holding all that syrup in her mouth though. I could tell that she didn't want to swallow it. Where do they get these ideas?

Milestones

I've been procrastinating this day for months. I could only think of the mangled bedtime routines and sleepless nights ahead of me. However, today was the day. I convinced Hazel that it was time to throw the binkies away. So this afternoon we very ceremoniously gathered up the last 9 binkies out of her bed and threw them away. I tried to convince her to throw them in the big can in the garage (they are truly unretrievable from the outside garbage can). But she wasn't going for that and instead settled on the recycle bin (which I emptied into the big can later). Everything was good until I tried to lay her down for her nap. It didn't happen. But my heart broke when we put her to bed tonight. She didn't get that the binkies were really gone. Hazel just cried and cried, "But I want my binkies." I guess that I am sad for her as well as for me. For Hazel this is a really big step and it is hard to give up a security blanket. For me it means that she really isn't a baby anymore and this is the last time for eveything. I love watching my kids get older and more independent. But at the same time I want them to stay where they are forever.