Back to School

It is back to school time for the big boys and this year Chloe got to join them. 

Guss - 5th grade

Guss started at Wells Junior High this year.

Owen - 2nd Grade

Lucas was really excited until he found out he had to stay home with only Mom to keep him company.

 

Chloe - Kindergarten

She was super excited and couldn't wait and then we found out she didn't start until four days after the boys and so we had to add a few days to the count down. 

Happy Birthday, Guss!!!

This year Guss made it into the double digits.  He has been around a whole decade and we have loved every minute of it.  This year the only thing he wanted to do for his birthday was have his friend, Gavin, come over for the afternoon.  We were able to make it work and after school Gavin came over and spent the rest of the day with Guss. 

 

Guss loves books, video games, Star Wars, Legos, math and his family.  We love Guss right back and are excited to see what the future brings.

  

Pinewood Derby Time

It is Pinewood Derby time again.  This year Ben and Guss started the car early this year because Ben was working the midnight shift and there was a lot of over time at work and most of his tools were still packed in the PODS.  Guss wanted a Bullet Bill car, thanks to he and Owen's Wii obsession.  Ben and Guss worked hard and got nice car in the end. 

They even got special tires to blend into the flames on the back.

 

Setting up the race.

 

Following the cars.

 

In the end Guss came in Second with the scouts. 

The Achievement Day Girls also got to race and Grace's car was the fastest car of the night.

 

After the Derby came the Blue and Gold.  Guss moved up in rank and was able to lead the pack in the Scout Oath.

 

 

 

 

 

Guss's Talent Show

The PTG has a talent show at the end of every year.  I always have Guss play the piano as a kind of end of year recital.  He wasn't very excited but he did a great job playing Home On The Range.

Off to the Races

Guss and Owen decided to take Chloe and Lucas on a piggy back race around the loop.  I think Guss and Chloe officially won but they all had a great time.

Pinewood Derby Time

This year Guss and Ben started working on their car a few months before derby time because Dad was going to be out of town for the 2 months before the competition.  Guss had a plan for a Star Wars speeder and Ben let him have creative freedom in the design.  The two of them spent a lot of hours together in the basement and they had a good time together.  Ben was out of town for the pack Pinewood Derby but he had Guss all ready to take care of any last minute things that may have come up.  Luckily, there was no problems.  The car was really fast.  So fast, in fact, that it flew off the track twice and he was still able to come in second. 
The top three went to the district race and, thankfully, Dad was home in time to take Guss to the race.  There were about 55 cars involved and while Guss didn't rank very high in speed he did come home with the best in show trophy.  He was so proud of his trophy and we were really excited for him.

The official weigh-in.

Guss would wait for his car to start at the top for the track and then race it down.

He got a compass for his second place finish.

Top three.

Best in Show

Guss Turns 9

Guss turned 9 on March 30.  He was very excited for his birthday and he had big plans for it.  Dad was out of town on a submarine but I think the rest of us made it a good day for him.  He asked for white cake with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting.  Star Wars is his big obsession right now and so when I found some Star Wars cupcake wrappers and toppers at Williams and Sonoma I knew that was his cake for this year.  We had orange rolls for breakfast, which is one of his favorites and then I took cupcakes in for his class.  Lucas and Chloe were ready to stay for the rest of the day and they were not happy when I made them leave.  Right after school we did cake and presents with our family.  Then after a little play time we went to McDonalds for dinner.  Lastly, we went to cub scouts and took the last of our cupcakes to share with our friends there.  I think he had a good day and really enjoyed all of his loot.

There they are.  All 48 Star Wars cupcakes. 

The battle between good and evil goes sweet.

Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Bobba Fett, Darth Vader

and a Storm Trooper get ready to battle it out on this side of the cupcake stand.

Yoda prepares to use the force on the Dark Side up front.

Happy Birthday!!!

It takes a lot of power to blow out 9 candles, especially when they are trick candles.

This is a lot of loot.

Legos, alright!!!

Darth Vader and Yoda action figures.

General Grievious and R2-D2.

Star Wars lunch box to hold all the action figures.

It says, "A Wookie ate my homework."  I couldn't pass it up.

Lastly, we have Obi Wan.

We are so glad to have Guss in our family.  He is our bookworm.  He loves to learn and share what he knows with others.  Guss can often be found building with Legos or setting up battle scenes with his Star Wars action figures.  He is a great big brother and is a great help with Owen, Chloe and Lucas. 

Guss we love you!!!

Odyssey of the Mind

Guss competed in his second Odyssey of the Mind competition on March 26.  Ben was supposed to be out of town working but he came home the night before for my birthday and so he was able to see Guss compete.  The team had worked hard for about five months preparing their skit and designing and building a Rube Goldberg machine.  They had a lot of fun, a lot more playing than actual work most days, and they learned a lot about working with a team.  They placed 5th out of 13 in their category overall, which was very good considering they never nailed down all the details of their skit and they were the youngest team in their category.  It was really good for Guss to have to work hard and stick out the entire project.  There was a lot of weeks were he didn't want to keep working but he did and I am proud that he finished.

Setting up with Gavyn and Ariana

The Performance

The Performance Close-up

Clean-up