Nerd Heaven

If you ever wondered what nerd heaven was like, just go to the SparkFun autonomous vehicle competition in Boulder, Colorado. You know what, though? I love nerds. I'm married to one!

Remember how his car looked like a jalopy last year?

This year, he had Paige and Kallie give him a custom new paint job. He originally named his car Black Death, but it got renamed to Lalaloopsy Rollercoaster!

Here he is working on his car in the pit. I didn't get to go this year, so I had to settle for what few pictures were taken.

Even though I wasn't there, I did get to watch the race as it was streamed live online. I was so excited when I saw his car and called the girls in to check it out, but as soon as all the cars took off, the camera zoomed in to the lead car for the rest of the race. Russ' car never made it past the first turn during the regular heats, but it did get all the way around to cross the finish line during the ceremonial mass start at the end. He was stoked!

I wondered if Jerry Garcia was back from the dead, but no, that is just his friend who got him into this whole AVC business (I really had to force myself not to write "mess").

And his friend's daughter raced this year, too. She won a second place award in the youth class!

I saw this robot in action during the live streaming. Very impressive, even though it didn't get around the track. It actually warps that big plastic wheel so it can use gravity to move it along. Oh no, I'm impressed by a robot... it's happening!

Remember Mr. Bones from last year?

He was back this year and equally unimpressive.

I'm so glad Russ had fun and made a successful run this year... I think. I mean, I know he's addicted now and will be working on his robot and going to the AVC every year from here on out, but at least that makes it easy to keep him happy. I laugh to myself thinking how different this post would be if he wrote it. So I got curious... (he thinks I wanted his blog address so I could admire his genius)

https://sites.google.com/site/russbraindump/sparkfun-avc-2013

He hasn't added pictures as of this writing, but I don't need any pictures to prove I was right.

Summer Lull

Spring was busy and full of projects.

-We dug trenches and laid pipe and hoses for extensions to our drip system (oh caliche, how I hate thee!)
-We had our new 10-foot RV gate installed
-I painted the fence once the installation was complete
-We had our driveway extension poured
-Russ chopped down our palo verde tree and hauled most of it to the dump
-We had three ceiling fan boxes and switches installed upstairs
-Russ installed those three fans, two of which we have been saving ever since we moved in!! We bought them all at once so they would match because we knew we would install more boxes someday.
-I balanced our fans (except Kyle's which refuses to be forced into submission)
-I scrubbed and then sealed the grout in our kitchen and eating area
-Kyle scrubbed the grout in the entry and hallway
-I painted walls in three bedrooms
-Russ steam cleaned my car (deep inhale... mmm)

With all that, are we done? Of course not, but I have been super lazy ever since school got out. Is it the heat or what? I keep thinking I should do something useful or do something fun with the kids, but I usually just mill around until the day is through. Okay, that's not entirely true... we went to the pool a couple of times, we had the Robinsons over for dinner and karaoke, I helped Marsa clean her house and watched her kids, and I've been sticking to my workout routine... but I'm just sayin', Brandon is still in his PJ's at this very moment, so things are pretty sorry overall. Poor kids, poor house. The vacuum could use someone to push it around, but who?

Curiosity

A really old undeveloped roll of film... well, I guess I am just speculating about its age, but gee, it must have been decades since I last saw one of these. One day I found it in my car. Yes, that car that was manufactured in 2006, owned by me for the last three years, and cleaned out many times (kids!!). I once lost my pedometer in there and thought I had seen every square inch of the interior (after having resorted to looking under the edges of the carpet) before finding it in plain view on the driver floor mat. I'm still at a loss to explain that one. I KNOW I already looked there... more than once!

Anyway, I didn't think about it for a while, but I finally just wanted to figure out where it came from, so I asked the kids, "Where did you find that film?" I mean, they are the most obvious source since they seem to see a treasure in every rock, stick, shard of glass, and piece of who knows what. "We found it in the car!" Great. That's where I found it, too.

I couldn't bring myself to throw it away just yet. I mean, it looks old and probably unsalvageable (who but spell check would know that's not actually a word?), it most certainly wouldn't have any pictures that would have any meaning to me, and it would cost money just to find out. But what if they held key evidence to solving the crime of the century? Or the pictures were worth money?

I know, I know.

But still... I can't help thinking that someone's memories sit on my counter, forgotten. Either that, or someone's playing a practical joke on me. I wouldn't put it past the Johnston family, seeing how one of the Johnston brothers once secretly placed a wrapped, unmarked case of tuna in the living room on Christmas. They wouldn't torture me like that, would they? Wait, what if the guilty party put pictures of himself on there so I would know I've been had? I could totally bust him!

And so my mind goes round and round. Sigh.

Wrapping Up the School Year

The last week of school, I wanted to have lunch with the girls one last time. First, Russ and I had lunch with Paige, but I didn't take any pictures. Then I was supposed to be having lunch with Kallie, but I totally forgot because I was happily texting away with a certain friend all morning long. Crud!! I zoomed out of the house with greasy hair and yesterday's makeup... gross! I was only 10 minutes late, but when I got there Kallie had just bought her lunch because she complained to the lunch lady that she was starving! Whaddayaknow? The school was serving the exact same thing I brought... chicken nuggets and fries. Kallie really wanted to eat her McDonald's food, so I decided to pack up the school lunch and see if Paige wanted it. Kallie begged us to play with her on the playground after lunch.



This guy thinks he is Kallie's boyfriend, and she thinks so, too. I think not!



Brandon is always popular on the playground.



We decided to wait until Paige's lunch started and hang out with her.



Luckily, I had time to zip home and clean up before the third grade awards program. First they sang "Locomotion."



I thought sure Paige would get the reading or writing award, but she got the trustworthiness award. I told her that one was more important than any of the academic awards. Not everyone got an award, so it was special.



Proud of her accomplishment.



Fast forward to the second to last day of school when Paige had her end of year party. The theme was "Hawaiian Fun," so they got to do coconut bowling...



No-handed caterpillar eating...



and limbo!



Paige and her best buds.



Again, Brandon was a popular party guest.



At the end, her teacher turned up the tunes so the kids could dance.



On the last day of school, we went to Kallie's kindergarten graduation (*sniff, sniff*). "One of these kids is doing her own thing, can you tell which one?" Yeah, she sticks out well in the pictures, don't you think?



They sang songs about ABC's, colors, and days of the week to show what they had learned.



I snuck up and sat on the floor in the very front so I could actually see my daughter. Yeah, I'm that annoying lady... I got great pics, though!





At the end, they did the Hokey Pokey with the audience.





And then we went back to the classroom to say goodbye and take pictures with friends and teachers. Kallie's kindergarten teacher was the best!



And here's her student teacher, who was also great.



And last, but not least, on the way out of the school we stopped at the nurse's office to pick up Kallie's medicine. Kallie had a LOT of visits to the school nurse this year, so they know each other well.



Can't believe the year is already over, but I am looking forward to some relaxation over the summer. I just hope the girls get awesome teachers again next year!

Mother's Day on the Farm

After trying to think of one, I realized I have no good explanation as to why I skipped these pictures. Probably because there were just a few taken on my cell phone, and I don't unload those pictures regularly. But you know what they say... better late than never!

Mother's Day, we headed down to the farm for a delicious feast of bbq ribs, sweet potatoes, baked beans, and salad. After dinner, the kids asked for a tractor ride at sunset. It was beautiful, but hard to capture with the cell phone camera.



I like that my mom's dog, Marley, is sitting there with the kids.



After a while, we stopped to pick wildflowers, which the girls gave to me for Mother's Day. So sweet.







After the sun went down, my dad got out his "bug light bonfire." Instead of an actual fire, we just watched bugs spark, smoke, and sizzle when they flew into this lamp that my dad has had since the 80's. These are the types of things farm kids do for fun, right? I thought the picture turned out pretty cool, though. It's reminds me of a supernova or something.

Fun on Roosevelt Lake

Paige told me she's never been camping. I know she has at least once, but she was too young to remember, so I thought we should take her even though we're not big camping folk... obviously. We couldn't convince one living soul to go with us... we were very last minute, of course... so we headed out Friday night for Roosevelt Lake with just our family. Upon arrival, we busted out the hotdogs and marshmallows and roasted them over our little fire.



The flash was leaving big blotches burned onto everyone's retinas... they just loved it! Will's solution was to wear sunglasses.



The little kids were so excited to be sleeping in a tent.



One of the campsites nearby had a party going with a bunch of loud drunks in the middle of the night... has anyone ever heard of quiet drunks? Didn't think so. Apparently, I was the only one at our camp who couldn't sleep because of it. By morning, all was still and peaceful... just the occasional boat going by with crazy people skiing at the crack of dawn. Yeah, Russ is normally one of those crazy people, but he couldn't convince the boys to get up early with him.



We started on danishes while Russ cooked bacon and eggs for everybody. The big chunk of cream cheese in the middle of mine fell off into the gravel... dang it, that was the best part!



Russ started wakeboarding just as soon as we hit the water, and I had Will take pictures while I drove the boat. Russ claims he landed this one.



Wipeout.



Whenever we go to the lake, the girls just want to swim behind the boat. It was still a little too chilly for me.



Captain Russ with Four Peaks in the background.



Our flag boy.



Will tried several times to get up on the slalom ski, but never quite made it. He asked, "What do I do when the water starts plowing into my face?" Russ answered, "Deal with it." He got worn out before he ever got up, but I think he'll get it next time.



Russ got upset at me for driving too slowly while he was waterskiing and wearing him out early. I'm still a rookie!



Brando wanted to go on a tube ride, but when they submarined right off the bat and got dumped in head first, he was done.



Nothing a warm tiger towel can't fix.



As the day wore on, the wind picked up and the lake got choppier... Will and Kyle thought that made for perfect tubing conditions!



I couldn't believe Kyle was able to stay on after Will got thrown off.



Pay back.



They caught a lot of air that day. In fact, William got more air on one particular jump than we had ever seen before, and he landed it! Russ and I agreed that it was at least six feet from the bottom of the tube to the water. Alas, I was not able to get a picture of that one.



I don't use my telephoto lens very often, but it came in handy this day. It was super hard to be steady enough to get them in focus and get them in the frame, so I just shot tons and tons and hoped for the best. I thought I got some pretty good ones.



Once Brandon had enough time to forget about the tube crash, Russ was able to convince him to get back in for a swim. That didn't last long.



After I took this picture, Brandon said, "Let me see!" I showed him, and he said, "That's me crying."



Kyle's hair was crazy.



The kids had so much fun riding on the bow. They would always say, "Can we go fast now?"



The girls always want to stop at a beach to swim and collect seashells, so we found a good little place where we could stop and eat lunch. This beach had ooey gooey mud. My flipflops kept getting stuck, and I hate having to walk in the lake without shoes, but I had no choice. Kallie didn't care much about sandwiches... she was more interested in the seashells and mud. We now have three muddy hand prints on the side of our boat.



There were spiders all over the beach, and the kids saw one go from the surface of the water to the side of the boat.



Kyle decided to get in on the bowriding action. He was bummed when I made him sit on the seat before we could speed up.



Kallie kept singing, "I believe I can fly."



Russ let Will take a turn at the wheel. Since his permit expired and he hasn't been allowed to get his license yet, this is the most driving he'll be doing for a while.



After we got off the lake, we went back to our campsite to clean up and have a cold, juicy watermelon. Man, that was refreshing!





Only one nature picture, people! A view of Four Peaks from our campsite.



Will asked me to take this picture. He had just finished mashing his face into the other side of this piece and scraping the melon out with his teeth.



Then the girls got a hold of my camera and took some pictures. I just threw in this picture of us cleaning up to prove I was there! Honestly, if we don't get any pictures of me while we're camping and boating, I'm cool with it.



This is their self portrait. Awwwww.



This was my first trip to Roosevelt Lake ever, and I loved it. Even though it was just our family, it turned out to be perfect because we didn't have to shuttle anyone back and forth from the shore, and we stayed out there for six hours because we were having so much fun. We will definitely be back!