Tubing Fun at Alpine Meadows (Tubeville)

This is the second year that Alpine Meadows Ski Resort has opened up a tubing area called "Tubeville" just beyond the lodge. The tubing course consists of two steep, long lanes, each with a couple humps and a big half-pipe at the end. There's a moving "magic carpet" escalator to get you to the top of the hill and then a quick, fast ride down to the bottom.

We had fun racing each other, spinning, performing running starts, riding backwards, etc. And when you got up some good speed, you might find yourself getting some air at the bottom of the run then doing a 180°. It was a lot of fun! Don't forget to check out the patent-pending "Dad Cam" views in this video.

Jason's Mission Project - Santa Ines (model)

It's that time of year when the 4th graders have to create a "Mission Project" (either a photo collage, video or model) of one of the 21 California Missions. Jason chose to build a model of the Santa Ines Mission which is near Santa Barbara, the 19th one built. He found a survey map and a view of the front and used that to layout the model.

His tip to others working on their Mission Project? Do a little bit each weekend or night so you don't get overwhelmed on the last day. The model was made by first drawing a floorplan of the mission in the desired size. The size was chosen based on some cute horse figures that were found at the hobby store. That was also where we purchased the trees (train model supplies) and the lichen (for the bushes). The model is made with illustration board, cut with an X-acto knife. The crosses and fences were made with rectangular dowel rods (balsa wood) which were glued with hot glue and painted.

Jason used a mixture of red and orange paint to get the tile roof color and an off-white for the walls. This is easier to do if you paint the models before they are all glued together. It also makes it less likely you'll get paint in the wrong places. To finish it up, he used a label maker to add the name of the mission and his name. And we also glued down a picture of the Santa Ines Mission just to show a comparison between the actual mission and the model.

Secret Video, if you can solve our Christmas Puzzle

This year we've hidden a secret video message as the solution to our puzzle. Only those that can spot the 8 differences in our annual Christmas Puzzle will be able to figure out the password. Are you up to the challenge?

Note: If you need some help here are some hints:
1. What order are the colors in the rainbow? 2. Shed some light on the subject. 3. Two for the price of one. 4. Is this a dagger I see before me? 5. Check out that wall 6. Gold is more impressive 7. Whoops, who hung that picture? 8. Every brick counts.
You can also get the complete solution here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.

When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out.

Halloween 2010 - Chess Pieces

As part of our annual Halloween tradition, we come up with a family theme for our costumes. This year we went as Chess Pieces.

The idea for our theme started when Michael suggested he wanted to be a knight. After tossing around ideas like "royalty" or "knights of the round table," Felicia noted that the knight is one of 6 different chess pieces. It was a perfect match!

Blaine (Dad) was the King, Felicia (Mom) was a Bishop, Michael was a Knight, Rosemary was the Queen, Jason was a Rook (castle) and Amara was a Pawn.

We had lots of fun walking around taking steps like our pieces. Felicia was going diagonally (like the bishop), I was taking one step at a time (the King) and Michael was taking two steps forward and one to the side. The only disappointment was that it was pretty rainy during the two local parades we entered. Nonetheless, in both costume contests we won first place in the families and groups categories. Alas we did not come upon another family dressed as white chess pieces.

Felicia did all the sewing while Blaine did construction.

The King's costume had a lined robe made of panne and a faux-fur shoulder piece. I strung the livery chain and medalion and constructed the crown.

For Rosemary's Queen costume, both the dress and the robe were sewn by Felicia and I made and decorated the crown.

For Michael's Knight costume, Felicia made the faux-chainmail hood and sleeves. The tunic and the pants were made out of a soft-faux-leather material. The helmet, shield and sword were painted to match, and then I embellished the shield with the chessboard pattern and the chess piece emblem.

Felicia sewed all her Bishop's vestments which included the velvet robe, the white cotton alb, the rope cincture, the stole and the decorated black chausable. I made and decorated the bishop's mitre.

For Jason's Rook piece, the structure was made using embroidery hoops, poster and illustration board, a "pleather" material for the brick, and glitter paint for the grout.

Finally, Felicia did all the sewing for Amara's Pawn dress and a Juliet cap. The bottom of the dress had a hoop made out of plastic tubing sewn into the hem to give the fullness.

Oh, and did you notice the chessboard trick or treat bags? Felicia sewed those too. Each of us had a bag with our corresponding chess piece. I think that helped people figure out the theme.

Swimming Fun with Sydney and Sara

Tanya came out to visit with the twins, Sydney and Sara. Obviously the kids had a great time playing with their cousins in the pool with lots of jumping, splashing, spinning and other water fun.

I put together a short video entitled Swimming Fun with Sydney and Sara.
Enjoy!

Production Notes: I used our waterproof camera to get shots of people in the pool and jumping into the water. Most of the editing was done in the latest version of Windows Live Movie Maker, but I had to use Sony Vegas for a couple "special effects". I think you'll know which ones once you see the video.

Rosemary's French Commercial, Le Baton!

Rosemary, along with her classmates Will and J.P., came up with the following French commercial as part of a French class assignment. They had to create a commercial for a product and tout the positive uses (along with things to avoid). This was filmed over a weekend and then edited together with sound effects, titles, etc.

So have you heard about this new useful product that everyone should have? If not, be sure to watch the commercial so you too can have one. Everyone should go out now and buy Le Baton!.

Christmas Crafts, Cupcakes, Stockings and More...

Each Christmas we pick a fun craft to do with the kids. This year we made little felt mice with candy cane tails and handed them out to family, friends and classmates.

On Christmas Eve, Blaine sang with the church choir and Felicia played violin.

Christmas Day was the usual fun of opening stockings, having breakfast, opening gifts, playing games, eating a scrumptious Christmas dinner, etc. Click the link for our Christmas 2009 album.

Can You Solve Our Christmas Puzzle for 2009?

All the kids had a lot of fun creating our annual Christmas Puzzle for 2009. It's a standard word search puzzle, so it shouldn't be too difficult, but there is a hidden message to find when you are done.

If you are absolutely stuck, you can find the answer here.

When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out.

Thanksgiving 2009 - Making Yummy Hors d'Oeuvres

For Thanksgiving, we had a fun time making hors d'oeuvres for Thanksgiving dinner. My favorites were the "Bacon Hugs" which were figs stuffed with water chestnuts and wrapped in bacon.

If you'd like to see the photos, click the link to our Thanksgiving 2009 Photo Album.

Halloween 2009 - Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Michael came up with this year's theme of "Wonders of the Ancient World". We dressed as the Great Pyramids of Giza, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse at Alexandria, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Extra credit if you know the seventh wonder without looking it up.