New Blogger in the Family

Adelina has been asking to start her own blog. She just wrote her first two posts (with typing assistance). Here is the link to her blog:
http://adelinabarnes.blogspot.com

Pi Day

We had a great time celebrating Pi Day on Saturday. Caleb was so thrilled to count-down to the Pi time of the century. 

 We ate Shepherd's Pie for dinner...

 ...and chocolate pie for dessert.

Caleb has been a little obsessed and has learned 47 digits of pi already. Here's a clip of when he knew about 20! 

Science Fair

The kids have been very hard at work over the past several weeks getting ready for the Hoover Science Fair. Adelina asked the question: What makes ice melt the faster....salt, sugar, or cornmeal? She was very nervous to present in front of the judges, but did a really great job (more on that later). 

As an aside, I happened to learn how to French-braid hair on the night of the science fair and had to share! 

A closer look at her poster board...

Caleb's project asked the question: Does the volume of a cube of play-doh change when you squish it? He really enjoyed the project and had a wonderful time speaking to the judges about it. 

 A closer look at his board...

 The students are all judged on Friday morning and then they have a chance to show their work off to the public on Friday evening. This is also when the announce the winners. Here is Adelina with her fellow Kindergarteners waiting to hear the winners announced...

 ...and Adelina won first place!!

 She was so excited, as were her friends. Her buddy Jamey won 2nd place!

 Caleb didn't place, but he had such a great experience. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Opossum

We all enjoyed a special backyard visitor last weekend...an opossum! It checked out our bird feeders before sauntering back up into the woods. I'm sure it's been a tough winter for this little critter. 

Kids at Work

Caleb is working on composing his first complete piece. Each week his Music Theory teacher gives him a certain number of measures to compose and they talk about his ideas at every lesson. His goal is to have a performance-ready piece for his recital in June. 

 The snow is melting, so the kids have been enjoying some longer runs on Sundays....the downside to the melting is lots of puddles and wet feet! I loved the look of the kids' running shoes all drying out.

 Just like Caleb and Adelina did when they were four, Levi has entered a puzzle phase. He's pretty much obsessed with working puzzles and is getting pretty good!

Random Pictures

Levi's hair was a little shaggy and in need of a haircut. I typically just take him for a trim, but he was ready for a bigger change. He looks a lot older now I think. 

 On Sunday, Adelina and I went snowshoeing at Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time enjoying the snow.

 On Friday we had a long-overdue lunch date with Carrie and Jacob. Levi and Jacob became quick friends and Carrie and I loved catching up for the first time in over a year!

 Randy and I were talking about a baby born still enclosed in it's amniotic sac and Caleb was very curious. I had to break out my models to explain. Both Caleb and Levi enjoyed it very much!

 Lina had fun fixing up Levi's new haircut with gel and a pink comb!

Happy Birthday Levi!

It's hard to believe our "baby" is already four! Levi was very excited for his big day and we all had a lot of fun celebrating him! I took Levi to indoor inflatable park and he definitely enjoyed himself. 

 After school, we all went to the library. I had forgotten that when you turn four you are eligible for a library card, so Levi got his first card and checked out his first book. He was so proud and told me that he felt like a grown-up!

Caleb made Levi a treasure hunt for his birthday, which he had a lot of fun doing. 

 Finally it was dinner time. Levi chose tacos for his birthday dinner, which was a big hit for everyone.

 Levi could hardly wait to open his presents. Caleb and Adelina wanted to get Levi a desk organizer so that he can keep his coloring books and crayons in better order.

Randy and I got Levi a real baseball helmet. He was thrilled and has already been wearing it around the house just about every day. 

 Instead of a cake, Levi wanted to have a brownie ice cream sundae. It was a really wonderful day celebrating our joyful third child. Happy Birthday Levi!!!