It was a sad day....

George's kegerator broke last weekend during the rain and wind storm. It made a loud noise and then there was a bad smell. So for a while George had to go low-tech. The kegerator was put outside and he used ice to keep the keg cool. He has now gotten a new one and all is well again.

School Science Fair

Our town held its 1st Annual Science fair last night. Jacob and Ben both took part - even though I initially made Jacob participate. The 3rd through 8th grades were judged on their projects and were interviewed by local scientists and community members.

Jacob ended up winning 1st place for his grade. Nice work Jacob! Benny enjoyed working on his project and also did a nice job. Here are some pictures:

Jacob's project - "Shape, Drag and Velocity".

Ben's project - "Can plants grow with salt water?"

Jacob - all smiles. (Can you tell I made him do this?)

Benny at his project.

And afterwards - the 1st place winner!

Annual Nottingham Floods

We were hit with heavy rains again. Several roads in town flooded and the boys did not have school for a day. Our town's baseball fields sit along side of a river and unfortunately they also flooded and looked more like a lake rather than ball fields.

Here are some pictures:

The baseball fields - covered with water.

The road by the baseball fields and community center - covered with water.

Our backyard and the giant puddle.

The boys in the giant puddle.

Making the most of it!

Fantasy Baseball Draft

Fantasy Baseball will start soon. Today Commissioner George and his assistant Jacob set the draft order. It is a very official process.

Jacob picking names from a hat.

How will this fellow do?

Wrapping it up...

Shadow Puppets

My folks came over for dinner last night. After dinner, the grandparents and grandkids ended up making shadow puppets.

Benny has been talking about the middle-finger lately and telling me it is a bad word. Fortunately, he did not experiment with that finger with the shadow puppets!

I see a bird.

Jacob smashing the other shadows!

Grandpa has had years of practice! This is his gorilla shadow.

Ben's Science Fair Project

Ben and Jacob are taking part in their school's Science Fair. Benny was happy to do it. Jacob didn't want to be involved but I made him anyway. (He it not happy with me!)

Benny is doing an experiment to see if plants can grow in salt water. Here are pictures of us setting up the experiment.

Getting the planting kit ready.

Making labels.

Labeling the grown plants.

Benny is happy with the project.

And here it all is.

Wind Storm then Snowstorm

We fared pretty well in the wind storm and only lost power for 16 hours. George fired up the generator and we then had the key comforts of home - water, heat, coffee maker, TV and video games for the kids.

After the wind stopped, we got some snow. The boys made the most of it.

Ben, a big stick and the giant puddle in our yard.

Ben's boots are still damp from being submerged in the water!

Jacob giving the thumb's up.

My kids love water and things they can float or throw in it.

George made good use of the snow and was quick-chilling some beer.