Saturday, January 31, 2009

Jordan and The Harry Potter Birthday Party

Jordan celebrated his 8th birthday Saturday with a Harry Potter themed party.

First the kids were sorted into houses by the Sorting Hat. We put a walkie talkie inside the hat and Chris was upstairs with another walkie talkie so the hat could talk. The kids were divided into Gryfindor or Ravenclaw and given a house crest to wear on their robe or shirt.

Next was Care of Magical Creatures class. Hagrid had brought a dragon egg for the class to watch hatch. When we put the egg in warm water, it fizzed and inside was a toy dragon.



Kids watching the Dragon Egg fizz

Next was Potions classes. I had some of those capsules with sponge animals inside. The kids had to say a spell which included the type of animal that was inside their capsule. If they were correct, they correctly performed their spell and received extra house points. Some of them actually guessed the correct animal.

Next they were given a powder and told to put 2 spoonfuls in their cup. I told them it was grounded up snake bones. Then they were given a clear liquid to pour into their cup and say a spell. If it foamed, they did the spell correctly. If not, they had to try again. The larger the foam, the more house points. The powder was baking soda and some of the clear liquid was water, some was water and vinegar and some was straight vinegar. I was waiting on the kids to comment on the smell (like this smells like Easter) but no one did.

Then it was time for Divinations class. Each child was given a mug with loose tea leaves in them. Then we poured some hot water into it. Next the children had to stir their tea, 3 times clockwise and 4 times counterclockwise. This was very important because if it was done incorrectly the tea leaves could not tell the future. Then the kids poured out the liquid so only the tea leaves were left and I read them.



Divination Class

Transfiguration class was next. The kids had to draw an animal name out of a bag and act it out. When someone guessed their animal, they were transfigured back into themselves. They did great acting out the animals and guessing them.

Then it was time to drink the polyjuice potion which was brewing in a pot. I had just put in the last ingredient, some hair from Harry Potter. After they drank some, they went to the guest bathroom where Chris gave them a pair of Harry Potter glasses and a lighting bolt tattoo.



The group of Harry Potters

Then we ate cake, ice cream and treats from Honeydews Sweet Shoppe. While the kids were eating Jordan's stuffed owl delivered a screecher letter. When Jordan opened the padded envelope, it started talking. It wished him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!




Jordan and his cake

The kids and I had a great time at Jordan's party. And most importantly, Jordan loved it.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Pinewood Derby Race 2009

The boys have been very excited about their Pinewood Derby car race. They were given a block of wood and 4 wheels to make their cars. There is a listing of requirements that a car must met. One of the most important one is that the cars had to be under 5 ounces. In general, the heavier the car is the faster it will go so we tried to make the cars as close to 5 ounces as possible without going over. The cars were weighed in by officials making sure they meet all the requirements. Then the cars were impounded until the race.



Jordan and Hunter with their cars


Cub Scouts are divided in packs. The pack is the large group of scouts in an area. The pack is divided into dens. Your den is based on your age. The cars from the same den race first. The top three winners were named and then the winner from each den raced for the pack winner.

The Competition

The cars are divided by dens. The first group on the left is Jordan's den. His car is the third one of the first row. Hunter's den is the last group of cars. His car is the third car on the second row.

The car that won for the whole pack was from Hunter's group. The car was shaped like a tear drop. It is the car in front of Hunter's (the third car and the third row). You can click on any picture to make it larger.


Jordan getting ready to race

For each race, there were two matches (one for each lane). If their was a tie, then they would flip a coin and the winner would choose the lane. The winner of the tie breaker race won the race. It is a double elimination completion. So each boys got to race at least twice.





You can click on the arrow and see one of Jordan's races. His car did great! His car came in second place in the his den. If one of his weighs had not fallen off, he probably would had won. He also got an award for the car with the best paint job.


One of Hunter's races



This is a video of one of Hunter's races. His car did great also. He unofficially came in fourth in his den and remember he was competing against the pack winner. Hunter received a certificate for most colorful paint job.

The boys had a great time making, painting and racing their cars. I think this is their favorite parts of cub scouts.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Party Invitations


Jordan delivering his party invitations

Jordan is having a Harry Potter birthday party this year. The invitations that we could hand deliver were send by owl with a little help for Jordan.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Happy Birthday, Jordan!

We woke Jordan up on his birthday singing happy birthday with a lit birthday cake. He had a slice of birthday cake before school. (I'm sure his teacher appreciated this.) Then Chris and I met him at school for lunch. As a surprise we let Hunter and Jordan come home with us after lunch. Jordan wanted to go bowling on his birthday so that is what we did.



Jordan preparing to bowl

He did great bowling and certainly has a lot of style when he bowls.



Hunter bowling

After bowling, he visited with Grandmom and Granddad Poole and then we head to the home we are remodeling. Jordan picked the local China restaurant for supper. Then we went home for cake and presents.

Happy 8th Birthday Jordan!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Snow Day in Columbia


Hunter and Jordan watching the snow fall

It snowed Tuesday in Columbia. I know it is hard to believe. We got enough snow to cover the ground and then it all melted by 4pm. But there was snow and no school. Unfortunately, I still had to work. Now I know how Dad felt all those years when Mom and I were home from school but he still had to work.



Hunter and a giant snowball




Jordan, Hunter and snow

I like this picture because it shows the amount of snow that fell.

The boys has a blast in the snow! They played with the neighborhood kids and then came in a drank hot chocolate. Hot chocolate tastes best after playing in the snow.



Snow falling on the lake

If you click on the picture (or any picture of the blog for that matter), it will enlarge it. In the larger picture, you can really see the snow falling.