Learning Through Living

Last Day in Paris

2011-06-26T03:26:00.006-04:00

Today we started the day with a tour of the Louvre. We saw some of the most important and famous works of art, but we also saw some new features of the museum, like the ceiling and hearts from the stone masons on the old castle. From the Louvre we went to lunch at a cute creperie and walked along the latin quarter. We then went to the Cluny museum. The museum was a medieval museum; our favorite part was the tapestry of the woman and the unicorn. We then accidentally ran into the gay pride parade. It was a fun experience because we had to walk through it to get to our next destination. It wasn't to different from our school. We walked along Notre Dame, got some ice cream, and saw the Pompidou center before dinner. Lastly, we took a ride on the Seine and saw the Eiffel Tower once more. All in all it was a good day.

Paris- Day one

2011-06-25T01:32:00.008-04:00

Today we woke up early and traveled around Paris. When we got to our first stop Musee d'Orsay a strike was going on, and they didn't know when it was going to open. So we decided to travel to the Rodin museum instead. It was a euro each and we got to see the sculptures in the garden. It was really nice. We then traveled past Les Invalides (Napolean's tomb) and learned a little history about Paris itself. We then took a quick stop on the metro and got to the Arc de Triumph. It was a gorgeous day and we could see for ever. After getting a quick lunch we headed to a shopping area of Paris. Our family looked at the Art Nouveau and traveled up to the top to see the sights. We then went back to the museum and it was open! We saw some cool new pieces by Monet and Degas. We couldn't take photos, but we wanted to capture the moment so we bought some postcards. Once we were done with the museum we headed towards the Notre Dame area. After resting our feet a little we went up to the church and walked along the Seine. At nine we headed up the Eiffel Tower. We were excited because we had never done the tower before at night. We actually went all the way to the top, but we found that we liked the view from the bottom much better. When we came back down the lights turned on, and we walked down with a bright Eiffel tower. When we reached a viewing area across the river the little sparkly lights went off. They were mesmerizing.

Vezelay, Chartes, and Paris

2011-06-24T01:52:00.008-04:00

Today we woke up early so we could once again get on the road. We left the rolling hills and headed towards Paris. We stopped at Vezelay and saw the cathedral. It was really pretty, but the rest of our group got to experience rural France a.k.a the bathrooms were holes in the ground. Anyways at the church we saw the crypt and a tympanum. After grabbing a quick snack we headed to the road again. About an hour away from Chartes we had to go to yet another public restroom. This time, with some help about half the group got to go in the handicapped restroom with an actual toilet. When we arrived at Chartes it was under reconstruction, but its immense beauty was evident. Although the main rose window was covered, we got to see traditional gothic areas. We also got to see what restoration can do to an old church and how important it is to restore old buildings. We also saw first hand the damage done by smoke to churches. Our final leg of the day was Paris. We arrived and almost immediately set of to Montartre. We sat down at a little restaurant at the bottom of the hill and had a good meal. Then we headed to see the view. As the sun was setting the area was beautiful. We also spent time at the Place du Terte to finish out our trips shopping, and get a taste of Paris' night life.

Lyon and Autun

2011-06-22T15:42:00.007-04:00

Today we woke up early and started our long journey to Paris. At our first stop, we visited a textile museum. It was interesting. We then stopped for lunch in the best place for food in France! It wasn't the best food we had, but it was obvious Lyon was the food capital of France. We then walked along the river and got some good photos. It was windy, but it was the opposite of a Mistral wind (wind from the north). We then rode on some scenic roads to Autun. We captured some fields of lavender and saw some sunflowers. When we arrived we went to a cute little museum and saw a beautiful church.

Arles, Aixe, and St. Remy

2011-06-21T15:10:00.008-04:00

Today we had a typical French breakfast. It was delicious. We headed on the road to go to Arles. Today was market day. Our group had a fun time shopping. Instead the three of us chose to photograph the market. We also tried some fresh raspberries. We wandered around some alley ways and got some great photos of typical buildings in southern France. We then went to the Museum Granet. It was the perfect size. We went in and viewed some famous French artists that were influenced by Cezanne or influenced Cezanne. We grabbed a quite bite to eat and had a picnic in the square. Then we went to the bus and headed to Aixe. After about an hour drive, we went off the bus and toured the historic Roman town of Aixe. We toured around the whole town and saw the city with its many windows and shutters including the place Van Gogh loved to paint, our final stop in this town was a wonderful ice cream place that served ice cream that had honey and olive oil in it. From there we went to St. Remy, the town that Van Gogh's work was in. Unfortunately, the museum was under repair, so we only got to see replicas and a video, but we did get 2 books out of the deal. And because we were in St. Remy in the afternoon we got to listen to "Honky Tonk Woman" in a french accent.;

Figueres, Nimes, and Avignon

2011-06-20T15:31:00.011-04:00

Today we did a lot of traveling by bus. We first went to the Dali museum in Figueres. We enjoyed seeing the painting of Abraham Lincoln and paintings about Don Quixote. After spending time looking at his work, we found a little shop to buy waters for a great bargain and headed towards France. On the way across the border we saw some old forts from both Spain and France that were run down. We also saw some sunflowers and lots of olive trees. Three hours later, we arrived in Nimes. It was a beautiful little city very much like those we saw in Italy. The Roman Arena was the center of the old walled in city. We reviewed Roman history then rushed to the Maison Carree that we had studied in Art History last year. We took a few pictures then got back on the bus and headed on a 1 hour journey to Avignon. We barely made it to our entry time at the Palais des Papes and walked through the rooms that were the home of popes clement and Benedict. From here we went to the nicest hotel of the tour(so far) just outside the city. We will stay here for two nights before we explore more parts of France.

Barcelona

2011-06-19T16:04:00.007-04:00

Today we slept in a little, but still managed to cram in a lot of stuff. After breakfast we hit the town and headed to Parc Guell. This park is one of Gaudi's famous sections of town. Originally it was going to house 60 homes, but today it houses mosaics, Gaudi's home, and a gift shop. We then headed down to the Mediterranean to take a short dip. It was still a little chilly! :) Wasting no time, we headed to another famous Gaudi called La Sangrada Familia. The church was beautiful. But, this Guadi is not even finished yet. Our tour guide was amazing and the history behind the church was also very entertaining. We learned that Gaudi's architecture in the church resembles trees, light, and flowers. He is even considered a genius in the world of architecture.
Tonight we are staying in Figures and tomorrow we start our trek into France.

Day One Barcelona

2011-06-19T10:56:00.001-04:00

Ahora D,T, Y H estamos en Barcelona.
Yesterday, we enjoyed the sights of Barcelona. We visited the Casa Batllo after arriving at the hotel. We then walked around Las Ramblas, and the gothic quarter. It was beautiful. We then stopped for lunch in a traditional market. Ham and cheese sandwiches! We then visited the Barcelona Cathedral and witnessed the older generation dancing to traditional music.

Traveling Again

2010-04-06T13:32:00.002-04:00

This is a short trip abroad, but so far we have:

caught the train from London to Edinburgh
climbed a "mountain" in Edinburgh
visited the Edinburgh Castle
visited the National Museum of Scotland
visited the Georgian and Gladstone restored homes
visited the Edinburgh National art museum
visited Loch Ness and the Scottish Highlands
walked along the royal mile, shopped and saw the child's toy museum
caught another train to York
visited York Minster
visited the castle museum
walked all over York, including on the walls
caught another train to London
visited the Tower of London
visited the Churchill and War room museum
visited Westminster Abbey
visited the National Gallery of Art
and, there's lots left to do!

More pictures

2009-09-01T20:41:00.002-04:00

2009-08-25T17:15:00.002-04:00

We went to Michigan a week ago and went jet skiing, water skiing, knee boarding, and tubing. We also crossed Lake Michigan on the SS Badger. Here are some pictures of H and T on the jet ski with d and dadad.

Hilton Head

2009-08-24T20:23:00.002-04:00

We also went to Hilton Head island for a week. While we were there, we caught up on our drawing homework for the summer (70 drawings) and our summer reading. It was really fun and quite relaxing. While we were there we went on a 9 1/2 mile bike ride across the island and walked on the beach.
H

Maine pictures

2009-08-24T20:19:00.002-04:00

Look at the view.

Trip to maine

2009-08-24T20:07:00.004-04:00

We went to Maine this summer as well. In Maine the girls tried lobster and clam chowder. We all enjoyed whale watching, and did not get that sea sick.We saw about six Fin back whales. We were fortunate to have a great photographer on board with us (D) and we got some pictures of the whales. We learned that Fin back's are endangered whales. There was a researcher on board that told us the details about the whales. Although it was cold, we all learned a lot. We also went on a boat ride to see some lighthouses and visited a few in person. It was a really fun trip.

Trip to disney a little late

2009-08-24T19:59:00.001-04:00

For the girl's birthday we went to Disney World. We all had tons of fun. We posed in front of the tree of life.
H

Something to think about

2009-08-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

H is ranked #8 in the State in 100 Back

2009-05-12T19:00:00.002-04:00

Pretty cool! Of course, soon she turns 15 and ages up again.

Why We Love Our Yard

2009-05-12T11:50:00.001-04:00

Today, I have seen 2 bluebirds, 2 bluejays, cardinals, finches, a heron, chickadees, and squirrels, ducks, and crows. Magnificent!

More From Our Yard

2009-05-10T16:27:00.010-04:00

3 baby chickadess but we couldn't get a picture.

A blue jay.

Lots of finches.

More eastern towhees.

A blue bird.

Maybe a tufted titmouse? Not sure about this one. It doesn't clearly match any of the birds in our bird book.

And, lots of doves, crows, and cardinals.

Fresh From Our Garden

2009-05-10T15:40:00.002-04:00

The Girls Are Appalled

2009-05-06T16:09:00.003-04:00

Their history textbook: Human Legacy by Holt has only one paragraph on the Japanese Internment and only one paragraph on the Armenian Genocide.

So, here are some links we've explored to learn more:

PBS

The Japanese American Legacy Project

National Archives

Armenian National Institute

Genocide1915

Armenian Genocide Museum

My Other New Toy

2009-05-06T13:18:00.006-04:00

I just videotaped the backyard with my new mino HD flip camera that plugs right into the computer for easy downloading. I scared the birds away but you can hear them chirping. Can you identify them?

Digital MP3 Recorder and Podcasting

2009-05-06T09:59:00.004-04:00

I've been playing with my new Sony Digital Voice Recorder and I uploaded our first podcast. We're not on Itunes yet, but we may get there! Will update this post with the answers tomorrow.

And now for the answers:

Another treat in the yard

2009-05-06T09:31:00.002-04:00

A lovely bluejay!

Two Eastern Towhee In the Yard!

2009-05-05T08:15:00.004-04:00

More Black and White Photography

2009-05-03T10:45:00.003-04:00

Taken with Canon SLR. Developed by hand.

Spent An Hour Rescuing Ducklings From Pool

2009-04-29T12:05:00.003-04:00

The new picture on our homepage shows them before they started to drown.

Fortunately, I finally got them all out and they hustled away from the big scary woman who was trying desperately to save them.

In Our Garden

2009-04-29T11:00:00.005-04:00

We released lots of ladybugs in our garden to serve as good pests.

In addition, we are growing our own mushrooms!

And, lots of other stuff. Can you identify it?

National History Day

2009-04-27T12:25:00.010-04:00

This year the girls completed an exhibit for NHD, competing for the first time in the exhibit category and also for the first time in the Senior age group. They won the Women's History cash prize for the State for their project on Ruth Handler.

This video was part of their exhibit.

Their video from last year (1st in the state) and the year before (also first in the state) can be viewed by clicking above.

They're thinking of returning to the video category next year. The theme for next year is Innovation: Change and Impact. Or, maybe they'll try their hand at the CSPAN video contest. They have 3 AP classes on their sophomore plates so we'll have to wait to see if they have time for any of that.

Triathlon Winners!

2009-04-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

The girls came in first and second yesterday in their triathlon. It was pretty cool!

In Our Yard

2009-04-14T11:30:00.002-04:00

It is freezing right now but this weekend we saw this in our yard:

Some Black and White Photos Shot and Developed by the Girls

2009-04-13T16:35:00.001-04:00

These particular photos include work on reflections, depth of field and motion.

Spanish Poetry

2009-04-12T20:00:00.002-04:00

They are a bit hard to read so for those of you who know Spanish, I'll post words tomorrow.

Learning to Sketch People

2009-04-12T19:52:00.004-04:00

This is something entirely new. The girls are both working on figure drawings. Here is a slideshow of their recent drawings:

Book Review

2009-04-11T13:58:00.001-04:00

We just got our first free early release book from LibararyThing here's the review:

The Secret Holocaust Diaries
Reviewed by t
The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister is a great book about the hardships of a young girl in Russia during World War II. The book begins with Nonna telling the story about her childhood days. Her family was well off until the Germans invaded. And, then her family got separated, forcing Nonna and her mother, Anna, to do whatever it took to survive. What is amazing about this story is that Nonna kept this story of her past tucked away for many years. She did not tell her husband or the rest of her new family about her horrors of the Holocaust until she was quite old. This story was well written, however it was confusing. The author wrote about the historical aspects of Nonna’s story. This was a good idea, to relate her recollections of events to what happened; however, it made it more difficult for the reader to connect with Nonna’s character. Just as the story was getting interesting, the author inserted historical information. Despite this, the story was interesting and I would recommend it to Holocaust buffs and all those who want to see a different perspective on the Holocaust.

Belated Short Video of the girls skiing

2009-04-08T10:36:00.005-04:00

What Exactly Have We Been Doing Lately?

2009-03-31T10:53:00.026-04:00

Well, the girls and D went skiing and tubing in Vermont:

The girls have been working on an art project that seemed to take forever -- it is multimedia with watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil:

They have begun learning how to draw figures and I hope to post pictures soon.

They have been swimming (a lot). They both are swimming a national competition this weekend:

They have been researching HPV and making a video (the last 30 seconds of the video is cut off for some reason):

They have been researching Ruth Handler:

And, in their spare time they have both read about 5 books in the past 3 weeks.

So --- even though we haven't been posting, we have been busy. In addition to posting weekly challenges and solutions at Think! and teaching some seminars on Government and Women's History, I have been working as a volunteer for the Endangered Species Coalition, creating and compiling educational materials for Endangered Species Day. I have also been doing some book reviews for the Allied Cultures Against Discrimination. I plan to teach another seminar on technology in April. D has been working hard and when home, he has planted lots of things in our garden: lettuce, carrots, onions, blueberries, and tomatoes. We are planning a family reunion for the T family to coincide with the Relay for Life in May. We have 3 happy survivors to walk in the survivor lap! So, that's what we've been doing. Maybe we'll get back to posting more regularly in the next few months.

To Kill a Mockingbird

2009-03-14T20:23:00.002-04:00

This was our first time to use glogster to poster ourself. The girls completed a project on To Kill A Mockingbird online. Here are their posters:

T and H

Art from the past two months

2009-03-12T19:59:00.007-04:00

It's Womens History Month

2009-03-08T12:34:00.008-04:00

Since I have been putting together materials for a homeschool seminar on Women's History, I thought I'd share some educational video clips with our blog readers as well.

This is a great video.

This is a great interactive.

Snow

2009-03-03T10:25:00.002-05:00

A few pics from yesterday morning's snow walk.

Maybe This Congress Will Go Green

2009-03-02T16:48:00.001-05:00

Today, protestors are challenging the presence of a coal-fired power plant on Capitol Hill. Maybe this Congress will recognize that coal is not clean! Read about today's demonstration here.

Are Animals Human?

2009-02-25T15:00:00.002-05:00

For the longest time, we have included the ability to use tools as a factor that differentiates humans from animals. But, that difference is no longer applicable! Read this!

And watch this video about chimpanzee tools!

State Championships

2009-02-25T08:22:00.003-05:00

Both girls qualified for Sectionals which is a meet with the top swimmers from 9 states. We're looking forward to it.

Check out the stuff added above

2009-02-24T20:10:00.002-05:00

Go to the section entitled The World is Changing (above) and check out the different links. We've added some new cool stuff.

Also, we've added some donation site links in the right hand column. You can visit these sites once a day and your visit alone generates a donation to a worthy cause. Not much effort to make a difference in the world!

CO2 Hunter

2009-02-24T09:20:00.006-05:00

Read about this amazing project and check out the graph in the article that indicates CO2 levels over the past 10 years.

Sad news though as of this afternoon.

Cool Astronomy

2009-02-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Read about this green comet.

Alaska is Disappearing

2009-02-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

Read this article about what is happening to Alaska, then think about what you can do to address global warming.

Signed: Your friendly green advocates

A Black Womanhood

2009-02-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

This is a great article about an art display with a unique approach to history.

Have You Ever Heard of Feather Bowling?

2009-02-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

Check this out.

Remembrance Day

2009-02-19T10:33:00.001-05:00

Today is the 67th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which led to the imprisonment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program hosts three distinguished writers to talk about their recent titles highlighting the Japanese American experience. The books they discuss are supposed to be excellent. You can read more about them here.

Other good teen reads on this topic include: Farewell To Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After World War II Internment and Weedflower.

In Honor of Darwin's Birthday last week

2009-02-15T15:52:00.007-05:00

We checked out this devolve tool available on the web and devolved T and H. It was pretty interesting.

Here's T

Here's H

What did you look like 3.7 million years ago?

Get Ready for Earth Hour - 8:30PM Saturday 28 March 2009

2009-02-15T15:13:00.009-05:00

To find out more about Earth Hour 2009 and what you can do, click on link above.

This is a great overview of what can happen when a few people turn off their lights!

Great Backyard Bird Count

2009-02-15T11:12:00.004-05:00

10:00-11:00 Sunday AM

1 robin
3 blue gray gnatcatchers
2 rusty blackbirds
6 mallard ducks
2 white ducks (don't know the name of them)
4 herring gulls
2 chipping sparrows

Will try to get pictures next time.

You can still count until Feb. 16 or enter your data here after that.

National Volunteer Week is April 19-25, 2009

2009-02-14T18:21:00.002-05:00

What are you going to do Leave a comment and let us know. We'll share soon what our plans are.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T12:14:00.002-05:00

Unusual mating rituals.

What insects do.

T Made the Front Page

2009-02-14T08:05:00.002-05:00

From Teen Ink this morning: Congratulations! We're delighted to tell you that your image, Inauguration 2009, received high scores by many of our readers and now appears on the front page of the Teen Ink RAW art/photos section! Every night, we choose the most popular articles and artwork on our website and display them on the front page of each section.

Your work is now visible to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit our website regularly, and will stay on the Teen Ink RAW art/photos front page for the entire day. If you'd like to share this news with your friends and family, simply forward them this email or send them the following link: http://www.teenink.com/raw/art/album/other/16/Inauguration-2009/

Earth from the Air

2009-02-13T12:08:00.002-05:00

These pictures and links about them are amazing!

Cool Science

2009-02-12T19:12:00.001-05:00

Read about this!

Trivia from Science Friday

2009-02-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

Useless but amusing calendar milestone to note this week - UNIX timestamp hits 1234567890 on Fri. (Feb 13, 6:31:30 pm Eastern.)

What Slums Can Teach Us

2009-02-11T12:06:00.000-05:00

Click above and read the article. Important food for thought.

A Spanish Chapter Book!

2009-02-08T16:53:00.003-05:00

The girls are reading this book:

Published!

2009-02-07T16:01:00.004-05:00

By email yesterday:

"Congratulations! Your recent submission to Teen Ink has been posted on Teen Ink RAW, our new website of unedited and unfiltered teen-generated poetry, fiction, articles, reviews, opinions, artwork, etc. Teen Ink RAW allows you and others to rate work, provide feedback, and share stories with friends and family.

On the new Teen Ink RAW site, the highest-rated stories in each section will be prominently displayed on the home page and elsewhere. Your work could be among them, so vote often and send the link to your friends and family and ask them to vote too. (Up to one vote per article per day.)

Here is a link to your article( H's): http://www.teenink.com/raw/Nonfiction/article/81754/Memories-to-Last-a-Lifetime/

And here is another link to T's: http://www.teenink.com/raw/Nonfiction/article/81755/America-Is-Beautiful/

If you have time, please read the articles! The more 5s the girls get, the higher it will appear on the web page.

The Color of Your Walls

2009-02-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

Blue or Red?

Great Explanation of Climate Cycles

2009-02-06T10:47:00.003-05:00

Richard Alley's Orbital and Climate Dance

Another One.

Think About It

2009-02-03T19:52:00.001-05:00

Crunched Cans

2009-02-02T09:37:00.002-05:00

We're working on drawing squished soda cans. It is very hard!

The most dangerous cake

2009-01-26T20:00:00.003-05:00

This weekend we tried this:

5 Minutue Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
a splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add the dry ingredients to mug and mix well. And egg and mix again.
Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract and mix again. Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed.

Allow to cool. Eat. And, why is it dangerous?

Because now you are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of day or night!

The girls' review: a bit chewy for cake. It was still fun to cook!

More About the Obama Inauguration 2009

2009-01-24T10:38:00.019-05:00

Obama is our country's first president whose ethnic identity is not only linked to Europe. All 43 men who have been president of the United States up to now were either British, Irish, Dutch, or German in ancestry. Most of them had colonial ancestors. Obama is an iconic symbol of America's melting pot. And, we were lucky enough to be there to watch him get sworn in as president.

The experience of inauguration day itself was amazing. We set our alarms for 4:00 AM and walked from our hotel to the metro. There were thousands boarding the metro along side us. Some were young. Some were old. There were blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and others. There were folks in wheelchairs and on crutches. Everyone walked briskly and orderly. Some stopped to take pictures of the glowing Capitol. We passed many many trucks and busses and policeman from Ohio, Maryland and DC. We passed National Guardsmen in full gear. We watched hundreds street vendors selling their Obama gear. And, we passed thousands of porta potties (reports were that there were 4,000 of them on the Mall)!

By 4:30 we were on the mall and had staked out a spot at the first nonticketed JumboTron. It was about 8 degrees outside. We set up our blankets in front of a family from Maryland who had spent the night in the gentleman's office in DC so that they could get a good seat on the Mall. Within minutes, people surrounded us. Parents brought children barely distinguishable under their extensive bundling; students who had stayed up all night brought CVS bags full of food, warming blankets, and hand warmers. A gentleman from Kenya wrapped himself in a Kenyan flag. There were elderly people who had been wheeled into the masses by their families and friends. Some people were in sleeping bags. Others huddled under blankets. Many wore Obama Inauguration hats purchased from street vendors. Despite the bitter cold, no one complained of exhaustion, crowds, dirty bathrooms, or biting wind. They only spoke of their excitement and optimism. We chatted with virtually everyone around us. We met people from Nigeria, Hawaii, California, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, DC, New York, and New Jersey. We borrowed toilet paper, snapped pictures for others, chatted about the election, and shared food and blankets. About two hours before the start time, they turned on the JumboTrons and replayed the Sunday's We Are One Concert. It was just as enjoyable the second time around as it had been on Sunday when we viewed it from a spot near the top of the reflecting pool (see our We Are One Concert slide show for pictures). Everyone sang together and waved their American flags that had been distributed by the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

After the hours of waiting, the moment President Obama began to give his speech, a hush fell over the whole crowd. It was truly awe-inspiring to witness a group of so many be completely silent and attentive. There was an overwhelming sense of unity and a feeling that Obama was everyone's leader. Everyone seemed to trust him. The woman behind us echoed his every word. The students around us clapped and cheered. Couples embraced and kissed. The great crowd of people of all ages, color, religious and political views, and nationalities believed that Barack Obama would help America fulfill its potential.

While many departed before the benediction, we waited until the last minute to leave. Then, with tens of thousands of others, we walked back to our hotel over the Memorial Bridge.

We watched the parade from our hotel room as we tried to warm our toes under the covers. Apparently, Obama was sporting a bullet proof vest and rode in an amazingly technically equipped vehicle.

It was a beautiful day.

For more about Obama's limo, also known as The Beast, go here. If you want to see our slide show from Inauguration Day go here. For other photos by ordinary people, go here.

Side Note: We recently learned that Obama had a kata in his pocket when he sworn in. Pretty cool!

Very Cool Math Cube

2009-01-24T10:09:00.002-05:00

Check this out!

And for how it works go here.

Fits right in with Geometry!

We Were There -- Inauguration 2009

2009-01-22T11:30:00.013-05:00

I am still working on our photos but have a few ready for starters. These were taken on the Mall on Tuesday and then uploaded to Obamicon.me.

These are pictures from our small camera of those who were around us on the Mall. We were at the first nonticketed JumboTron on the left side of the Mall if you are facing the Capitol. To name a few, we had a Kenyan in front of us, lots of college students from Georgetown and Colorado State on either side, high school students from Texas who were there with their history teacher, a family from Maryland with a tween daughter, and a single woman from New Jersey.

These are pictures we took on our picture walks.

This was the view from our spot to the Capitol (for those of you who watched MSNBC, we were between their booth and the JumboTron).

This was a view from about 20 yards behind us looking toward the Washington Monument.

Look for a post on the weekend with more photos and our descriptions of what it was like to watch history unfold.

More photographic learning

2009-01-13T08:11:00.000-05:00

Each of the girls tore 2 black/white pages from a magazine. One was medium contrast and the other was high contrast. Then, they wove them together. The final step was creating a grid that reflected the values of the woven piece.

Here they are:

I think they are kind of neat.

Scales -- Think!

2009-01-12T13:32:00.005-05:00

For Think! this week, the girls made a scale. You can read about it here.

Conveniently, this scale project also fits with this week's unplugged theme: balance.

Really Cool School

2009-01-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

We just read about this school built of recyled materials.

Some New, Some Old, Some Different Green Ideas for the New Year

2009-01-04T12:59:00.020-05:00

In 2008, we tried to be more green. We installed 2 rain barrels, installed recycled wood flooring in the house, purchased and used an indoor composter, installed dual flush toilets and tankless water heaters in our home, stopped purchasing plastic water bottles, purchased glass containers and eliminated all plastice in the kitchen, purchased banto boxes to use for travelling and lunches instead of plastic baggies, switched to compostable garbage bags, switched to recycled toothbrushes and razors, switched to using only recycled paper notebooks, joined freecycle, and donated to carbonfund.org to offset our airplane travel and energy consumption to make us carbon neutral.

We have made a commitment to be more green again in 2009. In addition to following through by using some of our Christmas gifts such as reusable produce bags, reusable drycleaning bags, and a dry cleaning rack for towels (which we use a lot at this house), we want to be better activists for the environment. So, we're starting by sharing some ideas for a Green 2009.

1. Stop using ALL plastic bags (grocery, department stores, produce, laundrymat,sandwich bags, etc). You can even get reusable vegetable bags here and biodegradable trash bags here.
2. Recycle number 5 plastic by sending it here.
3. Recycle your Brita filter here.
4. Send your wine corks (not the plastic ones) here.
5. Compost at home by using this.
6. Freecycle rather than throwing things away.
7. Replace your paper towels with these.
8. Save your Christmas cards and reuse them next year by pasting a label over this year's text (we are still working on this project for our 08 Xmas cards).
9. Get a rain barrel and use the captured water in your garden.
10. Recycle your shoes here.
11. Find out what other things you can recycle here.
12. Buy recycled and recyclable toothbrushes and razors here.
13. Stop using plastic at the drycleaners, by getting reusable drycleaning bags here.
14. Buy ecofriendly products ranging from toilet paper and detergents to eye glasses to clothing and paper made from poop.

Getting Organized

2009-01-04T12:58:00.004-05:00

I got this great cabinet for Christmas and the girls and I have stuffed it with all of our arts/crafts supplies. It feels great to start the new year off organized!

Christmas girls

2009-01-04T12:56:00.001-05:00

DNA Models

2009-01-04T12:51:00.003-05:00

Not from a kit! Definitely harder that way!

Butterfly Award

2008-12-12T18:15:00.004-05:00

Thank you, thank you to Traveling Jews, a great source of inspiration, for tagging me with this award.

I am trying not to re-tag anyone. Just link back to me and then tag your own favorite blogs, up to 10.

Here are two of my favorites:

1. Julie K in Taiwan
2. Socks and Books

Childrens Books on Religion

2008-12-11T11:27:00.004-05:00

The girls each wrote a book for children on a religion. This is T's. I hope to upload H's soon.

Apples

2008-12-06T07:40:00.003-05:00

We received a box of apples for the holidays. What is really cool about them is that they are antique apples. You may be saying ewwwww, but it is not what you think -- they are NOT more than 100 years old!

Antique apples are apples whose origins date back in time. There are approximately 14,000 known varieties of apples. About 7,000 of them come from Russia.

The apples we got came from Kilcherman's Christmas Cove Farm. It is one of the original antique apple farms in the United States.

So, last night we tasted our first apple: the woodpecker apple. It dates back to 1847 when it was discovered in Middlesex, Massachusetts. Why is it called the Woodpecker apple? Well, because woodpeckers liked the tree and ate the apples! The apple was beautiful! It was also delicious. Our review is: probably good for pies, a bit tart, a bit mealy, wonderfully fresh, and good for dessert!

Drawing bones

2008-12-04T17:08:00.003-05:00

The girls are now working on drawing bones. Here are some drawings of a black buck horn (not a bone but similar).

T made a lot of pajamas

2008-12-03T12:45:00.001-05:00

9 pairs! 8 for cousins, etc. and one for Bitty

2008-12-02T15:47:00.001-05:00

Our Thanksgiving traditions include:

turkey, lots of pumpkin pie and a little apple pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, creamed corn, rolls, cranberry relish with pears and ginger, and yams

running in a 5k (even little E ran!)

paper cut-out leaves with our words of thanks covering the Thanksgiving table

a little football

and charades

This year, we enjoyed the beach and some bike riding as well. E made special napkin rings for each of us and we all made newspaper hats as part of the Think! activity for the week.

We have a lot to be thankful for!

I am especially thankful for our family's health and happiness as friends mourn for their 19 year old son who died in a car crash this weekend.

Final Knot Projects in Colored Pencil

2008-11-30T15:39:00.004-05:00

More Art from the girls

2008-11-20T11:13:00.002-05:00

Sort/Junk/Donate Unplug Your Kids

2008-11-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

We are still in the processing of sorting through all of our Christmas junk. Once it is all sorted, we'll decide what is actually junk and what we'd like to donate. We found some cool wooden balls in a Christmas basket. They are about 2 inches in diameter and they are flat on one side. The pic turned out fuzzy, so no pic. Any suggestions on what to do with them?

Identifying Types of Imagery

2008-11-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

The girls made these posters identifying different types of imagery in

The Cask of Amontillado.

Different uses for Photographs

2008-11-14T10:01:00.004-05:00

The girls took some photograms from their photography class and made some 3D items. H made some mini hand-stitched books and T made some Norwegian Christmas baskets.

Cool Catalog Creations

2008-11-13T10:39:00.004-05:00

Here are some of the girls' solutions to this week Think! challenge:

Flags, Kitchen and Unplug Your Kids

2008-11-08T07:49:00.006-05:00

After a brief break from Unplug Your Kids, we found time this week to knock out two categories of Unplug Your Kids: last week was flags and this week is kitchen. So, to celebrate change, we made flag cupcakes in the kitchen(the girls' cousins helped decorate). I know it's not much. But, at least we participated this week!

Dona Nobis Pacem

2008-11-06T12:33:00.004-05:00

May there be peace on earth and with proud Americans leading the way.

Our Family Experiences Working for Obama’s Campaign for Change

2008-11-06T09:47:00.009-05:00

Our family’s journey for change began 4 years ago when I was watching the Democratic National Convention and Barack Obama began to speak. I remember calling D into the room and saying, I want him to be President. So, when Obama announced his bid for the presidency, we were supporters, quiet supporters. We chatted with friends and family, many who supported Hillary Clinton and others who were not Democrats at all. We put a bumper sticker on each of our cars and we talked about how much we liked Obama, but that was about it.

Then, in March, Obama came to Charlotte. D, the girls, and my parents and I stood in line for several hours to see Obama speak. We sat high in the bleachers in Ovens Auditorium and waited. Obama was late. The crowd, though, was so excited. And, as we looked around, it was clear to all of us that something was different. People of all races, all ages, all sexes, all religions, and all abilities filled the auditorium. Then, Obama arrived. He spoke eloquently about his vision for the future of America. He spoke of the economy, the war, and the environment. He shared a vision of an America full of HOPE. We felt lucky to be there.

In the Spring, my mom registered voters. The girls and my mom worked on flyers and phone calls for the campaign. I still hadn’t done anything. I believed in Obama. I wanted him to win but I wasn’t volunteering at that point. Then, in September, Obama came back to Charlotte. We volunteered to work at the event. On a sunny day in late September, we left the house at 8:00, reported to our volunteer locations at 9:00, and proceeded to meet thousands of people from all walks of life as we handed out tickets to get in to see Barack Obama's Change We Need Rally in Charlotte.

From 9-1, we walked the lines that formed for admission to Obama's speech. We distributed tickets, gathered volunteer forms, and registered new voters (17 of them!). We split up. And, all 6 of us (my children, my parents and D and I) had different conversations with different people. The diversity of the group was striking. There were single fathers with young children, old women with walkers, men in suits, girls with pierced noses, disabled people in motorized wheelchairs, babies in strollers, students of all ages, black people, white people, fat people, pink-haired people, tattooed people, toddlers with signs, sick people, non-citizens, Hillary supporters, Republicans, churchgoers, gay people, Hispanic people, Asian people, Muslims, wealthy people, people on welfare, plumbers, doctors, teachers, Jews, Christians and atheists.

What was abundantly clear to me at that rally was that Obama was right when he said, "there is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there’s the United States of America ... We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

The crowd at the Obama event believed. Like Obama, "they believe[d] in the things unseen. They believe[d] in the better days ahead. They believe[d] that we c[ould] give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. They believe[d] we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. They believed [that we could] meet the challenges that face us."

When my children and I were discussing what moved us most during the day, each of us had a story of someone who touched our heart. Most memorable was one of the girls’ stories of an austic 12 year old girl who begged her mom for money so that she could buy a ticket (the tickers were free) to meet Mr. Obama. All of us were moved by that "skinny kid with a funny name." And, we were HOPEFUL that he would lead America.
I shook Obama’s hand at the end of the rally. I stuck it up in the crowd, and he chose my hand. What he touched was my heart. That day, I committed myself to really helping Obama become our next President. I put my second Obama bumper sticker on my car.

For most of October, I squeezed in hours each day to make phone calls from home for the campaign. D found time after work to join phone banking crews. My parents hosted some phone banking at their home. We ordered several hundred bumper stickers and began passing them out to anyone who wanted one. We ordered a hundred t-shirts and did the same thing with them. Early voting began Oct. 15. I voted. Every day on my way to pick up the girls from school I passed an early voting line at the public library. By Oct. 18, I had 4 bumper stickers on my car and I was stopping every day to hand out water , t-shirts and bumper stickers to the folks standing in line. I chatted with people about Obama and what he stood for. Everyone was HOPEFUL. No one was complaining about the lines.

One day, I met a nice young gentlemen who was working for the campaign. I had seen him at other events and I was pleased to meet him. I promised to help him canvas.
For me, that’s when things really changed.

The first time I canvassed, I was nervous. But soon, complete strangers from low-income neighborhoods were opening their doors to me and they were unlocking my heart. I met a gentleman who thought that he could not vote because he could not read. After we spoke with him, he went to vote! There were multiple elderly women who could not get to the polls by themselves. We offered to help them get there. They were ecstatic. I spoke to one woman, Arion, five times one day to make sure she got her ride to the polls! When children answered the door, I gave them stickers and asked if they liked Barack Obama. I told them that this might be the most important presidential election in history. They looked at me with big eyes and smiled. They knew too!

We knocked on doors in a very low-income neighborhood. At one apartment, a man and his wife opened the door to us. We shared that were volunteers for Obama. The first thing he said to D was, “I never thought I’d see the day when a white man was in my neighborhood knocking on my door telling me to vote for a black man for president of the United States." His wife slapped him, but he was speaking the truth and his words touched our hearts. He hadn’t voted yet. Neither had his wife. They got on the bus shortly after we talked to them.

Our girls joined us later that day and we returned to that same neighborhood. They talked to people about their hope for America and the importance of voting. That was the last day of early voting in North Carolina. We estimate that we got another 50 or so folks to the polls that day. It was rejuvenating. We were connecting with people that came from a totally different background than we and yet, we were all excited about the same thing: CHANGE. And, we all had HOPE.

With little time before the election, we poured all we had into canvassing and phone banking. I canvassed one evening with D. And, although we had a few doors shut firmly in our face, we still had HOPE. A complete stranger offered her bathroom to me. Another evening, I went out with H and my mom. We were getting discouraged by the number of folks who seemed angry with us for being Obama canvassers when I decided to knock on another door. My mom and H waited in the car. When I knocked a women came part of the way to the door and hollered at me through the glass screen, “What?” I shared that I was a volunteer for Obama and she said she was undecided. I asked what I could help her do to decide. She invited me in to talk to her. She was a single mom of two. Her disabled mother lived with her. Her 43 year old brother had just lost his job and his home and had moved in with her as well. She worked two jobs. She could not afford day care for her 1 year old, so her disabled mother cared for her. She was struggling to make ends meet. She wanted to know what Obama could do for her. So I told her. Before I left her house, I had explained curbside voting for her mother and they both had committed to voting for Obama. When I arrived at her house, it was full of despair. When I left, it was full of HOPE.

The next day, the girls, my parents and I spent 7 hours loading 25,000 people on buses at UNC-Charlotte to see Obama speak. The girls handed out 200 Obama tattoos that we had made. My mother fired up the crowds by hopping on every departing bus for a YES WE CAN FIRED UP READY TO GO cheer. My girls proudly wore their Obama “Got Hope?” shirts and shuffled folks onto buses. They talked to everyone. They were engaged. They showed their HOPE. I was proud of them. At the end of the day, T and I tried to get over to see Obama speak. The lines were amazing. Again, tears dripped down my cheeks. It was pouring down rain. No one was leaving the line. Everyone was marching forward. When some anti-abortionists shouted, “Vote for Jesus by voting for McCain.” A young voter shouted out, “When Jesus is on the ticket, I’ll vote for him; until then, I’m voting for Obama!” T and I laughed. When we got through security and made our way to the entrance gate, it was closed because of a security breach. We went home in the rain, but only after admiring the diverse crowd. On the way home,

On election day, I went to work at the polls in the Obama Houdini project. We were supposed to collect information and track voters during the day so that we could find folks who hadn’t voted and get them to the polls. I worked at three city precincts. All of them were almost 100% African American. Although there were no lines, the traffic was steady and the HOPE was palpable. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was excited. I chatted with strangers about the future. Again, although we came from different places, we were at the same destination. We were ONE. It felt great. I spoke with a 10 year old boy who approached me quietly to ask if I had voted for Obama. We talked about the war, the economy, jobs and the environment. This young boy knew that he wanted a future without war where the economy was strong and his parents could find jobs. He wanted a future with wind and solar power. He had HOPE. It made me cry.

At the end of the day, D rushed from work to join me. We painted our car and headed out for the last two hours to find folks who needed a ride to the polls. On route, we got a call from our field organizer asking us to head to a polling location to observe and report on lines. What I saw when we got there was a Repulican pollwatcher hovering over curbside voters. He was the only white man in sight. He seemed angry and nervous. He made several invalid challenges to voters. Had I not arrived when I did, he might have made more.

The contrast was stark. There were disabled or old people who wanted to vote so badly that they done everything that they could to get to the polls and there was an angry white man essentially threatening them. While I observed and reported, D chatted with volunteers from a variety of local campaigns. It was awesome! A 17 year old driver brought voters to the polls in her car to vote at the curb. Again, it was a time of HOPE. After the day wound down, we took our picture in front of big sign truck with VOTE Obama signs on both sides. In the car, I cried. The whole experience had changed me.

When we got home and I sat down to check my email, it was about 6:30 PM EST. I got an email from the Obama website asking me to call states where the polls had not yet closed. I chose Nevada and made another 100 phone calls. My last call was to a man that thanked me for working for CHANGE. He said his whole family had voted for OBAMA and that he would celebrate with our country later that night. It felt good and I went upstairs to watch the election results.

When the results came in and John McCain was ready to speak, we woke the girls up to watch him. The girls said it was the best speech that they had seen him give. I agree. McCain looked relieved. He spoke of CHANGE. He seemed hopeful too.

When Obama spoke, like millions of others, I cried. I am crying as I write this.

America is beautiful. I feel privileged to have met hundreds of folks over the past few weeks who generously spent countless hours bringing CHANGE to America. Thanks to everyone who voted, everyone who volunteered, everyone who believed, and everyone who will continue to make this country the most beautiful United States of America possible. Today, we can all stand up together as proud Americans! I support you President Elect Obama. The future is ours!

Situational Irony Comicstrips

2008-11-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

H got published! -- Vote for her by clicking on the link below

2008-10-31T15:50:00.004-04:00

Dear H,

Congratulations! Your recent submission to Teen Ink has been posted on Teen Ink RAW, our new website of unedited and unfiltered teen-generated poetry, fiction, articles, reviews, opinions, artwork, etc. Teen Ink RAW allows you and others to rate work, provide feedback, and share stories with friends and family.

On the new Teen Ink RAW site, the highest-rated stories in each section will be prominently displayed on the home page and elsewhere. Your work could be among them, so vote often and send the link to your friends and family and ask them to vote too. (Up to one vote per article per day.)

Here is a link to your article.

Feel free to share this link with your friends and family and add it to your MySpace or Facebook page. The more votes you get on RAW, the higher your story will be ranked.

Having your work posted on Teen Ink RAW does not mean it has been chosen for the magazine, however, your submission is still being considered for Teen Ink magazine. We continue to read everything you send to us. If selected for the print magazine, all published authors are notified by mail and receive a copy of the magazine, a letter, and other gifts.

With the launch of these new website features, you may soon start receiving feedback on your work from Teen Ink readers via email and the comments will also be posted online with your work. If you DON'T want to receive feedback, please reply to this email and request to be removed from the feedback feature.

Thanks again for your submission and for helping to make Teen Ink and Teen Ink RAW the largest websites in the world for teen-generated writing, art, and photography.

Sincerely,
John Meyer, Publisher

Halloween

2008-10-31T08:02:00.002-04:00

Once again, the girls carved pumpkins with their dad on Halloween eve. Here they are:

Cell Analogies

2008-10-30T08:10:00.002-04:00

Crumpled paper drawings -- this is very hard!

2008-10-27T12:02:00.001-04:00

Free Rice -- More options

2008-10-27T11:06:00.003-04:00

We all love this site. You can practice your vocabulary and contribute rice to hungry people at the same time. Well, guess what? They just updated the site to include other study options as well:

ART Famous Paintings; CHEMISTRY Chemical Symbols (Basic), Chemical Symbols (Full List); ENGLISH English Grammar, English Vocabulary; GEOGRAPHY Identify Countries on the Map, World Capitals; LANGUAGE LEARNING French, German, Italian, Spanish; MATH
Multiplication Table

Check it out!

"The Most Dangerous Game" Plot

2008-10-21T15:18:00.003-04:00