Robotics and Bunker Beach

We were very thankful for the robotics class the girls took this past week. The temperatures have been in the upper 90s which is hot for July. Besides getting to stay cool indoors, the girls built a variety of structures that used pulleys, gears and lots of programming. Both Emma and Ani came home raving about the class, and how much they enjoyed building their structures. Mom was glad to see their collaborative skills develop throughout the program.

After spending quite a bit of time programming indoors, we decided to visit Bunker Beach Waterpark. The girls enjoyed dolphin jumping over monsterous waves at the wave pool, while Mom stayed further back and enjoyed the waves hitting her knees. Ani was brave enough to try some of the "tamer" water slides this year. She and Emma enjoyed swirling down on the double tubes. Mom's favorite is still the lazy river located on the edge of the park next to the campground. Everything is more serene there. Next time we have to return with our bikes to go on the meandering trails throughout the park.

Human Body Explorations

Mom decided to purchase a human body kit for the girls this summer because Emma wants to be a surgeon when she grows up. She dissected a frog in her fourth grade class this year which resulted in her dissecting a dead toad we found on our front porch. She also loves to cut open her stuffed animals and sew them back up again (surprisingly she does extremely detailed repairs). If she doesn't become a surgeon she could become a great seamstress.

Unbeknownst to Emma, Ani found that the human body kit came last night and started her explorations while Emma was in her room finishing her 8th grade geometry book (We are moving onto high school geometry next week. Mom hopes she remembers how to do proofs). After about fifteen minutes of Ani playing serenely by herself, Emma came down gave a look of horror. Ani was getting to play with SKelo-guy first. Of course there was some pouting but everything was fine after she got to play with him too. Mom was fed up with the character when his pectoral muscles kept falling off. We are excited for the anatomy coloring pages that should be coming next week. So glad we can learn what we want to during the summer months. Analise has been reading her Tuttle Twins books on courageous people and logical fallacies.

Sand Competition

After limited hours of sleep due to a double sleepover, our family attempted to enter a sand building competition. We made a bear digging his way out of a hole trying to get an ice cream cone. Although we were all very tired, we managed to get 3rd place in the competition. Many of the families that were there had done the competition for multiple years. It was a fun activitiy to start the summer off. Analise's best friend's family won first place for their sand castle creation. The girls received a plaque and twenty dollars to the White Bear Center for the Arts. Way to go Team!

Team plaque for Sand Bear

Analise and her best friend Tessa hanging out in our backyard pool

Girls on the Run

Emma participated in her first 5K with Girls on the Run. The group is designed to teach girls how to build friendship skills and maintain healthy self-esteem as they move into their teenage years. Emma and her friend Evelyn participated in the group together and had a blast.

A Few More Events

Analise's first communion went smoothly. Emma was the altar server that evening and 12 children received communion that night. Grandma Kathy commented that Analise stood the same way in her picture that Mom and Grandpa Mark had stood in their first communion photos. I guess behavior pattenrs can really be passed down through the generations. We were lucky to have Aunt Joan and Uncle Don came to mass and we had dinner afterwards at our house.

The following week, Ani's performance in Stone Soup was definitely something to not miss. She did a wonderful job projecting her voice. Tons of people came up to us after the concert and told us how amazing Ani's voice was and that she should continue to participate in plays/musicals. Emma also had her final band concert this week. We have had so many performances! Emma and Analise now have an idea for a music business where Emma writes the songs and plays them on the piano while Analise sings the lyrics. They currently have one about a tornado of thoughts. Emma is very good with metaphors and similies. They are hoping to find a way to record some of the things they create together.

Our lass ice skating class for the spring also happened this weekend. Emma started practicing her first jump. She said that she would continue to practice it at free skating for the next few weeks before summer lessons begin. Mom was hoping for an ice skating break over the summer but Emma's passion is too strong so I guess I wear and coat and gloves in the summer. At least we will have some days where we can get out of the heat.

Enjoying the Year

As the girls started off 2022, they had many opportunities to try new things as well as hone their prior skill development. Both Emma and Analise took swimming lessons this past year. They managed to pass all the lesson levels and moved onto the swim team where they competed for ribbons.

Because of the long, cold winter, the girls had a lot of time to play in the snow. They even had the chance to go skiing with Aunt Joan and Dad at Trollhaugen.

Besides the outdoors, the girls had many opportunities to show leadership and speak in front of large groups. Emma presented the poem "Ragged Old Flag" this fall and Analise presented the original "Star Spangled Banner." Both girls also presented science fair projects. Analise was inspired from our Louisiana trip and studied alligators. Emma researched Archimedes Screw. Emma's project was a bit more intense this year with some personally designed experiments using her own screw. Emma's efforts paid off and she ended up getting 3rd place in the science fair.

Analise celebrated her birthday in February at the ice skating rink. Most of her friends had never been on skates. Ani was a thoughtful birthday girl and took the time to help make sure people felt comfortable. Ani's friend Tessa really enjoyed her first time ice skating and said she would definitely do it again. Over the course of the year, Emma and Analise have become amazing skaters. Emma has decided to take her skating to the next level and continue on throughout the summer as well. She is working on one legged turns and hopes to be jumping soon. Mom is a bit scared of that idea.

While Emma delves further into ice skating, Analise is planning for her gymnastics classes this summer. Analise started gymnastics this year at level one and has already advanced to level four. She tries very hard and spends a great deal of time practicing. This is another sport that gets Mom worried but it sure is fun to watch.

In addition to sports, the girls spent time with the creative arts. Emma learned to play the clarinet this past year. We are hoping Analise will try the piano or another instrument next year.

Both girls participated in the school art fair. Emma's class learned about American history this year so all of her art projects realated to this time period. Analise's art work was related to Medieval times. Mom's favorite piece of art designed by Emma was her George Washington and her favorite of Analise's was her watercolor castle and vase. Perhaps the most memorable history piece of information shared this year was Ani's story of Hannibal and his elephants. After Analise came home talking about it, mom and dad got curious as to how Hannibul could have brought those elephants along for the journey. Research ensued. Curious minds must know.

In terms of musical performances, Emma was a the technician for the play, "Peter Pan." She was in charge of painting the scenery, coming up with the song selections, doing the lighting and making sure the microphones worked. This seemed like a big task to Mom and Dad, but Emma was more than prepared to take it on. She was also head mermaid in the Lagoon scene. Analise will be taking the lead roll next week in "Stone Soup" as the Solider/Traveler. We are excited to see her on stage!

Last but not least, there is always time for a bit of fun. Emma and Analise have become quite the puppet show masters. They put on hilarious scenes that have Mom and Dad rolling with laughter. The Christmas scene with the vibrating snowman that gets everyone in the town to vibrate along with it (and not know how to stop) had us laughing so hard tears were pouring down our faces. Dancing and gymnastics also tend to get combined into shows and stunts seen throughout our house.

Building with Legos and Structures has always been a favorite but the creations are getting a bit more impressive. The bridge below needed to be built from the sides inward. When the bridge was completed, it was incredibly strong. Mom was impressed that the pieces fit together in such a precise manner.

The laughter continues as the girls create April fools jokes outside the actual April Fools Day. Last week, we had quite a scene and a big lesson on checking with mom or dad before you do something you see on Youtube (nobody should ever try to fit inside a dresser drawer to scare someone else). Wrapped up with the fun is sometimes a consequence or two. Ani decided that making amends for hurting mom's feelings was just too time consuming for her to handle, so she used her creativity to her advantage. She designed a pencil that wrote three times while she only wrote once. Mom plans to keep it as one of her treasured "Ani" items.

April Fools Day Doll Head in the Bed Prank