Science Fair 3/28/14

Wow, we had a great time last night at the St. Paul's Science Fair. Mr. Mindock always makes it a great show.

Deacon's project: A wind tunnel. Hypothesis: short, compact wings are more aerodynamic than long, flat wings.



There was something for everyone. Here's a knee diagram to show what the kids have to look forward to when they need knee surgery in 50 years!


It was 6th grade's job to man the booths. Here's Deacon at the toy booth.




But then... Deacon and Trent were called up to accept their BRONZE MEDALS for their Science Fair projects! So exciting!


...and suddenly, Deacon had to make a speech! Totally unexpected... but he did great, just recapped his experiment and how it supported his hypothesis.








Then it was Trent's turn. He did an amazing project about light intensity vs. distance.


Bronze medalists!


6th, 7th and 8th grades were all judged according to the same criteria. So 6th grade was already well-represented by the boys' bronze medals. Then... also representing the fabulous 6th grade, NICOLE won the GRAND PRIZE!!


Nicole is one of the nicest girls in the school and everyone was so happy for her. Her hypothesis was that larger dog breeds are smarter than smaller dog breeds, and that Australian Shepherds are the smartest dogs. She tested 30 dogs, 5 tests per dog, and found that in fact the small Maltese is the smartest dog!

I think it could win for cuteness, too!

Speaking of cuteness, here's Maren with some extracted strawberry DNA. Apparently it's super easy to extract DNA from strawberries.


Meanwhile, here I am taking a pic of Deacon for my live Twitter feed last night.


The pic.


Deacon and the fellas...




Deacon with his project.


Then we got home, and there was an earthquake! That's covered in the post below.

CONGRATULATIONS DEACON, and all the Science Fair participants. That was a lot of work!!

ONWARD... to Maren's 4th grade Mission project. Maybe by mid-May we'll get our kitchen table space back. :)

Earthquake 9:09 PM 3/28/14

Deacon's bronze medal-winning science fair project has rocked the world!

5.4 EQ La Habra. Felt at AFB HQ by Derek, who was standing in bedroom, not felt by Terri (washing face in bathroom), Deacon or Maren. Hanging things in house still swinging as of 9:19. Hear it was quite strong at Disneyland.

Grammie: the TV is fine.

Will update as the situation unfolds...

UPDATE 9:26 PM - USGS has revised magnitude to 5.1

9:46 PM: People stuck on rides at Disneyland

Super-Thanksgiving Doorbuster Mega-Post Part 2: Arrivals!

Sorry to be posting Thanksgiving in March. To see the ACTUAL post, which I backdated to December, click here.

This Morning's Shamrock Shake!

UPDATE 5:59 PM 3/17/14

Deacon has just informed me that when he arrived in his classroom this morning, his teacher pointed out that Deacon's history book had fallen off of the shelf! Apparently that was the only item displaced during the quake - hopefully it's not a sign that his History grades are dropping.

UPDATE - BREAKING NEWS 4:35 PM 3/17/14:

The kids are now home from school, and Maren told me she was sure she heard something fall off her shelf during the quake this morning. Indeed, we seem to have a confirmed case of shelf-falloff!!

Ironically, this TV set is the very same TV I was watching during the Loma Prieta quake in '89. It's in Maren's room now, and last night there were two horses on top of it.

Now only the baby horse is there...



The Mommy horse is down on the floor!





Even in the 7.1 Loma Prieta quake, things shifted, but nothing fell off my shelves.

Here's a selfie of the kids and I after school, enjoying our Shamrock Shakes!



ORIGINAL POST, 9:53 AM 3/17/14

This morning's "Shamrock Shake" earthquake definitely shook things up here at AFB HQ. But all is well.



I love the guys at KTLA IMMEDIATELY diving under their desk:



Naturally I headed right for the stash of Diet Pepsi after the quake - I guess it's Pepsi One these days, but here it is:



Here's my exact post-quake Diet Pepsi in 1989:



We received our expected phone call from Grammie, who immediately asked, "Is the TV OK??"



Here's my retrospective of Loma Prieta '89 from that quake's 20th anniversary in 2009.

Will provide blog updates as the situation unfolds, and I will always post the latest on Twitter: @set271.

UPDATE 10:28 AM 3/17/14:

My 1989 retrospective video isn't playing very well from the blog.

I uploaded it to YouTube: Short 1989 Loma Prieta EQ Retrospective Video

Embedding here, not sure how it will work:

The 'Rents Gig - 3/14/14

Here's a screen grab from Friday night's gig with the hottest band in North Hollywood: The 'Rents!

I am AIRBORNE, as is Mike Robinson (lead singer) in this pic.  Feet not on ground!

Will get video uploaded ASAP!

Save the DeWitt Theater!

The historic DeWitt Theater, in Auburn, CA, is in imminent danger of being demolished to make room for 42 parking spaces in a proposed new Costco parking lot.



I love Costco as much as the next gal, but...

This theater has a rich, storied history and currently serves as my Aunt Kay and Uncle Mike's Music & More Arts Academy HQ and performance venue. They have renovated the theater and have been providing an enriching arts education for the Auburn community for many years.

Here's Maren in 2009 performing a scene from Les Miserables:


Deacon and Maren were also able to perform in The Jungle Book, 2011.


Please help! There's historical info, media coverage, and a petition to sign right here:

Save the DeWitt Theatre!

Thank you!

#SaveDewittTheater

On Facebook: Save the DeWitt Theater! and Music & More

Spirit Week Day 5: Blue and White Day!

Celebrating school spirit today with Blue and White Day!

The weather wasn't cooperating with our planned photo shoot, so this was the best I could do this morning. Maren's ensemble included a blue squid hat, face and body paint, my quilted sleeveless jacket from 1980 (we FINALLY removed the ski lift tickets attached to the zipper), and blue rain boots.


This was the best shot I could get of Deacon - a blue shirt and my white pants. (The very same pants that served as Derek's "Glam Luke" pants for our Power Converter Song.)




A little weather adventure on the way to school! It's been forever since it rained here, so it was quite the scene on the streets of Burbank/North Hollywood. We need the rain, but YIKES!


Will update this post if I get a 4th grade class pic today.

UPDATE: Here's the group pic!



UPDATE 2 3:00 PM - Here's Mr. Z!!

George Washington

Maren in her George Washington costume for her book report today.

Spirit Week Day 4: TV/Cartoon Character Day!

In addition to today's theme of TV/Cartoon Character Day, Maren also has an oral costumed biography book report (George Washington) and the annual Spelling Bee; Deacon is participating in the spelling bee as well.

Here they are, off to school - Maren is a TV weatherman, and Deacon is a stick figure.



We should write a book that tells new parents things you're going to need. "Beyond the Bassinet: Here's What you REALLY Need to Have on Hand, for those Last-Minute Emergencies." Featured items would be duct tape, electrical tape, foam core, cotton balls, 6 yards of black felt, body paint in every color, old Airborne tubes, crazy stuff from your own closet that you were about to give away, 110 Sharpies (available everywhere in your house), fake facial hair, wigs, safety pins, and of course, baby wipes. For kids of any age.



Maren in character showing a dangerous weather system



And from Maren's 4th grade class:



Tomorrow is Blue & White Day.

Spirit Week Day 3 - Best-Dressed Day!

Today was Best Dressed day at school.



Deacon had a field trip, so he didn't get to participate. But Deacon didn't mind.



Maren's 4th grade class! Those boys look sharp!!



Tomorrow is TV/Movie/Cartoon Character Day. As of 4:20 PM Wednesday, we don't know what we're doing. And it will be pouring rain tomorrow... stay tuned, we'll have a full report!

Spirit Week Day 2: 50's Day!

It's 50's Day today - here are the kids this morning!



And look who's in the building in Maren's 4th grade class!



Awesome. Check back tomorrow for Best Dressed Day!

Spirit Week Day 1: Pajama Day!

It's that time of year again at school: Spirit Week! Today is Pajama Day. (Why is it harder to figure out what PJs to wear than their regular clothes??)





Maren's 4th grade class


Tomorrow is 50's Day. The AFB will be on the scene.

St. Paul's Girls' Basketball

The St. Paul's Girls' Basketball team (grades 4-6) played HARD today but narrowly lost the championship game to a really good team, St. Martin's.

Congratulations on a great season, girls!

Escape (The Power Converter Song) Video!

Here is the full performance video of "Escape (The Power Converter Song)" from Taco & Talent Night 2014, 1/31/14!

Earthquake 3.0 Hollywood

Report from AFB Earthquake Central:



This quake was felt by Derek & Terri at AFB HQ in Burbank this morning at 10:13. Were watching Olympic figure skating and the house moved with a quick jolt, just for a second.

Taco and Talent Night 2014

Taco and Talent Night 2014 was a huge success and very popular! It was a packed house.

We were very very busy the whole time and didn't get any pics. But Karina sent me this one - thank you, Karina!



Derek was very convincing in his Glam Luke getup. Steve Kwant's video accompaniment was a huge hit. We're so thankful for all the friends and family who loaned us equipment, video editing time & talent, and came to see the show last night.

Will try to have video posted soon... it was a truly groovy, transformative experience for Derek!



ROCK ON!!

Happy Birthday DEACON!

Deacon is 12 today! We can't believe it.



Happy birthday, Deacon - we love you very much!!

Taco & Talent Night is Coming

This is all we can give away...



January 31, 2014
Tacos 6 PM
Talent 7 PM

Taco plate $5 each

St. Paul's First Lutheran Gym

Taco and Talent Night 2014

Taco and Talent Night 2014 is almost here!



We will be performing original lyrics to a well-known pop song from the BEST YEAR EVER in music - 1979!

To quote Lando Calrissian: Everyone is invited, of course.



Our previous Taco and Talent Night performances:

2011

2009

Happy Birthdays!

From December 31, 2013... happy belated birthdays to two of our favorite people:


Ethan, who turned FOUR...


And Grandpa, who turned EIGHTY! 8-0!

We'll soon get our act together and catch up on Thanksgiving and Christmas, December, etc. etc. 2014 is here already! Yikes!