Aquarium Camp Update by Carissa and Kate

Carissa and Kate wrote the following:

On Monday we met our camp counselors and fellow campers.  We went outside and played zombie tag. We also got to touch and pet the stingrays which we named Wacky,Silky,Skate,Bobbi and Bumpy.  We started our shark tooth necklaces and made beads that were made of clay.  On Tuesday we got to touch hermit crabs,slipper lobsters, horseshoe crab and a chocolate chip starfish.  We got to tour the saltwater area and we saw sharks,octopus,a lot of fish, and a two finned turtle.We also learned a fun shark song which my mom will probably post on here.  Plus we got to see wolf eels feed on salmon and we watched a movie called The Blue Planet.  On our animal encounter we got see and touch Albert the baby American alligator. For arts and crafts we finished our shark tooth necklaces and we made jellyfish, we also got to go to the butterfly garden and held a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.On Wednesday we toured the saltwater area again and we dissected a (you'll never guess) SQUID!!!  Also we watched an albino alligator feed on salmon!   On Thursday we toured the fresh water area and we learned about under water food webs.  Also we tried to catch animals in the pond.  For arts and crafts colored and painted a water scene.  We also went to the museum of nature and science,and we got to see a shark exhibit with a MEGALADON JAW!!!  Plus we got to watch an imax movie about whales!!!!  Our last and final day was the bomb!!  We went outside and played a game where we had to melt ice.  It was fun but we came in last.  For arts and crafts we made a picture frame with our fellow campers.  Then we made a oragami whale.  After that we met some animals from the zoo.  One was a baby alligator named Earwin.  Next we met a toad that peed on the floor his name was Z, and last but certainly not least we met Sid the African Penguin.

Nicole's notes:

Carissa and Kate have been so animated every day while telling us about camp.  They had a blast and as an added bonus learned about animals and created fun friend memories.  Today I took Jenna and Bobby to the Children's Aquarium so they could see all the animals that Carissa and Kate told us about this week.  The video of the girls singing wouldn't load on my blog, but here is the link on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PtCAZ_4iL8&feature=youtu.be


Here are some pictures from today:

Jenna touching the horseshoe crab

Bobby touching the horseshoe crab

Batfish

Bobby & Jenna with the iguana

The two legged turtle

Stingrays that Carissa and Kate fed

Carissa, Bobby, Jenna and Kate by the stingrays

Alligator Snapping Turtle

Carissa and Kate with Grant, their camp counselor

Carissa goes to Aquarium Camp

This week Carissa and her friend, Kate, are attending Aquarium Camp at the Children's Aquarium.  The Children's Aquarium is located in Fair Park (home of the Cotton Bowl, Texas State Fair and the Science Museum).  Yesterday they learned about ocean prey, fed string rays, started making a shark tooth necklace, attended a feeding of an albino alligator and an alligator snapping turtle, played games and watched a video on the making of the Atlanta Aquarium.  The girls were super excited when I picked them up yesterday and can't wait until they are old enough to help run the zoo camps.

The Children's Aquarium

Carissa and Kate are ready for camp

Carissa showing the back of the camp t-shirt

Kate showing the back of the camp t-shirt

Travel Sports World Series - Opening Day

Today was the 1st day of the World Series for Bobby's baseball team, the Dallas Stars.  We arrived at Oak Grove Park in Grapevine, Texas at 9 am.  It was already in the high 80s when we got there.  The boys traded pins with the other teams, competed in skill drills (fastest man, around the horn, home run derby and accuracy throw).  Bobby's teammate, Brock, won the fastest man competition for the 8u division.  At 12:30 the opening ceremonies started and all teams were introduced and walked the bases.  After the opening ceremonies, we ate lunch with 3 of the families and then headed home.  My three and Brock had some fun in the pool jumping and trying to catch a ball.  The swim time was awesome since were baked for half the day in 107 degree heat!!  The games begin tomorrow and I'm hoping the odds are ever in our favor!

Brock accepting his "Fastest Man" award

Bobby and the pins he collected today

Jenna jumping in to catch the ball

Bobby 

Brock jumping for the ball

Carissa jumping for the ball

Carissa, Bobby, Jenna and Brock jumping in

Kyle Cares Baseball Tournament

Bobby's team, the Dallas Stars, participated in the Kyle Cares Baseball Tournament in Waxahachie, Texas this weekend.  This tournament is held every year in remembrance of a little boy who passed away due to an amoeba he contracted while swimming.  Please read his story at www.kylecares.com.  On Saturday, they played the Forney Rangers.  Bobby made 4 outs defensively but struggled with his batting.  The Stars won 13 to 1.  The second game was against the Rampage.  Bobby scored 3 runs and made 2 outs.  The Stars beat the Rampage 24 to 5.  We were seed #1 going into Sunday's brackets.  Our first game was against the Forney Fire and Bobby made 9 outs and was left on the bag in one inning.  Stars went home with the win with a final score of 8 to 3.  The semi-final game was against the Dallas Redhawks.  Bobby made 4 outs, scored once and was put out at 3rd once.  Stars came out ahead with a score of 15 to 5.  The championship game was a 8pm Sunday evening and it was finally cool enough to enjoy the game and not feel like you were melting (it was the first weekend of triple digit temperatures in North Texas).  The Stars played against the Clubs.  Bobby made 3 outs and had a couple of good hits that were caught.  Unfortunately, the boys fell short and lost 15 to 8.  It was very disappointing to get so far and play hard and lose.  They earned the 2nd place trophy with hard work.  Way to go, Stars!!!

The Stars with their 2nd place trophies

Our first 2 weeks of summer

Our first two weeks of summer have been very busy, but lots of fun!  The kids left on June 2nd to go to Tennessee with their Mawmaw, Great Uncle Tom, "Aunt" Tania and their 2nd cousins, Madeline and Gabby.  They went to Dollywood, Dollywood's Splashtown, hiking, ziplinging and alpine sledding in the Smoky Mountains.  While they were gone, Bobby and I were able to take a short trip to Southeastern Oklahoma.  We spend a nice day canoeing on Mountain Fork River and exploring Broken Bow Lake.  The lake is surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains.  It was breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful.  We all arrived home on Friday, June 8th and the entire weekend was spent watching Bobby play baseball in a tournament in Colleyville, Texas.  Last week, the kids and our neighbor, Chase, all attended Vacation Bible School at our church.  The church was raising money to put wells in a small town in Ghana that currently has no water.  They had the kids broken up into teams and challenged them to bring as much change in every day to help pay for the well.  At the end of the week, the kids brought in over $4,000 in change!  I tried to give my kids some dollar bills and they wouldn't take them because the contest was based on the weight of the money and dollar bills don't weigh anything.  Father's Day weekend, Bobby played in another tournament in Southlake, Texas.  His team played awesome on Saturday going home with 2 wins!  Sunday, the Stars won their first game and then were knocked out in the semi-finals.  We came home and swam in the pool for awhile and then went to see The Avengers.  

Smoky Mountains

Kids getting all their safety gear on to zip line

The black bear

Broken Bow Lake

Mom & Dad

Kids worn out after baseball tournament

Bobby during warm up

Bobby, Tyler and Austin waiting for the semi-final game

Jenna's 5th Grade Graduation and Pool Party

On May 31st, Jenna graduated from Luna Elementary School with the President's Award for having an all A average for 4th and 5th grade and all A Honor Roll.  We are very proud of how hard she works.  Jenna will be going to the Classical Program at Brandenburg Middle School.  She will be taking piano and gymnastics in addition to all honor classes next year.

Jenna with her teacher, Ms. Boudreaux

Jenna and MacKenzie at graduation reception

Hannah, Kailynn and Jenna

President's Award

Paige and Jenna at pool party

Paige, MacKenzie, Hannah and Jenna

Carissa Performs in the Luna Talent Show

Carissa tried out as a solo hula hooping act a few weeks ago.  Mrs. Knagg , her music teacher, thought her routine was so fantastic that she had Carissa teach it to 2 other kids in the school.  Tonight the 3 kids hula hooped to the "Cha Cha Slide" in Luna's annual Talent Show.  Sorry about the shakiness of the video as I am not good at keeping still and I really didn't get the other 2 in the video.  I am really proud of my shy little lady for coming out of her shell, being a leader and hula hooping in front of a packed house!

For some reason I can't get the video to load on to the blog.  Here is a link so you can check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es5eDbyqPz8&feature=youtu.be

Dallas Arboretum Field Trip with Bobby's class

Today the entire 1st grade went to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (www.dallasarboretum.org) for a science field trip.  The Gardens overlook White Rock Lake which adds to the beauty of the flower gardens and glass sculptures.  Jacob's mom, Karen, and I led a group of 8 and sometimes 9 kids around for the day.  We had time to explore the gardens, attend a class on the plant life cycle and ate lunch at the picnic area .  The class was amazing and the kids had some hands on learning.  I am officially exhausted since the boys were a little on the wild side (probably because there are only 5 days of school left)!!! 

Group in front of  glass sculptures

Bobby and Harrison in the loft of a colonial house

Bobby looking for the lima bean embryo

Bobby planting sunflower seeds

4 of the boys saying the Texas Pledge