Cub Scouts Rocket Races

Owen participated in the Monroe Cub Scouts Rocket Races tonight. Grandpa Vater helped with the design and it worked great! Owen's rocket was one of the farthest and fastest travelling rockets on the evening. Most parents were trying to figure out how Owen's went so fast and were quickly duplicating the propeller setup. We were able to slip on three rubber bands and at about 100 turns of the propeller we were ready to go. Both Owen's and my fingers show the wear of loosely holding the propeller and having it "snap" onto our fingers. Lesson learned. On the last launch of the evening for Owen, the rocket jumped off the string and crashed into the floor, snapping the propeller. We'll super glue it back on so it can be displayed with pride on his bookshelf at home.

Knights of the Realm!!!

We took the boys to Medieval Times in Chicago today and to quote both Owen and Gavin, it was "AWESOME!" We saw live jousting and Knight skill contests along with some outstanding sword, mace, axe, shield and flail work. The horses were absolutely stunning and were so impressive. We upgraded to the front row and had great seats. There was a falconer and a lot of great food. The wench (known as a waitress nowadays) came through and instructed us that our right hand was our fork and our left hand was our knife while our napkin was the sleeve of the person next to us. Owen grinned. Then out came dragon soup, a half chicken and a sparerib plus herbed potatoes and a mug of "Pepsi." All without utensils, it was great.

Furthermore, the boys met the Lord Chancellor, (right hand man to the King regarding affairs of the state) prior to the show. On top of that, we were seated in the blue kingdom and our Knight won the entire event, was granted the hand of the princess and marriage and saved the day over the evil Lord Marshall (general of the King's army.) If you haven't experienced Medieval Times, it is well worth it.

Thanks to Grandpa for watching Quinn for the day so we could play with the boys. We brought Quinn back a princess hat which she said is beautiful.

Winter Fun in Wisconsin

Snow has finally fallen in Wisconsin and Quinn and the boys were out enjoying a little winter action. Quinn enjoyed the inflatable snow tube at Wilson Junior High School, Uncle Donny's alma mater, while Owen tried out his new snowboard at home that he got as a Christmas gift from his godfather Aaron Haas. Owen says "Thanks Aaron, this is awesome!" We are making him wear a helmet to keep medical costs to a minimum as Owen also got Heely's for Christmas from us. Gavin apologizes for not looking at the camera for the picture. We take what we get sometimes.

New Bathroom Coming Along

Our six-month long renovating project is nearing its end with only the sinks and some trimwork remaining on our new bathroom. The plumbers installed the toilet in mid-December and we put the shower together shorthly thereafter. After several weeks of use, everything seems to be working just fine. We'll say this for sure, it's way better than the previous bathroom.