Dominique's Trebuchet Project

This year Dominique is taking Pre-AP Physics. We have heard about this project for juniors ever since Dominique started high school. It is like a right of passage for all juniors at her school. It was her turn for the trebuchet project. She actually enjoyed this one. Her two partners were boys and really good friends in band. She doesn't normally trust anyone to do a school project with her. She would rather just depend on herself to get a good grade than worry about others failing to do their part. Her 2 friends are reliable people that feel the same way she does, so it was a good partnership. They all decided to do the floating arm trebuchet.  Tom was really good about letting them design the whole thing, go to the store and pick out their own materials,  and even cut up the wood. It was really funny discovering that neither of the boys had any experience with power tools. Dominique was the most experienced with tools. Tom had to slowly and patiently introduce them to the tools so they could do their own work. Most everyone in the class made a tiny trebuchet. I am talking the size of a tissue box. Not my daughter. She has always been an over achiever when it comes to projects. It was almost as tall as she is. The 3 of them also use to watch a show call Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. There is a reference from that show on their trebuchet, flaming bunnies. It is a long story, but I was actually impressed that all 3 of them knew what that was. All 3 of them decided the call it the flaming bunny and painted actual flaming bunnies on it. There are pictures below. You can click on the pictures to see them larger. I will see if I can upload any video we took of them shooting a tennis ball.

High School Marching Band

This year Dominique started her Junior year of high school.  Marching band has been a big part of our lives ever since her Freshman year. I have become the chaperone coordinator for the band . This was my second year in that position. I help coordinate and organize parents for every football game and contest that the band participates in. It is lots of work for a volunteer position, but you get to get to know all the kids in the program. You also get to spend all of that extra time with your child. Tom has been helping out in pit crew which is lots of physical labor. Anthony and my dad have been known to help out pit crew on occasion as well. They help load and unload the band truck. Tom also helps push and roll pit equipment on and off the field for the band performance. We have really enjoyed spending time with all the high school kids. Dominique doesn't seem to mind having us around all the time. She wasn't too keen on the idea when she first started high school, but she has grown to not mind as much anymore. Dominique was squad leader last year and section leader this year for her flute section and is considering trying out for drum major her Senior year. She also had a flute solo during the marching band performance this year. The marching band made it to Area competition in Plano, Texas this year. We look forward to both the kids being in marching band together next year.  Here are some photos from marching band this fall. (Click on them to see the larger image.)

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

The College Tours Begin

One last thing Dominique and I did over last summer break before marching band consumed all of our lives was tour SMU (Southern Methodist University) in Dallas. She is a junior in high school this year and we figured it was time to start looking around at universities of interest. SMU has a great music school. Dominique decided long ago that she wants to major in music at the college level. She has been passionate about music from a very young age. She started piano at 6, flute at 11, taken some lessons in trombone, and has taught herself guitar, ukulele, and accordion. She even borrowed an old clarinet from a friend to play on as well. 

We arrived at SMU and went on a tour with a group. It was a fairly long tour and we even had the opportunity to have lunch on campus during the break. After the break we toured the music school and got to speak with an actual student.  Dominique fell in love with the school. What is there not to love at a private university? I had to inform her that not all schools are alike and that she needed to tour others as well. We both enjoyed the tour.

 

 

Engineering

Over last summer break Anthony decided to enroll in engineering camp through our school district. Mansfield has many neat summer programs to offer elementary through middle school aged kids. It lets them get a sneak peek at classes they could take in high school. Anthony got to shoot off a rocket he made, design things in the computer lab, and print what he designed on a 3D printer. We even got to go back to look at the 3D printer on the last day. That thing is wild! He enjoyed the class and ended up taking a class in middle school for high school credit called Gateway to Technology. He seems to be enjoying engineering.

Starting off with Summer Vacation

We decided to drive the kids to Las Vegas, NV over this past summer break. Dominique only has 2 more years of high school before she graduates and we have been wanting to show the kids that there is more than just Texas out there. We have taken a road trip all the way up the east coast to New York so we figured it was time to venture the other direction.

We ended up driving through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. Tom and I have made the drive 2 or 3 times before on our own and loved it. There are places to stop on the way. We stopped at the meteor crater in Arizona. That was something different the kids had never seen before. I was surprised that Dominique actually stepped close to the ledge to get closer look in the viewers they had. She is extremely scared of heights and that was really high! 

Our next stop was in Flagstaff, Arizona. This is our favorite spot to stop for the night. We were able to drive around town and show the kids why we love it. There are national forests nearby, the air smells so CLEAN and unpolluted, everyone walks and bikes everywhere, the mountains are beautiful, and the weather is cooler. Both of the kids fell in love with that city as well. We actually contemplated about moving to that city when we were looking to buy our current house, but there were no computer jobs in the market there for Tom. After a good night's rest we got up that morning and drove around a local college campus and a national forest. The national forest was amazing! 

Just before making it to Las Vegas our next stop was the Hoover Damn. That sucker is huge.  We joke around with the kids because we all went in the restrooms that were right on top of the damn. We like to tell everyone we peed on top of the Hoover Damn. We didn't have time for a tour on the inside so we just walked around the outside and took pictures. It is still impressive. 

After making it to Vegas we pulled into our hotel at the MGM Grand. Both Tom and I tried explaining to the children how big everything is there. Things are big in Texas, but not like in Vegas. There was one moment that I will never forget when we were waiting in line to check in . Anthony looked over at all the machines that were blinking and making noises. He said with an excited look on his face, " look at that arcade!" I just laughed and had to tell him that wasn't an arcade. It was the casino. I will always remember that moment. We made it just in time for dinner that evening. We went to Fat Daddys for dinner and walked around the strip in the evening for a bit. All the sights, lights and sounds ended up being information overload. It was a bit much to take in all at once. We spent two nights in Vegas before ending the trip and heading back home. The kids didn't get to see the whole strip, but I think they got to see enough. As Anthony puts it now, "Vegas is NOT a place for kids".  If you have been on the Vegas strip at night, you know why. We still all had fun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting Over

I had trouble keeping up with the blog over the past few years. The economy went down hill and I had to go back to work, so the blog suffered. We ended up being busy enough to the point I didn't even send out Christmas cards last year. I apologize. I decided to start the blog up again since I am at home now. We are still extremely busy, but I have more time to keep up with the blog this year. I will slowly be adding posts over the next week so keep checking back. I will do my best to find a starting point. Off we go...

Holiday Photo Session - Nov. 2012

This year we decided to have a family friend take pictures for our cards we send out. Last year we were so busy that we didn't even send out cards. I figured it would be easier than Tom setting up the camera on a stand and setting the timer after I get everyone in position. Tom would then have to run back to fit in the picture.  All the running around and posing makes my family crabby and nutty. We all hate taking pictures. This year was a breath of fresh air. The kids were still not thrilled, but not as crabby.  I wanted to dress everyone in coordinating colors. I had a plan. We went out to the store. I got hit with arguments and didn't feel like putting up a fight, so I just decided not to worry about it. I still think the pictures came out pretty good. Thank you Charlton Gladden for taking our photos! I am posting some of my favorites. You can click on them to see the larger image.