Hope of America!

This year we were lucky to have both Nevada and Brighton involved in Hope of America. Nevada was part of the human flag that filled the south side of the Marriott Center. The fifth graders all wore either a red, white, blue or yellow shirt and sat so that they made a flag with a yellow border around it. Nevada wore a yellow shirt and was part of the border. The flag group was the chorus and sang songs throughout the program while other groups performed dances on the floor.

The fourth grade from Alpine Elementary did a dance to a song called "The United States of America" and Brighton was a Southern belle. She represented the state of Virginia. There were also Hawaiian girls, cowboys and baseball players. She wanted to be a Southern belle so she could wear the cool hoop skirts that they had as part of the costume. They all started practicing a few months ago, so they really knew what they were doing and did a fantastic job. My mom and Doug's parents came to see them as well.

We are so proud of them for their hard work and the GREAT job they both did. It was a fun, enjoyable evening and I am so glad that they both had the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful program that teaches about freedom, equal rights, our country and striving to be a good citizen and human being.

Way to go, girls!!

Are you getting your kernels' worth?

Nevada took part in the fifth-grade science fair this year. Wow, fifth grade already! For her project she chose to find out if different brands and flavors of microwave popcorn had different amounts of unpopped kernels left in the bag.

The answer: YES!

She tested three different brands of popcorn, two national brands and one store brand. In each brand, she tested butter flavor and kettle corn. Orville Redenbacher had the least amount of unpopped kernels by a long shot in both flavors. The store brand and Jolly Time each took second and third place, depending on the flavor, but I have to say, when it comes to taste (which didn't have anything to do with the project) Jolly Time came in dead last! My own personal conclusion - the store brand is pretty decent, but if you want the best taste and the most popcorn, you're gonna have to splurge for Orville.

Nevada did a great job and put in a lot of hard work. She got 3 stars for her project -- which is the highest score you could get. We are very proud of her!

Way to go, Nevada - you rock!!!

Nevada and Brighton pictures

I took Cruise to get his 3 month pictures taken a month ago and while there I had them take some of Nevada, Brighton and Cougar as well. Brighton had allergies so her eyes were all red and puffy. Needless to say, hers didn't turn out so great, but I did get some cute ones of the other three.