The Mattingley Family

Monday, January 26, 2009

A School Project Even a Mom Can Love

I don't know if it's middle school in general or just the middle school Jordan attends, but this year seems to be constant projects!! This one, however, wasn't a problem for either Jordan or his mom. Why? Because it involved Legos! Jordan was highly motivated and happy to work on it, and the only thing required of me was to help him box it up to transport it to school. Definitely a win-win situation!

The interior is just as cool, and he even made a Lego Wii for the living room!

A Trip to Discovery Place

Earlier this month, we went to see the new circus exhibit at our local kids' museum.

Our first stop was a clown show, then we went upstairs where the fun really began!

They had a place where you could dress up in different circus costumes. (Notice the absence of Courtney and Dad who did not join in our fun.)

There was a very cool exhibit where you got to try walking a tightrope. Here's Alyssa stepping onto the rope. (It was up fairly high - about 10-12 feet off the ground.)

Here's Jordan taking a turn

Courtney wasn't tall enough for the tightrope, so she and her Webkinz Mary enjoyed the non-circus origami exhibit instead.

Then it was time to try some acrobatics. Here's Alyssa being lifted up on the bungee cords.

And here's Jordan...

Jordan was a little more daring... Here he is doing a flip!

Sigh...this time Courtney didn't weigh enough, so she and Mary rode the air chair instead.

It was a fun day (though Courtney might not have enjoyed it quite as much as Jordan and Alyssa did).

Saturday, January 24, 2009

SNOW!!

Typically, we only get snow once or twice a year, so it's definitely something to get excited about when it finally happens. This time, we'd already enjoyed a day off Monday for MLK Jr. Day, and Friday was scheduled as a teacher workday. So throw in a day off Tuesday for snow, and we ended up with a pretty short school week!

Here are the girls ganging up on Dad.

Then it was Jordan and Dad in the backyard...

Jordan tried to seek refuge in the play house but without success. Can you see the snowball about to hit him?

Alyssa making a snow angel (which reveals just how little snow we really got).

Enjoying a Weekend with Family

Grandpa, Nana, Aunt Jodi, Diego, Christian, and Anthony came down to spend the holiday weekend with us (and to escape the crowds descending on the DC area for the inauguration). We had a great time!

When it was time for them to head home, we stood at the door and waved goodbye as they drove away. They hadn't even made it to the top of our street when one of our kids said, "I miss them already!"

Courtney, Christian, Anthony, and Jordan having brownies and ice cream after FHE on Sunday. (Notice Anthony doesn't have a bowl - he was mainly there to entertain the crowd.)

With the exception of Anthony, everyone had a DS, and they spent LOTS of time playing games and chatting with each other. Here they are ready for their cousin sleepover & DS fest in the playroom.

It was unusually cold that weekend, so being outside wasn't our first choice, but by Monday, the kids needed to get a little energy out, so we headed to the park. Here are Christian, Courtney, and Jordan on the slides.

Alyssa and Diego riding around the track.

Here's Jordan doing a little downhill stunt on his scooter. Notice Christian in the background trying to follow...

Here's Courtney stretching to prepare for her attempt to cross the monkey bars (the very same monkey bars from which she fell and broke her arm last year). This was the first time she'd been back to the bars, and I was proud of her for trying. I think we were both nervous!

And here's one of Anthony... Love that hat!!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sigh...School Projects!

For his Social Studies class, Jordan had to do a Greek amphora project. (Yes, I admit, I didn't have a clue what that was, but I soon learned it was simply a vase.) In an ideal parental world, such a project would only involve a research paper. In the real world, however, the research paper was to be accompanied by a handmade, papier-mache vase... all due right after the Christmas break, of course!

Here he is cutting out the top to pop the balloon after the first round of papier-mache.

After adding the neck and handles, it was time for more papier-mache.

Jordan with his finished amphora!

New Year's Eve

This year was the first time all three kids stayed up to see the new year arrive. We bought everyone's favorite junk food then spent the evening eating, playing games, and bouncing back and forth between New Year's Eve coverage on ABC and Disney Channel. After we watched the ball drop at midnight, we took this picture to prove they all stayed awake until 2009!