Our Sunday as Captured with my iPhone

We'd intended to go to Sunday school and church this morning. But, alas, we forgot about the whole daylight savings time thing and didn't have enough time to get ready and out the door in time.

We decided to head north and go to Family Day at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA).

We started the trip on a high -- OK, low -- note.

Daniel seemed tired, but Abby was silly.

We thought Daniel was going to snooze on the drive, but he rallied and started searching for airplanes with his "rinoculars."

We arrived at MIA hungry, so sat down to a tasty lunch and some general silliness.

After lunch, Abby read hieroglyphs to us.

And we watched flamenco dancers (today's Family Day theme was Espana)! 

Keeping with the Spain theme, we posed in a Dali-inspired photo booth. (That's a lobster phone Abby is holding.)

Daniel and Abby decided to make golden snakes instead of a Spanish golden lion.

And Abby and I created Picasso-inspired portraits.

We had a snack and more silliness.

And then it was time to drive home and Daniel was OUT!

When we got home, Abby and Daniel decided to continue creating art and colored in Abby's new Aztec coloring book.  Abby attempted to teach Daniel how to "color in the lines."

It was a fine day!

Feet

We finally talked Abby into buying her first pair of shoes with laces. And that meant we needed to teach her to tie her shoes. So, on Sunday we bought the shoes and on Sunday Abby learned to tie her shoes. She is still pretty excited about it! And announces with glee another successful shoe tying each time she puts her shoes on.

Daniel inherited these wool socks from Abby. They were a baby gift from our friends Asma and Dagfinn. They purchased them in Iceland on their way to Norway. Daniel LOVES these socks. He calls them his "snuggle socks" and would wear them 24-7-365 if we would allow him to do so. Today I washed them and put them in his room, thinking he could wear them to bed. Daniel came home from school, went to play in his room, saw the socks and promptly put them on. He's in bed with them on now and I can promise he will wear them to school tomorrow and sleep in them again tomorrow night. I'll draw the line on his wearing them to school again on Thursday, but he will ask to do so.

Not All Child Labor is a Bad Thing

Ancient Egyptian Hot Dogs

Abby chose to mummify hot dogs for her science fair project this year. She tested both meat and veggie hot dogs and baking soda and salt as the mummification agents. Her hypothesis:

My hypothesis is that a meat hotdog in salt will work the best because the ancient Egyptians mummified meats -- like humans, bulls, cats, and dogs -- by using salts. Baking soda might also work because it was an ingredient in what the ancient Egyptians used.

Over the course of three weeks, Abby measured the weight, length, and circumference of the hot dogs. She also noted her observations on the hot dogs' smells and conditions. (Let's just say that some of the smells weren't so great!)

And because we had to purchase hot dogs for the experiment, she even ate a hot dog for dinner one night.

Abby worked really hard on her science fair project. And was very careful in measuring and keeping notes.

As I was helping Abby type up her presentation, she impressed me with her knowledge of mummifiation:

The ancient Egyptians wanted to preserve the body so that the Ka (the dead person’s soul) could find their body in the afterlife. At first they just buried the bodies in the hot desert sand. This worked because the sand and heat would dehydrate the body and preserve it.

Then the ancient Egyptians put the bodies in coffins to protect them from wild animals. But they found that the bodies rotted if they were not exposed to the hot desert sands.

So, after many years, the ancient Egyptians found out how to mummify (or preserve) the bodies. They used salts and natron (a mixture of salt and what we know today as baking soda) to preserve the bodies. This process is called mummification. (I decided to use salt and baking soda because those are two main ingredients in natron.)

And Abby TOTALLY made me laugh when she added the following...

So, hopefully my experiment will help the hotdog’s Ka (the dead hotdog’s soul) find its body in the afterlife of the garbage can!

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Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt even made the trip north on Friday to come to Abby's school to see her science fair project.

At the end of the science fair, Abby suggested that her science fair project next year might involve me (the mom) and coffee and the effects of caffeine on mood. Let's just say that I'm fully prepared to help my child develop her scientific mind -- as long as cream and sugar are also part of her hypothesis!

Haircut

We tend to let Daniel's hair get way too long. Given how traumatic some past haircuts have been, you really can't blame us.

But, when your son starts asking to wear "hairbands" (rubber bands) in his hair, you have to act. So, Will took Daniel to get a haircut today and Abby and I escaped to a nearby store and tested patio furniture -- we really like the porch swing thingies.

The photo on the left is the before photo with Daniel's CRAZY hair. Will texted the two photos on the right to me as I sat swinging in the outdoor department with Abby. Daniel is holding a lollipop in the photo on the top right. We told him that if he was a big boy and did not cry (SCREAM, KICK, LOSE IT, etc...) he could have the lollipop after his hair was cut.

I've got a bit of PTSD when it comes to Daniel's haircuts (I'm being serious), so when all was said and done, I totally forgot to take an after photo. But I can proudly say that Daniel looks great with a very nice big boy haircut. According to Will, Daniel was nervous during the haircut, but enjoyed watching TV and laughed while watching Scooby Doo.

Way to go Daniel!

Silly Things Groomers Do to Dogs

We couldn't handle all of the shedding any longer (and our winter has been ridiculously mild), so we decided to have Daphne shaved recently. When Abby and I picked her up, we couldn't stop laughing. If you've met Daphne, you know how absolutely silly it was to put bows in her hair. She's not exactly a dainty dog! 

Things that Daniel Makes

Daniel makes such great things in school. I put a lot of the flat papers in a binder and we periodically sit down together and look at his art work. He is very PROUD and BEAMS as we look at all of the things he has made. We also have a lot of Daniel (and Abby) art on our walls.

But the three dimensional objects are another story. There simply is no good way to display and/or keep them. It pains me to throw them away, so I keep them and they start piling up around the house.

I realized that it had reached a point where I needed to impose a Daniel-artwork-hoarding-intervention on myself. So, I snapped some photos for posterity and tossed Daniel's creations in the waste basket. (PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!)

But at least I can put these photos in Daniel's binder as a reminder of his work.

Daniel brought this adorable bracelet home around Halloween.

I think this owl came home in November.

And this airplane just came home last week.

New Year's Day on the Beach

So, I managed to skip a month or two of updating lots-o-stotts at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. Even though I like keeping things in chronological order, I've decided to toss in a post or two out of order. Given that I have so many fun photos, it would be a shame to keep them all to myself!

Here is Abby on Carmel Beach on New Year's Day 2012. It was a cold day (not Minnesota cold, but Carmel, California cold), so I didn't let Abby wear her swimsuit to the beach. As you can see, that didn't stop her from getting completely drenched! The girl loves the ocean!

Aerospace Engineering

Daniel loves building airplanes at school with bristle blocks. We gave him a set of his own bristle blocks for Valentine's Day.

On Sunday, we discovered that Will and Grandpa Engelhardt also love to build airplanes!

Daniel's plane was a hit.

When Daniel saw Grandpa's very cool plane (we thought it looked like a crop duster or a stunt plane) his eyes got so big. He stared at it intently. You could tell he was attempting to memorize it to build his own version at a later date.

Will went with a stealth bomber style plane.

And like all fine aerospace engineers, Daniel and Will simply had to see their planes fly!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from Daniel...

...and Abby.

Treats for Santa and the Reindeer

Noni helped Abby and Daniel put treats out for Santa and the reindeer.

Abby placed the treats in a place that Max (Noni and G-Dad's dog) could not reach.

And luckily for Abby and Daniel, there were two cookies left for them to enjoy too!

Decorating the Tree

Noni left decorations for Daniel and Abby to put on the tree, including Daniel's special letter "D" decoration.

Flying the Friendly Skies

The next time you board an airplane, you might want to peek in the cockpit and see who is flying.

On our way to California, both pilots stepped out of the cockpit and let Abby and Daniel have a seat! (Don't panic, we hadn't pushed back from the terminal yet.)

Swim Meet

Abby is competing in an all-day swim meet. We had an adventure getting here this morning when I managed to do a beautiful donut (my first unplanned of my winter driving career). Abby was not impressed!

Abby's team swam in the first heat of the first event -- a mixed medley relay -- and won their heat. She was delighted!

 

I told Abby she needed a bigger arm or I needed to buy a smaller sharpie to write her events on her arm. (She thinks it is one of the coolest things to have your mom write on you with permanent marker.)

I love Abby's swim cap! I think she looks rather cute in it.

Forty

Abby and I made Will his birthday cake from scratch! Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. It didn't turn out quite like we thought it would, but it was TASTY!

Happy Birthday, Will!!

Today Will turned forty. Happy Birthday, Will!

To celebrate, I mailed postcards numbered 1-40 to family and friends and asked them to write Will a message and drop the postcard in the mail.

The cards started arriving a few days ago. It took Will a few cards to catch on, but now he is really enjoying getting the mail in the evenings.

Many thanks to those of you who participated. If you didn't receive a card, it's most likely that I couldn't find your address (or I may simply not know you if you are some random person reading this blog)!

Hide and Seek

Daniel LOVES to play Hide and Seek. Every time he hides, he hides in the exact same spot and in clear view.

He always covers his eyes, though. And we make a big deal about looking for him and he giggles and giggles. It's pretty awesome!

Abby and Daniel's Sunday School Christmas Program

Abby and Daniel's Sunday School Christmas program was this afternoon. Daniel was COMPLETELY uncooperative at yesterday's rehearsal, so we weren't entirely certain how it was going to go for him.

Abby was so pleased to learn yesterday that she would be an angel. (Yes, I must confess, there was a moment when I thought, "If only that were the case!!!)

We bribed Daniel with getting to watch garbage truck videos if he was a big boy and participated in the performance. (People actually like to make videos of garbage trucks and post them on You Tube).

Abby and Daniel seemed a bit nervous at first...

...but then seemed to settle in. Abby did a fine job reading her part about our synod's connections to Columbia.

She LOVED singing the songs.

Daniel (and those crazy Minnesotan Lutheran shepherds behind him) enjoyed singing Go Tell it on the Mountain.

When the performance was over, Abby and her fellow angels finally smiled!

And Daniel and Abby posed for a photo after eating cookies and candy canes.