Keeping Busy

The kids are home and they had a fantastic time! Samantha is now dearly in love with Lego Robotics and I suspect we will have our own set of Lego Robotics very soon. Dave thinks they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and it's good for a girl and her dad to have something intelligent to bond over. The one she made at camp looked something like this:
They got to build them and then program it. By the end of the two weeks they were programming their robots to complete a challenge course. She said they had to make it run through a maze, turn on a windmill, push another robot out of the way and some other things I can't remember. The home model is a little different, but will still do all of these things. When I was looking at the web site for Lego Robotics I found out that they have a competition coming up. You have to program and build your robot so that it could compete in one of the summer Olympics. Samantha's mind was already working furiously on what each sport required and how she could make it work. She's going to be something amazing some day, but I have no idea what!

Jay enjoyed camp as well. He took a class on Ancient Egypt, Japan, Build Your Own Dream Home, and SKIES (stands for something about science and engineering). The SKIES program he took focused on the mysteries of the universe. They did astronomy and geology and some other stuff. He loved it dearly. He is still showing me things they learned and did. He said it was as cool as Mr. Currey's class! Don't you feel special Hunter?

Dobby was very glad to have his kids back. He hasn't left their side since they came home. I think he believes if he stays close, they won't disappear on him again.


Yesterday we had Camp Pupp over. It was very cool. The kids swam until 9:30. They were very impressed with themselves. I was too actually. Pupp's boys and my kids get along really well, which means Pupp and I can cause more mischief. While the kids were swimming we worked on LTC's. Pupp finished her very first one and it came out adorably. I know she'll want to do more. I completed my Gashleycrumb Tinies cards and they turned out really well too. I am very happy with them.

While we were working I was pondering the changes you go through as an artist and as a person. The last card I did was for the Lemony Snicket ring that Team Springamajack is hosting. I did a card called "The Wanted Poster". The image is exactly the same image that "Lemony Snicket" the letterboxer carved and planted in the PNW several years ago. I found that box when I was a new boxer, having only boxed for about 6 months. I was in complete AWE over that box. It remains to this very day one of my very favorite boxes ever. The stamp was so amazing and the logbook knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe that there were carvers out there that could do that AND create a log book like that. It was stupendous, it was awesome, it was simply stunning. The atmosphere and the clues all added to the box. Now, I had recreated that stamp without knowing it. I found an image online and carved it, not realizing it was the same image that the person had used so many years ago. I carved it about half the size of the one I found, but you know what... mine turned out pretty darn well. In fact, when I showed someone else, they thought mine was actually the better of the two. That really made me stop and think. Five years ago I firmly believed I didn't have an artistic bone in my body, now.. well just maybe there might be a small one :) I do have 1 extra card, if you'd like it and you're not in the swap, speak up.. for when its gone, its gone forever :)


Happy trails everyone!
Maiden