• Congratulations Brina! Regional Science Fair Champion – Cupcakes on the Rise Project

    Brina bringing back her trophy!

    Brina has worked really hard over the past few months on her Science Fair project, Cupcakes on the rise!  She has made approximately 410 cupcakes since starting her experiments.  Our fridge has been full of chocolate cupcakes and she as well as Karlie have taken a lot of cupcakes to school everyone week to share with their friends and classmates.  Proud of Brina for all her hard work.

    Regional Science Fair Champion – Brina!!!

    For her science experiment Brina picked a cooking experiment.  She wanted to find out the difference in the heights of cupcakes when you use eggs versus egg substitutes (like applesauce and egg replacer).  Many people have allergies and it is important when making food for people with these allergies to know how the recipes will turn out.  The eggs act as binding agents in cupcakes, but will non-egg cupcakes turn out similar and tasty.  Are there any noticeable differences specifically in height (but also observations regarding taste, texture, how perishable the cupcakes are, and more information).

    Congratulating my sweet girl on her win!  She was still in shock, but excited and pleased!

     Brina started working on her Science project months ago.  She started with making cupcakes one batch at a time.  Brina did everything in making the cupcakes (a couple of times Mom or Dad chipped in and helped with clean up, but otherwise she did it on her own).  Next she took the information from her experiments and created her journal, graphs, took pictures, and more.  Once she had all her experiments completed and the journal was complete she started working on her display board.  She added all the required and key information on her board and then spent the next few days adding more cute decorations to make it fun and appealing.  There were a lot of stickers used in the process! 🙂  The display board turned out well too.

    Jake and Brina at the Regional Science Fair Ceremony!  Way to go kiddo!

    She discovered that although the applesauce and egg replacers do act sufficiently as binding agents in cupcakes they do not rise as high as the cupcakes containing eggs.  The taste and textures of the non-egg cupcakes were not only acceptable, but preferred by some family and friends.  The day before her school’s Science Fair presentations she made another batch of cookies to share with her and Karlie’s classmates.  She won the opportunity to go to regional the following week! The day before the regional Science Fair competition she made another batch of cupcakes with the 3 different binding agents to take for the judges to enjoy.  Jake took her during the school day to set up her project and we came back for the ceremony that evening.  We were pleasantly surprised when they announced her as the 1st place winner for the Regional Science Fair 2016.  She won a trophy, certificate, medal, and a cash prize for her Science Fair Project.

    Standing with my sweet Brina by her display board, cupcake goodies, and all her awards!  Good job Brina Bee!!!

    Thankful for an opportunity to see Brina work for months through the Science Fair process and her hard work get rewarded.  She is a great cook and always a big help in the kitchen.  The project was fun, tasty, and a great learning experience for everyone in our family.

  • Counting My Blessings: Week In Review

    It was a week packed full of a lot of emotions.  With the girls wrapping up at a school they have been attending the past 7 years it has been quite a stepping stone for us.  We are grateful to all the teachers and administration at Crosswell Elementary for the amount of time, energy, and attention they have invested in our girls education.  They have made a positive and lasting impression on our kids.  Wish we could take some of the amazing teachers with us to Middle school.  We are excited to see what Middle School will bring and know that the kids will probably adjust quicker and better than at least their Mom because with them moving up a school their growing up seems more real.  Love my girls and very proud of what they have accomplished over the past year!     There was so much to be thankful for last week.

    I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week.  Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:

    Monday –Thankful to have the laundry room renovation started and that we were still able to get the laundry done so none of us have to run around wearing dirty clothes!

    Tuesday – Thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with the girls after school that didn’t include doing a bunch of homework.  We even had a few extra minutes to do a rapid quick clean up around the house and read some more of our books together.  LOVE catching both of the girls reading independently on their own during free time (for those who know our family you know that for one of our kids this is a really big deal)!

    Wednesday – Thankful for time after work to spend with other Mom’s at school prepping for the kids 5th grade Graduation Celebration Party.   We were able to get a lot accomplished and organized during our time together.

    Thursday – Thankful for Brina’s hard work on her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair Project because we were able to see her accept a 1st Place Trophy, Medals, Certificate, and Cash Prize (we had no idea there was a cash prize as well) for the Regional Science Fair!  Very proud of our Brina Bee!

    Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to watch the girls Graduation and Awards Ceremony!  They did fantastic and both kids received numerous awards, medals, pins, certificates, trophies and other cool awards for all that they had accomplished throughout this year.  Also, Karlie received a trophy for getting all A’s her entire Elementary School years.  Super proud of these kids and the effort they put into their learning.  Praying they continue to have the love of learning as they get older!

    What are you thankful for today?  I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today.  It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!

  • CONGRATULATIONS Brina & Karlie! 5th Grade Graduation Ceremony!

    Proud of our girls!

    We are so proud of our girls!  They did it!  Both girls successfully completed all of their elementary school classes.  It is hard to believe that they are now heading into middle school.  They went to Crosswell for 7 years!  Thankful for all the great teachers and administration that invested all their time and energy into our girls.  They have grown and learned a lot of about life, friends, and increased their knowledge.

    Congratulations Brina & Karlie!

    Today was a big celebration for all they have accomplished in their schooling.  It came with a lot of emotions for me as their Mom.  I was thrilled and happy while at the same time sad knowing that my babies are growing up very quickly.  I want to hold onto and treasure these precious moments because these past few years have gone by way too fast.

      Brina getting her diploma from Mr. Holliday!

    We look forward to seeing them continue to grow.  They are sweet girls who have grown up so much.  It will be neat to see them transition into Middle School.  Love our girls!

      Karlie getting her diploma from Mr. Holliday!

    My girls are not babies anymore!

  • STEM Robotics Competition

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    The “Crosswell Flares” logo and design the kids came up with for this year.

    The girls STEM Robotics Team – The Crosswell Flares – did a great job this weekend! It was their first year in the competition and a long day (left the house at 7 am and wasn’t back home until around 7 pm that night), but all their hard work paid off they got 2 Trophies!!! The girls had a blast, learned a lot, and met a lot of people from various schools in the area!

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    The tagline they came up with was “Keep your flame in the game” which was on the back of their shirts along with the list of team members.

    STEM Robotics Competition - Crosswell Flames

    With so many people around the robot table during the competition this was the best picture we could get that day.  This is their robot going through the course.   They were able to accomplish all their missions that they had programmed and practiced.

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    The team getting ready to start the competition!

    STEM Competition Brina

    Brina very excited about her “swag bag”! As part of the competition each team made swag bags for their team members then they would have the opportunities to trade items with other teams. It stimulated a lot of interaction among the various teams. They were actually judged on this piece of the competition as well.

    STEM Competition - Karlie

    Karlie showing off her swag bag! Their team actually won a trophy for this part of the competition which included their sportsmanship and values.

    STEM Competition - Team Crosswell Flames

    They won 2 trophies! It was a long day and a lot of work, but they did fantastic! The kids were troopers! This was the teams first year competing against 17 teams (most of which have been competing for several years). Proud of all the kids and coaches for all the hard work. Good Job!!!