Science Night

Our Elementary is holding a hand-on Science night for their students and families. The program starts at 5:30 PM and runs through 7:30 PM, with pizza, cookies, and water served.

Having an inquiring mind, my son asks me to take him, and of course, I am more than happy to oblige. As soon as we get in to the door, he is off to explore, leaving me to sign in, and wait in line for the pizza.

Digging for Bones

The first station we go to is the dinosaur table, and here is where the children are digging for bones. Though the box is small, and everything is uncovered, the children are still very much interested in digging.

Divide and Conquer

This is the off-limit site which contains the same type of black sand, and bones. It is reserved for observation only, and presents a more delicate handling.

The Artifacts

Here is table with many different parts of the dinosaur, including its dropping, which many children refuse to touch!

The Bug Table

You can look through microscope at many different insects, and small part of animals. The hissing cockroaches are definitely not my favorite.

Rock Classifications

At this table, you will learn to classify different rock, and their amazing colors. The children can touch and feel each rock that was on display!

As you can see, many adults enjoy this hand-on experience also. The rock table draws the most parents of all.

Chemical Reaction

Children get to experience how colors react to a drop of chemical as they watch. I didn't get a chance to find out what they use as chemical, but the expression on that little boy's face tells it's very interesting.

Who Can Build the Tallest

In this area, students use paper cups to try and stack as high as they can. Some kids can actually get very creative, and go for complicated design!

Science night has a great turn out! The gym was packed with many families, all fed, and had a good time...

How to Get a Twitter Button for Your Blog

The new buzz online is Twitter! I have read many articles on Twitter, but as always, I put it off to the back of my head. Still, I don't understand Twitter enough to do anything with it.

Many articles indicate that you can get traffic by using Twitter, and many blogs have the avatar "Follow Me on Twitter". There, I go to the Twitter site, look for the code and the avatar, but find none.

Photo Credit

Finally, after looking for two weeks, I come across this website: TwitterButtons.com. It is fairly easy to set up. All you need to do is to type in your Twitter user name, pick out the design that you like, copy the code, and paste it to your blog.

Here is an article about this fast growing social bookmarking site: How to Make Your Site Go Viral on Twitter.

Bunny Fever

Joey caught the bunny fever last weekend! He wanted to have a bunny for Easter, or any kind of furry animal. So we talked, and I agreed to let him have a bunny!

I'm temporary insane, I know! I've just accepted more work for myself, but how many mothers can say no to their child when it comes with plead for a fuzzy wuzzy? It's a trap! It's an emotional blackmail! And I fall for it every time...

The Boy and His Bunny

After my son spent the weekend with his dad, he came home with this bunny! He is about one month old, and has gray with a little mix of red fur. He seems very gentle, and calm so far.

Meet Albert

Yes, Joey named his bunny Albert, and Albert is checking out his environment! The bunny has been raised with little children, so he lay still when he is held!

If Albert's ears lie flat, I would have mistaken him for a squirrel. He looks quite round in this picture, and his fur shows the reddish color.

Hoping Away

Albert has a very short attention span, so he is hoping to another corner. I am sure this will be an interesting adventure for us.

On a Leash

We put him on a bunny leash to take him outside, but he doesn't like it very much. As soon as he gets outside, he shakes it loose.

I am not sure what we are getting ourselves into, but having a living creature around is kind of fun.

Night Caller

At about thirty minutes passed midnight, my cell phone rang, and my soul jumped out of my body when I saw the caller was my son.

He said something about an accident, which ejected my body straight out of bed! Though still groggy, I managed to understand that his car was in a ditch! He was not hurt, and explained to me how it happened!

He asked me what to do: calling the toll truck or calling the insurance? I could feel my brain summing up its intelligent, and realized that these two options would not work. Toll truck would cost him an arm and a leg! Insurance is no-fault or whatever it is! They wouldn't do anything about it.

While on the phone with me, I heard people talking to him in the background. They must have stopped to try to help him. So he said he would call me back. I figured he could handle this on his own, so I lay back down in bed.

At 1:30, the phone rang again! My son said that they couldn't push the car out of the ditch, and there wouldn't be a toll truck until morning. I told him to call AAA since I have road service with them, and gave him the numbers.

That didn't work out either because I was not near the car! I had to pay a membership for him. So, I got out of bed, went downstairs, and called AAA to add my son to my emergency road service. I had to dig out my account numbers, my son's phone number and signed up.

After everything was done, it was 2:30 in the morning, and I was amazed at how calm I've remained! Receiving a night phone call is always one of my worst fears, but I got through my first one without too much heartache.

An Afternoon at Belle Isle

Yesterday after church, I took my son to Belle Isle for the afternoon. It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day in March. Our purpose was to visit the Conservatory, and to take picture.

Just like a man he is, he told me where to park, and where to go! (Grrrrrr...) Of course, he wanted to be near the water, and looked for shells.

Dancing With the Birds

Here is the Detroit River, and those buildings in the background is on the Canada's side. My little boy is having fun with the bird.

Walking Away

The bridge behind JoJo connects Detroit to Belle Isle, where the annual racing cars took place. This is the island that we love to go to for local adventure.

A Closer Look at the Bridge

Here is another closer look at the bridge. With my little point and shoot camera, this picture turns out better than I thought.

Bridge to Canada

You can see the Ambassador Bridge in the distance. This bridge provides the commute for Canadians and US residents.

Canada Side

These buildings are on the other side of the Detroit River, Canada side! Amazing how two countries are separated by this river.

All in a Row

As we walked back to our car from the river bank, this scenery caught my eyes. The beautiful sky above, and the trees are just wonderful for a shot.

I spent Sunday away from my computer, and it was good to take a break from the online world.

The Ducks and the Birds in Winter

What do you get when you give your child a digital camera? You nurture his/her creativeness, and safe so much money from having them printed!

After loading up my son's camera, here are some pictures that I found. My boy sure has a fascination for nature.

Ducks in the Icy Cold Water

He took this picture on the side of the road as we watched a flock of ducks swam in the icy water at Bell Ilse. The weather was gloomy and dreary!

Taking Off

After swimming in the icy cold water for a while, the ducks decided to take off! They made quite noisy departure.

Up, Up and Away

The sky was as gray as could be, but I think it was still a nice picture of the flying ducks. He braved the cold, went out of the car, and captured the shot.

Time for the Bird

Have you seen a fatter bird? This tree was in the corner outside of our room, and it always had a congregation of birds sitting on the ledge of our window.

Chilling

This bird sat on the cable line that led to our home. I just couldn't believe how fluffy he was. His feathers was camouflage with the bark of the trees.

Birds on the Branch

On such a clear and blue sky, the bird was quite happy. He just sat there for a very long time.

A Closer Look

Well, a little closer look wouldn't hurt! My son zoomed in and took this picture of the bird sleeping. He buried his face in his chest.

Friends

Here is a pair of friends! This corner of our house was always busy with bird chirping, wings flapping, and bickering among these birds.

Digging in the Snow

If you look on the roof, that bird was actually taken a snow bath. He dug into the snow, fluffed his feathers, and shook the snow off. It was fun watching them!

I can't wait for the weather to turn warmer, so my son can take more pictures.

Photos Story of a Squirrel

On one of those coldest days when school was closed, my son found himself something to do, and that was chasing this squirrel with his camera.

He took a series of pictures, through the glass of our windows! To my surprise, he has documented a story of this squirrel, who seemed to be a great teaser! All photos belong to Joey JoJo MoJo!


This black squirrel began to climb on the branches of this tree, outside our window. He was minding his own business, and seemed to concentrate on what he was doing.


With a "click" of the camera, the squirrel noticed that he was being watched. He turned and looked straight at Joey.


After steady himself, the squirrel stood confidently and questioning Joey's intention! It seemed as if he wanted to know what would happen next.


Joey zoomed in with his 35mm point and shoot camera, and captured the puzzle look on this squirrel face! I thought that this picture was just great!


Then the squirrel decided to jump on the roof of our house, and in this light, his fur was not as black as before. It was more of a gray color!


The squirrel was holding on for his dear life as he tried to grab on to the roof. It would not be a good thing if he fell since it was a long way up.


As he climbed higher on to the roof, he turned around and looked down. He must had been very proud of his achievement as he had reached safety.


Then he sat back, and stared at Joey. Look at his face! What a great teaser he was!