A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, tried and remembered.
1.Morgan’s field trip to International Town. This place is amazing. The official name of the place is Young Americans Center for Financial Education. It’s located in Denver, Colorado and is a place specifically set up to teach kids about finances–they even have their own bank just for kids. Last year Morgan got to go to AmeriTowne—this is their pretend American town with it’s own courthouse, businesses, etc. The kids are given a job for the day (Morgan was a health care worker), paid a “salary” and then on their breaks they are encouraged to cash their paycheck and spend at the various places of business.
International Town takes everything to a global level. Same type of set up only instead of individual businesses they work in different countries. Each country has the appropriate currency and wares to sell to anyone visiting. They have passports that need to be stamped and each student has a job within their country–president, finance minister, customs agent and salespeople. Morgan got to be a customs agent in the Netherlands. As with AmeriTowne, they are given breaks from their jobs so they can “travel” to the other countries, exchange their currency and purchase products. Leading up to the day of the field trip the teachers are given a curriculum to prepare the students. I don’t know if anything like this exists in other cities, but I am so grateful for Morgan getting to have this experience. He absolutely LOVED it!
2.Sick Days for Grayson. While Morgan was enjoying his field trip, Grayson fell ill with the flu. Thankfully, Super Rockstar was able to stay home with him so I could go on the field trip. He was still not up to par the next day–neither was I, to be honest. We spent the day lazing around, taking lots of naps and by the end of the day he was feeling well enough to read corny jokes to me from a riddle book. I hate to admit this, but I kind of enjoy it when my boys are sick. It’s not often that they let me cuddle with them much anymore–so I’ll take it any way I can get it. Is that wrong?
3. Science Fair Time. This is the moment we parents have been waiting for. This is when we (I mean our kids) really get to shine. We (they) get to use our (their) amazing imaginations and come up with the perfect science experiment executed with professional precision. We(they) get to show off outstanding creativity and wow the teachers and fellow students with our (their) genius in the field of science. And then use our (their) incredible gifts of creatively displaying and presenting it on the tri-fold science project foam core boards.
This was the first year Morgan had to present his project to judges–he was pretty nervous, but did a great job. He built a skyskraper out of Legos and then tested two different bases–a flat base and a curved base to see which one would withstand shaking for several seconds. If you’re in need of some ideas for science experiments either for a school science fair or just for fun at home–there are some great websites: www.cool-science-projects.com, www.education.com/topic/help-child-with-sciencefair-projects/, www.miniscience.com/projects/?count=8
4. A new dessert place we tried. Super Rockstar and I try to meet for lunch once a week. We have our favorites that we shuffle around, but occasionally we like to try something new. This week we decided to try a new coffee and dessert place called Decadent. If you are local, I can’t recommend this place highly enough. The owner is a very kind and the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable. But, seriously, I would come back to this place if it were a hollowed out dumpster. The desserts are AMAZING! We shared a slice of turtle cheesecake. I would have taken pictures, but it was only on our plate for about 2.5 seconds. Just delicious. And the coffee? I’m here to tell you, if you like it strong and rich (which I do)–this is your place. I can’t wait to go back!
5. Gig night at The Chicken Coop. I have a couple of favorite places that Super Rockstar’s band, SofaKillers, plays gigs and The Chicken Coop is at the top of that list. Our good friends Sherri and Art opened this place a couple of years ago out in Black Forest (my most favorite area of Colorado Springs). They took a run down old place and have transformed it into an awesome sports bar type hang out. They always have something fun going on–poker nights, karaoke and, of course, live music. If you are local–I highly recommend you stop by and say hi to Sherri, Art and their crew at The Chicken Coop. And even if you aren’t local–go out and support local music. SofaKillers was founded on the whole goal of encouraging folks to get off their sofas and out to listen to local live music.
One of my FAVORITE songs they do: