APS Retirement dinner and recognition

On September 3, 2015 we attended a special

APS retiree recognition dinner.

First, we listened to all the representatives

from each district give a short speech.

Second, all the retirees that have retired

between January 1 to December 31 of 2014

received a special award.

Michael shaking the hands of all

the representitives from each district.

Michael receiving his special award

of crystal Nombe ware.

After that, we were seated to a special banquet.

It was catered by APS catering.

The meal consisted of a lot of hors d'oeuvres. 

There was also a fruit and vegetable tray.

We also enjoyed a dessert table.

We also had live music that played jazz.

It was fun, and I am glad we went.

I am also glad that Michael was honored

for his teaching career.

Thanksgiving 2014

Addison and Payson helped Pa with the garden

this year.  They wanted to grow a pumpkin

and some watermelons.  This is our reward.

Ma had to take this photo through the outside window.

Payson is on the left, Addison in the middle, and then Pa.

They are washing and cutting the pumpkin to make pie.

They boiled the cut up pieces and then smashed them.

They followed the pumpkin pie recipe and baked it.

It looks so yummy. and it was.

Ma took a photo of our stuffed animals, and said that

our family all made it here for Thanksgiving dinner.

 This was our fancy table.  We had 14 people all together.

Shatzi, Dave, Bria, Max and Logan came this year.

Addison and Payson were here,

Michelle, Christian and Desiree (his girl friend)

and Bubba (Jerry) Michelle, and 

Pa, Ma and Orion.

Karel Kipp also came.

Easter 2014

Orion is a thirteen year old boy this year.

He still loves  Easter however.

Orion gets so excited about

Easter baskets,

Easter treats,

finding Easter eggs,

and dying Easter eggs.

Easter has always been a good time.  It brings

back good memories.

This year, we did something "new" with

dying Easter eggs.  It is a really old

idea, but it is something Orion has

never heard of or done before.

We colored the eggs with a crayon.

We put the eggs in this "spill-proof" container

after we colored our designs.

We waited for a few moments.......

and voila!!  The dye covers the egg, but not

where there is crayon.

It was fun doing something new this year.

 

Another thing we did new this year

was to make Easter egg cakes.

We made these from scratch.

It was fun to come up with interesting designs.

Orion loves the cakes.

 

Orion found his Easter basket on Easter morning.

 

This year for Easter, because

Orion is getting older,

the Easter Bunny had a difficult time

deciding what to get for Orion

Most of the Easter things sold at stores are for little children.

The Easter Bunny had a great idea this year though.

It is something Orion loves to do

The Easter Bunny brought a kite.

It is an Eagle kite.  Eagles are one of Bubba's

(Jerry) favorite things.  Bubba and Orion

have been having gun flying kites

this spring.  This it a special kite for them.

Orion opening his Easter Basket from the

Easter Bunny. 

Inside it are Superman headphones,

a bag to put the headphones in to store,

and a box.  It is very cool.

Orion holding his Eagle kite.

 

Science Fair Project

For Orion's Science Fair project, he chose the assignment of what

an egg would do if placed in different liquids.

He took a raw egg and placed it in two cups of

oil

 

 

 

 

and then water,

 

 

 

 

 

and then white vinegar

 

 

After about three minutes, the egg in white vinegar floated.

the egg in water stayed at the bottom,

and so did the egg in oil.

Then he tried this same thing with a boiled egg.

All the boiled eggs stayed at the bottom.

When we looked closer, we saw a strange

thing happening to the egg in white vinegar.

Both the raw egg and the boiled egg were bubbling on the shell.

After five days of watching thaw egg in vinegar, we learned

that the vinegar dissolves the shell.

The membrane of the egg still stays intact,

but the vinegar makes it's way inside the egg

by diffusion.

We could see the yolk.

 

this was a very interesting project.

Orion had fun, and learned something.

What Orion found out from

Science  Sparks

is this:

If Orion left the egg in the vinegar, it would eat the shell,

and leave the egg.

 

The Science

 

“The acid [would react] with the shell and “eat” away at it. The shell is made up of calcium carbonate and this gets dissolved due to the acid. The inside of the egg should still be intact because the vinegar doesn’t break down the egg membrane. The egg also swells up, because some of the liquid seeps inside it via diffusion (high concentration to low).You should be able to see the yellow yolk through the membrane. It really is quite

 

 

Our Trip was a "Trip"

Passing Hole in the Rock

We made a stop at an arch seen by the roadside.

Ma and Orion climbed up.

Ma and Orion in the arch

At a distance

Orion in the arch

 

climbing down

 

 Orion's name written with chalk letting people know we were here.

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe.

We found her shoe.

This rock formation looks like a turtle.