Science Fair Update

First Place!!!

Science Fair

In fifth grade, most of spring is given over to preparing for the science fair. Lucy has been thinking about this for more than a year. Last summer, Lucy asked Jeanne (our awesome biochemist friend) what to do for a project and Jeanne suggested extracting DNA from strawberries. There is a fairly straightforward procedure for this online, but there had to be an actual scientific question involved, so Lucy decided to compare the amount of DNA in strawberries that had been genetically modified to strawberries labeled "non-GMO."  

 

She compared two brands each of GMO and non-GMO strawberries, testing three samples of each.

 



She weighed everything very carefully to make sure there were exactly the same amounts of strawberry mush, DNA extraction liquid, and rubbing alcohol in each sample. I was very impressed with her precision!

 

Strawberry boogers (er, DNA) about to be weighed on the scale.

She found that GMO strawberries have, on average, about twice as much DNA as non-GMO strawberries.

 

The science fair was tonight, and Lucy had to present her posters and explain her experiment to three judges. She was very nervous and we did a lot of practicing. I didn't get to see the judging but Lucy said it went well and she felt great about it. Her friends did some fun projects, too: one tested scents to see which made crickets more aggressive, one held a daily chicken weigh-in to determine the best feed, one measured her own heart rate while swimming, running, and biking. There were colored grow-lights for plants, brain testing of boys vs. girls, and a method to determine whether someone was lying. It was very fun, and I think we have an amazing bunch of future scientists here!

 

Gavin especially liked the refreshments. I don't think he cares whether his strawberries are genetically modified or not.

Sisters Day!

 

Happy Sisters Day everyone! But especially Lucy, the most wonderful sister in our family.

 

Sister with Sisters Day prizes.

Spring Recital

What snacks do you bring to a piano recital? A keyboard made of Hershey bars, of course! (I don't know whether to be taken with my own genius, or embarassed to have become THAT mom.)

 

I was certainly a very proud Mom watching my kids play. Lucy played a Taylor Swift song and a beautiful song from her book. Gavin played Darth Vader's Imperial March and Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter. They both did a great job.



 

 

The recital was held at Norwich this time, and with the students gone there was a whole empty campus to run around after the concert.

 

Bike Riders

I got home from a trip last week and Gavin insisted I go straight to the park so he could show me something awesome.

 

 

New bike from the Bike Swap -- and he learned how to ride it!

 

 

Lucy may never live it down that he learned before she did. Though this was because Austin took Gavin to the park every afternoon while waiting for Lucy to get done with play practice, Girls on the Run, and all her other after-school activities. She's been a bit busy lately. But, being shown up by your younger brother is a great motivator, so now Lucy is on two wheels too.

 

And, they are both confident-enough bikers to ride the dirt road by our house. So now we can all bike into town for ice cream any time!

Baby Chicks

The new chickens have arrived! Two Leghorns (Dandelion and Rasheeda), two Buff Orpingtons (Pizza and Wiki), two Araucanas (Fluffy and Ember), a Wyandotte (Mickey) and a Barred Rock (Marvinette).

 

She does look a bit like a Dandelion.

Gavin and Pizza.

Lucy and Wiki.



I love the fluff-ball stage!

Brazilian Dinner

Our friend Ivy is headed to Joao Pessoa, Brazil, to serve a mission!

 

 

We will miss Ivy so much, but we are so excited for her. To celebrate her mission, we hosted a Brazilian dinner and party for her friends at Norwich and in the ward.

 

The kids made these super decorations while I made feijoada, a yummy traditional stew made with meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, and black beans. (Seriously, five different kinds of meat.) I was a little nervous but it turned out great. Everyone loved it. I am going to make this again, next time I feel like I need a protein blast.

 

Ivy wanted to try making coxhinas, a kind of fried chicken-filled dumpling. These were delicious too. I think I could get used to this kind of food! For dessert, I made cuzcuz branco, basically a tapioca and coconut brownie. We drizzled chocolate over the top. No pictures of that, they disappeared too fast.

 

 

The Montpelier YSAs and Sister Missionaries. Love these guys!