Maker Faire: NC

On Monday I got an Oriental Trading Company catalog of kid craft kits. Karston claimed the catalog initially, but after flipping through it he announced, I don't like these because I design my own crafts! I think he is the Maker Faire type.

After lunch today with friends who have a son six months older than Cale, we all went to Maker Faire: NC: "Makers, Crafters, Inventors, Evil Geniuses, Scientists and Artists will come together for a day of family-friendly fun and inspiration. From home-made cookies to home-made robots, Maker Faire NC promises something for everyone in a showcase of the American creative spirit." What fun! Before the NC Near Space balloon launch, Cale was saying, Want see balloon go up, but as soon as it did, he said, Want see balloon come down. Karston liked the model rockets best, but he also liked the robots, especially the small ones like Hex Bugs, and ShopBot's CNC machine. Brian liked the hockey-playing battle bots, while Cale was mostly too tired for words although he did like the small robots and ShopBot too. So we brought friends to Maker Faire with us, we saw people I had expected to see, we ran into a couple couples I hadn't expected (I haven't seen Julie in ages, so I just wouldn't expect to run into her family), and I notice from various feeds that I didn't even spot everyone I know who was there this afternoon! So I guess Maker Faire: NC was the show to see this afternoon!

Cale's Hookup

We went grocery shopping this morning, and the boys hopped in their respective car seats while we put groceries in the back of the station wagon. I checked, Karston had hooked himself up, and oh look, Cale's hooked up too. I didn't do it, so I asked Daddy if he hooked up Cale. No, so I asked Karston. No, so Cale did it?! We went out to lunch (Karston ate an entire order of chicken nuggets! hurrah!), and Cale clipped himself into his car seat after lunch while we were watching! Then we stopped by a playground, and Cale fastened his car seat again!

So when Cale's ready, it's not a fluke. Highly repeatable!

This could make loading kids in the car go faster, at least once you can chase them to the car!

Ella's Birthday

We went to Ella's 6th birthday party today. (Ella was in Karston's kindergarten class, and they are very good friends. Karston and Cale just love Ella, and she plays so well with them. I've watched her change Cale's mood from sulking to happy just by holding his hand!) For my boys, the highlight of the party was the bounce castle. Karston did play with Ella, especially when he saw crafts, but both boys were much more interested in jumping themselves silly with a few breaks for juice. Cale ate a little birthday cake, and Karston had some chocolate ice cream, but then they had to jump again. Presents? No, they jumped in the bounce castle.