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Lego Christmas Party

All of us coaches and mentors decided to get together and have a Christmas party for our Lego team.  It’s a Lego Christmas party and what a party it was too.  We all chipped in together and got each of the kids a nice Lego set like the ‘Indiana Jones’ sets or the shark attack set.  I can’t remember what the proper name is for the sets but the kids loved them.

We have set up to meet once a month all year long until the announce what the next challenge will be for next years competition.  They we will dive in head first into the project and hopefully do better next year.  Each of us adults involved is trying to drum up mentors, money to help with projects, and even food donated for our meetings.  I figure if Dominoes will give us pizza once a month then Pizza hut will another month.  Can’t let the competition beat you out on doing something good for kids education, ya know.

Well I feel so much of the Christmas spirit this year that I know in my heart it will be full of love and joy.  Those are far more important than any present you can give.

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For the kids on my team

I wanted to get the kids on my First Lego League team something special for Christmas.  They worked so hard that I feel they need to be rewarded for their efforts and to let them know I care and appreciate how hard they worked.  If I was a wealthy man, I would get each of them a Lego Mindstorm NXT of their own but I’m not.

You know, there were several people that helped with the team and 3 of us coaches.  I just might call each of them and see if maybe they could help get each of the kids one of their own.  That’s not a bad idea.  In fact, I’m going to get on the phone right now and see if I can make it happen.  I could afford to buy one and maybe even two.  If the rest could afford to give the money for at least half of what one costs, we just might be able to pull it off.

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What to get my wife for Christmas

I really made a bad mistake yesterday.  I asked my wife what she wanted for Christmas.  I thought I was all finished with the Christmas lists we used to get from the children…………..who am I kidding?  I should have said I’m used to getting Christmas lists from the children but this year, my wife handed me a list of what she wanted.

It started out simple enough, she wanted a gift card to go buy her some new clothes.  That sounded easy enough until I noticed that it said $500 should just about cover it.  Next was a new necklace.  I thought “I can do that” until i noticed off to the side that it should have at least 1 carat worth of diamonds in it or just a 1 carat diamond would work.

I was afraid to read any farther after that but I am a curious sort of guy and I just couldn’t resist.  The next item was to totally redo the bathroom in our bedroom.  HUH?  She wants a new Jacuzzi tub, new fixtures, new vanity, new mirror, new everything in there.  Of course after that came that we would have to redo our bedroom to match the new bathroom because the two rooms have to FLOW, as she put it.  FLOW!!!!  OKAY!!

She said if I wanted to really make her happy, I would redo the kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, tile floor, new cabinets, new sink, new fixtures and a totally new kitchen in other words.  My thought then was “Who does she all of a sudden think she’s married to?  Bill Gates or Donald Trump?”

While I’m sitting there reading this unbelievable list of what she wants, she comes into the room and just stands there and looks at me.  I looked at her with total disbelief when she busted out laughing.  She said she only wanted for us to go on a cruise somewhere, just the two of us and have a second honeymoon.  That wasn’t on the list and then it hit me.  Yeah, she got me but good!!!!!  The list was a fake.  I have a great wife!!!!  Cruises are really cheap now so I’m cruise shopping.

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First Lego League State Tournament

Well the State Tournament was today, ALL DAY LONG.  I had no idea what to expect but the kids were real pros because all of them had been in at least one competition before this one.  In fact, the team, or what was left of it from last year, won the best teamwork trophy the year before.  What an honor for them.

You have to remember these kids are 9 to 15 years old.  They’re learning how to do research because they had to do a presentation on something they learned about possibly solving or helping stop global warming.  They’re learning how to work together as a team.  They’re learning problem solving.  They’re learning to be cool under pressure and how to present an idea they have developed.  A lot of adults don’t have those skills and yet they are all very important skills to succeed in the world today.

They’re programing a robot that they themselves built usually from their own design.  That’s engineering. They’re not just ‘playing with Legos’, they’re building skills that will follow them through the rest of their lives and help them excel in what ever it is they decide to do. I learned so much from these kids, far more than they learned from me.  One main thing I learned is that I have to do more research into being a good coach because I really want these kids to do far better than they did this year.

This was a tough year for them.  They first of all lost their sponsor which was a local college and also meant they lost a place to practice.  The professor that started the team with the backing of the college, chose to pay himself so the team could go on.  They lost 5 team members, a coach and 3 mentors which had been the fathers of some of the kids that quit.  Then a local church donated a place for the kids to practice, and three mothers stepped up to coach the kids.  I came in as a mentor but only the last few weeks before the competition.

I wish I could have known about the team earlier.  The mother that coached these kids did a great job and we are all planning a much better year with meetings once a month, field trips for the kids, and anything else we can come up with to keep them interested and excited about what they do.  One mother is looking into food sponsors for the meetings.  If she can get one pizza place to donate pizza one month, I bet their competition will donate another one.  Pretty smart, huh?  I’ll let you know what we’re up to next.

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Lego competition is right around the corner

I didn’t realize that the First Lego League competition is next weekend.  Man we still have a lot to do.  The kids pretty much have the robot programed to do everything it’s supposed to do for the competition.  Now the kids really have to work on their presentation they have to give.

I wish I had been to last years competition so I would know more about what to expect but I’m walking into this blind in a lot of ways.  I can honestly say that I have enjoyed this more than a lot of things I have gotten involved in over the past few years since my kids left home.  I just wish I would have known about this when my sons could have gotten involved.

Check out the First Lego League and you just might want to get involved too.  It’s a great program.

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Happy Thanksgiving

All my children are home, my Indian family is here along with my white family.  We are having a ‘true’ Thanksgiving complete with Native Americans just as the first one had.  It’s that a wonderful day!!  I look at my family and am so very proud to be a part of both of them.

There is so much love and respect in my home today that I couldn’t ask for anymore.  The turkey’s cooking, and all the fixings are cooking too so the house not only is full of love but it’s full of the heavenly smell of a wonderful dinner.

Here’s wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!!  May your day be truly Blessed like mine is!!!

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Lego League update

Well I am having a blast working with the kids on the First Lego League team.  Our competition is on December 3rd so we are running out of time.  It’s going great so far.  We have come up with a name for the team.  It’s I Bots.  I standing for Intelligent, Bots for the robotic Lego of course.  The logo is going to be a large eye with the eyeball being the earth instead of just a regular eyeball.  That is to symbolize us having an eye on our planet.  Pretty cool huh?  The kids came up with that.

I must admit, I am quite impressed with not only the ability of these kids but also with their ideas for the challenge.  It’s supposed to be about helping global warming.  We’re focusing on the use of Sorgum to make Ethanol to help with emissions to keep down global warming.  Pretty smart kids and something that I can see myself working with for many years.  I can’t wait for the competition.  I hope we do well, well I hope the kids do well because they have worked so hard.

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And now down come the leaves

Fall is living up to it’s name.  Leaves are falling like snow.  All it takes is a little puff of wind and the skies are full of yellow, red, orange, and brown leaves.  It’s quite pretty but someone has to get them up.  That someone is ME!!

Thank goodness I have one of those attachments that goes on my riding mower that sucks the leaves up.  The thought of raking and raking and raking just gives me a backache simply thinking of it.  These things are great but one things for sure, you get dirtier than you ever did as a kid playing in the dirt.

Another good thing about them is the mower actually chops the leaves up some and I then put them on my garden before I turn it under.  That helps to feed the soil, keep it moist in the summer and is a great way to compost the leaves when you have as many as we do.  I would guess there are about 25 trees in my yard so that’s a lot of leaves.

I’m so glad we had 4 cut down and 16 topped so they aren’t producing as many leaves as they did before we had that done.  I donated the wood from the trees to a local man that didn’t have any heat besides a wood stove and was quite poor.  He came and picked up the wood and split it himself so all we had to do was pay someone to cut the trees down and top the rest.  Between the tree guys and the guy we gave the wood to, we didn’t have to clean up anything.  In fact, I bet the guy got enough wood to heat his house for 2 winters.  I hope so anyway.

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Veterans honored today as it should be

There have been several in both my white family and my Indian family that have served in the military in all branches.  I am very proud to honor each and every one of them on this day.  Sunday my wife and I went to all of the graves that are local to us and put flowers and American flags on each of them.  It’s a small gesture but a way to honor those that are no longer with us.

Each and every one of us needs to thank a veteran today for the sacrifice they and their families have made to serve our country.  Find a veteran, tell them ‘Thank You’ and make sure they know how much you appreciate them and their family.  If there’s an older veteran in your neighborhood, ask them if there’s something you can do for them on this day.  Maybe they need some help with something or their yard raked.  Whatever it is, give back to them for what they gave to us.

That’s just a suggestion of a way each of us can honor a Veteran.  It doesn’t matter what you do, just make sure to honor those that are gone and still living because without them, we would not have the freedoms we have today.  I’ll sure be doing something for the WWII Veteran in my neighborhood.  I do every year, all year long in fact.

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Tribal customs

Today is the day the citizens of the United States vote for their president.  Well did you know that the American Indians also vote for their leader?  Some tribes chose their Chief in other ways but usually a Chief is chosen by a vote.  They aren’t usually voted out though, unless they really do something that harms the tribe.

I don’t know of a single Chief within our tribe that was ever taken out as our Chief.  I have often wondered if we call the president the Commander and Chief because of the American Indians or does that term come from something else?  I need to see if I can find out how they came by that title.  If you already know, please let me know.