Start of a new year

It is crazy to think we are already a couple of weeks into 2016.  We have had a bit of a rocky start to the new year, especially Caden.  Since January 1st the poor guy has had a stomach bug, pink eye, and pulled a muscle in his neck of all things.  It wasn't all bad though.  While pink eye kept him out of school for two days he was not really feeling sick.  That meant we had the opportunity to spend some time together.  We went for breakfast one morning and the rest of the time he entertained himself by making a giant hammer with my broom and working on a project for GT.  I just love this kid.

Paige and I LOVE watching the Food Network channel.  The last few weeks we have been watching Chopped Junior and the Kids Baking Championship.  The other morning she asked me to give her 5 ingredients to make something with.  Lol.  She really is becoming the little chef.  She has mastered using the stove and loves making breakfast for us. 

Last weekend Caden also went to the area Robotics competition.  The teams that qualified from his school competed against all the other elementaries in our area.  During the first round Caden's teams robot malfunctioned and it wouldn't start.  The next round they were doing better but the spotter stopped their time too early.  They were able to restart but the robot started to have issues again.  The last round they did great but it was not enough to allow them to qualify to move on.  Before the compitition began they explained to us what the program was all about.  It was so interesting learning about the technology and what the kids were learning.  They also explained that this program was about more than just the robots.  It is to put the kids in real life situations.  You have to learn to work as a team, problem solve, and work under pressure.  I have seen Caden really grow in these areas. His team has not always agreed or gotten along.  They had to work thru their issues to get the job done.  I felt so bad for one of the boys during the competition.  He was so upset they were not doing well that he even started crying.  I was so proud of Caden.  I could see him trying to comfort and encourage his teammate.  Even though they didn't win it was a great experience and one of our really good friends on another team from our school got 2nd place.  Plus our school got overall high score.  The kids were so proud.  Caden has already asked to do the robotics camp this summer so he can be ready for next year!