Whew! The project is done, dude!

Emma finished her science fair project -- without incident -- and it's safely tucked away in the school gymnasium. What a fun undertaking!

Oh, and after returning her to her father's house this evening, I got home in time to make dinner and sit down for the start of The Amazing Race ... which started in Denver. I totally got a kick out of seeing so many familiar places whiz by in the background.

Counting Down Until the Science Fair.

Just got back from going on the field trip with the class to the Arvada Center to see a show. Good times, good times. Now I've got a little bit of time to print out some final pics for Emma's project -- Emma with the finished toy! -- and then I'll head back to school to pick her up after karate class.

Then we'll finish the project. Get it set up in the school library. Eat some dinner. And I'll drop her off at her father's house. Tomorrow evening is the actual science fair. Can't wait! In the meantime, here's a snap of Emma on the school bus with the plastic toy cat she made.

Oh, Aslan! Stop looking at my daughter that way. They're gonna' feed you at 3.

Just trying to get back into the hang of this thing, so ... here's another pic of my favorite subject: it's Emma with one of our neighbors at the Denver Zoo on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

If you've not yet been to Predator Ridge, how come? It's pretty cool. A more naturalistic exhibit where you can, as you can see, get pretty up close and personal with the animals.

Oh, Emma hasn't seen this yet, but now I can't wait. It's Asali, one of the newest lion cubs. She was rejected by her mom but adopted by another lioness that had recently lost her baby. All together now: Awwwwww.

By the way, the zoo is gearing up to build Asian Tropics, which will basically do for the elephants what they've done for the tigers, hyeanas and African wild dogs. Good for those elephants. Emma has zero interest in them, but I think they're kinda' sweet.

She Blinded Me with Science.

It's science fair time at Emma's elementary school. We spent a few hours today doing the bulk of Emma's project -- conducting the final experiment (did test runs last weekend ... I know, how organized of us!) and writing the report. The report was the killer. Emma was exhausted by the end of it. About eight sentences total. Took her just a smidge over an hour.

First grade is such fun.

Em did try several times to get out of the project this weekend but finally realized I wasn't letting her off the hook on this one. If she learned anything from this, it's got to be about the importance of following through on a commitment.

Oh, and that you can make a plastic cat toy out of milk, heat and vinegar. It's just gonna' smell while you're making it, and look nothing like anything you'll find in The Littlest Pet Shop.