Coconut Bowl

June 3, 2012

Today was our first bowling adventure and Ryley came along with us again. I couldn't even remember the last time I bowled and it showed in my score...a whopping 75. Ryley won with an 82. We had a pizza lunch then headed across the street to the mall and walked through Scheel's.

In the camping section at Scheel's.

The shooting range at Scheel's.

Until our next adventure . . .

Rainy Day Movie, Food, and Games

May 26, 2012

Today we had to find some inside things to do because of the rain. We decided to check out a the movie "Attack of the Space Pirates" at the Fleishman Planetarium. I picked up Lacee at her friend, Ryley's, house and Ryley came along with us. The movie was...hmmm...how can I put this nicely...terrible!! I was bored stiff and Ryley fell asleep, but Lacee thought it was pretty good. So, it wasn't a total loss. After the movie we went to the arcade at Boomtown.

Until our next adventure . . .

King Tut

May 12, 2012

Since last week Lacee chose the auto museum, this week I chose the King Tut exhibit at Rancho San Rafael Park. The exhibit consisted of replicas of Egyptian artifacts including King Tut's tomb. It was kind of cool, but I think Lacee was less than impressed. We motored through the exhibit pretty quickly with her asking me to stop reading the signs describing the different artifacts. We spent the rest of our time together outside in the May Arboretum, walking through Rancho San Rafael Park, and having a picnic lunch in the park.

One of the rooms in the King Tut exhibit. 

Lacee under the jacaranda in the park.

We found a mosaic RAINBOW bench in the park! Super cool!

Today was another great day together!

Until our next adventure . . .

Auto Museum

May 5, 2012

For today's adventure I presented Lacee with three choices, Springfest at Somersett, the Nevada National Automobile Museum, or the King Tut exhibit at Rancho San Rafael Park. Surprisingly (at least to me) she chose to go to the auto museum. We headed downtown and had a bite to eat at Subway before going to the museum. We walked along the river on our way to the museum and stopped a couple of times to watch the swallows collecting mud for their nests. We had fun looking at all of the cool cars.

Strolling through the museum.

The museum provides costumes so you can dress up and take your photo in this old car.

This was a car in a special exhibit of cars from  Burning Man. This is the 5:04 car.
This car was smashed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, salvaged, given a paint job,
and turned into a work of art. It was the first "art car" displayed at Burning Man in 1991. Learn more at:
http://laughingsquid.com/the-504-pm-earthquake-car-burning-mans-first-art-car-on-display/

Until our next adventure . . .

New Stuff

April 17, 2012

Yes, it's been a couple of weeks since our last adventure. Since then, I went on vacation and Lacee and her family moved to their new house. Tonight was the first time I picked her up at her new house. She lives a little ways out of town now so I thought we would stick close by and I would let her introduce me to all her new stuff...her new house, new neighborhood, new school, new parks, new restaurant, etc. After she gave me a tour of the house, she wanted to show me a nearby park. We got a bit lost on the way, so we looked it up on the map and I let her direct me. She's really good with maps! It was a rather small park so we played for a bit then found her school on the map and she guided me to see her school. We ended up at the local restaurant for a bite to eat where she saw one of her new classmates that shared his quarters with her at the arcade. After a little more time at the park it was time to go home.

Playing in the arcade with her generous classmate.

Until our next adventure . . .

Ch-ch-ch-changes . . .

April 4, 2012

This is the last adventure before Lacee and her family move to their new house. They will still be living in the Biggest Little City, but in a different part of the city. I thought we do a few of our favorite things in the old neighborhood that we won't be able to do near her new house. If you've been following along I bet you can guess what they might be...
Dinner at Genghis Grill
Browsing at Learning Express Toys
Dessert at U-Swirl.
We also played cards for a while at U-Swirl before calling it an evening.

Until our next adventure . . .

The Discovery Museum

March 25, 2012

Most of our adventures happen during the week and in the evenings. Today we have a Saturday adventure during the day. The best thing about this is that we go somewhere that closes early on weekdays and we haven't been able to see yet...The Discovery Museum. My plan of a couple of hours at the museum then heading to lunch turned into an all-day adventure at the museum with a stop at the vending machines for lunch. There was so much to do and we were having so much fun we didn't want to leave.

We're here!!!

The Cloud Climber. A series of steps shaped like clouds (and enclosed with a heavy duty mesh) that the kids can climb in from the floor to the ceiling. Lacee did okay for a while but the height got to her. When she came down the first time she said she felt dizzy so she had to sit for a while before we moved on.

This video game was in the mining section. Level 1 is panning for gold and pick mining the old-fashioned way. Level 2 uses satellites to find the right location and huge drills to do the work.

Part of a tire from a real mining truck.

                                          

                                                        All things Nevada. Clever.

In the Science Lab. This was Lacee's favorite thing. We were here for a loooong time and ended up coming back later for a second time. This table had all the pieces needed to put circuits together to make things spin, fly, and light up. Just follow the pattern, collect the parts you need, put it all together, and voila! stuff that works.

Working with gears.

Learning about power...solar power, wind power, geothermal power and Kid Power!

Working with tools in a portion of a half-built house to try and fix the sink. 

Five hours of "Discovery" and we were hungry and exhausted. What a great day!

Until our next adventure . . .

Science Expo

March 14, 2012
For today's adventure I took off from work a little early so we could attend the Science Expo at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) in Incline Village. The theme was biodiversity (right up my alley) and it was a fun learning experience for both of us. The large room was set up with 24 stations. Each kid was given a map of the stations and instructed to listen to the lecture at each station and answer the corresponding question on their map. When they had at least 10 right answers on their map, they were eligible for free ice cream (what an incentive, huh?).  The room was very crowded and noisy, but the displays were amazing so you barely noticed.

This station was all about animal diversity. We matched pelts to photos of the animals and also examined skulls to understand how teeth differ in herbivorous, omnivorous, and carnivorous species.

At this station Lacee planted a tomato plant at the instruction of one of the kid teachers. It was so wonderful to see one kid teaching another.

This was the DNA station. We got a very short lesson about what DNA is and then Lacee made a DNA model using Red Vines, marshmallows, and toothpicks. When her model was complete, the instructor picked it up, gave it a gentle twist and she learned the term "double helix." 

This is a somewhat blurry photos of "pin the PIT tag on the LCT." Or spelled out, "pin the Passive Integrated Transponder tag on the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout." The LCT is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, but is also a sport fish. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages them and studies them by using PIT tags. If a fish is caught by a fisherman, the tag number is reported back, so the USFWS can gather information on individual fish. The tag is placed right behind the dorsal fin, so Lacee was pretty close in her blind placement.

After "pin the PIT tag on the LCT" Lacee made a bracelet where all the different color beads represented part of the LCT life cycle or habitat. Blue for the water, tan for the gravel spawning habitat, green for food, orange for eggs, and one yellow bead to represent the sun.

Our last station of the day was all about owls. This is also about the time Lacee decided it was time to eat her DNA.

 After the science expo, we drove down the mountain back to civilization. We were starving so had a sandwich at Subway and called it an evening.

Today I also gave Lacee a quilt that a friend of mine made for her. My friend is super creative and talented (as you can see) and she offered to make this lap quilt for her (and in her favorite colors no less). She loved it!!

Until our next adventure . . .

No Backup Plan

March 5, 2012

I picked up L today with the idea that we'd go to the movies to see The Lorax. When I suggested it, she said she didn't want to go to the movies (What kid turns down the movies? A kid with a lot of energy, that's what kid). She said she'd get bored and didn't want to just be sitting around. Okay...fair enough. I had no backup ideas, so we drove around for a while and talked while we tried to figure out what to do. We ended up at Port of Subs (she never says no to that), had our usual, and noticed that we just happened to be close to Toys R Us. We spent an hour or more in Toys R Us, up and down EVERY aisle, playing with every accessible toy, and having fun the whole time.

Until our next adventure . . .

Willy Nilly

February 29, 2012

I have termed this the "willy nilly" adventure because (again) I had no plan of what we were going to do. Even when L and I walked out the door and got in the car and started driving, I still had no idea. She had no ideas either. I had to get a couple of things at Target so decided we would start there. I got what I needed, and then we spent a lot of time up and down all of the toy aisles. When we were both sufficiently hungry, we went across the street to Gandolfo's New York Deli for a sandwich. We'd never been there before and L liked it. She loooooooves sandwiches!! Subway, Port of Subs, and now Gandolfo's top her list (even over Genghis Grill). After dinner we still had lots of time so we went to the Goodwill store and shopped around. I heard they had a great book section. They DO have a great book section! I didn't find anything I wanted, but we did look through the entire store. L wanted a game (I can't remember the name of it now), but I stood my ground with "no" and "remember what our contract says?" Our contract is our Big Brothers Big Sisters contract where it says that the little is not supposed to ask the big to buy them anything. That's tough for a kid, and probably a bit confusing, because sometimes I do buy her stuff. I just try not to do it when she asks for it so technically I'm not breaking the rules, right? :)

Until our next adventure . . .

Red Robin and Shoppin'

February 22, 2012

I just found out recently that I have a new great-niece! Her name is Autumn Grace. I decided to take L with me to Babies R Us to help me pick out a little something for her. I don't have many reasons to shop at Babies R Us, and this is the first time I'd been in the Reno store (and likely the last). First, their self-serve registry computer was out of order and the sign referred you to an unmanned customer service desk. I did one lap around the entire store looking for help before I gave up and told L that instead of going off of a list, we're going to pick out a few things ourselves, which was actually kind of fun because we ended up looking at all the cute baby girl stuff. Shopping for baby girls is fun!! After lots of oohs and aahs and much deliberation, we settled on Autumn's gift.

Since Michael's was right next door we decided to go in and see if there were any craft projects that inspired us. We didn't make any purchases, oh I take that back, we bought a deck of cards for $1 (hardly crafty), but the cards will stay in the car so we always have them at the ready.

In the seasonal aisle at Michael's.

After Michael's we headed to Red Robin for some dinner (a new place for us) and then called it an evening.

Until our next adventure . . .

Clock Solitaire

February 15, 2012

Not too much excitement to report for tonight's adventure. We did, however, return L's library card application to the library and she got her first library card!! She spent some time looking through the stacks, sure she could find a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. When we checked with the librarian, though, we found out they are all checked out and others have them on hold. She'd have to get in line. What is so amazing about this wimpy kid's diary??? So, instead she chose two Judy Moody books. After the library we headed to...yep, you guessed it...Genghis Grill, then U-Swirl for some yogurt. This time I brought a deck of cards with me and we hung out at U-Swirl for almost an hour playing Gin, War, and Clock Solitaire. Clock Solitaire is a game that my Grandma taught me when I was young. I've never forgotten it and it used to keep me busy for a long time. I think Grandma had an ulterior motive teaching me that game. :)  Anyway, L loved it and was very excited when she won the first time she played.

Just beginning her first Clock Solitaire game.

Until our next adventure . . .

Books and Food

February 8, 2012

Tonight I took L back to Grassroots Books during one of their warehouse sales. They open their warehouse once a month and every book in the warehouse is 99 cents. Such a deal. I thought it would keep L busy a little longer than it did, but she got bored quicker than I thought. She did, however, find a couple of things that she couldn't live without, a pop-up book and a 2011 Justin Bieber calendar (she said she understood that it was outdated and explained she wanted it for the pictures). She brought her own money and decided that's what she wanted to spend it on.

And me? I didn't have enough time to browse before L got bored and started whining, so I had to cut my shopping short. I did walk out with an old copy of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, however.

We topped off the evening with our usual, Genghis Grill and U-Swirl frozen yogurt.

Until our next adventure . . .

Game Night

February 1, 2012

Tonight we came back to my house for dinner and game night. We pulled several games out, mostly card games. While I cooked dinner, L taught Honorary Big G how to play Rummy. After our yummy spaghetti dinner, we played more Rummy, then War, then Left Center Right, and last but not least, Scrabble Flash.  It was a whirlwind of games and I think we might have to do this more often!

 

Until our next adventure . . .

Let's Talk About Safety

January 25, 2012

Tonight we attended a meeting all about safety at the Big Brothers Big Sisters office. The meeting was led by a uniformed  (complete with gun and taser) State Highway Patrol officer, Trooper Lopez. Trooper Lopez talked about driving safety for the adults (the new cell phone laws, the move over law, etc.), seatbelt safety, and pedestrian safety. He also talked about how to become a State Trooper and shared lots of crazy stories from his 27 years on the force. The kids asked a lot of great questions like, "What happens if you're chasing somebody and your car runs out of gas?" or "Have you ever chased a bank robber?" It was entertaining and informative all wrapped into one.

Until our next adventure...

One-year Anniversary Meeting

January 18, 2012

Our one-year anniversary is quickly approaching (Feb 8) and tonight we met with our MSS (match support specialist) at BBBS (Big Brothers Big Sisters) for our one-year annivesary meeting. During the meeting we each filled out a survey of how the past year has met (or not) our expectations, we each talked to our MSS separately, and then talked to her together. L and I both decided to continue the match. I really didn't see that question coming...I just assumed we would...and I'm glad she wanted to too. After our meeting L wanted to stay and play games in the reading room. We stayed for quite a while playing Guess Who, Up Words, writing on the white board, and looking at the books. Afterwards we headed to L's choice for dinner...Heidi's...and then it was time to go home.

Guess Who?

Important reminders on the reading room wall.

The white board.

The story of The Giving Tree painted on the wall of the reading room.

Playing with my iPhone camera at Heidi's.

Until our next adventure . . .

Art, Books, Dinner, Dessert!

January 11, 2011

Tonight we took a trip to the South Valleys Library, not for their craft program (surprise surprise), but to see a friend's photography exhibit currently on display. The exhibit is titled Nevada's Wildlife Heritage and the artist/photographer is Larry Neel, a friend and colleague. There were several pieces to ponder, and although I knew we wouldn't be there for hours looking at them (I realize pondering art isn't what an energetic 9-year old dreams of doing), I at least thought we'd spend more than 48 seconds total (yes, total) at the exhibit. Okay, I may be exaggerating. She did take the time to read the signs--which told us the species and where the photo was taken, she signed the guest book, and she chose her favorite, the coyote, when I asked. My favorite was the American Avocets.

Signing the guest book.

Her favorite, the coyote, because it's her school mascot.

Partial view of the exhibit.

We spent some time in the library afterwards, looking at books and other pieces of art. Then it was off to Genghis Grill (I had a 2 for 1 coupon this time) and a little dessert at Yogurt Beach. Somehow she always saves room for dessert. :)

Until our next adventure . . .