I survived another year...

The 2013 Perrine Elementary Science Fair was held Wednesday.

For me, this included Tuesday for set up and Thursday for open house and take down.

I'm tired, mentally exhausted and looking forward to being stuck in my house today.

(Still in my pj's at the moment.  Carter is home "sick" and I couldn't be happier about it!)

The Fair went well with only one unfortunate judging mishap that I need to make right.  It's not the end of the world, but I still have chest pains that it happened.  The affected participant was very gracious...to her credit...but oh man how I wish I could have caught the mistake.  These kids (and parents) put their heart and souls into these projects.  Mistakes can be heart breaking.  Blast.

 Things to finish up still are trophies to be ordered and thank you notes to sponsors and judges.

I have help so this shouldn't be too daunting (why are thank you notes so daunting?).  I'm hoping to have everything wound up by next week.

In all the madness (I'm 9 months pregnant so I'm giving myself a little slack) I forgot to take pictures of my kids in front of their boards.  They were too busy playing with friends and having fun at the open house.

I was too busy sitting...trying not to contract.

Yeah, I'm done.

Carter did extremely well and came in first out of almost 20 projects in the third grade.

(I lost count of the official number after a few projects no-showed)

The kid owned his project and the judges told me he was awesome.

...just ask him why popcorn pops and this boy will give you an earful.

Plus, he even told his judges how many carbs were in a cup of popped corn.  Diabetics are smart this way!  

Colby did well too.

Out of only three first grade projects...

 Colby came in 2nd.

The boy who beat him last year is almost unstoppable.

(We have a trick up our sleeve for next year.  We'll get him one day...we have four more years to try!)

The best story about Colby and his judge was relayed by a friend who was volunteering and overheard part of Colby's juding.

His judge asked him to tell her what the charts and graphs meant.  He relpied, "There are right there...just read them!"

We need to work on his presentation skills.  (Oh brother)

 I did snap a few pictures of my boys and a few of their friends to send along with thank you notes.

(I asked permission to use these cute faces of course)

 I may not have a picture of Carter and his board, but I did get a picture of him and his posse.

These are the self proclaimed "Littles".

All three boys are all a tiny bit "vertically challenged" and tend to flock together.

They make up for stature in pure talent, charisma and personality.

These boys are a kick!

 I hope these three can stick together through high school and be the support system that every teenage boy needs.

I get chills when I think about them growing up and serving missions at the same time.

In about nine years these boys will be unstoppable.

Army of Heleman I tell you.

Seriously...love these boys.