Bures Family Reunion - Team Building

 As a way for extended family to bond with each other outside the comforts of their immediate family members, Rachelle devised a team building experience.  We divided into 5 teams and were given a list of tasks to find, do, sing, etc to earn points.  The more challenging the task, the bigger the points that were assigned.  We then had 1.5 hours to try and complete as many of the 55 tasks as possible.  Team names:  Sparkle, Justice League, Gary, Mud Bugs and Vortex.

 Task:  hold 6 inner tubes at one time by the youngest team member

 Task - take a picture with team members jumping in that air so that no feet are touching the ground

 Task - nab a picture of Brent without his hat on

 Task - take a picture as a group with Uncle Allen

 Task - create your own team song.  There was a sing off between the Justice League and Mud Bugs.  In the end, Mud Bugs won.

In second place - Team Sparkle

And in 1st place (who won by well over 70 points) - Team Gary

Bures Family Reunion 2018 - Day #1

A combination of family and 4th of July celebration was the backdrop for this year's Bures family reunion.  We returned to Allen & Simone's cabin near Radford, VA along the New River.  The last time I was here was in my 3rd year of medical school.  I returned with 3 kids this time ready to share the same adventures plus so new ones.

 A family reunion wouldn't be a family reunion without a group picture.  Gary's clan wore Husker Red while Allen's wore blue.

 Nothing beats unstructured fun with cousins!

 To make the get together even sweeter, we also celebrated Allen and dad's birthdays.  Milestones for both of them.

  For entertainment, we hosted the 2nd version of Bures' Got Talent.  As with the inaugural show, this one was a crowd pleaser despite the heat and rain.

 We showed the family our version of the "Evolution of Dance" going through popular dances through time including the Twist, Chicken Dance, Macarena, YMCA and M.C. Hammer dance.

 Izzy wanted to demonstrate the correct footwork and moves that she's learned over the past year in fencing.

 Oma's rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star via the nose flute.  Who knew!

 Opa continued to amaze the crowd with his magic tricks with the Hooie stick still stumping everyone.

 The Dieckman's are Broadway bound with their rendition of You'll Be Back from the play, Hamilton.

 Allen & Simone took us down memory lane with popular children's songs including How Much is that Doggie in the Window.

 Despite moving under the tent due to the rain, the Sharrer's dance performance wasn't even phased.

 The finale was the Hall's and their telekinetic powers.

 The night ended with rounds of corn hole and smiles.

Before we all turned in for bed, the grandkids gave Opa a Midwest inspired birthday present.

Pre-Bures Reunion - Hershey, PA

Summer was off to a bang with the Bures Reunion in early July.  For several reasons (flexibility being the biggest) we decided to make the 12 hour drive from Boston.  We broke up the trip by stopping halfway spending two days in Hershey, PA!

 We started off this mini-break by visiting Hershey World.  Its always fun to see how some of your favorite treats are made.  We were also surprised to learn how many of our favorite treats fall under the Hershey brand.

 The highlight of this visit was being able to create our very own chocolate bar.  Each of us was able to design the label on our bar, choose the type of base chocolate (milk, dark or white) and the fixers (crispies, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, pretzels, butterscotch bits, etc) to add.  It was so top-secret that we didn't know what each created until the bars were in the production queue.

 Are bars on next up!

 Victoria was the only one who picked white chocolate.

 Time to be covered in milk chocolate and chilled.

Our bars are finished and ready to be eaten!  I wonder who is the most excited to eat theirs first???

Afterwards it was back to the hotel for fun in the swimming pool given the heat.  That evening we headed to Hershey Park.  We had a pleasant discovery that they sell sunset tickets at a fraction of the cost if you enter after 5pm.  In addition the park was less crowded letting us get on and off ride quickly.  We rode the Coal Cracker (i.e. flume) three times before heading to a new ride given how short was the line.  Our finale was a "family friendly" roller coaster (Comet) which was so beautifully lite up against the night sky.  I thought we were going to lose Micah and Victoria's dinner on that sucker.  When we were able to get off, Micah just looked at John and said "never again".

 The next morning before heading out on our second leg of the drive to VA, we stopped at Indian Echo Caves.  The first visitors were thought to be the Susquehannock Indians, who vanished in the early 17th century, as a refuge during inclement weather as the temperature inside is a constant 52 degrees.  The caves were eventually opened to the public in 1929.

End of School!

It's official... the end of school.  Given several snow days, school wasn't officially over till the end of June.  The last several days were filled with field trips, movies, games, water activities and field day.  Focus has now turned to a family reunion, county fair projects and summer camp.  We are SO ready!

KM Businesses

 A fun and creative kindergarten experience at Pierce is recreating local businesses.  The kids break up into small groups visiting an assigned local business.  They come prepared with questions to learn more about how the particular business operates as well as keeping a keen eye on the physical structure of the business.  The kids come back to kindergarten with their new found knowledge transforming the classroom into these businesses.  They spend weeks on the recreation as well as gathering supplies they need and designing money.  Each student receives $10 that they can spend in any of these businesses.  Each kindergarten classroom (5 total) has between 4 or 5 businesses making for a hustling bustling small town inside Pierce school.

Micah's local business was Art with Amy, a local artist boutique that holds classes for children.

 Victoria's local business was the Brookline Credit Union.  I found her being a bank teller so fitting... controlling the flow of money!

 One of the local hardware stores who specializes in repurposing / refurbishing.

 The Children's Book Shop, one of our favorite bookstores.  I got a kick out of this group who decided on $25 dollars as the cost of their books.  Not sure how many buyers they had given that each student only had $10 to their name.

Micah's Library Display

 In the children's section of our local library, there are two display cabinets for children to present a collection of theirs.  All one needs to do is sign your child up.  The wait list for this is approximately a year.  Izzy displayed her Legos and My Little Ponies when she was in kindergarten.  Because Micah had a well established collection of Disney Cars at a young age, we signed him up for this collection.  Finally, his name came to the top of the list.  John's creatively came through yet again when he constructed the road and runway to fit the cabinet.  Thank goodness for the internet in helping us recall the names of all the cars and planes.

We typically head to the library once a week as it is located right beside the children's school.  We pick up books and movies for the week and sometimes idle to play a game.  Each time, we pause and enjoy seeing what is on display when we head into the children's section. 

It was fun to hear someone talk about Micah's display in the hall of his school showing how many children patronize the library.  That brought a smile to Micah's face.  We also heard from the librarians that this was one of the better displays they have had in that particular cabinet.  She commented that several children asked if the cabinet could be unlocked so they could play with the cars and planes.