Teams Glizzies

Today was the second robotics competition of the year and I got an email from the coach letting us know that the kids were all supposed to wear their robotics club t-shirts. 

So you can probably understand my confusion when we brought lunch for the team and found Josh and the other THS team captain in hot dog costumes. 

In retrospect, I probably would have been confused by the hot dog costumes even if I hadn't been expecting robotics t-shirts.

They are teams Glizzies - a type of hot dog for those in the know or who care to take the time to Google it - and seem to be passionate about both hot dogs and robotics. This shouldn't be surprising since we were asked to bring 13 Costco hot dogs and sodas for the teams' lunch.

It was another challenging day for the teams, but they were more successful than the last competition and ended the day in high spirits.

First FIRST Robotics Meet

Robotics is also up and running again after a a break. These very fascinating events follow rules that I struggle to follow/remember. Teams are paired up with other teams in each round and scores are combined...somehow. Each round has two parts and it seems there are multiple tasks that can be accomplished...maybe.

Regardless, this was a tough event for the two teams from Josh's high school. But the genius of robotics clubs is developing the skill of not getting discouraged by failing and learning to try again and again and again. And again. 

Robotics

From the THS Facebook page: Timberline’s Robotics team competed in the FTC Robotics Inter-league state qualifier on Saturday, 1/11. The team made it all the way to the semifinals, winning 4 of their 5 matches and beating the eventual winning alliance in the first match of the semis. This was the best season Timberline has had by far and we will have six returning members next year!

Robotics Competition

I have four children and three of them are involved in activities that I just barely understand. Don't get me wrong, I definitely appreciate what they do and enjoy seeing them participate in activities they love.  

BUT, I still can't seem to remember what off sides means (though people seem to get pretty worked up about it at times), I learn about new instruments at every concert I attend (who knew there was such a thing as a piccolo trumpet?), and the scoring system at robotics competitions continues to elude me (the other team stacked more blocks, but they still lost the round?).

So sometimes I just show up with two big bags of potato chips for the robotics team and just smile and nod when Josh tells me what is going on. 

 

And sometimes I dream that Josh will build robots that drive on Mars. No, The Martian isn't one of my favorite movies, why do you ask? (Kidding - it totally is.)

Busy Saturday

I tried to wear them out.  

Really, I did.

I started Saturday dropping off Josh at his robotics competition.  After a brief stint at the REI Garage Sale with my friend, I went home to pick up the rest of the minions and take them to the children's museum.

The older two rode trikes while Isaac tried his darnedest to get wet on a day when I didn't have spare clothes.

We found a huge Jenga game.  Michael and Ben enjoyed playing while Isaac "helped" by putting the pieces back inside.

The whole thing falling down was not Isaac's favorite part.

Inside, the boys found the screaming room.  Michael and Ben competed to try to get the highest decibel level.  Any guesses on who won?

The museum was packed, but the science center next door was pretty much empty.  Small, but interactive, we were all entertained for quite a while.

We'd been out and about for a while, so it seemed like a good time to go check up on Josh and see how the competition was going.

Josh has worked really hard with his team to put together this robot.  I don't pretend to understand all that has gone into building and programming this robot or the point systems involved in the competition, but I am proud of his hard work and dedication.

It was cool to watch and in the end they came in 3rd.  Pretty good for a new team.

Later in the evening, we headed to the port to see the Parade of Ships. 

I don't have any good pictures, but it was cool to see the boats sail by with their Christmas lights.  

It didn't last though. The boys were....not behaving well, so we left early so the boys could finish their chores. 

But I did get at least one shot that in part catches the wonder of this time of year for little ones.