Epbot Is Changing: It's Time To PIVOT
1 year ago
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
mom gets her orange belt
After much work and lots of extra practice sessions with me, mom had her makeup test and passed! She did an awesome job on her test and truely deserves her orange belt, go mom!
Story time!
I am so glad that I have a little one to take to story time again! The new childrens librarian is awesome! We love her songs and signing and the books are great too. James actually behaves pretty well for Story time so far.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Portal gun!
For Halloween this year my family is doing a video game theme. Each of us (except for Jamie) will be a major character from a different video game. I am going to be Chell, from Portal and Portal 2.
Chell looks like this...
The costume is pretty simple, but the real gem of this costume is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device
otherwise known as a Portal gun. It was a necessity for my costume but the prospect of making one was daunting. Buying one was out of the question, as they are over $100! I watched a few tutorials, and was still unsure of how to proceed. I decided to ask my totally awesome dad for some help. Since I am making 4 very elaborate costumes, I asked Dad if he could work on the portal gun. He was game and he came up with the most impressive part, the core of the gun that lights up!
Using PVC pipe, camera extension tubes, an old lens, wire, alligator clamps, an empty capers jar, blue film and a flashlight he had the barrel of the gun ready for me to work on.
Dad had some old foam floor tiles, like these
That I cut out the shape for the white parts of the gun from, I molded them into shape, then covered them in wood putty. When they were dry, I sanded them down and spray painted them a bright glossy white. I used mom's Silhouette machine to cut the logos out of wall vinyl. When i was putting the gun together, the barrel became unstable, the extension tubes didn't quite fit right on the PVC pipe and the weight of the gun made it keep falling off. So I found a plastic tube that fit perfectly over the pvc pipe, (i had been looking for a "glass" cover for the core anyway. It was long enough that it fit over the core, and projected way further. So I cut some more foam and covered the tube with a ring. I then attached the lens to the front and put the front white part on. It was much more stable now that the barrel was all one piece. Lastly, I reattached the wire arms on the front and hooked up the wires with a bit more foam. The end result is AWESOME! you can turn the flashlight on and off, to make it look like the portal gun in shooting and it lights up so vividly. I love the way this project turned out! The only thing I had to buy was the wood putty and the spray paint, so we only spent about $10 on the gun.
Now I just have to get working on my Long fall boots!
Chell looks like this...
The costume is pretty simple, but the real gem of this costume is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device
otherwise known as a Portal gun. It was a necessity for my costume but the prospect of making one was daunting. Buying one was out of the question, as they are over $100! I watched a few tutorials, and was still unsure of how to proceed. I decided to ask my totally awesome dad for some help. Since I am making 4 very elaborate costumes, I asked Dad if he could work on the portal gun. He was game and he came up with the most impressive part, the core of the gun that lights up!
Using PVC pipe, camera extension tubes, an old lens, wire, alligator clamps, an empty capers jar, blue film and a flashlight he had the barrel of the gun ready for me to work on.
Dad had some old foam floor tiles, like these
That I cut out the shape for the white parts of the gun from, I molded them into shape, then covered them in wood putty. When they were dry, I sanded them down and spray painted them a bright glossy white. I used mom's Silhouette machine to cut the logos out of wall vinyl. When i was putting the gun together, the barrel became unstable, the extension tubes didn't quite fit right on the PVC pipe and the weight of the gun made it keep falling off. So I found a plastic tube that fit perfectly over the pvc pipe, (i had been looking for a "glass" cover for the core anyway. It was long enough that it fit over the core, and projected way further. So I cut some more foam and covered the tube with a ring. I then attached the lens to the front and put the front white part on. It was much more stable now that the barrel was all one piece. Lastly, I reattached the wire arms on the front and hooked up the wires with a bit more foam. The end result is AWESOME! you can turn the flashlight on and off, to make it look like the portal gun in shooting and it lights up so vividly. I love the way this project turned out! The only thing I had to buy was the wood putty and the spray paint, so we only spent about $10 on the gun.
Now I just have to get working on my Long fall boots!
A walk at Bridgestreet
We love walking around Bridgestreet together. It is nice to watch the people and see the pretty water. 
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tag!
I love this beautiful Alabama fall weather! We are so lucky to live here. I also love watching the kids play so nicely together!
Friday, September 19, 2014
International talk like a pirate day!
Today was international talk like a pirate day! Every year, Krispie Kreme does a promotion, if you have a pirate print on, you get a free doughnut, if you dress up in a full pirate costume, you get a free dozen doughnuts! I thought it would be fun to surprise the kids with some doughnuts, and I happened to have a pirate costume laying around so I ran over and got us some fried delicousness! Arrrrrrg!
Horizon Hustle!
Today was the big fundraiser for Ella and Wesley's school. The Horizon Hustle. The kids get pledges for running around the track, and then they get prizes and such. Both kids ran more than the 35 laps suggested and were nice and tuckered out by the end. James and I enjoyed watching them run around, we even walked a lap or two with them!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
7 months!
Jamie is 7 months! He has one tooth, can sit up on his own, is ALMOST crawling and loves to be around his family. He sleeps good, and loves to be kissed and cuddled. I am so very lucky to be his Mom.
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