Unpacking

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Today we're still unpacking from our five day holiday excursion, and the kids are getting around to checking out some of their fabulous new gear. 

For instance, Annabelle opened up her new case of oil pastels. "So many colors!" she marveled upon first glance inside the box. 

She immediately set about making several pictures, getting used to the new-to-her media. 

After she'd produced four drawings, she crafted a sign that read "Signed Prints 1¢." Pretty cute - and affordable!

CJ, Christian and I each purchased one. She must have anticipated this, as the back of her sign read ...

The kids got a little exercise by playing a new Xbox game, "Dance Central 2." It has a number of songs they really love on it, so they enjoyed shaking their groove things.

They also test drove a new-to-them XBox peripheral, uDraw. 

Annabelle said it's a bit hard to use straight out of the box "but once you figure it out it's OK." 

Both she and CJ scoffed that this picture appeared in the "Science Fiction" category. 

"Doesn't that look just like the Eagle on the Moon?" CJ questioned. 

Image credit: NASA

Why yes it does, CJ. ... Above is a photo of it during its descent toward the Moon during the Apollo 11 landing. (The long probes sticking down from its 'feet' were sensors that told pilot Buzz Aldrin and module commander Neil Armstrong when they were in contact with the Moon's surface, at which point they were to kill the descent engines. 

MEANWHILE, ON MARS: Curiosity continues to perform flawlessly on the Martian surface. Recently, NASA shared the latest, greatest self-portrait from MSL. It was taken on the 84th and 85th days (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 of this year). The rover used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture dozens of high-res photos which were combined to produce this portrait. 

In the photo, the rover is paused at "Rocknest," which is the spot in Gale Crater where MSL took its first sampling scoop. If you look closely, you can see four scoop marks in front of the rover. Neat-o!

In the background, you can see Mt. Sharp, the rover's ultimate destination. Its peak is about the same elevation as Mt. Rainier here in Washington state.