Utah Odyssey of the Mind 2016 Pins, Shirt, and Crazy Hats

 A week and a half ago was the Utah Odyssey of the Mind competition, and as tradition we got a whole new set of pins and shirts for our theme, keeping with the blue monsters and going western.  Every year each participating State and Country create new pins and shirts to trade.  Trading at the World's competition is a huge deal, and after closing ceremonies is when the shirt trading starts.  I've gotten some cool shirts these last two years.

 I love Western Omer!

 Creativity Outlaws: Our theme.  BTW, Idaho was on all our pins, but an Idaho team didn't end up competing at our competition (they wouldn't compete against Utah teams, only against other Idaho teams) .  There isn't an OotM program in Idaho, so we let them come to our competition.  There were originally three ID teams, but they all dropped out, but by the time the last team dropped out our pins had all ready been ordered.

 The three blue monsters showing all 5 problems: 

Problem 1, Vehicle: No-Cycle Recycle

Problem 2, technical: Something Fishy

Problem 3, classics: Aesop Gone Viral

Problem 4, structure: Stack Attack!

Problem 5, performance: Furs, Fins, Feathers & Friends

 An Omer pin that's sold on the main website, not tied to a State.

 This years bobble pin.

 The Utah shirt.  Purple is for Officials.  The judges shirt was brown.  The participants/spectactors shirt was like a black, dark navy blue.  The officials/judges shirts were SO much better this year!!  Last year our shirt was based on the box problem set pin.  I really like this years shirt.

 My crazy hat!  So I didn't make one this year.  I wore my Steampunk western style Minnie Mouse ears that I got at Disneyland two years ago. I love this hat!  And it fits both our State theme and Problem 5 theme, which I'm problem captain over.

 My Dad was my announcer/timekeeper this year, and he had a lot of fun creating this Olaf crazy hat.  All the kids loved it.  And my Dad had a lot of fun.  He said he would help again; I'm totally holding him to it!!!  We were super short on volunteers.  I was P.5 problem captain/head judge, P.3 long-term judge, and was supposed to also be the P.5 timekeeper/announcer, but there was no way I could get scores out and later meet with couches with their scores, at the same time keeping our problem site on schedule, if I was timekeeper/announcer, so my Dad stepped in last minute to help me out.  Which was a huge, huge help.

My brother is Problem 2 problem captain, and he created a Raspberry Pi (mini computer), which he uploaded Super Mario Brothers, completely playable, and attached it to his hat.  It was really cool.

So there you have it!  Another year down.

I'm not going to Worlds this year, due to going to France and finances, so I'm sad about that.  I even had a dream about pin trading, and woke up realizing I don't get to pin trade this year!!  Kinda silly.  I hope everyone has fun at Worlds :0)

Utah & Idaho Odyssey of the Mind 2015 Pin Sneak Peak

 March 28th is the Utah State Odyssey of the Mind (OotM for short) competition!  It's at Park City High School.  Each of the long term problems (Silent Movie, Technical Difficulties, Lose You Marbles, Runaway Train, and Pandora's box) is solved in a skit which is presented to judges, and these performances are open for the public to come and watch.  It's really fun seeing how all the teams solve the same problem is so many different creative ways.

Odyssey of the Mind is all about creativity and thinking outside the box, which is the theme of this years Utah/Idaho pins: See What Creativity Lurks Beyond the Box.

Idaho is included on our pins because we have a few teams coming down to compete.  Idaho's OotM program is so small each of the Idaho teams automatically qualify for the OotM Worlds Competition in Michigan this year, but it's good practice to perform the skit in front of an audience before Worlds.  There's a Div. II Idaho team performing in Silent Movie this year, and I'm really excited to see them.  I'm excited to see all the teams perform!  It's going to be fun :0)

Without much further ado here's a close up of our pins.

 Omer as a cardboard box monster is my favorite pin this year.  He's adorable!

This pin is 2 inches high and about 1 1/3 inches wide.

 This pin is all the problems, including Primary, represented within each box.

This pin is 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 3/4 inches tall.

Monsters coming out of the box!  And our States slogan at the bottom.

Measuring at 1 7/8 inches wide and 2 inches tall.

Can't wait for the competition next week! :0)

A Little Walk

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." 

~John Muir 

Out on a walk back in Idaho with Krista, Erin, and baby brother, right before watching the dog vs moose confrontation.

Sometimes I think we don't visit nature enough.  My soul longs for it.  Longs for the green and smell of pine.  And when I'm by the ocean I crave the salty air and crisp sunshine.

In a World crowded with technology it's nice taking a brake now and then to breath.