Two Boys' Opinions about Election Day in Iowa

The Downtown School held its own election today and all the kids voted. Mazy's class (the 4th and 5th graders) were in charge of the election. Mazy was in charge of voter registration last week, helping the younger grades sign up to vote. They also built a cardboard voter's booth and counted all the votes today.

The results were fascinating. Mazy, with his insanely good memory, remembered them:
In the governor's race, Branstad 96 and Hatch 122
In the U.S. House of Reps, Young 97 and Appel 110
In the U.S. Senate race, Ernst 71 and Braley 163

For those of you from out of state and not aware of the parties, that was a sweeping victory for the Democrats. I doubt we'll see that in the statewide results tonight, but we can hope. What was interesting to me was the lack of votes for Joni Ernst -- whose campaign ads have saturated local tv and radio. Of all the races, our boys were definitely most aware of Ernst vs. Braley, and they both had very strong opinions of Ernst.

I asked them both how they decided who to vote for (disclaimer: their parents are quite vocal about their politics...):

6-year-old Bo: "I voted for Jack Hatch because he has a cool name. I voted for Appel  ecause, well you know, I love apples. And of course, I did NOT vote for Joni Ernst. I told my friends that she is against hospitals and she thinks poor people should have money and not food."

Hmm, interesting what he picked up on.

9-year-old Mazy: "Mom, I forgot that Branstad was the republican. Sorry about hat. But I did not vote for Ernst. The republicans only care about helping rich people. Bruce Braley and the democrats want to lower taxes for middle-income families."

Again, fascinating on what these kids pick up on. Sara Opie, if you are reading this, I swear I am not brainwashing them against Republicans. Against most Republicans. OK, maybe we need to work on bi-partisanshhip in this house. :)

I am just glad that they are excited about the elections and about watching the results tonight. It almost makes me regret voting by absentee ballot this year -- they would probably have liked going to the voting booth with me. But it's just hard to work voting into our schedules these days...

So that's the main story for the day. I am happy to report that I left my laptop at work again tonight. We picked up the living room, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen up after supper, Shawn and the boys played nighttime catch, Violet and I read books, and now Shawn and the boys are playing a board game. Life is good.

Since this has turned into one of those annoying "hey everybody, read about my kids!" posts, I might as well finish it off with some recent art projects they've done:

"I Am" Artwork By Mazy

I Am Snowy And Rainy Weather, Dark And Gloomy.

I Am An Early Bird, And A Night oWl, Up And rEady!

I Am Sushi And Spicy Food, Sometimes Togher. 

I Am a Massachusetts beach, on a hot summer day.

I am thrilling rides, at an amusement park!

I am predator and ALIENS, both unpleasant. 

I am snow, being shoveled all day!

I am a fact file, telling information. 

I am creative full of ideas. 

I am the Green Bay Packers, in my backyard! 

That photo of him -- Mr. Serious, cracks me up. He has a totally different personality at school. He's very aloof and uninterested in everything. I hope this is just a phase. He's so different at home with us -- very excited, energetic, fun and interested. That's the Mazy I want the teachers at school to see!

Bo's Marshmallow and Toothpick Rattlesnake

He created this at the after-school program and, I don't mean to brag, but it was like way more complicated and interesting than anything else there. :)