I Crossed My Fingers . . .

. . . and I won! I enter lots of blog giveaways. I think it is fun to play, but I never really expect to win. Today was my lucky day when I actually won an AWESOME prize. Mormon Mommy Blogs is giving me:

A Complete Photography Session from Annie at Little Fire Photography, including a one to two hour shoot at a Utah location of your choice. After your session, you'll receive a disk of images from the shoot in color and black white (with accompanying print release).

Sweet! I went to her website and she does amazing work. I am so excited to see what she can do with our little family.

Winning did bring up another issue. Most of the winners were announced “Jamie at Handful of Blessings” or “Natalie at Turtle Soup.” I was just “Malinda.” That’s because we don’t have a cool blog name. When we decided to follow the “no last names on the blog” rule, I just changed the title to Our Family. I thought that inspiration for a better name would strike and I would change it. It’s been almost a year and no inspiration. So, if any of you more clever/gifted bloggers have an idea for me, feel free to share.

It's About Time

I’ve wanted a big clock for my kitchen for a long time (read “six years”). It wasn’t a secret. For the last couple of years, my mom would call on my birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, and Christmas and ask “Did he get you a clock?” No. In Nate’s defense . . . um, never mind . . . I can’t really think of a good defense. Anyway, last week we found this awesome clock. Perfect size, perfect color, perfect price (40% off). The cashier mocked it when we were checking out – “Where are you go to hang a giant clock?” – but she just doesn’t know my walls. It makes me happy every time I look at it and I’m pretty sure it has saved me loads of time already since I don’t have to walk over to the computer or the stove to see what time it is.

-- AMENDMENT --

So, Nate read this post before I published, and this was his reaction:

Um, "I can't really think of a good defense"? What!?!?!? How about "I kept telling Nate that I would probably just make a clock for our wall to save money, and I had some clocks on my eBay watch list that he kept telling me to buy since he doesn't even have an eBay account, but I never did. Finally HE spied this great clock when we were at ShopKo last week. What a great husband to find this great clock on a great deal! He's great!"

I suppose that is a bit more accurate. He is great!

A Ben-centric Week

It has been a busy week full of new adventures for Ben. Monday was his birthday. He was not happy about having to go to school. His argument: “But it’s my birthday and I can do whatever I want”. We made him go anyway. He got to take cool, star-shaped donuts, and that seemed to soften the blow. After school, he played the Indiana Jones Lego game on the Wii for four or five hours, only taking breaks to open presents, go to McDonalds, and eat some cake. He didn’t want the day to be over and when it was time for bed we got lots more of the “but it’s my birthday and I can do whatever I want” argument. Much to his displeasure, we didn’t go for it that time either.

On Tuesday, we attended our first pack meeting. Ben looked sharp in his new uniform and had fun playing games with the other boys. He got his Bobcat patch during the awards. He has fabulous leaders and we are excited about starting this new chapter in Ben’s life.

Thursday was Ben’s first piano recital. His music teacher let him choose whatever song he wanted to play and he picked the theme from Star Wars (what a shock). We were a little nervous about how he would do in front of a big group, but he played it perfectly. Phew! He’s already thinking about playing the Raider’s March for his next recital. Who needs Beethoven when you have John Williams and Lucas Films?

The kids were out of school on Friday, so we used the day for Ben’s birthday activity with the family. He chose to go to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was a cool place. The kids were pretty fascinated with the fish/sea creatures. It was fun to hear Ben and Emily spouting off a few random science facts as we were walking along. The coolest part for the kids was the petting pools. Ben was soaking wet by the time we left from reaching in up to his shoulder to touch the rays. The girls were happier with the little four inch deep pools with starfish and sea urchins.

Today was another busy day for Ben. He had his interview with the bishop before church and his Primary teachers came over after church to talk to him about his baptism. It is a little crazy to think that he is old enough to be baptized, but it’s been fun to hear him talk about it and answer the questions from the bishop and his teachers. His understanding and readiness have grown by leaps and bounds in these past few months.

Things That Make You Say Grr!

Thing #1: Washing and drying a full load of laundry only to discover that you somehow missed that purple crayon that was in one of the kids’ pockets and it melted all over EVERYTHING . . . 9 pairs of jeans, 4 shirts, and a pair of pajamas. Grr. Grr. Double Grr.

Nate was good enough to put things in perspective for me – “It’s only money. It’s not like one of our kids is in the hospital or something.” Very true, and I’m sure that in three or six hours I won’t even be twitching about the “crayon incident”. On the bright side, we now have a great selection of clothes for camping/painting/digging in the dirt.

Indiana Jones Birthday Party – The Details

We’d like to pretend that we are creative and came up with everything for Ben’s party on our own, but really we got lots of ideas from other random blogs. We thought we would return the favor to the blogging world by sharing the inside scoop on our party plan. So, here is a detailed description of the party from start to finish:

First, the invite. We just found an image of Indy online, added the text, and printed them out on photo paper. We didn’t have any envelopes that fit, so we made our own out of brown paper and slapped on a “TOP SECRET” label to make it look cool. It did create a small problem when a couple of boys wouldn’t show their parents the invite since it was supposed to be secret, but they worked it out.

As the boys got here, we gave them each a hat and a satchel. Once everyone was here, Nate gave them a letter from Indy saying that he had hidden his treasure and they had to find it before the Nazis got to it. The letter sent them down to the movie room for their first clue. We had eight different clues/movie clips/activities that led up to them finding the treasure (a piñata).

Clue #1: An archaeologist has to be quick on his feet!

Movie clip: Indy stealing the idol and running from the boulder (with the gory parts edited out).

Activity: We used gold spray paint to turn a tiki monkey bank into an idol. We put the idol on the fourth stair up and had the boys take turns trying to steal it. The boys had to get through the door, grab the idol, and get back in the movie room before the boulder (an exercise ball that Nate pushed from the top of the stairs) hit them. If they could do it on the fourth step, then we moved it up a stair at a time until they got whacked by the boulder.

Clue #2: An archaeologist has to be handy with a bullwhip!

Movie clip: Whip scenes – gun, hot poker, saving dad on tank, Cairo bad guys, swinging into Nazi room, sword.

Activity: We made each of the boys a bullwhip out of brown duct tape and they took turns using their whips to knock down action figures of the bad guys. We found the instructions for making the whips at http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/05/29/how-to-make-a-duck-tape-bullwhip/. We used 7-foot lengths of tape instead of 12-foot pieces and PVC (7 inches long) instead of a wooden dowel for the handle.

Clue #3: An archaeologist has to eat strange foods when he is in other countries!

Movie clip: Eating monkey brains.

Activity: We served monkey brains (orange and raspberry Jell-O) in Zoo Pals monkey cups and had them suck it up through straws.

Clue #4: An archaeologist has to learn to use the weapons of the natives to defend himself!

Movie clip: Natives chasing Indy with bows and arrows and blowguns.

Activity: We made blowguns for each boy out of ½ inch PVC (about 12” long) and gave them each a bag of 20 poison darts (miniature marshmallows). They got to shoot at Nate (dressed like Belloq) while he tried to dodge the darts.

Clue #5: An archaeologist has to learn how to land a plane!

Move clip: Indy and Henry in plane.

Activity: We gave each boy a Styrofoam airplane and they had to try to land their planes on the pool table from about 10 feet away. This was a surprise hit. They all seemed to really like it.

Movie clip: Indy drinking champagne in tux.

Clue #6: All of this hard work has made you thirsty! Head up to the kitchen and get a drink, then come back here!

We served the boys “poisoned” Sprite in champagne glasses in kitchen.

Movie clip: "The poison you just drank, Dr. Jones"; trying to get the antidote.

Activity: We blew up balloons with a paper inside each balloon. The boys had to pop the balloons until they found the one paper that told them where the antidote (blue koolaid in twist-top plastic bottles) was hidden.

Clue #7: An archaeologist must conquer his fears to accomplish the mission!

Movie clip: Creepy-crawly scenes – snake on plane, tarantulas, rats, snake pit, bugs.

Activity: We turned Ben’s room into a creepy cave. We hung streamers from the ceiling and stretched fake spider webs all over the room. Then we put plastic snakes, spiders, bugs and rats all over and hid a flashlight for each boy. Nate covered the window (piece of plywood on the outside, 2 layers of curtains on the inside) so the room was completely dark. The boys had to go into the cave and feel around for the flashlights. Once they each had a “torch” they used them to find Indy’s special tool (a laser pointer) to use on their last task. This was definitely a favorite. They were genuinely freaked out by the dark cave.

Clue #8: An archaeologist must learn how to use maps to find the lost treasure!

Movie clip: Egypt map room

Activity: Nate had made a replica of our house out of Legos. The boys had to try putting the laser (inside the special holder that Nate also made from Legos) on towers of different heights until they found the one where the laser pointed inside the house. Then they had to go to the spot where the laser was pointing, the island in our kitchen, and find the treasure (the piñata).

The final activity was to bust open the piñata (I forgot to take a picture before the party, so I only have the post-mortem shot). I’ve decided that every party, no matter what the theme, should have a piñata. It is always a hit with the kids. This one was super easy to make. We just used a cardboard box and colored on it to make it look like the wooden crate that held the ark at the end of Raiders.

We finished off with presents and cake and ice cream and then took the boys home. They each left with a hat, satchel, whip, blowgun, airplane, flashlight, and candy/toys from the piñata. We were glad that everything had worked out according to plan and the boys seemed to have fun.

The cake: We did double duty with one of Ben’s gifts and used it to decorate the cake. It was simple, Ben loved it, and I had fun getting to build a brand new Lego set all by myself.

Ben's Birthday Bash

Nate and I hosted our first ever friend birthday party yesterday. Our original plan was to let our kids have a friend party for their 4th, 8th and 12th birthdays. Their four year old birthdays came and went with no parties. They didn’t seem to mind. We were still celebrating birthdays with both of our families and a third party just seemed like overkill. When I realized a week ago that we hadn’t started planning Ben’s party yet, I briefly thought about skipping it again. Luckily, Nate was more enthusiastic about party planning. We kicked around a few ideas and settled on an Indiana Jones theme. Once Nate caught the vision, he took off. It was fun to watch him in action. He created a whole multimedia event. He took clips from the movies and came up with a clue and an activity for each one. Then he put it all together on an interactive DVD that moved the kids from one activity to the next. It was AWESOME!

Ben invited the three boys from his Primary class, two of his cousins, and his friend that lives down the street. We had seven boys ages 5-12 here for the party and I think they all had a great time. At church today, my friend told me that her little boy wore his hat all last night and this morning he came out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel and his Indiana Jones hat. Too funny.

The most exciting part for Ben was that he got to see some scenes from the movies. We are apparently the most over-protective/sheltering parents on the block, because all of the other boys had already seen all of the movies. For Ben, it was all new and he loved it. I think Star Wars might finally have some real competition for his affection.

I documented the whole event for posterity (and just in case any of our quality friends want to throw an Indiana Jones party for their own Indy fan). I think that after my brain recovers from this busy week, I will do a more detailed post that shows everything that we did. At this rate, this might be Ben’s one and only non-family party. I wouldn’t want him to forget it.

Emily's Keyboarding Practice

Emily wanted to practice typing on the computer today before school. She probably sat here for a good hour working on her little writing project. Every once in a while she would ask me how to spell a word, but the rest was all her. I laughed when I saw what she had written. She’s a cute girl. I was mostly impressed that, in a writing sample that otherwise is seriously lacking punctuation, she used an apostrophe correctly – twice! She did ask me where the “thing that looks like a comma but goes up higher” was on the keyboard, but the usage was all hers.

I Love My Baby Sister She Is Named Abby She Has Blue Eyes She Has Red Hair. I Love My Dear Heavenly Father He Made The Earth For Me So I Can Go And Play Ride My Bike Thank Thee Dear Father. My Family’s Names Are Abby 1 Elise4 Emily6 Me Ben 7 Mom 34 Dad 35 6 People I Am 6 Years Old. Emily’s Paper !

Happy New Year

We had a fun time ringing in the new year with our kids. We started our New Year’s Eve celebration by taking the kids out to breakfast. We bought some prepaid gas cards for a fundraiser a while back and got a bunch of $5 gift cards to Flying J Restaurant. When Nate saw that Flying J was declaring bankruptcy, he decided that we had better hurry and cash in. There’s just nothing like an all-you-can-eat breakfast at a truck stop to make you want to resolve to eat healthier in the new year! We spent most of the day taking down all of our Christmas decorations, cleaning the carpet, and getting our house back to normal. We had a yummy fondue dinner and then played board games (Clue Jr., Operation, Hisss, Sorry, and Yahtzee) with our kids for the rest of the night. The kids were excited to stay up until midnight. Ben and Emily actually made it. We put Abby to bed around 10:00 and Elise fell asleep in the computer chair at 11:35. It was a fun night, but we are glad to be returning to normal life and normal sleep schedules again.

Shockingly, I only took one picture the whole day. The poor girl just couldn’t take it anymore.

Year in Pictures

Christmas Recap

We had a great Christmas this year. There’s nothing like a house full of Santa Claus believing kids to make Christmas fun. Christmas Eve was a busy day. The kids got up first thing to clean their rooms. They were genuinely concerned about Santa tripping on something while he was delivering their gifts. The rest of the day was filled with sledding, snow forts, making sugar cookies, singing carols around the Christmas tree, new pajamas, our annual Christmas movie marathon/junk food feast, and tracking Santa on NORAD. The kids were actually excited to go to bed so Santa could come.

We started a couple of new Christmas Eve traditions with the kids. Ben insisted that we make reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) to put on the front lawn to make sure Rudolph could find our house. Emily learned in school that kids in Holland leave their wooden shoes by their beds so Santa will leave treats in them, so all of the kids lined up their slippers by their beds. We must have tricked Santa into thinking he was in The Netherlands because he filled up their slippers when he stopped at our house.

Christmas morning didn’t go exactly as planned. The kids always get a new book from Santa on their beds after they fall asleep on Christmas Eve. The idea is that they will stay in bed on Christmas morning until we go and get them. It’s always worked in the past. Not this year. Nate and I got up at about 7:00 and Ben and Emily were both sitting in the family room. The conversation went something like this:
Me – “What are you doing? You’re supposed to stay in your rooms.”
Ben – “Ma-om (the 2 syllable mom), I’ve been awake since 6:30!”
Me – “Did you wake up Emily?”
Ben – “Ummmmmm . . . I think she was waking up when I went in her room.”
Me – “Did you look under the tree?”
Ben (without a hint of excitement) – “Oh yeah. Santa brought us a Wii.”

Ben has been asking for a Wii since last Christmas and I happen to know that Santa bought one in April just to be sure to have one under the tree on Christmas morning. This was not exactly the response we were going for! Oh well.

Abby wasn’t too thrilled with the whole Christmas morning scene. We woke her up at about 7:30 so we could start opening presents. That’s a good 2 or 3 hours earlier than she normally wakes up. It showed. Luckily she cheered up pretty quickly once things got going.

We got about a foot of new snow on Christmas day. We were glad that we had planned to spend the whole day at home since we couldn’t really have gone anywhere if wanted to. We spent the day building Legos, playing with new toys, coloring, and playing games. We had our yummy once-a-year Christmas Brunch Casserole (the girls didn’t love it . . . more for us!) and used the new shaved ice machine from Grandma Reatha to make iced lemonades. Nate made a fabulous turkey dinner. It was the first time we have cooked a turkey with crispy skin and moist and juicy white meat. I felt a little a bad about the turkey we served on Thanksgiving. It was nowhere near as good. The whole day was full of food, fun, and family time. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday.

Holly and Shane brought their kids out on Friday to go sledding. Abby wasn’t a fan of that fresh powder blowing up in her face, but everyone else had a great time. We stayed long enough for everyone to get freezing cold and then came back here for hot chocolate and scones with honey butter.

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur of Wii games, sibling slumber parties, and movie watching. Having Nate home for five days in a row is a rarity and we all loved it. It felt a little weird to have him go to work again today. The kids missed his video game expertise today when they were playing. I’m no help. I am Wii challenged. Elise even beat me in a couple of MarioKart races. Ben on the other hand is a Wii savant. His top bowling score is 219 . . . significantly better than my 106.