February 8, 2009 - Pink Foam Curlers

I have fond memories of bath night with my folks rolling my long blonde hair up in pink foam curlers, sometimes we'd be watching the Muppets or Lawrence Welk. I thought of those silly pink curlers, which were not very comfortable to sleep in, the other day and bought a package for Emma to try. I cut about two inches off her hair length (she was due a trim) and then began the process of rolling. We were nearly done, when Wil came in.
"What are you doing to Emma, Mom?" he asked.
I responded, "Well, these pink curlers will help Emma have beautiful, curly hair tomorrow for church".
To which he excitedly replied, "Oh Emma, I can see it now! You are almost already quite beautiful"!
"Thank you Wil", smiled Emma.
I wish I had thought to take a picture last night. The results were cute this morning. She didn't seem to mind them at all during the night and posed and flashed her curls around for all to see as we were getting ready for church. We'll give it another shot next Saturday!

February 7, 2009 - Big Ships

February 6, 2009 - Dinosaurs Alive in 3D

We wondered if the IMAX dinosaur movie MIGHT be a bit too much for our kids. After all, they begged us to turn off Robin Hood (yes, the animated Disney version) during their first viewing because it was too scary! :) Ben typically does the best, but it's the music and anticipation that gets the other two. We explained that it might be a bit realistic. Wil is our dinosaur expert and he was adamant that he could do it. Em, who had previously viewed the movie, also agreed. Ben was the least of our worries. :)
We loaded everyone, stood in line for the tickets, stood in line again for the show, and finally found a great seat... right in the middle of the theatre. As predicted, Ben wasn't too ruffled. He was more intent upon touching or grabbing the dinosaurs as the 3D effects brought them right in front of our faces. In fact, at one point we had to physically grab him because he was mauling the head of the man in front of us trying to grab on to the dinosaur (or giantsaur as he calls it) bones. Wil did okay... with a bit of persuasion, he left his glasses on and as long as I plugged his ears when the "scary" parts were on he was fine. Em sat on the other side of Bil. He reported that she didn't watch the whole thing because her head was buried, but she felt that it was a great experience after it was over. My favorite parts: when the paleontologists dug and tossed the dirt.. it looked like it was falling over us (Wil was a bit upset that they would do that), when it rained both boys covered their heads with their arms to shield from the wetness, and the excited comments such as "it's so close Mom". We loaded back into the Terazza and headed off to Red Mill for burgers to end a fun afternoon.

February 5, 2009

February 4, 2009 - Daddy's Turn

Tonight was volleyball practice again! We decided to share some of the heart attacking fun with him! We drove to the dollar store to purchase ten Valentine balloons and more gel hearts before heading all the way out to Kentlake High School where we tied balloons and attached hearts all over his Vibe! We were very pleased with our masterpiece ... unfortunately, I forgot the camera! Apparently, one of the girls caught a shot on her cell phone and sent it to a few others. The kids wondered if Dad was smart enough to figure out who did the heart attacking. I told them that if they were in bed and asleep before he got home, they just might fool him. :) Hehe... who fooled whom? LOL They were asleep!

February 3, 2009

February 2, 2009 - Heart Attacks!

Tonight's Family Home Evening involved quite a bit of driving and sneaking around! :) We began at the Bybee house and then went to the Tyler and Crystal Worton home. As luck would have it, they were easy peasy stops where one at a time, our kids quietly and quickly decorated the doors with little gel hearts before wildly racing back to the van for the getaway. Papa and Ma's stop was a bit trickier. For starters, they were home! :) (Although the first two were as equally exciting as we didn't know the Bybees were gone or when the Wortons would return!) As luck would have it, the Wortons were at Grandpa and Grandmas. Not only were the blinds open, but all were in the front room... Emma and I decorated the cars and left with the hope to return for better success! We drove past the Nordquists, but saw Anna waving at us in the window. Foiled! We drove to the Hunts to see all in the front room and kitchen. Foiled again!! We decided to head to Orting, in the hopes that folks might settle down and we could try again. Uncle Tom and Aunt Jennette were home. In fact someone was in the office and I prayed that Scout the dog would allow us to come and go in peace. Ben and I silently snuck up and attacked without getting caught! Victory! Emma and I decided to give Grandpa and Grandma another shot. We saw a flashlight beaming in the backyard; however, decided to attempt it regardless. We crept up the steps, crawled under the windows, and began quietly applying the hearts. We could see movement just in side the door. Emma giggled nervously as we hurriedly tried to finish our task. Suddenly, I knew we were caught! "RUN!!!", I hollered... Emma froze! "Oh, how nice..." said Grandma. Emma remembered how to run and caught up to me in the van. We completed the list, successfully attacking the Hunts and Nordquists. Emma later that night informed me that we (her parents) were right, "It IS funner to give that receive! Can we do this every year Mom?" Yeah!!! Mission accomplished.