Cookie Decorating!

Every year the boys go over to my mom's house to decorate cookies with her. She is awesome! She has everything ready to go because once the boys get there...

 

 ...it is time to decorate EVERYTHING!!

 This year, the cookies had a theme to them. I don't know if you know this, but Star Wars released a new movie. (if you haven't seen it, go, it's amazing!!) So, most of the cookies were decorated as Star Wars characters!

 Hans Solo

 Storm Trooper

 Chewie

 Luke Skywalker

 Yoda

 Princess Leia.

 I think that she was made at the end, when the boys were high with sugar and really couldn't focus any longer! She has pretzels in her hair and no braided buns. 

I eventually had to ask my mom to bring over some other Christmas cookies the boys decorated due to a strict "no eating the Star Wars cookie characters" band, that has been strongly enFORCEd!!

The Anticipation!

Someone is getting a little anxious!!

A Helpful Hat

What do you buy a guy for his birthday that says he doesn't really need anything? A hard hat!!

What?  you ask.

Well, you know there's always a story! 

Unfortunately, my dad took a fall and hit his head on the corner of a wall (thank goodness that was all!) Well, my mom ran out to the living room and dad said he was fine. (Phew!) Then mom noticed blood running down the side of his head and around the back of his ear. After further inspection, off to Urgent Care they headed (no pun intended..well, maybe a little.) Dad ended up getting 7 staples!! Ouch! He needs to protect that head!

A couple of days later, it was his birthday and after much deliberation (like, should we and yea, we should) they boys headed out (oh! not again!!) and got a hard hat for my dad to wear while at the house! 

I had to add our own little touch and labeled the hat. (In case neighbors would come over and think if was their hard hat.)

He wears it well!!

 Why is it when you put on a hard hat that everyone around you thinks it needs to be knocked on? Here, you can see Sam's hand in a knocking motion. Looks as if my dad is trying the knocking out, too!

Here's Jack's little hand knocking on the other side!

 

 It was a successful gift...as well as useful!

What I've Been Reading...

I recently read and finished my first zombie book!

Code Zero

by Jonathan Maberry

(the cover bothered me)

As you can see it is a sequel to the first book Patient Zero, which I have not read.  Jason then informed me that there are several "Joe Ledger" novels between Patient Zero and Code Zero...but I thought I would still give it a whirl.

The story that is told in the first book, and I am guessing the in-between books, is pretty well touched on and updated in this Coed Zero, but I definitely got the feeling that I should have read the first book to be more aware of some details, but it was stressed that the details came from the fist book, which were spoken about in this book to catch up readers.  I am not going to go back and read the first book - I am going to trust Jason that it was a good read,  just don't think I am up for anther Joe Ledger novel.  

While this book was exciting in parts, most of it was just a build up to the end event...a slow burn with lots of interruptions. I didn't feel as if you really got to know any of the characters. The big zombie fights were had to follow, because I didn't realize they were super-zombies and could survive everything.  I liked the villain in this book, she was interesting, and would have liked to know more about her (which may or may not have happened in the previous books.)  

But, once again, it amazes me how a main character, this one being Joe Ledger, can get out of any type of gun battle, zombie battle and super zombie battle...alive and without a scratch for the most part...or he can shake it off and take off to the next zombie battle...no problem. He also has a dog with him all the time-that's all you know. I thought we would find out more about the dog, which may or may not have been covered in the previous books.  I know it's science fiction/fantasy and that is what happens in many of theses books. It just isn't a genre I enjoy as much.

From Amazon:

Faithful readers of the Joe Ledger series, of which this is the sixth volume, might be confused by the cover blurb calling this “the sequel to Patient Zero,” since that was the first book in the series. But the blurb is correct: although the novel takes place in its proper sequence—there are references to events that took place in earlier books—the story involves elements introduced in the series debut, which means Joe and his team from the ultra-elite Department of Military Sciences (DMS) are going to be battling more zombies, but tougher and more dangerous than anything they’ve seen before. The person responsible for these new-breed walking dead, and for various other technological and biological attacks on the U.S., appears to be a woman who calls herself Mother Night. And when the DMS figures out who Mother Night really is, they realize they’re in for their deadliest fight yet. Sure, the series follows a pretty strict formula—Joe and his DMS team encounter a seemingly supernatural threat that has a twisted scientific explanation; they go up against a fiendishly clever supervillain; they save the world; and they do it all in about 450 pages—but when a formula is this entertaining, is anyone going to complain about it?  

Oops...I guess I am complaining about the book, but I do get the feeling, after reading reviews, that I wasn't the only one. It's not a bad read, but it's not a great read...no twists and I love a good twist! If you like zombie books, you may want to read the first one in the series, Patient Zero and then try Code Zero. 

Balloon Game

I recently had my Memory Bound work party and as always, it was a night a fun and laughter...especially when we played Reindeer Games!! The staff was divided up in groups and had to plan a short game for all to play. One game that was a big hit, was the balloon game!

Each couple got a pair of nylons! (remember those!)  I blew up balloons while Jason stuffed them into the pantyhose !

Once you had stuffed them as full as possible, you placed the pantyhose on your head! Tah Dah!! You have just created a Caribou rack! It was measured for three different lengths and sizes and prizes were awarded. I think Jason received third place for the size of his rack. Yea!!

Well, I took the caribou rack home because I knew it would be a hit with the boys. The next morning, both boys wore them while watching TV. (Sam would not put them on his head until he was positive no one had previously worn them!)

Well, who could pass up the opportunity to experience the balloons?  We found our elf, Henry, inside the nylons one morning!

 Doesn't he look comfy!?!?!?

Sam found Henry and decided to take him for a ride!

Who knew that a pair of pantyhose full of balloons could provide so much fun!!

Just Finished

I have about four books that I have read and need to share with you!  I tried out my first zombie book (ew), a new mystery book (good!), a survivors story from the holocaust (very good) and I just finished this book:

Eeny Meeny

(A Helen Grace novel)

by M. J. Arlidge

It's dark, it's twisted, but it's a good read. (I had a hard time with the maggot scene.) Someone is abducting two people who know each other. They are imprisoned (one couple is trapped in an empty swimming pool) with absolutely no way out and left with a cell phone and a gun. The cell phone informs the imprisoned people that they will have NOTHING: no water, no food. The only way out is one person must shoot the other.
 

Detective Helen Grace has never encountered such a dark and twisted game. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them.

Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense....

Just to give you the heads up, it is a dark read, but it is a good read that keeps you guessing. There were many times I thought I had it all figured out, but then it would twist...again! I honestly had no idea who was doing all of this until the book just straight out told me! Is that giving away to much? I don't think so...:)

Smokers

We like to promote healthy habits in our household.  You know, eat right, exercise, take care of yourself, try to encourage to a little personal hygiene with the boys (brushing teeth and some deodorant, please!) Must remember everything in moderation, though!

Well, my mom use to get the boys a Nutcracker every year for Christmas, but I guess that would promote peanuts and nuts, which are good for you in small amounts, but let's be honest, loads of fat. So, the last couple of years, she has switched her focus to smokers. Not just any smokers, but Santa smokers. Forget the sweets and candy that those other Santas  offer (is there a plural form of Santa?) We are going for grown up big boy smoking Santas!

After Jack nicely asked if he could watch his Santa smoke, we didn't want Sam to feel left out, so we had Sam's Santa light up too!  And boy can these Santas smoke! Sam soon pointed out that his Santa was out smoking Jack's Santa and "Just watch the smoke pour out of him!"  At that time, we should of politely asked them to step outside, because they were filling the house with their smokey smell and it was making Sam a bit nausea! (imagine that!)

 

But, never fear, they were soon done smoking and we lit a nice cinnamon bun candle, that got us to thinking we should have cinnamon rolls for breakfast soon. 

So much for the healthy habits, but we can always start tomorrow!

Nutracker Dr.

While unpacking our Nutcrackers this year, we noticed about 10 of them needed some sort repair. So, Jack sent up a little station with paper and a low heat glue gun and went to work.

He is proud to report that all Nutcrackers were fixed, he did not get any glue on his fingers or his fancy robe, that he was challenging himself to wear all day. We like to set high goals in our family.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Grandpa and Dad!

Happy Birthday to you!

Never mind Jason. We told him he couldn't use the fork as a prop in the picture and so he was pouting. There's always one in the crowd!! (wink wink)

A National Lampoons Xmas Moment...

I must apologize if last week in the evening, you heard some loud swear words thundering through the night air. Jason plugged in our "pre-lit" Christmas tree and this happened. 

I must say that 99.9% of our friends have, at sometime, experiences this National Lampoos Christmas moment. It is such fun to watch and experience.

I am happy to report, that Jason did figure out what the issue was in about 10 minutes. (A faulty fuse?)  So our tree is up and ready for me to decorate. Though we haven't shut off the lights since that night in fear of a fuse blowing...again.  (i'm kidding.)

Making Memories...

Finally getting around to looking at Thanksgiving pictures.

And I hope your dinner was better than Jack is stating about my cooking!

 I hope a love one had a cool picture prop such as Jason and his fork. Everyone needs to have a random dirty fork in a picture!

I hope you got to nap as soundly as my father did in the middle of our living room!

I hope that you asked someone to take a picture and they gave you a happy smile and wave such as Sam did for me. Sweetie!

Hope you made some wonderful memories this Thanksgiving and that you were lucky to catch those dear memories in a photo!

Sad...

Emily McDowell posted this on her instagram yesterday afternoon.

 It breaks my heart.

Great Game!

If you and your family and friends like to play games, then I highly recommend the game : Spy Alley!

 

From Amazon:

From Mata Hari to James Bond, spies and secret agents have filled our imaginations. Now, you have the chance to play spy and counter spy in a dark alley - SPY ALLEY. Deceptively simple and surprisingly intense, Spy Alley keeps you on the edge of your seat. Players become a spy for their given country and try to uncover their opponents' identity while keeping their own identity a secret. Players use deductive reasoning to expose other spies while attempting to complete their mission by obtaining the necessary code books, disguises, keys and passwords. You will be surprised how difficult it is to deceive your friends and family. A slip of the tongue, the blink of an eye, or even the twitch of a muscle may give your identity away. Players must be careful when entering Spy Alley. It is a calculated risk that only the bravest spies will take. The first spy to complete their mission or the last to retain their identity wins the game. For 2-6 players ages 8 and up. It takes about 45 minutes to play a game.

The four of us played and it was such fun! It is somewhat like "Clue" but instead of hiding who/what you know on a piece of paper, you mark all of your bought items on a peg board for all to see. So, if I am a Russian spy, I would have to buy a few things for the Italian spy or the American spy to throw the other players off.  

I was one space from winning the game...I was SO excited and my heart was pumping so fast! I couldn't believe it...I was going to beat the boys! I have yet to beat all three boys in one game! Yes!! Then Jason remembered he had a "free" guess. By this time, it was obvious which spy I was. And that quick, I was the first one OUT of the game!

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Well, at this point, Jason gets all my bought items and can continue to be his original spy or he can secretly switch and be my spy. So you have NO IDEA WHO IS WHO!! It is so much fun!!

Highly recommend for a family game or a holiday gift for friends or families that like board games!  

#TBT

#Throw Back Thanksgiving

Last year at this time, my thanksgiving turkey had busted out of the bottom of the bag and slid across the garage floor.

I guess it was all okay with my family, because they have put the thanksgiving prep into my hands once again. Wish me luck.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

24 Hours..

So the snow has come (darn it) and gone...no wait, it's still here (darn it.) I was SOOOO hopping that this would be one of the storms the weather people predicted wrong. It wasn't...the weather guy on channel 8 actually predicted the EXACT amount that we got! Hope they give him a huge year end bonus, because we know how often THAT happens!

Anyway, this is what the yard looked like Friday around 2:00pm...peaceful, a bit chilly, but good to go! Places are canceling events...I am thinking they are crazy! It's a great day!!

Here is the same shot at 9:00 am on Saturday.

 

Yep, that's Jack playing the snow already. While I am taking this picture though, he is actually complaining...loudly! 

"It's FLUFFY snow! You can't build anything with this!! You can't make a fort or a snowman or a... (on and on and on and on.)" 

"Well, come on inside then! Let the sun warm the snow and then it may melt a bit (in the 20 degree weather) and it will be more packable." 

(Like my science classes didn't teach me anything!!) 

But he believed me and thought it sounded like a great idea!

 Needless, to say when he went out for round two. The sun was still out. Nothing had melted and the snow was still FLUFFY!

Jason went out to plow the lane with the Gator. He came in about 10 minutes later. "Gators dead," he said. 

 

So, basically no one in our family was excited about the snow.

ew

We have another construction project happening at our house. With all the construction, remodeling, gutting, ect. that we have done over the years, we've never had one of these for the workers...let alone two! I must say though, that there aren't leaves on the trees, so they really can't "go" in the woods. But, couldn't they drive to Casey's? And why TWO? We figured one was for "number one" and the other was for "number two." Ew.

Well, the red one was gone at the beginning of last week, so our "number"theory was out the door. Then we had those super strong winds on Thursday...when I got home from work, this is what I saw...

 Ew.

I took this pictures from my car window. Jack was out and about in the yard and asked him if "checked" out the porta potty. He looked at me and said, "Yea." 

I asked him, "Ew?" 

He said, "Very Ew." 

EWWWW!!

Congrats, Jack!

In October, Jack's school had a fire safety poster contest. Jack came home and knew exactly what he wanted to create for his poster. He sat down, drew a smoke detector, smoke and the slogan,

 "Hear the beep, when you sleep! 

All bedrooms should have a working smoke alarm."

 

Well, wouldn't ya know it, Jack's poster tied for first place!

Congratulations to you, my son!

His winning poster was made into bookmarks and available at his school's library. Jack got a special laminated one. 

He also gets to choose one of the three options as a prize:

1. Have your family take a CPR class.

2. Have a firefighter come and eat lunch with you at school.

3. Have the fire truck deliver pizza to your house! (great birthday idea!)

"Wow, Jack! Those are some great choices! (decision, decisions) What do you think you will do?" I asked him.

He looked at me and said, in ALL seriousness,  

"I think I will do the CPR class."

"Oh. OK. Sounds like a good idea to me."

???????

It is his prize, not mine!

Vikings Game...

(For some reason, my posts haven't been going up!! UGH!!)
Anyway...
 
Last weekend, we all headed up for our once a season family football game in Minneapolis. It was long overdue for the four of us to get away and hang out together. 

On Saturday, we headed to the Mall of America for shopping (me) and riding rides (the boys.)

Jason and Sam are in the front row on the right side! Sam mentioned that he had never ridden in the front row before...check that one off his list!

Before heading to the game, we ate brunch at a fun little dive place in the city. We decided that Sam has been growing (again) because he LOVED the brunch and made his many trips worth the cost!

We catch the train to the game and then cab it back. Super easy!!

Lucky me to have this gentleman sit in front of me!

 And his wife sat in front of Jack!

 Yep, Sam is growing. Whine he packed, I asked him if his jeans still fit. "Yep!" he told me. Well, they still fit, but they are about six inches too short!!! He told me that his ankles got chilly a times because he could feel a breeze on them! oh my.

This weekend was to honor men and women in the services. It was really cool to hear stories and then see the actual people at the game. Well done Vikes! 

 Before the game, several players come down to the end zone to pray. Petersen is on the left and Teddy is on the right.

 AP

 Teddy prayed hard on this day. I was afraid he might miss the beginning of the game!

Jack thought the day was a success because he got to eat his favorite stadium snack...fried cheese curds!

It was a nail biter of a game. Went into overtime, but the Viking pulled it out once again! Phew!!