Happy To Be Back To School!

The girls have been having a lot of missed school days due to the extreme wind chills this winter and the frostbite risk.  They were happy to be back in school and seeing their friends again ... although they were sad to learn that they now to report to school on Presidents Day as a make up day for the school closings ... that received a resounding "Not Fair!" from both girls!

They did a pretty good job entertaining themselves over the days we have been suck in the house  ... they have gotten a lot of screen time on the PC playing Minecraft but in addition to that they have:

Watched some movies on our new comfy couch for the basement ...

Used my iPad more than a few times ...

Built lots of cool Lego items ...

Including a Lego Pegasus ...

And a Lego Unicorn ...

It is a very good thing we all get a long so well ...

Happy Birthday Grandma B!

Despite the threat of snow we picked up Grandma, Grandpa and Granny M to go out on the town and celebrate Grandma B's birthday.  We had reservations at Kubuki at one of their teppanyaki tables.  We had eaten there about four years ago for Joshua's and Grandpa's birthdays and the girls loved it, so we thought we would try it again and see if they remember any of it ... they really didn't remember the last time we were there, but they loved this time!

There were enough of us (7) that we got to sit at our own table, plus we decided to eat dinner early at 5 pm so we had the place to ourselves for most of our dinner!

Dinner started with a first course of soup followed by a small salad ... the soup was a favorite of the night for both of the girls not to mention the kiddie cocktails they got to enjoy too!

Next our chef joined us at the cooking table and dinner was officially underway with some veggies, shrimp and fried rice ... yum!

While our chef was preparing the veggies, we were treated to a special onion "volcano" and the girls were thrilled!!

Grandma and Grandpa were enjoying themselves too ... looking forward to the lobster and steak that were going to be cooked next!

I had finished my wine and decided (with a little encouragement from Grandpa) to try some warm saki ... of course he joined me and we even shared a little bit with the birthday girl!

Dinner was not only delicious but lots of fun ... we even treated Grandma to a round of Happy Birthday in English and what we think was Japanese ... :)  Grandma blew out her ice cream candles and the girls finished off the desert!

We headed by to Grandma and Grandpa's for a while after dinner but headed home a little early in the evening due to the snow that had arrived and that was making the roads a bit of a hazard.  We had a great evening ... Happy Birthday Grandma!!!!

Half Pint Horse Summer Camp Mailer

The girls made the mailer/flyer for advertising Half Pint Horses' Summer Camp program!  So fun!!!!

Miss Madison Made the Home Page for Half Pint Horses!

I went to the Half Pint Horse Foundation's webpage to look into signing the girls up for summer horse camp with the mini's again and I was happily surprised to find this ...

That is her behind the light brown horse, her favorite ... Cookie!

When Life Happens and Your Bananas Turn Black ...

We make banana bread!!!  It is in the oven baking now!!!

Girl Scout's First Aid Badge

Tonight I lead the Girl Scout Troop Meeting and helped the girls earn their First Aid badge.  Since I am 16 weeks away from being a real live Registered Nurse, I decided to take on this topic for my turn leading the meeting.

We started the night by talking about 911 emergency calls and discussed all the information the operator would want once they made a call.  We also talked at length about how it is important to only call for real emergencies and we reviewed appropriate and inappropriate reasons to call 911.  We also had a question and answer session during which the girls could ask me, the nurse, anything they wanted.  I followed that up with a chance for the girls to listen to each others as well as their own heart beats with my fancy stethoscope, they thought that was super cool.

Next we spent some time assembling a First Aid Kit and discussed each component and its use as we put into the kit.  Finally it was time for the girls to practice what they had learned and they got busy with their own little first aid kits tending to their injured dolls, teddy bears and other various animals!

With a short wrap up on outdoor safety and poisonous plants, we were done and the badge had been earned!  I think the practice session on their little friends and listening to heart beats was the highlight of the night for the girls!

PTA New Years Party at JES

Tonight the girls and a few of their friends headed to the elementary school for an evening of Bingo and dancing sponsored by the JES PTA.  Despite the colder weather and the impending cold front, there was a pretty good turn out for the party.

We went and picked up their friend, Tawnie, and we meet Mia and Lilly at the Bingo session that started at 6 pm with the dance to follow at 7 pm.  Alyssa actually ended up winning a Bingo and received a gift card to the Dairy Queen which is right up her alley!

They even had time between games to goof around a little bit and decided they wanted to pose for pictures.

After Bingo, all the kiddos headed to lunch room for a treat of popcorn and cotton candy ... which absolutely no one was complaining about!

Then it was time to dance ... they even had a pretend countdown to midnight (actually 8 pm) with noise makers and all to celebrate the new year!  The girls had a blast!!!

Jordan Community Journal

The new journal came in the mail this week and we were surprised to find a picture of Alyssa gracing one of the pages!  It was taken back in October for Homecoming Week!

Happy New Years!

We had a low key New Years Eve this year at Grandma and Grandpa's house ... low key but fun.  The girls enjoyed a dinner of Subway sandwiches and then we played a few board games with them, including a Monster High one that they thought was lots of fun!  Grandpa seemed to have work the hardest for this game and still ended up on the losing end.

Grandpa reciting the ABC's while laying on his tummy and lifting his arms and legs and screaming the vowels ... yes this is a stunt for the Monster High game and it earned him two whole tokens!

We also played Honey Bee Tree and I think the girls were the winners both times!  We will not say where Grandpa placed for this game ...

After the games, the girls snuggled in and watched a movie while the adults enjoyed a feast of lobster tails and crab legs!  It was delicious and we were all very full by the time we finished ... and we did finish!

It was a great way to end 2013 and start 2014 ... lets hope the year is a good one!