It's like Cupid on Crack.

Valentine's Day is once again upon us and I,once again, achieve to over-achieve.  Elvis, the first grader, of course, is first on the list because let's face it.... 5th grade boys have no interest in creating valentines because "it might send the wrong message."  And in 8th grade, you are either making out or you aren't, and thank my lucky stars Ladycakes aren't!

So Elvis is just slightly, mildly.....okay, overly obsessed with a video game (I swore I would never introduce them or guns as toys, I failed on one.)  Skylanders.  If you have a 6 to 11 year old boy, you probably know what I'm talking about.  In my effort to spin all things positive, I decided to take Skylanders to the level of valentines.

Let me just clarify, if you have tried since Christmas to find, touch, look at or even come in the vicinity of, much less throw down cold hard cash for one of these Skylanders you are out of your mind.  They are 2011's Tickle Me Elmo gone amok..... why, why do I fall for this stuff?  So it would make sense to push them forward to the next holiday, am I right?

Holy Shit, you can get Pokemon, Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Phineas and Ferb, Justin Beiber or Dr. Dre Valentines but not Skylanders?  Well, probably not Dr. Dre.....

Each Skylander character comes with a "trading card" so I put my color printer to work and got started on some super cheesy sayings (this is where an 8th grader really comes in handy) and we were like Cupid on Crack.

The resulting valentines are not only handmade ( I love this kind of stuff ) but also something Elvis will be excited about handing out and totally unique.

Next stop a 5th grade party!  As Room Parent, how do I come up with something different for kids that have been decorating cookies for years?  I'll fill you in next time.....


This is my way of forcing myself to post more than once a month!  See you soon!

The Great Outdoors, where you can pee wherever you want.

It's been our goal to spend more time outdoors.  Away from the computer, the Wii, the T.V., the kitchen, the laundry.  You know where I am coming from, we spend a lot of time indoors.  We are not adverse to the outdoors.  I love Mother Nature.  But, I don't want our "outdoor" time to be mowing the lawn.  Lame.

So we have ventured out lately.  Here's what we have done.

Found an amazing spot, here in the Uintas.  The Provo River.  Perfect spot to play, imagine, read, bring your blood pressure down to a reasonable  150/92.  For me, that's a good day!

The landscape is truly awe-inspiring.  We played here for hours.  We explored, had lunch.  Explored, read some of our books.  Explored, jumped in.....

First Elvis.  Really?  It's like 45 degrees.  He's fearless or stupid.  We're not sure.

Next Q.  There were teenage girls within earshot. Need I say more?

Finally, Ladycakes.  She lets the fools test the water.  I am so proud of this girl!

Once they started, they couldn't stop.  The rush was too much.  They loved how cold the water felt, the fear factor was too much.  They just kept jumping.

By the time we packed up, they were exhausted.  Guess how many times we disciplined them (the boys)?  None.  How much bickering did we hear?  None.  Who said they were bored because "there's nothing to do!"?  Nobody.

Being outside is good for everybody.  We left exhausted, windblown, sun-kissed, muddy and very happy.  We are pleased to live so close to this.  We are very lucky.  

Next came the reservoir.    Well, let's just say they wanted their Nintendos.  I'll fill you later. oy.

This is not how I intend to celebrate Easter!

This happened today. THIS!  Really?  Enough already.  Q actually said, "I THOUGHT it was SPRING?" And, uh yes, he wore shorts to school.  The boy thinks he can fool Mother Nature. It's not spring.  It's winter.  I plowed 10 inches of snow off the driveway today.  And, I am bitter.  I thought Easter was about new, kicky sandals, springy skirts, pretty pastel colors (aside from all of it's "religious" stuff.)  How do you have an Easter egg hunt in THIS?

I mean really!  You are NOT going to see any little spring birdie birds bathing their little feathers in that bad boy.  No Sir.

We are going to dye some eggs.  Trying brown because there is a rumor circulating that they really give off a "rich" color.  Plus that's what we eat and I had them in the fridge.  Although I am considering just hucking them out into the snow and encouraging the little bees to "just go for it."  It will make the hunt last longer that's for sure.


And while I'm at it, for April.  My One Small Change is right here.

This is awesome, I found it clicking here and then clicking there and then clicking again.  Find it yourself and join in.






Some cool stuff to show tomorrow.  Tune in.......