Happy Birthday Emma!

I just realized I never posted anything about Emma's birthday party. So here it is a little late.

Since we were going to be in Utah County for a triathlon on Emma's birthday and a lot of her friends and cousins live up there, we had her party at Boondocks. (Boondocks is like a family fun center with video games, miniature golf etc.) This was Emma's #1 choice. It even beat out Disneyland, so how could we refuse? Even though it was not my first choice of venue for the party, it was really fun. The kids played games and played on the playground They ran all over making it a little hard for the parents to keep track of them. Those that weren't busy playing video games themselves *cough* Mark and John. Okay I had fun playing too, and happy to say I doubled John's score in basketball, but that's only to be expected.




We had pizza, and cake. The cake was made out of cupcakes, which we broke apart when it was eating time. What a great idea. I always go back and forth between cupcakes and cake. Cupcakes are so fun to eat and require no cutting or utensils, but I like to have a nicely decorated cake too. This way, I got both. Emma enjoyed opening all her presents.

The best part (for me) was seeing friends from Lehi. We've missed them so much. Emma loved seeing her old friends too. It was really loud and crazy, but it was just the kind-of birthday Emma wanted, and we all had a blast!







ps. Thanks to Rachel for taking pictures as I am still cameraless. *tear*

little help

I have yet to figure out lots of things with blogging. Can someone tell me how to get rid of the border around the title? Also, how do you change the size of your font? And how do you put in your little signature? Yes, I know I have been blogging for a while, but besides the very basics, I don't know much. Thanks for whoever can tell me the answers to my blogging mysteries.

Sugar and Learning

I got this idea from one of Gabe's preschool teachers. It is the perfect idea for him since he is so motivated by sugar. Okay, I enjoy the sugar too.



What you do is put jello powder on a cookie sheet. The child can draw letters or numbers with their finger. It has given Gabe a lot of good practice with his lower case letters and numbers. We'll do some math problems in it too. If he writes the letter right or gets a math problem correct, he gets to lick his finger. Mom also gets a lick for her excellent teaching. It's fun for everyone.

The Great Escape!

This is contest entry for those crazy folks at TodaysMama and Cricut. Be sure to check out Cricut's cool new cartridges and the chance at $30,000 in travel for you and your friends at the !Great Gypsy Escape site

1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be?
I haven't been a lot of places, and I love to travel and new experiences, so I'd love to go pretty much anywhere. If I had to pick a place I'd choose Australia because I've never been there and no matter what time of the year I went I'd have awesome things to do like scuba diving or snowboarding. :)

2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car?
Right now - "I got a Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas

3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do?
Gosh, I think I would shop. Anything I really love to do usually happens in the day. I'd go on a big shopping spree. Maybe I'd take a jet to a big city, and have my purchases shipped home. I'd spend a lot of time at Pottery Barn and Nordstrom.

4. What is your guilty pleasure?
Candy. I just love it. Give me anything mint and chocolate and I'll be happy. Candy corn, and those pumpkins that taste like candy corn are also a very guilty pleasure. Especially when I eat the whole bag myself. In one sitting. Don't judge.

5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home?
Costa Rica.

6. Last book that you couldn't put down?
The Secret Life of Bees

7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch?
Michael Jordan to the Max. It covers his later years when the Bulls were playing the Jazz in the Finals. ahhh..those were the days.

8. What is your favorite local escape?
The pool. I love being outside in the sun and relaxing a bit while the kids play. If I'm by myself, I go mountain biking in the desert.

9. How do you escape on a budget?
I like to get books at the library and come home and read to the kids under the table. It doesn't really sound like escaping, but I love children's books, and I always feel good when I feel like I am doing something somewhat productive. So it's an escape for me.

10.Best food you've ever had while on vacation.
The catfish in Costa Rica. It tasted so good, and was like nothing I've had before.

Health Lesson from a 6 year old.

Emma has been talking to strangers lately. I'm always around, but she'll strike up full blown conversation. They are so funny too. One funny incident happened on Monday. I took the kids to the Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake to see the frog exibit. Gabe is really into frogs right now. We parked on the street in front of a little bar. There was a man outside with a wife-beater on and he was smoking. He was very nice, and started talking to Gabe while I got our stroller organized. He asked if we were going to the museum, and they chit-chated. Emma came around the car and gasped very loudly. She practically yelled, "ARE YOU SMOKING!?" The guys looked kind-of embarrassed, but laughed, "yeah, it's a bad habit. You shouldn't do it."
"YOUR LUNGS ARE GOING TO TURN BLACK!" says Emma. She is just shocked. You would think she had never seen someone smoking before.
"I don't think my lungs will turn black, but it's not a good habit."
Emma was insistent,"They will, they will turn black!"
He continued to smoke and I hurried to get going. A few minutes later Emma was so upset because he was still smoking. "I can't believe he didn't stop smoking. His lungs are going to turn black."