We've Got Spirit!!!

This is the time of the school year that the 'natives get restless', so it is great to have lots of fun activities and events planned. This past week was a spirit week in preparation for Isabel's school carnival, so the kids wore something specific to the theme each day. The 6th graders selected a 70's theme for this year's carnival...here is Isabel, 70's Style:

Monday was Bicentennial Day. I am definitely saving this headband for our neighborhood's 4th of July Parade!!!

Tuesday was Crazy Hair Day. I really wanted to buy a huge purple 'afro wig', but I knew it would be hard enough to convice her to put this thing on her head and go out in public. (Note: It has already found a new home in the trash...the girls kept wearing it around the house and not only did it leave pink hair all over the place, but the creepy factor was much higher for me than I anticipated.)

Wednesday was 70's Accessories Day. This get-up continues to crack me up. You can guarantee that this picture will be somehow incorporated into her high school graduation, her wedding, and possibly her first date.

Thursday was Tie-Dye Day. A long time ago, Cousin Megs gave the girls this lovely tie-dye unitard (oh no, the party doesn't stop at her waist...we just tucked the shorts part into her jeans). As I was uploading this picture, I realized that the seam is in front, so not only did the poor kid go to school wearing a blinding neon tie-dye unitard over a t-shirt/under jeans, but she pulled it off with the 'tard on backwards. Poor kid, she doesn't have a chance at 'Most Likely to Succeed' now.

Friday was 'Lincoln Lions' Day. Doesn't she look like such a big kid?!?!?

I have to give props to Jason...he managed to follow directions and get Isabel into her 'spirit' each morning! Aside from the backwards leotard and a quick stop to the back door of my school for a hair emergency, he was a trooper and did an awesome job!

And not to leave Ashlen out...her school had Cowboy/girl Day last week. They all dressed up like Cowkids and ate beans and biscuits around a pretend campfire. She loved it!

Oh yes, this cowgirl rocks the side ponytail!

Is she lookin' for her herd? No! She wants more Beans 'n Biscuits!!! Any left?

The Story of Dorothy...

Dorothy was born an unfortunate deer. She had only 3 good legs and one small mishapen front leg that the other deer often made fun of. Her only friend was her twin 'button buck' brother who watched over her and protected her from other deer and from hunters who would do her harm (although most hunters had never even considered shooting her because she was so disabled).

The winter of '07 was a sad time for Dorothy. Her 'button buck' brother was shot indiscriminately by a hunter with very litte concern for proper big buck management techniques. She witnessed this horrific event and while running from the scene, she stumbled (remember, she only has 3 good legs) and a large stick blinded her left eye. All she could recall was the FLAMING RED HAIR of this unethical hunter. She wandered aimlessly with no friends and only 3 good legs and 1 good eye.

Then, in Mid-December '08, emaciated and near death, she was looking (with her one good eye) for a scrap of food to sustain her when she suddenly felt a stinging and excrutiating pain in her rectum. Turning to see what has caused such intense pain, she again saw the FLAMING RED HAIR of the unethical hunter who had killed her young brother! She ran away (as best she could on 3 legs and with only 1 good eye) bleeding from her rectum, and was never seen again.

I must begin this story by backtracking a bit... This past winter, Jason went out with his 'huntin buddies' and had an unfortunate mishap that may have landed an arrow in the vicinity of a doe's derrier (depends on whom you ask). Disclaimer: A bad shot on a deer is honestly (all kidding aside for a minute) a really discouraging and upsetting thing for a hunter because for most hunters it really is about food and deer management...not just going out to hurt animals. Back to the story: So, Jason was really uspet by this and his friends, like any good friends would do, teased him about it. Anyone that knows Jason really well knows that if you can get under his skin about something, it can be pretty comical to watch him go all 'drama queen' about it. For months now, he has been getting phone calls, text messages, and jokes sent his way about this deer and his bad shot. This week, one of Jason's best friends took it to the next level...he created this award (yes, that is a plaque made by a local trophy shop and yes, that is a specially created granite base...he was not holding back on this one!!!). Here is the best part...he arranged to have it sit on display in the Police Department (with a laminated copy of the 'Dorothy the Unlucky Whitetail Deer' story-which does have some embelishments for dramatic effect) for THREE DAYS before Jason would find it. So, by the time he came to work from his 'weekend', the entire department had seen it and now it is not just the 'huntin buddies' that can tease him about this bad shot! Classic. As much as I have enjoying this little shenanigan, I am fearful for said friend because we all know that paybacks are hell!!!

Aaahhh...

So many things to 'aaahhh' about! When I saw the weekend forecast on Friday, I was certain that I would spend the entire weekend 'aaahhhing' in the warm sun, but little did I know that the cleaning beast would awaken bright and early Saturday morning. I woke up at 5:45 with an irresistable urge to sanitize my entire house! This happens to me once in a while...I never know when, but I will just get the urge to 'deep clean' the whole place and am not satisfied until I am finished. So, I opened all of the windows, cranked my iPod, and bleached the nooks and crannies of the entire place, top to bottom. It was exhausting, but satisfying. Due to Jason's sleeping schedule, I still haven't gotten to my room and bathroom, but the rest of the house is squeaky clean. I know this because at one point, Isabel came in from playing outside and said "Mom, why does our entire house smell like a swimming pool???" I took this as a compliment because I assume she meant a bleachy-clean pool, as opposed to a sweaty, moldy one. The kids played outside all weekend long...it was refreshing for all of us because I was getting really tired of hearing "I'm BORED!!!". They found so many 'exciting' things to do outside...swinging and looking for little baby millipedes (at least that is what my un-trained, got a degree in Biology without taking an Entomology class, eye perceived them to be). Here are a few pictures of the girls enjoying the weather:

More 'aaahhhing' from me because tonight we went to Menards and bought a bunch of the stuff for our backyard landscaping!!! We ordered the pillars for our 'shade structure' (I call it this because it is basically a pergola, but I don't want a traditional-looking pergola) on the back patio. We also ordered some fencing to strategically place around the backyard. Since I spend about 95% of my day outside in the summer, I am really excited about this project! If anyone out there has any great suggestions/pictures/examples for a non-pergola-looking pergola (or, if you have a great desire to help build such a structure), please let me know!!!! My final 'aaahhh' of the night is that I got one of my favorite snacks today...Sonic Mozzarella Sticks with the breading picked off! Don't know why, but I love those things without the nasty breading! Mmmmm.

Ps-If you tried to contact me in any way this weekend, I apologize for not getting back to you yet. I was a cleaning machine that would stop for nothing all weekend...I will get back to everyone soon now that I am back in the land of sanity! =)

Survey Says...

Once again, I am stealing a recent Facebook idea! There is this list of questions that you ask your kids and then you record their answers, word-for-word. I was curious about the answers from both girls for both Jason and I, so for each question, I have four answers. I-M is Isabel's answer about her mom, I-D is her answer for her dad. A-M is Ashlen's answer for her mom and A-D...you get the idea!!! I tried to color code it to make it easier to read...if it just ends up giving you a headache, I apologize!

So here goes:
What is something mom/dad always says to you?
I-M: Night Sweetie, Love You!!!
I-D: Sweetie, No cookies!
A-M: Snack time! (Wishful thinking, kiddo!)
A-D: That I have beautiful hair
What makes mom/dad happy?
I-M: Her two little kids and playing with them
I-D: His two most beautiful girls in Morton
A-M: When I am so cute
A-D: When I be cute
What makes mom/dad sad?
I-M: When she sees sad movies
I-D: When we grow up he will miss us
A-M: When we don’t have ice cream (No comment necessary from me!)
A-D: When I don’t eat my cookies (which never happens...I think she meant dinner)
How does your mom/dad make you laugh?
I-M: When she tickles me
I-D: When he tickles me
A-M: Makes funny faces (as she makes a funny face)
A-D: Makes funny faces (as she makes a funny face)
What was your mom/dad like as a child?
I-M: Playful and nice and fun
I-D: Fun and very cool
A-M: She drank out of cups (huh???)
A-D: He was a fun boy
How old is your mom/dad?
I-M: 16
I-D: 115
A-M: 16 (How strange that they both guessed this...they did not hear each other answer!)
A-D: 17
How tall is your mom/dad?
I-M: Wow, really tall
I-D: Really, really tall…even taller than my mom!
A-M: 10 (with hand motions for my height)
A-D: Maybe 19?
What is mom/dad's favorite thing to watch on TV?
I-M: Cooking shows (I never watch cooking shows, by the way!)
I-D: Hunting shows, of course! (Yes, she actually said 'of course'!)
A-M: News (I watch the news even less than I watch cooking shows)
A-D: Hunting shows (I am so surprised they didn't mention Tiffany Lakosky by name!!!)
What does your mom/dad do when you're not around?
I-M: Work
I-D: Works
A-M: Sweep and clean
A-D: Clean, I think? (She had trouble imagining that life went on at home without her!)
If your mom/dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
I-M: Her kids
I-D: His kids
A-M: For cleaning
A-D: Sweeping
What is your mom/dad really good at?
I-M: Teaching science
I-D: Two things; working and shooting bows (with mock draw-back for extra effect...Trisha knows exactly what I am talking about!!!)
A-M: Sweeping
A-D: Sweeping
What is your mom/dad not very good at?
I-M: Driving (True.)
I-D: Giving baths (They hate when he gets water in their eyes)
A-M: Cooking
A-D: Cooking (Ash doesn't like to eat her dinner, so she thinks we are terrible cooks!)
What does your mom/dad do for her/his job?
I-M: Teaches
I-D: Gets bad guys and keeps us safe for his three most beautiful girls
A-M: Shop (Ha!!!)
A-D: Gets all the bad guys and marches them inside his police car (with marching in place)
What is your mom's favorite food?
I-M: Pizza
I-D: Deer
A-M: Soup (I make a lot of soup in the winter and always try to convince her to eat it by telling her it is SO GOOD!!!)
A-D: Soup
What makes you proud of your mom/dad?
I-M: When she tickles me (Really? Out of everything I do around here, she is proud of my ability to tickle??? Good to know.)
I-D: He keeps us safe
A-M: When she cleans
A-D: When he cleans the basement for us
If your mom/dad were a cartoon character, who would she/he be?
I-M: Pinkey-Dinkey-Doo
I-D: Tyrone from Backyardigans
A-M: Hanna Ontana (this is how she pronounces Montana)
A-D: A Wonder Pet!
What do you and your mom/dad do together?
I-M: Take walks together in the summer (I think she is as excited for warm weather as I am!)
I-D: Play together
A-M: Play together
A-D: Eat food together
How are you and your mom/dad the same?
I-M: Our eyes and we like the same foods
I-D: Our red hair
A-M: We have the same peach legs (She looks nothing like me, so I guess our skin color was all she could come up with???)
A-D: With the red hair
How are you and your mom/dad different?
I-M: Our hair
I-D: Our eyes
A-M: Eyes
A-D: I am not a policeman (In her 'duh, mom' tone of voice)
How do you know your mom/dad loves you?
I-M: She said that she would never stop loving me no matter what
I-D: Because he has a big heart that can’t stop loving us
A-M: Because I am so sweet
A-D: He smiles at me
What does your mom/dad like most about your dad/mom?
I-M: He loves to kiss (Eeewwww!)
I-D: She does things he tells her to do (Huh.)
A-M: When he goes to work (Makes me laugh!)
A-D: When she sweeps (This question makes me feel like the household maid)

A lot of Ashlen's answers were the same for Jason and I, which was interesting because I asked her all of the mom questions first and then all of the dad questions to avoid that. Anyway...just a fun peek into the minds of my babes!