Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Drive On

Here in Colorado our kids never ask to drive.
 
 
I know what you're thinking, "The car?! Why would they ask to drive the car?"
Exactly. Why would they ask to drive the car?
 
 
But something about crossing the border into Texas makes my kids think they're old enough for their learner's permit.
Maybe it's all the good Mexican food. Or Whataburger.
 
 
Whatever it is, they start fighting to the death to reach the driver's seat whenever we turn into a grandparent's driveway.
And believe me, I've taken a few elbows and feet to the face, it's not a pretty sight.
 
 
This one may be the smallest, but he's the scrappiest. 
Winner takes all. And drives.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Still Big

This is our 4th year in a row to enjoy an after Thanksgiving trip to the cheese-tastic tourist trap awesomeness that is the Big Texan Steak Ranch.
 
The great thing about the Big Texan is that it never changes.
 
The kids get free hats.



My hunters line up at the shooting range.



We order (and Reed poses with) the giant ice cream brownie.


And a photo-op with the rocking chair.

It doesn't get much better!

Monday, November 26, 2012

One's Enough

So you probably remember me talking quite a bit about my parents' dogs.
 
Foxy is the diva-ish Pomeranian (who was the puppy of one of my former student's dogs.)


And Belle is the Chow/Golden Retriever mix that the kids love to use as a pillow.


Let me start by saying that both these "ladies" are 14 years old, which makes them about 98 in people years.
And if you've ever been around a 98 year old, well, you know they can sometimes be a little snippy.
 
 
A few weeks ago my dad was feeding them, and Foxy started barking and snapping at Belle (which she does all the time). Belle had obviously had enough of Foxy's antics that day and turned and snapped back at her.
 
 
Unfortunately, when she did, she accidentally hit Foxy's eye.
 (She couldn't have done it on purpose if she'd tried.)


My dad said Foxy's eye looked bad, then started looking worse.
 
 
He took her to the vet, who said her eye would have to come out.  They were worried she wouldn't live through the surgery, (at 4 pounds and 98 years old surgery is always dangerous) but leaving the eye in would have poisoned her.
 
 
Well, The Diva did live through the surgery, and the kids couldn't wait to see what she was going to look like with one eye. 
I, on the other hand, was scared to look at her.
 
But it looked way better than I thought!
 
 
So here's her public debut. 
 Only one eye, but still all attitude.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

They Say It's Your Birthday

It's the big man's birthday today.
He requested a white cake with white icing.
 
 
I'd talk about how old he is, but that might make you think I'm old.
And we all know that's certainly not the case.
 
 
The birthday boy with his boys.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Surprise Visit

We told JR we were making the hour drive over to Lufkin, TX to have lunch with one of Paw-Paw's friends.
In actuality, we were headed to see JR's bestie Steven who was at his grandmother's house.
 
 
What are the odds that best friends meeting in Durango, CO would have grandparents living an hour away from each other in East Texas?
 
 
Steven and JR haven't seen each other since May.
As you can see, they were just a little excited.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

8 and Up

JR got a new 500 piece marble launcher/course.
The box clearly states it's for "ages 8 and up".
 
 
Jason and JR (both being 8 and up) worked for two days putting this thing together.
 
 
I guess the manufacturer forgot to mention "ages 8 and up...plus a parent with an engineering degree".
 

Friday, November 16, 2012

Fashion Fabulous Friday

 
It was crazy hair day at school.
 And in an awesomely awesome coincidence, Walmart had their Halloween wigs marked down to free this week.
 
 (Okay, 75% off)
 
3 new wigs came home to live in the prop closet.
 
 
And this blonde mullet (you'll remember we already have the black mullet) was picked as the golden child (pun intended) for school.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Are You KIDDING Me?!?!

JR's new cub scout pack had their Father/Son cake bake tonight.
 
As you well know, we Ingersolls are pros at the Father/Son cake bake, taking 2nd place the last two years in a row in Durango.
 
 
I haven't even been to one of JR's cub scout meetings, but strutted in with Jason and JR tonight (camera in hand) ready to bask in the glow of their winnings.
 
 
We took last year's winning cake (why re-invent the wheel?) and waited for the compliments to come pouring in.
 
Jason and I smirked at each other as each cake arrived; we even whispered to each other about nobody bringing "their A-game".
 
 
As you can probably tell by my set-up, we didn't walk away winners.  (I'm still furious!) 
JR handled it like a champ (he didn't even seem to care), but I still think we got robbed.
 
 
So here's their cake. (This is last year's picture. I didn't get a good one of the cake tonight.)


And here they are tonight.


Oh, and to add insult to injury, there were two winners in the best cub scout theme category.


I don't have a picture of best patriotic cake.
Not that I need one.  Cupcakes in the shape of a flag.
 
 
And the ugliest cake.
Yep. It's a toilet.


After the big winners were announced, we were ready for JR's name to be called for best cake in his den.
 
Nope.
 
This one beat him.

Really?
 
So obviously I'm a bit bitter.
 
JR has a great Cub Scout "it was just fun making a cake with Daddy" attitude, and I do not.
 
I've already told Jason I have a full year to come up with an idea for him to execute.
 
I will be redeemed!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

It's Done! It's Done!

I am officially finished decorating for Christmas.
Finished!
 
Now if I can just keep Kyle from undecorating the trees, we're in good shape.
 
 
The kids always want to decorate "the family tree" themselves.  And by the time the family tree goes up, I'm usually so tired, I'm all for it.
 
 
Kyle and Reed were seriously in to it this year.
I mean, just look at this, um, masterpiece.
 
Thankfully, JR swooped in to save the day.
 
He might be all Ingersoll when it comes to hunting and flying, but there's plenty of Reynolds in the Christmas tree department.
 
A few hours after this picture was taken (it had only gotten worse) JR came home from school.  As I was walking out the door to take Kyle and Reed to gymnastics I whispered to him, "fix it."
 
And he did!
Another Christmas decorator in the family? Yes, please!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Mini Rocker

JR participated in a "showcase" yesterday.
(And yes, 'showcase' is just the new fancy word for 'recital'.)
 
 
The place he takes piano seems to focus on teaching kids to play together, which I'm guessing is a skill you'd actually use. (Though that seems to be ignoring my tux and tails-grand piano dreams.)
 
 
I had no idea JR was going to play the keyboard, or that his teacher was going to play the drums along with him.
In fact, Jason said it best when he whispered, "Is that the song he's been practicing all week?"
 
 
 
I assured him it was the song, but drums and a keyboard certainly do spice it up a bit.
(It's only a 50 second video.)
 
 
 
Now many of you might remember me saying JR's teacher reminds of (a young) Vince Neil from Motley Crue. 
So you know I have a picture for you.
It's a terrible picture of JR, but you can definitely see the Vince Neil resemblance.



If you're not a fan of 80's hair bands, here's the actual Vince Neil in a recent mug shot.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Tooth of It

So when Kyle and Reed's gymnastics teacher approached me with a sealed envelope in her hands, I just knew it was some sort of certified letter explaining that my children needed to cease and desist all hyperness if they were to continue in her class.
 
 
To my surprise, it wasn't a behavior notice, but Kyle's tooth!
 
 
His bottom tooth had been loose, and I hadn't let anybody touch it (4 is too young to loose a tooth!) so it literally just fell out of his mouth at gymnastics.
 
 
Now you're probably expecting me to continue to talk about Kyle, but really the rest of the story has nothing to do with Kyle, and is all about Reed (just the way Reed likes it).
 
 
The fear in Reed's eyes was utter horror as he realized the Tooth Fairy was coming that night to see Kyle, and not him.  Kyle would be getting attention (not to mention money) for this tooth, and Reed would be forced to step out of the spotlight...if only for a night.
 
 
Thankfully for Reed, he is me made over.  I understand the fear of somebody else getting attention, and I wasn't going to let it ruin his day.
 
 
I said, "Reed, let's write a letter to the Tooth Fairy explaining the situation. 
She'll probably understand."

Reed went to bed nervous, and was up early to tell us the Tooth Fairy took the note with her since "she probably had to show it to her boss".
 
 
Reed was happy the Tooth Fairy left some money, but told Jason, "Kyle got more than me!"
To which Jason replied, "You didn't even loose a tooth!"
 
 
But here's the one in the family who did loose a tooth.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Nothing to do with Christmas Trees, but FYI, I'm Still Decorating

Ayi and I went to the school yesterday for JR's "Author's Cafe".
The kids read their stories they've been working on to us.
 
JR's not really a "written word" kinda guy.
(He likes to read the written word, but an author...he is not.)
 
 
As a former English teacher, I could tell his teacher had really worked with him.
There were some nice descriptions, some action, and an ending that could lend itself to a sequel.
 
 
After the reading they had refreshments (I guess that would be the 'cafe' part), which made JR's day.
 
 
Aren't these two just the cutest?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Jack and JR

If you don't live in a swing state, today might feel like a mostly normal day.
I'm just glad that tomorrow my phone will stop ringing, my mail will get lighter, and the tv and radio ads every. other. second. will finally stop.
 
 
Thankfully, Cassidy,  (Don't you miss all my Cassidy stories?) sent me a text today that made me giggle.
 
 
It said: "Have you seen the previews for Rise of the Guardians?
Jack Frost is soooo JR.
It looks just like him, of course with Jason's hair"
 
 
I hadn't seen the previews (since I made Granny Sherry take the herd to see Wreck It Ralph the other day) so I was in for a surprise when I googled Rise of the Guardians.
 
 
Jack Frost does look like cartoon JR with Jason's hair (his hair color, of course)!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Fights and Falls

Saturday was our last soccer game of the season. 
The boys liked it, so it wasn't a painful experience. (Unlike the season we made JR play.)
 
 I say it wasn't painful for us, but maybe it was a little painful for the boys.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 




And though not "painful", one of my favorites. 
Mine are the only two in the game even looking at the ball!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Not the Fun Part

I have come to the point in the Christmas decorating process where I just want to cry.
 
4 biggish trees, 3 little trees done.
But I haven't even started the 2 biggest ones.
I want to cry.
 
I'll be better tomorrow.
 
But for tonight, I feel as miserable as poor Daisy looks.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Fashion Fabulous Friday- With Instructions!

JR's final Halloween costume came courtesy of the Internet.
I was told over and over again how 'creative' I was, but truth be told, finding a picture and copying it doesn't take much creativity.
 
 
It does, however, take a husband with a degree in engineering.
 
 
The only instructions I could find on how to make a " homemade headless costume" came with instructions of building a whole upper torso with things like plaster of Paris or paper mache.
 
(Of course, neither material fits into my life motto of "make it easy on yourself".
 
 
 
So before we go any further with instructions, here's the finished product.
(JR said he had the best costume in the 3rd grade.)
 
 
Headless Waiter!

This was another costume that didn't cost a thing.
 
Here's the secret to do the headless part easily:

1. You need a bag with a handle. 
A backpack would have worked better, but we only had JR's duffel bag. 
(We tapped the bag trying to make it smaller.)
 
 
2. Tape on a coat hanger upside down. 
(This forms the shoulders where the shirt and jacket will hang.)
 
 
3. I tried to hot glue cardboard on the top of the handle to build a neck, but found the easiest and most realistic looking was to just cover it with a red, fabric book cover.

4. JR then wore the duffel bag like a backpack, and we dressed him with the shirt and coat's shoulders hanging on the hanger.
 
Easy, easy.
And it's a great costume!
 

Thursday, November 1, 2012