Christmas 2010!

After having fun playing Polly Pocket the early afternoon of the day before Christmas Eve we headed out on the town. We enjoyed buying gifts for our family, having a nice dinner at our A.Q., and a nice visit to the square to see the lights. She got to ride a pony, which she loved every second of, and we ran into her best friend Eliana, her sisters, and her mother Aly. It was great to see them and we plan to get together sometime in January.

We spent our Christmas Eve morning and early afternoon having fun wrapping gifts, making and baking homemade gingerbread cookies (they turned out fab.), and playing a little Polly Pocket. We spent the later part of the day at Aunt Cheryl's for our annual, traditional, Christmas Eve get together. It was wonderful being amidst the entire family and partaking in the usual festivities.

Christmas Morning my Lovely showed up around 11:30. She quickly showed me stuff she got at Mommies and then, after freaking out about the Barbie Video Girl under the tree, went to town opening her other gifts. Think she liked what she got?

They were all things she wanted "really, really, bad". We then went thru our stockings. We spent the rest of the day having fun playing. We started by playing Barbies + her Monster High doll for around 4 hours, she played some of her Pokemon game on her DSi, we played "Tangled" on the Wii, and we played plenty more Barbies.

The day after Christmas we started the day off w/ a trip to Church. It was nice. Back home I feverishly cooked and did final cleaning for our expected company; Cody, Robi, Grandma, and Branden. We all enjoyed each others company, had tasty homemade gumbo, exchanged gifts, and played the "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader" board game.

The day after the day after Christmas, aside from a quick trip to Best Buy for batteries and few minor chores, was spent having fun playing. We played Barbies, her mini skill crane game, the board game "Pictureka", and Wii games.

MaryJane and I sure had an awesome past five days. Looking forward to an awesome 2011 with my Gurly.

Christmas Pictures 2010!

1-2-3!

I can sum up our awesome Sunday in three words; Church, Barbie’s, and College. Let me elaborate a bit. She made another new friend in Sunday School and we finished up the “Release” series. Aside from eating we played an ongoing story w/ Barbie’s the entire time we were at home. We toured the U of A campus taking pictures, learning, and stopping for warm drinks.

Happy Halloween and the 5 days before!

Tuesday and Wednesday found us playing w/ clay "Kirby" figures MaryJane made Tuesday night.  She did a great job on them.  We also had tickle fights both nights.  She is the champ.  Hehe.  Wednesday night we made a trip to Tyson park to dizzy ourselves on the tire swing.  She can spin forever.  Thursday night we finished up putting her costume together and getting what Daddy needed for his costume.  Above is her after her fashion show.  She got a 10.  : )  A great two nights.  Friday afternoon she came Trick-or-Treating at Daddy's work.  She loaded up her McDonalds bucket.  Friday night was our Halloween night.  She got 2 Halloween prizes, we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, and we ate a pumpkin shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's.  A spooky great time.  Saturday she was with me until 1:30.  We spent our time together playing Neopet figures and plushes, horses, and Barbies.  A short, but great day.  Sunday morning we first attended wonderful Church.  We then played Neopets to and fro from great Grandma and Grandpa Danforth's where we had lunch w/ them plus Cody and Robi.  Good food, great company, and MaryJane got to tour Grandpa's cabinet shop.  Back home we made Halloween figures out of clay and she rode her bike.  A great Halloween.  A great, fun filled 6 days.

Party Time!

After picking up Gurly Friday afternoon we headed to Pizza Hut to enjoy some grub. It was yummy. Next it was over to Hobby Lobby to get a present for her friend Lon’s Birthday. She got him a nice 89 piece art set. She also bought herself a tattoo pack w/ over 200 tattoos. Not surprising seeing as how she has been had multiple tattoo shops giving Mommy and Daddy hand drawn tattoos, giving herself temp tattoos and having a tattoo shop days earlier giving me a temp tattoo, and her current want to be a tattoo artist when she grows up. So as you probably guessed when we got home I got a few temp tattoos from her tattoo shop and then she proceeded to give herself temp tattoos.

Saturday morning we played a game where she was the sister and I was the bad brother. After that we headed to Home Depot. She built a neat fire fighter boat. She did a great job as always. Then it was back up to Springdale to meet up w/ Sonia, Lon’s Mom, so we could follow them to the birthday party. The party was at his Grandparents 2nd home, a cabin in Jane , MO. It was very nice and a very fun place. We first went walking around exploring the area and then it was time for the zip line. It went from the cabin, down over land, then over the pond to the landing area. After all the kids except MaryJane went I took a trip down it and after a rough landing I elected to not go again. It was fun tho, don’t get me wrong. W/ round 1 of the zip line over we all had pizza and watched present opening. Then all the kids, and some adults, got to decorate their own cupcakes. MaryJane made 3 or 4 I think and they all were very fancy and nice. We sang, chowed and then headed out for round 2. This time MaryJane was ready. She told me “ I have to live my life” a few times. How cute and funny I thought. She went once and immediately went again. Yes, she loved it and it was her favorite part of the trip. Finally, the kids got to take a trip around the lake on the canoe. I guided the last trip w/ MaryJane. She got to go twice, lucky gurl. After her getting her goody bag and saying our goodbyes we reluctantly left the cabin. There was plenty more fun to come tho. We played more sister and bad brother in the car on the way to the tennis court. I broke more lamps than you can imagine, blaming it all on her. Haha. After her showing me improving skills on the court we played a game where I was a bad guy and a good guy and she was the captive, the court being her cage. After a failed attempt to save her by the good guy it turns out she loves the bad guy and they leave the “cage” and head to the play ground. We spent the entire time there getting dizzy on the tire swings. Much funnier on an empty stomach. : ) We grabbed some grub from the market and a copy of the new Tinker Bell movie from Redbox before we went home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing. The movie was really good and the company was really great. What a fun day.

Sunday morning started out w/ Pokémon bargaining and a Pokémon card game. On the way to wonderful Church there was a wild Google in the car that was on a eating rampage. By the time we got to the church doors all the planets were eaten, including my hair and clothes. Haha. Church was fantastic of course. We played more on the way home and while we got ready for our next outing. On the way to the Apple Festival the wild Google was back in action, this time singing to songs on the radio (we were laughing so hard...I was in tears). It also pooped on my arm numerous times. Hehe. We loved the Festival. She had been asking about it for some time and she was not disappointed. She got a little pink w/ black polka dot kitty named Pinkie and she ate 3 servings of apples. After the short stop there it was on to Grandpa and Nana’s for Grandpa’s Birthday Party. We had enchilada soup. It was yummy. We had fun playing dolls and Barbie’s, MaryJane and Brena enjoyed being spun around on the swing set, Cody, Dad and I played a fun yard game, and MaryJane opted for Monsters Inc. over football. Glad we got out there to visit and play. Had been wanting to for some time. On the way back home We played a game where Lionel had his own TV show about Trash stuff and Pinkie was a guest, promoting her line of Perfumes. Well, in the end Lionel’s show ended up getting canceled and was replaced by Pinkies show and her Perfume sold and sold and sold. : ) Back home we made a meal and watched the new Tinker Bell movie again. Another fun day and an all together awesome weekend.

Labor Day Weekend 2010!

We kicked of our 3 day weekend w/ me taking a trip to the tattoo shop. I got a Google and a multi colored star. Both great, as always. We spent almost the entire morning playing. We played a game where she started off as a baby. She got older and eventually moved away from home. Her brother (Lionel) and father (me) visited her on Christmas. After discovering that her long awaited coupon to Build a Bear had come in the mail and tackling school for the day, we headed to Roger’s where she picked out and brought her Chococat to life. Her name is Choco and she is a police officer. Her police skills were put on display when we got home and discovered a multitude of robberies had taken place. Chococat and I, her Assistant Officer, listened to each victim and then successfully tracked down each and every bad guy, even the ring leader, and the stolen possessions using sharp police and detective abilities, including a precise sleep dart gun shot, questioning, blackmail, and disguises. Later Kelly, Lionel, and I were judges on the latest and greatest show, “Animal’s Got Talent”. Hehe.

Sunday was wonderful Church. She made another new friend in Sunday School. : ) When we got home we chowed and took care of some Math and Science. It was then off to the Springdale Aquatic Center to enjoy some swimming and slides on their last day of operations. We went last weekend and she went down the long slide into shallow water and two short slides into deep waters for the first time. She has progressed each year at the pool. First year staying in the “kiddy” part, the next to the bigger kid part (she could stand), and this year we added the slides because she can swim now. We had a lot of fun both last and this weekend. We will be back next year. After finishing up school later at home we played board games.

Friday and Monday are on Facebook.

What a great weekend w/ my Gurl. Her imagination and playfulness fuel our playtime, her smarts make school a breeze, and her love for life and her Daddy are purely wonderful.

Mission Possible!

Date: 08/28/2010

Time: Between 0700 hrs and 2100 hrs.

Mission: Capture and tame the wild Google.

Operative Webkinz began there training Saturday morning. The combatants underwent thorough training, ability analysis, profiling, and after a trip to the locker room they lined up and took a great pep talk by there leader, Beauty (grey horse). They were driven to there departure location, U of A bus station, by none other than second in charge, Coco (himalayan cat). As the soldiers neared the war zone some became very nervous and apprehensive, none the less they all pulled thru and entered ready for battle. At the point of no return the Webkinz, Lila (chihuahua), Cotton Candy (dragon), Caramel (doggy), and Chocolate (monkey), huddled up to review the game plan, locate and capture. At first the enemy could not be located, but when it was...well, who woulda thought...the Goggle was nice. Some of the team were suspicious of the Googles warm nature and believed it was putting on a show, only to attack them when they were off guard. They returned the captive to there world headquarters and began questioning and testing to determine whether this Googles words and actions were genuine or fake. Turns out the Google is nice! Her name is Coconut.

As you can plainly see from our smiling faces, Daddy and MaryJane's 3rd trip on the University of Arkansas transit was a great one!.

Celebrating MaryJane!

My Darling Gurl MaryJane certainly enjoyed all the fun of celebrating her Birthday. We had a big party Sunday afternoon at our sweet and stylish club house. A good turnout of Friends and Family were present to celebrate w/ MaryJane. She got lots and lots of nice gifts, had a cool and yummy cake, and had a blast mingling w/ her friends in and out of the water. : ) After the party we went thru her new goodies on our living room floor, colored a nice picture together, and played some DSi on the couch before bedtime.

We continued celebrating Monday w/ Daddy taking off work to spend the day w/ Birthday Gurl. We had a great time playing w/ Pokémon figures and Pokémon cards and playing DSi at the house. We Played Pokémon trainers outside. We made 2 trips to the pool; the second time we played Pokémon at the pool, and a trip to Cold Stone Creamery where we enjoyed sweet treats.

More celebrating came Tuesday, her actual Birthday, with her and I going to the movie theater to see The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. We both love magic and this movies has plenty of spells that are amazing. A great movie for sure. Can’t wait to see it again on DVD. Prior to the movie we went to eat. She showed me a picture she had taken on her DSi of her and her 3 friends at the Sitters…and the picture of them after she had drawn on all their faces. She was a cat, Madie was a horse, Devon was a clown, and Cameron was some guy w/ a mustache. So then she took a picture of us together and made me a clown and her SpongeBob. The artwork was great and the faces were funny.

Wednesday was more celebration w/ her going to Gator Golf w/ Mommy and Christian. She said they had fun time and that she got a hole in one on the first hole. That’s my gurl. Mommy also took her and C to eat at Lynn’s Garden; the most delicious Chinese buffet known to man.

We finished up celebration yesterday w/ me taking her to Wal-Mart to get her final gift, a Pokémon game w/ 2 bonuses for her DSi. She loves it of course. We also chowed some Subway and had a lot of fun at the park in Johnson, so much that she has requested w/ go back tonight. Looking forward to it. 

So excited for all the wonderful things that the next years holds for her and I.

One last “Happy Birthday MaryJane”!

Daddy Loves You!

: )

I Heart Moving!

You’d think so at least from as much as we move. Yes, Its tru…we have moved. We are back at Electric Ave...same building…same side…same floor…just the other end. We like it there.

(6/3) - We headed for Fayetteville after leaving the sitters to eat an CiCi’s. We usually go to the one in Rogers, but the Fayetteville one is better. It was yummy. Next it was over to Barnes and Noble to browse and read as we frequently do. They are having there summer reading program where you read 8 books and then they give you a book for free as a prize. She read a few while we were there and would have read more if we hadn’t had to get going in order to have some time at the park. We went to the Jones Center Park. I knew they had a park, but I didn’t realize it was so big, fancy and cool. On the way there we pretended we were Chinese and at the park we played in general and played a ton of short pretend games. It was much fun. On the way home a cheerleading bear kept turning into a zombie and eating my hair. When we got home MaryJane cured her of her zombiness by playing the Plants vs. Zombies song for her.

(6/4-6/6) - Friday was packing day, Saturday was U-haul day, and Sunday was more packing and more moving day. It was a loonnngggg 3 days. I was very happy to have MaryJane there w/ me the entire time. We did not enjoy the fact that we did not get much time to play, but understood what had to be done. We did play a little each morning and each night and a few time thru out the day Friday. She watched tv Friday and Saturday morning and did other things like making cool crafts. She kept me in good spirits. She made a bunch of fish have a singing competition while I was working on Sunday. It was nice. A HUGE thank you to Bill for helping me move on Saturday and to Gina for bringing us dinner. Sunday was also a trip to Build-a Bear Workshop where she made her new friend “Peace”. She is a bright blue bear w/ bright colored peace signs all over her. She is very cool.

Family Camp 2010!

Tuesday (5/25) After picking Gurly up from the Sitter’s we headed over to a Las Fajita’s in Bentonville to eat. She taught me napkin etiquette, played w/ Lionel, and she saw how many times she could bounce a semi-bouncy call and catch it. Next it was off to the Bentonville Library. She got a few book and Lionel got in a lot of trouble. At home we played the game where she is a girl who lives in a tree house located the Forest. This time I pretended to be a guy that lived in the forest too. We became friends and decided we would meet again. She read a chapter of her newest book series, The Bailey School Kids, while I read Judy Moody.

Thursday (5/27) Today we made a quick stop by Braums on the way home to get some vanilla ice cream and fresh cones. Once home we played outside for a little bit. We were kids that just wanted to rock out, but our dad made us husk 1000 ears of corn a day instead. While eating dinner and enjoying the cream we watched part of Shrek Forever After. Then it was back outside for a few minutes to play and then back inside to watch more Shrek. While watching she decided to give me a manicure and a pedicure. She is quite good at both. She learned how to hypnotize and part of how to be a babysitter and the Sitters today.

Friday (5/28) This was the final day for MaryJane to attend her art class at the Jones Center. She came to work w/ me in the morning where she drew a beautiful picture of flowers. I later took her to her class where she did a cool forest painting. After class I picked her up, grabbed her some Donald’s and dropped her off at the Sitters. We made a semi-quick trip to Wal-Mart after work to pick up supplies for our weekend trip to Family Camp.

FELLOWSHIP FAMILY CAMP (MAY 29-31)

5/29/2010 to 5/31/2010

THIS CAMP IS FOR K- 6TH GRADE (FALL 2010) AND THEIR FAMILES. OUR DESIRE FOR FAMILY CAMP IS TO PROVIDE YOUR FAMILY A TIME TO FOCUS ON HAVING AND INCREDIBLY FUN TIME TOGETHER. JOIN US AT NEW LIFE RANCH FOR A WEEKEND YOUR FAMILY WON'T FORGET. WE HOPE FAMILY CAMP WILL BE A GREAT TIME TO CONNECT MORE DEEPLY WITH FAMILIES AND FIND THAT YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WORKING HARD TO RAISE CHRIST-LIKE CHILDREN. MAY 29-31 AT NEW LIFE RANCH IN COLCORD, OK.

We then headed to pick up MaryJane’s present for her Mommies B-day and grab a bite at Arby’s where Lionel tried continuously to invade her and Kelly’s Girls Club to no avail. At home we played outside. It was a game where Lionel and I meet a girl (MaryJane). She told us about the legend of a wolf that scattered jewels across the land. No one had ever found one…and we were not about to be the first. It is said that anyone who finds them will be haunted by the wolf. Yikes. Hehe. We later finished of Shrek. Despite my perception from previews that it would not be good…it is good. : ) Bedtime; big day tomorrow!

Car time this week included school (even one of my fav’s; Healthy Class), playing with Shrek toys, good conversation, and stinky Lionel. Bed time recently I order a meal and she makes it in the form of gum. It’s totally Willy Wonka style.

Saturday (5/29) After a fast and Furious last minute packing frenzy we headed for Colcord. It just on the other side of Siloam (about an hour drive). We got there just before 11:00, got our picture taken, and got half unpacked before it was time to head to the Chapel for our first rally. The rallies consisted of singing songs, a short play, and a short lesson (in rallies 2-4). We had a lot of fun singing and doing hand gestures and she learned a lot from the lessons. We then got into groups of 4 families and went on a Scavenger Hunt. We were w/ the Halls, Archers, and another family we did not know. Brandon Hall leads our community group and the Archers are members of our community group. We never found out who won, but we did really good and had fun doing it. It was then lunch, followed by an hour of free time, and then they opened the creek, pool, and challenge course from 2-4. We spent our afternoon doing various things. She made a cute cup to drink out of, I went down the big water slide a few times, we made an attempt to scale the rock wall, and spent a lot of time canoeing. We started out together and by the end of our canoeing day she was powering her own kayak. Part of the time we pretended that we were lost and being watched and followed by Indians. It was a great time. After attending the cook out for dinner we headed to rally number two. As I said before there was a lesson at the end of this one and the next two. Someone would speak for about 5 minutes then we had Breakout. This was where we went back to our rooms and spent time together as a family doing an in depth lesson based on what we learned at the rally. Our lessons and the theme for camp were based upon 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come”! At 7:45 we attended a Sock Hop. We thought it was going to be a sack race…hehe. It was a 50’s themed get together where there was dancing, games, activities, and more. We played w/ holla hoops and danced together, she got a strike playing bowling. She danced w/ some older girls, she participated in a “do the twist” competition and a limbo competition, we ate ice cream, and she colored a picture for her new found best friend Julia. At dark she got a glow stick and 3-D glasses and then we watched an awesome fireworks show.

Sunday morning we got up, showered, and headed down to get some breakfast. I don’t remember specifically at what meals we did this, but we would pretend that we were students eating at the school cafeteria. Before our 3rd rally and 2nd break out we made a trip around the big island; both in kayaks this time. Then us parents meet up at the Chapel for a parent seminar while the kids played outside. She said she didn’t really play anything; rather spent time hanging out w/ Julia. After lunch we went back to the cabin where we meet up w/ our group from the scavenger hunt. We were there to build boats. Sunday night at 6:30 we had a boat race. Each team got 4 big pieces of cardboard and 3 rolls of duct tape. Our team built 2 boats. One for adults and one for kids. The adults did the boat work while the kids played and did crafts. MaryJane made a beautiful pillow. We then made out final canoeing / kayaking trip and then headed over to the creek attractions. She spent most of her time sitting by the life guard watching people get wet. I made a trip down the big water slide, 2 trips down the fast slide (a really long, steep, metal slide like you see on an old school play ground), and got launched from the blob (a huge inflatable laying on the water. One person lays on one end while another jumps from a ledge, landing on the other end and launching there victim into the air). After a quick stop at the pool we headed back to the cabin where she finished a second pillow and gave it to Julia. We threw down on some supper, grabbed our boats, and headed for the water. Brandon’s Wife, Windy, drove the adult boat and Brandon skis, Reed, was supposed to drive the kid boat, but he backed out and Matt ended up filling his spot. There were a lot of cool boats there. The race was hilarious. Some, like our teams kid boat being driven by an adult, didn’t last a second, while others slowly sank, and other did quite well. One even made it across the creek and back. Wow. Following the boat race all families meet at the Chapel for games. It was a game show theme called “Minute to Win It”. You get the drift I’m sure. I competed against another guy in playing “Card Ninja”. We tried to throw cards into watermelon halves. He got 4 in a minute while I got a big fat 0. Yup, I was horrible at it, but it was fun none the less. MaryJane competed right after me against another kid playing “Magic Carpet”. Thee scooted on rugs across the floor in a race. MaryJane Won. She did awesome. Finally for the day we attended a basketball game. I watched while she worked on a third pillow and spent time w/ Julia.

Monday was breakfast, rally number 4, breakout, and baptisms in the creek. After packing the car we played at the gym for a little bit and then we were on the road headed out. We made a stop at Donald’s and at Wal-Mart to get a few necessities and some party supplies. She said we would have a party to celebrate the good time we had at camp. Great idea. When we got home we opened our goodies; Pokémon packs, traded, ate cupcakes, and then stuffed animals came out and participated in a game show like we had Sunday night. They won gold medals. Next we played a talking Pokémon cards game. The one where my guy has the stinky cards and her girl has the awesome cards. We made a quick trip outside, I ran her thru the bath, and then after dinner we went back outside. We played a game where she was a girl of ill trades. She sprinkled Lionel and I with soap to clean us and then made me a smoothie, main dish, and a fancy bunny dessert. Yum. Last we played more of our Pokémon game. What a great weekend. We will always remember it.

Attention to Detail!

Saturday (5/22/10) - So here it is Saturday and I’m blogging about Saturday. ; ) We started our day w/ Nature Class. We walked down Rainbow Drive. I was the teacher and a student and MaryJane and Lionel were students. She made a nice list with her new multi color pen, I drew pictures, and Lionel wrote down two things kept picking things that were not nature. 2 W+'s and 1 A+. Then it was Barbie’s. It was a story we have done before with a family of 4; Mom, Dad, Daughter, and Son, and a Sitter. The little boy is bad and wont clean his room aside from throwing away a piece of trash or two, so he has to stay home w/ the sitter while that rest of the family goes to Disneyland. This time the daughter grew up later, got a boyfriend, and went to college. She became a Vet and Doc and the boy became a Firefighter and Policeman. The girl ended up keeping her fist animal patient, a LPS puppy that later grew up and had a puppy that she gave to Cinderella. They end up rescuing a ton of animals and finding homes for them. We paused at 9 during Barbie’s for me to go mow. She played Peggle, her newest favorite Pop Cap game. She is really good and is close to beating it already. She is a Peggle Superstar. After lunch we headed outside where we spent a lot of our afternoon. We played where I was the father, Lionel was the bad son and she was the good girl. We then played a game where she was a good Pokémon. I was her owner that wanted to make her be bad and Lionel was in video she watched about being bad. Next we attempted to do water ballons but they wouldn’t bust so we just sprayed each other with the hose and had a lot of good wet fun doing it. We later used the water balloons in a game where she was a vet. We made her a clinic in front of the storage shed and a bunch of animals from our yard sale were treated there. I would deliver water balloons full of medicine and other supplies as the UPS man to her and she would use the medicine on the animals. She did surgeries, removed bad cotton and beads from animals, putting medicine in and on them, putting good beads in them, and she gave one of them stitches and some band aids. I was also the father of Lionel who acted bad and tried numerous times to get into the clinic so he could get yucky medicine and chocolate: things she didn’t even have. We then did school. She learned about the Hebrews going from Egypt to Israel in History and about Matter in Science. After dinner we headed back out for another round of Vet and Lionel feel in love w/ one of the patients, but she wouldn’t have anything to do w/ him. We also had a battle, her using strong Magic 101 moves and me using weak sword moves. After playing a little more where she was the Wizard girl and I was the warrior boy we headed in and called it a day.

Sunday (5/23/10) - Sunday started off w/ 2 games where we use Pokémon cards as our characters. In the first game two 3rd stage cards and their minions (me) picked on some stage 1 cards (her). Another card was a police officer that made my cards leave her cards alone and arrested my cards. Her cards evolved and defeated all my cards. In the second game her group of cards was new to my group of cards neighborhood. My cards picked on her cards and got in trouble. Her cards evolved and my cards quit being mean. Then it was off to Church where we meet up w/ Poppy and Grandma Gina. The Sermon on The Bread of Life by Robert was great. On the way there and back she was a girl that loved nature and music who was new to school. She used her snake instrument to make the areas nature grow beautiful. Me, the teacher, and Lionel, the cranky student, were in awe. After lunch we got outside to play. We played games similar to Saturday. The battle game, except this time I tried to use magic, but it didn’t work. The vet clinic game, except this time she started off as a young girl just practicing to be a vet and I was her cranky brother who wanted to be the manager of a Chuck E. Cheese. She later grew up to own her own clinic and I didn’t get to work at Chuckies. The game where she is a Pokémon, except this time she was a water Pokémon part of the time. Before heading in we filled up water balloons, poked a tiny hole in the tops of them and pretend they were ice cream as we drank the water out of them. Later inside we did school. She learned details about the Hebrews trip from Egypt to Israel in History, about Properties in Science, and numerators and denominators in Math. Before leaving for Community group we played another Pokémon card game. This time we both had a Pokémon Trainer card. Hers had lots of Pokémon that evolved and mine had few Pokémon that would not evolve. She came to Community group w/ me and got to play and watch a movie w/ and 8 year old girl named Bailey while we watched a play called The Beam Seat. On the way there and back she spent some time reading her Bailey School Kids book #2. We found it funny that both her book and friend both were named Bailey. Haha. When we got home we played outside. She was the Wizard Girl and I was her brother who couldn’t do good at being a warrior or wizard. After a Water Balloon Ice Cream we headed inside. She played Peggle before bed and is on the last character. She is really good at that game. Now I’m off to do my chores so I can get in a little Peggle myself before bed. An awesome weekend it was.

I didn’t really take notes for last week or this week so far. I’m going to start typing each night about our day. That way it will all be fresh on my mind, I can get all the good details in there, and I won’t get behind. I can tell you we have been having a blast. I will get a little something put together about last week and put it here… and include a tad about this week so far when I do my Monday post. Later.

A Fun Week Indeed!

Last week was great. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday master C was with us. Monday night started off w/ a few rides on my shoulders each up and down the hill in the back. Sis an I played a game where she was a girl in the jungle an I was a guy from New York that found her and learned from her. We alter watched an outside show called “Bamboo Shunu”. C is Bamboo Shunu and we watch episodes of him doing whatever he is doing at the time. We laugh hysterically, which entices him to really go crazy. After some Hieroglyphics it was off to bed. Tuesday night Sis opened a natural beauty salon by a tree in the front yard and we watched more Bamboo Shunu. Wednesday was a trip to the park by the Bentonville Library and to the library itself. We had a picnic at the park and did plenty of swinging. Sis got Judy Moody # 6 so when she finished # 5 she would be ready. She is reading #6 (and a handful of other books) now. : ) Thursday on the way home MaryJane enjoyed light up spray candy and taught Lionel to read. When we got home it was a popular game of pretending to be Chinese. After spending some time throwing stuffed animals into the ceiling fan and laughing our heads off we had Ballet Class. Friday night we played a game of being Chinese w/ Doddle Bear and Black Bear, played School w/ Kelly and Lionel, and I was taken back to my childhood as we threw stuffed animals into the ceiling fan and laughed our selves silly. : ) Sunday morning we spend a brief time in the bed playing w/ Build-a –Bears and a brief amount of time on the futon playing Neopets before playing school for a good while. She then spent some time painting a beautiful flower picture for her Mommy for Mother’s Day. The afternoon was filled w/ more pretend school, Barbie’s, real school, and playing outside. Speaking of playing outside, we spent soooo much time playing outdoors Sunday afternoon. It was one fun game after another. A fun week indeed.

A Wildgirl and a Wildboy!

Last week MaryJane and I again started of our week w/ a trip to Wal-Mart. We go their way to much. We have been doing Harps some too. Higher prices, but easier to get in and out off and MaryJane and Christian love to have me race them down the aisles. At home we enjoyed going crazy on the bed, looking a t a Disney book together and checking out a star system model she made a few years ago at Treehouse. It has glow in the dark beads on it. I raised a question about how they glow and she responded w/ a very detailed explanation, including a very detailed diagram. It’s quite a complicated process. After a bath and a story it was lights out. Tuesday we played Reading class, Ballet class, and Singing class before I mowed half the yard. She got some pipe cleaners the night before and decided she was going to make something for the Silent Auction at the Treehouse Gala we were attending at the Jones Center on Thursday night. She made the braids you see below. Nice huh. Before bed we played some w/ the super hero figures again. Wednesday C joined the party. I finished up my mowing while they played outside. Ran them thru a bubble bath after the outside action. We then played on the bed…before sleeping in the bed. Thursday was the Gala. Mommy had to work so I took the kids. We grabbed a bite at Arby’s where we formed a girl club and a boy club. Tried to convenience Kelly to join our group , but he wouldn’t. The Gala was fun. We browsed the auction quite a bit. She got a mug full of candy and her item sold for a few bucks. : ) After that we moved over to the Theater where we watched performances and a play. MaryJane sat w/ her friends while C and I sat together. He enjoyed clapping after the performances and laid quietly on me during the entire play. Took these pictures outside after the Gala was over. What cuties. Friday we played around the house, including Karate class w/ Kelly and Lionel and where MaryJane pretends to be different Pokémon. Saturday was awesome. We got up at 6:15 in the morning and played for 4 ½ hours straight. We played a lot of Barbie’s, some super hero figures school, and where she is an orphan girl who lives in a treehouse. We then headed for Springdale where we made our return to the Library. We hadn’t been in quite some time; instead only going to Bentonville. Now we are doing both. : ) She got quite a few books, including Judy Moody number 5 which she is already finished with. We went to Gully Park in Fayetteville. We played there for 1 ½ hours. Spent some time on the play places, but a majority of it was spent in the wooded area by the little river. She was a girl who lived in the wilderness and I was the father of Kelly and Lionel. We meet her and she showed us the ways of the wilderness. Lionel complained and Kelly tried numerous times to convince her to come w/ us, but she would not. However, at the last minute she decided she would come w/ us for one night. : ) Sunday we played LPS for a bit before Church. After wonderful Church we finished up the new Alice in Wonderland, played Barbie’s, and read books on the bed. She came to Community Group w/ me and afterwards became a VIP on BarbieGirls.com. What a fun week.

Another Great Week!

Last Monday we started our week off w/ a fun trip to walmart. Yip-cha. When we got home we continued to play Tattoo shop for a bit and had a good round of Barbies in the tub. We are actually scheduled to continue that game tonight. Fun. Tuesday we played school on the way home; math class w/ Daddy, Lionel, and Kelly students. When we got home we learned about nature outside by watching pretend videos narrated by MaryJane. That was cool. Next we played another game outside were we were superhero kids with Chinese accents. I was the father and brother, she was the sister. The brother ended up getting sent to time out for being mean to his sister. While in time out father and sister made bread out of various outside ingredients and honey. We cooked it w/ a lighter and it turned out good and yummy. One more outside game was a must. We were characters from our Magic Cards. I’ve told about this before. I am a Forest Ranger and she is some Dark Girl. This time were started out young, 5 or 6, and were just developing our powers/skills. We later grew to be 12 years old and had full powers/skills. We were supposed to go to a class to learn how to use our powers/skills, but decided to skip that and just go use our powers/skills. Wednesday started off the same w/ math class and again featured outside games, but different ones. Again I was the father and brother, she was the sister. The father was training the brother to be a Forest Ranger while the sister cooked. Again the brother, along w/ another brother (Lionel) mis-behave. They are sent to a behavioral class where they can’t seem to behave and where the sister is presented w/ a Ranger Staff. Our last game before heading in for the night was one where she was a handicap girl named Tina on her first day of school. Lionel and I were mean kids making fun of her, but she was comforted by her friend Kelly. We all went to a class on the porch where I was the teacher. I taught Hieroglyphics. She did great, Kelly copied what she did, and Lionel was so bad he was in the principal’s office a majority of the time. Wednesday was the last day of Treehouse. : ( ,but it was enjoyed. She finished her last Lapbook, and pretty much just had parties and played outside in the rest of her classes. She did a Nancy Drew Swap where her and another kid made something for each other. She did an awesome job of drawing a replica of the first Nancy Drew book for her wrapping paper and then wrapped the first book in it and I helped her w/ the neat pen. She got a cool little clock and a stylish pin for her backpack. We watched Monsters Inc. in my class. Me and my wonderful students.

After Treehouse we jetted and anxiously headed to the book store to get our new books. She got Judy Moody # 4 and I got DragonLance Lost Chronicles Volume 1. After Coffee, Milk, and browsing we went to Wendy’s to eat. We went not long ago and it was really good so we went back for more. They had Detective toys so of course we played a detective game in the restaurant. Kelly and Lionel wanted to be Detectives w/ us, but we said no…that we would only train Kelly to be a future detective. Lionel was bad, but MaryJane used her sleuth skills to catch him and Kelly showed us some of his skills, but they were not good. Got MaryJane a good amount of spring clothes and we got seeds and hoes to start our garden with. It was dark when we got home, but we worked in the garden anyways. Friday I went over to Jessica’s new place for the first time, hung out there for a bit, and then took the kiddos to eat. Sis ate her food and then danced in the restaurant. She’s a really good dancer. At home Sis drew a really nice diagram of garden. I will have to get a picture of it. The night went by quickly so we didn’t get much playing in. Saturday morning was spent playing around the house. MaryJane and I played a game where as usual she was a Pokemon Master and I was a newbie. She showed me and told me about a Pokemon Pass. Basically if you want to be able to do anything Pokemon related in the place you are at you have to swipe your pass before you enter that place. Then MaryJane, Christian and I headed off to Siloam to enjoy ourselves. First stop was the Casino. They had been there before, but not I. It was quite good. I’d like to go sometime when I could venture the area more and give them some of my money. Haha. Then we visited There Great Grandma and Grandpa; Jean and Ira. They had not seen Christian in some time so I was pleased he could be w/ us. We chatted, played ball in the back yard and admired the beautiful quilt she is putting togerther for MaryJane. Upon returning home we enjoyed playing outside. It was wet and it was fun. I recalled something from when I was a kid so took action. Its where you stand under a leafy branch and have someone shake it to make it rain on you. They loved it. After C went to sleep early Sis and I played Doctor. She was the Doctor and Kelly wanted to be one to, but could not. Sunday morning we meet up w/ there grandma and grandpa; Bill and Gina, at Fellowship. Since they had not seen Master C in a while we got there a little early. After visiting MaryJane and I took him to Sunday School where the little “Calico Kitten” had a great time. After Church and and Lunch C was more than ready foir his siesta. He slept for 3 hours…and MaryJane and I played 3 hours. WE played pretend in the living room, superhero figures in the bedroom, and she colored a pretty rainbow. I dropped them off with their Mommy before heading to community group. Another great week completed.

Girls and Trees!

We kicked off last week w/ a trip to Turtle Creek Park in Rogers. Been there once before and had a good time. We played, she read Judy Moody under the tree, and she wrote in her new secret journal. We had dinner outside on the back deck when we got home and then proceeded to spend more time outside. We played a game where she was a gurl who worked at a do-jo after hours. Kelly and Lionel found her and the story elaborated from there. We then spent some time breaking sticks in Karate Fashion. Hi-yah. A fun night out doors. Tuesday we went for a good walk, picking flowers and petting this huge dog we know. Christian really thought that was a good deal. Played a board game w/ Sis while Christian had fun playing w/ the pretend food. We did our best to break the bed too. Hehe. The newest idea surfaced that night. They lay horizontal together at the end of the bed, Christian being closer to me. I then lift the mattress quickly sending them rolling, w/ C rolling over Sis. They loved it. Needless to say we got a good work out. Wednesday was another trip to the park. This time Attalanta Park which is just down the road from us. Sis, C, and I spent some time on the playground equipment, but the real fun came w/ the water. There is a good, shallow stream that runs beside the park w/ a little waterfall. They enjoyed wading and throwing rocks. They got wet, but not wet enough. When we got home the neighbor had his sprinkler going. They stood, as they have before, as close to his yard as possible in hopes of getting sprayed by the sprinkler. Sis came thru the door as I was making dinner, drenched, saying the guy had let them come into his yard, then she was back out and back in his yard w/ Christian. Now they were good and wet. : ) After a quick change of clothes we gathered around the computer and watched “UP”. Found this great website where you can watch just about any movie you want for free. Its swell. So Thursday was an adventure. Bout the time I was getting to work I got a call from Jess saying she had to take someone to the hospital; not good, but I got to see the kiddos again; real good. We went to Treehouse and played on the playground until class started. Then C and I split. We came to my work, rode the elevator numerous times, and got some money. It took a while to get my check and he was so good the whole time so I took him to Donald’s for eatz and playtime. We crawled thru the tubes having fun and asking each other which way we should go next. Did you know they have 9 sauces for nuggets, even chipotle BBQ and buffalo? Who knew. We grabbed a Happy Meal to go for Sis and venture over to Treehouse. Sis was doing great. She started a lap book about camping and finished the alphabet in A-Z Animals. After eating and playing until her next class started C and I hit the road. We ran a few errands and then hit K-Mart to goof off in the toy isles for a bit. He enjoyed pushing the buttons on all the vehicles pretty much the entire time. I then dropped him off with his daddy and was off to teach at Tree house. We had a great class as always. Played the classic game of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground”, made Adventure Journals, and hunted for balloons outside. She made a couple cute paper plate animals in her art class and something gross in cooking. We got out of there quick this week and headed down the road for B&N. She read Judy Moody and I drooled over 2 DragonLance books. We are going back this week to get a book each. Yea. We had a delicious dinner at Golden Coral next. Just can t beat all you can eat delicious steak. We played w/ Gummy Bears as we usually do there. She made a battle arena in one dish and another bowl full of accessories so that we could make our bears into Pokémon and they could battle. It was so funny and fun. She scored a big yellow kitty from the machine on the way out and named her Daniela. She looks much like an LPS, which is a good thing. She is also royalty and made Lionel her maid. I am his back-up cause he really isn’t that good at it. Before heading home we played a round of mini-golf in Fayetteville. She beat me. : ( Hehe. She attended her Art Class again on Friday. She did a couple masterpieces I have yet to lay my eyes on. I know they are spectacular already. After work was a trip to Subway for a healthy dinner. We always fill out comment cards. This one got 3 out of 5. It was freezing in thurr. Burrr. Hehe. On the way home she pretended to be different Pokémon and I was a trainer that didn’t have much luck communicating or catching the Pokémon. When we got home the game continued in the front yard until I turned in Wubuff Man; a superhero w/ a Pokémon’s names. I saving numerous people we headed inside and called it a night. Saturday we stayed home after being out so much during the week. I like doing things, but a good day at the house is just awesome. We played 3 great games w/ Pokémon cards and made a trade, played school where she taught me from an English book, plus did and taught Lionel exercises on the bed. We wrestled for a minute and then while she was laying there I made her attack me. I just rolled her on top of me and made her do moves while she lay limp. She loved this and we did it upon request 2 more times that afternoon. During and after lunch she made me 3 nice gifts, we read Judy Moody on the bed (her book #3, me book #1), and I carried her on my shoulders while she dusted. The biggest game w/ us playing Fashion Designer. She was a gurl who worked at the studio and I was a teacher that took my children, Kelly and Lionel of course, on a field trip there. Lionel didn’t like it, but Kelly was crazy about it. After leaving Kelly kept sneaking back into the studio to observe the designing. It was a lot of fun. We got some school done and also watched the newest Barbie movie on-line. A very fun day at the hacienda. Sunday morning we played Tattoo shop before we headed off to Church. No Grandma Gina and Poppy today, they were preparing for the family picnic we were going to afterwards at Lake Wedington. On the way there she finished her 3rd Judy Moody book. She is loving that series and cannot wait to read #4. We had a good time at the picnic. They have a tire swing that she loved and played on when we first got there and later w/ Haley when she arrived. We went down to the water for a bit, visited w/ great company, and ate delicious food from the grill. She even got to do smores. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Daddy had community group to lead. We will be back there again this summer I’m sure of it.

Spring has Sprung!

So Last week Master C was with us For the first half of the week. Monday when we got home I gave them rides up and down the hill, which they love. Sis used the ZuZu pets as the keys (yes…I make car sounds). Hehe. Sis helped make dinner and plated the food. We played in the back yard for about an hour I think. Sis had a restaurant where she served up natural dishes that were outstanding. She was Nanny Mcphee and very serious about her restaurant. Christian was my wild child that ran rampant and threw things in the restaurant. We then went for a short walk before it got dark. She was again Nanny Mcphee and Kelly, Lionel, and Christian were bad kids. She would freeze and move Kelly and Lionel around w/ her stick, but for some reason the magic had no affect on Christian. Hehe. Sis and I played Copy Cat on the way back. I ran their dirty little bodies thru the tub, they had a snack along w/ the ZuZu pets while finishing up Bee Movie, and it was off to bed. Sis peeled me a carrot for snack time. I declared that she is now officially in charge of dinner and snacks at our house cause she serves up super yummy food. : d Kelly and Lionel took a field trip to Harimuka on the way home Tuesday night. MaryJane whipped up some more goodies again when we got home. She was MeMe this time and she served real food. She made me a yummy banana and cherry smoothie and a veggie and fruit salad. Yummy. We watched part of Wall-E before taking a break to go for a walk. MaryJane rode the skate board down the road and did impressively well. C rode it all the way back….except he was on his belly w/ me pushing him. Hehe. We finished our movie before bed. I like that movie more every time I see it. Wednesday we went to Memorial Park in Bentonville. It a very interesting park. It has a slide w/ no sides, spider webbing, and plenty of other things you won’t find at your typical park. We had a real good time. Monday and Tuesday we had not jumped on the bed and I knew C was missing that so we cranked up the radio and did our thang. Before bed Sis grabbed a bunch of change and they competed to see who could grab the most money (I even dumped money on there heads which they seemed to enjoy). and she taught some from an old homeschool book. A cool, fun 3 nights the gurl and the dude. : ) Thursday was Treehouse. She finished another lapbook (baseball), is nearing the end of the alphabet in A-Z Animal Science, made some sort of chocolate whip cream in Cooking, and my class sent great. We did Wall-E. We played basketball w/ trash and made boots which we planted flowers in (recall the plant in the boot from the movie).

After Treehouse we went to McDonalds to eat and pay. We always go to one of the two w/ a play place. She had a restaurant in the baby part of the play place that had a drive thru from which i ordered and we played this game we do where i have to guess which slide she going to go down by going to it and then seeing id she comes out of the one where i am at. Before i took her to her mothers we went to the Bentonville library where she got books and we spent some time in one of the private reading rooms making animals in books say funny things. We love doing this and always laugh so much. Friday night we went to CeCe's Pizza for dinner. Yummy food, nice people, games, and prizes make this place a hit w. us. When we got home i had to mow. She worked in the garden, helped me mow, and placed a ton of dandelion seed in one spot of the front yard so a bunch of sunflowers will grow there. Before bed i took Margaret and Charlotte to the doctor/hospital. Charlotte was good and got a treat while Margaret was bad and got shots. hehe. Saturday a lot of fun. We started our day of by playing Polly Pocket for over 2 hours. We could have played longer, but had to get ready for our trip to town. In the car we played a game we do where we make Pokemon cards talk and do things and she spent time reading Judy Moody, a new book series she is loving. We went to a book swap at the mall. She traded in close to a dozen books for i think 9 or so really good, nice books. It was better than i could have imagined. Next was Wilson Park in Fayetteville. Havent been there in ages. We had a short little picnic when we got there and then headed for the castle.

While there we discovered a lot of clues. We pieced clues together and came away knowing we needed to find out more about a jewel bird. We also found a secret code, E S 6 6, that we needed to figure out what meant. We then headed over to the play ground area where we ran into Haden and Haley. MaryJane and Haley had fun playing together. We did her Math, Reading, and Science when we got home. She id doing great in all 3 subjects. We watched some of the last Beethoven movie and then went outside. We did some gardening as Vikings and played this game we do where we set up we set up shops out side. She sells good items and i sell junky items. I went to her shop and stuffed animals went to our shops. None of them wanted anything to do w. my junk, but they all enjoyed buying nice things from MaryJane s shop. Sunday morning we meet up w/ Grandma Gina and Poppy for Church. I think we are going to start going w/ them every week which is awesome. Sunday afternoon was packed w/ games. We played like a million different things. A few mentions are more detective work. We figured out more about the clues. We uncoded the secret code and got "rose" so we know now it is a red jewel bird. We also played Scooby Doo and caught the bandit puppy who stole the clementines. We colored too. She did a fabulous job on this Groovy Girls picture and i did a Peanuts page. Another awesome week.

This is a card she made for me the Friday prior to last week in the art class she is taking at The Jones Center.  What a sweetheart.

A cool coloring page she did Thursday night in the car....

...and the cool back.

A cute kitty cup she made and drank from.