AND THE WINNER IS....

It's a dateless Friday night tonight. No hot date with my hubby whose slaving away in the ER. I find myself at home alone with Macy for an hour or so and she wants to play the card game Golf. She's very lucky at this game and often times beats everyone at it. Well, tonight, I lost the first couple of hands and then started winning a few. She started cheering me on!! I asked her why she was happy that I was winning.

Her response: I just tired of winning all the time. Besides people who lose call winners WIENERS!

I have to explain that last part....we're not talking wiener as a slang word for a body part....something funny we do is purposely pronounce things wrong. Like mustard is MOOSE-TARD, Yakima is YUK-EYE-MAH, Etc. Don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.....ha!

THEY TEACH CRAP IN SCHOOL

Christian learned about a bunch of crap today at school....for real! A lady came in and taught them all about sewage and water treatment. Where used water goes and how it's made pure again.

Here is Christian's interpretation:

Everything we flush down the toilet and things that go down our sinks all run together and go to a water treatment center. They kill a lot of the bacteria (poop included here) by heating up the water really hot and it puts of a gas that starts with an M (something like millenium) that we use to make fuel. So, if we were to bottle our farts, we could make energy.

Madison's New Hair

Madison has new hair....well, not really new, it's her same old hair...but curly! She decided to try out a perm (with Mom's suggestion) so she could be ready in no time flat and have some body to it. She loves it!

LEAVENWORTH TRIP

We spent this past 3 day weekend in the mountains in Leavenworth, Wa. We rented a 3500 square foot log home with Kristy and Erik Hebdon and their kids. We had so much fun! It snowed every day, we shopped, we napped, the kids went in the hot tub and then cooled off in the snow...then got BACK in the hot tub, we played games, played in the snow, went on a sleigh ride, and the men took the older kids skiing. Those pictures will follow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAMI!

It's all about you, today, Tami! Happy Birthday!! The Tri-Cities is so much better off now having the Smith family here. I still marvel at how ironic it is that you and I met at the King and I when you were checking out Tri-Cities, then moved in next to us in the apts, and now the same ward. See, we were destined to be friends. Tami, there are so many things I love you. You are such an amazing example to me in the way you are as a woman, wife, mother, and friend. Thank you for the insights you share, the love you show to others, and for being the friend that you are....and I'm excited to have you back on the bike! Love you!

LIP SERVICE

MACY
Do you ever wonder what your kids tell their teachers? Well, I was going through the graded school papers and came across one of Macy's. She had to write a sentence using the word lip. Her sentence read "My mom sockt me on the lip." I sure hope Mrs. McLean knows better than to believe that one!

Caden
Out of the blue...
Caden asks me: "Mom, I know why Jesus doesn't want us to pray for ice cream and desserts, and stuff."
I ask him: "Why?"
His reply: "Because he knows it's not healthy and he wants us to eat good things."
Fair enough!

HOLE IN THE WALL

Ken and I went shooting at a place in town called The Hole In The Wall. This was my first time going to an actual shooting range to do some target practice and getting familiar with my gun. I actually surprised myself!! My first couple of rounds I shot a little low but still within the chest cavity. Each time I got better. By the end, I was dead center of my target 3 of my 5 shots. This gave me GREAT confidence!! I know that if someone breaks into my house, I CAN protect myself and my family. I'm going to take a Firearm Skills course in March and decided (after one trip to the shooting range) that I am going to get my concealed weapons permit.....BECAUSE I CAN! Look closely at the 2nd to last picture. You can actually see the bullet leaving the gun. Good picture, Ken!

CANDY AIRPLANES

This year, for Valentine's Day, I decided we were going to do something fun instead of just buying boxed cards. I found this cute candy airplane on line and we put them together today after school. It was a little frustrating at first but we tweaked the directions a bit and made it much easier so I'll share what we did.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Thin rubber band
	Peppermint Life Savers
	Smarties
	Cinnamon gum
d
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Thread the rubber band through the holes of two Life Savers, then balance the roll of Smarties between them, across the rubber band.
2. For wings, balance the stick of gum on top, perpendicular to the Smarties, and pull the rubber band up and over each side of the gum to hold it all in place.
3. Decorate the wings with tiny heart-shaped stickers or a message.
Tips:
If smaller fingers are having trouble with all that balancing and stretching, have one person hold the candy in place while another works the rubber band up and over the gum.

HOW WE TWEAKED IT: We used lifesavers with the clear wrapper on them and poked a whole with a skewer then fed the rubberband through the the skewer. Then we wrapped the ends of the rubberband around the gum for the wing. Then we slid in the smartie. We had too much slack still on our rubberband so we hooked one side of the rubberband around the tail as well. Worked like a charm!

We made 115 of these!!! Then we made up little cards that said YOU ARE JUST PLANE FUN!

Pick Up Line

Christian, Caden, and Chandler were in the back of the car talking about Valentine's Day stuff and Caden says "I know what you should say to a girl.....You make me hot in winter!" then he giggles.