Minute To Win It

Our newest family reality show, adding to our list of American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Amazing Race, Pawn Stars, Say Yes to the Dress, Are You Bored Yet - that last one was a trick to see if you were paying attention, but we probably would watch it if it were real, anywho, our newest show is Minute To Win It. And Jason, being Jason, likes to take things further than passively watching the show, so he set up a recreation of "Don't Blow the Joker". To play this game you stack a deck of cards with the joker on bottom on top of a glass bottle and in under a minute blow all the cards off the deck except the joker. We thought it was so cute to watch how much control Millie exhibited in this game. Fun times!

Neighborhood Pusher

"Try, it. You'll like it."

"Just one drink."

"It's good for you."

"It's so cool!"

"Look, Elli is drinking it, if Elli drinks it, than so can you."

"I'm drinking it also. Everyone is drinking it."

"If you don't try it, I'm going to tell everyone you're a chicken."

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Would you like to try our green milk the leprechauns left in our fridge?

Can He Reach?!?

Yes He Can!

Jason can reach all the way behind his very own back to pat himself on it.

I was gone this morning when the girls were getting ready for church, and instead of the normal hair down in a headband style that Millie usually shows up for church in when mom has meetings, she had an adorable ponytail WITH a ribbon. I told him it looked really good, but when I got home from church and found my camera on the kitchen counter with photos of the hairstyle, I realized I didn't need to tell him it looked cute - he already knew it.

He made sure to take shots from both sides, in case anyone doubted his symmetry.

I will take a moment to pat him on the back: Great job taking care of the girls not only this morning, but all weekend including single parent outings to Disneyland and Chuck E. Cheese, your girls are lucky to have you as their dad!

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

In preparation for an upcoming shower, I tested out "Spinach and Gruyere Strata". I spent the better part of an hour late last night prepping this dish; slowing drying out bread slices, sauteeing shallots and spinach, making a reduction, whipping the eggs, shredding the gruyere, and finally layering it all together. After church when we were so hungry we put in the oven anxious for a yummy Sunday dinner. As the eggs starting puffing up and the cheese starting melting, oh boy - did it stink. I was out in the front gardening (I do garden every 6 months, especially when my sister is coming into town the upcoming weekend) and when I walked into the house, WHAM - right in the kisser. Addie said is smelled like wet dog. We opened the windows, but it just kept getting worse. I don't have a weak gag reflex, but this honestly got to me. But we persevered because I know there are lots of stinky cheeses the taste good. So with the air thick with the musty smell of a boys locker room we sat down for dinner. The girls had their noses plugged with chip clips, but since that was a wee bit ridiculous we made them remove them. That is when the tears started. Elli was actually eating the strata saying it wasn't that bad while crying over the smell. She then realized if she kept her nose in her orange juice she wouldn't have to smell it - problem solved.

I laughed it off and said they got a pass on dinner for the night (mostly because I wanted a pass for myself) while Jason saw this as an opportunity to teach them that they will encounter times in their life when they have to eat things they don't like, and to suck it up and see this as a challenge. In response we might have laughed, but it was with him and not at him. (He was just laughing really really quietly.)

Luckily being Valentine's Day for 3 days straight we have plenty of sugar treats to nourish us.

What You Missed

Well, that is presumptuous on my part. If you really cared, you probably would have been there. Nonetheless, here is what was happening to my family while blogging was not:

Jason and his friends confirmed Andra's theory that there is such a thing as a "mormon uniform". They all had on untucked-in blue striped button-ups and jeans.

Why mess with success?!?

We went to the Long Beach aquarium with half of Southern California.

Rain + Christmas vacation = too many people to have a good time :(

Jason turned 35 and I went to sushi with him, that's love!

It hailed in our backyard and the girls reacted like they had never seen snow before.

They have... twice.

My dad got married to Linda.

Cami graduated from U of A.

And Andra and I took a good picture...how do you spell narcissistic?

A Rose by Any Other Name

We were not brave enough to spend the night on the sidewalk to watch the Rose Bowl Parade, but we did go visit the floats aftewards - baby steps! Addie and I had fun recognizing the floats we had seen on TV just hours earlier.

Millie was being stubborn, imagine that, and had to be bribed just to not turn her head away from the camera.

The floats are amazing to see up close, such creativity and ingenuity, very impressive!

You know what they say about all good things, kids suck the fun out!

What Do You Mean Christmas was Soooo Yesterday?

Millie really got us into the spirit of the holidays with her touching preschool program. Are we bad parents for laughing at her misery instead of sharing her tears? She's no angel, but we love her anyways. (Notice she is still doing the hand motions through the trauma.)

To sum up the season: grammi's jammies, visit with Santa, Pluto, Minnie; the girls' christmas dance recital (what you don't see is Millie in her hula skirt dancing to melekelikimaka because she wouldn't dance even though I tried everything including but not limited to bribing, begging, reasoning, shame, disappointment), Christmas morning, Christmas Eve, Uncle Randy giving his girlfriend Katie a very thoughtful Christmas gift. Happy New Year! (Is it too late to wish that?)

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year staying local, something we haven't done for many years. We started the day with Jason running his first race, the Upland Turkey Trot 5K. The girls and I got hot chocolate from Starbucks and watched him finish the race.

Then we went and saw "Fantastic Mr. Fox" which Jason slept through, but the girls and I found it very good. It isn't your pixar/disney/dreamworks movie for sure - but I love Roald Dahl and his odd sense of story telling. Luckily my girls didn't realize all the subliminal swearing occurring with the word cuss substituted over and over for another 4 letter word.

And then we were off to my cousin Heather and Alan's house with my aunts, uncle, cousin, second cousins, and Grandma and Poppa for a nice afternoon of softball and turkey and prime rib.

We are very thankful for family letting us invite ourselves over!
The only problem with not being around my sisters for Thanksgiving is I don't get any of their pictures to steal. I am terrible about preserving memories, and this are my only 2 pictures from the whole day :(

Thief in the Night

Addie lost her first 2 bottom teeth in Kindergarten, and has since experienced a very long year and a half dry spell. But when it rains, it pours, and she has been losing teeth like it is her job. (I think it is her master plan for getting money to buy Christmas presents.) She lost both her top teeth 2 days apart at night. The first one she woke up and it was gone, luckily we found it in her bed. The second she woke up, sat up, checked her tooth and it came out in her hand with no blood. I told her she could be our family Christmas card photo with the caption "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" but Elli would have none of that!

Since this picture she lost another on the bottom and its match is barely hanging on. Welcome Addie to the "awkward phase". (That's when you grow in ginormous front teeth that are jagged on the bottom and uneven. It's a phase that everyone goes through, but don't be surprised if you don't see too many pictures of Addie for the next 6 months, this is her last adorable one.)

Not So Scary Halloween

We like to be pretty for Halloween. No scary bloody make-up around here, but we still love any chance we get to wear mom's make-up.

Introducing:

Minnie Mouse Pumpkin

This costume won for best costume at out church's trunk-or-treat.

Here's Elle Woods.

Harvard Law Student and proud owner of Bruiser.

Last but not least,

Fancy Nancy

And the Winner Is...

Every year at the girls' school there is a stand out costume that impresses me so. This year I didn't get a very good picture, but there were 2 giraffes that were awesome and a matching zoo keeper mom there to help with the heavy giraffe necks. Way to go stranger, don't think I'm creepy because I'm photographing you and blogging about you without knowing you. I'm harmless.

Boo-ya!

Picturesque

I know what you're thinking:

-I didn't think the Kings were "those" people. ("those" people are the people who come to Disneyland costumed up.)

Well, we are NOT those people. If Jason had his way they wouldn't ever wear minnie ears or be pin traders, but as we frequent it so, I let them choose one or the other. Everything in moderation is my mantra, except visits to the happiest place of earth, of course.

So why, pray tell, did why go against our better judgement?

Every rule has it's exceptions and my justification is 3-fold.

1: Millie didn't want to be Minnie Mouse Pumpkin for Halloween, she wanted to be what Addie is going to be. But I reeeaaalllly wanted her to wear her cousin Fifi's adorable costume and this was the last year it would fit.

2: So; I promised if she would dress up as said Minnie Mouse Pumpkin, she could wear it to Disneyland and visit Minnie herself.

3: Minnie herself is in costume, and we follow "WWMD". (What Would Minnie Do?) She hasn't steered us wrong yet.

Elli had a Halloween party a week early, so to not lose the novelty of her costume come Halloween Eve (which, to be honest, Millie has lost) she dressed in Addie's dance costume from last year and we tied a bone in her hair to be a cave girl. I told her she was Pebbles, but that meant as much to her as when my dad sang "I wonder, wonder, who ooo ooo ooo oooh, Who wrote the book of love?". (I didn't know or care - but he kept asking for 18 long years.)

This year the girls wanted to carve pumpkins. I am still gung ho for my sparkly pumpkins, but I guess 3 years is a row is overkill for them. I told them they were going to have to get their hands dirty, (last time Jason and I, heavy on the I, had to do all the work because we have a priss problem in our house) but they were adamant that they were up to the challenge.

The girls wanted to re-create the giant Mickey pumpkin from Main St. It worked out pretty well.

The big moment.

Not really the shot I was hoping for, she got stage fright.

We even had a stranger ask to take her picture. Easiest $5 I ever made.

P.S. Anyone know a good 12-step for Disney addiction?