Pearl has been very excited for "Leprechaun Day." I'm not really certain what she thought happened on Leprechaun Day, other than the chance you took of having the leprechauns "pinch you VERY, VERY hard" (as she demonstrates by grabbing your entire arm) if you don't wear green.
We read "That's What Leprechauns Do" the night before. Just to make certain Pearl understood how mischievous leprechauns are... in case we had any sneaky, little guests that night.
And we did.
Pearl woke up to find some clover-shaped picture clues strewn about the house. She was very excited when she found the first one hanging in the doorway. I'm fairly certain from her expression that she thought she was getting her own T.V. 
At the T.V. we found another clue which lead us to these:
Then this:
Then to our little mice friends. Isn't Jeff's grandpa's grandfather clock, he had made for his grandma, cool? It comes with it's own set of hand carved mice... you, know Hickory Dickory Dock mice?
A frantic dash to the computer, all while asking if the leprechauns had left her a prize and we find another clue.
Which led us here. Pearl had no problem finding this sneaky hiding place.
And finally, when all hope is almost lost that there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and what do we have behind the shower curtain? A green basket filled with new books, green bubbles, and if you look really closely, some gold coins.
I had to smile with the choice in books for Cole, well book. Pearl loved, loved, loved this book when she was a baby. We'd read it to her and she'd giggle and giggle when the "oops" part was read. Sadly, the library fines for keeping it forever didn't outweigh her pleadings to keep it when we had to take it back. But now we have our own copy! Had did those leprechauns know?
We all remembered to wear green. Minus Jeff. He couldn't bring himself to wear anything other than his USU shirt because they were playing in the NCAA tournament tonight. And he's the ultimate fan. I tried to pinch him but got rejected. As pay back, I made him take some pictures of those of us did wear green. It was painful. For everyone.
I've come to expect NEVER getting a good shot the first time.
Or second.
Or 53rd.
I don't know what it is, but I find Pearl's facial expression hilarious in this one. 
How about a smooch? Or two? Or three? Yeah, we like open mouth, necking sort of kisses around here. Just be glad Cole isn't motor-boating me. 
If one kid who closes their eyes (on purpose, mind you) wasn't bad enough, how about two kids with their eyes closed? 
So I guess one of these two shots will have to do. 
Meh. At least we have proof that some of us didn't get pinched today.
I never thought the day would come that I would be as excited as Pearl to go to Disney on Ice. I'd always avoided letting her see or hear anything about the show coming to town, mostly because I didn't want to sit through it myself. Or fork out the mulah to go.
But a half-off coupon can do wonders for a grinch heart like mine. That and pleadings from a little pip-squeak who happened to stumble upon an ad for the show in some junk mail we got in the mail. So I bought 4 tickets and invited my sister-in-law, Emily, and niece, Ruby, to join us. A girls night out.
As the days drew near, I think I started to get as excited as Pearl was. Ok, maybe not THAT excited. Pearl asked a least three times every day for the last two weeks if today was "Disney on Ice day." I should have lied when the day finally did come because the questioning about "Where is Ruby?" and "why isn't she here yet?" was almost unbearable! Then as we were waiting for FrontRunner to take us downtown, it became - with two little girls questioning - "Where is the train?" and "When is the train coming?" 
I'm pretty sure the train ride was Ruby's favorite part of the entire evening. 
We make it to the arena in plenty of time to fork over the last of our remaining cash for two tubs of popcorn and two Mickey Mouse binoculars. 
And yes, she - I mean we - ate the entire tub of popcorn. 
The marketing director behind this whole gig is ingenious to say the least. Can I get $100 for a shaved ice (but it's in a princess mug) and cotton candy? Oh, you want a picture with a cardboard cutout of Belle? That's another $50. And no, you can't take your own picture with her. Ok, so it wasn't THAT bad. But close. 
We had to wait about 25 minutes for the show to start and it pert near killed Pearl! She was absolutely dying with anticipation. She kept her eyes glued to the ice sheet, certain that if she stared hard enough and asked just one more time, that it would finally start. I didn't get a single picture of her actually looking at the camera because she couldn't take her eyes off the show. At least she gave me a couple of fake toothy grins to appease my constant, "Pearl, look at the camera and say Disney on Ice! If you're excited smile!" Oh well, Ruby-juby is always up for a pose. 
We had a little wager on who we thought would come out first. Pearl was convinced it would be Jessie the cowgirl, Ruby said Tinkerbell, and Emily and I went with Mickey Mouse. We were all wrong. Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast was the big surprise. You know... because of the whole "be our guest" thing. 
I love this picture because you can see just how mesmerized Pearl is. And how much poor Rue-bug is hating the loud noise. She had her ears covered the entire first half of the show. Luckily it was pretty loud so her screams and pleads to leave weren't heard. But once intermission was over, she must have decided it was more fun to clap and cheer than cover your ears. That or she figured we weren't leaving so she might as well enjoy it. 
Whenever Pearl sleeps over at my sister's she insists on watching one of two movies - Peter Pan or The Nightmare Before Christmas. I have no clue how or why she picks the second one because she's usually scared of it and I'm not sure if she's ever made it through the entire movie before. I think she just likes to say "Pumpkin Jack" over and over. So when Pumpkin Jack came out with all the Disney movie villains, Pearl was super excited! She's been chanting "This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Everybody scream! Everybody scream!" over and over all weekend
Disney on Ice wouldn't be complete without all the princesses. I was bummed Sleeping Beauty wasn't there. She's my favorite princess (although Tiana, Mulan, and Rapunzel are close behind). 
I didn't know there was going to be an intermission. How on earth do you explain to a three-year-old, who hasn't seen Jessie the cowgirl, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Ham the piggy bank, Rex the dinosaur, and Bullseye yet, that the show really isn't over. I thought Pearl was going to cry!
FINALLY! Toy Story is here! There must have been 1,000 other parents trying to explain the same thing I was during intermission because the crowd let out a huge cheer when Jessie came out.
I was amazed at how much fun I had during the show. And not just because I was so happy to see Pearl's little face light up during every second of it. It was actually really good. Way better than a movie because the kids could scream, clap, sing, and dance without anyone giving you crusty looks. Definitely a new girls' night out tradition.
And now for the blond moment of this post. A big blond moment.
The ride back home started out fine. 
We hopped on Trax, went to the train station, and sat and waited for the train to head back North. Just for kicks, I suggested we sit on the upper deck. I figured two bouncing girls would think sitting on the top of the train would be really cool.
It was cool alright. So cool in fact that we missed getting off at our stop.
Emily and I were chatting away having a great time. Pearl and Ruby were watching things fly by out the window. And then my phone rang. Jeff was wondering if we were almost home so his "boys night in" with Cole could end. The bells sounded, signaling we were approaching our stop. I told Jeff I had to go so we could get off the train. Well, I never actually felt the train stop. Silly me thinking we would actually be able to feel when the train came to a complete stop. We were even watching out the windows to see when we got to the station but another train was also approaching the station. From our vantage point on the third deck, it looked like we hadn't stopped yet because the other train kept moving. And, I'll admit, we only ride the train once or twice a year so I'm not the smartest cookie in town when it comes to knowing when I'm supposed to risk life and limb by standing up in a moving train just so I'm at the door when it stops.
Well, all of a sudden we hear the bells signaling the train is moving again! I FREAKED out!!!! Not only because I wasn't sure when the next train heading, now South, would be coming but because I had just told Jeff I was going to be home in 15 minutes tops! I had no idea if Cole was behaving but figured with Jeff's repeated calls that I was dead. Emily and I were thinking like crazy what all of our options were. If the trains were now only running every hour, we were totally screwed. If we missed the next train we could be sitting there for an hour! If we called Jeff, he would have to make two trips to come pick us up because we didn't have a big enough vehicle for all of us or car seats. I didn't even dare call him to tell him of our predicament. I was terrified of his response and what I knew was going to be a lecture about how in the h*!! we could have missed our stop. I think my hysterical laughter was my way of trying to calm down. It was pretty funny though if stop and think about it.
Well, we get off at the next stop and to the best of my deciphering of the posted schedule, figure we will only have to wait 15 minutes for the next train to come. Then we see the train lights approaching. Good. We will definitely make it. Then it hits me. We've got to cross over the crosswalk to get to the other side of the station to board the train. Or do we? Most stations let you get on either side. I stand there panicking, not sure which way to start running. Especially with Pearl and Ruby in tow. I know if we cross over the tracks we for sure won't make it on the train because the conductor will most likely think we are just crossing to get to the parking lot and leave. So I grab Pearl's hand and start frantically running towards the train... on the wrong side of the tracks. I start hitting the "open door" button and nothing happens! That's when it hits me we can't get on the train on this side and we are now screwed. I run to another door and press the button again. The angels in heaven must have been smiling down upon us (or laughing hysterically to see such a pathetic sight) because the door opened. We plop down on the nearest bench - right next to the doors - and laugh a sigh of relief.
The train greeter guy walks up to us and I'm certain with the way our luck is going, he's about to ask us for our tickets. Then we'll get a lecture, fine, or ticket for being on the train past our stop. He just says hi to Pearl and Ruby and is on his way. WHEW! Then he comes back. And asks, were you the ones who just got on in Farmington? Uh, yes. Panic starts to set in again. We then get a small lecture about how at the Farmington stop you can't enter the train on the side we did. And that the conductor was being nice and let us on but most of them would have left us crying in their dust. Don't do it again. Blah, blah, blah. Uh, yeah we know we are stupid, ok? I'm sure had I not had my jacket on, you could have totally seen me broken out in hives everywhere!
Pearl and Ruby, while happy to get to ride the train longer than anticipated, are getting a bit worried about the situation because Emily and I go from freaking out to laughter. Plus, the frantic running didn't help. We finally do get off the train... at the right stop... and Jeff calls again. I can't think of any excuses for why we are now 45 minutes late and debate about whether I should come clean now or at home. Emily is no help, she's laughing so hard at me! So I come clean, bracing myself for an angry response. Jeff was a better sport about it than I thought he would be and called me a dork. Then he proceeded to laugh at us when we walked in the door and asked which of us was the blond one again.
I'm thinking I might dye my hair the next time I decide to have a girls' night out. Or better yet, I'll just drive.
Jeff was teasing Pearl during dinner tonight - big surprise - and asked her the following questions.
Jeff: "Pearl, which is more... three weeks or 21 days?"
Pearl: "Three weeks."
(Insert snicker by Jeff)
Jeff: "Pearl, which weighs more... a pound of rocks or a pound of grapes?"
(Insert thinking by Pearl)
Pearl: "Two pounds of grapes."
(Insert shocked expression by Jeff and giggles by me)
Jeff: "You're right Pearl. Two pounds of grapes is more than one pound of rocks or grapes."
Guess who's doing the teasing at our house now?
It's only taken 79 pages to finally sink in.
Scripture study is here to stay.
Even on those days when Mom and Dad are the ones counting down the verses until we're done. Like two days ago when I stopped reading in the middle of my verse and told Jeff the Spirit was gone and I was done. I probably should have kept reading until the Spirit came back, oh well.
But we keep persevering through tantrums, impromptu laughter, farts (I won't mention which family members are guilty of those disruptions), and toy throwing. And tonight it finally hit me that maybe, just maybe it's paying off.
Pearl told us during bath time that her favorite scripture was when Nephi went to the beach (which she later told me was Bear Lake). With his mean brothers who wouldn't play ball with him. And the three women who get their heads cut off. Oh and she also likes Joseph and a new scripture character - who apparently only exists in her copy of the Book of Mormon - Curly. Curly's a girl by-the-way.
Hey, I'm just glad she was BEGGING us to read scriptures tonight. Even if it might have been just a trick to stay up longer. 
I swear he knows EXACTLY what he's doing.
While I did find it impressive that he somehow managed to open the second-to-bottom drawer and pull himself up, without smashing his fingers in the process, I didn't find the repeated towel throwing as I was yelling at him, "No! Towels are not toys!" amusing in the least. Not at all.
It's a good thing he is so stinkin' cute.
