Valentine's Day Bribery

I do declare that every day should be Valentine's Day.

And not for the reasons you are probably thinking about.

Oh sure, we should treasure every second of every day with our loved ones. But let's face it. Sometimes those loved ones drive us completely insane. Especially, oh let's say, for like the last five years trying to get their uncooperative (but cute) little behinds out the door in the morning so I can roll into work before noon. 

Just sayin'.

So as I was perusing Target for something I actually needed - and yet managed to bring home a whole bunch of other stuff I didn't really need - I stopped and stared at all of these moms picking out Valentine's Day gifts for their kids. 

And then it hit me.

I only have a few years of truly magical holidays with my kids. Pearl in particular is completely absorbed by every single holiday and celebration. She counts down the days until the next holiday and asks me what we get to do for it. She was so dang excited about Valentine's Day this year. How could I not do something to make it magical for her before she decides it's stupid or that mom and dad are behind the surprises. {Pearl if you're reading this, remember "if you don't believe you don't receive!"}

I may be a really crappy mom most of the time, and heaven knows I don't have an award winning Pinterest crafty bone in my body {see this post of a Valentine's party... a-freaking dorable! but who seriously does that?}, but I just couldn't pass up the feeling that I needed to make this magical. Which is a big deal in our house. My parents never made a big deal over the "little" holidays like Valentine's Day. And in the 13 years that Jeff and I have been together {dating + marriage}, we've never once celebrated this love day. Ick. Jeff will tell you it's because Valentine's Day is NOT a real holiday unless we get the day off from work. And, flowers are way cheaper after so we celebrate Presidents' Day. It's our fun little tradition that no one else does. 

Anyway back to the kids.

When Jeff saw me setting up a little surprise for the kids, he refrained from telling me I had just wasted my money on something stupid and instead suggested I make them hold out until they'd gotten ready in the morning. 

That man is a genius.

Bribery at it's finest. A little motivation to get ready without whining and in a timely fashion would be the best Valentine's Day present I can think of. So I left them a note taped to the oven so Pearl would see it the minute she walked out of her bedroom. 

Roses are red, violets are blue. 

There's a special Valentine's Day surprise waiting for you!

But first, you have to get dressed, comb hair, eat breakfast, brush teeth, make beds. And no whining!

It worked beautifully. I'm pretty sure the last time I got to work {without high blood pressure and ready to kill someone} with two kids by 8 a.m. was, well, before I had kids!

The pipsqueaks were thrilled with their little gifts. I found these adorable tin mailboxes at Target and put some fruit roll-ups and cute Band-aids in them. And I couldn't resist these little Valentine's wiener dogs. Pearl and Cole love them! Blu thinks they should be her chew toys... I guess next year I'll have to add her to the list.

Of course the fun was only beginning. Pearl was super excited for a day-long celebration at school, complete with Valentine's Day box making, card exchange, games, and treats.

Sadly, the fun came to an abrupt end when I got an email from the daycare director stating he'd just found out there had been a confirmed case of the mumps in the kindergarten class in January. Which meant that every kid who hadn't gotten their second MMWR shot had to be sent home on quarantine immediately until the incubation period was over. Well, seeing as how most kids don't get their second dose of MMWR until they are between 4 and 6 years of age, I knew Fern was on the "not clear" list and we'd be going home. The problem with this was I had a ton of work to do so both kids came to my office so I could try and get some things wrapped up before being sent home for a few days to wait out the mumps. {Get your kids vaccinated. They are safe. They save lives. There are very few valid reasons to exempt your kids. That is all.}

Let's just say the morning bribery had run it's course by the time they made it to my office. For at least the boy anyway. Even with a chocolate cupcake covered in a thick layer of purple frosting {see his cute face?}, treats, smelly markers, and some very patient coworkers, I ran out of there thinking it's a good thing they are so dang cute because I'm about ready to give them to the gypsies!

Hardware Ranch

The gross, nasty, chocking inversion is back.

With a vengence.

So as we awaited the time for our Super Bowl party, Jeff's parents took us up to Hardware Ranch (up Blacksmith Fork Canyon) to see the elk. And as we learned the higher up the mountain we went, to get out of the inversion and cold.

It was spectacular in the mountains! Gorgeous blue skies and warm temperatures. The elk have it made!

There was hardly any visitors at the ranch so we didn't have to wait in line or hurry through the elk herd. (If you've never been there, two massive work horses pull a sleigh through the feeding grounds so you can get right up close to the elk.) The ranch feeds between 500-600 elk each winter. We saw several bull elk, some had some pretty big antlers. And it was easy to tell which elk were this last Spring's babies. We even got to hear them calling for their mommas. 

While Jeff and I were enjoying our adventure, the kids were more than a little grumpy, hungry, and in Cole's case either getting sick or cutting molars. 

Oh well. That's what memories are made of, right?

XLVII

Ah Super Bowl Sunday.

What year is XLVII anyway? I'm too lazy to Google it. 

A day of snacks, football, funny commercials, and obviously more food as I seemed to have only gotten pictures of the 5,679 calories I consumed during the day.

To keep the women interested in the big game (and to keep bringing the men folk snacks), my Dad has an arsenal of Super Bowl games and a really big basket of prizes. This year's hits... Commercial Bingo, Super Bowl Bingo, Super Bowl Squares, and Super Bowl Trivia.

My Dad has so much fun organizing our Super Bowl party. And it's a lot of fun bringing back childhood traditions that I cherished so much for my own kids.

Super Bowl

Growing up, Super Bowl Sunday was a big deal for my family. Well, at least my Dad's side of the family. They love a good game, good food, and good parties. So naturally we laughed, ate, and played games. And what better game on Super Bowl Sunday than bowling.

Now this wasn't your ordinary game of bowling. No. An intense three game, cut throat, serious game of bowling complete with an official rule book that outlined such things as scoring, how to determine your handicap score, and how to submit your scores in the even that you were unable to attend the designated time of bowling or lived out of state. 

It was serious.

But we had an awesome trophy. Also outlined in the official rule book, rules for what was/wasn't acceptable for adding on to the trophy during your winning year. 

I never won. (And this year was no different.)

After a long hiatus from our traditional Super "Bowl" activities, Jeff and I insisted we bring back the bowling. Now, in our second year, even the kids are starting to remember that at least once a year, we go bowling. They were so excited! Too bad the rest of my siblings had other plans like a headache, dance, and weekend in a cabin. Pffff. 

Cole wouldn't wander more than an arm's length from the bowling balls. He figured it was his job to hand everyone their ball, even if they weighed three-fourths of his own body weight. 

Pearl figured out how to align this contraption just right to get strikes, spares, and basically kick our butts. While Cole preferred the "I'll throw it myself" (with a little of Dad's help) method. 

 

Cole got so excited when he'd knock down the pins. Like really excited... yelling, "YESSSS!!!" and throwing his hands up in the air and jumping around. Then he'd run over to everyone and give us high-fives. It was so funny.

My Dad is a bit of a perfectionist. Just a bit :) So naturally, his bowling is also a tad on the perfect side. Perfect form.  My Mom and I though? Well....

If you'd ask the kids what their favorite part about bowling was, it might just be the drinks Grandpa bought them. 

Of course, Pearl will also probably tell you that her favorite part was WINNING! Yep. She kicked all of our butts this year. She even beat out my Dad who is more than slightly competitive when it comes to games. The rest of us losers were pretty pumped about the homemade Cafe Rio salads that Jeff and I whipped up for everyone after the game.

Shockingly this was our best family photo. It's makes me smile.

 

Oh, aren't you just lovin' the Aggie love we have?! Even the floors in the bowling alley had USU logos painted on them. 

Snickerdoodles

This is how we make Snickerdoodles in our house.

Mom makes the dough. With two eager helpers shoving and pushing each other out of the way so they can watch. And cough and sneeze in direction of said dough... don't judge you know it happens at your house too.

Mom refrains from tasting the delicious, buttery, sugary, sweet dough thanks to her chosen career path of public health and the ever present thought of salmonella from the raw eggs. 

Mom makes two assembly stations for her eager helpers. Once progress is being made on their job in the whole process, the kids finally stop fighting and whining and pleading that they want to help.

And we begin.

Rolling, rolling, rolling. Keep those doughy balls rolling. In that delicious cinamon sugar, rolling. Rolling! 

Or something like that. 

Of course, Cole has his own take on the appropriate shape of Snickerdoodles. Smashed.

Pearl, however, takes the job very seriously. While also exhibiting a slight OCD with rows of perfectly shaped balls of sugary, cinnamon, sweetness. Yum.

 

We get a thin layer of sugar crystals over the table, floor, chairs, and our clothes. Everywhere.

Pose for a picture with approximately 60 cookies. Then bake!

Well worth the mess.