Once a week we take turns to get to pick a game for family night. I have fun memories of playing games with my family and know the kids are growing up fast and won't always love them so much but for now they look so forward to them. I thought it would be fun to make a note of some of our favorites!
Tonight it was my pick so I did
Chinese knives, which was a childhood memory. I told Jon the secret to see if the kids could figure it out. I took 6 butter knives from the drawer and we all sat in a circle on the floor. Jon left the room and we pointed to someone whose name I would write in "Chinese" with the knives. We started with Seth. I acted like I was thinking hard and made a design with the knives, the kids were very impressed that I knew Chinese. Then I posed my legs just like Seth and Jon had to walk in and look to see who I was imitating. Seth was kind of squatting with one foot turned under so it wasn't easy and I thought it might be obvious to the kids but it wasn't. Jon said, "Seth," and they all gasped. We kept playing until Tanner got it, then Maddie, then we were very obvious with our legs sprawled out and Max got it. We finally told Seth who had to run out of the room to take his turn to "read Chinese."
Last week it was Maddie's pick. She learned a game at school called
Alibi. Maddie went out of the room and we picked someone that was the "liar" which was Jon. Then someone else had to think of a problem like "Somebody broke the chair." When Maddie came in we told her the problem then she asked each of us what we were doing when the chair got broken. The liar (Jon) said something like, "It wasn't me, I was cutting my toe nails." We each had a turn giving our alibis. Then she went around the circle again and we had to say the exact same thing except for the liar (Jon) who changed it to "It wasn't me, I was cutting my finger nails." She has to listen very carefully to all of us and we have to remember exactly what we had said the first time. It was pretty fun.
A game they love that we play all too often is
Corners. We number the corners in the living room 1-5, like between the couch and wall is corner 1, between the other end of the couch and the fireplace is corner 2 and so on. The person that is it closes his eyes and counts to 10 while everyone runs to a corner, more than one person can be in a corner. Before the person opens his eyes he yells a number, "Corner 2!" If anyone is in corner 2 they're out. The game contiues like this until there's only one person left. That person gets to be it. One of Seth's favorites.
Another game, when we have more time, is
Sardines. This was also a favorite of mine growing up. We turn off all the lights and have to stay on one level of the house. Everyone counts to 100 while one person hides. When someone finds that person they very quietly hide with her. The last person to discover where everyone is hiding is it. Sometimes it gets pretty crowded if they choose a small area and it's hard not to laugh but you have to stay quiet so nobody else will find you. It's pretty fun but everyone wants a turn to hide so it takes us a while.
I don't know the name of this game but I'll call it
Word Association, (real catchy). Tanner will think of any word like "watermelon" and whisper it into Maddie's ear. She will then say the first word that pops into her head like "Summer" and whisper that word into Max's ear...and so on. The last person then says the word they're thinking out loud to everyone and it's interesting at how far or how close the word is to the first word. One time Maddie whispered "cookie" into Seth's ear and he ended with "Crumbs in my shoes" which was pretty random but cracked everyone up.
There are three girls named Maddie on her team so when we yell, "Go, Maddie!" we're rooting for half of the team.
I bought Seth and Jon matching ties for Easter. Max hates wearing ties which is a battle I don't want to fight (I hate wearing pantyhose) and Tanner isn't really into matching. They look so handsome.
Here's Maddie with her Easter dress Grandma Marilyn made her two years ago, still fits. Lookin good with the Easter tablecloth in the background.
Last Friday and Saturday Maddie, Max, and Seth did a Karate tournament. It was a lot of fun, we didn't really know what to expect because we had never done one. You either get a trophy (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place) or a medal so the kids all left happy. Seth is doing his kata which is a routine he has memorized with various blocks and kicks. There are three judges that give him a score between 7 and 8. He got 2nd place for this.
Maddie and Max also did their katas which were more difficult. Maddie practiced tons and Max didn't practice at all. Max ended up getting 1st and Maddie 3rd, which made Seth very happy.
The next evening we got to go back and do chanbara. They do like a sword fight with noodle like swords. You can hit anywhere but the face and whoever gets 5 points first wins. Seth's level they stood very still and were very gentle. Max and Maddie's level was a bit more aggressive. Once Maddie got hit so hard the judges said they would disqualify if he swung like a bat again. You're suppose to show skill by being quick, not hurt each other. Maddie waited until it was over and then burst into tears which is so Maddie. She has to finish it and then let it all out.
Maddie still beat all 5 of these boys and got 1st place. You go girl! Max and Seth also got 1st place in their division. I guess my kids have had a lot of experience fighting.
This is Maddie sitting very properly for karate with her arms tucked in and her feet crossed behing her. We had to get a picture of it. Serious girl.
I LOVE Cadbury mini eggs, I'd even go as far as saying I'm addicted to them. Easter better hurry and get here so I can stop buying them.
Maddie tried three times and finally got it in.
Tanner turned 13 today, wow! He had a computer party which meant he invited 4 friends over to have a "Warcraftpalooza". They linked computers and had a great time. After, we had pizza and ice cream cake. I know old people always say how fast life goes, so I must be getting old because it's flying by! We've only lived in Highland for 5 years, another 5 years and he'll be graduating. Stop!
So, Tanner needed to see a "National Historical Monument" for one of his merit badges for scouts. Jon looked online and discovered the "Beehive House" is considered a National Historical Monument. And so...since it was President's Day and the kids were home from school, we decided to go to Salt Lake. It's only a 40 minute drive but we don't go up there very often, so it was kind of fun. This is a picture of Brigham Young's house in Salt Lake called the Beehive house to motivate the people to work hard and together. It is a beautiful home with lots of details like carved wood and antique furniture. It was a 30 minute tour and the kids stayed pretty interested.
h is also a beautiful building. Max convinced Seth that this statue was the actual size of Joseph Smith. Right outside is the HUGE Salt Lake Temple so we walked by it. It always amazes me at how big and amazing that temple is. No wonder it took the pioneers 40 years to build. It was a nice day trip.
Mrs. Jacobs asked if I'd like to decorate cookies for Seth's kinder- garten class. Would I ever! It actually wasn't too bad, he only has 17 kids and they rotated in groups of 4 so it was pretty relaxed. This is his buddy Sammy that was also on his soccer team. Cute age!
eople not ideas. This made me a little nervous and it ended up being a little night- marish. The room mom went out of town but she sent a white sweat jacket and fabric paints and wanted all of the kids to dip their hands and put their print on it without getting any on their clothes. A couple of boys did get a slight amount on their shirts even though I reminded them over and over it stains and to wash their hands right away. It ended up okay and it was a present for the teacher because her b-day was also on Valentines Day. Shew!
both had forgotten how fun skiing is. After lunch we got to ski as a family. The kids wanted to go up and down a hundred tim
es, I finally started watching them at the bottom of the hill, I was worn out! We did all go to bed at 7:30 that night.
ould be skiis but it was a ninja sword!
Once I went to college Lyssa would send giraffe stickers and stuff for fun. At this point we really missed each other so I loved the giraffes. Now, every year she gets me some kind of a giraffe for Christmas. I love giraffes! This is now my display when you walk in my front door.
For our anniversary last year, Jon went to Pier 1 and bought me the biggest giraffe I've ever seen. Since it was our 13th anniversary, I named him 13. The salesman said, "You really want to buy this thing?" I love it!
Jon's mom just brought me a wall hanging that is SOOO beautiful! It had to have taken her so much time, I really appreciate it. Now, I'm getting too many giraffes to put on my table, but that's okay. Max and Seth even got me a plastic one of a baby and mommy to put in my stocking this year.
When we arrived, the heater was not working so it was 31 degrees in the cabin. That is really cold! We built a fire and Jon figured out how to get the heater to kick on but it took forever to warm up. Everyone decided to go see "Bedtime Stories" while the cabin heated. The bad thing was, Tanner threw up out the window of the car on the way up so he was fast asleep downstairs. I got to stay home and freeze with him. It was actually kind of nice to sit by the fire and wipe everything down while everyone was gone.
Here's a picture of everyone under blankets to get warm. Seth loves (in a girlfriend way) Paige, Donovan's wife, so he is quite happy. The downstairs toilet was the only one thawed enough to use, we were happy for that. That night Maddie threw up and Tanner felt better. Most of the family had to leave the next day to go to work so we all decided just to come home. Not quite as fun as we had hoped, but it was an adventure!
The Boys of Winter! Daniel, Carson, Michael, and Tanner.
Maddie and Peter enjoying the snow!
Katie, Seth, Maddie, Max and Thomas in their snow fort.
It's a tradition to get Jon an ice cream cake. He just blew out his candles. Way to go Jon! We had to get two since Lyssa's family was visiting.
