Random Coincidence

Ryan and I have been reading “The Magic Tree House” series together for a while now. There are about 40 books, and we are on 20. The series is about a brother and sister who travel to different places and times and events by looking at books they find in a tree house.

This week, we’ve been reading “Dingoes at Dinnertime” in which they travel to Australia and save a koala bear from a wildfire.

Interestingly, a similar story was in the news this week about a koala that was saved from the wildfires in Australia.

It's been fun to talk about the "real life" happenings as we read the fictional story.

Friday the 13th/Valentine’s Day the 14th

Our “Friday the 13th” was a lot of fun. Every Friday morning, I volunteer in Ryan’s classroom. Yesterday they had a group from the Living Planet Aquarium and some exotic animals come in and do a presentation. It was a lot of fun to see the kids’ reactions as the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, tarantula, black python, etc. made their way around the room to be seen and touched. Ryan, always interested in creatures, got a good look at (and touch of) everything.
On Friday nights, we have been going to Marc and Frances’ house to help with the girls. Frances has been working the graveyard shift at LDS Hospital, so we go up and have dinner together before she leaves, and then we play with the girls and help Marc get them to bed. Our “Friday the 13th” experience actually came last Friday the 6th, as we were involved in a minor accident on our way up to their house. Nothing serious – just bumps and bruises. We had a great time with them yesterday…as always. Here are Alice (top) and Claire (bottom).

Ryan and I had fun making/getting Valentine gifts for everyone (and each other). Ryan apparently informed my dad that he needed to get me a dozen red roses for Valentine’s Day, so Papa took him to get them after school Friday. I have such awesome guys in my life! :)
Marc and Frances love chocolate covered cinnamon bears. We made them a note that said, “Chocolate makes life BEAR-able” and stuck it to the top of the box with their bag of bears in it.
I had heard about a yummy popcorn recipe, so Ryan and I made some for Rara and Papa. You melt white chocolate chips and drizzle it over popped popcorn, and then stir it in. We also added cherry gummy hearts into our mixture. It was SO good!
Ryan loves gummy things, especially Swedish fish. I made him a little note to go with his bag of fish that said, “It’s o-FISH-al…you’re the best son ever!” Of course, we also had a lot of fun making and decorating Valentine cookies.

Blog2Print

There have been many discussions on blogs and blog discussion boards about the recent changes to Blurb.com which are no longer compatible with the Blogger site, including this post by my friend, Laurel.

I had intended to print my 2007 entries in one book, and my 2008 entries in another book. I knew it would take some time to organize them and get them “slurped” into the site. Unfortunately, by the time I had a chance to organize everything, Blurb was no longer available! I looked around a little bit, and decided to try Blog2Print. I just started with my 2007 book, just in case I wasn’t happy with it and needed to shop around for somewhere else to do my 2008 book. I received my 2007 book about a month ago, and I am very pleased. (As soon as I turn in a big paper for my current class, I’m going to order my 2008 book.)

I have already recommended Blog2Print to a few people, and one that I know of has received her book, and is also very pleased.

If you’re in need of a new blog printing site, I’d recommend that you give it a try. Here’s a code that you can use for 15% off your purchase!

MyBlog31MAR05671

Claire, the Budding Star

In Marc's business, he has worked with several film stars and music stars. He always tells us which ones are cool and which ones are the demanding divas (sometimes referring to guys as the divas, too).

Marc may be raising his own diva. We sometimes refer to Claire as "the little diva." Even at 4 1/2 months, she already knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it. At least she's developing the talents that may ensure that her demands are met.

Check out Frances' latest post to see the vocal talents of the budding star.

No Bending to Peer Pressure Here

Ryan stayed home from school sick yesterday. I don't let him play video games or computer games when he stays home from school, but I do let him watch movies. He was looking through his movies, and finally decided on "High School Musical." Then he said:

"Some of my friends think it's silly that I like High School Musical because I'm a boy. I don't care, because I'm my own man."

I'm still laughing.

Fill Your Heart with Art

According to Ryan’s calendar, Saturday, January 31 was “Fill Your Heart with Art” day. We celebrated the day by visiting the Treehouse Museum with our friends, Kristin and Abby. We started at The Pizza Factory, where Ryan and Abby shared their favorite food, cheese pizza. Speaking of cheesy, check out these poses! (Thanks to Kristin for the restaurant pics.)We went to the Treehouse Museum, where we enjoyed their interpretation of “Sleeping Beauty.” It was one of those scripts where there were as many entertaining things for the parents as there were for the kids. After the play, Ryan and Abby enjoyed meeting the cast (and playing on the Fire Engine).Thanks, Kristin & Abby, for the fun day!