Ninja Destruction

So, we learned Ninja Destruction from our great cousins the Gudmunsons on a weekend trip to Austin.  We played it for a solid hour and had a great time.

Brett decided to introduce the game to his 3 Spanish II classes as an event in his annual "Senor G Olympics."  Little did he know how popular the game would get at the high school. Within a matter of days of introducing the game to his students, Ninja Destruction swept through the high school like wildfire.  Kids were playing in the hallway between classes.  The football team was circling up and slapping each other before and after football games.  Teachers were challenging students to duels in the middle of class.  The principal even officiated a Ninja Tournament for the seniors!

The game then traveled down to the middle school, were it was quickly banned because of its violent potential and lack of academic focus.  Oh well.

Here is a video Brett and his brothers playing Ninja Destruction in an Arizona mall parking lot.



And now our kids playing their own version of Ninja Destruction.

And Ace and Brett competing to win:

Banana Mystery

"What is that??"   You might be asking yourself that question.  I was asking myself the same question.  I found this under the couch.  Then I found another one a couple days later under the crib.  A few days later, behind the flower vase in the kitchen--hey, yet another sticky, crusty banana.  Behind the clothes hamper and in the guest bathroom trash can are just a couple more premeditated locations in which I found an old banana.

When I confronted Wilson and Maisy, they just looked at me.  "Oh yeah, sorry Mom."  With my head in my hands I wondered where do I begin to explain how wrong this was!  The Banana Mystery still remains a bit of a mystery...

But Good Ol' Uncle Jaron is no stranger to the banana (I'm referring to Cameron thinking your leg was a banana in his half-asleep-condition.)  Jaron, my brother, visited us last weekend and the kids are still talking about him.  Here are a few quotes relating to Uncle Jaron:

Maisy: "Where is Uncle Jaron going?  Who is going to play with me now??"

Wilson: "Everything is better with Uncle Jaron."

Thanks for coming to visit us Uncle Jaron!  We love you!  

A little miracle

Brownies/Rice Krispie Treats + A Red Wagon = $101 for the People of Haiti

 

How did we formulate this little equation?  Well, here is the story:

Wilson saw a commerical on TV from the Red Cross about the earthquake in Haiti.  He turned to Brett and said, "Dad, did you hear about the earthquake in Haiti?" 

Brett said, "Yes." 

Wilson replied, "That commerical said I could go to redcross.org and find out how to help.  I really really want to help!"  He was very adamant about it.  So I brought up the website and we read a little about what was going on in Haiti.  We saw some touching pictures.  We then went to the church website and read some more.  Wilson was very touched by the images he saw and the things he read about the people of Haiti.  He read that you could donate money.

"I want to donate money!" he exclaimed.  "But I have no more money.  I spent my last four dollars on Club Penguin Cards!"  He then started thinking of ways he could make money like having a toy sale or selling hot chocolate.  Watching his thought process and seeing his enthusiam made us very emotional, so I suggested we have a bake sale.  Then all the money we made, we would send to the people of Haiti.  

The first day the kids went out was great. The people of our neighborhood were very generous. We knocked about 15 doors and came away with $58. It was incredible, considering we would have been really happy with about $20-30 total. However, the kids wanted more.

That night Wilson said in his personal prayer that he was thankful for the money that had been earned, but he wanted to get more for the people of Haiti. So he asked Heavenly Father to help him and his sister get a total of $100.  We (Brett and Kasia) looked at each other incredulously and shook our heads.

So, we went out again the next day. We had less brownies left (and a little less focus from the little ones), so we didn’t hit as many doors. However, the people were still very generous, and we ended up with a total of $91 dollars. Brett thought that was amazing and a job well done--he had forgotten about the $100 request that Wilson had raised up to the heavens last night. The brownies and RKTs were gone, so we started for home.

When we were about two houses away from our own home, a minivan pulled up right next to us. A lady rolled down the window, and a man whose door we had knocked the day before poked his head out of the window. He had told us to come back and he would give us money, because he didn’t have any cash at the moment. Well, they had been waiting for us at their house, and happened to see us walking home run while driving down the street. His daughter reached out of the back window and gave Brett a crumpled up bill. Of course, it was ten dollars, bringing our total to an unbelievable $101. At that moment Brett remembered Wilson’s prayer.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to blog about this because it is such a tender moment in my journey of motherhood, but I didn't want to forget this little adventure and miracle!  I wanted to document it and look back at it on those "rough days" (you know what I'm talkin' about.)

My children touched my heart in a very special way with this experience that I will never forget it and I'm totally humbled.  I love my sweet children, but let me lessen the sweetness for a minute.  Wilson a couple times asked us if he could keep just FIVE lil' ol' dollars??  Then after seeing Brett and my extremely stern looks he would blurt, "I'm JUST KIDDING!"  Uh-huh, ya right.

Sunday Rituals

Once we get home from church, we try to relax on Sunday.

Wilson has decided his new ritual will be to change back into his Mario Pajamas the moment he gets home from church.  "It's a MING TRADITION!" he exclaimed to me (which is true, but I'm wondering who told him that.)

Maisy's new ritual for Sunday afternoon is to make us all something "delicious" in her Easy Bake Oven.  Last time she made brownies and trust me folks when I say--they are by faaaar the most edible thing she has made in her Easy Bake Oven. 

And well, Ace just likes to hang around with us (in his onesie.)  Ace and I are the true and faithful family members that still take a nap on Sunday.  That's our ritual and it's wonderful!  Sometimes Brett will take a short nap or sometimes we nap and relax while waiting for him to come home.

Hooray for Sundays (most of the time!) 

Snow, puzzles, and food

After Christmas we decided to head over to Arkansas for a visit with Grammy and Grandpa.  Aunt Channa had flown in from California and we were excited to see her.

We were also surprised to see SNOW as well.  We actually had a White Christmas at home, but because we had misplaced our camera, we have no pictures of Christmas morning.  (no worries, we found our camera obviously.)

It got pretty cold while we were visiting in Arkansas, but we enjoyed relaxing inside by the fire.  We did participate in some outdoor activities too.  We all enjoyed Pop's gift from Aunt Channa and roasted some delicious hot dogs.  Brett was very excited (refer to picture.)  Wilson accidentally burned his marshmellows, but then enjoyed scorching them to ashes with Pop.

Of course a puzzle was part of the festivities!  It always is.

And here we all are.  Happy New Year!

Trip to Arizona...

...right before Christmas!!  Little Bro Mark was graduating from ASU on Dec. 17th and we could NOT miss this momentous occasion.

Mark is going to be a biology teacher.  Pretty awesome.  You are awesome Mark and we are so proud--you are all grown up!

We also had some great adult bonding time because we didn't bring the kids! Gasp!  I know, I know--I can't believe I left my children right before Christmas.  But honestly, they barely gave a 2nd look as we left the house because their Grammy was taking care of them.  She is major fun--what can I say?

We hiked Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley (where Stephenie Meyer lives--I was tempted many times to hunt down her place of establishment and still can't believe I was right there and didn't try harder to meet her!)  NOTICE: I am wearing flip-flops.  No one told me to bring hiking shoes!  If you know me at all, you know that I wear flip-flops everywhere.  This was no exception.  I hiked a mountain, up one side and down the other, in my flip-flops.

I must confess that the best Christmas present I received this year was The Whipples!  Our kindred spirit friends from Las Vegas meet us in Arizona for some ultimate good times.

Like Brett going down the slide at the restaurant.  He was the only adult I saw doing that.  Hey Brett, I think that is for the kids!

And getting really messy with b-b-que sauce and such.

We also stopped by the Mesa, AZ temple grounds--twice! because the first night we got there right as they turned the lights off.  So we tried again the next night.  Very festive.

Okay so another one of my favorite parts of our trip was getting to see some of our oldest friends, Dustin and Maddy!  Boy, they are doing great as you can see.  It was so good to see them.  Their children are adorable and so full of personality.  I often tell myself, as I read Maddy's blog, that I wish we lived closer to them because they are so much fun!  I wish we could hang out with them all the time, but we will have to settle for every so often; unless we have to suddenly leave for the wilderness, right Maddy?  It was also funny how comfortable I felt calling Dustin, D-Rog, just like old times.  Thanks Guys!  Love you guys (and that delicious french toast breakfast dish you made, Dustin--YUM!)