Day 10 Dino Update. Circus Dinolay!

Who knew Dino's were so brave? Look at them fly with the greatest of ease. 

Poker Face. Day 9

Who has the winning hand? 

Magic Dino 2014 update 8. Tipsy!

Whoa, these Dino's are getting out of control and hitting the soda a little hard! It's my kinda party. 

2014 Dino update 7. Rock'n Around the Christmas Tree

Guess they wanted their own tree! 

Update 6. Welcome to the Jungle!

Rawr! Welcome to the jungle, baby! Looks like one of them can't quite make it up in the basket. That, or Rex scared him out.  That T Rex sure is a character! 

2014 Dino Update 5. Life's a Beach!

The Dino's are chilling out on the beach with BERRY sweet girls. 

2014 Dino update 4. Bonding.

The Dino's are bonding over s'mores. 

2014 Dino Update 3

Hair day! Oh the gossip in the salon today! 

Oh Christmas Tree, Real Christmas Tree

We did our annual tree hunt this year and made Jess happy because he was able to say he filled at least one kind of tag. I learned a few tips for next year. Have the kids wear snowpants. When we left our house there was no snow on the ground. Well, up in the mountains it was waist deep. By the time we made it to the first grove of trees Paisley had a melt down and claimed she was frozen numb from the waist down.

 Another lessened learned, don't let Jess pick trees. He wants them full of squirrel nests or big enough to fill the entire living room. Tip number three! Bring a saw! I assumed that was a given, but it's something that always should be double checked because when it came time to chop down the tree, no chainsaw. At least Jess brought a bone saw (don't ask) and a hatchet. They worked and got the job done.  This is something everyone needs to know and Remember trees double in size once they leave the forest. (That brings me back to why Jess shouldn't pick the tree it's freaking huge). I mean they don't literally grow while hauling them home. They are just bigger than you think compared to the massive Forrest pines around it. When it gets back to your living room, they are BIG. And lastly, wear a head camera to capture this all on film because it's too funny for words.

The ride home was much better, we were once again warm. Paisley slept while Dom and Riot played on the phone. Seth spotted the wild turkeys on the side of the road. We had a good time. Even if the tree is so big it takes up the whole front room.

2014 Dino update 2

Day 2. Something is cooking in the kitchen!

2014 Christmas Dino's

Last year some magic Dino's showed up to our house. Well, they made an appearance again this year. 

Birthday Parties

This past year we had some fun parties. They were pretty simple to do. I used plastic table clothsand crate  paper  to decorate with. I learned the trick of use the same color or two and it will look like a lot more. 

Mickey Mouse

Riot is obsessed with Mickey. He absolutely loved this! 

Girl Carnival

Paisley turned a big number this year. She wanted to invite some friends from her class but I didn't know a lot of their parents and the rule at school is if you send invitations to class, everyone gets invited. So, 31 kids later I gad to think of something to entertain that many 8 year olds, boys and girls. 

My friend made this cake, she did amazing! I love the detail.

We ended up doing a carnival. They earned tickets and traded them for prizes at the end. 

With that many kids running around they were bound to get hungry and cake wouldn't be enough, so we had a refreshment table. Everyone got a popcorn, cotton candy, snow cone and water. They had a blast. 

Push It, Baby!

The dashboard lights of our SUV dimmed as I parked along side the curb of my daughters dance studio. I wished her luck and kissed her cheek before she hopped out of the passenger door. Suddenly, everything electronic glitched off. The engine still running, I noticed the airbag light come on.  

My mind went to the worst case possible and I had a vision consisting of me pinned against the seat with a deployed air bag against my face. Yeah, so I shut off the car, waited a few minutes and started it once more. I couldn't pull out of my parking spot because the cars situated behind and in front of me were too close, so I did what any sane person would do and went store browsing until I could wedge out of the spot. 

Thirty minutes later, I got back in my SUV and it started, only everything was dim and my gages acted like my car was possessed. Not joking, they were spinning, whipping back and fourth, the speedometer jumped from 0 to needle buried in milliseconds. The headlights and interior lights alternated blinking on and off. When the dome light came on the headlamps shut off and vise versa. I am waiting to look in rear view mirror and see something like the grudge girl come climbing out. I called my husband, explained the situation and he suggested I shut it down. Then asked if I was at a spot he could either jump me because when I tried restarting the ignition it acted like a dead battery. ( Yeah, the poltergeist just drained all the juice) I was close to the bank entrance but there were spots in front of me that cars could park and block my help.

So, I hung up the phone and put the SUV in neutral. Opened my door and pushed. Holy cow! Apparently a Mountaineer is pretty freaking heavy. Especially when you are trying to push the beast on ice covered gutters. Well, I got it moved down two store fronts. I was impressed with myself. Embarrassed to no end, there were two vehicles behind me with parents waiting for their kids to get out of dance, watching me. Enjoying the show. As luck may have it I found the pot hole in the gutter! Pushing from the drivers door wasn't going to work anymore. I moved to the back and really put my body into this shove. It worked! Movement!

Pushing was getting a little more difficult because my oomph was giving out, and a truck suddenly pulled in front of my SUV and parked. Hello guy?!? Did you not see me, a lady with the whitest hair in Idaho pushing her dead vehicle? Guess not. Well, pushing was done. 

I got back into my car, frozen and exhausted to wait for Jess. Finally he comes just as our daughter gets out of dance class. He got a chain hooked up to tow me home.... Across town, yay! How many of you have ever had to drive a vehicle being towed by your husband? It's a lovely experience. Especially when A: you have no freaking clue what he is talking about when he says, "You are my brakes so watch for my signals from my brake lights." (WHAT!!!) and B: he is in such a great mood from this that it would be safer to hug a grizzly bear. Oh, did I mention the chain is so short that I can't even see the bottom of his tail lights? Oh, yeah this is going to be good. 

Halfway home I got the hang of it and stopped ridding the brakes, enough anyway that his head stopped shaking. When we pulled into the driveway I didn't even say anything to him about how fast he was taking corners because then he might of noticed the scratches from when I bumped into his bumper. That's why! I just grabbed the kids, hauled them inside, and started dinner. He can't get upset at me when I am in the middle of cooking his meal. I mean I could burn it or mess it up to the point it's uneatable. 

So, lots of things learned tonight. Mostly, I need a Pepsi. That is all.