Week #8: Shoe are You?

This week...

...we went to MyFroYo as our Family Home Evening activity. This was super fun. The kids were in heaven with all the topping selections. Wait, who am I kidding? I was in heaven with all the topping selections. They had fun sampling the yogurt choices and then picking which toppings they wanted.

...Jason tore his uniform pants.  He came home mid shift one night because he had to change his pants. As you can see below, they were in bad shape. Jason was assisting another agency in apprehending someone who was on the run. This time they got to jump fences in order to chase the person down. The first chain link fence looked safe enough at the top; it came together in triangles instead of spikes that shouldn't have done damage. However, there was one piece sticking up that caught his pants and tore them up. He ripped free and jumped another fence to ultimately catch the guy that got away. 

...we held our New Beginnings night for the Young Women. It turned out really cute. Our theme was Shoe are you? The New Beehives for this year and the new convert/move-ins from last year were introduced and each brought a shoe that represented them. The Beehives did a Cinderella type skit that was so cute. Instead of losing a shoe, Cinderella lost her Personal Progress book. Treats were chocolate dipped strawberries and oreos. They went fast. :)

We used some great props to add just the right touch for our Cinderella theme. These have been in storage at the church FOREVER. We put them to good use. Poor Anastasia lost a hand-at least she has a bandaid.

The Beehives taking their bow.

Week #7:Back to the Farm

This week...

...we cele-bray-ted Valentine's Day! Emma made airplanes from smarties, lifesavers, and sticks of gum again. Paul sat down and whipped his valentine's out all on his own. He traced hearts on some paper cards and embellished them with buttons and googly eyes. We taped a piece of candy inside each one and he was done. Of course, they loved the spread of treats and cards when they got home. Claire and Benjamin helped themselves to Emma's candy as if it were their own. Claire was a little sad because none of her friends came to the house to deliver any valentines for her. I reassured her that she would have plenty of valentines this coming year when she starts school.

Paul was particularly interested in the smell of some of the candy. Claire thought she would be sneaky and get a thumbs up in where she could and Paul added a silly face for good measure. 

Jason took me out to lunch at New York Ritchie's. He joked that he loves me more today than any other day of the year and I joked that if he didn't take me out today, then I would know that he really didn't love me. We had the white sauce pizza, which was good. I was a little disappointed by the amount of tomatoes because that is all the pizza was-white sauce and tomatoes. Oh well! The fries were good too-thin and crispy.

...we went back to the farm. Grandpa needs his helpers. This time Uncle Corey came out with his kids so we got to play with more of our cousins. He tried to do the feeding himself because he didn't know our arrangement with Grandpa. Yeesh! We also got to go and stack a load of fire wood for Uncle Kirk. It was such a beautiful day to be out in the sun with a job to do. The kids loved riding in the back of the pickup.

...we finished off some decorating touches. 1. Powder Bath-Love this bathroom now. New wall hanging, stand and rug 2. Dining Area - Vinyl above window, new curtains 3. Stairway Wall Collage - I'm still perfecting this one, but it's a start. I want to make sure that I put all the things I want my kids to remember as they grow up; subliminal mom messages I guess. 4. Candy Shop Sign-this is just a makeover. My first attempt didn't work as well as I wanted. So I added the black and white checker border and put new vinyl on it. Love it! 5. Chevron Pennant Banner-I received this in an exchange at a favorites party. I was so happy to get this and found the perfect spot for it. 6. Zone Sign-I've had the letters above the kitchen window for a while now. The C has a hook that was empty all this time because I was going to get around to hanging something there. Well, in honor of our blog, I put a little zone sign to finish the whole thing off. We're officially Erickson Zone.

Week #6: A Trip to King Lasik

This week...

...Jason had the Lasik PRK surgery. He has been so excited to get this done. It took about five days for him to gradually get used to the light again, for the swelling and irritation to go away, and for him to feel like he could go about fairly normal activities. The PRK is a little more intense of a procedure and so takes longer to recover than just the normal Lasik procedure. His eyes will continue to focus and clear up over time. He's got 20/25 vision right now. It should get as good as 20/15.

...we put Lainey in real pig tails. Her hair is finally long enough. And of course, we captured some of her faces that she's so willing to make for the camera.

...Ben and Claire helped me pick out new curtains for the sliding glass door. We had these most annoying blinds before, which I have to admit did the job of covering the window. But 99% of the slats were broken and would fall down ALL the TIME. It was driving me crazy! So with my February decorating budget, I went and picked out some curtains. I have to say: I love them! (See the picture of Lainey on the breakfast table.)

Claire was hiding nearby and Ben...was running around. Of course!

...Lainey redefined eating at the breakfast table. She stood there and ate her whole bowl of cereal. 

Week # 5: Movie Theater Popcorn

This week...

...we ate movie theater popcorn by the bag full. It lasts quite a long time and doesn't go soggy or stale. We know, we've had it for days now. I threw one bag away when I caught Benjamin putting his feet in it and wiggling them around. I said, "Now we have to throw that popcorn away since you put your feet in there." He said, "Me did it before!" I just about slapped my forehead in disbelief. Then I wondered, how many times did we all dip out of that bag after he put his feet in the first time?  

     A member of our ward works down at Fairchild Cinemas as their tech guy. His uncle is the manager. So he brought two big garbage bags full of movie theater popcorn with some specialty salts to taste - white cheddar and BBQ (the two most popular at the theater). The kids thought it was great fun and we all thought it was great popcorn. Somehow, even with Lainey's mishap and trip to the ER, we made it home with both bags of popcorn. We've been eating it, vacuuming it - off the floor and couch, and making it into caramel corn. Yum! I don't recommend going down and buying movie theater popcorn just to make caramel corn. It could be expensive. Tasty, but expensive. If you don't have any on hand, just settle for the microwavable kind. ;)

...we cuddled on Sunday after church. I love Sundays like that - no meetings, no dinner guests, no firesides, nothing. Just me and the kids. (Jason was working.)

...Lainey got her stitches out. We went back to the ER for the removal of the stitches or fuzzy, black hairs as Ben called them. Maybe the three little pigs had stitches in their chin, possible mishaps as they ran from the first two houses, and that's why they tell the wolf they won't open the door by the hairs on their chinny-chin chins. This time our friend was working and she helped us get the stitches out. Then she pulled pink fingernail polish out of her bag of tricks and painted Lainey's nails before we went home. She was showing everyone her pinks.

She was very attached to the boxes of bandages and anti-biotics we bought for her. She set them all out on her bed for the night and played monkey to boot. 

...we helped Grandpa feed the cows. This time all the kids got to help and they were loving it. Grandpa rolled his eyes at me when I cautioned them about getting their tennis shoes all manure-y. I'm sure he was thinking I'd been completely city-fied. In my own defense, when they've only got one pair, you have to be cautious. I probably got carried away taking pictures, but I don't care. I hope that they will look back with fond memories on these times helping Grandpa with the cows.

...Claire pulled her loose tooth out all by herself. That is my kind of teeth pulling. The tooth was barely hanging on to begin with. She kept tugging and stopping, tugging and stopping. Finally, as she was sitting calmly on the couch working at it, the tooth just came out! Yay! This is her very first.

...we've been putting up more vinyl! I caught a little bit more of the vision for our home, and I had a bit of money to spend. That helps! Metal was on sale at Hobby Lobby this week and so I was able to make a few things happen. It was so exciting and Jason was so willing to help with the hanging of everything.

...Jason got his first autographed picture of a celebrity. Alyssa Milano wrote out autographs for all the guys on Jason's squad. The connection is through the wife of one of the deputies on his squad. She knows Milano and manages her twitter account. It's all about who you know. The only thing is that too many people ask us who she is. Come on people! Don't you remember Who's the Boss? Tony Danza? Come on!