Sunday, April 7, 2013
Mega Crack-Off
The Friday before Easter, I think we cracked enough eggs to depress chickens nationwide. It was quite the day. Let's go in chronological order to keep things straight.
The first Crack-Off of the day happened at Tyler's work. I'm only documenting my favorites here. Tyler entered these two eggs:
And I liked these two as well. (The Grenade being my favorite.)
I liked the way the guys boxed in the table, leaving no holes for the egg to escape.
It came down to William and Dan.
Can you guess who won?
The second Crack-Off of the day happened in Robyn's classroom. I thought it would be fun to try one with the school kids and so I put myself in charge of her Easter Party. (I guess egg hunting is traditional, but I wanted to mix it up, and I think they really enjoyed it.) The only reason you get pictures is because Tyler was nice enough to attend.
I had one mom bring in 3 dozen hard-boiled eggs and we let the kids decorate them. Here is Robyn's creation. She named him Anger Bird.
We had a designated spot to keep eggs between crack-offs. I didn't want them to be left at the desks where kids could more easily break them.
We adults demonstrated how to crack. Notice the awesome 'cracking corral' I created this year. I knew the kids would miss sometimes, and I didn't want them crowded around the table. The corral worked beautifully, and I think we will keep it for the long haul.
And then the competition was under way. If your egg survived, you took it back to the carton for safe keeping. And if your egg cracked, you got to go to the back and get a treat. It seemed to take the sting out of losing.
Here are some semi-finalists.
And then there were only two. (Ha ha. Look at the height difference.)
And you know who won it all? Robyn. Yep....my kid.
I have to admit, it looked a little staged when I planned the whole thing, Tyler came and took pictures, and amazingly, our child won. Hmm..... But since I didn't cook the eggs or distribute them, there was no way to fix the competition. Robyn was just lucky.
The third Crack-Off was rather spontaneous. June was having friends over after school and I promised to save them some eggs. Robyn ended up with friends over too, so we had a good amount to compete. I relented to pressure and cooked more eggs, made dye, got out sharpies, and the girls went to town. They had some really fun eggs. (But no pictures this time around. My photographer had gone back to work.) We voted on the designs and then we cracked them. And guess what? Robyn's egg beat them all. The same egg that won the school Crack-Off. Wow. I wonder what is up with that egg? I promised her that after the party that evening, she could pit her egg against the winner.
And so, that brings us to Crack-Off number four. (See what I mean about the enormous amount of eggs going down in a single day??)
In the evening, we hosted our neighborhood Crack-Off. Dave commented that he had never been to an adult Easter Party. But I told him that was the way we roll around here.
We had so many fabulous egg creations this year. Here they are all displayed. (And Stacey and I must be talking about our shoes or something.)
Let's take a closer look at some of these eggs. (They are not all pictured. Sorry.)
Tyler wanted me to give credit this time around, so I'll see what I can do. Here are Jonny's eggs. (I love the color on these.)
Beth made a fun glittery one. (Don't worry, she had a spare because she didn't know if the glitter complied with standard cracking regulation.)
Katelyn's eggs were awesome and reminded me of this year.
My eggs had a theme.
Tyler had some fun ones. (I wish you could see the train better. It was cool wrapping around the egg.)
Jamie is seriously talented in the art department.
Dane's egg was my favorite. I wish you could see the sword on the back of the Ninja.
Stacey and Dave brought superhero eggs, although I think Stacey decorated them all. (Notice Jenaca's Polka Dot egg in there.)
Becca had one that I really liked.
Then we started cracking them of course. (Yes, the corral works for adults as well.)
I had a pretty simple bracket, but Eric was teaching me how to make it into a double elimination bracket. I think it is funny that Tyler caught my confused expression. I was struggling trying to keep it all straight.
More cracking. (Check out Beth's cute baby bump.)
Eric won it all. (Why don't we have a picture of that??) And then Robyn came down to test her egg against his. And guess who won?? Robyn....again. She didn't even bat an eye. She picked up her egg, didn't even look at it, and said to Eric, "Yours cracked." And she was right. (We still gave Eric the prize.)
We have saved Robyn's egg because amazingly we are not done with Crack-Offs. We will have another when my parents come to town in a couple weeks. We'll see if her egg can conquer all.
We played a few games after. The guys dominated in 'Four on a couch' They won twice, so we let them revel in their glory.
And although we didn't win, we took a picture too. (Probably to mock them a little.)
It was such a fun Crack-Off, only made bittersweet because Camille and Eric were moving a few days later. I had to get a picture of my girls. I'm glad we have these times.
And so ends the momentous day of CRACKING!! Be glad you aren't an egg.
The first Crack-Off of the day happened at Tyler's work. I'm only documenting my favorites here. Tyler entered these two eggs:
And I liked these two as well. (The Grenade being my favorite.)
I liked the way the guys boxed in the table, leaving no holes for the egg to escape.
It came down to William and Dan.
Can you guess who won?
The second Crack-Off of the day happened in Robyn's classroom. I thought it would be fun to try one with the school kids and so I put myself in charge of her Easter Party. (I guess egg hunting is traditional, but I wanted to mix it up, and I think they really enjoyed it.) The only reason you get pictures is because Tyler was nice enough to attend.
I had one mom bring in 3 dozen hard-boiled eggs and we let the kids decorate them. Here is Robyn's creation. She named him Anger Bird.
We had a designated spot to keep eggs between crack-offs. I didn't want them to be left at the desks where kids could more easily break them.
We adults demonstrated how to crack. Notice the awesome 'cracking corral' I created this year. I knew the kids would miss sometimes, and I didn't want them crowded around the table. The corral worked beautifully, and I think we will keep it for the long haul.
And then the competition was under way. If your egg survived, you took it back to the carton for safe keeping. And if your egg cracked, you got to go to the back and get a treat. It seemed to take the sting out of losing.
Here are some semi-finalists.
And then there were only two. (Ha ha. Look at the height difference.)
And you know who won it all? Robyn. Yep....my kid.
I have to admit, it looked a little staged when I planned the whole thing, Tyler came and took pictures, and amazingly, our child won. Hmm..... But since I didn't cook the eggs or distribute them, there was no way to fix the competition. Robyn was just lucky.
The third Crack-Off was rather spontaneous. June was having friends over after school and I promised to save them some eggs. Robyn ended up with friends over too, so we had a good amount to compete. I relented to pressure and cooked more eggs, made dye, got out sharpies, and the girls went to town. They had some really fun eggs. (But no pictures this time around. My photographer had gone back to work.) We voted on the designs and then we cracked them. And guess what? Robyn's egg beat them all. The same egg that won the school Crack-Off. Wow. I wonder what is up with that egg? I promised her that after the party that evening, she could pit her egg against the winner.
And so, that brings us to Crack-Off number four. (See what I mean about the enormous amount of eggs going down in a single day??)
In the evening, we hosted our neighborhood Crack-Off. Dave commented that he had never been to an adult Easter Party. But I told him that was the way we roll around here.
We had so many fabulous egg creations this year. Here they are all displayed. (And Stacey and I must be talking about our shoes or something.)
Let's take a closer look at some of these eggs. (They are not all pictured. Sorry.)
Tyler wanted me to give credit this time around, so I'll see what I can do. Here are Jonny's eggs. (I love the color on these.)
Beth made a fun glittery one. (Don't worry, she had a spare because she didn't know if the glitter complied with standard cracking regulation.)
Katelyn's eggs were awesome and reminded me of this year.
My eggs had a theme.
Tyler had some fun ones. (I wish you could see the train better. It was cool wrapping around the egg.)
Jamie is seriously talented in the art department.
Dane's egg was my favorite. I wish you could see the sword on the back of the Ninja.
Stacey and Dave brought superhero eggs, although I think Stacey decorated them all. (Notice Jenaca's Polka Dot egg in there.)
Becca had one that I really liked.
Then we started cracking them of course. (Yes, the corral works for adults as well.)
I had a pretty simple bracket, but Eric was teaching me how to make it into a double elimination bracket. I think it is funny that Tyler caught my confused expression. I was struggling trying to keep it all straight.
More cracking. (Check out Beth's cute baby bump.)
Eric won it all. (Why don't we have a picture of that??) And then Robyn came down to test her egg against his. And guess who won?? Robyn....again. She didn't even bat an eye. She picked up her egg, didn't even look at it, and said to Eric, "Yours cracked." And she was right. (We still gave Eric the prize.)
We have saved Robyn's egg because amazingly we are not done with Crack-Offs. We will have another when my parents come to town in a couple weeks. We'll see if her egg can conquer all.
We played a few games after. The guys dominated in 'Four on a couch' They won twice, so we let them revel in their glory.
And although we didn't win, we took a picture too. (Probably to mock them a little.)
It was such a fun Crack-Off, only made bittersweet because Camille and Eric were moving a few days later. I had to get a picture of my girls. I'm glad we have these times.
And so ends the momentous day of CRACKING!! Be glad you aren't an egg.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
A Smidgeon of This and That
Tomorrow is Easter. Which is weird, because on the blog, we just had St. Patrick's Day. I conclude that the two holidays are too close together, or I have not been blogging. Or perhaps a little of both.
Around here, we have been cracking eggs like crazy. But much more has happened in between, so I will try to get some of it down on here. Not everything has pictures, but that is okay. (I'm trying to convince myself here that I am not a bad person because I don't take pictures of every small detail. Like when three children lost teeth is a very short space of time. It would have been nice to get some pictures of that. Especially since I pulled out Robyn's tooth with pliers. Ah....good times.)
Okay, well we may as well start there. Because I pulled out Robyn's tooth with pliers, she was feeling very brave and deserving and she wrote this letter to the tooth fairy:
(The outside of the letter said- TOOTH FARIY EYES ONLY!!)
Dear Tooth fairy,
I worked really hard to get that tooth out! We tried almost everything. The day I deskovered it was when June lost her Canine. We tried the Grippers, (we is: Mom & dad) just wiggleing it and tugging on it. So it bled alot! And it was a canine and I'm not even NINE yet so please give me more then $1 "okay"
Thank you,
Robyn
P.S. WRIGHT BACK!!!
And "sorry" My dad couldent find the tooth pillow :( But anayaws old school works too.!
'Old school' is leaving it under your pillow and the tooth fairy had no problems finding it. She even was nice enough to leave her $1.50. I personally think that a well written letter goes a long way.
Like this letter for instance, written by June:
Dear Dad,
I have come to understand that Pearl gets into countless thing. Many of which are mine. I have a plot to cease Pearl and Daisy's frequent break-ins to my room with a lock; a lock that cannot be opened with a clip, rather a key. I would like a lock because it will keep them from ruining anything of mine (or anything of Mom's that's in the closet.)
Some things Pearl has recently gotten into are:
1. A bag of candy I got from Hannah's party, which I thought was safe buried under things on my desk.
2. The bag of pom-poms in Mom's closet.
3. A contained of Rubber-cement that I was using for my Biography Buddy.
4. She drew on a dolphin picture she wasn't supposed to draw on.
Another thing I don't like them to do is come into my room, see something else that looks fun, and drop what they had on the floor. I usually leave for school with a clean room, and come home to a room littered with babies, blankets, books, and other toys that belong in Pearl and Daisy's room.
Some things she gets into don't seem too important, but things like the ruined dolphin picture are important to me.
Would you please consider getting a lock for my door, so that I may protect my property.
Sincerely,
June
For the record, I told her that if she wanted Dad to take her request seriously, she should write a proposal. She said, "What, like asking someone to marry you?" Ha ha...no, not that kind of proposal. I think her opinions were well voiced, and although she didn't get a lock, we did get one of those baby proof door handle things (very official name) and Pearl has not ransacked her room for a while.
Battle of the books was back at the beginning of this month. This year, I volunteered to help with the battles. It was really very fun. The kids take it so seriously. Robyn's team did very well. They won 3 out of 4 games on 'pool play' day and then she won two matches on game day. Her best friend made it to the finals, and it was good to discuss how we can be happy for our friends who do well.
June's school also did Battle of the books, but because they don't have a gym right now, they just played 5 games and totaled points for a winner. June's team didn't lose any battles, but they didn't get the highest number of points either. But she felt that she did well, and that is what matters.
We finally made it over to Kangaroo Zoo to celebrate Pearl's b-day. Even the older kids enjoy it.
I never did get a good picture of Daisy.
Ivory had a good time.
Robyn saw me taking a picture. She loves me so.
And of course the birthday girl.
June's school did another play—The Taming of the Shrew. I was impressed again with how well they all remembered their lines. June was a servant girl. She played her part very well. I'm not sure if I have ever seen this play before. It makes me want to find the movie, Kiss Me Kate and see if it is any good.
Our kids school does something called Dad's and Donuts. They invite the dads to come read with their kids for a short amount of time and they pass out donuts during the event. Tyler is a faithful attender. I happened to be at the school when the dads were arriving one morning, and I thought it was the cutest thing EVER. All these dads with blankets, bears, and books. Some were in suits, others came in biker chaps. It didn't matter how they came, it just mattered that they had taken time out to come. I think it was very touching.
In other not so touching news, June decided to see what would happen if you stick tweezers in a plug outlet. I might expect this from Daisy, but honestly, I thought June would know better. Don't worry, she didn't feel a thing, but the tweezers did melt a little and it tripped the breaker. I would not recommend this as a science experiment.
Crazy hair day came and went at June's school. Oddly, she and her best friend had their hair done the same way. (Great moms think alike.)
Have I mentioned that I finally let her read Harry Potter? I can't get the kid to put the books down.
And finally, we snapped a picture one afternoon while the kids were playing Sardines. It was funny to see them all lined up by the bed waiting for people to find them. I love that my kids play well together...most days.
Stay tuned for some Easter Eggstravaganzas!!
Around here, we have been cracking eggs like crazy. But much more has happened in between, so I will try to get some of it down on here. Not everything has pictures, but that is okay. (I'm trying to convince myself here that I am not a bad person because I don't take pictures of every small detail. Like when three children lost teeth is a very short space of time. It would have been nice to get some pictures of that. Especially since I pulled out Robyn's tooth with pliers. Ah....good times.)
Okay, well we may as well start there. Because I pulled out Robyn's tooth with pliers, she was feeling very brave and deserving and she wrote this letter to the tooth fairy:
(The outside of the letter said- TOOTH FARIY EYES ONLY!!)
Dear Tooth fairy,
I worked really hard to get that tooth out! We tried almost everything. The day I deskovered it was when June lost her Canine. We tried the Grippers, (we is: Mom & dad) just wiggleing it and tugging on it. So it bled alot! And it was a canine and I'm not even NINE yet so please give me more then $1 "okay"
Thank you,
Robyn
P.S. WRIGHT BACK!!!
And "sorry" My dad couldent find the tooth pillow :( But anayaws old school works too.!
'Old school' is leaving it under your pillow and the tooth fairy had no problems finding it. She even was nice enough to leave her $1.50. I personally think that a well written letter goes a long way.
Like this letter for instance, written by June:
Dear Dad,
I have come to understand that Pearl gets into countless thing. Many of which are mine. I have a plot to cease Pearl and Daisy's frequent break-ins to my room with a lock; a lock that cannot be opened with a clip, rather a key. I would like a lock because it will keep them from ruining anything of mine (or anything of Mom's that's in the closet.)
Some things Pearl has recently gotten into are:
1. A bag of candy I got from Hannah's party, which I thought was safe buried under things on my desk.
2. The bag of pom-poms in Mom's closet.
3. A contained of Rubber-cement that I was using for my Biography Buddy.
4. She drew on a dolphin picture she wasn't supposed to draw on.
Another thing I don't like them to do is come into my room, see something else that looks fun, and drop what they had on the floor. I usually leave for school with a clean room, and come home to a room littered with babies, blankets, books, and other toys that belong in Pearl and Daisy's room.
Some things she gets into don't seem too important, but things like the ruined dolphin picture are important to me.
Would you please consider getting a lock for my door, so that I may protect my property.
Sincerely,
June
For the record, I told her that if she wanted Dad to take her request seriously, she should write a proposal. She said, "What, like asking someone to marry you?" Ha ha...no, not that kind of proposal. I think her opinions were well voiced, and although she didn't get a lock, we did get one of those baby proof door handle things (very official name) and Pearl has not ransacked her room for a while.
Battle of the books was back at the beginning of this month. This year, I volunteered to help with the battles. It was really very fun. The kids take it so seriously. Robyn's team did very well. They won 3 out of 4 games on 'pool play' day and then she won two matches on game day. Her best friend made it to the finals, and it was good to discuss how we can be happy for our friends who do well.
June's school also did Battle of the books, but because they don't have a gym right now, they just played 5 games and totaled points for a winner. June's team didn't lose any battles, but they didn't get the highest number of points either. But she felt that she did well, and that is what matters.
We finally made it over to Kangaroo Zoo to celebrate Pearl's b-day. Even the older kids enjoy it.
I never did get a good picture of Daisy.
Ivory had a good time.
Robyn saw me taking a picture. She loves me so.
And of course the birthday girl.
June's school did another play—The Taming of the Shrew. I was impressed again with how well they all remembered their lines. June was a servant girl. She played her part very well. I'm not sure if I have ever seen this play before. It makes me want to find the movie, Kiss Me Kate and see if it is any good.
Our kids school does something called Dad's and Donuts. They invite the dads to come read with their kids for a short amount of time and they pass out donuts during the event. Tyler is a faithful attender. I happened to be at the school when the dads were arriving one morning, and I thought it was the cutest thing EVER. All these dads with blankets, bears, and books. Some were in suits, others came in biker chaps. It didn't matter how they came, it just mattered that they had taken time out to come. I think it was very touching.
In other not so touching news, June decided to see what would happen if you stick tweezers in a plug outlet. I might expect this from Daisy, but honestly, I thought June would know better. Don't worry, she didn't feel a thing, but the tweezers did melt a little and it tripped the breaker. I would not recommend this as a science experiment.
Crazy hair day came and went at June's school. Oddly, she and her best friend had their hair done the same way. (Great moms think alike.)
Have I mentioned that I finally let her read Harry Potter? I can't get the kid to put the books down.
And finally, we snapped a picture one afternoon while the kids were playing Sardines. It was funny to see them all lined up by the bed waiting for people to find them. I love that my kids play well together...most days.
Stay tuned for some Easter Eggstravaganzas!!
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