Trampoline Tricks

When we last left the trampoline at Christmas, it was bent and non functional. We had to wait a few days for a part to come in the mail, but before the New Year even started, we had the tramp up and jumping.

Pearl was so thrilled. She literally jumped for joy. 

Tyler was very happy that the second attempt worked. But actually, we should give some credit to the girls who read the instructions and made sure it was assembled in the right order the second time around.

Nova didn't know what to make of the trampoline. She doesn't like people where she can't reach them. She ran around and around and poked her nose up now and then to see what was happening. (She has gotten used to it now.)

Pearl loves to practice her flips on the tramp. She does back handsprings, tucks, and whatever else you can do in fifteen feet across. 

The tramp has gotten good use since we purchased it and we aren't even into the warm months yet. All the kids love it. Granny V even took a turn on it when she brought Hen and Grand over. 

The most recent escapade was a new game that Tyler and Pearl invented. It is called 'Ride the Bull.' I'm not sure how much the bull can take, since he seemed to have some back pain after, but I think the kids loved it. 

It really took us forever to get a trampoline, but the kids really enjoy it. It was a great investment.

An Affair to Dismember

Tyler and I decided to do a Murder Mystery for our birthday celebrations. We looked on ksl and found a box game for only $5. That is not too shabby. We spent time thinking of who might enjoy dressing up and being silly with us and we picked carefully. (It is supremely lame when you invite someone who doesn't want to play.) There was also some prep that went into our costumes. Robyn got out the henna and we both thought of something that might be fun to add to our look. I should mention that we ended up with a Halloween murder mystery. It didn't have to be used in October, but it was monster themed. Tyler was a cannibal and I was a gypsy clairvoyant. 

Tyler requested a cool skull on his throat to symbolize his desire for flesh. And he had a running tally of victims on his arm. Creepy.

I, of course, needed an all seeing eye on my hand. One cannot only rely on one's normal senses to see those beyond...

I had to heavily prevail on the kids to help with dinner that night. They stepped up and were amazing. They made pasta, alfredo sauce, warmed up Marinara, and cooked meatballs and chicken in the oven. That's a lot of things to time correctly and they did amazing!! Seriously, they saved my bacon. Because of them, I was able to enjoy the evening and hang out with my wonderful guests. Even better, the kids dressed up a bit to fit in with the evening. Pearl was sporting some spider adornment and Robyn was a really creepy blood donor. (Daisy also helped and had flowers around her eyes. I have no idea why she didn't get a photo.)

Karen and Mark came first and they looked great. Mark did a painted Frankenstein face with scars. Karen had her scrubs on for her evil dentist. 

Then Jonny showed up wearing a fun pirate costume that worked just fine for his devil persona. He even had an inhaler that Maggie made for him. Excellent. Beth was coming from Idaho and with the snow and accidents on the freeway, she was running an hour behind schedule. There was nothing she could do, and Jonny got a solo picture.

Camie and Nate looked amazing. Nate was wearing his mummy wrap and shades and Camie, the fiance, looked so chic. 

Naturally Tyler looked dapper in his suit and I was over the top in my gypsy wrap. 

We had time to kill, so to speak. We ate dinner, which was delicious and then we played the Name Game. That was really fun. Jonny has played it a lot, but not as one team. I think he still liked it even though there was no clear winner. Everyone came up with great works. 

Beth finally staggered in. Her character was supposed to be a depressed witch and it seemed to show. Don't worry...we fed her and she livened right up. Poor Beth. What a long drive. But we got a couple picture of her later.

The game was pretty fun. It was standard fair, where you read your page and then reveal clues. I'm not sure any of us were very good at it. The rules say you can't lie, so people often just read the stuff on their 'conceal' side when pressed. Mark was the funniest. He would give up and just read his entire page.

We were all terrible characters, of course. I was surprised at the sexual themes of the game. Everyone was having an affair with someone. But it made for many laughs and no one took it seriously. We had great candid moments.

Possibly my favorite cake ever, is a carrot cake I found in a recipe book from the library. It is so delicious. I made that for the party and then decorated it monster style. It was well received. I also appreciate people who appreciate a good carrot cake. 

By the end, I was sure that I had the murder game all figured out. I decided that I was trying to kill Neville, the victim, but Tyler got there first and took the victim's heart. Then a huge spider (a pet of Camie's) drained all his blood and then he burnt up when the sun came out in the morning. (Since he was a vampire and I had tied him to a pillar) What a way to go! And I was exactly right, EXCEPT for one tiny detail. Apparently I cast a spell that changed my soul with his, and it was actually ME who died! What? I was actually a guy the whole game? Neville was actually me in disguise? I couldn't' quite wrap my head around it. It was definitely a twist. 

In the end, even though multiple people tried to kill Neville, it was Tyler who accomplished the task first and was the murderer. (Although please recall that he actually killed me!) But Tyler being the murderer is normal. He is almost always the guy who did it. :) It was a great time and it was a really fun birthday celebration. What a great group of friends we have. 

It is healthy to murder one person a year. Guess we've checked that box for 2021. See you all next year!

Two Bits

Tyler needs his hair cut pretty frequently. He still has a LOT of hair. No visible thinning for him. I gave up cutting a while back and June is our new barber. I think Robyn has cut Tyler's hair as well. When June got the clippers out, Ivory mentioned that she needed a trim. 

Ivory's hair is very long and when she says trim, she wants barely an inch taken off. Just enough to get rid of split ends and even it up. June did a great job.

Daisy asked for a trim as well. So June straightened up her ends. Look at all the hair. 

No, it isn't Daisy's. Don't worry. It isn't even Tyler's although his cut is looking sharp. 

Nope, it was mine! When June finished with Daisy, she looked at me and said, "Your turn." I wasn't planning on getting a trim, but I needed one. In fact, I wanted a few inches taken off. I asked her how long it already was and she said it was down to the middle of my back. So I said, "Just below my shoulders would be great and go ahead and add some layers."

Well, what do you think? It just about touches my shoulders. 

Definitely shorter than I planned, but the shorter length allows my natural wave to come through better. It took a little getting used to, but I like it. And June did a great job. She may not become a hairdresser, but I think she'll be able to keep her family trimmed up.

Birthday Girl and Boy

I'm still not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Tyler and I have our birthdays so close together. I can't change it so we'll just deal with it. I think we have found a happy medium. We try to plan something for both of us. This year we decided to do a Murder Mystery to celebrate. It was quite fun, but that is a post of its own.

Meanwhile. we each have our own definition of celebration. I like to spend time doing what I'd like on my birthday and get a few presents. Tyler likes less fuss around his birthday. He will accept a few presents, but doesn't need much to be happy. He probably would like to go out to eat lunch or dinner.

The day before my birthday happens to be Jonny's birthday. He invited us out to eat which was really great. We went to a Thai place and enjoyed good food and good company. I couldn't get my phone to take a selfie of all of us. It kept making Tyler blurry, so you get one of each couple.

On my actual birthday, I had a pretty typical day with work and the like. I did notice that someone put a special star in the sky for me, which I greatly appreciated.

I asked June if I could play Spikeball with her. It was my only birthday wish. She plays with her friends all the time, but it is weird to have your mom come play. (I get that.) But she let me play. We went to the fields and had a great time playing. We only stopped because the girls at home had made me dinner. (Which is the other thing I request...to NOT cook on my birthday.) However, everyone was up to play some more, so we decided to take the Spikebrite net out and play into the evening. It was a great birthday. Look at these great kids. They are so fun to play with. 

I did get to open some gifts and Pearl made me brownies, although I told her I didn't need a cake. (She is sweet.)

I promise that Tyler had love and attention and presents on his birthday as well, but less pictures were taken. Here you can see his sweet girls loving on him. He is our knight in shining armor. 

Stay tuned for our fun Murder Mystery. It was our birthday party to each other. 

Chocolate Equals Death

Luckily chocolate does not equal death for me. But for certain members of the family, of the canine variety, chocolate is not the best choice for a main dish. Or even a side dish. 

Chocolate can be lethal to dogs, which is why they tell you to never give your dog chocolate. Obviously dogs will find small scraps here and there on the floor and they live to tell the tale, but large amounts can be fatal.

(music starts as we take you back in time...)

It was a lovely Sunday. Pearl had chosen cake balls for her FHE treat and we had made them and decorated them and they were on the counter cooling and letting the chocolate set. It was time for us to go play Brain Strian, so as usual, we made sure everything was out of the way of the dog. Both trays were put on the island and everything was cleared off the table. 

Nova had been getting into a lot of things that week, so I had been telling the kids to leave her outside if possible. I wasn't the last one out of the house, so I didn't know if anyone put her out.

As we reached the Hulse's, I asked the kids, "Did someone put Nova out?" They were all too far away to hear, and all I received was some non committal mumbling. "Well, don't be surprised if you come home to find all the cake balls gone," I joked.

If only it had been a joke. When we got back home, Nova looked very guilty. We found she had thrown up in two rooms of the house and almost an entire tray of cake  balls gone. I had no idea she could get up on the island by way of the stools, but apparently, she just needed the right motivation.

It was lucky that she threw up. But it wasn't going to be enough. Without some medical attention, she probably wouldn't make it. She had eaten over three times the lethal amount of chocolate.

Tyler is not one to pay money for an animal, but his compassion took hold and he forked out the cash and took her to the Pet ER. They gave her medicine to make her throw up even more and they gave her charcoal to help absorb the toxins in her system. Eventually they also gave her medicine to help her stop vomiting. However, when she got home, she still threw up a bit more. 

It was really scary. I figured it would work its way out of her system eventually, but Tyler is sure she would have died if we hadn't taken her in. Chocolate causes seizures, collapse, a coma or death from a heart attack in dogs. And Nova definitely ate enough chocolate for that, even though she wasn't displaying those symptoms when we got home.

It was a rough night for her, but you could tell she felt better after getting home from the doc. She slept and drank a lot of water. 

We now have a better idea of which surfaces she can reach and we are much more careful about what is left anywhere in the house. Although I would be fine if we got rid of Nova, that particular way is not how I want her to go. And as you'll be able to tell from future Chatbooks, Nova is doing fine and is still very much a part of the family. 

Rubber Made

I got myself a fancy schmancy cake cookbook for this year. I wanted to do a cake a week. Hahahaha. That isn't going to happen. Instead, I might try to do a cake a month. 

I started right at the very beginning of the book with a cool marble cake. It looked like blue marbled stone...so very chic. Oh, let me go take a picture. Everything is better what you can see what it was supposed to look like. 

Pretty awesome huh? My first problem was that I couldn't find those blue colors, so I decided to do pinks instead. 

I made the cake and frosted it like it said. I don't really love making frosting...too much butter and greasiness in general. But this wasn't worse than any other. I learned some great tips for making the cake nice and flat and about doing a thin layer of frosting to catch crumbs, etc. 

Then it was time to glaze. The glaze combined three colors and used a bucket load of gelatin. (I think the British are more fond of their gelatin than we Americans. That said, this is an Martha Stewart cookbook, so...there's that.) My colors were too similar, so they blended too quickly and I didn't get any cool swirls. 

Also, I think I poured it while it was too warm. It didn't set fast enough and you could still see the cake through it. Anyway, learned some stuff and now you get to see pictures of my attempt.

It was very shiny. Should be with all the gelatin.

Then it was time to taste it. 

It was...eh. 

I was very disappointed. Sure, the glaze was rubbery, but I was expecting that. You can't add that much gelatin and not expect some weird texture, but the cake should have been exceptional. It was the basic cake recipe that they use with MANY of the cakes, and it was just...eh. Not really that great. I was so bummed. 

Some of us had a slice, but I actually warned people to not eat it. Not worth the calories. I haven't picked up the cake book again. I really should move forward because there are probably other worthy cakes in there. And honestly, anything is going to be better than that pink cake. 

What can I say...nailed it.

Depiction of the First Vision

Although I don't mention Come Follow Me very often, we are pretty good at doing a lesson most week days. We switch up who is in charge and they get to do whatever they want. 

I was in charge when we were talking about the first vision. There are so many cool artistic depictions of the first vision. I thought that I would make one of my own. I cut out shapes and handed them over to groups and told them to make a picture of the first vision using the pieces I gave them.

This is what they came up with. June and Pearl had a good time. I like their tall, lanky bodies.

Ivory, Dad, and Daisy came up with a different version. Somehow theirs looked like a impressionistic face. I like it.

In case you are wondering, I did have a vision in mind. Here is what I was thinking.

The good news is that with art, you have creative license and each of these pieces are a valid interpretation. The important thing is that Joseph prayed and God revealed himself to a young boy. I'm so grateful that God still speaks to us.