The Ballroom

I have fond memories of playing the board game "Clue". It's always been one of my favorites. So, when I found a one-player version at the toystore, I was very excited. Now...what was I thinking?

Well, I finally decided to get it out in hopes of openning it to play. I've been waiting for the "right" time to give it a try. Lane beat me to it. This is nothing new to me. He notices EVERYTHING, so he saw the box on the counter, even hidden under some other books.

So, here we go. I'm getting it all out, & he's playing it before it's even out of the box. It has clue cards that have the whole mystery described on one side and the answers on the other side. This is more of a logic puzzle game that's based on the original board game and is rated for ages 10+. I really didn't question if he'd be able to at least sort out some of the clue details and follow along with the mystery, but I knew he couldn't read all the cards by himself yet. Well...he can't read the cards, but he's ALL into it! Loving the whole thing.

Then, the phone rang. My friend, Jenny, and I can have a conversation that may last for 45 minutes but only 20 of that is true conversation. Between our collective 4 boys, we have issues...but, I digress. Jenny knows Lane very well, so she said I had to remember to tell this story, just to let other folks know how things are day to day around here.

I had told him we were only playing through two mystery cards, and we did. Once I was on the phone/distracted he went on for the next round. Since I wanted to have at least a little adult conversation, I was willing to give him his own turn. Dumb me. I, and Jenny, end up working through this one, too. So, here's what Jenny wants you to know...

Lane looked at each room and decided that the "dead body" couldn't be in this one or that one because "the dead body wouldn't fit in there. He's too long to lay in that floor." Spacial relationship skills here? Logical process of elimination? He tried not to be too perplexed when I said, "But, maybe the dead body was draped over that chair or that table over there. Or, maybe they stuffed him in that cabinet. How do we know? The clue card doesn't tell us." Yeah, Jenny thought that was shockingly funny, too. So, we're placing all the different characters where they need to go, sort-of, and no one is supposed to be in the ballroom. Lane can't figure out where the ballroom is. He's looking...looking... I showed him the ballroom. He doesn't know WHY that's the ballroom. "What happened to all the balls? That can't be the ballroom. Oh, did they just take all the balls out, and it's kind-of like a gym?" I reassured him that there were no balls in the mystery and that this was a ballroom like the one on the Cinderella movie. After that I reminded him that Cinderella went to a ball which is the same as a dance. "Oh yeah. Well, they COULD play with balls in the ballroom, too. It's big like a gym." I guess that's the same reasoning he used when he thought the dead body should be found in there. It IS big enough for a dead body.

Yes, this is only a sample of daily life in a house full of knotheads.

Froggies Get a Remodel

I am completely fascinated by these 1-inch wonders! I decided to move our pet tree frogs to a new location - the family room. After adding a "waterfall" (a water filter) and sprucing their place up a bit, I really wanted to be able to spend more time with the little guys (or girls - hard to know). I'm still working on the full waterfall effect, but for now, it's not too shabby for a frog house. :) Hope you like the pix.

Christmas 2008

I thought it'd be fun to post the favorite Christmas gift that each of us received this year. We all got many nice things, but these are some faves...

Lane's fave:
"U Command WALL-E"
Reed's faves:

Andrea's fave:
The New ESV Study Bible
Brad's fave:
Sweater reads "Hi! My name is BRAD"

Our family had a very nice Christmas. Due to scheduling conflicts, we weren't able to see all of our relatives this year, and we missed them. Sometimes things just don't work out, and you have to do what's best for your own immediate family (i.e. the kids). I had several dissappointments of my own because of my delusions of grandure. I really thought I had cut back enough on what I wanted to accomplish this Christmas, but I guess I was wrong. I still plan to finish the family trees I am drawing, so those will get where they're going at some point. The other biggie is Christmas cards. I was able to give some out to family that I saw, but all our friends, and some relatives, didn't get one. I have given thought to sending out a Happy New Year card or something. The boys' school pictures came back in time to distribute, but there was a problem with some of the prints. So, some folks got pics, some folks didn't. It's just the usual ridiculousness of my life. Enough of the depressing!

Punkin' Patch

Lane had his first school field trip this year. We went to a local pumpkin patch. He enjoyed the petting farm a lot. He made buddies with a goat. Later he and his friends found a sweet fawn to talk to. The funniest thing I saw, though, was the rooster with a blonde mullet! These are some pix from the big day.

A Bit Late, but Here's Halloween Stuff...

For Halloween, Lane wanted to be a robot. He and I made a trip to Home Depot for robot supplies. He was super proud of how awesome his costume turned out because he helped make it. I must say, he was a big hit at our church Trunk-or-Treat. So many people said that it was a very creative and great costume. Lane just beamed with pride, and I was so happy for him! His friend, Sean Patrick, is in this pic with Lane.

Reed dressed as a friendly ghost for Halloween. I'm suddenly big on cutting t-shirts to make other things/clothes. This was about as easy as dressing him in a white sheet, but he could see where he was going - a big plus for a little ghost! I had always wanted to be a ghost for Halloween, but the person in charge of making me a costume couldn't get past the part about not being able to see where I was going. So, alas, I was always a witch. Is anyone suprised? I thought not.

Reed's big thing at Trunk-or-Treat was the lollipops. Every trunk he visited that gave him a sucker, he thought he needed to open it immediately and eat it. I do mean EVERY time. We were picking up slobbery lollipops all night. Guess that tells you who the real SUCKERS were! Reed's friend, Chase, is in this pic with him. He was a very cute Robin Hood.

On the Road Again

Travelling in the car is one of the best times to learn new "Lane-isms" or to hear "Deep Thoughts by Lane".

On the way to Grandmother & PawPaw's to celebrate Christmas with the family, we had to make a pit-stop. Thank goodness for boys & what they can do on the side of the road just as well as they do it in a proper restroom! This zinger came during the zip & button. "Hey! I turned that tee-tee into mud!" Like I said, thank goodness for outdoor plumming...and living in a state where it's almost expected that little boys use it.