the season has ended

There are only a few kinds of candy that I really like.  That's not really a bad thing, but when Easter rolls around I have a real situation on my hands.  I like, no, adore Cadbury Mini Eggs.  Please don't misunderstand, the Cadbury Creme Eggs are vile and disgusting, I'm talking about the above photo NOT below.  They are creamy chocolatey goodness inside a crispy candy shell.  They are heavenly.  I am blogging about them to help me get over the loss of them until next spring.  I bid you adieu, my little bits of goodness, until next year.

grin

Carson will be 7 in a few weeks and has had the good fortune too keep all his baby teeth firmly planted in their original location.  It was causing him a great deal of distress because most of his friends had lost several and he was feeling a little left out.  Finally, with much fanfare and delight, he lost a tooth.  Well, not so much "lost," as had it removed by a pair of pliers, but let's not worry about the details.  Point is, there's a big hole in his mouth and he couldn't be happier.  A few days later, the accompanying tooth came out.  He talks with a lisp and he thinks he's awesome...or maybe awethome...

bargain shmargain

It's rare when Clint and I can go on a date in the middle of the day, but we got the chance and we took it.  We haven't been skiing in 10 years and we thought it would be super fun.  Military Day at Crystal Mountain Resort meant cut rate lift tickets and rentals.  We figured we couldn't pass it up and we even thought about bringing the kids.  Here's the smokin' deal we got:

Lift Tickets: Regular Price $70 Special Military Price $35


Ski Rentals: Regular Price $35 Special Military Price $25


Lunch: $24

Dinner for Babysitters: $35

Total Cost: $179


Had we brought the kids:

Ski school for Kids: $100 plus $15 for rentals (for each kid)

Lunch: more money

Total Additional Cost: $345

How is it that I forgot how much it cost to go skiing?  I'm not really feeling like "Military Day" was all it was cracked up to be.  Was it a sale price?  Yes.  Will we be doing that again?  Heck no.

JOVI

A few weeks ago, I was feeling jealous that my friend was going to see Bon Jovi in concert. I discovered that Seattle was their second stop on the tour and I told Clint I thought it would be fun to go. He shrugged it off and I didn't really figure it was that big of a deal anyway. A few days later he said, "Hey if you can find some cheap tickets, we should go." I set out on a mission that was very quickly squashed. Do people really pay $800 to go a concert? No, really, do they? Every website I looked at had crazy ridiculous prices and there was no way I was paying that. I even considered sitting behind the stage because that was all that was in our concert budget. We decided that would be a waste of money, so I gave up. 4 days before the concert I thought I would look again. I found some tickets in front of the stage for $45 each. That was considerably more feasible, so I bought 'em.I never said they were the BEST seats, but certainly better than the poor souls behind the stage.

Crazy looks on our faces? Yeah, I don't know why either.

FYI best concert ever.

a field trip to the grocery store

Now that's my idea of a fabulous time. Truth is, I do it a few times a week. Cambria's preschool, however, had not had the pleasure of doing so. They went yesterday and, seeing as how I have no other small children at home, I chaperoned. Not because I really wanted to go to the grocery store and walk around for an hour and buy nothing, but because I really had no excuse.

The field trip was cute. They walked around to different departments and got to try samples and talked about "always foods" and "sometimes foods." I did learn who "always" feeds their kid donuts through his adamant proclamation of them being in a particular category. I had to take pictures as proof of my presence so that when Cambria is older and says, "you never went on a field trip with my class." I can bust out the pics and say, "Heck yeah I did. The best field trip you ever went on." I sincerely hope that is not the case.

more vinyl cuteness

here's why

You may have noticed that the blog was out of commission for a few weeks. Well, we got a new computer and were trying to transfer everything over and then figure out how to use the new computer. You see, we bought an iMac. We have been PC users for as long as there has been a PC to use. Last fall, however, we got iphones and we love them. When our computer started acting crazy, a Mac seemed like the logical thing to do. We love our new machine, but I still don't know how to find pictures...it's a process that I can't yet wrap my head around. Last year, I would have directed you to the following picture, now I am part of the crazy. Fantastic.

hawaii - twenty ten

My friend, Mary, found a great deal on plane tickets to Hawaii last month and invited me to go on a little vacay with her. I am pretty sure she didn't think I actually would, but I did. Generous friends and a willing husband took care of my kids here for the week while Mary (and baby Grace) and I vacationed away. It was much needed and greatly appreciated. Being the multi-tasker that I am, I wanted to spend time with my Hawaii friend too, so we stayed with Ginny and I got to hang with TWO of my friends. It was delightful. So much to post about, but I don't feel like writing it all down, so if you really want to hear the details, go to Mary's blog. Thieving other people's thoughts and ideas? Just another service I provide.

at the PCC lu'au

Mary, Grace and I taking turns frolicking on the beach

Me and Ginny...man, I miss that girl

Thanks for the fun trip, ladies. We must do it again sometime.

a bowling afternoon

Clint met us after work one day and we let the kids go bowling. Cambria has never bowled before, so it was kind of big deal for her. I would like to add that toddler bowling shoes just may be the cutest thing ever.

There's a difference.

Carson frantically told us that the toilet was clogged. I asked if he used too much toilet paper and he told me he didn't go potty. I said, "Then why did you flush the toilet?" He told me that he just wanted to. I asked if something got flushed down the toilet he said, "no." Then he said, "Well, there might have been a cup in there." A cup? Great. A little 3 oz. bathroom cup (which last time I purchased, decided that plastic ones would be better for child hands) fits perfectly in the hole of the toilet; it completely seals it shut. They are also very slippery and difficult to grasp. Clint had all three of our kids put their hands in to see if they could get it out. I left for choir practice and wished them all luck. I don't know how they finally got it out, but when I got home, there were various implements on the counter. A hanger, a paper clip, a corn cob skewer, yeah, fantastic stuff.

Oh, and, by the way, if you think paper dixie cups crush too easily and so you decide to buy the plastic ones...don't. There's a difference. One will crush and leave the toilet functioning, one will render it useless. I have chosen unwisely.

pride and joy

That's what we feel for the littlest Hoskins. Her preschool class decided to make a dream quilt in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. They each made a square of their dream. Some kids said their dream was to be a fireman, some said a doctor, other said they wanted to help people. Here's Cambria's dream.

That's my girl. Dream big, little sister, dream big.

The coolest gift ever!

For Christmas, Clint and his parents pooled their resources and bought me a vinyl cutter. I have wanted one for about 5 years but could never really justify the cost. I certainly spend enough money ordering from everyone else that has one, so I guess it was time. I love it! I am so excited to go crazy with it. I have done lots with it so far, but my camera died, so here are two things I got pictures of.

And hooray for my friend Lexi, who has been an excellent teacher and font-giver. Want some vinyl? I'll totally do it for you!!

Shed it up

We have a garage full of items. We decided a shed would be a wise investment. For 6 months we have been haggling with the HOA about whether or not we can have one. They came through and so now we have one. The ground slopes down 18", so Clint had to build it up and level it out by building a deck under the area where it would go. It rained the entire week, but the three days he chose to to work on it, it was sunny. Thank goodness for small miracles. The kids have incorrectly assumed that is a playhouse, but once we fill it with pitchforks and fertilizer (not the good smelling kind), we think they may choose elsewhere to play. It's our plan anyway.

Yes, it does look totally unlevel, but it's not. Oh, trust me, it's not. The 487 checks on the bubble level were not in vain. Our camera man, Carson, isn't quite skilled on the practice of taking a straight picture yet.

What sounds like shards of glass, but isn't?

My MIL brought my birthday gift from my parents when she came out for Christmas. She handed it to me and said, "This is your birthday present from your parents." I thanked her for bringing it and took the gift. It sounded like shards of glass. I was certain that it had once been fragile but had been crushed into a million pieces by the airline baggage throwers. I felt bad, so I called my mom. Here's how the conversation went: ME: "Mom, is my birthday gift supposed to sound like broken glass?" MOM: "Did you shake it?" ME: "No, but when lightly jiggling it, it sounds like shards of glass tumbling about." MOM: "Yep, it supposed to sound like that." Curiosity was killing me, but my birthday was still 2 weeks away. I dutifully waited till the right day and opened it. Behold, broken glass:
Yes, I know my outfit looks amazing. That's called, "Post-Church Comfy." It's where you pair part of your church clothes with pajama pants. Don't tell me you've never done it.

Skating Frenzy

We took the kids ice skating for the first time. It was a ton of work as Carson and Cambria were extremely apprehensive. Carson finally got the hang of it and Cambria...well, we mostly just had to put her scarf under her arms and hold her up with it. She only went around twice. It was fun, but will most likely NOT become a tradition.

assembly

building a motorcycle takes skill and precision

The three best shots of the day

I took a million pictures on Christmas, I am not sure why, but I did. I decided to just share my three favorites. Cambo in Carson's Nerf Gun glasses
waiting patiently to come downstairs to see what Santa brought

Nana and Bompa crashed out from all the morning festivities

Eve at the house

We had a great Christmas Eve at our house this year complete with the new sets of jammies. With Clint's parents here, we were able to have a family night and it was really nice. We had our tradtional mish-mosh dinner of randomness. A little seafood, a little BBQ meatballs, some appetizers, and fizzy drinks. It has no rhyme or reason, but it's good nonetheless. After dinner we had our talent show. Cambria sang Away in a Manger (to my terrible accompaniment), Gavin played two songs on the piano, and Clint showed us a video about the true meaning of Christmas. Ideally we'd like to remove a lot of the toys and gifts and commercialism of the holidays, so we tried to keep Christmas Eve special. Maybe next year we'll try harder to cut back on those other things.

Christmas cookies?

Of course! I have never actually done Christmas cookies with the kids. Santa usually gets a graham cracker and some carrots, 'cause we know he's watching his weight. Nana and Bompa came for Christmas this year and nana said we needed to make the cookies, so we did. Good times and messy counters, you can't beat that!

Cutie hair

I like Cambria with a cute little bob haircut, but for her dance class, they had to wear it in a bun for the recital, so we grew it long. Recital's over, folks, so here's the new 'do.