Polar Bear Cupcakes

International Polar Bear Day was February 27.  We made "beary cute cupcakes" from the December/January 2015 issue of FamilyFun Magazine.

They were really easy and really cute. 
I did make one substitution.  They called for pink bubble gum for the tongues, but I used a sour strawberry rope thing instead.

Cute polar bears.
Jr. wanted to make his look more like a dog.  Also so cute.

 And this guy is not a polar bear nor a dog, but he's definitely cute.

Carnival Day 2015

So we had some ideas for celebrating Carnival Day, February 26.  Unfortunately Jr. woke up this morning sick so we couldn't do our plans.  However, we could still eat carnival type foods.  So we had corn dog bites and onion rings.

We had pink lemonade and I took the other container of cotton candy left over from Cotton Candy Day and put some on skewers for the kids.

So we were still able to celebrate even if we weren't able to do some of the things I was thinking of.
And that's okay.

A Couple Holidays

O.K.  So, I didn't blog about Chinese New Year yet.  Chinese New Year was February 19 this year.
We ate Chinese food.

Jeremy got some chopsticks from a show that he did and showed the kids how to use them for eating Chinese food.

We also had fortune cookies.  Here are some of the fortunes.

February 25 is Zeppo Marx's birthday.  We had cupcakes.  Lucky was more interested in eating them this time than he was on Frank Sinatra's birthday.

So cute.

Adopt a Balloon Animal Day 2015

Yesterday, February 23, was National Rationalization Day and I didn't do a blog post.  I was tired.  We had a fun going to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point for FHE and playing out in the Discovery Garden... in February. 

When we got home, I made a new skirt for Nichole for dance class because she grew out of the skirt I made for her over three years ago. 

So I slept instead of blogged and now you know why.

But today we got to celebrate February 24, Adopt a Balloon Animal Day.  This is our own holiday we made up. 
One of our friends' relatives just moved back to Utah and they remember visiting last year and Jeremy making balloons animals for them.  The little boy remembered that Jeremy made him a motorcycle so for Adopt a Balloon Animal Day, he got a balloon motorcycle along with an adoption certificate. 

And I know a motorcycle is not an animal, but I also blogged about National Rationalization Day on this same post so a little bit must have carried over.  And Jeremy made the boy's sister a pegasus so that's an animal.
Happy Celebrating.

The KAT's Meow

Nichole heard me singing to Lucky, "Hush little baby, don't say a word."  After hearing all the things Mama would buy if the other things didn't work, she commented, "Wow, that family must be rich."

The Pluto Day That Almost Wasn't

Sometimes I get these great ideas and I plan them out and they go really well.  Park Week for example, the end of July/beginning of August 2011.
Sometimes I get these great ideas and I plan them out and they don't go as well.  Pluto Day, for example, February 18, 2015.

We had this idea to do a sort of model of the solar system.  I found a website to make a scale sort of model.  You plug in the size you want the sun to be (1 inches, 2 inches) and it shows you how big the planets would be (including Pluto) and the distance they would be from the sun.  Does that make any sense, what I said?
So we went to a park, Jeremy paced out how far it was across the park and we used that for our scale.  Then we figured out what size we could make the sun to fit Pluto across the field and figured everything out. 
Of course you can only do so much of a model because it doesn't show the orbits around the sun, etc.  But we mainly wanted to show the distance to Pluto (and the other planets) if the sun was a certain size.
So we put dots approximately the right size (you can't get Pluto that tiny with a pencil or pen) based on the size of our sun and we cut around the planets and taped them to some balls so we could see them from a distance.
So we did all this planning early on and then after school on Pluto Day we had after school snack and headed to the park (not as early as I would have liked).
And the park was full of soccer players.  Uh oh.  Our activity wouldn't work there.  So we went to another park.  The appeal of the original park we had plotted out was that it was flat.  There are other big parks but most of them are hilly.  Oh well.  So we arrived at the next park and there weren't as many people (and I remembered a sign saying "No organized sports" so I knew there wouldn't be a bunch of people doing soccer practice).  And the first thing the kids asked was, "Can we play on the playground?"  I had told them before we left that the reason we were going to the park was for a Pluto Day activity, not to play on the playground, but they still asked.  No, we're going to set up our activity and do it.  We're not here for the playground.
So as we were setting things up, I thought of something and asked Jeremy, "Did you bring the paper that had the distances and paces written down?"  Oops, he didn't.  Oh well, I could use my notebook that had the distances written down.  Except I forgot to bring my notebook.  Sigh.  Yes, kids you can go play on the playground. 

Luckily Jeremy's phone had internet access so we were able to go to that website and we did know the size of our sun to plug in for it to calculate distances.  So we got some paper and a pencil from the van and recalculated out distances from planet to planet, because we were just going in a line from sun to planet to planet to planet, and so on to Pluto.  So we gathered the kids back up, I stayed at the sun with Lucky (who I expected to fall asleep in the van on the way but he didn't) and Jeremy started showing the other kids the distance to Mercury then to Venus, and so on.  The first few planets were only about 5-7 paces each, then from Mars to Jupiter it jumped to 53 paces and by the time they were going to Uranus, they were going about 130 paces.  And once they reached Uranus, they ran out of park.  Oops again.  Apparently this park wasn't as long as the other park.  Jeremy said they needed almost the same distance again to reach Neptune and Pluto.  Sigh.
Oh well.  Things don't always work out the way we plan, but Jeremy said it was fun to see the kids' reaction when the planets started really getting farther apart.
And wow, this is a really long blog post, so I guess I'll end by showing you some pictures that Nichole took as Jeremy was taking them on a journey of the solar system for Pluto Day.

 

And look, the ball we used for Saturn already had rings.  Ha Ha.

Catch of the Day

And he's willing to eat them, too.

Day Off

Today the kids had a day off of school for President's Day so we took the opportunity to use their free Happy Meal coupons from the governor's summer reading program.

Then we headed up to Big Springs for some fun playing.  There was only a tiny bit of snow on the ground by some bushes.  Jeremy mentioned there was probably more up the trails but we stayed in the park area.  We got to play with some outside toys, especially frisbee.  That was nice.

It was a good family day.

National Gumdrop Day 2015

Happy National Gumdrop Day, February 15.

Get it?  Gum... Drop?  Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Jeremy's idea.  He's so clever.
So, there's a story behind this pack of gum.
Jeremy and I both remember grape bubble gum from our childhood.  You know the good stuff- Bubblicious, Bubble Yum, those type brands.  Sure they had different flavors but grape was the most memorable.  We wanted to get some bubble gum to teach our kids to blow real bubbles and of course we wanted to get grape flavored.  We couldn't find grape bubble gum.  We looked at several different stores.  No grape Bubble Yum.  No grape Bubblicious.  We couldn't find grape.  Aaagh.  We had to settle for strawberry flavored for blowing bubbles with the kids.
Then one day Jeremy was on his way to a show several hours away and stopped at a gas station.  He was inside looking around and happened to spot Bubblicious gum- grape flavored!  He bought a pack for me.  Awww.
So now we know if we want grape flavored bubble gum, we just have to send Jeremy a few hours away to get it.  Although honestly, we haven't checked the gas stations around here.  We just don't often go inside them.  Who knows?  Maybe the grape bubble gum is hiding right where we're not looking.
Anyway, enjoy your Gumdrop Day.  I know I did.

Tortellini Day Observed

So yesterday, February 13, was National Tortellini Day, but I didn't feel up to doing what I had planned to celebrate.
But I did today.  I made a yummy soup with tortellini in it.  Thanks for the recipe, Mom.
So we celebrated National Tortellini Day (Observed).

And guess what.  2/3 of our family ate some.  And another 1/6 took a bite. 
What can I say?  My daughter has been working with fractions in math lately.  It seemed appropriate.

Lucky Parks

Well, it's that time of year.  Not too hot and not too cold.  There's no snow left on the ground.  Sometimes you go to the park with a coat on, sometimes with a light jacket, sometimes without either.
Wait a second.  It's February.  In Utah.  Weird weather. 
Lucky has been enjoying getting out a lot lately, though.  Last year at the same time, he was only a few months old so he couldn't get out and run around.  Well, last year at the same time, I was keeping him home for cold and flu season since he was only a few months old.  Well anyway, he's enjoying getting out this year.
I figured since today is Friday the 13th, I'd share some of the cuteness that is "Lucky" at parks.

 Playing with the bark.

 Out for a morning walk with Mom.

Like an airplane.  Vrrrrrrrrrm.

I love sliding on the slide.

Can we go again?

Just running around.

 I am so cute.

The KAT's Meow- AAAAAAGH!

Mom, can I have something to eat?
I'm doing spaghetti.
Mom, can I have something to eat?
I'm doing spaghetti.
Mom, can I have something to eat?
Spag-het-ti.
Mom, can I have something to eat?



Can I have a graham cracker since I drank so much water to stay hydrated?
You certainly may.  You drank so much water.
Can I have a graham cracker since I drank so much water to stay hydrated?
Yes.  You may.
Can I have...




Can we have lunch at Big Springs?
You can have something here before we go.
I wish I could have a bag of chips.
I made carbonara.
I wish I could have a bag of chips.
You could have some carbonara.
Can I have a bag of chips?
No.  You can have some carbonara.

Battle Helmet

Nichole:  Do you like my battle helmet?

Mommy:  Well, at least we know aliens can't read your mind.

Fresh Air for the Sickies

Ah, cold and flu season.  The two youngest and I have had colds lately.  We went out today to get some fresh air.  We went to a new to us park to scout out the area for an upcoming family activity.  Jr. Jr. was pleased to find out that the park has two playgrounds and he got to play on both. 

There is also a frisbee golf course and there were several people playing while we were there.  It also has a biking (walking, etc.) trail that goes through part of the park and continues on past a golf course.  There were quite a few people out walking their dogs.  After playing on the playgrounds, we went for a walk up the trail.  I could only handle so far before I started feeling not the greatest and needed to head back.  As we were headed back, we spotted some people riding horses on a neighboring trail.  Jr. Jr. likes horses.  He also likes throwing rocks, which is what he did over a nearby fence as we were walking back down the trail.  Nobody was on the other side of the fence.  When we got back down to the park, the people on the horses had just ridden close and offered to let Jr. Jr. pet one of the horses since they saw him looking at them earlier.  He loved that.
So our day at the park was very pleasant, except for the colds we still have.  Oh, and Lucky waking up when some big friendly dogs came and jumped on the stroller.  The owner came running up apologizing.  I figure they were just being curious.  They definitely didn't seem to be mean dogs.
And I tried to get a picture of Jr. Jr. on the balance beam before he jumped off, but I didn't get it in time.
This is what I did get.

Click on the picture to see it larger.

Ballet Day 2015

A few years ago, I was mentioning to a friend about how we celebrate holidays and that Ballet Day was coming up on February 7.  She told me about a dessert named after a famous ballerina, Pavlova.  Now that's cool.
It just so happens that in the September 2013 The Friend magazine, there is an article about a girl from Australia and one of her favorite treats is Pavlova.  And there is a recipe for it.  Woo-hoo.  So... I made Pavlova for Ballet Day this year. 

(Notice Nichole's ballet pose as she holds her piece)

I bought strawberries for it earlier in the week, but a friend of mine told me that her Australian and New Zealand friends insist that you have kiwi fruit with it so I picked up some kiwi fruit later on in the week.  Yumm.

And I forgot the whipped topping until it was in the oven, so Jeremy picked some up on his way home.  Thank you, Jeremy.

I let everyone decide how they wanted theirs topped: just whipped cream, whipped cream and one piece of strawberry.  I was the only one that wanted whipped cream, multiple strawberries, and multiple pieces of kiwi fruit.
Jr. offered to put the fruit on top of my piece.  How sweet.  I had to do something in the other room and I came back in to find this:

(I hope you don't mind the two different angles.  One is a better angle for a picture but the other shows better how much fruit there was.)

It's a good thing I like strawberry and kiwi fruit.

Since we don't have the DVD for Nichole's dance show this year yet, we watched some of last year's show.  She was doing ballet last year, too.  It was very appropriate to watch for the holiday.

Moon Golf and the Park

To celebrate the anniversary of when two golf balls were hit on the moon for the first time, the kids and I played some Moon Golf this evening, February 6.  Jr. drew the moon and Jr. Jr. drew the tee and flag at the hole.

And to celebrate the beautiful weather (in February?- did the groundhog really see his shadow?), Jr. Jr., Lucky, and I went to the park.  Lucky is usually stuck in the stroller, but I let him out this time.  It was fun.  He got to go down the slide with me several times.  And since there is a big field at the park we went to, he had fun just running around.

Thank a Vacuum Day

February 4 was Thank a Mailman Day.  We usually draw pictures or write letters to our friendly neighborhood postal worker.  This year we didn't get them done in time.  Sorry, friendly neighborhood postal worker.  We still like you.
But, Jeremy made a poster and I stuck little candy bars on it and Jr. Jr. and I delivered it to the post office.

The note says, "You guys are first class forever.  Happy Thank a Mailman Day."

Jr. Jr. was so patient waiting in line and holding the poster until we got to the counter then I lifted him up and he put it on the counter.  I told the man at the counter and then Jr. Jr. repeated me, "This is for you guys for working so hard."  And "Thank you."  The man at the counter was so friendly and appreciative.  He told Jr. Jr. thank you and that they would really enjoy those later.  Then he gave Jr. Jr. a sticker on his hand.  That was so nice.

Since February 4 was also Create a Vacuum Day, for a special activity in the evening, we sucked an egg into a glass bottle.  I'd been wanting to try that for a long time and we finally had the opportunity.  We lit some newspaper on fire with a match and stuck them in the bottle then put a peeled hard boiled egg on the opening and let the vacuum that was created by the fire burning the oxygen suck the egg in.  It was fun.  The kids enjoyed it.

 Someday we'll do it where the egg stays intact as it is sucked into the bottle.