Candle-Kazaam #4...Across the Miles

We had a belated Candle-Kazaam challenge on Tuesday night.  #4 - Skype someone in the character of Jack Frost!  Aunt L and family were the ones to get the threatening video call.

Here is Jack, ready to make the call and spew threats of terrible winter weather.  He decided he needed a blue backdrop so he would appear to be calling from a frigid ice cave.  One down throw and a few canned goods later, and he had himself an ice cave. 

Here is the view from the Skype screen as he prepared to call.  I like how Jack is cuddling with one of his minions in this shot.  He must have a soft spot in his cold heart.  We also have video snippets from the call.  You'll have to check those out on Facebook, as I cannot seem to load them successfully onto this blog.  It ended up that rather than spew threats, Jack spent most of the call defending himself and debunking rumors about how he nips at peoples noses and such.  It was a compelling performance.  I hope Aunt L. and family enjoyed being in on the nonsense!

Candle-Kazaam #3

I'm a few days behind.  Candle-Kazaam #3 took place on Thursday night!

Dad had to let the girls dress him like a Christmas tree.  Then he had to stand out in the yard and yell "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" to the cars passing on our street. 

He, once again, did a fine job.  Notice the girls scattering at the very beginning of the video as a car heads our way.  They did not want to be seen with the crazy fellow dressed as a tree, yelling Christmas greetings.  Good job, Dad!

Candle-Kazaam Challenge #2 was met last night!

 Here is Dad reading the challenge - Drink a nasty eggnog graveyard!  Ainsley looks pleased.

 These are the ingredients that we used to concoct his graveyard.  Yummy!

Here is Dad, sampling his delicious drink.  Bennett is head-in-hands, and appropriately so.  Dad only gagged and coughed a couple of times.  He did a good job.  We did not make him drink the entire frosty mug full of goodness.  I mean, we are mean but we're not that mean!  Challenge #3 will be faced this Thursday night!  Stay tuned!

Candle-Kazaam Challenge #1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Candle-Kazaam 2011 is finally here!  Oh, man!  Are we pumped at our house (and I am speaking for the females.)  Normally we begin this month-long event on December 1st, but we had out-of-town friends coming on the 2nd, so we pushed it back a day.  Last night was Dad's first challenge:  Dance to Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas time...out in the front yard...while wearing a festive sweater...and shorts (bonus challenge added by guest)...and in front of our friends! 

Festive sweater? Check!  Shorts (Mom's canoeing shorts, by the way)? Check!

And drumroll please.......

Video footage of a portion of the event for your viewing pleasure!  This man has the moves!  Many applause to Dad for kicking off Candle-Kazaam in style.  Challenge number #2 is coming in a couple of days.

Dancing With the....Horses and Other Random Drawings

I know I am biased.  Just like every parent, I think my kids are pretty awesome.  All of our children are gifted by the Lord in a variety of ways.  Each has something that they are super incredible at.  I do not think I am just being biased when I say that I am pretty sure Bennett is the awesomest at...

...drawing a pair of horses who are dancing in the moonlight.  Goodness!  How on earth?  You could hold a knife to my throat and demand that I draw a pair of dancing horses and I would be dead meat.  There is no way I could do it.  Seriously.  Who knows how to draw dancing horses?!  Bennett does, obviously.   I love how the lady has a rose in her teeth with leg bent and head slightly tilted back, as if she is dancing AND in love.  Wow.

Here is another drawing by Little Miss Dances With Horses.  A sweet (maybe) kitten with big black eyes.  I'm not sure if those big black eyes are a good or bad thing.  Cats can be crazy sometimes.

Where does the girl get her skills?  From her dad, totally.  He draws quite a bit.  One evening this week while I was away, he spent an embarrassing amount of time designing this Disney princess "mash up" dress.  He did use a tracer for this project, but believe me, he could have done it freehand if he wanted to.  I, personally, have a few issues with the design on the skirt, but he is an artist and can do what he wants.  What a joy, to live with artists!

Native Americans, Bacon and Christmas!

We might be getting just a little bit excited for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays over here!

 We had one little, two little Native Americans yesterday.  Ainsley had a sweet get up from her Thanksgiving feast at school, which prompted Bennett to create her own Native American head piece.  A peacock feather and some duct tape was all she had to work with, but it was cool.

 We have erected and decorated the tree!  And every year it brings the girls great joy to add the bacon...I mean ribbon candy.  The "bacon" is Bennett's favorite ornament.

 Here is Ainsley in her N.A. costumage.  She drew some lovely arrows and sunsets and such on her vest and hat.  Very authentic!

Aaaannnnddd....the "Put this on my Christmas list, put this on my Christmas list!" has begun when visiting the local discount center.  How nice of them to have toys scattered all throughout the store.  Terrific.  Here is the most recent "Put this on my Christmas list!" item.  Grandmas?  Aunts? Uncles?  These items have not yet been purchased, if you are needing a gift idea.  This mom is finished with her shopping, so the sweet little eyes are looking at you!

Walking In a Winter Wonder...What?!?!?!?

Again with the snow village?  Yes, again.  For us, the snow village is a major source of entertainment each holiday season.  Less that one week of the village being on display, and we already have major adventure unfolding.  Last night around dinner time, I asked Ainsley if she would like to help me make some meatloaf.  Her response was, "Yes, but first I have to watch Bennett's people jump through the rings of fire."  What?  Rings of fire? What?  I rounded to the dining room corner to investigate and it appears that the empty tape rolls from my window insulation kits have become a double ring of fire.  It also appears that each and every villager wants to attempt to jump through the double ring of fire...notice them waiting patiently in line?  As if this isn't bizarre enough, there is a team of My Little Ponies perched on the toy store, overseeing the entire event.  Maybe it's just me, but I think it wiser that the ponies attempt to be jumping through the hoops versus the people in their wool coats and long pettiskirts.  And what does this have to do with Christmas?  To each his own, I guess.

The New Folks In Town

The holidays are approaching, and with a day off from school this week, the girls and I decided to begin just a bit of our holiday decorated.  Little bits at a time make the task less overwhelming and more fun.  Thus, the Christmas snow village came out of the box!

 The girls love to play with the villagers each year.  Many of them have met their maker when they have fallen to the hard wood floor.  So sad.  Additionally, each year it seems some villagers enter the scene who did not originally come with the set.  'Tis the case again this year, and this season we have quite the troop...Mr. and Mrs. Sponge, Mr. Cap (from Japan), the eraser family, Mr. Carrotini (an Italian gentleman) and my personal favorite, the Barley Brothers.  The Barley Brothers are the four little, Asian, wooden guys with fuzz on their heads.  Yep.  The Barley Brothers.

Oh, so heart warming, how the eraser family has lined the balcony of the Christmas Shoppe to sing carols to one and all!  And that giant bear (actually he's only 4.5" tall in real life) is Pookie.  Bennett got Pookie from her grandparents for Halloween, and he is her FAVORITE right now.  We'll be seeing much more of him throughout the holidays, I'm sure.

It's Almost Here!

The girls did not have school today, so we decided to get a little jump start on the holidays.  It's a bit too soon for Christmas decorations, but it's never too soon to begin dreaming up challenges for...wait for it...CANDLE-KAZAM 2011!!!!!!!!!

We decided today would be a great day to make our candles and create the challenges Dad will face this year.  I sort of feel bad for the poor man, and yet I am so excited to witness the spectacle.  He is a great sport and we just love the memories he makes for us each year!  Let's take a little trip down memory lane and recall a couple of favorites from last year's Candle-Kazam!

Ah, the fake mustache.  Remember when he wore this to an area retailer?  The best part was that he had to pass two gentlemen with real, large mustaches just as he entered the door.  The irony!

And oh, how we loved his time spent "up on the housetop."  It was truly a show stopper!  Come Decemeber 1st, 2011, Dad will begin his new set of challenges for this Christmas season.   Highlights to come!

Slicky Boot 2011 Highlights

We recently celebrated Slicky Boot Awareness Day with friends!  Pardon the long post, but I've included several photos for my non-Facebook friend (Julie) to see.  Thanks to all of the fantastic folks who celebrated with us this year!

 The children are ready to feast on the delicious spread of food that was contributed to SB 2011.  The real-looking-fake-cats are also ready to dine, apparently.  Here are the kids and pets, waiting ever so patiently for their plates.

 You may have noticed a couple of pioneers at the table as well.  This little friend (sorry she's sideways) is always eager to suit up in her Laura Ingalls attire at our house.  Laura Ingalls and her laptop...this just seems unnatural.

 Of course, we had the ladies table...plus one fellow, Kellee.  He is obviously a good man.

 And a few of the boys ate in the Soul Patch. 

 After the food came the annual quiz.  This year's quiz was over the occupation of professional figure skating.  I, personally, thought it was pretty tough.  Here is some quizzing...

 ...and more quizzing...notice our friend Chris has his hand on is head.  He's clearly distrought over the difficulty of the quiz.

 And more quizzing!  An adult taking a test in a tiny pink desk.  This is as unnatural as Laura Ingalls and her laptop. 

 And we have a winner, with a PERFECT score (so sickening)...Zach!  You should be so proud, or maybe ashamed, of yourself!  Zach received candy, a boot-shaped 75% used up bottle of stinky cologne, and a  figure skating coloring book as a prize.  See the look of thrill on his face?

 After the quiz we headed outside where is was BEAUTIFUL for the annual Floamrun Derby.  It was moved to the front yard, as the maple tree in the side yard has become too large of a floamrun obstacle.

 All eyes to the skies for a pop fly!

 While mostly boys play floamrun derby, mostly girls hang out and drink coffee.  Mostly kids throw dirt around the yard with plastic shovels.

 Some kids watched and participated in the game though, and some kids and adults also enjoyed the big yellow Hummer. 

 Ball in the gutter (so sorry for the sideways)!  The men tried to solve this problem creatively.  Attempt one was a no go. 

 Attempt two was better.  This was a three man job. 

 Yay!  He got the ball.  I really enjoy how Julie has her mom hand out like "if you fall forward I will catch you."  You know the mom hand.  The same one that flies across a passenger's midsection when you're in a car and it's coming to a sudden stop.  The mom hand.

 The littles also enjoyed a little time together on the porch swing.

 And the winner of the 2011 Floamrun Derby traveling trophy...Cy!  Congrats!

And finally, a glimpse at this years commemorative ornament.  Presenting the Slicky Boot cowboy boot ice skate!  Hope you enjoyed the recap, and sorry if you now need to visit your chiropractor to get the kink out of your neck.  I'm having some Blogger/photo software issues.  I know how to resolve it, but sometimes I forget to do so before it's too late to be changed.  I'll try to do better next time.