Coolest. Dad. Ever.

Last week, just as I was trying to work my way back into my children's good graces, Mike swoops in with a Hail Mary that ended all my hopes of becoming Favorite Parent.  He got us tickets to Disney on Ice.   As in, all of Sarah's and Will's favorite characters in one place, dancing, singing, and, of course, skating. 

Can I get a Yee-haw?!

I'm so impressed that everybody's looking at the camera in these two pictures.

 Of course, when you're an hour early for a Disney event, you have to shell out for some doo-dads. 

 Now, Sarah has a new unicorn named Cory, and Will has Buzz Lightyear #3.  Or Shiny Buzz, whatever floats your boat and doesn't anger the toddler. 

New loot requires some breaking-in, so of course we had to run the toys over EVERY surface in the entire arena.  Just to make sure it's good and germy. 

 Sarah's not as thrilled to be standing next to Keith Urban as I would be, but, oh well.

 Of course, it wouldn't be the Happiest Place on Ice without a little drama.  Our tickets were for the Gaylord box, which spoiled us grownups, but made some divas a little pouty.  She was afraid Jessie wouldn't see her when she waved at her. 

But, a little sustenance was all that was needed to get unicorn, human, and space ranger back in good spirits.

It's pretty obvious who this guy was on the lookout for the whole time, but he was almost as excited to see Mater and the gang, too. 

 We spent a lot of time in the run-up to the show speculating on how Lightning McQueen was going to skate without any legs.  The answer was thrilling.

 Ariel and friends had us dancing in our seats, while Ursula the Sea Witch had us hiding our faces.

The Tinkerbell sequence was kind of a snooze-fest, even for Sarah, and my little man was getting frustrated about how long it was taking for Buzz Lightyear to come out.

The kids used intermission to practice their spaghetti/dead slug mode, and Mike and I brushed up on the football hold. But, after a rough intermission of trying to tell people to wait ten minutes when they can't tell time, it was all rapt attention.

Toy Story!

Jessie and Bullseye!

 This guy stole the show for us, though.

Does it get any better than Mickey and the Gang and the Toy Story bunch?

 Mike and I have decided that we are now too spoiled to go back to general seating at the arena.  Just to let you know what a good time Sarah had, she thanked Mike, unbidden, as the lights came up.  And, just to prove that we still know how to party, Will peed off the 2nd level of the parking garage.  

Dragon Boats

We spent this past glorious Saturday attempting to be tourists in our hometown.  The plan was to hit a puppet show, the Dragon Boat Festival, lunch, and landmarks downtown.  Cranky short people and a scatterbrained mama prevented us from doing three-quarters of the planned activities, but we still had a blast. 

The last time we went to the Dragon Boat Festival, Mike was rowing in it with his rugby team and I was pregs with Will.  I remember spending a lot of time making sure Curly-top didn't fall into the Cumberland or run after the 5 million dogs that attended the festivities. 

This year, we were all spectators, so we had man-to-man coverage and an extra pair of shoulders to sit on. 

We put our Batman ears up when we turned around to this view:

Unintentional shadow family portrait.

So many people out enjoying a jewel of a day!

This time, I didn't have to worry about my girl falling in.

The critters were less impressed with the boats than the snack selection.  Sno-cones and pretzels held meltdowns at bay.

But, we did have a rather heated debate about whether or not Will had a blue nose.  I present Exhibit A.  The prosecution rests its case.

Will REFUSES to look at the camera, so here are some lame attempts to capture all three of my favorite people on film.

Sigh.

Soon, the peeps were refreshed and back in action, ready for sliding down the riverbank.

They progressed into rolling down the hill.  Straight into people's tents. 

We brushed off the grass and went off to craft some paper dragons.  Some of us (ahem) posed with the prop dragon boat.  Others of us were getting tired and cranky.

We couldn't make it to the puppet show or take pictures in front of Grumpy's (for my dad, their Grumps), but we did get in some good ol' mandatory family fun.

Frog Adoption

Last Friday, the fourth-graders were taking the animal studies frogs home to live with them.  Since there were several left over, one of the teachers convinced me to take a few with me.  Maybe it was the pressure of trying to make it back into my children's artwork, or maybe it was the full moon, but I caved and picked out four spry little buggers for my very own.  Teach hooked me up with gravel, food, and little plastic cups to cart our new amphibious friends home in, and I headed to the kids' school anticipating the glory of once again being the Favorite Parent. 

When I got there, I found Sarah, dressed in a Nilla Wafers box and a pipe cleaner headdress, speaking in monotones, something to the effect of, "Greetings, earthling."

My Their frogs were doomed to be overshadowed by a cardboard box.

Still, my junior zoologist and my animal behaviorist were interested in the transfer of frogs from their temporary clear Solo cups (doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?) to their more permanent habitats.

They named their new pets Mike, Will, Sarah, and Julie.  Hmmm...this could get a little confusing.

The frog food was deemed "stinky" and all parties involved were disappointed they can't be taken on walks around the block "on leashes".

My sports-savvy friend Kristen set the over-under on our new pets at a week, but they're tough little critters.  It turns out that they're blind, so they can't see their flake food to eat it, plus, they need a gallon of water per frog to be comfy.  So, they'll starve to death unless they run into their food, and they need more room to roam than the plastic shoebox they're currently inhabiting.  Poor guys.  The plan is to get them some pellet food and a fish-tank cave or two to hide in so they'll be a little happier.

Moster Spray Recall

I should have known to leave something like monster prevention in the hands of the professionals, but we're trying to save money.  So, when I saw this:

 I thought I'd give it a try.  Hey, I had a coupon. 

My first clue should have been their slogan: "70% of the time, it works EVERY time."

Now, we have a full-blown infestation.

These guys moved in over the weekend.

They seem pretty harmless, so far.  They mostly just hang out and demand Chee-tos.  As an aside, I was a proud mama when Will referred to our newest friends as the "Snowths".  Every morning he greets the monsters with a hail and hearty "Manah manah". 

In other supernatural matters, I'm glad to say that our witch repellent is working just fine.  We found this spooky lady upended in our planter after nap yesterday.  If you need any recommendations, I use Elphaba's Witch Wonder and Flying Monkey Force Field, and it is fabulous.  I always stock up around this time of year.

I saw both the monster wreaths and witch legs on Pinterest .  My witch legs are just pool noodles inside kid's tights.  I had to figure out something for the shoes, so I just made some out of craft foam and hot glued them on.

Tonight, I'll be mummifying the front door, much to Mike's chagrin. He really likes his holiday decorations "tasteful" (or nonexistent), while I prefer to unleash the full force of my tackiness, and kids are the perfect excuse to do it up. 

*In case you don't know who the Snowths are, here is a little clip from the Muppet Show to introduce you to these fine, furry friends.