Mother Son Game Night

 
I've always been a game lover and so it was fun top off this busy week with Daniel at the Middle School Mother Son Game Night.  We started off playing tug-of-war Moms vs Sons, won a round of  live hungry hippos. I don't spend one on one time with my kids having fun very often so it was fun to compete in several of the fun activities they had set up.
Sometimes I think having the longevity of some of the early biblical prophets would be great.  I could have a child every ten years and really focus on teaching and enjoying them without feeling overwhelmed trying to squeeze in enough quality time with each of them.  But I guess then they wouldn't get to enjoy each other and I'd miss seeing them play together flipping bottles, digging holes and playing ball, (Daniel & Jacob) or playing house, going on "dates" and having dances (Alyssa and Joshua).

Giant Jenga

Frisbee Tic Tac Toe

Human Foosball

 Giant Connect Four, Scrabble, Uno, Angry Birds Catapult, and Kerplunk

Valentine Art

The kids were so excited to get some unique Valentine's from their grandmas this year.  Grandma Knight sent them each an origami heart shaped dollar bill and Grandma Stanley sent some scratch art valentines that they had fun designing.

Nerves Upsets and Celebrations

Last week Daniel had a late basketball game against the "rival" team from our same town. A week before that we had the whole family come out to support him but I think it was a bit intimidating for him to know everyone was watching,and he had a total off night missing a lot of shots.  Their team lost by a lot.
So  when I came to his late night game knowing that his team has lost every game they have played and they were already behind when we showed up,  I thought we would see a repeat.  His team was behind the entire game other than the first few seconds when they had scored the first points of the game.  In the final minutes they were still trailing by seven points.  Both teams were playing with a lot of hustle and intensity.  Daniel stepped out and made a 3 point shot that went in. After a foul one of his teammates went to the line and made a free throw.    As the other team attempted to throw the ball in, it hit the backboard, so it was turned over the Daniel's team. They threw it in to him and within just a few seconds Daniel scored another 2 pointer right under the basket to tie the score with just 13 seconds left.  The other team started to bring the ball in but Daniel stole it and then was fouled with just 1.4 seconds left. He went to the line, missed his first shot and with the nerves and pressure all on him was able to swish the final foul shot to win the game.
Height isn't the greatest asset in our family, so I have wondered if he will have a chance to play in high school or if he will just stick with football.  Either way this will be a night that I'm sure he will never forget.  We stopped by the grocery store to pick up ice cream and root beer to celebrate.

Daniel's Science Experiment

School Spotlight

Alyssa was  so excited to celebrate her half birthday at school and share this poster that we made together with her class.  For her list of likes she included gymnastics, dancing, piano and roller blading.
She is so eager to grow up that she keeps sneaking into the makeup in our house,so she was super excited today for 100s day to dress up as a granny and put on some makeup without having to sneak it (after this pic).

Last night for family night we decided to look through all of our old family scrapbooks.  I am grateful that I somehow found time amidst raising my little ones to record at least a few memories because I have already forgotten some of them.  My journaling has gotten sparser now that they are older and the younger kids lamented that they each just have one small scrapbook so I had them draw some self-portraits to add to their collection.

Home Improvements That I Love

 After many months, we finally finished the basement bedrooms so I could transform Alyssa's upstairs room into a dedicated piano teaching room. I love being able to shut the door while I teach lessons but do miss having our piano in the main room for the whole family to easily gather around.

Beanboozle

Someone gave us Beanboozle and the kids were excited to try it out.  I volunteered to be the photographer. I usually love games but I don't think I could stomach this one!

 Tellestrations - a fun Christmas gift more up my alley.