Gingerbread house: Success!

This year's gingerbread house was a success. Not only did it not collapse on us but the little ones did an awesome job decorating!

The directions instructed you to wait 3-4 hours after assembling before decorating. That may have been our crucial mistake last year. I guess sometimes it does pay to read the instructions! Although it was a buzzkill on Tuesday afternoon, luckily, the kiddos were patient enough to wait until after school and lunch yesterday to decorate.

My job was chief frosting put-er on-er. The kids were chief decorators. They shared the candy both in decorating and in eating.

Camera 1.

Camera 2.

"Look at me and say 'Gingerbread house!'" All around success and two happy kiddos.

And...an Elf named Skippy who thought he might help himself to it today. Oh, Skippy.

14 days to Christmas!

Nanoo's table

Nanoo's table got a facelift.

After my Nanoo and Papoo passed in 2000 and 2001, respectively, among other things I received was Nanoo's dining room table. The price was right and I have an affinity towards family hand-me-downs and heirlooms. (My china is also hers.) Now, Nanoo never really used this table. I remember it being in the small dining room area in their house in Omaha. But, for the most part, they used their kitchen table. According to my mother, Nanoo purchased the table in the 1950's to go along with her (my) china that was purchased with her portion of money from her father's estate.

Fast forward to when I received the table. It was in like new condition. There were a few barely noticeable marks on the table and chair legs. I've used it as a kitchen table and we dine at it every day. Most days, we eat breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner at it. And, after two toddlers and countless meals, the table was not looking its best. So, we refinished it.

Before. We have re-cushioned the chairs twice -- 2007 and 2012.

The table had a very thin layer of veneer on the top. We weren't sure what to expect in refinishing it. Our hope (with fingers crossed and breath held) was that we wouldn't sand right through the veneer. First step was to use a stripper to take off as much of the existing finish as possible. We used CITISTRIP Safer Paint & Varnish Stripper in an aerosol can. It's supposed to be less toxic than some of the other strippers. Plus, stripper in a can reminds me of genie in a bottle which sounds like so much fun! So...spray and wait 30 minutes.

Ironically, in scraping off the existing stain and finish, we used two of Papoo's old ice scrapers. They were perfect for the job! After scraping was completed, we wiped down the table with paper towels and sudsy water to take off the remaining stripper and old finish.

Our trusty helpers watched as we worked.

Stripped, sanded, and ready for staining. I couldn't believe we got as much off the table as we did. Fortunately, we never went through the veneer either. (Uncross fingers and release held breath here.) At this point, I should disclose that Griff did way more of the work than me. He's so good at this sort of project and very patient with a newbie like me. So, thank you, Griff!

One coat applied of Minwax PolyShades in Mission Oak. Next we waited six hours before lightly sanding and reapplying.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

After. Two coats of Minwax later, the table came back inside for breakfast today. I can't believe how great it turned out. I absolutely love it.

Midway through the project, Griff asked if I thought it would look totally different or just the same as when we started. I told him that I didn't want it to look different. I just wanted it restored so it would look good again for another however many years.

Hopefully Nanoo and Papoo are pleased. I am.

Halloween...it's coming!

Welcome to our house of horrors. If you're terrified of ghouls, floors that need mopping, and a cat with a fungal infection, DO NOT COME IN HERE. On second thought, come right on in!

Googly-eyed wreath.

Who do all these eyes belong to? And, why are they looking at me?!

So that I can remember for next year, I thought I'd photograph a few of this year's Halloween decorations. I'm not necessarily a crafty person. Sure, I can make things but given that I'm left-brained, and a retired accountant, I'm not always that creative. But, with two little ones, it's fun coming up with new ideas and turning them into reality. Consider this my paper trail!

Here are my shares -

Door monster. He's a friendly fellow complete with candy corn nose.

He's a Pinterest inspiration and was very easy to make. So easy, in fact, I thought about putting them upstairs on the bedroom doors in a future year.

Halloween tea light holder and mini pumpkins.

Some people have those Christmas villages. I don't. But, I do think it would be fun to have a Halloween village at some point. If I can find a few more cute, coordinating houses like this one, I will have my mini village on the dining room hutch. Wait, we do have some small plastic coffins. Maybe next year, my mini village will include a cemetery. Ideas!

Birds. We CONTINUE to have a problem with wildlife in our house. Ha ha.

Two years ago, we had an unfortunate problem with three mice in our house. They were eradicated and have not returned since. Thank you, Orkin. However, after the mouse incident, these guys debuted. I sent a picture to my sister and remarked that we had another animal problem. She thought they were real. I'm so funny.

Scrapbook paper bunting.

Hopefully I'm not setting the bar too high for myself. The little ones and I get a kick out of Halloween decorating. We even have a few decorations that Honey gave me from my youth. I guess I could say my love of Halloween and decorating goes way back.

Happy Halloween week to all!

Baby's first math test.

100%, of course. Way to go, Madelyn!

Vista Cheer Camp

Madelyn spent two days at Mountain Vista's Junior Cheer Camp last week (June 5-6). She had a GREAT time. And, all the parents got treated to a show off performance at the end of the second day. 

I'm not biased at all but Madelyn's squad (grades K-2) was by far the cutest and best group of the three (grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8). They cheered, danced, and made two pyramids one of which our very own Mile High Madelyn was at the top.

Please pardon the blurriness of the pictures but my iPhone couldn't quite keep up with the action.

"TD! We want a touchdown!"

How cute is she?!

Holy birthday, Batman. He's 3!

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Sawyer.

Happy birthday to you!

Sawyer is officially three years old. Now I no longer have to respond, "He's just shy of three," or "He's three," only to be corrected by the boy who was just shy of three that he is in fact NOT three.

Last year it was fire trucks. This year, he's all about superheroes. So, we had a superhero party. In spite of the rain that tried to stop our fun, we still had a great time. Along with family and friends, there were games, snacks, birthday cake, and bubbles. Most importantly, there was a happy birthday boy.

The dining room table with our Metropolis sky scene.

And, superhero capes for all the superheroes in attendance.

Captain America fruit tray. America...heck, yeah!

#3 birthday cake. Chocolate bundt cakes with vanilla frosting and sprinkles.

Team Anderson aka Super Friends.

Our sweet friend, Adam, and the birthday boy.

Both proudly rocking their capes!

Happy birthday, dear Sawyer...

Leah, Sawyer, and Madelyn.

Notice all the doting grandparents in the background?

Cousins.

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated three years with this handsome little dude. And, to everyone who couldn't make it, we missed you and hope to see you soon.

Really?!

I wish I could snooze in the grocery cart while someone did all the shopping. Really.

Greatest. Day. Ever.

Station 18 (Our station!) hook and ladder (My favorite!) parked right in front of Westridge Rec Center on Wednesday morning. This is as close as it gets to a celebrity sighting around here. The firefighters must have been inside the building on some non emergency call as there was no one with the truck.

Neither kid wanted their picture taken with the truck. But, I say you can't pass up an opportunity like this one. And, since I'm the mama... "I'm not smiling because I'm not cool with this." - Madelyn. Bah humbug! Next time I'll have Madelyn take MY picture in front of the firetruck.

Pool time!

One of our favorite things about the Westin Kierland - there are many to choose from - is the swimming pool. Last year, the weather was overcast and cool for two of our three days which is very unusual for Arizona. Not so this year! We had 70 and 80 degree weather with clear skies the whole time and it was great.

Saturday and Sunday mornings, we spent a nice chunk of time swimming, floating in the lazy river, and riding the water slide. Poppie really enjoyed the lazy river while Madelyn couldn't get enough of the water slide.

After her first trip down with Griff, she said, "I want to do that one or two...or maybe five more times!" In all, she went down twice with Griff and a handful of times with me. She would have ridden it more but it was getting close to lunch time and In N Out was calling.

Playing with a new circus elephant pool toy.

Poolside in the shade.

Lazy river time.

Happy girl.

Splash!

Without sounding like a commercial, I have nothing but good things to say about the Kierland. It's the perfect place for a young family or an old family or a couple to vacation. Great location, beautiful hotel and grounds, excellent service...and delicious s'mores.

Rockies pre season game

Day two of our Spring break trip to Arizona included a Rockies pre season game at Salt River Fields against the LA Angels. We sat in the outfield lawn and caught most of the game. We even had a spot of shade which stayed with us throughout most of the afternoon. The weather was perfect and the company was good. Rumor has it, the Rockies even pulled off a victory.

Meeting Dinger. No tears here!

Post ice cream mustache. (Can you guess the flavor?) And, a happy boy.

 Tuckered out.

Thanks for the lift, Poppie.

Arizona 2014

We spent Spring Break 2014 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Honey and Poppie came with us this year, too! Our trip lasted three nights -- Friday through Monday -- and we stayed at the Westin Kierland. The weather was terrific this year. No rain! And, once again, the Kierland proved to be an outstanding, accommodating, family friendly resort.

Notable memories include:

* Kids First Class on the airplane.

* Friday and Saturday evening s'mores. Somehow, there was confusion when s'mores weren't available on Sunday. I'm not sure who was more upset - Griff and Poppie or Madelyn and Sawyer.

* Boy bed and girl bed in our hotel room. Madelyn wanted to continue this after our return home but Griff and I vetoed.

* Family breakfast in the club room.

* Trying to sneak up on Honey and Poppie's room only to have our plan foiled by the time we made it down the hall. We don't travel quietly especially when someone has to be first and someone else doesn't agree.

* Pool time. (See post to follow.)

* Child sized Candy Crush throughout the hotel. Or, so Sawyer thought.

* Rockies game. (See post to follow.)

* In N Out. Enough said.

* Cruising around Phoenix six passengers deep in a rented Dodge Caravan. Sooo cool.

Thanks, Griff, for very fun Spring break trip. And, thank you, Honey and Poppie for coming along. We had a great time and made lots of memories that I know the kids will fondly remember.