Boys will be Boys...

The other day we watched the Seahawks game at Dan’s dad’s house while he was out of town.

Dan thought it would be a good idea to pull out the Potato gun. For those of you who don’t know what a potato gun is, here is the closest picture I could find.

You spray a flammable aerosol into the large chamber. Flip the little switch which makes a spark, causing the potato (that you have shoved into the small chamber) to shoot out of the tube and through the air. Unfortunately this did not go over so smoothly for Dan. For some reason the spark wouldn’t ignite. Dan decided to take the cap off that was holding in all of the aerosol pressure. He then tried to get it to spark again.. This time, IT WORKED. Because the lid was not on to contain the pressure, flames were coming out of the large chamber. Dan blew into the tube to try to blow the fire out. Well… this actually caused the flames to shoot OUT of the tube and into his face… Take a look: (if you want to get the full affects, you can click on the picture to make it larger)

Halloween ~ 2008

Alyssa was at her dad’s this year for Halloween, so I wasn’t able to get any pictures of her dressed up as dead Hannah Montana. (I was not thrilled with the costume idea). Her 3rd grade class had all agreed to dress up in a country/western theme. So I was able to get a picture of her dressed up for her school party.

We also had a pot-luck at work. Stephanie, Laneysa and I dressed up as Snap, Crackle & Pop. We made Rice Krispie treats and delivered them around the office. We each got a gas gift card for the best group.

Here are a couple of other costumes from co-workers:

For Halloween night, Dan and I went to Dion & Candy’s. Dan and I passed out treats while Dion & Candy took the girls Trick-Or-Treating. Delaney didn’t like her costume too much, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of her. But here is Princess Rylie…

And we can’t forget Dan as Bo Bice… (hehehe)
That is, IF You can even tell the difference.

WE HAVE BUTTERFLIES...

If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can scroll down and see the development of our little fluttery friends. It’s hard to get a good picture of them, but you get the point.

In this picture you can see there are two that have left their cocoons, one that is slowly making his way out and one that is still sleeping soundly.

Just 20 days after these little caterpillars arrived in our mailbox, they are now beautiful butterflies. It’s been a little creepy but a lot of fun to watch them go through their stages. Alyssa is starting to learn about butterflies in her class and this has really helped her understand everything.

If anyone is looking for a good Christmas gift, I would highly recommend the Live Butterfly Garden. It’s affordable, fun & Educational. I have also found a website that you can order many different caterpillars from. So even after these butterflies have gone, we can continue to raise different species.

All good things must come to an end...

We finished celebrating Dan’s birthday last night. After dinner, Alyssa and I decorated the homemade German Chocolate Cake. I did the frosting while Alyssa used icing to paint a Seahawk on it. After she did her Seahawk cheer ;) we sang Happy Birthday… then Dan struggled while trying to blow out his trick candles. Alyssa was laughing so hard!

Happy Birthday Danny Joe!!

We love you more then words can say…

I’m wishing you another year
Of laughter, joy and fun,
Surprises, love and happiness,
And when your birthday’s done,
I hope you feel deep in your heart,
As your birthdays come and go,
How very much you mean to me,
More than you can know.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN!!

Today is Dan’s 32nd Birthday!! We spent the whole weekend celebrating…
Our original plan was to have a FODANNA Hoedown Cowboy/Cowgirl Birthday party to celebrate Fonso, Dan & Anna’s Birthday. Unfortunately due to a family emergency the party got canceled so plans were changed.

Friday night after picking up Alyssa, we went to Breck & Carrie Ivy’s for dinner and pumpkin carving. Chad & Katie also came over with their kids. We had a great dinner and Breck made brownies for Dan’s Birthday. The pumpkins turned out great…

Katie Corsack, Alyssa and I got the pleasure of gutting the pumpkins while the men did the carving. Alyssa drew a picture of what she wanted her pumpkin to look like and then Dan helped her carve it.

It was a little challenging trying to get a good picture of them, but you get the idea…

Saturday morning we woke up, I made a big breakfast for the 3 of us and then we played Mickey Mouse Monopoly ALL MORNING LONG!! (and still haven’t finished the game). We took Alyssa to her dad’s so they could carve pumpkins and then Alyssa went to her friends Halloween Party later that night. Dan and I met a bunch of friends at the Yardarm for dinner and drinks.

I love Dan's smile in this picture!!

Around 8:30pm we headed downtown Seattle to go to a comedy show at the Comedy Underground. We met Anna, Charlie and their friends in Seattle (it was also Anna’s Birthday). The show was great… the poor woman performer was not funny at all. It was awkward and embarrassing for everyone. Luckily, the main act did make up for it. After the show, a lot of people ended up going home while we decided to continue the fun. Dan, Nick, Julie, Andrew, Karri and I went to a dive bar in Des Moines. Then we went back to Nick’s place for a while.

Sunday morning Dan went to the track with Aaron while I got stuff done around the house. Then I met up with Nicole for Sushi and did some grocery shopping. I made a nice big thanksgiving style dinner for Dan. Then Alyssa and I started making him a Homemade German Chocolate Cake. Alyssa surprised Dan with a card and she's very excited to finish decorating his cake. We will finish the celebration tonight with cake and ice-cream and hopefully get somewhere on our Monopoly game. Dan said he’s never had a birthday weekend before… When he woke up this morning and I wished him a Happy Birthday, he said it doesn’t even feel like his birthday today.

Thank you to everyone who was able to be part of his birthday. I know it means a lot to him, We hope you had as much fun as we did!!

Live Butterfly Garden - Part 2

Day Nine – Friday, October 17th - The caterpillars have been able to work their way to the top of the container. Under the lid is a piece of fabric for them to hang from. This is where they will build their cocoon.

Day Thirteen - Tuesday, October 21st – Over the weekend the caterpillars created their cocoon. It was so amazing to watch them do this. They should stay like this for a little over a week!

We moved them to their new home. That way when they emerge from the cocoon, they’ll have a safe place to live. To move them, you take the piece of material from underneath the lid and pin it to the top of the net.

Now we just wait for them to come out as beautiful butterflies. Should be any day now!!!

Dan and I went to Alyssa's Parent/Teacher Conference on Tuesday. For the most part things are going great. MUCH to my surprise (or not) Alyssa seems to be a social butterfly. I have no idea where she got that from *guilty grin* Even the teacher said it's so hard to punish someone for talking too much, we've all done it. But that doesn't make it right. Other then that, she seems to be doing great. Her reading skills are getting better and better. We do need to focus more on what they call "AR BOOKS" Which are the books that she is tested on in class to see how well she understands the story and the structure of the story. She is doing great in math as far as understanding numbers and how to solve problems, But the teacher wants her to stop using her fingers to count. So that is our goal. Her teacher said that she has been doing a great job around the class, helping other students and setting good examples. So hopefully she'll be able to move her desk away from the front of the class very soon =/

Alyssa and her teacher sat down before the conference and came up with a list of goals that Alyssa would like to work on. We are very excited to help her reach her goals. We are so proud of what an amazing little girl she is.

We took her to dinner at Route 66 in Orting before the meeting. It is a small pizza place. She got to personalize her very own pizza. Which means she got to pick the toppings then they brought them out for her to build her own pizza before they cooked it.

Last Saturday we got together with some friends for an Adult Game Night. It was at Chris Gourley's house with his girlfriend Sarah, her sister Anna and husband Charlie and their friends Kyle and Jill, Chris's stepbrother Walter also showed up with a guest. We had a great time playing Pictionary (the girls were winning so the game ended before it was done) and Jenga.