Superbowl Sunday and Cookie Booths

250 is the magic number.  250 boxes of cookies in one cookie season.  Ingrid has been working booths and selling cookies this year as we have been seeing our garage and living room overflow with boxes and cases of cookies.  Due to circumstances, Woody and I were thrust into the roles of cookie dad and cookie mom for Troop 2918.

Today's cookie booth at Walgreens in Sun Lakes started early at 9:45. There's a long time employee at Walgreens that showers the girls with attention, cookie purchases and treats from the store.  The treats  have been stuffed animals and large boxes of candy.  Wow.  Enda is his name and he's worked at Walgreens for 20 years.  

Ingrid, Abby and Makena worked the cookie booth this morning, greeting everyone and continually moving the table further and further out of the sun and the noon time wore on.  More and more folks came in to get last minute snacks and alcohol for the Super bowl.  It turned into a pretty good day.  At the same time we could see the Basha's grocery store entrance across the street.  They were doing a whole lot of business and the troop that got that booth was definitely selling more cookies.  Cookie wars!  Next year we will be on the trigger to get the best booths for the big game day.

For now, we enjoyed our time with Enda and the many people who stopped and chatted with the girls.

It's Been Waaaay too Long

I have realized over the years that this blog holds more value than I care to admit.  Looking back at our pictures is one thing; but it's the stories that go with it that make our family moments memorable.  And as I hide behind the excuses, the days go by and the kids get bigger.  So no more concerns about my writing skills, I just need to do it.

This evening I realized we still had some girl scout cookie money that needed to be deposited so I texted the Girl Scout leader to ask if she could pick up the money Saturday morning.  Instead she came over this evening.  Without dinner plans for either family, we decided to go with all the kids to Senor Taco for dinner and talk.

A fun evening for everyone.  We ended up talking until after 9 PM.

This morning was donuts for Dad's at Santan.  Erik was not going to let his dad get away with not going.  Mr. Lumberjack-fusion went with his plaid shirt and a smirk on his face - he said he needed more facial hair to be a lumberjack.

Kid Space Children's Museum

After our vacation was swallowed up by repairs at Harmony and Harabagee's house, we were determined to get away at least for a half day of recreation in L.A.  We decided to make use of our Science Museum membership with its reciprocity agreements with member facilities.  This makes it free to go to some of the Southern California museums.

We arrived at the Rose Bowl stadium at 11.  It was a beautiful gorgeous day today and we took a few side roads through Pasadena to see some of the lovely homes and gardens and then out of nowhere, popped out at the entry to the stadium.  There was a regional lacrosse tournament happening on the grounds with lots of families and cars and umbrellas.

The kids had a blast at the museum - atleast the three younger kiddos.  There's not much to do for a 14 year old.  But Morgan did her best to smile and not complain.  We did a workshop on origami, talked about lifecycles of plants, watched a demonstration with a bearded dragon and enjoyed the gardens with the physics activities - lever, balance, climb wall, the tricycle path and other activites.  Our only spending was a nice lunch of pizza and french fries.

When we felt it was getting too hot we piled back in the car for an easy drive back from Pasadena to Rowland Heights.  A perfect Sunday getaway.

The Way to Get Things Done

Back in the day, it was common to see families washing their car or cars in the driveway.  This generation has been missing out.  There are numerous car washes and in a mere 10 or 15 minutes, you can get your car washed for under $10.00.  HOA rules prevent car washing at home, saying it doesn't "look" right.  Our previous HOA prohibited car washing in the driveway.  At our current house, I honestly haven't read all of the rules.  But I rarely see car washing at home.

Woody and the kids got the car washed for our trip to California.  It was sunny and low 80's - a beautiful day to get a bucket of soapy water.  And all of the kids helped vacuum the car, clean the mats, clean the tires and of course, hose off the car.  You can see which jobs Erik and Ingrid picked.

Read Across America

Today was the last day of Spirit Week for the Annika, Ingrid and Erik at Santan.  It's been a fun week of reading activities and fun hats, hair, pajamas and mustaches.  Ingrid is now in 3rd grade.  Time is running out for her to wear fun Dr. Seuss skirts and tights.  She's getting older each year.  So I wanted to make this one count.  I used a nurses scrub I got on EBay a few years ago and took my seam ripper and took the shirt apart.  After ironing it, I pieced a skirt together with some red and white accent fabric and a piece of the Cloud 9 Ed Emberley squiggle black fabric.  And then I got a black t-shirt out of Erik's dresser and used a little more fabric and cut out a tie out of the scrub fabric to make him a shirt. Finally I decided Ingrid needed a shirt to match and added "suspenders" to hers.  I found Annika's shirt online and we had the ubiquous hat.

We got everyone dressed and then I took a few pictures.  I love the Grinch Converse shoes on Erik.  So cute.  This got me excited to make a few more skirts before my little Ingrid grows up!

Things They Say

At the mention of the word "widow" during a movie tonight, Erik leaned over to Woody and said, "A widow means the man is dead and the woman is alive.  After they get married.  A wooden means the woman gets dead and the man is still alive."  

I hope Woody never gets wooden!

Birthday

I'm feeling "meh" about my birthday today.  Not "meh", I don't want a birthday, because I actually do enjoy thinking about it.  I just don't want any celebration or cake or presents.  Today I wanted to hang out with my family at home.  And that's just what we did.

I took Morgan to church at 7a.m. this morning so she could play in the church orchestra for two services. I went home and considered getting dressed and going back for the second service.  But my sister called me to wish me a happy birthday and Annika decided to make chocolate chip pancakes and that was it for getting back to the 9 am service.  I enjoyed my pancakes, reorganized my cookbook cupboard and went back for Morgan at 10:30.  

We all went outside to work on the back yard right after breakfast.  We put away things and switched the winter green house cover to the summer green house cover.  It took all of us.  I like how Woody hands the power tools to the girls to get them doing some of the details rather than do it himself and just ask for help with holding things.  They really get to learn by doing.  

The kale garden is over flowing.  I knew I needed to get some kale frozen for summer so I finally started cultivating it and flash freezing batches to bag up for soups and smoothies.

Our afternoon included buying tacos at Del Taco and stopping at Sams Club for milk, bread, strawberries, apples and mangos.  We considered buying an outdoor rug to go under our table and chairs outside, but they didn't have the design we most liked.

We went back out side to rake leaves and put into bags and trim the plants.  I went inside to start making dinner.  I got a nice call from my brother at 6 and we talked for a little bit.  Dinner was organic tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with kale, chia seed, banana, carrot juice, and fruit smoothie.  All four kiddos loved it and it got the fruit veggie daily intake back to the positive.

The day ended watching ""How to Train Your Dragon 2".  It was fun to watch and curl up with my kiddos.

I call that an awesome birthday.  

 

Super Bowl 49 (Cause I don't want to figure out the Roman Numerals)

We just finished the Super Bowl and I can almost breathe a sigh of relief.  I really didn't care who won or whatever.  I just wanted some normalcy back after a month of big events in the Phoenix area.  Don't get me wrong, I love the economic impact all the visitors brought.  I'm just happy it's almost over - they all still need to get to Sky Harbor and get on their planes in the next few days.

As with past Super Bowls, it was not really a big affair at our house.  I could have cut out cute little football garland pieces or gathered matching straws and pom poms with coordinated color desserts.  In the end, we tossed some meatballs in the crock pot, cut up some strawberries and apples, added cheese and turkey pepperoni and some chips.  Done.  A feast for the Chungs.  And we watched.  Well, Morgan, Annika and I did.  The others sat down for our halftime feast and then went back to playing or running wires in our future theater room.

I loved the Sunday "football" meals my mom made.  Popcorn, cheese, meat, crackers and fruits and veggies were the best.  Plus anything else we had on hand.  All brought down to the family room to munch on.

Great memories.  Another great memory would be remembering the Vikings in a Super Bowl ever.  Nope, I don't have that memory.

Another look at the Fog

The fog really was amazing today.  Blanketing the valley with a mist that is so unlike the normal dry desert conditions, it lasted until early afternoon and then lifted to a bright blue day creating quite the weather contrast.  Normal straight hair took on strange curls - especially for me and Morgan.  This is the view of the park by our house, taken from the street a few feet back from our driveway.  You see a gate and then...nothing.

Surreal.

1st Annual AzTrac Tackle Trauma 5K Run and Fog

5:00 AM on a Sunday morning, Super Bowl Sunday morning, and we were up and ready to quietly sneak out.  Morgan, Annika and I were headed out to Scottsdale to volunteer for Chandler Regional at the first annual Trauma run to benefit trauma centers in Arizona.  Chandler Regional is the newest Level I Trauma center in the valley and has become the busiest in its short 10 month existance.  Morgan came out to volunteer and run.  But first, we had to *get* there. 

This is the most fog I have seen in the 22 years I have lived in Phoenix.  It was thick, soupy fog - straight out of a London movie, except for the palm trees.  We drove ever so slow because we couldn't see more than 10-20 yards in front of us in the dark.  The freeway was not much better.  It was spooky the way it was swallowing up the cars.  But we did make it to the park that was the grounds for the run.

While Annika and I helped set up a table with the rest of the Chandler team, Morgan got herself checked in and ready for the run.  We handed out flyers and trinkets and casually nodded to the other trauma centers and their team members that, like Chandler, also sponsored the event.

Morgan ran a great race even through the fog.  Less than 20 minutes after the start, she was back.  She got some race food and drink and then went over to the other side of the field where the stage was placed from the sponsor tables.  I could hear her name being called and then I heard first place.  Morgan won first for U18 Womens.  So proud of Morgan!!!  She was very happy indeed.  

Annika is not shy at booth events - this is her fourth one volunteering with me in the last two years.  She really is great and handing out things and talking with people.  She decided to turn herself into our Injury Prevention Coordinator by reminding everyone who stopped at our booth about bike helmet safety while giving everyone literature on the subject.  Awesom job Annika!

2000 Mile Pictionary Game

Ingrid and Edin have developed quite the relationship over FaceTime.  These two cousins can spend endless time chatting with each other and playing dolls and toys over the "phone".  Once we discovered how cute they were together, it seems to have taken off.  Each girl now has a mini iPad and many days I come home to work to hear eight children's voices in my house.  Four of my own and the four Williams kiddos.

Friday and Saturday turned into long sessions on FaceTime because the girls decided to play Pictionary together.  It was rather fun for both of them.  We have an original Pictionary game board and cards.  Ingrid would roll the dice for both girls and I would show Edin her card to draw the picture.  Edin won the game Friday night - the luck of the great roll of the dice more than anything.  Both girls suspended the time limits to guess and only went as far as each one wanted to guessing the others drawings.  So much fun.  They repeated the game on Saturday which then turned into playing Polly Pocket dolls.  How quickly two hours go by.

It's so Hard

So it's already the end of January.  In the year 2015.  Eight years after I started our family blog and the last two years have seen very dismal effort on my part.  This is so unfair to not keep our family records going.  Today, Woody's birthday, we were crowded around the Mac in the library looking at past pictures from the blog.  Even the kids were like, " awwww, we need to read our stories."  And they're right.  We need to keep up our stories: the good, the bad, the funny, and everything in between.  So I am going to try.  Really.  Try real hard to tell our story.  As many nights as I can.  And keep going.  Hopefully we can look back and enjoy all this when we're older.

So it's Woody's birthday today.  The day was packed with normal activities which now infiltrate our daily lives.  Take today - we worked on getting outfits out, teeth brushed, hair combed.  And for outfits, Ingrid had a mini meltdown because she couldn't put together the PERFECT outfit.  Finally I sent her to school with the Lorax tshirt, Lorax skirt, jean jacket, necklace, white Doc Marten boots and black leggings.  She was satisfied.

I ran off to work to a full day of activities.  I already knew I had to return in the evening to help hand out cookies and coffee to staff on the night shift.  It's someting the hospital does every month and it rotates among the hospital directors.  Great job picking Woody's birthday for a evening to spend at work.

Annika had an audition with the Chandler elementary school all city honors band.  We took the entire family for her four pm audition.  Annika said it went OK after they called her to a back room.  She said her reed was bothering her, not placed perfectly to her liking.  She didn't have the perfect smile of hers when she came out.

We then went out to the cookie mom's place and picked up more Girl Scout cookies for Ingrid to sell.  We've got several orders in the pipe so it should be pretty easy for her to sell the 80 total boxes we have.

Finally, it started raining pretty good this evening.  The rest of the family went out to dinner to celebrate and I went back to the hospital to hand out cookies.

So there, we're back in the game of blogging.

Tonight's Reading

Erik loves having stories read to him.  it doesn't always look like it the way he wiggles around when you read out loud.  But ask him a comprehension question, and he's right there with the story line.  For some reason a month ago, I picked up the book, Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary and Erik was immediately drawn in to the story.  This quickly followed with the second book, Henry and Ribsy.  When Erik hears about salmon, he immediately reminds me that Henry Huggins went salmon fishing and caught a 30 pound salmon in the story with his dog.  Do you remember mom, do you?  Erik does.   He asked if there were any more books to the series and I told him the three more titles that I knew.  The one called Henry and Beezus stuck in his mind.  And finally yesterday, when his kindergarten class was in the school library to check out little reading books, Erik went up to Mrs Cooper and asked if he could check out a book from the big kid section because he liked Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary.  And sure enough, Erik brought home Henry and Beezus for us to read together.  Erik one page, me one page.

I see a voracious reader in our future.

  

Are You Wondering How Big They're Getting?

Tonight we decided it was a dessert type night.  Infrequent addition to our meals, but sometimes that sweetness is just right.  And Woody was the one who suggested a quick stop for a family meeting at Coldstone Creamery.  Ice cream with mix ins.  And a quick kid picture.  They're getting so old!!!

Girl Scout Cookies Anyone?

Both Ingrid and Annika are in GIrl Scouts this year.  Ingrid is in her last year of Brownies and Annika is a cadet.  Annika's troop is flush with cash, they say, from past years and decided to skip the annual cookies sales hulabaloo.  Ingrid's troop is newly created and is participating in the Girl Scout ubiquitous event.  Cookie sales.

Different from years past, even just two years ago, the cookies arrive first.  They're are no door to door order forms only to return in one month with your order.  You pre buy the cookies from the local council and you sell them - all - or pay for them.  

Cookie sales officially start on Monday, January 26, but we got our initial stash on Sunday.  I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of Ingrid to post on social media to drum up some sales.  Ingrid also posted on her Instagram feed.  She's soooo photogenic and a natural model for such a thing.  Just look.

Spirit Week

It's Spirit week at Santan Elementary school.  We have never been a full on participant in years past.  It really was because we didn't want it to take away from the academic focus for our oldest child.   You know, the playing with the fun hat all day or looking at the other kids instead of doing her kindergarten work.  That continued for several years.   Here and there we allowed some fun to slip in - a well deserved pajama day is always a good one.

Ingrid was really ready this week for Beach day.  She asked me to look through her shirts and shorts and help cobble together an outfit.  Here's the problem: we're not beach people.  I found some khaki bemudas, a flower shirt with a hood and a flower for her hair.  Add sunglasses and that's what we got. Just before she left for school I thought of something.  Her swimsuit cover up was plenty long.  She quickly removed her shirt, added a tank underneath and then was rocking the beach "towel" look.