Blast From the Past: Nephi

We spent a little time in Nephi today and we got talking about how Drama Queen had taught at Juab High School before her mission. That reminded me of some old pics I pulled off Twitter that I wanted to share with you from her time there. Most of them I had never seen before, so I'll bet you haven't seen them either.

Happy Memorial Day!!

REVIEW: Wizards & Werewolves by Curly

Not long ago, I worked with Starlux Games on a review for their brand new game, Eyeballs of Madness.  Inside this game were pictures of some of the other games offered by Starlux. Curly was looking through them and reading about them and he said, "Hey, next time ask them if we can review Wizards & Werewolves." I'm pretty sure you know how much he loves outside games by now. So when I sent them a copy of the review on Eyeballs, I mentioned that my 13-year-old son thought W&W looked like a really fun game. So they sent it to him!!

They didn't ask for a review or anything, but I thought it would be a good lesson for him that when someone gives you a gift, it is a great idea to give them a thank you. So here is his unsolicited, very appreciative, and first time ever, review.

Wizards & Werewolves is a great game for everyone. Burrito, Baby Doll, Taco, and I all played. It is fun because there are multiple levels of difficulty. You have to play the easier ones first. The easy ones are also great for little kids. Skittles even had fun playing with us.

You do need quite a big space to make it fun. Also the more people, the better, especially for the harder versions. We played in our backyard but at the park would be way better because it is a game that uses two teams that have lighted wristbands that show who they are. The wizards try to kill (tag) the alpha werewolf while the werewolves try to infect (tag) all the wizards.  

I would rate this a 5/5 and would definitely recommend. We have played it a ton already. Starlux Games never disappoint. 

Let's Play Ball!!

Curly is playing baseball this weekend in a huge Memorial Day tournament in Utah County. Their first day wasn't so great. 

We got up super early and piled in the car. Baby Doll thought it was a great day to skip school, so she came along as well. Scout had a bunch of tests to take and it was way too early for Grandpa. The game started at 9:00 AM, but Curly had to be there at 8:00 and it was a 45-minute drive. 

Sadly, the boys were feeling the early time as well. The first game didn't go so well. We lost 4-13. Most of those points were score in the last couple of at-bats for the other team and our Blue Sox were pretty bummed by the time it was over. 

They didn't have much time to worry, though, because we only had a few minutes to grab a quick lunch before Curly had to be back for the 2nd game of the day. Honestly, sometimes these tournaments feel like the were designed to humble our boys rather than be an opportunity for them to have fun. 

The next team we played was supposed to be 5th in the state and by the time the dust settled, they beat us 9-0. It wasn't until the top of the 3rd inning that they even scored, but this was their first game and it was the second game of the day for our boys. 

You would think that Curly would be discouraged and maybe not even want to get up for the two games he has tomorrow. Both of tomorrow's opponents are arguably even better than the ones they played today.

But that is not even close to the truth. He just loves the game! He keeps up the morale and cheers on his friends. He pounds hundreds of balls into his bow-net every day because the next game will be the one when that ball finally makes it over the centerfield fence. He loves putting on his uniform and and slinging his (extremely heavy!) baseball bag up onto his shoulder. He believes that the team will be bigger and better each and every single day. 

And in spite of the losses, that, my friends, still makes it fun.

Smile Brilliant - Time to Get Your Head Right

You all know I have been working with Smile Brilliant and their marketing team to tell you about some of their new products. Well, apparently, my sweetie didn't know, and it just so happened that he was brushing his teeth a couple of weeks ago and I was straightening up the bedroom when we had the following conversation.

"I think I need a new head for this electric toothbrush," he mumbled with the head still churning up foam in his mouth. 

"What?"

He pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. "I think it's time for me to replace the head on this electric toothbrush." He turned the brush back on and flipped little water droplets all over the mirror. "This is actually the best electric toothbrush I have ever had." He paused for a moment, thinking. "And that's really saying something!"

He's right, there have been many of various brands.

"I think you did a review on it," he says, flipping it over. "It's a cariPRO..."

But he was wrong. HE did a review on it! 

That was back in 2019 and that toothbrush looks almost as good as new. I promise it still does a great job, because if it didn't, my sweetie would have been asking for a new electric toothbrush, not a new head. 

You definitely want to head over to Smile Brilliant and check this one out. We are also getting close to the drawing day for our 30-day supply of their new Adult Probiotic. You can comment on Princess's post or this one and we will get your name in. 

Good luck! Drawing will be held on Memorial Day. 

**My sweetie received 4 free heads for his toothbrush for letting me share his somewhat embarrassing moment. Just a reminder that his CariPRO has been under twice a day use for about three years and it is still amazing!

Wordless Wednesday - Duchess

So big!!

Receiving Bronze

Tonight was a special night for 4 of my awesome Girl Scouts. We were all invited to a Barn Dance to support the girls in our service unit who earned their Bronze Award.

Baby Doll was one of 6 girls from just our troop although only four of ours could make it. 

We had a nice barbecue dinner first.

Then after awards, we pushed back the tables so the girls and their families could learn to square dance. 

It was pretty much the perfect celebration.

Yee haw!!

Happy Birthday, Puppy Lover!

Today we had our May birthday party and it just happened to be on Puppy Lover's actual birthday. It is always fun to get together and my sweetie's sweet pork made it that much better.

Puppy Lover loved her new pink slippers! She was also excited about her new Beauty and the Beast pajamas, especially when the Dog Walker opened his gift.

Happy birthday!!

REVIEW: Baketivity and the Compost Cookie

Baby Doll and I were SO excited to get our first Baketivity box! She loves baking and the opportunity to bake with mom made it all that much more fun. The box showed up as promised and we quickly tore it open. The first thing we saw was her apron and chef's hat!

It was full of little packets of ingredients, each one clearly marked and ready to go. Baby Doll was a bit overwhelmed at first because there were so many of them, but after we read the paperwork and discovered that we were making a "compost" cookie for Earth Day, it began to make more sense.

She read the easy-to-follow instructions and carefully added each ingredient. 

The recipe called for a cake pan, so we were making one ginormous cookie and I will show you why in a minute. Once the cookie was done, we pulled it from the oven and placed it on a rack to cool. The last part couldn't be done yet.

We ran some errands to make the time pass more quickly, but Baby Doll could hardly wait to get back in the house to finish our project. The frosting (melting wafers) made her nervous, but she bravely got all the blue melted and smoothed onto our cookie while I readied the piping bag for the green. 

"What if it doesn't look right?" she worried.

"If it's our world, it will be perfect," I reassured her.

I helped her with some of the outlines of the continents and then she took the bag away and figured she could do much better than my feeble attempts.

And she was right! Didn't she do an amazing job?

Definitely perfect! (And delicious as well.)

Hitting the Trail

I know that I have told you 100 times how much I love our Girl Scout troop, but they are seriously amazing and so much fun! One of our moms works in a vet's office and she also has horses. Today she helped us finish our Pets badge by taking us all for a ride.

Happy Trails, everyone!

       (Yeah... that's me...)

Swearing In

It's a brand new year for the Youth City Council and I'm proud to say that our family has three members of the new Executive Committee.

On Wednesday, Taco, Burrito, and Scout all pledged to do their best to serve our growing city.

I think our youth council is in pretty good hands.

Wordless Wednesday - Senior Year, 2012

Has it Really Been 10 Years?

I was scrolling through Facebook tonight and I saw a call for pics from one of the Dog Walker's high school classmates. This seemed sort of odd until I realized that she was making a slideshow that would play at his TEN YEAR REUNION!!!

How did we get from there to here so fast?

After sharing all this info with the Dog Walker, as soon as he got home from work he started sending me pics.

And they just keep coming...

Such fun memories. But not at 1:14 AM!