Jackson's First Real Prank

This story is too good not to share. It's too long for a Facebook update, so here you go...

Howard had today off of work, so after we picked Jackson up from 1/2 day Kindergarten we went out to lunch - a Chinese buffet.  After Howard paid, he set his wallet on the table. A minute later Jackson swiped it off the table and hid it on his chair.  Howard, Lucas, and I did not notice a thing. Once we got out to the van, Jackson (very casually) said, "hey Dad, you left your wallet on the table." Howard immediately started running back inside, because he didn't have his wallet and thought he left it inside. A second later Jackson started busting up in laughter and pointed to Howard's wallet on the floor of the van where he put it. I quickly yelled back at Howard to return to the van. Jack told us everything that happened. Even after Jackson told us the details we still can't remember him taking the wallet off of the table. We were all laughing so hard, since this was his first real practical joke without the assistance or encouragement of anyone else (he's only 6). That was quick thinking on Jackson's part, since he only had a matter of seconds to pull it off without getting caught.

We had a great laugh, but I did remind Jackson that jokes like that are not always appropriate and to not do it to anyone else. Hope you enjoyed the story, but now that I read it in written form, it's not nearly as funny as the real life events. You just had to be there to fully appreciate Jackson's prank.

Birthdays

 Howie turned 11 in January

Howard and I were too lazy to wrap Howie's few tiny presents (video games, bluetooth ear piece) so we decided at the last minute to hide them. I left 4 clues for his 4 presents. He tore up the house and had a blast looking for his presents. It lasted a lot longer than the 30 seconds it would have taken him to unwrap a few things. I think we may have started a tradition for the older kids. He's in his pajamas, because as usual we open presents first thing in the morning.

 In the afternoon we had a small video game party for him and a few friends. They basically just played video games the whole time and were very content with that. When it was cake time I realized I didn't have 11 candles or two 1s, so Howie improvised with a math problem  18-7 =11. Brilliant! My angel food cake isn't pretty (I need a new bundt pan), but it sure was delicious! His birthday dinner consisted of a t-bone steak and steamed broccoli, his choice.

 Lucas turned 4 in February

 Lucas helped me make his cake (white boxed kind) and was very specific on how he wanted it. Blue on top and green on the bottom. For him it was all about the color, not the taste.

 

 We had a little birthday party for him. I was sad that not very many friends came, but he didn't know the difference and was very happy. It was a success for him even though it was a failure for me. 

 Luke was so happy to finally be a "big boy". He thinks 4 is the magic number for becoming a big boy. 

He ate the last piece of cake for breakfast this morning (the day after his birthday). 

 

 As far as presents went, he lucked out because I had bought some things a few years ago and forgot about them. Howard found them in the attic around Christmas time, so Luke got them all since he will outgrow them soon. His favorite was an Imaginext Pirate Ship (Black Friday sale). When he opened it he yelled excitedly, "I wanted this!" His presents were all wrapped, since that's still really important to a 4 year old. His birthday was on Sunday, so we had his party on Saturday and saved his presents for his actual birthday. For his birthday dinner he wanted McDonald's, so that's where we were Saturday night. I tried to talk him into sushi, but he wouldn't budge on his choice.

Christmas (and a little extra)

 Earlier in December, Erin had a speaking part in the 4th grade musical. She was a reindeer!

Waiting to sing.

 Just a little bit of her performance. She did great, as well as everyone else (for 9 and 10 year olds).

Christmas

 Christmas Eve after Santa dropped off the presents.

 This was about 2 hours after we finished opening presents - around 8:30am

Jack was very interested in Luke's new tool set, while Luke was happy to watch Howie play a new Wii game. Erin was thrilled to get a doll bed for her American Girl doll. There is a large Hot Wheels Race Track behind the couch and it gets daily use from all of the children.

 Howie played his new Wii game while Howard was in my bedroom setting up Howie's new PS3. Howie freaked out big time when he saw the PS3 Santa brought him. Apparently Howie thinks it's the best present ever. The upside for Howard and I  is that we can now watch Netflix in our bedroom.

 By far, Erin's favorite gift is her iPod touch. It never leaves her side.

 Jack and Luke both love their Lego sets that we got them. I love how they can play for hours, especially Jack. I have a feeling I will be buying him Legos for a LONG time.

Luke showing off his new blue Ninjago minifig.

Overall, we had a successful Christmas season. We finished shopping on Black Friday, so we were able to relax and have fun in December. We looked at Christmas lights twice, made sugar cookies, helped at the City Rescue Mission a couple of times, make gingerbread house, did Advent activities each day, and watched our favorite Christmas movies. I'm a little sad to take down the Christmas decorations this year, normally I can't wait to put it all away. I have one more week to enjoy the Christmas season.

Christmas Snow

We had a small snow storm on Christmas day. Only about an inch of snow, but the wind was brutal. It was so pretty!

Holiday Spirit

December has treated us well. We've been able to do some fun activities without being overwhelmed. Fortunately we finished Christmas shopping shortly after Black Friday.

 

A couple of weeks ago we went downtown to visit the Reindeer after church. Luke and Jack enjoyed it the most. Luke was especially excited.

 This is Blitzen.

 Howie and Erin were a little bored.

 

We also had fun playing near the giant ornament at the base of the Devon Tower.

 

 Luke was able to demonstrate a somersault for us successfully.

We've had some exceptionally nice weather lately and we were able to decorate the house a little more than usual this year. Thanks to Howard and my brother-in-law at Thanksgiving, the job was able to be finished quickly.

 

 Unfortunately the wind knocked down some of their hard work, so the kids "helped" Howard fix it a few days later.

 

Last Friday Howard and I were able to attend his squadron Christmas party. It was the same day as the Connecticut shooting. Despite our smiles, we were pretty sad all day. The party was a nice little break from the horrors of the day. It still breaks my heart just thinking about it and that there are so many parents hurting this Christmas season.

Festival of Lights

Last Saturday evening we went to Chickasha, a small town about 40 minutes southwest of our home. It is home to the Festival of Lights and the nearest Dairy Queen. We hit up both places since we don't make it down there very often. We attempted to view it about 2 years ago, but the car line was miles long (literally) and moving at a snails pace. This time is was about 75F and we decided to arrive early and walk through it. We only wore sweaters because of the wind, but we overheated the more we walked around. In all it was a perfect night. By perfect I mean - no kids threw up (like last time), no complaining, or misbehaving. I like it when my kids behave - it's just makes everything go smoothly.

I didn't pose them in height order, but they just happened to be standing this way for both pictures. It's just a coincidence. 

 

 
 

I snuck in a shot of myself since no one else ever wants to take pictures.

There was a live nativity, but no people that evening. It was just the animals.

There were several little "chapels" on the grounds, so Erin decided she wanted to pretend marry Jack.

Happy Halloween

Our time at the City Rescue Mission on Sunday was cut short (due to an overabundance of volunteers), so we headed home early and took the opportunity to carve our pumpkins.

 We were able to get about 5 cups of seeds for me to roast. Yum!

 We capped the night off with The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. We watch it every year. In fact, we have the boxed set of holiday classics, so every holiday is celebrated with Charlie.

 Wednesday evening was spent in our neighborhood and the neighborhood across from ours. The second neighborhood brought in a much larger haul of candy than our smaller neighborhood. I think next year we'll stick to the other neighborhood. 

Lucas - Buzz Lightyear

Erin - Black cat

Howie - Headless horseman

Jackson - Ninja

Howard- The Scarecrow (from the Wizard of Oz)

Tina - I didn't dress up since I was too busy getting everyone else ready, and I have a growth on both sides of my head, so it's difficult to dress up with that in my way. ;)

Q: Can you guess which pumpkin is Howard's and which one is mine?

Hint: I am a recovered Angry Birds addict and Howard spent his adolescence in Wisconsin

The day after Halloween we organized our candy and I let the kids each fill a quart size bag of their favorites. We sold the rest (about 7 pounds) back to the dentist. The kids earned some money and the candy is being sent to troops overseas. It's a win win for everyone.  And just so everyone knows, my kids are happy with this arrangement. I did not force them to sell their candy back.