Mission: Hogwarts

     For Halloween, we decided to have a Harry Potter themed play date! Some of the kids even dressed up for Hogwarts.

     First we painted fake pumpkins and then showed the kids how to melt crayon onto the pumpkins. I cheated and had glued the crayons on the pumpkin the night before to make sure they would stay on during melting. That was a huge hit. Though I made certain I had boxes for everyone to take their new pumpkin home in, I wanted them painted first so that they had a chance to dry as much as possible before they had to go home. We used washable paint, but no reason to take any unnecessary chances.

     We then decided to learn some magical spells. I blew up a bunch of balloon and handed the kids wands. They then had to say "Leviosa" while using their wands to keep the balloons in the air. This was a huge hit and kept them busy for a while.

     After tearing them away from their magic lessons, we then decorated Bibles for the shoebox party in November. We managed to decorate all 30 of them and finished the notebooks we hadn't been able to get to last time!

     James Tiberius Cat also joined in the fun and willingly (mostly) dressed up as well. Another success!

Mission: Pirate Treasure

     What child doesn't want to dress like a pirate and then do a pirate treasure hunt? I originally wanted the kids to have to either follow a picture map or solve a puzzle of sorts at each spot on the treasure hunt, but, since the kids can't read yet, I had to go another route. I ended up creating a sort of obstacle course where the kids had to find something at each place before they could go to the next spot. I did end up having to move the treasure hunt inside since the weather turned nasty, but the kids still loved it. The kids were told to dress like a pirate and, not wanting to be left out, James also had a pirate costume.

     At each stop in the treasure hunt, I had a small ball wrapped in pirate fabric that the kids had to find before they could move to the next spot. In the dining, I mean craft, room, I turned the table into a cave of sorts. I put a sheet on top of it to enclose it and then taped streamers underneath the table that the kids had to go through to find the little ball that I had hidden in there. It didn't take long for the kids to find that one, but they did bonk their heads a few times while under there. Thankfully, no tears. The kids then had to go up the stairs through a "spider web" to get through the hallway. There was no ball for them to find this time, but they had a blast doing their ninja moves.

     After the spider web, they had to go into the garden tub which I had transformed into a ball pit. I didn't have enough balls, so I blew up a number of balloons to fill it up. The kids didn't care and the faux ball pit was their favorite part of the whole thing. It didn't take them long to find the ball I had hidden in there, but they decided to stay for a while and even went back after we had finished lunch and the crafts.

     I had created a much better cave out of the hallway using more sheets and a play tunnel that I had borrowed from a coworkers. The cat really liked this one though this was a close second for the kids. At the end of the tunnels I had put some glow in the dark rocks along with the pirate ball for them to find.

     After finding all of the balls, the kids got their pirate booty. One of the other moms did a wonderful job of making little pirate boxes of stuff for the kids. It really doesn't take much to make them excited at this age.
     After the treasure hunt was completed, we did two crafts: one for the kids and one for other children. For themselves, I cheated this month and got the pirate treasure chest craft kits from Oriental Trading. The kids had fun painting and decorating their boxes.
     For the past few years, Bea and I have been packing shoeboxes as part of the Christmas Child Shoebox program. So, for service, the kids decorated notebooks for that we would then pack into shoeboxes come November. We used stickers to make it easier and then kept telling them that these were for kids who couldn't afford notebooks or school supplies to be able to go to school.

     The kids had a blast and, again, James the cat slept well afterwards. All of the kids dragged their parents upstairs to check out the ball pit and the parents helped me find all the balls. Around 2 am, James got his revenge by playing with some balls we had missed under our bed. My husband has since banned any ball pits in our bedroom or bathroom. He didn't say anything about a ball pit in another room though.... :)

Mission: Pretend Sleepover

Our daughter is now of the age, 5, where she is ready for playdates. Being one with my nerdiness, I knew I would handle them better with a plan (and my husband out of the house) instead of the friends just coming over and doing whatever they wanted. So, I decided to host themed play dates! The have gotten a lot more detailed as the months have past, but are actually easy and fun to do.

One of my daughter's friends really wanted to have a sleep over but, not wanting to have to figure out how to put a bunch of five year olds to bed or wanting to deal with one or more of them getting upset and wanting to go home after I was ready to go to bed, I decided to go with a pretend sleepover as our first play date.

To make it more authentic, I put blankets on all of the windows to make the den dark. The girls all arrived in their pajamas and with their sleeping bags. The cat knew something was up, but is too young to figure out that he should run for the basement as soon as he hears the first girlish squeal.

They ate pizza and s'mores while watching movies in the comfort of their sleeping bags. They all had a blast playing and chasing the poor kitty around the house. I have to admit that he took it very well and, once he woke from his very long and deserved nap,  was rewarded with lots of treat.

For the craft, we tried making stained glass lanterns with crayons and wax paper. We followed the directions given by Martha Stewart, where we used an iron to try to melt them. That didn't work so I put them in the oven between two cookie pans which did work for melting. Of course, it took a while for Dave to clean the iron and we smelled crayons for about a week every time Dave turned on the oven. I did learn after this to always try out the craft before doing it with the kids so that I can find any pit falls and can make any needed changes.

George Mason Commencement 2014

The big day was finally here. Amy and Brandy were dragged to campus early since I had to be there in time for a breakfast and lesson on how to wear my hood.

 

This poor guy was already tired from celebrating and the event hadn't even started yet.

Then it was time to wait. The whole hooding lesson consisted of us being told to ensure the hood is draped correctly on our arm. They came by to check twice after telling us how to do I three times.

 

Then it was time to line up and start the march from the JC to the Patriot Center. The PhDers pulled up the rear.

 Mark giving his thumbs up to the event.

 

 

One of the cool things about getting your PhD is that you are the only group who get to walk across the stage at commencement.

 

Then it was over and time to turn in the gowns and sit in traffic. Though I am very happy to be done, I have to say that I am a little sad too. This degree was the culmination of 7 years of my life. I will miss the friends I made as well as the professors and wonderful staff. I know that I will still stay in contact with a lot of them, but it won't quite be the same as our weekly meetings, late nights in the library working on homework, a project, or studying for a test, or just seeing them on campus. 

 

And yes, I was the only grad student I say wearing Honors Council cords. :)

Seattle 2012

Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental. August 2, 2012

Today we head to Seattle by way of Detroit. I can't recommend Detroit. I have to say that, for a city that has the highest murder rate, the airport is quite nice. We did have some entertainment with a flight (not ours) being cancelled because the captain was missing (passengers weren't happy).

Dave's airplane karma held so we were seated in front of the bathroom and surrounded by boisterous kids. I brought a bottle of Benadryl, but Dave said I wasn't allowed to spike their Pepsi.
Once we made it to Seattle, Uncle Dad and Aunt Corinne picked us up. They were held up a bit by a drug bust in the cell phone lot.

We are now safe and sound in the B&B. We were greeted by one of the resident cats and dog and are now going to collapse for the night.
Susan

Marriage is hard enough without bringing such low expectations into it.
August 3, 2012

After a great breakfast at the B&B, we headed to Matthew's to work in his deck. When Matthew ripped the crotch out of his pants, Dave tried to convince him to use the tool belt as a loin cloth, but Matt wasn't brave enough for that kind of fashion statement. I personally thought he could have fixed it with duct tape. The government uses it all the time so it has to be good.

While everyone else worked hard, Aunt Corinne and I supervised, made sure everyone stayed fed and hydrated, and even fixed some boo boos. All of the batteries in the power tools finally died and refused to recharge (claimed they were too hot), so we called it day.

After quick showers, we all headed to the Crab Pot for a big family dinner. Both clans came for an old fashioned crab boil. Though dinner was uneventful, there was some excitement in the parking lot when we left. Everyone in our party was spared,someone gang of kids broke the windows of 13 cars to steal stuff lying around.

Then it was time to head back to the B&B. We grabbed some chocolate on the way as a snack. Since we have to get up early tomorrow to continue working on the house, it is definitely time for bed.

Susan
P.S. The subject lines are quotes from Sleepless in Seattle.

"Well, this is fate! She's divorced, we don't want to redo the cabinets, and you need a wife. What do they call it when everything intersects?" "The Bermuda Triangle."
August 4, 2012

Today Aunt Corinne and I were road warriors while the men worked on the deck. We fetched coffee, lunch, replacement bits and tape measures, friends from the airport, and later dinner. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

The men made great progress and will hopefully finish it up tomorrow. Of course they won't be able to work as late since we have the wedding reception at 5. There was some confusion regarding the dress code. Some people brought jeans while others have brought suits and little black dresses so the dancing and bonfires should be interesting.

Everyone is worn out now so I see an early bedtime tonight.

Susan

Verbal ability is a highly overrated thing in a guy, and it's our pathetic need for it that gets us into so much trouble.
August 5, 2012

Our B&B is very nice, but is in the middle of nowhere. Garmin actually says we're floating in a forest. It is nice and quiet at least.

  

Today we're working on the deck again. We're down to just Matthew, Uncle Dad, and Dave, but they have a good system going. Aunt Corinne and I carried boards and fetched refreshments.

Matthew was complaining that Dave and I brought the heat with us. It was up to 90. Matt couldn't understand how Dave was comfortable in pants while he was sweating like Cybaca. The poor dog was trying to stay cool in the shade and her ball so I couldn't throw it anymore. There was actually a heat advisory for the temperature! Northerners....

   

King County gives Big Brother a run for its money. They take satellite pictures every two years to track what people have done on their land and ensure they had the proper permits. Apparently that's how Matthew got into trouble for his garage.

 Then it was time to head back to get ready for the party. We stopped by Safeway to get some Aloe and I managed to offend a man in food stamps. He couldn't remember the pin so I, trying to be helpful and not realizing it was not a check card, told him to use it as credit card. He didn't appreciate it. Though Matthew said we could show up naked, we decided to go for jeans. The party was held at John's Place. The owner named it after his friend who died. On the way there, we passed a student driver who managed to total a Cadillac (what moron teaches students to drive in a Cadillac) and a man who got his water out of a fire hydrant.

The party was quite nice. People were allowed to bring their dogs and they kept an eye on the kitchen to make sure no shenanigans occurred. Uncle Dad and Madison both gave wonderful toasts and then it was time for the dancing and hay rides. Since we are heading back to work on the porch tomorrow, we left when the party started to really get going. We headed back to the B&B to get some sleep. We stopped to grab some ice cream on the way to finish a great night.

Morning will be here soon so better head to bed.
Susan

Your destiny can be your doom.
August 6, 2012

 Today Aunt Corinne and I played road warriors again. Dave, Matthew, and Uncle Dad almost finished the deck, but ram out of screws. Matthew offered to fly us back to help him finish it and other pieces of the house. He also said Dave was quite durable.

While the Northerners sat in the sun complaining about the heat (low 90's), Dave and I sat in the shade with the fan. Silly Yankees. :)

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport. Dave and Uncle Dad took showers at Matt and Robin's house to spare the passengers. Since they had worn the same work clothes the entire time we were there, the hammers came in handy to prevent the clothes from walking away and get them into the luggage. We got to eat dinner with Aunt Corinne and Uncle Dad before their plane took off to Alaska. Dave and I are now awaiting our flight to head back home. We seem to be in the hinter boonies called the S gates. It seems to be the area that time and personnel forgot with the bathrooms still having ash trays in them. It does look like they are trying to update the place, but it mostly looks like a big mess. We made it to Detroit and it appears some people have a rough night. That or the police are using Delta blankets to cover dead bodies. Some actually have little tents set up.

It was a long trip, but we have now made it home. Dave and Trixie are now doing laundry (his deck building clothes will need an extra wash) and I'm on the way to work. Yes, I did shower first.