Going out for pizza

Around 3:30 or 4:00 everyday, Jaime and I have the same conversation. It is the "what is for dinner" conversation. I am sure that everyone is familiar with that one. Well, we had a gift card to the California Pizza Kitchen, so tonight I suggested that we take the kids out for pizza. We told the kids and they were excited.

After getting to the restaurant and looking at the menu, I realized that California Pizza Kitchen is not known for a normal variety of pizza. (It had been a while since I had eaten there.) The whole menu is specialty pizzas and our family is like most in that we all like different kinds. We decided to opt for the BBQ chicken pizza, which was great and then we took a chance on a new pizza. It was the cheeseburger pizza. Seeing that it comes complete with lettuce and tomato, we ordered with with the meat and cheese topping only, but with the addition of tomato on half. Then the waitress mentioned that the sauce was a blend of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and pickles. This should have been our first clue to abort this decision, but we said that would be okay. In my defense, I honestly thought it would be more of a ketchup/tomato flavor in the sauce, not more mayonnaise/mustard flavor. They brought out the pizza and we gave a slice to the kids and they began to eat and here is where everything went downhill.

Blake took a bite and made a face like he was about to vomit. He sat there with his mouth open making a "get this out of my mouth" sound, but he eventually swallowed it. Hallie took a bite and immediately screamed "yuck" and then spit her piece out onto the table. We got on to Hallie for doing that. While that was going on, Daniel had taken a bite and immediately started to cry because he didn't like it either. He just sat there with his mouth wide open, showing the whole restaurant the pizza in his mouth, while he was crying as hard as he could. Jaime allowed him to spit the bite out of his mouth, which he did, and then continued to cry. Andrew ate a couple of bites, but seeing the commotion that the others were making, he declared that he didn't like it and wouldn't eat anymore.

Thinking that it could not be that bad, I took a bite. I did not spit it out, cry, or announce to the restaurant that it tasted horrible, but it did not taste like pizza at all. When they say "cheeseburger pizza", they mean "cheeseburger shaped like a pizza". It tasted exactly like a cheeseburger. You tasted the cheese and meat, but you mainly tasted the mayonnaise and mustard in the sauce. Jaime took a bite and did not like it either.

After we assured the kids we would order them another pizza, they stopped crying and settled down. Seeing that our whole family did not like the pizza, the waitress offered to remove the pizza from our table and to have the manager remove it from our check. We replaced it with a ham and pineapple pizza, which the kids all ate.

As we were waiting for the check, I heard our waitress tell another table that the cheeseburger pizza was their newest pizza and had only been on the menu for one day. I wanted to tell them not to order it and that the cheeseburger pizza was the whole reason my kids were crying, but why should we get to have all of the fun.

Easter

Our Easter morning started off early, around 5:15, so that we could all make it to the 7:00 church service. There were no Easter baskets filled with candy when the kids woke up. They were told that the baskets would most likely show up after church, which they did. After a great service and Sunday school lesson, we headed home to get ready for the afternoon fun. We stood outside for a couple minutes and took some pictures of the kids in their Sunday best.

We headed over to a friend's house for an Easter Extravaganza and lunch. There, we ate and ate and ate some more. Our kids didn't seem to eat much and were content to play in the backyard. Later in the afternoon, they did manage to eat some brownies, cake, and cupcakes.

After lunch, it was time for the egg hunt. The kids went inside while the adults hid the eggs. As you know, you can't have anyone get an advantage by seeing where you are hiding the eggs, but when you are hiding possibly more than 100 eggs, they are all hidden in the open so you can't help but to see them. The kids ran through the yard picking up plastic eggs like they were gold coins. It was a blast.

After every egg was gathered, all of the kids sat on the lawn and sorted out their loot. After seeing what their friends had found in their eggs, the trading began. They traded jelly beans for M&Ms, toys for other toys, candy for toys, etc. Daniel did find an egg with a quarter in it, but that was the only money that I noticed. Eventually, everyone was satisfied with what they had and ate a little of the candy and played with their toys.

When it was time to leave, we only had to drive about 2 minutes down the road, which was a good thing. After we got home and took baths, our kids crashed. They were so worn out that they even slept through the storm that rolled in that night. It was a great day.

Here are some pictures of dying easter eggs the night before.

April Fools!!!! (plus 3 days)

This morning I got in the shower to get ready for the day. As I looked down to pick up the shampoo, I noticed that it was not there. Also, the soap was gone too. When I noticed that it was not in the shower, I got out to look around the bathroom, but couldn't find it. Jaime came in at that point and asked what was wrong. I told her that I could not find the shampoo or the soap. She looked and didn't see it either.

The kids spent the night with my mother last night, so we thought that maybe Blake had packed it. (It seemed like something that he would do.) Jaime called and Hallie answered the phone. She asked Hallie if Blake had packed the shampoo and soap and Hallie said no. She said " It's hidden". Then Jaime asked where. Hallie added, in a matter of fact tone, that it was behind the toilet. Jaime looked and sure enough, there was the shampoo, the conditioner, and the soap. Jaime laughed and asked Hallie why she put it behind the toilet and Hallie replied, "April Fools".

There was nothing to do other than laugh and tell her that she had pulled a good one. It was hilarious. She later said that she got the idea from a show on the Disney Channel. Regardless where it came from, it was a good one.

Hopefully, she knows that April fools is only for one day in April, not all 30.

Learning to Ride

A week or so ago, Hallie went to visit her friend, Mason. (He is the one who sent her the love letter in the previous blog story.) Mason learned to ride his bike and wanted Hallie to bring hers over when she came. Seeing Mason ride without training wheels made Hallie want to learn. For all who know Hallie, you know that she can't let someone know how to do something that she can't do.

This past weekend, Hallie insisted that I take the training wheels off of her bicycle. I didn't really want to because I didn't want to spend the day holding the back of a bicycle and watching her fall down repeatedly, but since she really wanted to try, I removed the training wheels.

We made a couple of trips across our driveway while I was holding onto the back of her seat. I walked away for a second to take a drink of my water and when I turned back around, Hallie was riding her bike. She made about 5-6 revolutions with the pedals and screamed, "Did you see that?" From that point on, she just started riding. We ran out of room in the driveway, so we went down to the cul de sac. She rode and rode and rode. She did fall twice, but only cried once because she saw blood. Once the bandaid was on, she was back on the bicycle.

I would say that it was the easiest bike riding lesson ever, only there was no lesson. She just did it. I guess there is no substitute for no fear and extreme determination.

Snow Day

We have snow. Yes we do. We have snow. How 'bout you?

This morning we all woke up to snow on the ground. Jaime saw it first and we waited for Andrew and Daniel to wake up. Blake and Hallie were at Bidee's house. Andrew woke up and without even coming downstairs, we heard him yell, "Daniel, it is snowing outside of our window". I don't know what made him decide to look out his window, but he did and was very excited.

We immediately got dressed and ran outside to play. We caught some snowflakes on our tongues, threw some snowballs, and made a little snowman. The snowman didn't last long because Daniel decided to kick it over.

Here is some video of Andrew and Daniel enjoying the snow.

When the snow slacked up a little and before it got really bad, I drove out to Bidee's to get Blake and Hallie. They had made a snowman and were making snow ice cream when I got there. We rushed out the door to make it back home.

Once we got home, we all suited up again and played some more. Hallie wanted to make a big snowman, so we did. Blake wanted a snowball fight, so we did that too. Hallie and Daniel wanted to make an even bigger second snowman, so we did that too. After everyone talked of being cold and wet, we scooped some snow in a big bowl, went inside, and made some snow ice cream. It was a blast.

A few hours later the snow was gone and one of our snowmen had fallen to the ground. We went out again and Hallie and Daniel smashed the other snowman to the ground with a baseball bat.

In a year or two or ten, maybe we will get to do it all again.

The Name Game

Andrew and Daniel have started a new, for lack of a better word, game when we are going places in the car. The game is they think of everyone that they know and ask Jaime and I that person's whole name. Normally, it is us, them, Blake, Hallie, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.

The other morning, on the way to school, they started the game. After going through the usual suspects, Daniel thought of someone that he has never asked before. "Daddy, what is Santa's whole name?" I chuckled and then told him that it was Santa Claus. Then he really threw me a curve.

"Daddy, what is God's whole name?" The first thing that popped in my head was the many sermons Pastor Buddy had preached using God's name. I told Daniel that God's whole name was Yahweh (I am). He told me that I was wrong and God's whole name was Yahweh God.

Then he asked, "what is Jesus' whole name?" I completely drew a blank for some reason. (Jaime later told me this one was easy, Jesus Christ.) I couldn't think so I just told him Jesus' whole name was Jesus. He again told me that I was wrong and said that Jesus' whole name was Jesus Is Strong. Then he started to sing, "they are weak, but he is strong". Then he said, "See Daddy, Jesus Is Strong". How do you disagree with that?

Talent that every boy should have

A few nights back, the kids decided that they wanted pancakes for dinner. Blake and Andrew seemed to be in an eating contest to find out who could eat the most. Blake ended up eating 6, slightly edging out Andrew, who ate 5.

After dinner, it was bath time. We finished bathing Andrew and Daniel and then laid them on the floor while we got their pajamas. They started playing and rolling around on the floor. Then Andrew broke large, cut the cheese, stepped on a frog, or just plain farted. (However you want to say it.)

Being a normal 3-99 year old boy, he thought it was hilarious and so did Daniel. Because he got such a great response, he fired another shot. They both laughed again. Of course, I thought it was hilarious too. Then he did it again and again and again and again. He ripped off about 15-20 in a row. Even Jaime couldn't help but laugh.

As a father, it was a glorious moment. One of my sons has the gift or maybe it was just the pancakes. You know what they say, "Pancakes, pancakes, good for the heart . . . "