Merry Christmas! Treasure Hunt

Christmas morning began as usual, with a pile of presents from Santa.

Then, what's that?!  There's something shiny inside the tree...

It's an envelope addressed to Bronwen, Lila, Adam and Corinne!  Here's what it says:

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Now, open up your eyes.

I hope you all are ready for a Christmas Day surprise.

Santa Claus helped Mom and Dad prepare this gift for you,

But you’ll need to be clever and work together to follow all the clues.

First, here’s an easy hint for you that we will give:

You’ll find the next clue in the spot where Princes and Princesses live.

So they all ran upstairs to the play room and headed straight for the Princess Castle...

Lila found the next clue and opened the envelope.  Though Lila is a good reader, the clue-printers used a fancy cursive-style font (called "Zapfino" for you font aficionados).  So, Bronwen read the next clue:

Great job, you’re quick!  That took no time at all.

The present that you’re looking for is really not so small.

Your next clue awaits you in a tricky place to hide:

It’s in the thing you go to when you want to take a ride.

But, not just any ride will do—we might be going far,

So we’re riding super-duper fast in a shiny red race car!

This was a tough one, but our brave adventurers eventually figured out that Lila and Adam like to ride bikes.  Lightning McQueen is a shiny red race car, so they raced back downstairs to get to Adam's new Lightning McQueen bike in the garage:

The next clue read:

Good for you!  You’re right on track.  But do you have a read

On the secret hidden Christmas gift to which these clues might lead?

The spots where all the clues are hidden have a common theme;

If you know it, keep it to yourself; for goodness sake don’t scream.

Let’s proceed with our adventure, don’t be too quick to respond;

The next clue will take you to “Infinity and beyond!”

Bronwen was first to dash back upstairs, but ran into the play room looking for one of Adam's several Buzz Lightyear toys.  However, the Buzz holding the next clue was in the Middles' room, so Adam got there first and opened up the next clue:

Awesome!  You’re doing a great job and you’ve come a long, long way;

Just a couple more clues will lead you to your special gift today.

Solving this next clue will make you happy as a lark;

Think of what you must be if you’re afraid when you’re in the dark.

Buzz Lightyear is always ready to defend his friends and mates;

The last clue is held by someone you know who finally changed her Fate.

Bronwen and Lila darted back to the play room to look for Merida from the movie "Brave."  Merida was, of course, holding the final clue:

Bronwen and Lila had a discussion about who would get to read the last clue.  Lila wanted to try to read the fancy writing.  But, a compromise was reached where Bronwen read the final clue while Lila held onto all the previous clues:

Stupendous job!  Just one more clue will lead you to your gift.

So hurry, there’s no time to lose, get shoes on and be swift.

This final clue reveals the secrets of your Christmas mystery;

Have you figured out the meaning behind the clues we’ve given thee?

So, quick! Prepare for laughter, thrills, excitement, fun and more;

Christmas Magic is waiting for you right outside our front door!

Adam did not want to put on his shoes.  Or he thought it was too cold outside.  Or both.  But, Bronwen scrambled to get some shoes on.  Lila decided that slippers were good enough to count as shoes; the cold did not deter the girls from bolting outside to find the prize:

After bringing the shiny red package back into the house, Dja Dja and Adam joined the girls to open the box and read the final note:

Congratulations!  You found it!  Now, let’s see what’s inside.

These boxes hold what you’ve been seeking; It’s been a wild ride.

These Magic Bands are truly magical, not just decoration;

There’s one for each of you to bring on our stupendous fun vacation!

In January we’ll pack our bags and head out on the road

To meet Belle and Rapunzel and Buzz and more; to Disney World we’ll go!

Birthday Wishes

Tis the season, to wish Aunt Jana Happy Birthday once again! Try number 1, with Lila in bed...

Video

Try number 2, with an out-of-sorts Adam...

Video

Wise Child

Okay, so I was talking to Bronwen about her school day, and she mentioned how they had cupcakes for someone's birthday.  I asked her if they had their usual Friday ice cream treat as well...well, here you go.

Me: "Did you have ice cream too?"
B: "No Mom, that is only on FRIDAYS."
Me: "Oh right, today is only Thursday.  I thought it was Friday already."
B: "Savor time, Mom."

September 25

Lila, in playroom, coloring a picture of her, Aidan, TJ, and me.  She talks aloud, noting that TJ has black hair and blue eyes.  I say, "Yes, Daddy does have blue eyes!"  She says, "No Mama, I am talking to MYSELF."  I say, "Can't I talk to you too?" She replies, "No!  Myself just wants to talk to myself right now."

Safe!

When we were at the mountain house for the 4th of July, TJ had Adam outside during the beginning of a storm.  I went out and asked him to bring Adam inside, and TJ basically ignored me.  2 minutes later, the loudest clap of thunder ever sounded, and poor Adam freaked out.

Two weeks later, we were home and TJ had Adam outside once again.  A storm started brewing, and yet again, TJ kept him out too long, and KABOOM! huge thunderclap and trauma inflicted upon our youngest child.

Ever since, Adam will hear any sound (airplane, car, etc) and get a freaked out look on his face and say, "Thunder! Thunder!" (okay, it sounds more like "Thundah! Thundah!")  Sometimes he will add "storm" to it too. 

So today we were hanging out in the playroom, it is bright and sunny outside, and Adam runs into the puppet theater saying "Safe!  Safe!  Thundah storm!"  Apparently, he now has a safe place to stay. 

Church 8/12/2012

I know I have been a little lax about updating the blog--so much to do, so little time!  I think I am going to try to go back to my daily snippets of hilarity whenever possible. 

One of these days, I am going to get to work on my scrapbooking...I only have 5-years' worth to get through.  Sigh.

Okay, so today at church, Lila was writing and drawing on church envelopes, and she wrote, "Lila," the "Mama," and then "Mimi."  She turns to me and asks me how to spell Adam.  I told her, and then she asked how to spell Daddy.  Within 5 seconds, she turns to me and says, "Mama, how do you spell magnifying glass?"

Adam

Not sure if I mentioned this, but he is counting.  And instead of "yes" he likes to say "Yep."  Plus he has 4 more teeth coming in at once, so for a couple of weeks he had a finger stuck in his mouth constantly.  Luckily, that seems to have abated.