Kansas Day

For the 3rd straight year, I signed up to provide Kansas Day treats for the boy's classes....and when I say I signed up, I mean I signed my sister up for the work! I wanted to change things up.... we've done the state of Kansas and a sunflower cookie the past 2 years, which my sister has never enjoyed the way her sunflower turned out, so I tried something new. Riley, who wanted cookies, got the state and a honeybee (the state insect). Reece got sunflower cupcakes.... from Pinterest.

The instructions happen to be in Spanish, but the pictures are enough to get you through it.... if you are talented enough to handle a pastry bag properly. The original plan involved Joanna making the cupcakes, but she decided to make it a teaching moment. Let's just say, I've hung up my cupcake making career after this task. I had actually NEVER made cupcakes before.... EVER! I always found it easier dumping the entire cake batter in the cake pan to bake. Well, since not convincing Joanna to make the cupcakes for me was my first FAIL, only getting 21 cupcakes, instead of a whole 2 dozen, was my second FAIL.... and it all went down hill from there. Thankfully, I was presenting these cupcakes to a bunch of 2nd graders and not Martha Stewart.

All of the Kansas Day treats.... the Jayhawk was for Riley's teacher, who was born and raised in Lawrence. I forgot to order it without the KU, since it's the Kansas University Day, but I'm sure she didn't mind.... Yes! The Jayhawk is a Kansas Symbol. Those of us awesome people, lucky enough to be born in Kansas, are Jayhawkers.

My best cupcake! Don't let the camera angle fool you.... it really didn't look this good any other way.

Me being silly.... what I wanted, and what I got.
Picture stolen from website.

These are out of order.... after all 2 hours and 10 mins of making petals. It was 3 layers.... this last layer only took me 20 minutes.

After my 2nd layer.... took 50 minutes to do.

My first layer took me a whopping 1 hour to complete... I had to take a break and drive to pick up the cookies from my sister.

"Oreos" to start.... the fake kind.

My first ever baked cupcakes.... they don't look so good. :(

What I envisioned.... never again! Joanna will never talk me into this again!

This is what makes me sick.... look at Joanna's very first attempt and my very first attempt!! Why I decided I could handle this I don't know... but it's over and hopefully Reece knows how much I LOVE HIM! 

Star of the Week

Reece was the STAR OF THE WEEK at school, so here are the pictures he chose himself to share with his class.

His paper says...
My Spotlight facts about this star!
I am 8 years old.
My birthday is Dec 8.
My eyes are bluc.
I want to be a Lowe's worker.
***
In my free time I like to play video games, Legos and spend money.
***
My favorite things:
color: blue
animal: cat
food: burrito
sport: soccer
tv show: Spongebob
holiday: Christmas
I like school because: my teacher

Anniversary Sapphires

I guess someone has been a good girl this year...

Jake surprised me with a sapphire necklace that he designed himself at a local jewelry store.

Now I just need to dress up my everyday attire, so I can wear it more often!

(hint hint)

We went to eat a Diamaru, a Japanese steakhouse, for our anniversary. It was a family affair.... It was delicious! I snapped a couple pictures of the boys, but was too shy to take pictures of the chef as he was preparing our meal in front of us. The boys can't wait to go back.

This picture doesn't show how cool Reece thought he was for getting an adult size drink.
(Guess how many times we used the restroom before we left ;)

Constructive Criticism

Reece comes home today and says, "Mom, I'm not saying anything bad about your cooking, but today my peanut butter and jelly had a little too much peanut butter."

Big Jay

We are so lucky to have a life size Big Jay in the house. Every home game, KU gives away a freebie, and we are now owners of a few new growth charts. Hope he doesn't spook Jake and I in the middle of the night.

Pay Heed

We finally got to cash in our Christmas tickets to watch the Jayhawks play some basketball vs. the Temple Owls. When we left McPherson at 10 am, we were talking about how thankful we were the weather was so nice.... when we got to Lawrence, it seemed to be a bit more brisk. Oh, well. We had a great time.... minus the mini heart attack the team put us through most of the 2nd half.

We were way up in the corner... amazing how so much money can get you so little view! Actually, there really isn't a bad seat in the house, but Riley watched the video of the game on the scoreboard most of the time. Darn tall people! Reece stood up on his seat quite a bit.

Final score: KU-69, Temple-62
We got the decibel sound up the 112.2 at the start of the game! Woohoo!

This is a "zoomed" picture.... I really could see everything, just my camera makes it look like we are miles away!

"Unzoomed" version. 16,300 fans, at least eventually there will be, when all those seats are filled up.

This will help the pregame go a bit smoother.

Boys and Mom!

Dad and boys!

A picture a couple levels down from where we got to sit.

Hey, Dad!

The original Kansas Hardwood floor.

The 2008 Championship trophy! Time to get another one!

First time to see The Allen Fieldhouse. 

Ready to start the trip!

Mom and boys before we hit the road, showing off our newest Jayhawk shirts.

Almost there! Home of the Jayhawks!

The game had all sorts of excitement and drama. We had control the first half, even though we were missing easy shots. I swear the bucket had a lid.... the 2nd half didn't treat us much better and Temple made a run to take the lead. Oh, the stress! But we ground it out and eventually things clicked for the 30th home game winning streak. 

The boys didn't always look thrilled, but when I asked if we should do this again, or if mom and dad should just go by themselves, we got an overwhelming YES we should do it again! When we find the money tree we'll do this way more often. Nothing like being in The Allen Fieldhouse for  a Kansas basketball game. 

"Pay Heed, All Who Enter, Beware of the Phog."

Rock Chalk!

"Dear Mom"

Got my first "Dear Mom" last night. Reece is an amazing speller for a 2nd grader. Just one misspelling and technically it's the right spelling, but wrong whole/hole. His handwriting is lovely too! I'm going to love this process!