Oh, dearest Jimmer...no commentary of our 2011 would be complete without mention of our favorite Cougar of all time. So here it is. Our mention of our favorite Cougar of all time. May the Gods continue to smile upon you and give us something to believe in, you staunch adherer to the Honor Code, you.
Valentine's Day is a favorite 'round here...
Shane's classroom party was, well...not run by me. Which is perfectly fine, believe me. It was just a little lighter on pure junk and craziness than the other parties, which, again, is perfectly fine. I just subscribe to the school that they have 3 parties per year, and can't we cut 'em some slack? Feed them something besides grapes and cheese and crackers?
They were handed a worksheet asking them to sort their hearts and estimate how many they could stack in order to create a 3 in' in diameter square, and other such brainiac delights. I get that they're the 'smart' kids, but...no. It's perfectly fine. Shut up, Linda.
But I can't shut up. After all the fun of estimating lengths, they retreated to the rug for cards. Oh, it's lamentable. "Do you remember your 2nd grade Valenting party, Shane?" "Sure! We played cards."
Ty's 4th grade room had a breakfast, and as I was running between his and Eve's simultaneously scheduled soirees (don't ask), I missed a lot of the shenanigans, but apparently, Trevor coveted Ty's box.
I've run the ol' pick-up-the-hearts-with-chopsticks game many a time, and 4th grade always seems to be the perfect time to kick it out - Ty was disappointed he didn't clean up the competition, but those are life lessons I'm only too happy to impart in a holiday setting.
All of the evidence points toward my child eating a Twinkie at 9:30 a.m., and I swear that no one brought them in. It's a mystery.
Ty was a proud participant in the Student Countil candy-gram fundraiser, and each of the Crawford kids received them from the parental units - can't say we're not supportive! At times overtaxed and overextended, but never unsupportive.
Pucker up.
The delivery went smoothly, no complications.
Part of the kindergarten festivities involved the crafting of these chenille-stem bracelets - it was all about creating patterns. We also had them decorate cookies, the thicker the frosting, the better.
We then headed home for our annual reception of mylar balloons, chocoates and Gigi's cupcakes, which boast a good 2" of frosting, guaranteed to make any consumer violently ill. We can't wait to do it again.
Gracie Lou turned 6 on December 27th...and didn't manage a party until February 5th, due, as ever, to a growing amount of swim meets and basketball games. She's such a good sport about postponing joy, and we hoped to stage an amazing effort at re-creating Rapunzel and all of the Tangled magic we could conjure. In mid-blizzard, a full guest list gathered in the Crawford living room to first wow us with their hair-styling abilities and compete for fabulous prizes! Here, Gracie labors with Ella's tresses in a most spectacular way.
Gracie scored this amazing t-shirt prize, thanks to Ella's stylistic masterpiece, seen below:
Check ME out.
We had the gals create wanted posters, and then murals...I LOVE 6-year-old girls. They will paint until the cows come home. Or until the party time has completely run out. Daddy worried somewhat about increasing the party time by 1/2 hour more than we customarily offer for a six-year-old's party, but even had time to sneak the Jimmer game.
There was just enough time for feasting on confections such as the one pictured above, which looked a little somethin' like this...
And then we retired to ceremoniously rip apart boxes and bags and completely ignore the many homemade cards still tucked into Grace's bulletin board - those are the treasures you don't appreciate until MUCH, MUCH later.
Grace was so thrilled, but had these sage words to impart: "Mom, it's hard to have your own party. Everyone wants to play with YOU, and you can't choose because people will be left out." Welcome to greatness, Gracie Lou.
