The Chocolate Wonderfall

James came home from school with a really good report card Friday, so we decided to reward him going back to the Golden Corral.  James was so excited about seeing the Chocolate Wonderfall that he skipped from the car to the restaurant.  Strangely Seth followed suit.

The Golden Corral is a buffet style restaurant.  James posed with the Chocolate Wonderfall sign while we stood in line to get our plates.

I am a mean mother so the kids were required to visit the salad bar first.

"Hey, Mama, I ate one leaf.  Can I go the dessert bar now?"

Nope!  Main courses were next.  The kids had pizza and I had pot roast and beans.  We all thought the food was ok.  Seth chose some kind of pasta dish with shrimp.  He said it was scary and not in a good way.  Oh well.  We weren't really there for the main courses anyway.

This was the reason for our visit.

And this is the much anticipated Chocolate Wonderfall.

There were all kinds of goodies available for dipping.

It was kind of hard to tear the kids away.

Mmmm.  Chocolate covered strawberries and pizza!

"I wonder how chocolate dipped cotton candy would taste?"

James is still buzzing over the Golden Corral's bounteous dessert bar, but my favorite part of the evening was looking at the night sky on the drive home. 

February 2012

Should I be concerned?

Uh oh.  I just found out that Maggie is buying prescription painkillers under an assumed name.  Who wants to help me with an intervention?

February 2012

Birthday walk

Seth's favorite present this year was a brand new, top of the line, ergonomically correct, retractable dog leash.  Naturally, he couldn't wait to try it out.

The new leash is so cool that James immediately wanted a turn. 

Unfortunately, Darcy's leash manners aren't very good.  She was going to pull James off his feet so this didn't last long. 

This is probably why Darcy's leash manners are so bad.

We got to the park... 

and there was a lot... 

more running! 

Our final destination was Starbucks. 

Darcy and I waited outside...

while the boys made their selections. 

Darcy really wanted a cookie, but she had to settle for a glass of water.

Best friends. 

Doesn't she look smug? 

It was too cold to linger long.  As soon as the cookie was gone, we headed back across Alameda. 

This is a big street so you have to be quick. 

Run, Forest, run! 

Paw prints and shoe prints. 

February 2012

Birthday dinner

Yesterday was Seth's birthday, and he chose the Golden Corral for his birthday dinner.  This had nothing to do with any particular fondness for the Golden Corral.  Mostly he and the kids just wanted to see the Chocolate Wonderfall.

They weren't the only ones.  The line to get in was really, really long.

We thought about waiting it out, but then Ryan broke the Wonderfall sign... 

and we decided maybe the Golden Corral wasn't for us.

Fortunately, we had a back up plan.

Ryan had barely enough time to send one text message...  

before we were seated.

I really wanted to sit next to the birthday boy, but this was ok, too!

Senor Ric's may not have a Chocolate Wonderfall...  

but we had lots of fun anyway!

February 2012

It's a rough life

February 2012

Crime and punishment

I was taking a bath this morning when I heard a familiar thumprustlerustle sound coming from the kitchen.  Normally, I would have got out of the tub to deal with it, but I figured there were three other people in this house that were equally capable.  

Sure enough, a couple minutes later I heard Seth walk into the kitchen and exclaim, "You should see your dog's done to herself."  Fortunately, he took a picture so I could. 

He posted all three of these pictures on Facebook with the following caption:  I did not put the box on her head. I did remove the box from her head after allowing her to reflect on the situation for an appropriate number of days.

February 2012

Things to do when you're snowed in

The Denver area was hit by a huge winter storm yesterday.  Cherry Creek School District cancelled all classes, and Seth was told to work from home.  We were officially snowed in!

Luckily, there's lots to do on a snow day.  James did a little house work...

while Ryan ate flavored snow... 

and drank hot chocolate! 

Seth ventured outside several times to shovel the driveway.

Eventually the kids talked him into helping them build a snow fort.

Despite all the snow, temperatures remained relatively warm, and there was lots of activity on our street.  We visited with the Ayas...

and watched as several people attempted to get out and about.

Not us!  Our cars haven't moved since Thursday evening.  This is the only way we're going anywhere until some of the snow melts!

February 2012