fun | The Angel Forever

Category Archives fun

Halloween 2009

Posted on November 4, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Stuck home and not happy to be in the chair.

Luigi with the lame mustache that came with the costume. It covered the mouth so talking was not possible (Hmmmm. . . . )

Fixed the mustache on the fly. Thank you Avon eye liner!

TechyDad wearing his costume from a wedding he was in last Halloween.

Of course, the rain started right when we went out in the neighborhood:

Having fun with Pluto hat and glow bracelets while waiting to give out candy to those that braved the rain.

As a mostly Wordless Wednesday, I just had to put a few filler items in to explain the photos. Thanks to his febrile seizure Thursday, the little guy was not able to get dressed up and go trick-or-treating. He was still celebrating in his own way. Big kid was able to head out to a few houses after being fever free three days after the week long flu battle.

Categories:
fun holidays jl jsl my boys nhl photos weekend Wordless Wednesday

No school and some Halloween Photo Fun

Posted on November 3, 2009 2:21 pm by TheAngelForever

As you probably know, today is Election Day. The schools in our district are used as polling places, so there are no classes today. Instead, we signed up for parent-teacher conferences and were able to get NHL’s report card. So we packed up the boys, our pumpkin chocolate chip cake to donate to the bake sale and things to keep the boys busy.

At 8:00, we met with NHL’s teacher. He is doing at or above grade level in all academic areas. The areas that he needs to work on are all in the behavior/social realm and developmentally appropriate. One of the items mentioned is that he likes to tell the teachers what other classmates are doing. So we have to reinforce what being a tattle tale is and to mind your own business.

At the end of the 15 minutes, NHL’s computer teacher came to chat with TechyDad. He also happens to be the head of the Chess Club that NHL is a part of. They talked for a few moments about what we need to do to channel NHL’s clear mindset/strategy for Chess. After this, we went to drop off the cake to the cafeteria and went on our way.

We went to vote and saw Papa at work while there. Then we were off to try to get a few things for lunch at home and a chess game for NHL to practice at home.

When we came home, the boys played for awhile. Then, while showing NHL the photos from Halloween, I decided to go into Picnik within Flickr. He wanted to play around with one of the photos of him in the Luigi costume. Check out what NHL made (with a little assistance from me):

He decided that he wanted orange eyes, vampire skin, a ghost with a witch hat on and spider on the web. Then he helped to pick out the colors for the frame on the picture. He thought it was really fun. I think the only complaint he had was I did not have a Premium membership for some of the other fun Halloween features.

When NHL was done, I had some fun with a photos of TechyDad with NHL. Here they are as Zombies:

I will post some of the real Halloween photos soon. Before I go, I was wondering, do you use Picnik? If you do, do you have the Premium membership? Just curious because I have been toying with it for a while now, but not really sure what the paid version includes that I am missing now.

Categories:
fun holidays jl nhl photos school

Apples up on top

Posted on October 28, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

There was apparently a joke with the boys about apples on their heads. Here was a group shot from our apple picking trip. More photos of everyone picking the 35 pounds of apples coming soon.

Categories:
fun jl jsl laughs my boys nhl weekend

Picking 35 pounds of apples

Posted on October 25, 2009 8:07 pm by TheAngelForever

After we picked up NHL from Hebrew School, we went home for lunch. Thanks to the events yesterday, we opted not to go to Six Flags today. Once we were done eating, I suggested that we see if the apple orchard was still allowing pick your own. We went online to check things out and sure enough they were. Today was actually the last day of the pick your own season.

So we packed up the boys and went to the orchard. In just about an hour, we managed to pick all of these apples:

That would be three bags that were not quite filled all the way, yet totaled approximately 35 pounds of apples! Yes, we are now coming up with recipes to use all of these apples in. Of course, the boys and I chowed down on five very large apples that were probably a few pounds right there.

When we drove there, we were not too sure what to expect. Would there still be plenty of apples? Did the frost we had ruin the apples already? Would a lot of other people be there and cause crowds while we explored the orchards? Did we dare go and risk a sudden turn of the weather?

Well, here are the answers to all of the questions:

1 – There were plenty of apples on the trees. Check them out:

2 – The frost was not kind to the look of the apples, but there were plenty that still taste quite amazing. There were a lot of apples that were on the ground.

3 – It was pretty empty at the orchard today. We only saw a few people here and there once we were out among the apples and trees. Most of the time, the only people we saw were hauling their bags of apples to the stand to pay and leave.

4 – The weather was gorgeous. There were absolutely no clouds in the sky. Who knew the fall could be so nice?!

The best part of the adventure was watching the boys (all three of them). They had so much fun and the little guy’s reaction to all of the apples was priceless. At almost two and a half, this is the first time he has gone apple picking. More photos of the kids picking the 35 pounds of apples coming soon.

If you have a great apple recipe (or more) to share, I wold greatly appreciate it. As you can see, we have a lot of apple baking/making ahead of us this week.

Categories:
food glorious food fun my boys photos weather weekend yummy

Game time with Rummino – Giveaway

Posted on October 18, 2009 9:15 pm by TheAngelForever

When TechyDad and I were newlyweds, we went out to the store and bought a bunch of board games. We both loved word games, trivia, and things that would challenge our brains. We used to play the games on Shabbat or when we had friends over. It was a great time without television and computers.

Flash forward to life as the parents of two little boys. When we play board games, they tend to be for the kids. The games that we have for us from before are still packed away in an undisclosed location within the house.

When I was recently asked by Family Review Network to try out a game called Rummino by Marina Games, I was excited. This was the perfect opportunity for TechyDad and I to test out the new game together. You know, actually pry ourselves away from the computers/blogging and play a game just the two of us.

About Rummino:

Rummino is a whole new way to play Rummy! Combining the game play of Rummy with the strategy of word tile games, Rummino is a one of a kind master strategy game for the whole family. The object is to get the highest score at the end of the game. Each player draws 7 tiles and plays them off the sets and runs already on the table. Earn points for every tile you ‘add-on’ to a run or set. Get a two way run and earn extra points. Finish off a run or set and double or triple your points for that play.

The perfect game for family game night, Rummino is easy to learn and fun for the whole family to play! With its ease of learning combined with the strategy involved, this game keeps everyone entertained from the 8 year old learning to play games to the skilled adults desiring a challenge. Watch your opponents moan and groan as you use one tile to score 36 points!

What we thought:

TechyDad read the directions for Rummino and then we sat down to try it out. After we started our first game, we quickly realized we were not playing right. Of course, that was the "Ah-ha" moment! Suddenly everything clicked and we realized that we were making too much of the directions. We put all of the tiles back and started again. This time, we were a bit more competitive. We knew what we were doing and sat there trying to use major strategy to rack up our points. The game lasted for quite some time, but it was a lot of fun. Both TechyDad and I commented today that if we do indeed get rid of our cable television we will have more time to play Rummino and our other cleverly hidden games from the past.

We both really enjoyed Rummino and can not wait for a chance to play again. As we played, we wished that Rummino had come with something to put the tiles on (like in Scrabble). It would have been a lot easier to hide from each other while still being able to see them to strategize. As I mentioned, we had to regroup after an "ooops" with the directions. TechyDad and I were talking about it and we think they may have been a bit too lengthy, thus complicating them. Of course, once we had our "Ah-ha" moment we were good to go and ready to compete. Both of us also agree that we are going to try to have our six year old son try to play next time. We think that with a little coaching/modeling of play he will catch on quickly and enjoy this. Of course, we will still have our adult mind tournaments where we battle for supremacy!

A game of Rummino

1. Time to take 7 tiles, 2. Just starting our Rummino game, 3. TechyDad makes a move

Giveaway:

Thanks to Marina Games, one lucky reader will be able to win their own Rummino to play with family and friends.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What other game from Marina Games would you love to try? Head over to their website here to check out their other games.
1 Bonus Entry – Follow me on Twitter @TheAngelForever and Tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Rummino Game Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Have you played Rummino with your family/friends? Chance to win your own from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/3zddYE
1 Bonus Entry – Let me know who you would love to play Rummino with.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – This is my 1000th blog post. Look around and leave me a comment on another post. Be sure to let me know here where you were.
3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the Rummino giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today October 18th and ends at 10:59 EST on November 1, 2009. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Marina Games. I received a free copy of the game to facilitate my candid review. The opinions expressed are my own.