Mario Bros. Scavenger Hunt

I searched the internet for a pre-made Mario scavenger hunt but didn't have any luck.  Lots of sites suggested it, but no one posted it.  

So...I'm posting the one we did in the hopes that it will help someone else.  In desperation yesterday afternoon, I went to the site that was advertising Super Mario Bros. for the wii, and copied the descriptions for each world/level.  It all just came together from there.  

I wanted it to be fun, without a lot of clean-up...no way was I setting up an entire obstacle course in my house!  The boys collected a chocolate gold coin with every clue.

World 1

Bright sunny skies and mushroom hills greet you in this first region of the mushroom kingdom.  

Jump on the goomba's to find your next clue.

(Goomba's are the little brown guys. I couldn't find brown balloons and settled for orange)

World 2
The scorching desert is riddled with sand geysers and massive quicksand traps.  Can you keep cool long enough to make it to the castle?
There is a turtle sinking in quicksand in the oven...no wait! It's a penguin!

(I put cornmeal in a small Pyrex bowl in a barely warm oven. The next clue and a picture of the penguin suit were inside)

World 3
You won't be able to chill out too much in this wintry wonderland! Step lightly through icicle-ridden caves and use the penguin suit to slide down snowy hills (stairs) to find an ice flower in the freezer!

(I put the clue and the ice flower picture in a baby food jar, then put the jar in a ziplock container of water with the lid, and froze it.  They had to break the ice with a hammer)

World 4
You'll be dying for a swim once you reach this tropical island paradise, but watch out for the slippery and prickly creatures of the deep!  Use your ice flower power to throw ice cubes at the bad guys and find your next clue.  Don't forget to collect your star!

(I had a blue tub coloring tablet--not food coloring! The alphabet letters were the bad guys, and the clue was floating inside a plastic teapot.  On the edge of the tub, there was a Mario star and some starburst candy.  I told the boys that as long as they were chewing the starburst candy, they would be invincible while finding their next clue)

World 5
Piranha plants and poisonous swamps make a stroll through this forest more than a little treacherous!  Use a flashlight and go out to the garden to find your next clue.

(The star power wasn't enough for Dillon--he was too scared to go outside in the dark, so Caleb did this part for him.  The clue and gold coin were taped to a wooden block with a POW on it.)

World 6
Mountains!  You'll become a pro at scaling walls, and exploring caves by the time you climb to this peak.  Use your POW block to destroy the castle at the top of Mom and Dad's closet.  Collect your next clue, and a fire flower while you're there.

(Caleb knocked down the block castle, and collected fireball candy to throw at Bowser).

Last clue:
Bowser has Princess Peach in his lair.  Hit him with your fireballs to save the princess and collect your treat!

I taped Bowser (standing up) in a box with Princess Peach in the back.  The boys threw their fireballs at him until he was laying down, and collected their prize.

Not a great picture, but it's all I've got.  The prize was Mario fruit snacks that I found at Target last week.

The rest of the day...

After that last post, my day continued downhill.

Our internet went out (for a day and a half) and I discovered I can't even cook dinner without google by my side!  I didn't miss e-mail or blogs, but it drove me crazy when I got my Bountiful basket, and couldn't look up recipes for mangoes, or learn how to open a coconut.

I spent the evening researching for Dillon's "Mario birthday party" by actually playing Mario bros. on the wii, instead of looking things up online.  My boys stood by my side yelling things like, "JUMP MOM!" or "We already told you how to do that!" and "Hurry up! Do you realize you're being timed?"

When I felt I had gained sufficient knowledge of Mario and his friends (and after I saved Toad and conquered level 1), I sent the kids to bed just in time for Dillon to throw up.

He made it to the toilet...sort of.  I think I'm going to have to take the toilet seat apart to clean in all the crevices.

Dillon slept fine through the night, but Caleb woke me up at 3 AM gasping for air.  He could barely breathe. He coughed (barked) and I knew immediately that it was croup (isn't he too old for that?).  I bundled him up and took him outside into the cold air while I called the on-call doctor.  We have a nebulizer so the doctor had me give him a breathing treatment at home, and while I was searching through the medicine cabinet I found one last steroid pouch...hallelujah!...so, we didn't have to go to the clinic in the middle of the night.

In the morning, Dillon threw up again, and I took Caleb in to the doctor to get an oral steroid to keep his trachea from swelling closed again.

We spent the rest of the weekend napping and taking it easy.

Honestly, it was probably the best thing that could've happened.  It's sad that it takes sickness to slow us down sometimes.

I was able to find my kitchen countertops, and when our internet came back on, Todd and I watched old episodes of The Cosby Show while we folded Mt. St. Laundry.

Can I just comment on The Cosby Show?  It is hilarious.  And clean.  It was so refreshing. Our kids were already in bed, but that is one show that I could have playing in my house, and not worry about what my kids might see or hear when they walk through. I can't even think of a current show that I can say that about.

Now I've got to get moving.  Today is Dillon's birthday, and I've got a party to throw.  More pics later...

One of those days...

We got up on the wrong side of the bed at our house today.

One child went to school without breakfast after "dinking around" for too long.

I got an e-mail from one child's teacher letting me know he's behind in homework...again.

I busted my bum to get to the elementary school to be the "mystery reader" in Caleb's class today, but the teacher had forgotten and they were in the middle of an art project so now I get to go back next week instead.

I can't get caught up on laundry, and I haven't seen my kitchen countertop all week.

After I left the school, I felt like going for a drive to "get away" before the kids came home for lunch.  Unfortunately, there's nowhere to "go" here, so on my drive I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy, mailed a package, stopped by the library to see if they had Pioneer Woman's new book that they ordered just for me (it was closed), and tried to get a piece of banana cream pie from the local restaurant to brighten Todd's day (but they were out).

My friend has called me three times to see if I liked the youtube video she sent me last week, and I keep forgetting to watch it.

I wish I could push pause on everyone else while I catch up on life.

I think instead I'll just eat my oatmeal pie, take the rest of the day off to do something fun, and start over tomorrow.

Valentine's Dinner

For our Valentine's Dinner this year, I used bulk candy, heart napkins, and tissue paper for our decor.

I already had the beaded garland with ribbon (DI for $3) and the pink gingham placemats were a wedding gift.  The cake roll is made from two washcloths rolled up and tied with a rubberband and fake cherry!

I used chocolate covered cinnamon bears, bubble tape, and other gummy candies to make these kabobs:

I tried to borrow a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out our pickled beets, but none of my friends had one that was small enough, so I ended up using kitchen sheers.  It worked great!

 We had spaghetti, green salad, and homemade pretzel "love knots".  I made a real cake roll with pink filling for dessert, but I didn't take a picture of it.

 Todd fed Justin sweet potatoes, and I caught this picture of him wearing rubber gloves! 

(he can't stand the mess)

I'm a lucky girl to have FIVE sweethearts on Valentine's Day!

Six Months!

 How can my baby be six months old already!

At 6 mos. Justin:

-loves his exersaucer and jumparoo

-smiles, babbles, and blows raspberries

-had his second ear infection :o(

-finally moved into Dillon's room, but prefers his pack 'n' play in Mom and Dad's room

-can sit up

-graduated to size 3 diapers

-is trying to get up on his knee's to crawl

-has hair that refuses to be combed

-loves attention from his brothers

-stops to look around (several times) during nursing to make sure he's not missing anything

-wears mostly 6-9 mos. clothes

-weighs 16 1/2 lbs!

-continues to have our family wrapped around his little finger.

Falling Behind...

I don't usually go back and try to catch up on blog posts.  If I don't get them up right away, they don't get posted.  I blog for fun and when I get behind it becomes stressful...and who needs extra stress?

But...there are a few things I really want to have recorded, and I ate dinner really late tonight so I decided I'd go back a few weeks and play catch-up while I digest.

During the first week of February, my sister and her cute-face kids drove 7 1/2 hours (ish) to spend some time with us.  It was so fun to have them here!  It was also very convenient.  With Charlotte there, I was able to drive my kids to and from scouts, 4-H, and basketball without loading the baby in and out of the car all week. 

Sam was a big help during chore time.  He helped haul wood every day.  One of my favorite moments was when he asked, "Do these people have a TV?"  (We have a projector in the basement now so we watch our shows on the wall).

I love Livi's face here!  She loves to peel things.  I wish I'd given her that thick-skinned pumelo that I got from Bountiful Baskets!

Char and I played "Mom" during the day, and then stayed up way too late working on digital scrapbooking, and talking.  Oh, how I wish we didn't live so far apart.

Thanks, Char, for making the long trek to our house.  We loved having you here.  I wish the weather had been better...you'll really have to come again in late summer.

Next time you're in line at the grocery store...

Next time you're in line at the grocery store,

pick up the Spring 2011 edition of Quilts and More 

and turn to page 32 to see a quilt that I quilted for Vanessa!

It's called Little Sprouts.

Here it is--pretty cute, huh?

On page 88 you can see this argyle quilt that I helped figure out the measurements on.

My friend Becky quilted this one.

The next edition of this magazine will have another quilt that I quilted. There is also a new Moda Bake Shop book that has a quilt in it that I quilted.  I'll post a picture when I get my hands on the book.