Survivor - Easter Island

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from the Girls' Night Out Monday evening (first set of Mystery Bag Party Girls... also known as the Soul Sistas). We had a bite to eat at Jim & Nick's, and then enjoyed a couple of hours of boisterous fellowship. Good times... good times.

RANDOMNESS #1 - Yesterday morning, I was taking Roxie to school. There was a truck in front of me driven by a high school student. In front of my very eyes, I watched this truck pass a mailbox... and knock it three feet into the air (meaning it was knocked completely off it's pedestal... or mailbox stand... or whatever you call it). Wow! I have hit that mailbox at least a half dozen times in the 16 years I've been driving my kids to school, but never once did I send it flying. Pretty impressive.

To his credit, the young man pulled over and "took care of things," and I drove by slowly. I couldn't help wondering as I watched him in my rear view mirror if I had loosened the mailbox from it's pedestal... or mailbox stand... or whatever you call it when I whacked it half a dozen times over the course of 16 years.

Or had I been right all along. That one particular mailbox was located WAY TOO CLOSE to the side of the road. On behalf of myself and the truck-driving young man who finally killed the mailbox, I tend to believe it was definitely TOO CLOSE to the side of the road.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

RANDOMNESS #2 - I'm finally getting my permanent crown tomorrow. To say I'm excited to have this procedure completed after five months would be an understatement. To say I'm excited to have a drill in my mouth close to "an almost exposed" nerve would be a downright lie. To say I'm checking on some medication which will put me out until the first of April would be very accurate. Tune in tomorrow. I'll let you know if I survive or not!

RANDOMNESS #3 - I already have a name to put in the bowl for the next Mystery Bag Party. The drawing will be held May 12 and the date of the party will be announced soon after. If you would like to go ahead and put your name in the pot, feel free... but there is still plenty of time!

The following is the second part of the Southern Living article I started yesterday entitled "Our Sunday Best" by Valerie Fraser Luesse. As I said, it just spoke to me about the way things "used to be."

The Hostess Apron - "When you saw my grandmother's mint-green organza apron, you knew some cucumber sandwiches were coming out," my friend Rebecca says. Back in the day, Southern women wore kitchen aprons, which they actually wiped their hands on while they cooked, and hostess aprons, which adorned and protected their good dresses while they served guests. Hostess aprons are all over the Web (girlyaprons.com, jessisteele.com), so this would be a fairly simple charge to lead if we all work together.

Take the Pledge - Preserving our heritage takes commitment. We have to band together. So, Ladies, wherever you are, stand up, raise your right hand, and repeat after me: I, (insert name here), pledge to do my part to bring back the Easter dress. While I'm at it, I pledge never to wear white shoes before Easter or after Labor Day. As for that hostess apron... I pledge to tie one on!

I think I may go apron shopping later today.

Easter "Oldie"

Ahhh! Another Easter "oldie" to add to your collection.

Crescent Roll Tombs

These are a preschool version of the tomb cookies you leave in the oven overnight the night before Easter. (See yesterday's post.)

You will need the following:

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
8 large marshmallows (one for each roll)

1. Mix sugar and cinnamon mixture together and put in an empty and clean salt shaker. Set aside.

2. Pull the crescent rolls apart and have them on several paper plates already in their original triangle form.

3. Let your preschooler use a cooking brush and lightly brush the inside of the crescent roll with butter.

4. Place the marshmallow in the center of the roll and show the child how to roll the crescent roll around it.

5. Let your preschooler brush the outside of the crescent roll with butter.

6. Now the child can sprinkle the top of the crescent roll with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

7. Place all of the finished rolls on a cookie sheet and cook according to the instructions on the crescent roll package.

While the crescent rolls are baking, open your Bible and tell your child the story of the Resurrection. (Read John 21:1-30 to be familiar with the story.)

Explain to your child the marshmallow they used in the recipe represents Jesus after He died on the cross, and was wrapped in the burial clothes. The crescent rolls are like the tomb where they put Jesus' body. Now, you want to wait for the rolls to finish baking.

When you remove the rolls from the oven, you can look through the crescent roll and see that it is empty except for some remnants of the white marshmallow (the burial clothes).

This is just a simple visual example of the story they will hear every year for the rest of their lives. But children are very visual, and seeing something makes it much more real to them.

While you are eating your Crescent Roll Tombs, finish the story of Jesus' Resurrection. Ask the following questions:

1. Did Jesus immediately go back to heaven? (No. He went to talk to his disciples.)

2. Which disciple didn't believe it was Jesus talking to him? (Thomas)

3. What did Thomas have to do to believe it was really and truly Jesus? (He had to touch the holes where the nails had been in Jesus' hands and feet.)

4. Do you think you would have believed it was Jesus?

5. How do you think the disciples felt when they realized it really was Jesus?

NOTE: You can also use a children's version of the Easter story to read to them instead of from the Bible. Pictures keep them interested and the books will be on their level.

Wednesday Wisdom - I'm not sure why, but I wanted to share a few quotes from my favorite character from my favorite book... Anne of Green Gables. I'm just in an "Anne" sort of mood.

I know I chatter on far too much... but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me SOME credit. Anne Shirley.

Ruby Gillis says when she grows up, she wants to have a line of beaus on a string and make them crazy for her. I'd rather have ONE in his rightful mind. Anne Shirley.

And I promise I'll never do it again. That's the one good thing about me. I never do the same wrong thing twice. Anne Shirley. (Ahh. I wish I could say that about myself!)

I love Anne Shirley.

Survivor - Easter Island

Well, it's finally here... and only two years in the planning! Survivor - Easter Island.

This is a transition tradition, of course, designed for tweens, teens and young adults who have outgrown the traditional egg hunt, but still like to have fun together.

My sister and I have decided to divide the teams by family (Martins vs. Faulkners). One team will wear one color buff (or bandanna in our case), and the other family a different color. There will be four people on each team (one dad and three kids each). There will be five challenges, all of which have been inspired by years of watching Survivor. I will describe the challenges below, but as always make it your own!

1. Food Challenge - Three people from each team will compete in this challenge. The first one from each team will have to eat a bowl of pureed carrots (every bite) and return to their team before the next person comes to the food table.

The second person will have to eat a plate of fried parsnips (six or seven strips). When that person has eaten everything on the plate, the third person will step up.

The third person will be blindfolded. When the cover is removed from the third and final plate, there will be a small chocolate Easter bunny, a Peep and a small amount of jelly beans. However, the jelly beans will be the "trick" jelly beans. Some of them will taste like dirt, etc.

That will end the Food Challenge. The team who finishes all three dishes first will receive a point.

2. Obstacle Course - This challenge will depend on your own backyard. My Mom has a fort in the backyard, so one member from each team will stand on the fort and guide their teammates through an obstacle course. The people going through the obstacle course will be blindfolded.

Our course will include the following: walking to a hoola hoop, taking the hoola hoop to a huge tree stump and placing it over the stump; walking to a backyard swing, sitting down and swinging back and forth ten times; finding and picking up two plastic Easter eggs, and keeping them until they return to the starting point; etc. Once a player returns to the starting point, the next player will head out on the course.

There should be one player from each team on the course at all times, with one team member from each team on the fort yelling instructions and directions to their team member on the ground. The first three members from a team who successfully complete the course will be declared the winners of that challenge and will receive a point.

3. Fire Challenge - Yes, we're really going to have a fire challenge using flint. Everything the teams need to make a fire will be available for them to use. There will be a time limit on this challenge (7 to 10 minutes), and if the teams are unable to start a fire, we will call it a tie and move on.

4. Puzzle Challenge - Buy four 25 piece puzzles from the Dollar Tree. Make sure all four are different. Put the puzzles together and paint them all the same solid color. (Since it is Easter, we're going to paint two puzzles lime green and two puzzles light blue.) This should be done a couple of days ahead of the event to make sure the puzzles are nice and dry.

Have a table for each team. The teams have to successfully put ONE puzzle together. Remember, the puzzles are solid colors, and they are mixed in with a completely different puzzle.

When one complete puzzle has been finished by a team, the team is declared a winner and awarded one point.

5. Relay Challenge - Across the yard there will be two tables. On the tables there will be four film canisters, four Mentos and a diet Coke.

One at a time, a member from each team must run to the table, fill the film canister 3/4 full of diet Coke, put a Mentos in the canister, close the canister and run back to his/her teammates. The canister lid will shoot off like a little rocket when the pressure builds in the canister.

Once the canister has "exploded," the next team member will run and repeat the process.

The first team to have all four canisters successfully "explode" will be declared the winner and awarded a point.

Now comes the fun part. Tribal Council! Beverly is going to be Jeff Probst. The losing team must bring their lit torches (tiki torches from my back yard) to Jeff Probst and hear the final words... "The tribe has spoken," right before extinguishing their lit torches.

Just for fun, we're going to record each team member from the losing tribe talking about the loss and their thoughts about the competition in general.

What will I be doing during this time? Why I'm the videographer AND the photographer AND the Challenge setter-upper! When Beverly isn't "being" Jeff Probst, she will also be working cameras and helping with the set-up.

Unfortunately, as of today, I cannot tell you if this is going to be a success or not. We're hopeful, but we won't know for sure until April 4. Check back April 5 to see how it all unfolds!

Have a lovely Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll have a fun date, Blog Linkage, another Easter "oldie," and some randomness to share. It should be a good day.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda