Happy Birthday Caleb and Owen

Hello my raviolis and let grandma-ma wish Caleb and Owen the happiest of birthday's today.  These Aurora raviolis are ten today. 

10

What a wonderful age to be.  Now,if grandma-ma was in Colorado she would make you a stupendous cake.  But she is not, so I am posting really neat photos of cakes that are very cool.  Which one do you like best?

I thought this was a very creative cake.

Topsy turvy is fun too and looks tasty.

Jason and Aaron would both like the Millenium Falcon cake.

 

Okay, so this is not a real cake but a hat...but it sure would be a neat cake if it was.

Wishing Caleb and Owen the happiest of birthdays.  Love Grandma-ma 

Word of the Week Wednesday

Hello my Wednesday raviolis.  If it's Wednesday, it must mean a new word for today.  Today's word is a simple but important one for today. That word is:

"Moon"

Now, you may say, what is so special about the word "moon" for today?  Well, today, Wednesday, April 28th will give us a full moon.  But it will also be a full "pink moon".

 This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring.

So, is the moon really pink?  Well, for the most part no, but on occasion, the particulates in the air from dust or ash can add a filter in the air which slightly changes to color of the moon to look pink. 

See how the picture of this moon has lots of ash in front of it.  This places a mask or filter in front of the moon causing it to look pink.

So remember to use the word "moon" in three sentences today.  Here is grandma-ma's first sentence:  "You will see a pink moon in Arizona when the wildfires burn. "

I hope all my raviolis can see a pink moon tonight.  Grandma-ma loves you all.

Let's go fly a kite!

Up to the highest height.  Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring!  Up to the atmosphere, up where the air is clear, oh let's go....fly a kite!  Everyone knows this song from Mary Poppins and today, in Atlanta, it is a perfect day for flying a kite. We have lots of March type winds blowing with clouds and blue skys.  Perfect for flying a kite. 

Grandma-ma loves flying kites.  Especially those with lots of pretty colors you can see flying high above you in the sky.  Do you have any kites?  Both Aaron and Jason, when they were young, used to have lots of different kinds of kites and they used to make them too. It was always fun flying a kite.

Here are some pretty kites.  I love the happy colors.

This is a coloring page for you to make your own colorful kites.  If you click on this LINK  you will go to a large, printable page that you can color.

I hope you enjoy coloring these kites and have a wonderful, wind swept day.  Grandma-ma and grampy send flying hugs and kisses to all of you.

Mouthwash Shake

Everyone knows about the "truffle shuffle" ...that happy little dance that "Chunk" was always made to do before he could enter the Walsh home in "The Goonies."

But did you know about another happy dance called the "Mouthwash shake"? Well, as the story goes, it was first danced when a certain Aurora ravioli was brushing his teeth and went to use the mouthwash.  The bottle says to "shake" and so "shake" he did.  Mom came walking by and saw the first dance and began laughing.  With this "earth shaking event" a new dance was born and here it is:

We love the mouthwash shake, especially the dark glasses.  Have a wonderful day and remember Grandma-ma loves you all.  (Goonies never say die!)

Kota escapes

Hello my ravioilis.  Today I am going to share with you a Kota story.  We are having lovely weather in Atlanta right now and so when I go home for lunch, I will let Kota out on the deck so he can sit in the sun and chase "tree rats" in the back yard.  Because it is fenced in, and I'm only 5 minutes away from home, I could return to work and leave the back deck door opened for Kota to come and go.

Picture of Kota eating a steak bone before we put the patio in.

Apparently, NOT!!!!  I came home for lunch and who is waiting for me at the front door, but Kota! I was horrified.  I wondered how did you get out of the yard.  Well, Kota dug a big hole under the gate and then pushed the cinder block out of the way with his nose...that wiley coyote. 

No more leaving the back door cracked for him to come and go. He will just have to stay inside until I get home from work or when Alan is home.  In the meantime, I have to fix the back door so he cannot dig under it any more.   

Here is a cute video of a big lab digging a hole at the beach.

Doggies love to dig to bury their bones or doggie treasures or if they are after prey or if they are bored.  I think Kota was bored and wanted to run around the neighborhood.    Have a wonderful day my raviolis.  Hugs and kisses to you all.

Who was that masked man?

Okay, who were those masked boys?  Why look, it is the wrestling raviolis wearing Nacho Libre masks.  I understand that mom and Aaron like to wear them too.  Hmmmmmm.

Wearing masks is fun.  Grandma-ma likes to make masks using different materials.  Here is a neat coloring page of a dragon mask. 

   

To print out a large mask to color, click HERE. 

If you want to color a princess mask, click HERE.

I hope you enjoy coloring these masks.  Oh, on another note, look for the picture of Lavendar and Sunshine, the newest family pets that belong to Caleb and Owen.  They are pretty birds and they look like Aunt Renee's birdies.   

Grandma-ma loves and misses you all.

Word of the week Wednesday

Hello my Wednesday Raviolis.  Today, being Wednesday, means it is Word of the Week Wednesday and today's Wednesday word is brought to you by the Aurora raviolis.  That word is:

"contraption"

Contraption...now that is a big word.  Three syllables and a word that just sounds like it has great importance attached to it.   What is a contraption? Well, a contraption is a strange machine or device. Almost always created from bits and pieces of found objects and items that are discarded and become the inventor's friend.  Owen and Caleb and friends decided to build a "contraption" to roll water balloons down.  Let's see if their contraption works...click on the video now.

From the cheers we hear, it was a success.  What fun it is to build a contraption.  So, here is Grandma-ma's sentence using the word contraption:  "Aaron and Jason as little boys, liked to build a contraption from discarded objects."  Now, go and use the word contraption in two more sentences.  Love to all of my raviolis and their contraptions.  Grandma-ma

G-QAM is a spooky fish

Hello my raviolis.  I have been trying to capture a short video for you of G-qam, my new fish.  He is easily spooked and every time he comes up to swim around, I grab my camera to take a video.  He sees me coming and scurries away and hides in the rocks or anenome below. 

Well grandma-ma waited and finally got a short vid for you.  Watch as he is looking at himself and then sees grandma-ma's camera and scurries away to hide. 

I did manage to snap a photo of him as well.  See how pretty his colors are?

He is reflected in the water above and the side of the glass making it look like their are four of him. 

Have a colorful day my ravs.  Hugs and kisses.

Word of the Week Wednesday

Hello my Wednesday ravs, I hope you are all healthy and happy on this fine Wednesday.  Today is word of the week day and today's word is

"hiding"

Why the word, "hiding"...well, grandma-ma has a new fish to replace Deefo who passed away last week.  I bought another Siamese fighting fish in bright blue, green and red.  This Siamese is a special breed because he is a crown tail Beta.  The crown tails are a little smaller and have funny looking fins and tail. They are like the rock stars of a home aquarium with their bright colors and punked out fins.  But my new, little fish is spooked by everything since I put him in his new home.  I guess he thinks he is still at Walmart with all of the kids poking his tiny bowl.  He has a nice tank to swim around in, an artificial anemone to hide in and pretty rocks to swim around. As  you can see, he likes to  hide under the anemone.

Can you see his bright red tail and fins?  Grandma-ma spent lots of time trying to capture a picture of him but he prefer to hide the minute he sees the camera.  So I will have to try when he is not "hiding."  So here is grandma-ma first sentence:

My new fish is hiding between the rocks.

Be sure to use the word hiding in three sentences today too.  Love grandma-ma

Running late

Even grandma-ma's can get behind in their day and run late.  I was busy playing around on the internet when I realized I should be getting ready for work this morning.  Grandma-ma didn't have time to make her breakfast before she left so off to the drive through for her.

Grandma-ma ordered a bacon, egg and cheese bagel from McDonalds.

and a large, unsweetened ice tea.

Unsweetened you ask. Yes, unsweetened.  Grandma-ma does not like sweet tasting things so she always asks for ice tea without sugar.  So, I hope you are having a more organized day than grandma-ma.  Love to you all.

Countdown to Aurora visit

Hello my monday raviolis. Spring break is over in Atlanta and all of the kids are back on the bus headed to class.  Grandma-ma was very busy over the weekend trying to fight the pollen and pulling down suitcases for our trip to Colorado on Saturday.

This is not grandma-ma's suitcase, but she wishes it was.  Grandma-ma likes old fashioned things.  Grampy and Grandma-ma will have big purple wheeled luggage that you can find easily at the baggage counter. 

Grandma-ma will also have her laptop case with her so she can access her email and set up her blog postings while in the airports.  There will be a book to read in the backpack and also some snacks should their be a delay in the flight. 

And grandma-ma will have her digital camera with her to take lots and lots and lots of pictures of the Aurora raviolis.    This is an exciting trip for her, because she has never met the Aurora raviolis up close and in person.  She has only spoken to them on the phone or have seen pictures of them.  She can't wait to squeeze the giggles out of them. Love to you all, Grandma-ma.

Yellow days

Hello my ravs. We are having "yellow days" because all of Atlanta is covered in yellow pollen.  It is a mess.

Every time the wind blows, you see clouds of yellow in the air.  Here is a video of what it is like:

Grandma-ma's car is full of pollen. Here are pictures of what her car looks like right now.

Good think that Uncle Aaron is not in Atlanta right now or he would be sneezing up a storm. Aunt Renee is sneezing a lot and so is Kota Bear.  He goes out to play and starts sneezing doggie sneezes because of all of the pollen.

Have a wonderful day my raviolis and be good. Grandma-ma

Word of the Week Wednesday

Hello my raviolis.  Today 's word of the week for Wednesday is:

"doctor"

Why "doctor" you say?  Well, today, grandma-ma had her yearly physical exam to make sure that she is healthy and everything was working like it should. 

The doctor listened to my heart beat.

She took my blood pressure,

I had to give a urine sample...go ahead, you can giggle,

grandma-ma said "urine."

and they took an EKG of my heart.

So far, everything is good.  Grandma-ma was very pleased.  Going to the doctor doesn't always seem like fun, but you do get hooked up to interesting machines, they make you stick your tongue out and say "ahh," they look in your ears and your eyes, they take your temperature and tap your knees with a hammer.  I like knowing that a doctor is available to take care of me when I need help.  So make sure you use the word doctor in three sentences today.  Here is grandma-ma's first sentence:

Grandma-ma had her yearly physical today and the doctor was pleased with her results.  Have a wonderful and healthy day my ravs.  Grandma-ma

Grandma-ma is a little sad

Hello my sweet raviolis.  Today grandma-ma is a little sad.  She came to work and when she went to feed Deefo his morning food she found that he had tucked himself next to his favorite snoozing rock and passed away.  He has gone to swim with his fishie friends and now grandma-ma must bury him. 

So Aunt Renee and I will make a run to Walmart and pick up a new fishie for grandma-ma tank at work.  Our pets mean so much to us so when you see your pet, be sure to tell them that you love them and give them a nice pat on the head, a scratch under the chin or ears, a happy whistle or a big mushy kiss.  They give us such joy and protection and love in return that this is the smallest of what we can do for them.  Love you all my raviolis.  Grandma-ma

It's spring break week in Atlanta

Hello my springee raviolis.  It is spring break week here in Atlanta and all of the neighborhood kids are out and about riding bikes, roller blading and playing b-ball in all of the cul-de-sacs. 

Grampy is going to have the neighborhood boy up the street come mow our lawn today too.  Is it spring break where you live?  Do you have the week off or are you still in school.  Let grandma-ma know.  

Have a wonderful Monday my loves. Grandma-ma

Happy Easter

Good morning my raviolis and Happy Easter.

Did you color easter eggs this weekend? 

Were they hidden in secret places and in your baskets?

Was their a big, chocolate rabbit inside your basket and did you bite the ears off it first or did you bite the tail off first?

Whatever you bit off first, I hope you have a lovely Easter day.  Grandma-ma and Grampy send their Easter hugs and kisses to you.

Beatrix Potter stories

With  Easter just a few days away, it got grandma-ma thinking about some of her favorite stories by Beatrix Potter.  When grandma-ma was a little girl, her mom would read the tales of Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny and Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottentail to her. When my sons were little boys, they also liked to hear these stories.

Peter Rabbit eating carrots in Mr. McGregor's garden.

The Flopsy Bunnies

Squirrel Nutkin and a friend gathering nuts.

Here is a coloring page of Peter Rabbits clothes that are hanging on Mr. McGregor's garden scarecrow.  Click HERE to download and print out the coloring page.

Have a wonderful Easter my raviolis. 

Will speak to you all this weekend.  Love Grandma-ma

Surprises are a'coming.

Hello my raviolis.  Today is a day that may bring surprises to you.  I'm not saying what it may be but the Aurora raviolis will have to be on the look out for a truck like this:

And a special ravioli in Vicenza needs to be looking for a flat rate envelope like this.

What could be inside them?  Well you will have to wait and see when they arrive.  Love you all my happy ravs. Grandma-ma