Projects

We have done a few projects. It seems every Friday is full and we don't have time to do some of them. The kids are going VERY slow on their BINGO reading. Beckham got the first one today. I couldn't find Emery the other day and when I finally found her, she was outside reading. It looks so comfy. 

We had a treat making weekend. I was meant to be day, but it was a lot to do in one day. Camden wanted to make copycat Jamba. They actually turned out pretty good. 

Maybe cutting wasn't the best idea for Jackson. He did a good job though. He made sure he cut far enough down... so he could eat more off of the top. 

Emery wanted to make home made oreos. We took them to dinner at Uncle Bryan's house and everyone loved them. 

Beckham wanted to do cheesecake. I am not a good cheesecake maker apparently. The recipe was weird and didn't set at all. It tasted okay, not great. We'll try a different recipe next time. 

Jackson wanted to make jar cakes. They picked the colors to make the batter and made rainbows in their jars. I thought I had a picture of the end product, but I didn't. They all said they were good though. 

There is something going around called hydro-dipping. It can look really cool and so of course Brad had to try it out. We were looking for cheap white shoes but couldn't find cheap ones. He decided to try it out on an old pair first before he spent money on other shoes to do it. 

We sprayed the paint in, then he tried to mix it. We think that is one place he went wrong. The shoes look cool, but he needs to try it again before we pay for shoes to do it on. 

Next time, gloves. 

The Suit

We have had an interesting few weeks with Emery. She has wanted another swimsuit for a long time, but I told her if she wants another one, she has to get it herself. She kept some of the money she got from Lagoon and we have looked a few times for one. One day we went to Target to look yet again. She found a few to try on but kept saying she wants a two piece. I don't like little girls (or anyone for that matter) in a bikini, so they have always been a no. She tried to find a tankini but none of them covered well, or she just didn't like them. As we were looking we saw one that game with a longer tank top shirt. You have the bikini under it, but the tank top is mean to wear over it, a small compromise and win. So I showed her and we tired a few like that. She loved the idea of it and winning a little. The one she liked looked cute with the black tank top and she went home happy. Even in the dressing room she asked if she could not wear the tank top at home which I said we'll see, and even talked about a friend doing the same thing with her swimsuit. 

I'm not sure what happened from that trip to the next day but it all changed. She went swimming with Brad and didn't like the tank top and so she was allowed to take it off. When she got home and I talked with her she was mad because there was no point with a bikini if she has to wear a tank top and can't show it off. Although she couldn't say why she wanted to show it off. I told her if the top was the issue we could find a different one for her to try if she wanted, but I am not budging on the tank top. I told her she needs to decide if shes keeping it or not. After probably one, maybe two more 'talks' she decided to take it back. She got some nice soft pj's instead. She finally decided she really only needs one swim suit. Oh I'm in trouble when she's a teen. 

They do spend a lot of time in the pool in the back. It was the best thing Grandma and I bought this summer. 

SDCC Day 3

We actually slept in a little on Saturday. We were all tried and needed sleep. We had to be out of the hotel by 11. Everyone can check a bag for free, so I have no clue why we didn't just take an empty bag. After Brad and I going to Seattle, you think we would have learned. We made out with 53 pops. About 25 of them were free pops. We did not plan of getting that many, so we had to pack what we could, leave the hotel and get another suitcase. Then we got to move things around in the parking lot. 

At Funday's, someone at Brad's table suggested this pizza place. It was actually pretty good, although we all like NY Pizza in Boise better. 

We had such a good plan. Drop off the car, check our bags in and then take a Lyft to the Jokers Block Party. One flaw, you can't check your bags more than 4 hours prior to your flights. Our flight was at 7 and we were there around 12:30. Brad decided to stay and sent us back to Petco field for the party. It was my second favorit thing we did. It was really hot and I got a sun burn on one side of my body, but totally worth it. We got to meet all of the Jokers and get things signed. 

Murr walked by just as we walked in. 

Murr signed beach balls and threw them out. Beck caught one and was really excited about it. 

It was one that Murr filled up himself. 

We stated decently far back and slowly made our way up the crowd. They all are really genuine and seem to appreciate all of their fans. I have no idea how they had that much energy to keep going all day. 

Sal walked by. Camden was just a little too short to get his poster to Saul, so someone held it our for him. We later stood in line to get all of their signatures, but it was still fun for Camden. 

Sixth grade Kilie was too excited for this. Joey Fatone was part of Nsync, who I loved. I remember they came to Boise but it was a school night (and I was 11 ish) so I wasn't allowed to go. Somehow Joey is a friend of Q. He was kind of hosting and introducing the Jokers. A little after they were all on stage they were just talking and music was playing and the VJ played 'Bye Bye Bye'. I mean it wasn't the whole group, but still pretty cool. A very mini Nsync concert. 

The boys went and stood in line to signatures which were said to start around 4, we needed to be gone by 5 to make it back to the airport. They didn't start signing things until 4:15 and I really didn't think we'd make it. Thankfully it moved fast and we all were able to get 1 thing signed. We got our Lyft and made it back to the airport for our flight. We got to Utah sometime after 9, close to 10 and drove home. We got home at 2 am and all of us crashed. I still am tired and should have taken Monday off, Brad was smart and did.
Fun side note about the pops, We got about 53, 25 of them free, and from that have sold 6 for a total of $860. Most of those were Camden's, so he is very happy.

When we got home, Emery and Jacks made banners for our doors to welcome us home. They also colored a picture, made a card and left a treat. It was a nice way to come home. 

It was so much fun, so much standing and walking but also a great experience. We are still debating on trying for next year. Give us a month to recoup and decide then.
Emery and Jacks did have a fun time while we were gone. They went swimming while grandma had a meeting. They went shopping, convinced Grandpa that Chick Fil A was the best idea for dinner, made cards with Aunt Gerry, helped Grandma around the house, and probably enjoyed the quiet without their older brothers there.

SDCC Day 2

Since Camden won tickets to Funday's, we were torn what to do the next day. When we didn't have tickets, we were going to spend the day in Anaheim and go to Knott's Berry Farm, Joe's and Fire and Ice. Brad and Camden had to be back by 5, but the boys still wanted to go to Knott's. We made a quick trip and it was a lot of fun. We were only there for about 4 hours. 

The first ride for some reason had to be a water one. It was fun though.

This was all of our favorite ride. It was a horse seat and went pretty fast. It was a really quick ride, but a lot of fun. 

Beckham and I went on this one. It was SO much worse than I thought it was going to be, a lot of fun, but so bad as well. We both had fun, but would never do it again. 

You are laying all the way back as you go straight up and then straight down. I'm glad Cam didn't do it, he would have hated it. 

Then Joe's Italian Ice! The main thing everyone talks about still from our Disney trip is Joe's. I really think it's the main reason the boys wanted to go to Knott's. It was as good as we all remembered and we wanted more the next day, but it was too long of a drive. 

Beckham and I spent the evening together, and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. We tried to get into Conan again, but the line was about a half a block on one side of the road and about 3/4 a block on the other. We decided to just leave and walk to Joe's Crab Shack. Beck loves sea food, so we had to try it out. We walked through the next day's Hall H line and were very glad we weren't waiting. 

Beck got shrimp and it was peel and eat. It was so much work just for shrimp, and for someone who hates shrimp, a little nasty too. All of the leftover parts are on the second plate. 

From there we walked to a nearby hotel so we could get a Lyft to go to a movie. I've never used that app before, so I was nervous to do it. I sent Brad a screenshot of my driver. After a little searching we found our driver. I didn't know you could chose to share a ride or just be alone. So he went in the middle of downtown to get another person, which took him onto the main road for conic con things. Not a smart idea. We made it to the theater with minutes to spare, just to find out it was sold out. Beck and I just decided to walk around the mall, which closed 20 minutes later, but we found a cool sock store and he got some fun socks.  We took another Lyft back to the hotel and watched TV which we checked for announcement from Fundays.  It was fun to just talk and walk around together. I wish that the mall was open longer, but we had a good time. 

Brad will tell about Fundays.

Welcome to Fundays!!! To say that this is like winning the lottery of Funko, the Superbowl of Pop collecting, is an understatement. This is a very exclusive party that only has about 1,000 general admission tickets that go out with about 100,000 people trying to get in. (the general sale sold out in about 5 seconds) We tried all of the avenues to get tickets prior to our vacation. I joined the Funatics board (you get better chances of getting tickets), the general sale, contests...but that all failed. So when Cam won the tickets it was pretty awesome to say the least. I wanted to not like it a lot because I felt bad that the whole family didn't get to come. That way I could say, "yeah, it was fun but you didn't miss out on much", but it was the highlight of the trip.

These were the lei's we got when we arrived that let you know what section and table you were in.

It is held every year at the Grand Hyatt and it was huge, a lot bigger than I anticipated. When you first walk in you scan your tickets and then they give you your Fundays bag, which includes a box of 3 random exclusive Pops, a token for a prototype figure, and a token for a "drink".

We came in and sat down, at the wrong table, and opened our boxes of fun. Brad got a 520 piece Col. Sanders Freddy, a 520 piece Tiki, and a 350 piece Aquaman Freddy. Cam got a 520 piece Col. Sanders, a 520 piece Tiki, and a 350 piece Ant man Freddy. Cam was immediately in trade mode and made a questionable trade with someone getting rid of his Col. Sanders Freddy. He went around before it started, by himself, looking at peoples pieces and asking about trades. That is pretty amazing for a kid that is as shy and anxious as he is. Unfortunately no one else would trade with him. There were two people at our table that got a 24 piece Venom Freddy, a pop that is currently selling for about $6,000 on Ebay.

This is the ballroom, again a lot larger than I expected. We watched it online last year and it seemed so much smaller. We all had light sticks colored by our section, at the beginning it was bright but they quickly were all broken and deflated and the end of it was dark.

The theme was Freaky Tiki, so it was island/Hawaiin themed.

While we weren't close to the stage we were close to the entrance where all of the performers and guests came in, so that was cool to see them come out.

Guy dressed as a monkey climbing a pole. A banana would randomly run across the stage and the monkey would chase it.

This is Mike Becker. He is the original creator/owner of Funko. He sold it in the early 2000's but is still a big part of the company and usually the main performer for Fundays.

This was King Funkona, he was the "bad guy" that we were trying to get the Golden Freddy Idol from.

One of the performers that did a balancing act.

This was the main celebrity that showed up, Mark Hammill...aka Luke Skywalker himself. It was awesome to see him, and he gave out 80 Golden Luke's, unfortunately our table didn't win.

Every time something was given out a line of Hawaiin guys would walk out with bags of pops and they would play a prize patrol song. It was when the crowd was the loudest and craziest because that is the main reason we are all there...to get "Prized Up!".

We made out pretty well, we got 16 free pops between the two of us, some very cool ones. The value of which is pretty high on these things. Unfortunately a good portion of the people that get tickets to Fundays are there to just get the expensive pops for free and resell them in the secondary market. Which is a shame because it takes away spots from people that want to go just for themselves.

Because Beck didn't get to go he got first pick of Brad's pops. He chose the Aquaman Freddy, the Golden Idol Freddy, and two Tiki pieces. It was good to spend some one-on-one time with Cam. We both had a great time and plan to make it to this as often as we can. Next year though, Beck will be the one that gets to attend.