Mall Scavenger Hunt

Ansley's twelfth birthday party!

We started out the night at a Japanese steakhouse. After dinner I took the girls outside the restaurant and revealed the plans for the night. The scavenger hunt was a surprise. Ansley had wanted to do one but I had told her we wouldn't have enough time after dinner. I had to work on the plans while she was at school. Side note: She knew I was in the office working on something because I told her not to go in there. It was driving her crazy but I told her it was a surprise. She kept asking what I was working on.  I told her it was a poem about how much I love her.  I told her I planned to recite it after dinner. Bahaha I thought it was hilarious.  She was really freaked out at the thought of this.

I made shirts for everyone to wear and passed them out after dinner when I told them about the scavenger hunt.

Next stop, the mall. Here are the pics from my team, A.K. A. the winning team!

Dancing with a statue.

Everyone wearing glasses

 Picture with employee at makeup counter.

 Riding the escalator.

 Picture with the blue mannequins. I thought this would be a hard one as there were only in a few places. These girls obviously shop a lot!

 Looking lost in front of a mall directory.

 Getting a strangers autograph. This lady was a little apprehensive which made it funny. I assured her it wasn't a legal document.

 Wearing hats and scarves.

 Smelling flowers real or fake.

 Had to find Amazing Grace perfume and get a sample.

 Group saluting an American Flag or replica.

 Picture of someone wearing a band or concert shirt.

 Using your bodies to make the number 12.

 Getting a napkin from the yogurt shop.

Jumping off the fountain 

 Ansley's initials

 Picture with "turtle" on the "beach."

 Picture with surfboard

Ryan's team pics

 ChaChi was such a trooper...as usual!

The whole group met up in the courtyard and played a little tag.

Let the games begin!

 Cookie Face Race

 Bubble gum hidden in whipped cream, first one to blow a bubble wins!

The cake.

 Opening her cards. In lieu of gifts she took donations for Callie Evans. You can find her story on Facebook. "Praying for Callie Evans"

Time for a movie! I introduced them to a little Napoleon Dynamite. It was a hit, most passed out before it finished. We restarted it in the morning.

Now, breakfast...served on a string. 

 Never tried before...doughnut game in a triangle! I had ChaChi taking pics at this point.

It was a great party! Ryan and I had as much fun as the kids. Ansley has done a great job picking her friends! This really is the greatest group of girls ever! Eleven girls, one boy and not the first sign of drama. I say it was a success!

Not just a biscuit.

Here is a picture of my first batch of homemade biscuits.  I can't eat a biscuit without thinking of my Grandma. I don't know how often she made biscuits but I can't  remember being at her house when she didn't have fresh biscuits. I would just love to be in the kitchen watching her make her biscuits. It was surely an art. They had them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I loved them smothered with sausage gravy and a nice dusting of sugar.

This is the only picture that I have of my Grandma. I wish I had more but I think she was too busy being awesome to be posing for pictures. I'm sure she would have never taken a selfie.

I never really thought about how much something so simple as a biscuit can bring back so many memories. It's not just me either, several of my cousins say they cry when they open the oven after making biscuits. She did more than make biscuits. She could sew anything, crochet and more importantly make those around her feel so important and loved. I don't ever remember her being too busy to give me her full attention even in a roomful of family members; and there were a bunch of us! My grandpa was pretty righteous too. He worked on cars, had a little wood shop, a master at solving crossword puzzles, was a beekeeper and a founding father of dumpster diving! 

The time that I got to spend with them was special and I wish I would have gotten more. I wish I had her biscuit recipe and more pictures of them. I wish that I wouldn't have been a selfish teenager and visited more often.

I want to more like my grandparents. I think sometimes our plates are too full to make biscuits. Too busy running here and there to really stop and appreciate what is important. Time, time is what is important. I want to spend more of mine making biscuits with the people I love.

Go Girl: For the girl who has everything. (And wants to stand and pee)

Ok, we're in  BassPro looking at the portable toilets. We are planning on taking the kids out west for an extended camping trip. We are going to need a toilet…among other things. That is when we spotted the GoGirl. I feel like my life has been forever changed.

It is an apparatus, if you will, that allows women to pee standing up! What? Pee, standing up? Count me in. Well, let me just cross that off my bucket list.

It comes in a little tube that explains it can be used while camping, boating, traveling, music festivals or sports.

Inside, you will find directions printed on a duel service disposable bag. It states: 1.  For best results, maintaining a seal on the back is important. 2. Practice at home to be sure you have a good seal. It is accompanied by two tissues.

Here is a nice close up. This side up…in case you were confused. In my mind, I'm thinking they didn't just put that there for no reason. Someone, somewhere was confused about this. I snapped this picture while inside the BassPro. An employee busted me and said that every time they get them in stock they sell out rather quickly. He assumed they were being purchased for gag gifts. He said he caught a guy looking at it and said, "Don't worry the girl that returned it said she didn't use it." Our conversation went further and he said that he thought that peeing standing up was the last thing that men could do that women couldn't. So I said, "I guess that's why you squat now?" He just walked off laughing. I'll take that as a yes!

I guess the illustration is to tell you not to squeeze it closed while in use. Hello? 

I'm guessing you figured out by now I couldn't leave the store without this life changing product. For $12.99 can have your own GoGirl.

Anyone who knows me for more than five minutes, knows I'm terrible OCD. Me and public toilets aren't friends. I can't remember the last time I've used a port-o-let other than to pee behind.

I felt it was my civic duty to give this thing a try. A-MAZ-ING.  

I must be a natural because I got it right the first time. I peed with joy! Seriously, I was laughing the entire time.  I think the only way this could have been any more fun is if  I were taking a leak peeing off the side of a canoe, or on the Appalachian Trail, or into bushes, or off a building, or off the Grand Canyon, or into Niagara Falls or a WalMart bathroom.

Seriously, this is life changing. I will be buying Ansley her own GoGirl. Because, really it'd be gross to share. My only problem is what kind of looks will you get cleaning this joker off in the public sink?

Penis Envy, NO MORE! I can write my own darn name in the snow!

Go to http://www.go-girl.com to get your own GoGirl!