Agony, Ecstasy, Agony, Oh Well

'HAWKS NEST: Sunday the homestead turned into Seahawks Central, as we hosted yet another Seahawks' playoff party. 

We shopped and prepped food on Friday and Saturday, and come Sunday we were ready for the hungry masses and playoff football. 

What. A. Game. The first half was so abysmal. And the second half was so amazing. In the end (and by 'the end,' I mean the last 15 friggin' seconds), the Seahawks lost. 

I'm disappointed, but that's sports. Although it uses bad grammar, this graphic about sums it up for me. ...

There's always next year, ya know?! :)

OLD SCHOOL: Lately, CJ's interest in retro video games has re-emerged in a big way. So today, as our 'field trip' we decided to go visit Another Castle, a video game retailer and arcade in Lynnwood, WA. There, we got our Kong on, for starters. ...

The kids also played some Simpsons, Ninja Turtles, pinball, House of the Dead, Dig Dug, and other classic arcade action. 

While the kids were playing games, I was sizing up the options and couldn't help but notice this first-person shooter equipment. ... 

Immediately, I thought, "That's brilliant marketing." Normally, girls don't gravitate toward these types of games... but what if there was a pink gun. ... I immediately predicted (to myself) that Annabelle would be drawn to it because of the color of the hardware. I didn't point it out to her, I just watched and waited. 

Sure 'nuff. ... 

LATEST, GREATEST: Want to know what's going on on Mars? Make sure you tune in to a press conference tomorrow (Jan 15) at 10 a.m. Pac Coast time. We'll be tuning in on NASA TV, for sure!

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR: I mentioned last week that we're in the midst of a 'beef-up-our-knowledge-of presidents' campaign here at MPA. Today, I discovered a great resource with tons o' inauguration resources. It's on the White House's Web site, called The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids.   The kit contains non fiction stories, poetry, articles and art about presidents and the White House. 

We'll definitely be resourcing it in the days to come - especially the games "Inaugural I Spy" and "Pin the President on the Presidential Timeline."