The Fifth Quarter

SUPER STUPOR: We're still recovering from the wild weekend that was the Super Bowl. We spent all day Saturday and several hours on Sunday morning getting ready for the big game. Of course, that involved making some Seahawks-themed cookies and cupcakes.

A few of the cookies were topped with some Nutella-flavored energy bites. A no bake nugget that included oatmeal, coconut, flax and chia seeds and honey, they were pretty darn tasty! (Recipe here: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/nutella-energy-bites/)

Christian made a neat-o column out of balloons. 

Our staircase was decked out in streamers we collected on the opening day of this season, at the big NFL party and concerts near CenturyLink.

We had four TVs set up downstairs,and the place looked like family friendly sports bar. We gave it our all in game preparation, and cheered as hard as we could, but it was to no avail. The Seahawks lost in spectacular fashion, the outcome being determined on the very last play of the game, when, for reasons many will never understand, they opted to pass the ball when on the 1 yard line, and the pass was intercepted, game over. Heartbreaking for Hawks' fans! (That said, there were many other plays during the course of four quarters that could have changed the outcome - it's never just *one* play, is it?)

Anywho, the balloons and streamers are down, but our spirits are high. We're looking forward to seeing what they can do next season, and we absolutely can't wait until baseball season. Go Mariners!

FUN AND GAMES: I was deleting a bunch of old photos from my phone and came across a few I neglected to share involving games we've played with the kids over the past couple of months.  

Can you solve this riddle from 30 Second Mysteries (a great game!)?

And here's a scene from a fun game called Head Bandz, where you have to guess what you are (the word on the card you're wearing), by asking a series of questions with a time limit (30 seconds I think).

Here, the kids learned to play high stakes poker. We take our Fritos seriously.

And speaking of food that's very not good for you, here's a bonus shot, related to the game of baseball. The kids talked me into buying some Pop Tarts from Grocery Outlet a week or so ago. Would you believe the very first pack we opened produced a Seattle Mariners' Pop Tart!? It has to be a sign, I tell you. We're World Series bound, I say!

IN THE BOOKS: We completed all the lectures and the test for week 3 of our class all about Magna Carta/Charta.  Much of this week's discussion was about how, for hundreds of years, various individuals and groups have cited the Magna Carta to bolster their arguments and how Magna Carta has been interpreted so differently by so many. Some, like Sir Edward Coke, saw Magna Carta as a foundation of English life, underpinning everything, while others are rather dismissive of its import (for instance, Oliver Cromwell famously called it "Magna Farta").