Ever since our trip to Washington, D.C., when we were forced to watch actual TV (without DVR), Jade and I have liked the games on the show Minute to Win It. We don't really like the show itself, but the games are awesome, so we thought it would be really fun to throw a Minute to Win It party. So we threw a party for no special occasion at all, just so we could use that theme. It was so fun! We had 26 of our favorite friends/family members come over and we played 6 games, bracket-style until we had our champion. The party was so fun, and my only regret was that I couldn't compete in it! (Because that would have been like cheating since I knew all the games.)
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This was our opening round, to get on the bracket. "Face the Cookie": using only your face muscles, move a cookie from your forehead into your mouth. You had 3 tries to complete the challenge, and the fastest times won themselves a "bye" for a round. (If you're wondering why my daughter's toy tunnel was out, I did not forget to clean before the party- the "young-at-heart" guys were using the tunnel to sneak up behind people and put them into the tunnel. It was so hilarious to see- especially when Jon surprised the culprit, Justin, with a tunnel ambush. Payback!
Round 2: "CD Dominoes". This was one of my favorites, yet somehow I ended up with no pictures. Sad. The contestants were to line up 20 CD cases in a "U"-shape around a table. Once the cases were in line and spaced evenly, the contestant was to tap the first CD case, making the whole stack fall over, and the last case had to fall in a basket by the contestant's feet. Contestants went head-to-head, and whoever got the CD case in the basket first moved on to the next round.
Round 3: "Noodling Around". Using only an uncooked spaghetti noodle (no hands), contestants must pick up 6 pieces of penne pasta. If you dropped any, or if your noodle broke, you had to start over. Our contestants went head-to-head, and the winner moved on to the next round.
Round 4: "A Bit Dicey". Contestants must stack 6 dice one on top of another on a popsicle stick being held in their mouth. Contestants were not allowed to touch the stick to help with balance. Each time the dice dropped, the contestant had to start over. The contestants went head-to-head and the first one to complete the challenge moved on to the championship round!
Round 5: "Can-tageous". Contestants start out with 3 empty soda cans in one hand, 3 full cans in the other. Stacking the cans on top of each other, the contestant must switch all 6 cans to the opposite hand than they started with. This was our championship round, and the one Jade was most excited about. We tried this ourselves the day before the party, and were totally unsuccessful, but after watching several YouTube videos of people successfully completing this challenge, we thought for sure someone would get it. After 15 minutes of our final 4 trying, we decided to change the game a little and have them switch just 2 empty cans and 2 full cans. That worked better, and almost everyone was able to do it under one minute. 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were determined by fastest time.
Our completed bracket:
1st prize got a really cute little cookie, 2nd prize got Whoppers, and 3rd prize got (Milk) Duds.
Here was our winner, Spencer, showing off his prize.
This picture makes me laugh. It was supposed to be our "silly" picture, but no one knew quite what to do. Nathan's head was cut off in every single picture.
My girl still loves to play in my shoes.
I love this picture. My friend Brittney babysat Peyton for me while I was getting my hair done. She sent me this picture on my phone. Peyton and Peyton are so cute! My mom pointed out something funny: they are a lot like me and my best friend growing up- Jordan Mitchell. Jordan was blond and fair, and I was darker, like Peyton. 
So I looked through my pictures to find one of us close to their age. It's funny- they do remind me of us! Also, I think Peyton looks just like me (I was about 6 months younger than her in this picture).
Last old picture... This was me and my daddy sharing a nap. When I saw this I did a double-take. It looks just like Peyton.
There is a really funny story behind this picture. Peyton was watching me put together our 2010 blog book, and she was looking at the pictures of Jade and I in Washington, D.C. She asked me what they were, and I reminded her about Jade's and my vacation this summer. She said "I want to go on vacation." I told her we would go to see Noni soon (soon is relative). She said "Okay. I go pack me bags." I heard her roll her little suitcase past my office, thud it up every stair, and since her room is above my office, I could hear drawers opening and shutting. Eventually I went to see what she was doing, and I saw that she had indeed packed her bag. Full of books. She's a girl after my own heart. Maybe I should get her a Kindle!
She also was looking in her box of too-small clothes to find the perfect outfits to bring. So cute!
Now, we all know how much I love my baby Tink. What no one realizes is that Jade is just as obsessed with her as I am. He coddles her and treats her like a little princess. It is actually pretty cute, coming from such a manly-man as my husband. This is usually how she greets him when he comes home from work: with a full-on hug, lasting for about 2-3 minutes. Seriously.
