Monday, March 17, 2008

No we aren't Irish!

The Leprechauns came last night but unfortunately we were, once again, unable to catch them. And we even built our best trap ever! I just don't understand it.

A note of caution: if you are reading this with young children you may want to stop now unless you want this to become one of your family traditions.

This may seem odd to many of you so I will give a little background. When I was in Ms. Petersen's Kindergarten class we built a trap to catch the Leprechauns and their pot o' gold. I was so taken with the idea of collecting money and candy by catching little green-invested men that I went home and demanded that we build a trap ourselves. So began a fantastic family tradition of devious trap doors, treacherous falling boxes, narrow Leprechaun escapes, and lots and lots of candy. Many people think that we are Irish but we really just like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

This year we decided to chronicle our trap making. We hope you enjoy the tour. It only took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to build and then 30 minutes to play with.


Paul begins construction on the base.



Working on the ladder.


The fringes were next. Yeah...our trap plan was forming while we worked on the pub.


The pub is coming together, complete with bar and tables. Way to go Melanie!


Michael begins work on the trap.


Melanie "paints" the walls. Do Leprechauns like stripes?


In the mean time, Paul works on the roof. Nice green shingles. I think that will definitely attract them.


Michael...still working on the trap.


Almost finished with the pub.


A close inside view...an Irish pub that would attract any true Leprechaun.


Ahh, O'Iverson's pub. Come on in for a sweet pint of Irish Honey Brown.


The best trap ever!


Our masterful pub/trap complex. Do you like our paper bushes?

As you can probably see, Melanie was chief of interior design, Paul was the bulk construction manager, and Michael was the trap specialist. At this point we were sure the Leprechauns were ours. Mind you, we didn't want to kill them, just trap them since everyone knows if a Leprechaun is not caught together with his gold, it turns to chocolate. The gold...not the Leprechaun! Chocolate Leprechauns...gross!

Now, a tour of our trap.


We thought it would work. Don't you? Yet, in spite of all of we did, here is what we discovered in the morning.


No Leprechaun but lots and lots of candy. It was everywhere! As everyone knows candy falls out of Leprechaun's pockets as they skip along. Although we didn't catch the Leprechaun, we didn't mind the candy.


Hattie was especially excited that we were able to capture his pot o' gold but without the Leprechaun, just chocolate. Hattie likes chocolate more anyway!


On their visit, the Leprechauns also changed our milk, juice, water, butter, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and even our bread green! (That is cinnamon bread by the way...Yum)


Hattie liked the bushes. She ripped them up. She told us she wants to be a Leprechaun when she grows up.

We hope you enjoyed it; we obviously did. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

6 comments:

Noelle said...

This was AWESOME! I don't know anyone who goes as all out as you. I really enjoyed reading about your O'Iverson's pub trap. We may have to try that next year....

Melony & Todd Dame said...

Mel,

You guys are so funny. That is such cute idea. Hattie is getting so big too!

Laura Bernard said...

Myra got so excited looking at your pictures. You're setting me up for a big project next year . . . . About that cinnamon bread. Send the recipe my way, now that I'm a breadmaker. :)

LadyCarma said...

You are so fun to read and see! On another note, one of my former seminary students got married, had a reception here in Plano on Friday, March 14. Shea and Jessica Allred are moving to Lubbock in a few months. I told him to look for you guys and told him your last name. "Is he related to Michael Iverson? I know Michael." Small world, big church. And Jessica is from Spanish Fork. When you get to Lubbock, you will need to say hi to them.

Brandon and Jenn said...

I remember you telling me about your St. Patty's day traditions a few years ago. I was hoping that you'd include a post about it. Good to see that you didn't let me down.

Melina Ficek said...

How cute, I noticed the L.E.P have you read Artemis Fowl?