Can't Wait

Email from Marci:  We are all counting down the days until you guys come down here. We are so excited! Last night Noah said that he could imagine you boogie boarding in the ocean with a big smile on your face. We started laughing so hard. That comment came after one of the kids said they couldn't imagine you going out into the ocean like Grandpa.

Oh brother!!!!  Peer Pressure!  I guess I have to boogie board at LEAST once since there are expectations.  I'm so not a  salt-water-in-the-face kind of girl.  I'm a turtle releasing on the shore kind of girl.  I'm a play a million games with kiddos kind of girl.  I'm a cookin' kind of girl.  I'm a picture takin' kind of girl.

and mostly, I'm a slug bug kind of girl.  THIS is where I plan on being....right after a boogie run....

picture the big smile on my face...

Valentine's Ice Castles

 For Valentine's Day, David and I drove up to Park City for lunch (and walking around) then to Midway, Utah  to see the ice castle sculptures.  They were so beautiful.  An ice artist has created these on the town square...you can walk through mazes and slot canyons.  Short and sweet and beautiful.  It was the perfect Valentine.

Olympics and such

Yeah!  Torah got silver!  She has such an awesome attitude and brings joy to the sport of snowboarding.  She won gold  the halfpipe in Vancouver and doesn't hesitate expressing congratulations to others.  As she says, "she's just glad to be with such great shredding dudes."  Wish her the best.  Unfortunately she and Jake didn't work out....heartbreaking to say the least....but that doesn't diminish our excitement for her.

Noelle-Picus Peak is going for gold today in the skeleton.  She's a Utah girl, and a relative of one of my high school friends.  She seems like such an amazing person!  Cheer her on.

The other night we had the kidlets here.  Ryker and I had a pouty competition.  He's growing up so quickly!

Saw this Valentine's photo and think everyone should do it.  Wouldn't that be an awesome picture to have with your spouse?  At any age?

We always celebrate Valentine's with our BFFs but they are in Atlanta this week (brrr...think ice storm)- so we are on our own.  I think we'll do okay.  Today we went out to lunch with one of David's home teaching families (it's just a couple so each month we go out together)....they hadn't been to HuHot (Mongolian) and we all enjoyed that.  We ended with their s'more feast.   I ordered David's Valentine today.  I have a massage gal that lives close by and she will come to your home. With his roping, horsing and snow shoveling and snow skiing achie body, he's in heaven.  And, well, since she's already here, this slug that doesn't really do anything is going next......   Bring on s'more valentines.....

Just This and That

Been working on my babushka woman that I actually started two years ago.     I love when I don't like something, I can just wipe it out.  Like babushka's eye.  I wish I could paint over a few (!) features of my body that easily....

I bet Bob Costas is wishing that as well.  He is the main announcer for the Olympics going on right now....and he had pink eye in one eye and now it has moved to another.....

Not what you want for national television...

Reminds me of when I was invited to speak at BYU Women's conference. (I was speaking with Ann Dibbs, President Monson's daughter.)   I was scared/excited/thrilled/nervous/honored....and woke up that morning with all the blood vessels in one eye burst.  I had never had that happen before...or since.  Way to get  humbled very quickly...  

Can I say, it feels good to be painting again.  (I can't fix her eye until it has dried again. I have lots to do still but she is coming.)

Sunday we taught our Primary littles a lesson on the importance of family.  Lots of times, when we teach, I like to send a family home evening lesson home with them to teach their family.  This is one I did this week.  I think I'll make one for each of my kiddos.  I thought it turned out cute.

 Sorry this link  for the dice is on its side but my picture processor isn't letting me turn it tonight.

 This one either.  Just stand on your head and you can see it.  I made  one for their family (each member has one) (I just doodled people)......they roll the family dice and then mark the member of the family they rolled.

Make sense?  The kidlets loved it.

I just wanted to share the proofs for my family subway art.  So love how it turned out.

Got a phone call from son Ryan in Guatemala today.  I said I was starting to pack and we needed to coordinate a few things...and he said "how about if we do it tomorrow....at your house!"  He's flying in tomorrow for a couple of business meetings he has...and we'll get to have him stay with us since they have other family members living in their house while they are gone.  Yeah!!!

I really am packing already for our trip although it is still a week away.  Today I bought all kinds of games to take and we'll just leave there for them and for future trips.  Ryan said they are at the height of whale season....

Speaking of "whale" season...I'd like to take some paint and thin out my hips and thighs and tan up my skin and lipo here and there.....  wouldn't that be nice...

Olympics!!!

 I love the Olympics but life has been crazy busy so I haven't gotten to see much.  But I have to say- Go Torah Bright!!!  (Australia)    and, of course, Team USA!!!

S'More

Just wanted to add these pictures of Addi's baptism celebration since my downloader wasn't working awhile ago. Addi was so happy she literally skipped everywhere.  She  asked Doug to baptize her. The confirmation was beautiful.  The spirit was beautiful.  Afterwards we celebrated at their home- subs and salads and chips- and a S'more bar - s'more popcorn, s'more rice krispies and s'more bars.

Addi loves the Lord and I hope she keeps loving Him s'more and s'more and s'more...the way He loves us!

Mallorie

Niece Mallorie has been here for almost a week.  I love her like one of my kids and she loves to come to our house and be pampered (and to kill me in Hand and Foot!)  We made a to-do list at the beginning of the week and we accomplished a lot:

pedicures (I told you she was pampered!)

Addison's baptism and lunch after.  Mallorie and Addi adore each other.

Movie-  The Book Thief  (wonderful but not as wonderful as the book)

Since she's preggers, she got to pick the restaurants-
dinner at Olive Garden
lunch at Zupas

We went to the Oquirrh (pronounced O-cur) temple with David.  Lunch at the Red Robin.  Mallorie loves her Uncle David.  Well, all the nieces and nephews love him.  He's their rock.

I had to watch The Bachelor!!!!!  It's Mal's favorite show.  How easily we get sucked into that craziness.

Hand and Foot.  Hand and Foot.  Hand and Foot.

Some baby shopping.  Just a few things.  So excited!

We always pick a couple of new Pinterest recipes to try.  I picked Stuffed Jalapeno peppers and she picked Cookies and Cream Brownies.  Recipes on the cooking blog.

Mallorie wanted to go Wednesday night and say goodbye to Brandi's family.  She made the Cookies and Cream Brownies to surprise them.  

This is the sign (with great spelling lol) that greeted us when we got there...

They shocked Mal with a Surprise Mini (meaning their family)-Shower!    I didn't know anything about it.  It made us cry.

  They had shower games (even Parker and Conner and Doug played them!)....and gifts...and then we had Mal's dessert.  Awesome!

What can I say- family is the best!

Family Subway Art

I just received something wonderful in the mail which I recently ordered.  I found it on Etsy-  on rumpelstreetboutiwue.etsy.com.


I'm still trying to finish my bedroom and in the middle of several projects and one was a photo wall since we recently had family pictures done.  I got different colored frames for each family and they were going to surround this family subway art.  I'm not sure I like the combo so I will probably go back to the drawing board....but this!!!!  This I am ecstatic about!


If you were thinking of about 37 words to describe your family- what would you say?  Here's what I ordered:

 (sorry, I thought I cropped the rug out....)

So me...

this one made me snort out loud-

Whales and Wounds

Bob Wilson shared this story I had heard before in a talk last week at church.  I saw it printed and wanted to save it.  I then saw this quote by Elder Holland and thought they both went together.

A story that never gets old. Incase you may have missed it. A front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle told the story of a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. The whale also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted the whale just east of the Farallon Islands (beyond the Golden Gate bridge) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived. They determined that the whale was so bad off that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. The team worked for hours, carefully slashing through the labyrinth of lines with curved knives. Eventually, they freed her. The divers say that once the female humpback was free to move, she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. The whale then came back to each diver, one at a time, and gave each a nudge, pushing her rescuers gently around as she was thanking them. Some divers said it was the most beautiful experience of their lives. The diver who cut the rope out of the whale’s mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time. And he will never be the same.