Some baby pix of us...

I am so thankful for digital cameras and that they hold a gazillion pictures.

But sometimes I am too lazy to upload the whole group of photos,.....so I don't do it.

Then I don't have anything fun to show you.

But I was browsing absent-mindedly thru my old photos and ran across the kids' pictures.

Maybe you will find them as fun to remember as I have!

The simplest Valentine

You won't believe how sweet a child can be, until you give her a chance to explain herself....

Our schools were out for Friday, Feb 13th this year. The last day for Valentine's fun (at school) was Thurs, Feb 12th. Two weeks earlier, 7 yr old Jenna started cutting out paper hearts and announced that she was making Valentines for her class. This was all fine (and un-noticed) until she ran out of paper for her last three Valentines.

I brushed it off, day by day, until 3 days before the Valentine's Day party in her class. I glanced at the home-made items, and impatiently said, "No problem. We'll go to the store and get the last three. It will be so much easier." She made a little pout and set me straight with, "But mom! I don't want them to think I was lazy!"

Wow. Good point. I took a deep breath and remembered another stack of red construction paper in my files. She was thrilled. This is how simple those heartfelt Valentines turned out.Now if you think I could just let them leave my house in that sweet, simple style---then you don't know me very well. I begged her to reconsider and add a note. Add stickers! Add more color! Add a piece of candy--for crying out loud!! She added stickers to a couple of her Valentines to appease me, but then Jenna wisely left the rest alone with a simple, handwritten, "Love, Jenna" on the back.

I LOVE FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY is a magical month, don't you think? Growing up in a snowy climate, February was the 'fun month' despite the slushy, leftover, ugly, crusty snow. None of that mattered because our classrooms were always bright red and lovely. I still get great satisfaction from pulling apart paper doilies. There were a million crafts to go along with Valentine's Day--and don't forget the black-on-white silhouettes of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. February has Groundhog's Day. What other month celebrates a shy animal? The clincher is that February had a day off for the President's birthdays, AND it had less days than the rest of the months.

Lets cheer for Love, and the BEST MONTH of the year!!

Oh--and I was born in February. But that has nothing to do with it.

Forecast: Rain

Woo Hoo! It rained last night and today.



That is all.



I love a nice, rainy day that doesn't make my roof leak.

This photo is little Amanda + Monica in '98, celebratin' the rain!!

When the Ladies Get Together...

Wouldn't it be nice if we could

all get away whenever life gets a little stressful at home? Well, that is just what prompted my mother and sister to come to California and relax!! Mom has
been suggesting a Girls' Trip for
a couple of years now,

but it takes my sister to get things going in the right direction! She did a great job.

We shopped locally at the malls, then went to LA to see the stage production of Wicked at the Pantages Theatre. Kairle Ann's hubby scored us seats in the 2nd row...center stage!! The next day, we drove to San Diego, stayed 2 nights at a nice hotel and shopped and ate beautiful food. The big finale was having my evil big sister drop me off at the Amtrak Station in Oceanside. Just kidding...the train ride was just another breezy way to spend my mini-vacation. I hated to see my ladies leave California!!

(click on the pictures to see larger image)

Cream cheese Mints

When James and I were married, I had a bad habit of not sending Thank You notes to my gift-givers. I'm not quite that girl anymore, but I hope that my lacking etiquette didn't offend too many. James and I were appreciative of everything we got for our wedding--especially the beautiful wooden plaque with our photo and the Los Angeles Temple. I had to throw that in, because the card had fallen off, and we couldn't even thank you---even IF I had used my engraved Thank You notes. But that is not exactly why I'm posting today. I have another tried-and-true wedding gift that I have to share my feelings about. The gift-givers were ladies in my home ward at church (I still have their gift card). I love these ladies, and that they thought my husband and I would start out our marriage with homemade candy makes me appreciate them more! Thank you: Lois Axford, Barbara Murdoch, Joan Walters and Susan Walters. The book? Candymaking, by Ruth Kendrick and Pauline Atkinson. It has been a treasure. Yesterday, my girls were wanting a mint we had made last Easter. I said I'd find the recipe and it was theirs for the making! We made Cream Cheese Mints. So simple. Even if the recipe says to use a wooden spoon, a little patience and a KitchenAid mixer together does the work for you. And we double the recipe every time. Since Monica was the instigator, she was the one to finish off the product by rolling the little mint balls in sugar (I pressed them with the fork). I love that my girls relate this recipe to home. My childhood memories of the little Cream Cheese Mints goes back to wedding receptions with BYU Wedding Punch. That punch is hauntingly delicious...especially when it is SKY BLUE.

Christmas highlights 2008

Here is a look at some of the highlights of our Christmas!

In an effort to be even more adorable, Jenna tried to give HERSELF bunny-ears.

Brielle claimed to be more chilled than both grandparents combined. It was just her excuse to wear her new gifts and sip her tea from Gma Terry.

We subjected the grandparents to some arduous vision tests.

Monica was pretty successful at hiding from the camera..... here is her elbow...

...and here she is --leaving the room quickly...!

I was concerned that Amanda wasn't captured in any photos....because I could only find her knees in this picture..... but then I remembered "Christmas Dinner"! She may not like cameras, but she is sooo pretty when you can catch her!

Ta-da!!

We pretty much DEMAND that family and friends give us
Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa.
This is from the Oaks family.
They know we love the Chocolate Mint the best!