Utah....And Lots of Fun!

I was able to go out to Utah on March 1st for six days! It was wonderful visiting with my daughter and her boys! I did get to visit with Brett, also, but he was in Tennessee for most of the week! We had a lot of fun going to quilt stores, the movie, "Tangled", dinner with my sister and nephew, a visit to BYU Art Museum and lots of other fun stuff. It is hard having children who live so far away and so I cherish these little visits and wish they would last longer.

Thanks for the great visit, Stephanie and Brett and boys!

I finally got Noah to smile for the camera....after he ducked under the table I just moved the camera below the table and took the picture! He started laughing and I got some great shots (although maybe a little blurry!).

Cooper was into posing with whatever was in his hand....below with a crayon at the restaurant and below that a wooden block....what a great mustache! Such a cute, little guy and very creative!

I love my grandkids!!!

A Big Surprise!

I decided to fix a nice dinner for Rick for Valentine's. We don't really like to go out to eat on Valentine's Day because everyone else in town is out there and you wait and wait for your dinner. I had fun picking out what we would eat and how to surprise Rick and made most of the preparations on Saturday while he was at his office. I made him Coconut Cream Pie while he was out Home Teaching the day before Valentines and hid it in our refrigerator downstairs. He loves coconut so I thought that would be a great surprise. It was even made from scratch, something I haven't done forever. Here are a few pics of our Valentine's dinner on Monday night (with work, then picking Rick up and a quick errand to deliver something, dinner ended up not being done until 7:30 pm- so it was late anyway.... :) It was fun being creative in the kitchen!

Menu

Cream of Peanut Soup

(Recipe from the King's Arm Tavern in historic Williamsburg)

Broiled Ribeye

Red Roasted Seasoned Potatoes

Steamed Broccoli and Snow Peas

Lemon-Lime Drink with Sliced Strawberries

Coconut Cream Pie

Cream of Peanut Soup....Yummm....It could be addicting!

Funny thing about the Whip Cream...after taking this picture and putting it in the refrigerator, the cream just fell flat and runny....still tasted great!

My Favorite Valentines!

Some of my favorite Valentines from the past.....

Expressions of love from a favorite Valentine of mine!

I Love You, Rick!

Valentines come in all shapes, sizes and different forms. They come from family and friends. It's not the Valentine that really matters though, its the love of the person who is giving it. The love that binds family to family and friends to friends throughout the year, day by day, that really matters most!

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved-loved for ourselves, or rather, loved inspite of ourselves." Victor Hugo

Valentine treasures are people who
have often crossed your mind,
family, friends and others, too,
who in your life have shined
the warmth of love or a spark of light
that makes you remember them;
no matter how long since you’ve actually met,
each one is a luminous gem,
who gleams and glows in your memory,
bringing special pleasures,
and that’s why this Valentine comes to you:
You’re one of those sparkling treasures!
~Joanna Fuchs

To all those who have enriched my life with warmth, love and light...Thank You!

Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!
I Love You!

Christmas - (Part Two)

Finally, getting around to post our second half of the Christmas season. After a wonderful visit with Eric, we headed to Stephanie and Brett's to spend Christmas with them. We were able to spend five days and then tried to beat the storm....(not sure that was too smart!!!!...that's another story). We also wanted to spend some time with Rick's family...and there was an added bonus...seeing #10 grandchild, adorable little Kael, blessed by his father! It was a wonderful Christmas: had fun making cookies with Noah and Cooper, time spent with my nephew, Travis, who we hadn't seen in four years, Christmas morning fun, going to temple square to see the lights, and a day visiting Rick's wonderful family! It was fun to see them again!

Cookie making with Noah and Cooper and Christmas morning!
















Visiting Temple Square to see the lights!

Baby Kael's Blessing!


Visiting Rick's brother and sisters!

Christmas - Part One

Christmas came way too fast this year....and left way too fast! My favorite part of the year is Christmas but I seemed to have taken on way too many projects and was actually doing them up until I gave them away! This coming year...new plan....Christmas done by August! :) Eric and Joy came home the Saturday before Christmas and spent the first three days with us! It really didn't seem like long enough because Dad and I had to work Monday and Tuesday so we only really got to be with them for Sunday, Monday night and Tuesday night. It was fun though. Sunday we went to church and then Jason and Lacey and family came over for a early Christmas dinner and gift exchange. It was great being able to open gifts with each other and see the kid's faces as they opened their gifts from us. Then on Wednesday, Eric and Joy headed to her parents and after work, Rick and I, headed to Utah where we spent Christmas with Stephanie, Brett and family. (More posting later on our trip to Utah).


Kaitlyn opening her birthday gifts from us! I think she was excited about her gift!

Opening Christmas Gifts!

Joy and I had fun taking pictures of Olivia after church...She was posing bigtime for us! She is so adorable and cute!