Birthday Grandpa

Happy Birthday to Grandpa!
Feb 24 is my Dad's birthday.
69 years old this year. (Noble (9 yrs) plus sixty!)



The traditional homemade homemade German Chocolate Cake
Noble, Liam, Grandpa and Hewy

Noble's Accident

Woe is me the Mother of boys!



Noble learned that barbed wire fences don't make good catching nets if you are falling from a six foot wood fence that you were walking on like a balance beam!
He also learned he should not walk on the wood fence like a balance beam because six feet is a long ways down, especially when it is right next to a barbed wire fence.
Said fences are along our back property. The barb wire fence belongs to Steubing Ranch and is behind our wood fence at the back of the property.

best brothers

This is brotherly love!


Noble holds Hew while they watch TV.

TAGGED

I know this tag has made the rounds, but it is the first time that I think I have gotten this one myself. . . .

Kristi - you are in deep trouble. :) Just kidding, I luv this stuff!

10 years ago - okay I really didn't sense much of a generation gap between me and Kristi until now! While Kristi was wearing braces in the 8th grade!!!! Ten years ago I had been married for 3 1/2 years! yikes! DOUBLE yikes! So lets see, ten years ago, that was 1998. We lived on Mitt Lane in Salt Lake and probably had received 36 fresh inches of snow overnight and Alec had called in sick because he was SICK of snow! I was a massage therapist with a longing, yet long suffering heart, to have children. My prayers were about to be answered as I found out I was expecting Noble on Mother's day 1998. I was serving, hee-hee, in the Primary presidnecy of the Brighton 3rd ward. I was a scrapbook queen. This was a great time in my life.

5 things on my to do list today. one big HA!
1) Home - dishes, put valentine stuff away, put up St. Patty stuff, match enormous laundry basket full of lonely socks, 2 loads or more of laundry, this list doesn't end, but I will not bore you.
2) Homeschool - Feildtrip day! Alamo, RiverWalk, Hyatt, Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. Read aloud with Liam, Noble and Hewy seperatly; listen to Story of the World in the car.
3) Family - morning family prayers and scriptures, nighttime prayers and scripture snack; lunch with Alec downtown; take my parents on field trip;
4) Relief Society - take Gifford's dinner; return Brad's phone call about keys; return 3 other RS related calls, make comp service arrangements, plan visits for next week, call VTee, VT comp, VTers for a monthly check in.
5) Self - take allergy meds to kick Texas allergies behind out of my chest; go to bed before 11; personal prayers and scripture study; email Lois; read PResident Monson's talk that Alec sent me; shower?
And that is all on the list - who knows what will come up!

5 snacks I enjoy - Why limit ourselves
1) Chocolate - chocolate with almonds, Lyndt raspberry chocolate, Godiva Almond Butter Chocolate.
2) Sweets - licorice,
3) Cakelike - Boston Creme Pie, chocolate chip cookies
4) Salties - cashews, jalpano Kettle chips,
5) Souries - sour apple apple jelly bellies, sour cherry candies

What I would do if I were suddenly a billionare:
Wake up and realize it was a dream!
I can't even count that high. How would I know how to spend it?
Pay a generous tithing and fast offering for the rest of my life.
Hire our trustworthy accountant to work for us full time.
Make sure we are living off of interest only.
Pay off law school debt, house and cars.
Have Alec quit his job and golf the PGA tour.
Travel - everywhere. No stone unturned.
Spend as much time with loved ones as possible.
Build a castle that had private gigantic living space for all my favorite people (so much so we would forget we lived in the same place) and a common area we could laugh and play together.
Leave money on starving law school students doors anonymosly.
Serve my fellowman to the best of my abilities, time, talents and energy.

Jobs I have had:
daughter of God
Mother of future leaders
Humble servant to Savior
Helpmeat to choice Son of God
Daughter to parents kind and dear
Sister to champion mentors
friend to all who come into sphere of influence

Bad habits:
Queen of Clutter
Ambassidor of Self criticism
Start but don't finish . . .

Places I have lived:
Utah - Salt Lake, Heber, Vernal, American Fork, Ogden, Orem, Salt Lake
Texas - San Antonio

5 Things people don't know about me:
I am an open book, what are you talking about!?
That sometimes I am lonely - but I have learned the only way to have a friend, is to be one.
That I see so much more good in other people than I see in myself - but I KNOW through Heavenly Fathers's eyes he sees the good in me that I see in other people.
That I am hard on myself for not doing more and doing it better than I do, but that I feel the peace of going to bed knowing I've done my best.
That I am an introvert that is terrified to talk to people, hate to talk on the phone and hate big groups of people, but I put myself out there anyway!
That when i count my blessings I am the luckiest person in the world - sorry all y'all, it's me, not you. :)


Now I tag whom ever reads this that has not done this tag before!

Daytona 500

A little known fact about me... I love NASCAR.
This year, yesterday, was the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

And what a year it was.

First I like the "sport" because of the speed (180+mph), but more importantly (caution soap box ahead) I love that this is a fans sport. That the drivers, the owners, the sponsers know that without the fans they would get no where fast no matter how fast they drive, and so they turn around and support the fans, have dinner at the local hangout later that night with their fans, they have autograph sessions before each race, these guys love their fans. As oppossed to some over paid types of other sports that only acknoweldge fans for a price.

This is just one mothers thoughts on the event - I claim no claim to have real authority on the subject.

The guy that won yesterday, after 500 miles of speed, it all came down to one guy winning because someone selflessly looked out for him.

Basically cars and their drivers are running the race for themselves, erveryone wants to win - but there are still teams that are owned by the same person/company and or sponsered by the same company(s). In the final quarter of the final lap, going over 100 mph, (for the sake of easiness) the Home Depot car was ahead and should have crossed the finish line with a car length between him and the other guy. But instead what happened? The car behind him swooped to the top of the track in front of a team-mate who was in third place at the time and he then got "pushed."

Pushed in racing is when the lead car breaks the air force field and the back car gets close enough behind to push the lead car with the extra power it has because it doesn't have to break the air force field. Team work at it's finist.

The last quarter of the last lap and cars two and three fly past the Home depot car and cross the finish line. Winning the Superbowl of racing, the Daytona 500.

In the post race interviews driver after driver talked about how through the whole race, 200 laps, 500 miles, no one wanted to help each other. "I just couldn't get anyone to push me on the straights." "No one wanted to help each other out their today."

After all that time, all those miles, it came down to the last quarter of the last lap. When one guy was willing to come in second to help someone come in first.

In his interview, the most touching interview of them all, he said: "I knew I wasn't going to be able to get the speed to win in that last lap, I watched Ryan close and thought, if he drops down and goes for it, I will to, but if he comes up to the top of the track, I will bash his bumper in pusing him to the finishline!"

And that he did.

And that makes him a HERO.

Be Mine, Velentines!

Valentines Day is a big day for our family. As if it isn't clear enough every other day of the year we go over board for this holiday saying and making it crystal clear. . . I LOVE YOU!


It starts with our love day breakfast. Alec stays home and eats with us, which he has usually been at work for hours by time we eat breakfast. The table is set the night before in all things red and hearty and a book is set out for each person. In the morning they have to figure out which book is theirs we have heart shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup.

This years books are:
Noble: Zen Shorts
Liam: The Kiss that Missed
Hewy: Llama, Llama Red Pajama
Alec: You are Special

For dessert that night we had chocolate fondu.
Hewy really got excited about it.

I Love.

Yep. I love.

I realized today as I emailed Laura, my Mother-in-law, just how much I love.

I love my husband. I love that his family is important to him and that he make sacrifices for our behalf. I love that he lives a life that makes those around him notice a difference between him and “the other guy” and I love that people let him know they are watching.

I love Noble. He is growing and maturing more quickly than my motherly heart can keep up with, but I delight in him and the peace that maturity has brought to him.

I love Liam and his many insights, including into souls, that seem ages above his years. I love that he has a face that tells it all from rich happiness to deep sorrow.

I love Hewy and his characteristic fun-ness and humor. I love his silliness and his attachment bond that holds my heart tight and drives my brain crazy.

I love that my boys-three love each other beyond measure on earthly scales.

I love my parents and their unwaverying support of me and our family. I love that they taught me to be fun and to let others in.

I love that Anna has made me think about being more organized and that, aak, it is almost natural to me these days.

I love that I love San Antonio, because I miss Utah.

I love the women of this world and their strength and the good nature of their hearts.

I love that God keeps his promises.

I love that we have so many people to love, from parents to grandparents, siblings to cousins, friends and neighbors, fellowmen to strangers on the street.

I love that we have experienced heartache, sadness, rejection, and fear so that we can recognize how beautiful, sweet, joyful and peaceful our life, my life, really is.

I love.

I love that I love so much that I cannot list them all at one time.

Cookie by: H

Cookie by: H.
(Yes, cookie is singular)
He had oodles of cookies to choose and frost. He chose one. And only one.
Perhaps it was too much for his two year head to handle.

1. Choose one cookie from the hundreds

2. Add a smidge of frosting. With the help from Mom, after watching him for several minutes, just staring at the cookie, I thought he could use some help.

3. Add enough sprinkles and spread them around equally.

4. Pour the whole bottle of sprinkles on just in case you missed a spot.

reminder

remember if the pix don't come up, try reloading or refreshing the page. Whenever I put a lot of new pix up it seems to struggle a little.

"The Cookie Party!"

Some of you are repeating to yourselves and shaking your head in recognition, "The Cookie Party." Some of you are asking "the cookie party?" And I am saying, "THE COOKIE PARTY!"One of my all time favorite tradtitions to do with my kids, our annual Friends Cookie Party that we host around Valentines every year. Admittedly, we skipped it last year, I tried to do it on a much smaller scale and (no surprise) it was much less successful in my children's eyes. In my defense, I thought that I was "too busy" (ha-ha-ha laugh all you want) but they missed it so much I vowed no matter how busy I was, I would do it.So we did.

And it was our best year yet!



Basically, I invite who ever my kids ask me to and it's open to their whole family. I make hundreds, yes hundreds, of sugar cookies and decorate the house. Guests bring frosting and/or sprinkles and decorations for the cookies. Then it's a free-for-all. The kids rule the roost. They can decorate how ever they want, eat as many as they want, and the Mom's are asked to just step back and relax. I ask the Mom's to stay with me just in case chaos breaks out, but this year there was no such craziness that other Mom's had to step in and help with.

We had a great group this year and I was once again reminded how much I loved this activity. I loved the joy on their faces. I loved the fun. I loved the no limits, no restrictions, no parental over-seeing that just delighted these kids. Love this activity!

"why?" you ask. . .

This is why. This is why I subject my house to this wild and crazy idea of letting kiddos run the show for an afternoon. These are some of my favorite pictures from the event.


This is Parker Gifford and Everette Fife making sure they get the sprinkles "just right."

This is Parker Candland with a conversation heart stuck to his forehead. How fun and funny is that?

"This" cannot be faked.
Bohn's and Tobler's hamming it up and enjoying "it."

The always beautiful Hallie Gifford that has always captured my heart (and Noble's) says in all with her plateful of cookies and gentle smile in her eyes as well as her face.

Examples

Here are some examples of the cookies decorated by the children that were set free with no limits or expectations! Although I cannot remember exactly who each one belongs to. . . I know the top right is Hewy's one and only cookie of the day and bottom right are Noble's cookies - yes there are cookies under all the sprinkles.

WHAT FUN THEY HAD!

After Cookies

After the mass cookie decorating the kids headed outside into the beautiful weather and played. Real life, just like the good ol' days, played. No electronics. And look, here is evidence they had fun and enjoyed it!

environmental reader

You know how in Kindergarten your kiddos are asked to bring in "enviromental print" to help them learn to read? Well, Noble did in Utah's kinder and Liam did in Texas kinder, so I assume all kindergartens do this. Anyway. . . Environment Print is words or symbols that children, well all of us, recognize and know what it is or says with out really reading it.

My dear sweet 2 year old can READ! Envirmentally. But he can read. I am sure your two year olds can or could too. But recently we have been more aware of this than usual. It usually happens when we are in the car.

"FRIES! Mom, fires! Fries. Please, fries!?"
I am thinking, What on earth is he talking about? Until I see the Golden Arches out the window.

And then the next time it is Whataburger.

And then one night on the way to Costco he says:
"Do-nuts. Daddy, donuts, please?"

Alec looks at me and nods his head towards Krispi Kreme that is just outside the our car.

Way to go little reader man.

Just what does this say about us though?

Nanny Deprived

I totally borrowed / copied this from another blog, and then made my own modifications.
Here is the link to give them credit.
Nanny Deprived
But it was just too funny not to post.

1) Have you ever eaten a random cheerio, puff, or pretzel just because you had no where else to put it?

2) Have you ever vowed to never again wear white due to constant grime, bodily fluids, and dirt showing minutes after you've gotten dressed?

3) Have you ever used your garden hose to wash down a high chair, stroller or child?

4) Have you ever walked around with a half eaten cookie in your pocket?

5) Do you look forward to going to the doctor or dentist just so you can sit in the waiting room and read a magazine by yourself?

6) Have you ever used a public restroom while holding a child on your lap because there was no where else to put them?

7) Have you watched Yo Gabba Gabba? I'm so sorry if you have! (honestly, I don't even know what this is, but it sounds like I haven't missed anything)

8) Have you ever found marshmellows in your slippers?

9) Have you ever counted down the hours until bedtime?

10) Have you perfected the fine art of changing pee soaked (what about throw-up?)sheets while still mostly asleep?

11) Have you been forced to discuss or explain the plot of a Disney movie while trying to merge onto an interstate in rush hour traffic?

12) Have you ever had to use preschool safety scissors to cut a major package because that was all you could find?

13) Have you ever cleaned grilled cheese off of your sunglasses? (or not noticed it was there!)

14) Have you ever answered the door wearing "princess jewlery"? (I have to say no on this one, pirate jewlery maybe)

15) Have you ever run out of batteries on PURPOSE? Oh yeah baby!

16) Have you named your dust buster and consider it part of your family?

17) Can you tell what time it is based on what show is on Noggin or Nick Jr.?

Stolen Pics from Rodeo

I stole these pictures off of Lucy's blog!
I Love Lucy!
(hee-hee, I bet you have NEVER heard that before!)

Alan Jackson! What a concert!
See we went to the Rodeo with 20 friends and a few clients of Alec's. Because it was client development, Alec wasn't so sure I should bring the cam. But Lucy did! Thanks!

In all our Texas pride Lucy and I have a pack to wear cowboy hats next year. She will weat pink and I will wear purple! Yee-haw!

Stand a little taller

My Second Counselor, Camille, was scheduled to teach last Sunday on Faith. I was deeply touched when I told her that I felt we needed to let the Sisters talk about President Hinckley and let people bear testimony if they felt prompted to and she told me she had the same prompting. She ended up starting her lesson with this short video tribute of his life and then we all shared our memories of him. It was a touching Sunday lesson.



I was surprised while watching it, how much I will miss his voice and the security I have always found in it. I was taken back to the many time that I saw him in person and how each time it touched and changed my heart. The dedication of the Mt. Timp temple sitting in the Celestial Room with him for the dedication and being in the room and hearing his voice in person. Having him at Alec's law school graduation and how personal it felt to have him there. And then there was the time we met him and Sister Hinckley, when I held their hands, looked in their eyes and conversed with them. That was a powerful, life influencing exchange. I will miss him, but do not doubt he is already at work on the other side.

I will stand a little taller because of him throughout my life.

GREAT Night Out

We had one of those Out of This World dates this week. As many of you know, Alec manages the firms tickets to big events that are used for client development. Fulbright had bought a whole Suite at the AT&T center for several nights of the Rodeo. "The Rodeo" here in SA has been named the Indoor Rodeo of the Year for the past three years. So we are told it is not to be missed - but yet this was our first year! On Monday Alec realized that know one had asked for a single ticket for Saturdays rodeo/concert, and it was Alan Jackson! So he took the whole suite! He invited a few clients and then we started thinking of friends to take. It is really hard to leave anyone out of such an experience, but we only had so many tickets and we had to make it look like client development.

Who ended up coming with us: Brad and Lucy Tobler, Trent and Courtney Kimball, Barry and Michelle Port, Troy and Ann Hatch, Hal and Lisa Candland, Dave and Leslie Tidwell, Chris and Mindy Saib, and Connie and Matt Pearce.

The Rodeo was so much fun! They did eight events in two hours. My point in saying that - They were organized and on the ball! My favorites were Muttin Bustin and Bull Riding. Alec had ordered the "upscale" food and it was YUMMY! The concert was amazing. I enjoyed it the most of any concert I have ever been too. Everyone had a good time and it really felt good to do something spectacular for our friends.

I had my concerns about it being showy or making people uncomfortable, but really it felt good to do something so nice for people that I really respect and admire. Everyone was so excited and grateful. The memories will last a long time and it was a wonderful way to be introduced to the Rodeo.


We are already planning to go again.

Noble's Birthday Party

We celebrated Noble's NINTH birthday on Saturday with his four best friends. Noble had requested a golf party so I gladly handed it over to Alec and said this one is yours! First they went to the driving range, then to play min golf, then home for pizza and cake. It was a great day and Noble enjoyed it quite a bit.

Friends: Gavin Pearce, Jacob Tobler, Lily Fife and Hallie Gifford.

Globe Trotters

We took the boys to see the Harlem Globe Trotters a couple weeks ago. Alec thought they would enjoy it. He used his connection at the AT&T Center to get us GREAT seats. Center court, fourth row. GREAT seats. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the boys hated it, but it certainly was not their favorite. First they wanted to be in the Suite not in "regular seats," hell-o! fourth row center court are not bad seats!

Noble actually fell asleep!

Crazy kids.

What is SHMILY?

People have asked what "SHMILY" means that I have on one of the conversation hearts I made in the pictures below. It comes from a story that we read for a Family Home Evening years and years ago. It means: See How Much I Love You. In the story the couple wrote it and left it places for each other, the dust in the mantel, a post it note stuck on a dashboard, in lipstick on the mirror, etc.. We adopted it and use it often in our family. SHMILY shows up all over the house.

My Conversation Hearts

cute cute cute!
here is the link to make your own hearts