14 years on the 14th!

Our favorite dimple for your valentine enjoyment!

We had a really nice Valentines day. Fourteen years since we were engaged! It was fun to remember back to that snowy day in Franklin. We both agree that we were extremely blessed considering our ignorance back in those days. We have divine intervention to thank.


I made a red velvet cake FROM SCRATCH for a valentine treat today. I haven't made a cake from scratch since I was in fifth grade and used triple the amount of baking soda instead of powder and then baked it only half as long as it needed...

Kendra accused me of being a Martha-wanna-be for taking a picture of my cake. Hmmmm--I think I'm guilty as charged. The wanna -be being the critical part...




We averted a near tragedy in the hair department this weekend. I finally gave in to Jenna's requests to cut her hair only to have her burst into tears at the result. She made Rustin close his eyes until she could climb up in his lap and hide her face and cry her little heart out. Oh the pain. Hair tragedies are something I have much experience (and many tears) with...

It wasn't until she discovered that her hair was 'bouncy' that she decided that she loved it. A trip to the mall for a new outfit and some cute hair accessories didn't hurt either.
I know.
We are in dangerous water here.
She has us wrapped around her cute little finger...

Nie and a visit with my sis!

Becki and Ethan were here for a couple of days recuperating from their most recent surgery/injuries. We of course love having them here. When they needed a ride back to Utah on Monday I 'sacrificed' and took them home. They just happened to have an extra ticket to the Nie Benefit concert in Provo. (Sorry Ethan, I took your spot...) My good friend Becky Brouwer watched the little kids for us and Becki, Jeremy and I had a date!


Mindy Gledhill was great as usual. Her musicians were outstanding.



I must say that watching Ryan Shoupe and the bass guitarist duel in 'Devil went down to Georgia' was, for me, the highlight of the night. I don't know if I have ever seen such amazing musical talent. They could play off each other and pick up on each others musical cues so quickly it looked effortless.



Of course the other great part was that we got to sit right next to Courtney and Chris and their cute little brood. (the benefits of going with Chris's brother!...)
All the kids look really happy and healthy. A testament to their great care!



And Courtney's song/dance with Mindy for the encore was priceless.
The pics are from this great site.

Jen and Ben and Ethan had a blast. Beck's home has a really nice spirit about it. And it's really cute too!

We also got to stop in Salt Lake City to visit Melanie and brand new little Lucas (and Eric of course!) They look really great and happy. I managed to navigate the SLC traffic without getting lost or having an anxiety attack so everything was awesome!

Rustin and the boys did great without us. They went out to a Chinese buffet... The boys had to fill me in on all the recess and after school happenings while I was gone. This seems to be something that only the mom can do--listen to the going on's of a grade-schooler.

Landon started with "do you want the bad news or the worst?" The bad news was a bloody lip resulting from a conflict over whose turn it was to have the basketball. The worst was that our little neighbor who is in Landon's class was hit by a car and is in critical condition. We are working on a project for him and his family. Everything else is business as usual.