snow day!

Wednesday and Thursday were official snow days here in the Denver metro area. School was canceled both days and Mark and I stayed home as well on Thursday. Here's my photo documentation of our enjoyable day at home.

This was the view out of my basement sewing area window:

Three cheers for John and his multiple times of shoveling!

John snapped this photo for me, as I did not want to don snow gear to get it:

Sarah's friend, Danielle, came over and the kids enjoyed playing in the snow together.

The unavoidable soggy pile of debris by the back door:

Sarah must have had at least 8-10 cups of hot cocoa throughout the day.

My staple nutrients, along with multiple DVR episodes of one of my favorite TV shows, kept my energy up for my many hours of sewing:

Moosey, being from the South, tends to not like the snow. Just as I snapped this picture, however, she heard the kids playing in the yard and bounded off through the snow. She was back by the sliding door in a matter of minutes.

Mark ventured out to buy a new touk (Canadian for hat) as he has found his new hairdo to be a little on the chilly side.

My mom helped me make dinner to take to a family in our ward. We were also the beneficiaries of her baking goodness.

I made a family classic, Noodle Bake, in a big enough batch to give some away, save some for my family, and make this heart-shaped pan for my parents. Buttermilk bread courtesy of my mom.

At the end of the day I was tempted to climb into the cozy fort Sarah and Danielle had made in the family room.

The only down side to having a snow day on a Thursday is that it seemed like it should have been Friday. Cruel hoax to have to wake up early Friday morning and face real life again. . . .

fruits of our labors

Guess which one is John's?

this and that

Since blogging seems to be the thing that most often gets pushed to the bottom of my to-do list these days, I need to mention a few random things that happened this month so I at least have some record of it.

• Sarah had a solo in our ward's Primary program this month. She sang the first verse of I Feel My Savior's Love and--in my completely unbiased opinion--it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! I have never heard her sing alone and I was really impressed by the clear, sweet, and sincere quality of her voice.

• Speaking of singing, John had his first choral concert this month. He made it into the top mixed choir this year (coincidentally the same one I was in when I attended his high school). I wish this photo showed the great pinstripes in the guys' pants and the rows of dots in their ties. John has really found his niche in high school and I love how much he loves singing in choir (much of which I attribute to his fabulous and darling teacher, Mrs. Burns).

• Speaking of high school, my long-time friend Ann came for a two-day visit with her beautiful daughters earlier this month. It was a fun surprise and a treat to have them stay with us; the actual reason for their visit was to see the show Wicked, but we enjoyed watching movies, eating carmel corn, shopping with our girls, and playing Bananagrams. Moosey made friends with them all.

• Speaking of Wicked, my mom and I were invited by a friend in our ward to go to the show, complete with a back-stage tour prior to the show! Yes--I said BACK-STAGE TOUR. It was fascinating to see the costumes, props, and sets first-hand. To top it off, we had box seats. I felt like royalty and only wish I had been allowed to take photos of the experience.
• Speaking of photos, I just had to take this one of a flyer I found lying around the house. At first I thought it was something from Sarah's school. When I asked her about it, she confessed she had made up a stack while playing School the other day. It made me smile.

• Speaking of things that make me smile, Sarah convinced us to carve our Halloween pumpkins tonight for FHE. Though I confess I had sort of been dreading the time-honored and messy tradition, I had fun hacking away at the pumpkins with the rest of the family.

• And speaking of hacking away, Mark got a little carried away with the hair trimmer last Saturday and ended up giving himself a new 'do. He has been more than a good sport about the whole thing and we have been laughing about the reactions of his friends and coworkers. People at church yesterday were asking if he had lost some sort of bet relating to the oh-so-sad outcome of the BYU football game of the previous day. Someone at work today asked him if he had joined a Mexican gang. I suggested that we could send for the Cougar Spirit wig we found at the BYU Bookstore last August when we took the girls to school. He was not amused.

• And speaking of not being amused, I have taken on a sewing project I'm afraid I'm going to live to regret: 22 (yes count them, twenty-two) dance costume tops for Sarah's clogging team--that's eleven each of two different styles. Yes, it's a paying gig, but I'm afraid by the time I finish I'll be lucky to make about $1.25/hour.
  

signs of the season

Fall decorations are perhaps my favorite of all the year--perhaps because I love the things I've collected over the years, but more likely because I can actually get them out and put them up in an afternoon unlike Christmas decor, which most often turns into a project of several days.

Though you can't really tell in this photo, letters are etched onto each of these votive candles to spell out AUTUMN.

I've had the autumn vine and raffia pumpkins, shown here on the family room mantle, for more years than I wish to acknowledge and should probably consider replacing them. I pull them out each Fall, however, and manage to spruce them up with a few newer items tucked in--the cutest of which is the "Merry Holloween" china sign hanging with ribbon from an open-back frame (courtesy of Black-Eyed Susan, of course!).

Another gift from Susan, and another favorite of mine, are these "Boo!" kugels and wooden primitive crows which hang in an open half-wall of my desk/craft area.

The only new addition this year was two of these free-standing, billowy wheat sheaves. I love them, especially this one with my favorite Black-Eyed Susan crow perched nearby.

The cutest thing frequently found in my house, however, is my darling parents. This photo was taken on my mother's 83rd birthday. My dad, by the way, turns 90 in January! Maybe this Winter we can convince him to hire out the shoveling. . . .

Happy Fall!

Operation: Rejuvenation

I think I look forward to semi-annual Conference weekends more than almost any other event or holiday throughout the year--and not just because of Donut Night.

Last night's batch was pretty fabulous, however. My mom decided to throw a new variety into the mix, chocolate cake donuts:

Yes, they were pretty amazing, as is virtually anything that comes from my mom's kitchen.

As much as I love the donuts, however, they are the least of things I love about this weekend.

I love that the Priesthood holders in my life honor that sacred trust and take their responsibilities seriously. I love that John, who is now 15 1/2 (and, as you can see stands a good 3-4" taller than his dad) never balks at attending a two-hour Priesthood meeting with his dad and grandpa twice-yearly on a Saturday night. He in fact goes with a smile on his face. I love seeing the men I love in their Sunday clothes.

(I love that my dog loves my dad almost as much as I do.)

I love having my sister Patricia here for a visit, and I love that she selflessly did the dishes last night. I had been ironing for about five hours (no exaggeration), then cooking donuts for another hour or so. I was exhausted, but satisfied.

Most of all, I love knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth and that I am a part of it. I love knowing that I have a purpose here, I am given direction and guidance, and that the Lord knows me personally and is mindful of my needs. I love knowing that I am sealed to my family for all of eternity. I love knowing that I needn't be afraid in perilous times, I need only hold fast to the Iron Rod and stay true to my faith. I love knowing that other people I love are striving to do the same.

I love knowing that a prophet of God lives on the Earth today and that he receives revelation from God and shares it with us. I love knowing that I find safety and peace in following his counsel. I love General Conference because I am reminded of all of these things and come away strengthened, rejuvenated, and empowered to be a better me.

never too old for nurturing

Thanks to my good and generous friend Linda (and to the great Stake Conference talk we had a couple of weeks ago about the Family Proclamation and our divinely-appointed role as nurturers) I spent last weekend in Provo with my two lovely college daughters. Sorry to my Utah friends who I didn't visit; this was a nurturing mother trip.

Linda came to see her son Dan in Provo and her daughter Karen in Cedar City. Our first night in Provo found us at the ever-popular Brick Oven where we enjoyed great pizza and iced mugs of root beer (Diet Coke with lime for some).

What BYU visit would be complete without a tour of the now-famous Giraffe Office in the Physics Department? Linda, as evidenced in this photo, had never seen it before. Words cannot describe.

Emily showed us her office, complete with official-looking nameplate.

And of course, we got to personally meet the Goose For All Seasons we had heard so much about, dressed here in her back-to-school best.

Charlotte, ever the "hideous copy editor," found this grievous sign outside the pool at Emily's apartment complex. I mean, really--are they trying to stop unauthorized swimmers or simply alleviate bad hair days?

After a trip to Charlotte's doctor on Friday we found ourselves at University Mall, where I talked Linda into buying new Dansko clogs (among other things). We shared a favorite treat of Pretzel Bites and lemonade and were sad that Emily had a class she couldn't miss.

This apron at Deseret Book seemed appropriate for the occasion. It says "Hold tight to Mom's apron strings."

I never knew that Deseret Book carried fabric! I bought these cute pieces to make an apron (one can never have too many, you know):

We next met Emily outside her classroom door, made a stop at the BYU Bookstore for a sequin "Y" tee shirt I had been pining for since last month's visit, and then stopped to snap a photo with Brigham.

What nurturing trip would be complete without a Donut Night? I brought along the donut fryer so that the girls and their friends wouldn't have to miss out on our semi-annual tradition.

Our long-awaited and highly-anticipated trip to Provo's T-shirt Bar on Saturday (Michelle had piqued our interest some time ago) turned out to be a bust. The door was unlocked, but this is all we found inside. I guess cute, customized tee shirts were not in the cards for us.

The best part of the weekend came on Saturday night. We were the lucky recipients of front-section tickets to the Relief Society broadcast at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, courtesy of the girls' religion professor. More on that later. (And many thanks to Dan, who relinquished his car to us for the day.)

At the end of the fun-filled long weekend I was left to wonder at the goodness of the Lord, who--when He might have sent two beautiful, exceptional girls to someone who could give them lessons and instruments worthy of their talents, travel and education worthy of their intellect, and a clothing budget worthy of their good taste--instead sent them to me. I will be forever grateful for such a gift.

Superman: Part II

Remember the Ford Ranger I've been driving--A/C, but little interior cargo space for people and things? Our yearly trip to Provo finally proved just the impetus we needed to get a new car! Well, new to me--a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer. The A/C is awesome, there is LOTS of room, the sound system is great, and all four of the doors open from the inside--imagine that.

We traded Mark's trusty red Ranger in, which means that the Explorer really is "his car" now, lucky man.

Guess who volunteered to drive the girls' 1989 Toyota Corolla (with no A/C) to Provo? You guessed it, Superman, a.k.a. Mark.

And guess which car broke down just past Price on our way to Provo? Right again, the Corolla with 220,000+ miles on it. I suppose it was only a matter of time. Here's the scenic spot where the girls' car took its final, gasping breath.

And who do you suppose had to wait for another hour or so for me to come rescue him on the side of the road? The girls and I had just unloaded our car in Provo when we got the call from Mark telling us of his predicament.

And who do you suppose transferred all of the girls' belongings from the stranded, dead Corolla into the new car--right again, Mark.

And guess who my favorite guy is--you're right, Mark.