Sochi Winter Olympics

We had a fun day of Olympic Games with a few friends.

We started with a little international potluck.

I made this cake that I thought turned out cute--and tasty!

We had Alpine Skiing and Ski Jumps.

Next we played ice-hockey (which, surprisingly, was one of my favorite activities).

Then we did curling--which actually required a little skill.

We had a little biathlon competition--I was terrible!

We did Cross Country Skiing.

We did bobsledding--

And ended with couples figure skating--which was hilarious!

We have such awesome friends to put up with our silliness!  

Chinese New Year

We had a fun Chinese New Year celebration this year.
My parents’ had everyone over for a big Chinese potluck!
I LOVE being in a family full of excellent cooks!

We had ham fried rice, shrimp fried rice, lo mien, sweet and sour chicken, lemon chicken, beef and broccoli, lettuce wraps, egg rolls, pot stickers, lucky oranges, and more.  

It was a great night!  Thanks fam!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Once Upon A Dream

Last week Lindsay and I went on a date.

We went to see CAA’s “Sleeping Beauty” ballet.

(Thanks for the tickets mom).

CAA REALLY does an amazing job with their ballets.

It felt professional!

It was especially fun for Lindsay to get to watch her cousin, Eliza preform.

And Lindsay is REALLY excited that she gets to start ballet THIS WEEK!!

After the ballet, I took Lindsay to get a treat at Starbucks

 (with a gift card that I’ve had for about 7 years).

It was a really fun night, and I love any 1 on 1 time with Lindsay!

When Life Gives You Lemons.

As previously mentioned, we’ve had a rough week.
It did, however, get much better when I found a bright yellow package on our front porch.

The tag said, “When life gives you lemons, here are a few ideas.”

Inside the package I found this:

The tags were every bit as cute as the actual gift--she is so clever!

“When life gives you lemons make lemonade.”—with lemonade
“When life give you lemons eat them, they’re good for you.  Life knows best.” –with lemons
“When life gives you lemons sell them on EBAY.” With lemon meringue gum and cash
“When life gives you lemons be grateful life gave you something.”—with lemonheads
“When life gives you lemons throw them back and yell I wanted chocolate.”  --with m&ms
“When life gives you lemons forget the lemonade, squirt them on lobsters.”—with a giftcard to Red Lobster

Since only about 5 people are aware of our situation, I was 98% sure it was from my sister, Heather.
I went to her house and asked, “Why didn’t you stay and visit when you dropped off the package?”
She said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I turned to my niece, Rachel, (who I knew had stayed home sick from school that day),
and I said, “Rachel, did you come to my house today?”
Rachel said, “Yes!  And I was the one that got to put the gift on your porch!”

Ha ha ha!  Love that girl, and I love my “anonymous gift.”

33

Darin turned 33 this week.

It has been a crazy, trying week--not the greatest for a birthday.

Somehow, through it all, Darin continues to be amazing.

A few days before his birthday, we went to City Creek, to get Darin a new pair of shoes.

They look really handsome on him.

His actual birthday was Monday, and it had potential to be a major bummer day.

But, thanks to an optimistic husband, and GREAT friends, it turned out to be a good day.

Happy Birthday Darin!

I LOVE YOU!!

Good Things to Come

I love this video.
I think I've watched it 20 times.
I still bawl every time--especially when it hits so close to home.

I thought I'd share it in case someone else needed a reminder of the "Good Things to Come."

Nine.

This boy is nine months.
His whole life I've said he is a mover.
Well, while he was still 8 months, he decided it was time to start WALKING!!
Matt didn't walk until he was 14 months, and Lindsay was 18 months.
So, this early walking thing is new territory for me.

His hair has a mind of its own.  No matter how I comb it it always goes back the same way.
Andrew loves to crawl up the stairs, but hasn't figured out down yet.
He can say"mama," "bub," (bu-bye), and "pop."
He loves to eat rice cereal with apricots mixed in.
And he LOVES his big brother and sister.

Happy 9 months little Andrew!

Matt’s Despicable Birthday Party

Matt really wanted a “Minion” birthday this year and it was FUN!!

We started by giving the kids their own minion costume.

(By the way—the TOTAL cost of all THREE costumes was $3.00 thanks to mom sewing the aprons from some old fabric that I had, and my dad donating the shirts).

(Andrew and I dressed up too).

Next, we had a little lunch.

(Peanut butter and Gru’s Jelly Sandwiches, minion jell-o, baples and bananas, and cookies from the stolen pyramid).

Next, we played a few games.

Yellow minion, yellow minion, PURPLE minion.  
(Our version of duck, duck, goose).

Pin the eye on the minion.

And shoot the evil minion with the jelly gun antidote.

(I think this was their favorite part).

Matt opened presents, they ate minion cupcakes, then “watched” the minion shorts—but really they just played.

The cute minion cupcakes!! (Which were banana flavor per request of the birthday boy).

And a big shout out to my sister, Heather, for making the minion eyes--they turned out great!!

It was a really fun party, and I can’t believe that Matt is going to be FIVE on Sunday!

Happy Birthday Matthew!!

Lindsay’s BIRTHday!

The day after Lindsay’s party was her actual birthday.  I still wanted her to have a special day—even if it wasn’t her party day.

When she woke up I told her she could have ANY breakfast she wanted.
She said she wanted cereal.
I suggested pancakes, waffles, or crepes.
She said cereal.

After breakfast I told her she could do ANYTHING she wanted.  She wanted to visit Grandpa Welling and cousins.  So we did.

For lunch I told her we could go to a restraint or make anything she wanted.
She chose quesadillas.

For dinner I said the same thing—and suggested we order a pizza.  

She chose spinach and okra.

Then, we ended the night with watching an episode of curious George.

A really simple day, but it was everything she wanted!

And we did dig into her cake!