Puppy Waffles!

I should clarify that these waffles are not made from puppies, but rather they were made to resemble puppies. Whole grain waffles, spread with vanilla yogurt, a little Fat free Cool Whip, and a mixture of cold berries. Genius- and no leftovers ;)I love smiles at breakfast time! I'm not sure what Lily is looking at, but she seems happy.

Amara contemplating her first bite...

Without the berries on the ears

With berries on the ears. The more the merrier!

{This tasty breakfast was actually last month (January), I just never got around to blogging it until now}

Family Night- Refreshments

We love family night! This particular family night we only had one slice of Fudge Turtle Pie leftover from Sunday dinner, so the girls got to split it. Steve and I opted to save our tastebuds for after the girls went to sleep and dish ourselves up some ice cream. Anyhow, the girls were licking their plates clean before I could snap a picture of them eating their pie!

Black Olives on Baby Fingers

Steve and I used to put olives on my fingers as kids. Now our kids do it. Amara has such cute hands and now her "thumb-kins" have "helmets."

No Amara Allowed Sign

Lily had had it with Amara coming into "her" bathroom and touching the toilet and bringing her toys in there. Her solution? A "NO AMARA ALLOWED" sign, which she fully intended on hanging on the bathroom door and in return expecting Amara to respect it. It didn't hang for long.

Notice the picture of Amara with a circle drawn around it with a slash through it. Lily even almost spelled Amara correctly. You can also find the word "No" written on her sign. I love it.

IHOP, breakfast before we left

We had been spending the weekend at Steve's parent's house and it was time to head back home, but not without a hearty breakfast! We decided last second that we would go to IHOP for all-you-can-eat pancakes and invite some family to join us. It was a tasty breakfast and a perfect farewell.

Make a Smilebox photo book design

Valentines Day Weekend and the Desert Star

On Valentines weekend, our family traveled to the faraway land of Happy Valley (the Wasatch Front) to accompany carloads of our loved ones to an enjoyable performance of "twi-lite" at the Desert Star Playhouse.

Our comrades were excellent company, the show was hilarious, and the pizza, a HOOT! The "California Pizza" Joe ordered was basically a crudite nightmare. Joe's face says it all...

Check out the large clusters of crunchy broccoli florets. I'd have to say that this pizza has potential and would be better simply by chopping the broccoli smaller and broiling and seasoning all of the vegetables before putting them on the pie, just a suggestion (one that I hope falls on the ears of a talented Desert Star Chef).
Let's just say there was definitely room for dessert. Bring on the Brownie Sundae! This mountain of decadence did not disappoint.
We truly enjoyed ourselves and we owe a great big THANK YOU to Dad and Deb for making it all possible. We love you guys! P.S. Happy Birthday, Debby. We would have cheered louder for you if the announcer had pronounced Lauret instead of "Larent." And Happy Anniversary to Missy and Joe- six years and rockin' it!

Now a candid look at the delightful people we call family and friends...
Dad, Deb, Trent and Lyndsi
DeeJay and her son Colby
Spencer and April
Kelli and Jakey
Jake and Micah

April and Dad

I'd like to officially acknowledge the presence of Steve, Lani, Missy, Mandy and Lyndsi, even though they didn't show up in the pictures. Sorry. I will have the camera person fired promptly.

Lani's 28th Birthday!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What an enjoyable birthday I had. It all began the night before. Steve took me out to dinner and a movie since my birthday fell on a Sunday this year. My mom babysat our children and we went to Stockman's for dinner. You know we live in Rural America when you spend $70 at a place that looks... well, you can use the map below to navigate and see for yourself.

View Larger Map

Despite the the less than fancy curb appeal, our KING CRAB LEGS rocked! We had a good time together and we saw the movie "Blind Side" and it was really good. The next day was my birthday, and I had a wonderful day. From the Baked Apple French Toast with Caramel Sauce (a recipe from my Lion House Cookbook) for breakfast and lunch, to being sung to in Primary Sharing Time (thanks to Lily for reminding the Primary Presidency of my birthday), to the wonderful Fondue dinner and Paula Deen's' Toffee Gooey Butter Cake (deep gratitude to my hubby, Steve, for slaving over the stove and oven for a few hours. Truly a labor of love), to having Mom and Tom join us for dinner, and the countless phone messages and facebook messages from family and friends wishing me a happy birthday- let's just say I feel so loved and blessed! Then, Steve comes home from school on Monday with a surprise- a beautiful fragrant rose and daisy bouquet and Merci chocolates (the only way to spend your calories when you have chocolate cravings). Ah. I'm happy.

Twenty-eight feels nothing like the ancientness I once perceived it as when I was a youngster. It's interesting to ponder that only 28 years ago I was in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and no matter what my age here on earth, earth life is only a blink compared with eternity. So, whether I'm 28 or 98, I hope I remember that my journey takes me to my ultimate destination- so I better make it a good journey in the right direction and get out of those ruts that come in life because no one ever reached a mountain peak by merely gazing at it or by turning around when the climb got steep. And seriously, we get enough natural obstacles in life, it's silly to turn our age into another one. So, 28, I welcome you, and 38, 48, 58, 68, 78, 88, 98 +, I look forward to seeing you in the future.