SOMEONE IS TURNING 40 TODAY!

It's not me - it's my brother Ivon's birthday.

This photo is an oldie but goodie {- i love it -} and pretty much sums up his relationship with my man clan.
He's an awesome uncle, a wonderful brother and loving son.  He knows the best random facts, is a hard worker, smart and is just down right rad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IVY!

WE LOVE YOU!!

WE ARE CELEBRATING TWO BIRTHDAYS TODAY!

This guy here is the best father-in-law in the world, awesome father and grandpa and an amazing husband.
He raised wonderful children who are just as kind, loving and thoughtful as him.
We fondly refer to him as Grandpa Joan.

And this giggly-goose is my cute niece, Maddie, who is so adorable it is ridiculous.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

WE LOVE YOU!!

PS - If you wanted an excuse to have a piece of cake today, now you have two.

I WALKED ON A FROZEN LAKE

Well, not exactly ON it - there was a floating dock surrounding a swim area at the Dierkes Lake, and I walked on that.  I have never been on frozen water like that before and it was amazing and oh, so beautiful.

PS - doesn't this house remind you of the house from UP? All it needs is the balloons!

THE ROAD TRIP WITH MY FATHER AND BROTHER WAS

a lot of fun.
We had some deep discussions, reminiscing, some tears, a lot of laughter and a few adventures along the way to Utah and back home.

On the way home we saw some beautiful wide open spaces filled with crisp, white snow.  We pulled along the roadside and took pictures.  We have a few pictures of me taking a picture of Michael, who is taking a picture of dad, who is taking a picture of the snow.  We got the giggles and thought this was hilarious.

Utah is beautiful in the winter.

We stopped by Snake River in Idaho

We had also stopped in at Burley, Idaho hoping to find the house my grandfather was born in but the two addresses we had don't exist.  Man was our bubble burst.  We have some investigating to do there.

Dad and Mike begrudgingly went along with me wanting posed snuggling pictures.  I thought this was HILARIOUS but they didn't find it as funny as me.

We also stopped at Shoshone Falls, which is gorgeous!

I'd LOVE to go there in the spring when the water is heavy and raging.  I've added this little excursion to things I want my man clan to see.  It's absolutely beautiful.

TUESDAY WAS GRANDMA'S FUNERAL

We had Grandma's services held at the chapel at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary.  It was a beautiful service and I  loved what I learned about my grandmother through my uncles and aunt's talks.  Then we followed her casket to the Orem City Cemetery, where she was buried next to grandpa.

Grandma made this tablecloth.  I thought it was so beautiful.
All of the flowers at her services were different shades of her favorite color, pink, and they were gorgeous.  The florist did such a great job.

Grandma was told she was never going to be able to bear children.
Here are all eight of her miracles in front of her casket.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 10

Teacher gifts.

I saw a similar idea on pinterest, using Hershey's Hugs.  The store I was in didn't have any, so we used kisses instead.  We wrapped the candy bags up with red yarn, some of our homemade pom poms and they're ready to go.

Note reads:  You can't live on apples alone, teachers need a KISS too.

HOW TO CALL BIGFOOT

And knowing is half the battle. Landon LOVES to watch the show Finding Bigfoot. Anytime we are in a wooded area, he is calling and the rest of the man clan are calling back. It's just the cutest. He just knows that one day he'll make a discovery!

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 9

A little love note.

Sometimes it's just good to hear why we love one another.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 8

Afternoon movie, (rock-paper-scissor to see who gets to choose the flick) and Mother Goose popcorn in a delicious pink.

Mother Goose Popcorn

16 cups popped popcorn
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
food coloring

Pop popcorn and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water and coconut oil.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add vanilla and food coloring.  Stir well and poor over popcorn.
Spread popcorn mixture on a few cookie sheets to cool.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 7

We get to practice our stealth ninja skills.

We are HEART ATTACKING!

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 6

Tonight was a man clan favorite - we made and decorated sugar cookies.  And of course ate them.

Yummy for our tummy.

AS OF TODAY, I AM NOW AT THAT AGE WHERE I NO LONGER HAVE ANY LIVING GRANDPARENTS

My grandmother passed away this afternoon.

Lucille Ida Huntzinger

28 Dec 1918 - 5 Feb 2013

I'll think of her when I make her Caramel Dumpling recipe.

I'll think of her when I manually water the flowers with a hose.  When I was younger she taught me to "water the flowers like rain".  Luckily now a days we have hoses with the 'shower setting', which makes it much easier, but there are those times that you just have to get your hands wet.  Such a silly thing to be reminded of, but it's something that's stuck with me.

I'll think of her when I do family history.  I grew up a Navy brat, so we never lived around family.  It wasn't until after I was married  that we bonded and became friends.  It was fun to call her when I found something that got me excited or to brainstorm.  She got a kick out it.

She wrote me two beautiful letters.  The first one right before I got married and the second one while I was pregnant with Larry J.

I have a few of her paintings hanging in our lair.  The first one she painted for me as a wedding present.  Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate it or her painting talent at first.  But thankfully I grew up and my appreciation for art, family history and maturity kicked in.  Throughout the years, I have acquired a few more of her paintings through family members downsizing.  I love having pieces like that around me.

I'm thankful that I have photos of all my boys with their great-grandmother. Lach has one when he was a baby, but the last time he was in Utah with me, he didn't want to be in the photo. He was too busy checking out her snowglobes.

Until we meet again, Grandma.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 5

It's pom pom central in our lair.

Hot red pom poms are hanging from our ceiling and we have a few pom pom garlands hanging around.  These imperfect yarn puffs are absolutely delightful.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 4

I made a valentine refreshment for the man clan as part of their after school snack - fresh strawberry lemonade.

I added 1 cup of strawberries (these are the strawberries we picked this summer) to 1 cup of lemonade and let the vitamix to do all the work.  Since the strawberries were frozen, I didn't need to use any ice.  Delicious!

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 3

We were invited over to our friends house for a Superbowl party.  Surrounded by friends and delicious food, we were rooting for the 49ers!  I love San Francisco, and hello, they wear red.  I just knew they'd win because they fit into the Valentine countdown perfectly.
Unfortunately, we had to leave a before the game ended.  Operation Meltdown happened and one of our wee ones was inconsolable.
AND, unfortunately the 49ers lost.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 2

We made scrumptious heart shaped pizzas.

We had loads of toppings...

SO good!!

My favorite was Lach's who made a hotdog pizza.

14 DAYS OF LOVE - OUTTAKE

Strawberry covered chocolate cake.  I had a big fail on this project. Tastes delicious but oh my goodness, was it a disaster!

The plan was to layer brownie batter and strawberry cake in a cupcake liner.  Add pink icing and voila, a valentine yummy morsel.

Disaster #1 - You can't get the brownie out of the cupcake liner!!

I only have one muffin pan, so the rest of the batter I layered in a 9x13 and baked it.

Disaster #2 - although the toothpick came out clean, the brownie could have baked five more minutes.

Disaster #3 - you know when you mix cornstarch and water and it's either thick like glue or super runny?  That was my icing.

Disaster #4 - when I put the icing on the cake, it wouldn't spread without ripping up the cake.

Total disaster but super, duper good!

14 DAYS OF LOVE - DAY 1

Aren't these just the best banners?  I love them.  Assembling and hanging them are the first of our Valentine's festivity countdown.

Want to have these cuties from Whiskergraphics?  They are a free download -  Click here.